Romania

Peles Castle

I loved Romania!  I traveled to Bucharest on my own and spent my entire trip as a single female traveling around Romania and not able to speak anything except the essentials (which all travelers should acquaint themselves with before traveling in any new country) and I never felt lost or afraid.

The Essentials:

Please: Varog
Thank you: Mull-Too-Mesk
Excuse me: Scuz-At-Zima
Sorry: Um-Me-Parrie-Rew
Yes: Da
No: Nu
Where is the bathroom: Un-De Este Toiletta

I had just wrapped up an action packed week at the Cannes Film Festival and wanted to experience some of Europe that I never had before.  Eastern Europe has been on my list for a while.  I worked with quite a few Eastern Europeans on ships and had heard fabulous stories about the countryside and decided that I should see some of Romania.  I mainly stayed in Bucharest and went on day trips to Transylvania, but now I wish I had made Transylvania the main place I had stayed.  The Carpathian Mountains are gorgeous and the countryside looks like something out of a medieval fairytale.  There were gypsy houses, horse drawn carts and castles.

The Black Church in the town of Brasov

I visited beautiful medieval churches and monasteries.  One of the churches had a mural on the roof of Jesus and God.  I don't know that I've ever seen God depicted like that before, it was really neat to see.

Peles (sounds like Pelish) Castle was the most ornate castle I've ever seen in my life.  The amount of detail in the various carvings and artwork was breathtaking.  My favorite castle though was Bran Castle which is called Dracula's castle, though it wasn't a residence of Vlad the Impaler, but rather the castle that Bram Stoker based his description on in the book.  Vlad Tempes also had a totally different feel in Romania.  He is seen as something of a folk hero.  He protected his people and kept them safe and today they are still grateful for it.

Bran Castle Courtyard

A bedroom in Bran Castle

Bran Castle as seen from the village below