Brasov - Sinaia: Peles Castle – Bucharest Evening Train Departure to Moldova, Tour Day 7, WTRD 16, August 25, 2016

 Brasov - Sinaia: Peles Castle – Bucharest Evening Train Departure to Moldova

Bran Castle also known as "Dracula Castle"

was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Walachia.

It has been enlarged and restored a few times to become a royal residence in the 1920s under Queen Mary of Romania.   Bran castle (no connection with Bram Stoker.  Bran is the name of the village) was built as a guard house with a view of the pass between Valachia and Transylvania.

The gothic style defense fortification was built by the Saxons who were brought in to defend Transylvania.  It has many secret rooms and passage ways.

Climbing up a steep, narrow, secret passage way.

Towers, corners, narrow walk ways, spiral stairs. lookouts.

Bram Stoker in 1890 described this castle in his FICTION, but Stoker's depiction of this castle in the book was between Transylvania and Moldavia because the scenery was more dramatic.  So what exactly if fact or fiction based on some semblance of fact or of folk lore?

Possible Connections with Vlad Draculea the Impaler, 1456 - connection with the castle.  

1) He may have conquered the castle when he was trying to pass from Valachia to conquer Transylvania.

2) He may have conquered and passed through to Brasov without even entering the castle.

3) When he was overthrown in 1468 he may have died in the dungeon at Bran Castle.

Connection with Vampires.  Romanians do not have vampires, but there are some folk stories that are religious.  Their is a creature, strigly (ghost or curse) that can appear after a person passes.  In the Eastern Orthodox religion the dead must be buried in the ground.  After 7 years, in a religious ceremony, the coffin is exhumed to see if the body has decomposed.  If there are bones and they are white, the body has rested in peace.  If it is still fleshy, it means the person has done something wrong and its spirits are not at rest, but roaming around haunting people.

How do you get rid of a srtigly?  In the old days, during the ceremony of exhumation, three men with no family left (if you fight evil, evil will fight back)were chosen for the exhumation.  They take the strigly body, chop of the head, and impale the heart.  The haunted persons must drink some potions.  This is still done in secret in rural areas, but is against the law now.

For those abiding the law, the ritual is mostly symbolic  Saint Andrew's Day is celebrated as the day of the dead.  At midnight, all families go to the cemetery, light candles, and priests perform a service releasing the spirits still left in all the bodies without exhumation.  Mourners light candles for good spirits, and the haunted go a different way home for the bad spirits cannot find them.  But just in case, garlic is spread all around the home's windows and doors.

Romania also has vampire bats that may have contributed to Bram Stokers fiction.

After our visit to Bran Castle we had some time to shop.  This shop caught my eye.

Can you find the doe with her fawn?  Two violins?

We also had the opportunity to  taste cheese made by a local shepherd, cheese man.

We tried a smoked cow cheese, a salty feta goat cheese, and a cheddar cheese.  The last cheese we tasted was from a crock.  It was a fermented sheep cheese.

All were tasty, but no one wanted to buy cheese and transport it in their luggage to Moldova.  Many of us do not appreciate the small of warm cheese in close quarters, and we will be sharing cabins on the train tonight.

We continued with our scenic drive to Sinaia mountain resort. Named after St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai, Sinaia became the unofficial capital of the Kingdom of Romania towards the end of the 19th century.  The resort area is nestled in a valley with tall imposing mountains, 2000 meters high. People come here year round to ski, to play, to relax, and to visit the castle.  There is a large Casino building, with its architecture inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. 

Before our last tour of the castle Peles, we all sat down together in a restaurant for our last meal together.  We raised our glasses and thanked our guide and driver for a wonderful tour, memorable and safe experience.  We lunched together quickly so that we would not miss the last English tour of the day at the castle.




 A tisket, a taste, George shared his berry basket.

Our group took a guided tour of the Peles Castle and Gardens in Sinaia, the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and known as one of the most beautiful summer royal residences in Europe.

The castle is Bavarian style surrounded with English gardens.  I thought the castle looked like a Tudor with the dark would and white washed walls with stucco.  The Castle is considered the most beautiful castles in Europe and the highlight of Romania.  

The interior of the castle is magnificent; the most outstanding feature is the dark wood, ornate, and beautifully carved.

Unlike the palaces of Russia and France, this castle does not glitter from every angle nor is everything crusted in gold.  It is turn of the century modern with elevators, electricity, and central vacuum system.  The Castle is considered the most beautiful castles in Europe and the highlight of Romania.

Taking our last photos of the castle,

our group headed back to Bucharest through many miles of grass land and sunflowers.

We met up with two more of our Friendship Force group members at the train station.

Our Sleeper Cabin

Our train left promptly at 7:15  We turned in early (10:00) as we knew the night would not be peaceful.  We have had a wonderful time here in Romania, and are happy we returned.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's our last day in Romania.