Today is our last day on this portion of the tour, and we can’t believe how fast time has flown. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this trip (well, ok, maybe not the Tulip Tower hotel, but still), and are sad to see it come to an end. But, before we get all melancholy, we still have today and tonight to enjoy. So, up and out we go, on the bus by 8:30 to start our journey to Sinaia, the Carpathian mountain location of the Peles Castle, home to King Carol I of Romania, the birthplace of King Carol II (giving rise to the phrase “cradle of the dynasty” which Carol I called the castle) and the eventual site of King Michael’s forced abdication in 1947. It is one of the most impressive castles, and a reportedly a highlight of any visit to Romania.
It is yet again a gorgeous day in Romania – we have been so lucky with the weather – making the quick (only an hour) drive to Peles all the more beautiful through the mountains. We arrive and make our way down the steep little approach to the village outside the castle grounds, then walk through the pathways to the front of the immense Neo-Renaissance building. It’s a huge Alpine castle, looking like something you would find in Germany more so than here – and rightly so as the architect who designed it did so with a mix of German architectural philosophy and Italian elegance. Built in 1883, the palace served as a summer residence and hunting preserve for the royals, and became the first castle to be fully powered by locally generated electricity.
Cristina herds us into a huge snaking line in the courtyard of the castle and we take our turns buying the ridiculously expensive photo fee (it’s 35 lei, which is only $8US, but when you are used to paying 10 lei, or about $2US, it seems a bit exorbitant). But, we’re here, so no sense not taking photos if we can – and in the end it is the right decision as the inside of the castle is every bit as gorgeous and grand as the outside. Once inside the castle (which is really more palace than castle), we pass through rooms and rooms of gorgeous woodwork, art and furniture.
First we enter through the Hall of Honor, the main reception hall with a 3 story atrium soaring above us with intricately carved walnut wood balconies, alabaster bas relief panels, wood “mosaic” landscapes encased in gold frames and this stunning 2 story corner spiral wood carved staircase seemingly floating up out of thin air. It’s all topped with a ceiling of stained glass windows created in the late 19th century specially for the house. It is said that the Queen actually drew the designs for all the stained glass and sent them to Germany to have them custom made.
From this grand entrance we move to the armory hall with its displays of chillingly scary weapons and a full size coat of armor for horse and knight in the corner of the room. The coffered ceilings are adorned with more carved wood and inset with different coats of arms. There is a stunning copper (maybe?) bas relief of the battle for the Acropolis in 1396 inset into the top of the fireplace hearth along with beautiful chandeliers hanging over the entire room.
As we continue on our journey, the opulence just continues with incredible stained glass windows, more beautiful walnut wood carvings, King Carol’s study filled with original furniture, his writing desk and a German bisque porcelain fireplace. The New Room for Audiences contains even more carved wood set into the walls and pillars, as does the Music room, with its colorful and detailed stain glass windows depicting Romanian fairy tales, along with portraits painted by Queen Elizabeth herself. I’m particularly taken by the adorable little wooden angels placed here and there around the room, on a built in wooden shelf, playing their instruments.
We move onto the Florentine room, which is richly (if not gaudily) appointed with, you guessed it, all things Italian. From the carved gold plated ceiling to the carved bronze doors, the huge fireplace of Italian marble and the chandeliers of Murano glass –its a Neo-Renaissance cornucopia of Italianate design. Including some absolutely fabulous marble inlaid cabinets of ebony wood and semi-precious stones. Gaudy, but so palatial, and I guess Royal, in its own way!
The dining room is massive (as you would expect from a Palace) with seating for 36 on chairs with Cordoban leather seats. It’s very dark and masculine, with gold and crystal wall decorations and oddly recessed (well, not recessed, but strangely attached) lighting and chandeliers. There is also the “Moorish room,” a huge long salon inspired from the Alhambra Palace in Spain, with carved ceiling and massive Moroccan rug. Of course, what palace wouldn’t be complete without the Turkish room, this one with silk covering the furniture, the walls and ceiling and stained glass windows with Turkish scenes. Then we’re back to the Hall of Honor, shunting off down a marble corridor to peek into the Royal Theater room, with its gold upholstered chairs and frescoes painted on the ceiling and walls. Phew! That’s a lot of Palace to cover in a short period of time. It really is an incredible feat of blended architecture and interior design, even if it is impossible for me to wrap my mind around someone actually living there. (Sort of like the Biltmore – I can’t imagine anyone living there either!)
Disgorged out into the courtyard on what is now a cloudy day, we wander back to the little village, passing the stately Lion statues with which Sunny just must have his time,
and up to the Pelisor Castle, built by King Carol I for his nephew, the future King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. There is a separate entry fee here, and we’ve decided we’re a little castled out, so while Pam and Kevin decide to tour what has become known as the “Queen’s Palace” (because of her total control over the interior decorating in what she referred to as “her dream house”), we along with Ray and Jimmy head back into the village looking for lunch. We stop at the Carol Gastro Bierhaus, figuring, when in the Carpathians…..but unfortunately they are only serving breakfast. So, instead of trying to go down to the cafe overlooking Peles Castle, we just hung out at the Bierhaus with our breakfast of champions – beer for Ed, wine for Jimmy and me, Coke for Ray.
Then its back on the bus to settle in for our 2 hour plus ride back to Bucharest. Cristina keeps us occupied with a running history of the area, starting with the oil and grain that were produced here and important to German, about the agreement with Stalin, how Romania entered into WWII, about Operation Tidal Wave and the B-42 bombers that attacked the oil fields in Romania, how Bucharest, Constanta and Brasov were all bombed in 1944, then onto the Russian invasion. She also talked about Moldova and how they were torn between Russia and Romania, but the Russians kept forcing people to move about the country in an effort to strip them of their identity and culture, and today, even though independent, there is still al large Russian influence. It sounds a bit uninviting, even though Cristina says Moldova is opening up to tourism. It is making me think twice about visiting to try to research our family heritage – the maternal side of which comes from the area around Kipeshka, Moldova (what was once Bessarabia). Will have to give that some additional thought!
At any rate, it makes the trip go faster, and before we know it, we are back at the Hilton Garden Inn and checking into our room – which has a huge steel structural beam across the width of the window wall! It’s totally wild. We knew the building was old and restored, but this is the physical evidence of just how much restoration – and shoring up – they had to do to make it occupancy-worthy.
After freshening up, we assemble in the lobby for our walk through old town to the Hanu lu Manoc, the oldest inn in Europe, for our farewell dinner. We are seated in the downstairs wine cellar amongst the arched brick walls at a series of communal tables. There the wine and beer flows as we feast on a chicken and vegetable salad (big enough for a meal), then grilled chicken skewers for me and pork cutlets and mici for Ed, then chocolate cake for dessert. We toast to our new friendships and to Cristina who was such a wonderful guide, and to our shared experiences. We are each given lacquered eggs from Voronet as a souvenir of our trip together, and bid each other a bittersweet goodbye as we finish out an excellent trip.
We were not sure what to expect from this organized tour, because of course we were absolutely spoiled by our India trip – group size (only 18) and guide (Bhanu will always come first in our hearts!!) – but this trip couldn’t have been better!
Successfully navigating our way through the throngs of people filling the Old Town, we retire to our steel beamed room ready to begin our new adventures on our own in the morning.
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