Mr M arrives and we have a drink, watched TV and discussed many things. I'm not sure what time Mr M left but most of the bottle of vodka was gone. I am pretty sure I had drunk most of it. Mr M doesn't drink much because he is always driving. I think I ended up finally going to bed at about 4:00 AM.
Needless to say when Mr M called me at 8:30 AM the next morning, it was like being smacked in the face with a sledgehammer. Mr M had to come, so I could give him the keys to the apartment. I rolled out of bed, washed my face with cold water. Rushed around the apartment to make sure I picked up everything and packed my bag. I looked at my phone and there was a text from my tour guide telling me he would be 30 mins late as there had been a heavy fall of snow throughout the night. "Ok, this works for me as I am running late too", I thought. I finally packed everything and sat and waited for the tour guide to call.
It had been fairly warm (between 5 and 8 degrees celcius) for the week gone by, it was cold this morning. Finally the tour guide called to say he had arrived. It was about 9:45 AM by this time. The tour guide knew the street name but not the number as none of us really knew the address. Mr M and I headed downstairs. Mr M and the tour guide were talking on the phone in order to be able to find where he was. We drove around the apartment complex until we found where the tour guide had parked.
Finally, we located Bogdan/Alex not far from where we originally started. The tour guides name is Bogdan, but he also uses Alex. He would later tell me that when he was living in Ireland, his friends called him Alex. Alexandru was his second name, like what we refer to as our middle name, Hence where Alex comes from. We greet, I thank Mr M for everything and I get in the black Hyundai Van with Bogdan.
We leave for Brasov and I ask him about his name. During the email trail leading up to this point, he had used both names and I wasn't sure what I should call him. Bogdan is friendly friendly and speaks English very well. We made plenty of conversation on the way to Brasov about many things. The most memorable conversation was about football and how much we both hated Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bogdan is a Steaua Bucuresti, Liverpool and Barcelona fan. We talked about Vlad Tepes and all of his achievements while he was ruler of Wallachia (Old Romania). Bogdan has alot of knowledge about Romania and Romanian history and it was awesome chatting with him and learning more.
The first stop was Peles Castle located in the town of Sinaia. As we drove into Peles Castle, I almost didn't realise it was a castle. I was expecting some old stone looking structure similar to Bran castle. I saw what looked like a big mansion on the left and I asked "Is that it?". "Yes", Bogdan responded. As we got closer, I could see the castle and it was every bit a castle. However, it was built in the early 20th century so it wasn't that old. It was home to King Frederic and Queen Elisabeth (I think, maybe it was queen Maria). The castle is brightly coloured and has modern statues around the entrance and is set against that beautiful natural romanian forest that is throughout Transylvania.
The admission was 20 lei ($6.00-$7.00) and an additional 35 lei ($10.00 - $12.00) to take photographs. I was a little annoyed at paying extra to take photos, but I am glad I did. The Interior of the castle is a mix of Italian marble and wood that works perfect together. It is immaculate. You have to put slips over your shoes before you enter in order not to ruin the expensive rugs throughout. There are something like 150 rooms in the castle. "I'd hate to have to clean it", I said to Bogdan. The castle is decorated with various beautiful antique furnishings. It has a secret doorway and my favourite room is the smoking room. It is an amazing castle. I don't want to go into too much detail as this story would take forever to read. I remarked to Bogdan that I could definitely see myself living in this castle. Below are some random photos of the interior rooms. Bogdan really knew the castle and it's history very well and I would only ruin the stories if I tried to remember all the facts about this castle.
After about an hour strolling the different hallways and rooms at Peles Castle, we headed back to the car and it was onto Bran Castle. I know I have been there before, but I really wanted to see the inside. I have already described the history and setting of this castle in a previous story so I will not repeat it here. As it turns out, Vlad Tepes never actually resided in this castle. He had stayed here one night when passing through, but it was not his castle. Sorry to ruin the myth for you, Vlad actually resided in another castle, I can't recall the name, but this did became the castle associated with Dracula. Bran Castle was actually home to one of the queens (Elisabeth or Maria). Anyway, obviously this castle is a few hundred years older than Peles Castle and as such is not as luxurious inside or in such good condition. The interior is mostly stone and concrete with wooden fixtures.
As we arrived at Bran Castle I was really starting to feel the cold. The snow was falling and my hands were shaking so much. I wore gloves when I could but it was hard to take photos with the gloves on. Entry to Bran Castle was 20 lei ($6.00-$7.00 AUD) and photography was included.
There was another section that we could of gone into which I think lead up to the tower, but it cost extra and I was cold so I just wanted to move on.
After traversing the halls and narrow winding staircases (what castle would be complete without a secret stairwell or passage of some kind) of Bran Castle it was off to visit Rasnov Fortress in the town of Rasnov. Rasnov Fortress sits way up on top of the mountain and is the second biggest peasant fortress in Europe. The term peasant fortress means during times of attack, the nearby villagers would come here and fortify themselves within the walls. It wasn't built for waging battle, it's sole purpose was to defend the villagers and continue life as normal while invading armies tried to conquer them. The fortress was only conquered once in it's history by a man named Gabriel Bathory.
We arrived at Rasnov Fortress at about 4:00 PM and apparently as it wasn't so busy and the fortress closes at 5:00 PM, the staff decided they would not bother running the shuttle tractor from the carpark up to the entrance of Rasnov Fortress. Bogdan and I had to walk about 10 mins up a steep inclining road covered wit ice and snow. It was worth the walk. Admission was 15 lei [(if I remember correctly) about $5.00 AUD).
The fortress is mostly stone ruins and maybe it would be better viewed in a warmer season when there is not so much snow covering everything, but it was still amazing. At the highest point of the fortress there was once a chapel, but now it is a platform that allows you to see for miles. The view is spectacular and all I could say is WOW!!!. It was very foggy so the pictures probably don't tell the whole story, but the view is breathtaking. If I am here in a warmer month I will definitely visit here again just to appreciate the view in all it's glory.
After Rasnov Fortress, Bogdan drove me back to Brasov. We stopped at Gara Brasov (Brasov Station) and arranged the train ticket to Budapest. It cost 350 lei ($100.00- $120.00 AUD) for a seat and a sleeper carriage. The journey is 13 hours and the train leaves at 8:15 PM, so I didn't want to sleep in a seat. It's a 2 bed sleeper, so hopefully I avoid somebody too weird.
After we got the ticket Bogdan dropped me at 'Casa Timar'. It's what is called a 'Pension' in Romania, but we know it better as a Bed and Breakfast. Bogdan had reserved me a room here for the required time I would need to see all the things I wanted to see. The owner is very friendly and speaks great English. He is more than happy to help with any enquiries or requests I have. I have my own private bathroom too. The bed is a double, but is actually 2 single beds joined together, but this isn't really a big deal. It will cost around 30 Euro a night which is awesome.
Not long after we entered Rasnov, my camera stopped working and I had to finish off the photo's with my phone. The error was saying that the memory card could not be read. After I checked into the Pension, I plugged in my camera to upload all the photo's I had taken. It kept freezing during the upload and after restarting a few times, I realised that there was probably a bigger problem. I unplugged the camera and checked to see if the pictures were on the computer, they all appeared to be there. I tested the camera a few times and got the same error message. I took the memory card out and tried it in the card reader I have and it gave me a message saying that there was a directory error and the card could not be read.
I took over 200 photos that day and luckily I was able to take them off the card. I don't know what happened, but I'm assuming it was because the card was made by Dick Smith. If you're Australian, you'll know to whom I am referring.
I decided to take a walk into Brasov to look for some food. It was dark and freezing cold. I wasn't entirely sure where I was going and followed the instructions of Tibi (the owner of Casa Timar). The city of Brasov is only a 10 minute walk. I found my way to the city after making a wrong turn. The deeper I ventured into the city centre, the more I feared I would lose my bearings and not be able to find my way back. I turned around and tried to remember the landmarks I took note of on my walk in, to try and find my way back. I was texting Miss C and I think she got a little worried when I said I was lost. Eventually I found the main road and followed it back to the Pension.
Anyway, it was a great day seeing many amazing sites. Bogdan was a fantastic guide and I saw so many awesome things. On Saturday we will visit Transfagarasan. I can't wait.
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