2013-10-01 & 02-Bucharest & Transylvania, Romania (Days...

2013-10-01 & 02-Bucharest & Transylvania, Romania (Days 1 & 2)

By ThomasCarroll235
Nov 14, 2013
95 Photos

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ThomasCarroll235

2013-10-01 & 02-Bucharest & Transylvania, Romania (Days 1 & 2)

Nov 14, 2013
95 Photos

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Atheneum, Bucharest's Philharmonic Concert Hall

Our dinner venue for our first night in Bucharest

Laurie, Georgia and Paul heading into la Mama Restaurant

Dinner at la Mama, Bucharest

The Atheneum, Bucharest

Heading back to our hotel after dinner, Bucharest

Blue Bar, Radison Hotel, Bucharest

Radison Hotel, Bucharest. Our base in Romania's capital.

Entrance to Peles Castle, Transylvania

Entrance to Peles Castle

King Karol I of Romania

Peles Castle, near Sinaia, Romania (Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inauguration was held in 1883)

Georgia outside Peles Castle as the snow falls

Peles Castle (By form and function, Peleş is a palace, but it is consistently called a castle. Its architectural style is a romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades, which have allegorical hand-painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to that seen in northern European alpine architecture. Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics)

Grounds of Peles Castle

Georgia at Peles Castle

Detail-Peles Castle

Armor Room-Peles Castle

Vlad the Impaler-Interior, Peles Castle

Armor and Weapons Room, Peles Castle

Interior-Peles Castle (Peleş Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) floor plan with over 170 rooms, many with dedicated themes from world cultures. Themes vary by function (offices, libraries, armories, art galleries) or by style (Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial); all the rooms are extremely lavishly furnished and decorated to the slightest detail. There are 30 bathrooms)

Interior-Peles Castle-The Honor Hall (Holul de Onoare (The Honor Hall) was finished completely only in 1911, under the guidance of Karel Liman. It spreads over three floors. Walls are dressed in exquisitely carved woodwork, mostly European walnut and exotic timbers. Bas-reliefs, alabaster sculptures, and retractable stained glass panels complete the decor.)

King Carol I of Romania-Interior-Peles Castle

Queen Elisabeth (1843-1916), consort of King Carol I

Magnificent wood carving of St. George slaying a dragon, Peles Castle

The Grand Armory or Arsenal, Peles Castle (Sala Mare De Arme (The Grand Armory or The Arsenal) is where 1,600 of the 4,000 pieces of weaponry and armor reside. One of Europe's finest collection of hunting and war implements, timelined between 14th and 19th century, are on display. The king added pieces used in his victory against the Ottoman Turks during the War of Independence. Famous are the complete Maximilian armor for horse and rider and a 15th-century German "nobles only" decapitation broadsword. Also on display are a wide array of polearms (glaives, halberds, lances, hunting spears), firearms (muskets, blunderbusses, snaphaunces, flintlocks, pistols), axes, crossbows, and swords (rapiers, sabers, broadswords, and many others).Sala Mica De Arme (The Small Armory) is where predominantly Oriental (mostly Indo-Persian, Ottoman and Arab) arms and armor pieces are on exhibit, many of them made of gold and silver, and inlaid with precious stones. Included are chainmail armor, helmets, scimitars, yataghans, daggers, matchlocks, lances, pistols, shiel)

Paul and Georgia in Peles Castle

Ornate and opulant-Peles Castle interior

The Royal Romanian Coat of Arms

King Carol I, Master of Peles Castle

Interior-Peles Castle

Dining Room-Peles Castle

The Turkish Parlor, Peles Castle (Salonul Turcesc (The Turkish Parlor) emulates an Ottoman "joie de vivre" atmosphere—a room full of Turkish Izmir rugs and copperware from Anatolia and Persia. It was used as a smoking room for gentlemen. Walls are covered in hand-made textiles like silk brocades from the Siegert shops of Vienna.)

The Honor Hall, Peles Castle

Tom at Peles Castle

Queen Elisabeth was an avid seamstress

Georgia at Peles Castle

Laurie, Georgia and Paul cavorting in the Carpathians

Tom and Georgia at Peles Castle

Tower detail-Peles Castle

Panorama-Peles Castle

King Carol I of Romania

Peles Castle Grounds

Pelisor Castle (Pelişor Castle (Romanian: Castelul Pelişor) is a castle in Sinaia, Romania, part of the same complex as the larger castle of Peleş. It was built in 1899–1902 by order of King Carol I, as the residence for his nephew and heir, the future King Ferdinand (son of Carol's brother Leopold von Hohenzollern) and Ferdinand's consort Queen Marie. Pelişor was designed by the Czech architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveau style; the furniture and the interior decorations were designed mostly by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig)

Pelisor Castle detail (Bears are revered by the Romanian people and are plentiful in the Carpathian Mountains. Tight restrictions have long limited bear hunting in the country.)

Detail-Pelisor Castle

Snow in the Carpathians in early October!

Only splashes of autumn color as the snow falls in Transylvania

Orthodox Spires in the Transylvanian coutryside

An army of conifers blanketed in white on October 2

A small Transylvanian farmstead

Transylvanian countryside-An old storehouse.

Catholic Church-Brazov, Romania

Orthodox Church, Brazov, Romania

Brazov (Brasov is situated in the central part of the the country being considered the second most important town in Romania. Located 160 km from Bucharest, Romania's capital, Brasov is surrounded like a halo by the Carpathians, being in the middle of the country at the crossroads of the the Eastern Carpathian and the Southern Carpathians. Across the mountains to the South and East there are Wallachia and Moldavia, to the West the Banat region and to the North the rolling hills of Northern Transylvania)

Schei Gate, Brazov, Romania (Schei Gate (Poarta Schei) is right next to Ecaterina's gate. The structure that we can see today was built in 1827, in Baroque style, and replaced the old Schei Gate which was heavily damaged by fire. The gate looks like a triumphal arch with three openings. Above the small arches on both sides of the gate there are inscriptions in Latin.)

An elite primary/secondary school in Brasov (Andrei Șaguna National College (Romanian: Colegiul Național "Andrei Șaguna") is a Romanian state school located in Șcheii Brașovului, a neighbourhood of Brașov. The school educates children aged between 11 (grade 5) and 19 years old (grade 12). It is considered 9th best school in the country (2013) [1].)

Ecaterina Gate, Brasov, Romania (The Gates of Brasov -Originally, the old fortification of Brasov had 3 entrance gates. They were massive bastions, built to keep invaders outside the city walls . To these, two more were added. Only two of the five survive to tell the story of medieval Brasov: Ecaterina's Gate and Schei Gate. Both of them are on the south-west part of the fortress. The others, mainly located on the northern side of the walls were demolished in the 19th century, just like the wall itself, mainly because they came in the way of traffic.)

Detail-Ecaterina's Gate, Brasov, Romania (Ecaterina's Gate was built in 1559 for defensive purposes. It is the only original city gate to have survived from medieval times. In fact the fairy-tale looking tower is only a part of the original gate; documents talk about the existence of a wooden structure which was demolished in 1827.)

Brasov, Romania

Brasov's coat of arms (Brasov was first mentioned as "Corona" ( which means, crown, hence the coat of arms of the city which is a crown with oak roots) in 1235, when the Saxon population settled here. Later on the town was known as Brasco, Brasso, Kronstadt, Brassovia Citadel and Stalin)

Detail-Ecaterina's Gate, Brasov, Romania

Brasov Synagogue

Our Romanian Guide, a graduate student in languages.

The Black Church, Brosov, Romania (The originally-Roman Catholic structure was known as the Church of Saint Mary, replacing an older building used for the same purpose.[1] Construction on it began during the late 14th century, at an unknown date — analysis of related evidence has led several researchers to conclude that work began between 1383 and 1385,[2] employing Bulgarian workers and craftsmen who proceeded to establish the Brașov Bulgarian colony in Șcheii Brașovului.)

The Black Church's Clocktower (Black Church (Biserica Neagra), the largest gothic church in Romania. Its name derives from damage caused by the Great Fire of 1689, when flames and smoke blackened its walls. The interior is impressive and well-kept and houses one of the largest organs in Eastern Europe.)

Johann Honterus brought Lutheran reform to Transylvania (Johannes Honter (Latinized as Johann Honterus; 1498 – 1549) was a Transylvanian Saxon, renaissance humanist and theologian. He is best known for his geographic and cartographic publishing activity, as well as for implementing the Lutheran reform in Transylvania.)

Trudging through Brasov

Georgia in Brasov

Town Hall Square, Brasov-The ancient town hall under renovation

Our guide expounds on Brasov's rich history (Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 on an ancient Dacian site and settled by the Saxons as one of the seven walled citadels*, Brasov exudes a distinct medieval ambiance and has been used as backdrop in many recent period films. The location of the city at the intersection of trade routes linking the Ottoman Empire and western Europe, together with certain tax exemptions, allowed Saxon merchants to obtain considerable wealth and exert a strong political influence in the region. This was reflected in the city's German name, Kronstadt, as well as in its Latin name, Corona, meaning Crown City (hence, the coat of arms of the city which is a crown with oak roots). Fortifications were erected around the city and continually expanded, with several towers maintained by different craft guilds)

Bastion Gate, Brasov

Baroque buildings, Brasov

Brasov Fortress (Strategically located on a hill overlooking the town and the plains to the north, the citadel was part of Brasov's outer fortification system. Built in wood in 1524, it was replaced with a stone structure in the 16th century, only to be abandoned in the 17th century after technological innovations made cannons stronger than the building. Today, it serves as a restaurant.)

Brasov Town Hall

Brasov Fortress

The Brasov City Crest (Dominated in its early years by German Saxons' the city's German name, Kronstadt, as well as in its Latin name, Corona, means Crown City; hence, the coat of arms of the city which is a crown with oak roots.)

Buildings facing Town Hall Square, Brasov

Brasov Beerhall

View from our hotel outside of Brasov

Our dinner destination in Brasov

Georgia-ready to chow down on Romanian delicacies

Paul-A wild and crazy guy

Dinner at Sergiana's

Silva Dark, an excellent local brew

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