Romania - first impressions

I arrived in Bucharest on Friday, grabbed a rental car, turned right out of the parking lot and were on the E60 direction Brasov, where we would stop in Sinaia, a small town about 120 kilometers from Bucharest.

Sinaia got its name from a Romanian nobleman who went to Mount Sinai in 1695, came back and founded a monastery. It was also the home of Romania's first king, King Carol I, who built a jaw-dropping magnificent castle there in 1875. It is about 3,000 feet up in altitude in the Carpathian Mountains, the gateway to Transylvania. I checked out handy dandy guidebooks and booked a hotel en route, The Economat, a beautiful hotel that is at the foot of the Peles Castle.

The beauty of the terrain took my breathe away, the closer I got to my mountain destination. The mountains begin gently as you approach, with lush green forests and end dramatically, craggy and haunting. It is Rustic (with a capital R), the freeway is a dangerous affair and one to maneuver slowly and with great caution as there are people on foot, children on foot, bicycles and people riding a horse and cart, people selling things along the side of the freeway....

The hotel was drop dead gorgeous.

Kinda creepy, vast and empty inside.

Big white halls with cheap communist era carpet.

The room was large and the lead paned windows gave off to a huge forest. Even when closed, you can hear the roar of the river below. Stunning. 

There are many wild bears, wolfs and packs of wild dogs. Signs warn of bears.

The room felt very communist era. The mattress was two inches thick at best.

The bathroom! Ha ha! Rustic for days!! Love the plastic pipe that connects the toilet with the water supply.

Love the shower.

I have to say that I haven't slept as well for months as I slept in that room. I left the window open all night for the sound of the river. I smelled the fresh mountain air. The silence of the forest. The sky full of stars.

I had dinner in the restaurant downstairs. It felt as though I had gone back in time. Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree played on their radio along with other similar songs. You order a tomato, you get a tomato, ploomp, slapped unceremoniously on a plain white plate with no garnish. Its up to you to cut it and sprinkle a little salt on it: Yum! The service was terse. You get the feeling that the Communist Era crushed these people and their country and they are slowly wakening and suspiciously coming out of a dark, dark moment in their history.

Voila! More soon, rather tricky getting internet access most times.

Gros Transylvanian bisous!!

Love, Charley