Fashion, book, movie and music addicts!

Admittedly Romania may not be the most obvious destination for a holiday. A family event however gave us the perfect opportunity to discover this country. Our first impression of Bucharest, which was subsequently borne out, is that it is a city in full swing reconstruction. Numerous buildings are currently covered in scaffolding and the dust of their on going work is everywhere. A determined air hangs about the city; as if everyone is anxious to shake off the dust of the communism away from their boots permanently and present a more modern face. Easily the most striking (and perhaps definitive site) sight in the city is the palace of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu or the Palatul Parliamentului. It is quite simply enormous. It stands over 12 stories high with over 1000 halls and rooms. It was built over Bucharest’s old quarter and over 26 churches and 7000 homes were destroyed to make way for the civic center, where the Palace was later on constructed. That said, it is only possible to visit the interiors during the authorized guided visit, which only takes place once a day.

While the palace may be the most impressive in terms of size, easily the most beautiful building is the Athenaeum. It is with right that it is considered as the jewel of Romanian architecture. And it miraculously survived the war unscathed. It was designed by Albert Galleron in the neo-classical style and its graceful lines remain remarkable even by today’s standards. It is now the home of the Romanian Cultural society and as such has hosted a number of concerts over the years. It is a lovely building and one that was the subject of several of our photos of the day.

If Bucharest is in a hurry to reveal a new face to the global stage, the countryside is taking things a bit more leisurely. A drive to the highway toward the Carpathian region immediately reveals the difference. It was not uncommon during our drive to share the highway with horse carts driven by Romanian men folk astride with not a care in the world that cars were whizzing by in great speeds. In one memorable occasion we were obliged to trudge behind a slow moving donkey with his load of wood. An experience to be sure. That said, I have to acknowledge that the Carpathian region is beautifully vibrant with the mountainside all covered in hearty pine. Even to my city accustomed lungs, the air seemed fresher. Hard to believe all this pretty countryside was in fact smack in the middle of Vlad country. Yes, we were within striking distance of the notorious castle of Dracula. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t completely escape the mania for construction and all the roads leading to the famous or infamous Castle were undergoing road works. Given the time constraints we had we were unable to visit. We had to content ourselves with visiting Peles Castle in Sinaia which it turns out was the royal summer home. It turned out to be a surprisingly rich visit and we were privileged to visits several lavishly decorated royal apartments laden with intricate wood work and rich Ottoman carpets.
It wasn't Vlad's castle but it was certainly well worth visit.