Romania – Exploring Peles Castle and Brasov

We crossed into Romania overnight and are now officially in Transylvania!!!!  Such an evocative name, right?  The literal translation of it means “beyond the forest” and it refers to a very specific region in Romania.  As you can imagine, it has a VERY rich history, being conquered and conquered again by many different tribes and factions over the years.  You can read more about it here -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania  but clearly the main reason everyone is familiar with the region is because of a certain blood thirsty vampire (invented by an Irishman who’d never been to Romania, btw!).  We were going to be visiting Bran Castle later in the day and I will dedicate a separate blog post to just that as its one of the definite highlights of our entire trip!

Our first stop of the day was to visit the stunning Peles castle, a neo-Renaissance palace built between 1873-1914 in the Sinaia region of the Carpathian mountains.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele%C8%99_Castle  We had passed through beautiful forested landscapes on our way to Sinaia on the train, enjoying the mix of mountainous terrain and lush agricultural regions.  According to Wikipedia, approximately a quarter of the Romanian working population are engaged in some type of farming – one of the highest rates in Europe.  Our guides talked a lot about the various political and sociologic changes that have happened in Romania over the last 40 years, in addition to all the historical information about who invaded who, when, why and how.  There was a lot to digest – and I’m mildly embarrassed to admit I don’t remember many of the details (there was just too much!).  I also find that my ears also kinda switch off after my brain is full and the guide gets tuned out into background noise (sorry!).

One thing I do recall, though, was how our guide talked about the various poor choices the Romanians had made during World War II in supporting Nazi Germany (“we picked the wrong side”) as well as the impact of the rule of the communist authoritarian leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu. He ruled Romania as an authoritarian dictatorship from the mid 60’s to when he was toppled (and executed) in 1989.  I distinctly remember when this happened (“Finally!” – says Mum – “Something from your childhood you DO remember!”) and the horror of discovery of all the Romanian “orphan” children, some of them shackled to rusting, peeling iron beds, housed in truly dreadful conditions (read more about it here).  In fact, a lot of these children were not orphans – but had simply been abandoned as their parents were unable to afford to raise them (contraception and abortion were illegal during this time).  Contrast this with the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the Ceausecus – particularly his wife, Elena, who was said to have owned hundreds of pairs of shoes, some with diamond encrusted heels.  Both were executed by firing squad on 25th December 1989 after a hastily arranged and conducted trial, convicted on the basis of various genocidal acts carried out during his rule.  Thus the impression I remember was one of unrelenting grimness and intense hardship suffered by the people of Romania.

However, our guide talked about him in rather more nuanced terms.  He described some of the good that he had bought upon Romania (he was initially seen as an enlightened, reforming communist leader engaging in dialogue with the West) and that his downfall was partly due to the cult of personality that had built up around him and his wife where they genuinely believed that the population of Romania loved them.  https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ceausescu-elena-1916-1989 Obviously, that errant belief came to a crushing halt with the Revolution that toppled him and his regime – but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to draw some parallels to what is going on in the world today.  It was interesting to hear a local’s perspective on an episode of history that, to me at least, had only ever been characterized as irredeemably awful.  Of course, it was just his opinion – so maybe his more forgiving take on them is not a widely-held one, particularly as modern-day Romania has still got a long way to go to lift itself out of the crushing poverty it endured during those times.   According to Wikipedia, a staggering 41% of the population still live without access to running water and 5 million (1.5m of which are children) live in poverty.  The quality of housing, particularly in the rural areas, is very low, with unsafe decaying houses and the lack of economic opportunities contribute to a high rural crime rate.  All pretty grim – and a world away from the beautiful palaces, castles and landscapes we were seeing.  But – there is hope – today, Romania is one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, so there’s that, I suppose.

Anyway, I digress.  Back to our itinerary and the incredible Peles castle.  Along with Bran Castle (our stop later this evening), the visit to this castle was one of the highlights of the trip.  It was simply breathtaking (it is said to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe)- both from the outside, perched high up in the hills above the town of Sinaia, as well as the incredible craftmanship on display inside.

The pictures don’t really do it justice (and I need to work on my videography skills) but the Baroque-inspired palace was chockful of heavy ornate wood carvings, Murano glass, exquisite fabrics and German stained glass windows.  It was also huge – over 34,000 sq ft and 170 rooms (although obvs we didn’t get to see all of them) with many of the rooms decorated according to various themes or functions (Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial or offices, libraries, armories, art galleries).  The armory was particularly impressive, featuring over 4,000 individual pieces, encompassing both Eastern and Western cultures from four centuries of history.  All in all, we spent about an hour being led through the various rooms, marveling at all the various items on display before it was time to head back to the coach and get back on the train in time for lunch.

A couple of hours later, we were pulling into Brasov train station – another important medieval town, full of Gothic architecture and historic buildings.  Our visit here was to encompass the rather misleadingly named Lutheran Black Church (completed in the 15th century) as well as an interesting tour of the Museum of Urban Civilization, showcasing various aspects of urban life in the 17th – 19th centuries.   In addition to the usual collection of rooms showing kitchens, cellars, storerooms, bedrooms and the like, there was an impressive exhibition on the top floor of the building, which featured intricately painted ostrich eggs.  These had been inspired by patterns from period costumes as well as nature-themed motifs and also those based on religious texts.   Very cool indeed.

After our visit, we had enough time to sit out in the main square and enjoy a coffee at Starbucks (yey – 2 new mugs for the collection!) before walking back through the streets to meet up with our buses for the transfer to our last – and most exciting – stop of the day – Bran Castle!!  Home of Dracula!   Eeep!!!!