We left Bucharest (plains) for Transylvania (other side of the mountains) this morning. A normal journey from Bucharest to Brasov is about 2-2.5 hours but on Fridays and Sundays the drive can take as much as 5 hours! While we experienced quite a bit of traffic on the only 2 lane road it did not take 5 hours….thankfully!
From the indicated “other side of the mountains” noted above, you probably gathered we entered mountainous terrain. We drove into the Carpathians, a very famous set of mountains.
Here are some pics of the Carpathians:
As the landscape changed, so did the architecture, as well as general care of the buildings. Maintenance was very good, and as we neared our first stop – Peles Palace – the homes appeared more like Swiss/Bavarian architecture found in the Alps.
Here are some samples from near the palace:
Very charming! Well, charming except for the occassional run down houses which looked like something you wouldn’t approach for Halloween candy, even if it was a double-dog dare!!
Peles Palace was holy-crap, can’t believe it, crazy amazing!!!
The future king wanted a palace worthy of his new empire and he built an absolute masterpiece. The palace is set off the road so there is a bit of a walk down a tree-lined lane which afforded the opportunity for beautiful pictures as we neared the palace.
We gathered in an interior, outer courtyard before getting into the castle, which was quite impressive. Here are some shots:
The palace inside and out had beautiful details – carved posts, suits of armor, marble staircases, chandeliers with Murano glass – that words cannot justly describe.
The very first room we gathered in was jaw dropping. Lots of hand carved oak and walnut, great detail, great statues, etc.
Upon leaving this room was a hall guarded by two knights in armor:
We couldn’t actually go down this hallway, which is just as well, because it was a precursor for… …
we entered the room for Tim. Restate that…THE room for Tim. The weapons room! It was bad-ass with a capital B and a capital A! All of the weapons in the rooms were European – swords, guns, armor, even a full suit of armor for a horse and rider. It was freaking awesome!
The next room was a much, much smaller room and contained only Oriental weapons, which were all trophy weapons taken from conquered foes.
Throughout, there were beautiful stained glass windows (most every room), here are a few examples:
And of course the rooms themselves weren’t just the fantastic parts. Even the doorways and portals between rooms were ornate hand carved masterpieces. Here is a door shown as an example:
We’d note that we only toured the 1st floor as the upper floor(s) with bedrooms isn’t open to the public.
From the weapons room, the next room we entered proved that Tim must be part (or mostly) Romanian. We next entered his library. Weapons and books, what more does Tim need.
The middle book case with a white card on it, isn’t a real book case (the books aren’t real), it is a secret door, to a secret passage to the King’s bedroom. (Yep, more evidence Tim must have royal blood in him, as he MUST have been related to this king.)
And of course there was room after room after room of pure unadulterated amazing. Rather than take you through room by room, here’s a synapsis / snapshot peek at a little bit of amazing:
Yes, this table could seat 40 of your closest friends.
And of course a private theatre.
Our departure from Peles was delayed. When the guide says “we leave at 12:30”, we really should leave at 12:30 leaving behind inconsiderate people who don’t value anyone’s time but their own! But we were delayed about an hour looking for 2 ladies.
We headed further into the Carpathian Mountains as we had a lunch date at another palace (nowhere near the impressiveness).
The lawn of the property was covered / littered in art. And while it was classified as art, it was…. uhhh… eccentric would be the polite word? Here are but two of the pieces of art to give you a taste on what we mean by eccentricity:
Everyone should have a half hot dog stuck to the back of a lego in their yard.
And of course everyone should have a weird red arm and hand hanging in their yard too.
After our lunch stop we continued the drive to Brasov, our stop for the night.
We had the opportunity to hang out in the old town area of the town but opted out since the town was gearing up for a music festival. It looked like quite the mad house!
