We got up early as we wanted to get to the rental car company for when it opened at 9am. I had to take out Fiona's stitches this morning which was much harder than I thought as the skin had grown over a bit and it was still tender...it was also my daughters face which I didn't want to maim.
We took two cabs they are so cheap here and got to the beautiful JW Marriott hotel where the car rental place was located.
Unfortunately our car rental reservation had been for the day before. We had toyed with picking up the day before so we can get an early start, but should have double checked what we had decided to do in the end. It was touch and go there for awhile trying to sort out whether or not they had another two cars for us or not. They had been very busy the day before and were short of cars. The girl took a very long time determining what the end result would be, but in the end they pulled a Passat from the airport which took an hour to bring in and we got a Ford Focus. We figured we might be able to get a head start but alas no, the entire process took 2 hours and so we got on the road around 11am. This meant that our day was really compressed and we had a lot to fit in. We had to make some choices and arrange our visits strategically. We had originally intended to go see Bran Castle today, but it would seem that this would need to be pushed until tomorrow.
Our first stop was Snagov Monastery, the disputed final resting place of Vladimir Dracul the Impaler. Tucked away about 10 km from the main road and near the town of Sinaia you park your car at the end of a residential road and there is a bridge (no parking) that you can walk over to visit the Monastery. We crossed over the pedestrian lake out over a beautiful lake and arrived at a picturesque a lovely lakeyou take a bridge over the lake to a beautiful little chapel surrounded by gorgous gardens. The gardens had ponies and a large coloured pasanka and it almost seemed like it was a bit of a fairytale. Unfortunately every fairytale has a wicked witch, and this one was no different. Actualy...I'm being overly harsh, but the gate keeper of the Monastery was a bit of a tyrant and kept asking us "pay or no pay", "pay or no pay" over and over and over in this mean voice. She wouldn't even let us look at the gardens. She just kept asking us over and over. This was before we'd even really arrived and had gotten our bearings and to be honestly it was very off putting. In the end we decided "no pay". We'd been and seen the spot and that was good enough...besides it was just about to start raining. As we were turning to leave, the skies opened up and starting dumping on us. We ran back over the bridge and climbed back into the car and got back on the road heading north.
The next stop was Carrefour for groceries before stopping at Peles Castle. We had a quick bite on the hood before climbing up to this whimsical castle which was an absolute delight. A bit of a hike up, but well worth it. With the admission was a mandatory 40mins tour and everyone had to wear blue booties which was pretty comical. The tour was run by a very serious Romanian young man who kept pausing for effect and trying to make jokes in his monotonous voice. That part was a bit brutal, but I'm glad we stopped regardless. It was the most cutting edge castle of its time with central heating and electricity. They have done an amazing job of staging it and restoring it. The art and decor were truly beautiful with influences from around the world.
Next stop was Brasov. The girls all fell asleep on the way to Brasov and it was starting to get pretty late, so this was a quick stop. We did a tour of the main square, stopped for a quick drink at an outdoor restaurant and then we were off again. Brasov was lovely, all of the cities have been very nice so far. Each of them have an old town that is lively and colourful.
The place we were staying was near Bran Castle, so we got a glimpse of the famous Dracula Castle on our way there. We are eagerly looking forward to our stop there tomorrow morning.
We wind our way off the main highway into a very rural area for our overnight. We took a bit of a gamble on this stay as they had not had any reviews on Airbnb yet. It looked charming on the listing and as we wound our way into a beautiful and lush mountain area, we grew excited about what was in store.
We would not be disappointed, the place was tucked in a lush valley, the place was owned by locals who owned a farm up on the hill. They had a lovely playground up on the mountain that we could barely pry the kids out of. It was so cool up here, we actually put on long pants and jackets. The air was fresh and the view was absolutely stunning. It was a lovely place. We went to our one of two options for dinner and that too was a win. We ate an amazing feast of stews and salads and chicken and stroganoff and bread and wine and beer! We ate and ate and drank and drank and laughed. Such a great night. The bill was like $120...amazing! It was a perfect end to a long day and we all slept well.
The place we were staying was near Bran Castle, so we got a glimpse of the famous Dracula Castle on our way there. We are eagerly looking forward to our stop there tomorrow morning.
We wind our way off the main highway into a very rural area for our overnight. We took a bit of a gamble on this stay as they had not had any reviews on Airbnb yet. It looked charming on the listing and as we wound our way into a beautiful and lush mountain area, we grew excited about what was in store.
We would not be disappointed, the place was tucked in a lush valley, the place was owned by locals who owned a farm up on the hill. They had a lovely playground up on the mountain that we could barely pry the kids out of. It was so cool up here, we actually put on long pants and jackets. The air was fresh and the view was absolutely stunning. It was a lovely place. We went to our one of two options for dinner and that too was a win. We ate an amazing feast of stews and salads and chicken and stroganoff and bread and wine and beer! We ate and ate and drank and drank and laughed. Such a great night. The bill was like $120...amazing! It was a perfect end to a long day and we all slept well.
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