From Bucharest, we headed north to the resort town of Sinaia, Romania. The train ride was about an hour and a half and slow because there was a lot of construction on the rail line. We arrived early and left our bags at the train station lock up so we could wander around. The houses in the town were beautiful and the designs had a lot of dark wood trim with white walls. The town was named after the famous monastery that is there. It's a popular tourist destination for winter skiers.
The highlight of Sinaia is the Peleș Castle. Pictured below, it is a stunning place to visit and is probably one of the best castles in Romania. It was built over a forty year period starting in 1873 by King Carol of Romania for his summer residence. He hired the German architect Johannes Schultz to design the place. Even though we were in Romania, it felt like the castle belonged to Germany. King Carol also was originally German.
The outside is painted with village type paintings and there are sculptures everywhere. The bold lion is a typical symbol of royalty and two of them greet you as you walk up the steps. The courtyard has lots of paintings and is where you purchase your tickets. We were lucky to have student ID's with us so our tickets together cost half of what one normal adult ticket costs. We paid to see all three levels because the discount was so good. After you buy your ticket, you then have to wait for a tour guide to come and collect you at the front door.
The main entrance to the castle is amazing. The ceilings and walls are hand carved wood and the four statues represent the four seasons. Estimates put the cost of the castle in modern money at around $120 million. It's easy to see as you walk through and see all of the painstaking detail put into every room of the castle. Our tour was guided as every tour is and we had to wear little booties over our shoes to prevent floor scuffing.
Every room has a different design that is spectacular. All of the ceilings were carved from walnut, oak, pine, and various other woods. Above is the main area at the center of the house. It leads to the room below which is full of weapons from all over Romania, Europe, and even Asia.
Look at the design in the wood.
Here is where the royals ate. Not a bad way to impress your visitors.
The furniture in this room came from India and was carved for a long time out of teak wood.
This is the room where royal guests stayed. The design on the ceiling matches the design on the carpet. They were specially designed and made in Vienna.
The queen painted here in her studio that looks like a viking ship upside down.
Here are the gardens out front. Incredible view of the mountains. During the rule of the communists, the castle was kind of left alone because the dictator didn't like it. It almost fell into disrepair but after the revolution, the government took efforts to restore and maintain the castles.
Next to Peleș Castle is Pelișor Castle. It was commissioned by King Carol I as a residence for his nephew Ferdinand. Ferdinand was selected as the heir to the throne after the King's only child died. Apparently, he didn't want the heir to just have to live in the castle. It was built from 1899-1903. The inside tour isn't guided like the other one although they do have guides. Again, our student ID's saved us a bunch of money and we were able to walk around the house freely. The rooms were nice but not as extravagant as Peles Castle. We don't have any pictures of the inside because the Romanians have a silly thing about charging a fee to take pictures in museums. We paid the fee in Peles Castle but not Pelisor.
Here is a picture of the monastery that the town is named after. We didn't stop to take a look because we had a train to catch. We went on to Brasov, another hour north of Sinaia.
Once in Brasov, we checked into our hostel and went to have some dinner at a local restaurant that came highly recommended. The food was amazing and even cheaper than the place in Bucharest. The next day, we had a planned trip to the Bran Castle, which many people call Dracula's Castle.
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