SINAIA AND THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS

SINAIA AND THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS

We left the hotel at 7:45 this morning en route to the town of Sinaia, the home of Peles Castle, summer home of the Romanian Kings. The drive took 2.5 hours enough time for me to enjoy a nap. As both the king and queen were of Germanic origin - the Hohenzollerns - the castle was built and decorated in the Germanic style. This meant lots of heavy dark carved wood in every room. I found it dark and dreary, Norma found it warm and cozy. The town was the preferred summer resort of many noble and rich families as the king and queen vacationed here. Now it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Romania. It is a credit to the organization of the tour guides, how many thousands of people made their way through the palace. We also noticed the conspicuous lack of the ubiquitous graffiti in the town that is found everywhere else. The Carpathian Mountains are more like the Gatineau Hills at home but much more settled. The temperature was a comfortable 25C as opposed to 32C here in Bucharest so you can see why this destination was and is so popular.

We had lunch at a very nice hotel and while others are shopping, we are enjoying the quiet and I'm updating the blog. This will mean more time to relax in our room before ordering room service for dinner tonight. We hope to get some shuteye as we have to be up at 2:30 am for our first flight to home.

Now back at the hotel with super fast internet, I am updating everything before I shower and order room service.

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