I went to Romania this past weekend with my lovely friend, Ellen, her roommate, Kristin, and our friend Byeong-Hun. Romania has been my dream for years. As some of you may recall, I initially applied for a Fulbright in Romania. When they called and asked me to switch to Bulgaria, I was completely fine with the change, but I still wanted to make it to Romania while I was here. And I have. And it was more than I had ever hoped for.
Breakfast in Bucharest
I took a bus to Sofia Thursday evening, and then we all boarded the bus to Bucharest at midnight. At 7:30am, the bus driver pulled over on the side of a random road in Bucharest and told us that this was the last stop for Bucharest and everyone had to get out. Needless to say, we were extremely unprepared for this outcome since we had expected to arrive at an actual bus station. Luckily, an English-speaking Moldovian boy around our age befriended us and helped us navigate the city a bit. With his help, we managed to make our way to Gara de Nord, the train station. From there, we caught a train to Brasov and then a bus to Bran, where we visited Bran Castle.
Our first view of Bran Castle as we got off the bus. I made it!
More than a little excited to see the castle...
Bran Castle is the castle on which Bram Stoker is said to have based Castle Dracula even though Stoker never saw Bran Castle, and it is possible that he did not really know anything about Bran Castle. While Bran Castle was not the primary home of Vlad Tepes (the man that the Dracula legend is based on), there is evidence that he used the fortress during his raids into Transylvania. Contrary to legend, Dracula (Vlad Tepes) is not from Transylvania. Vlad Tepes lived in and was the prince of Wallachia, but he frequently made forays into Transylvania. The castle is now set up primarily to display the furniture of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie of Romania, the rulers during the start of the 20th century, but you can also see some of the older pieces of furniture and remnants of its previous owners.
Awesome view of the castle on its cliff. You can tell it was a fortress.
One of the rooms inside the castle. Check out the bear!
After our amazing day at Bran Castle, we returned to Brasov to spend the night at the Rolling Stone Hostel. It is by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in. We had two private double rooms for the night, and the owner of the hostel, Diana, helped arrange a driver for us for the next day. The driver took us to Sinaia to see Peles Castle, and then he returned us to Bucharest in order to take the bus home to Sofia.
Peles Castle
Peles Castle was an absolutely amazing place to visit. It was built in the 1880’s as a summer home to the royal family, and each room is decorated to the theme of different countries. There is a Turkish room, a Florentine room, a French room, etc. Each is magnificently decorated with items from those countries as well as replicas made by master artists. And the best part of all is that the entire castle is covered in hand carved wood. The walls are all works of art as the wood is shaped into statues and designs. The entire castle was one of the most beautiful and intricate pieces of art that I have ever seen. Only one of us could take pictures inside (you have to pay to take photos). So, I can’t show you photos of the interior until I get a copy from Ellen. But you can see just from the outside how intricate and amazing the whole place is.
A view of the gardens
The inner courtyard with amazing wood detailing
Ellen and I at Peles Castle
After Peles Castle, we returned to Bucharest and caught the 4:00pm bus home. That’s right. We spent only 33 hours in Romania. But it was an amazing 33 hours filled with beautiful fall leaves, amazing castles, and great company. I can’t wait till our return trip in the spring!!
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