I opened my eyes around 9pm. First thing to do was checking the weather. The sky was still clouded. So I got back in bed hoping that this would change. After a couple of hours I could see blue openings in the sky. We jumped out of bed in order to visit Sinaia’s sightseeing. Walking along the central street we stopped to buy "kurtos" (10Ron each) that is a traditional tasty pastry in form of roll. While we were waiting for it to be baked we attended the hole procedure of its preparation... very interesting! Further down the road we took 3 capuccinos (to 1Ron each) and enjoyed our royal breakfast! The temperature was low enough to make us believe we were in winter... The jacket was essential! 15 minutes of walking to the palaces of Peles and Pelisor was more than enough to warm us up. Close to the palaces, street vendors were selling handmade and other local products, while I was starting guiding Ploumisti and Vaggelis to the sightseeing since I have been here so many times.
The tickets to visit the internal of Peles and Pelisor cost 12Ron and 9Ron respectively. I thing that our guided tour in English of the internal of Peles was rather poor in comparison to the detailed tour I used to have in Romanian over the past years…
Apart all the wealth, the architecture and decoration, this palace was supplied with electric power from the late nineteen century! The nearby river was producing electricity and the palace had even vacuum cleaners! Pelisor is not that glorious and rich as Peles but it is worthy to visit. Early in the afternoon we left for a short visit to Bran’s and Rasnov’s castles, 30-40 km far from Sinaia.
We passed trough the resorts of Busteni and Azuga and just before arriving to Predeal it started raining for good. We stopped in order to wear our raincoats and we followed the signs for Rasnov . Unfortunately the rain didn’t let us enjoy this ride, that passes through the park Bucegi but fortunately it stopped suddenly arriving in Bran. Tourist interests claim the castle to be home for Vlad Tepes (the Dracula) but that is not true. In fact Romania has so many castles, from its historical past, that after Bram Stock’s novel about Dracula each of them contest acknowledgement. Anyway, it is one of the best preserved castles in Romania and a Hollywood movie was filmed here. Ticket costs 10Ron per person.
Next stop Rasnov, 10km distance from Bran. In order visit the castle, we left our motorcycles in the central square and we followed the path beginning from the centre of the village. Walking for 15-20 minutes in a narrow and acclivitous path we reached the walls. That was very tiring, taking under consideration our motorcycling dressing and waterproofs. Then the sun came out! What a panoramic view! You could see the plateau, the village, the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains …everything! It was very relaxing wandering along the small stone houses. If you visit the museum (the ticket costs10Ron) you can get information about the history of Rasnov but also see some old objects related to life in the castle from centuries back, as arms, agricultural and veterinary surgeon tools and traditional costumes. Next to the museum is a well of 124 metres depth that was manufactured by 2 captive Turks. They were promised freedom after the completion but it took them 17 years! Apart the museum there is a restaurant and a guest house.
Around 8mm we left for Sinaia following the same way 7A. This time we enjoyed the ride since it was not raining. The landscape was so beautiful! Back to Sinaia we moseyed round to the Tavern Sirburului at the limits of the village, nearly in the dense forest. This is one of Bregovic’s beloved restaurants. There were many pictures of his at the reception. The food was tasty and the decoration was beautiful. Leaving the place a big surprise was waiting for us. A big bear was reaching the road where a possum sheriff was standing. We were filled with awe!
