Brasov And Peles Castle

 

While the tour itinerary said a tour of the old town of Brasov, my mind said small, quaint, quiet little hamlet. It was not. Yes, there was an old town but it was not quite as distinguished as such unless the limited time our drill sergeant tour guide gave for a walk around and lunch kept us from seeing it much. 

There were a few buildings that looked distinguished and old but it was a bustling main street with lots of traffic. Once our long walk from the bus and the wait at the light to cross to the main square was done, we found ourselves in front of a non-working fountain and on the fringe of a market square. 

Booths were set up in three rows and lots of homemade crafts and delicacies were available for purchase. We opted out of the guided tour or should I say race--the guide did walk at a good pace, and found a restaurant indoors out of the chilly breeze. Bob ordered his favorite, bean soup, and I got a beef soup that was perfect with lots of veggies. Once done, we wandered the market area a bit and then headed for the bus. Being late was not an option.

On the road again, we wound our way on hairpin turns and back to the other side of the mountain from the Bran Castle, arriving about 3:30 which was a half hour before the guide thought it would close. Luckily this day it was staying open until 5 so our fellow travelers didn't have to rush. 

Peles is very impressive from the outside. It has lots of "gingerbread". Up close, you could see a lot that needed restoration and they were working toward that. After another long walk from the bus, downhill, noting that what goes down must go back up, we arrived at an arch with a clock above it. It led into the grounds of the castle and through a cafe that was serving coffee and pastries among other things. The seating overlooked the grounds and a pond that was mostly grown in with rushes.

A little farther walk brought us in front of the entrance and we separated from those going inside. There was quite a bit outside to see. Several courtyards with statuary and stepped terraces of what looked like a pinkish marble.

The castle was commissioned by King Carol in 1873 and completed ten years later. It served as the summer residence of Romania's royal family until 1947. It has 160 rooms, each decorated in a different theme and having Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained glass windows, Cordoba leather covered walls and much more. While our fellow travelers enjoyed all that, Bob and I went to the cafe for coffee and a sumptuous chocolate eclair.

We resigned ourselves to the fact that dinner would be way later than we were comfortable with. The bus was due to leave Peles at five and it would be two hours to Bucharest. The good news was that the rush hour traffic should be lessoned by then. It was, but when we arrived and finally walked to our hotel, we found that the Uniworld group was having an informational meeting. With a shrug, we went in.

Thankfully the meeting didn't last long and we were finally able to go to get some dinner. At eight o'clock, the only thing that sounded good was a Subway sandwich. We shared a footlong and a bag of chips and hoped it wouldn't keep us awake all night. 

It had been a long twelve hour day, longer if you count having a late dinner, and we dropped exhausted into bed knowing that another Palace was on the horizon for our first tour with Uniworld.Cruises. the next day. So begins our river cruise itinerary.