Peles Castle

Friday
This morning we left Bucharest and set off for our tour round Transylvania, land of mountains, castles, fortresses and fortified churches. Our first stop was the magnificent Peles castle, and the adjacent Pelisor castle near Sinaia. Unfortunately, the sunshine we had enjoyed the last two days had given way to low cloud, so we could barely make out the outline of the mountains which provide such a beautiful backdrop to Peles Castle. Commissioned by King Carol I in 1873 and completed in 1883, the castle served as the summer residence of the royal family until 1947. Its 160 rooms are adorned with the finest examples of European art, wonderful wood carving, Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows and Cordoba leather-covered walls. I have been kicking myself ever since, as there was a fee for photography, and I decided not to bother - big mistake!
King Ferdinand, who succeeded Carol I, commissioned the smaller, art nouveau-style Pelisor Castle nearby. Pelisor's 70 rooms feature a unique collection of turn-of-the century Viennese furniture and Tiffany and Lalique glassware, but seemed very low-key after Peles. After the castles, we visited beautiful Sinaia monastery, with its two churches, the old and the larger "new" building. After some lunch in town, we continued our journey to our base for the first three nights, in a village outside Brasov. It was in a lovely location on top of a hill affording a beautiful view over the village and the valley. It was mid afternoon by this time, and whilst Roger and the girls went into Brasov to look around, I stayed behind for a rest, since I hadn't been feeling great, and I just felt exhausted. Roger came back in the early evening to pick me up so we could all go out to dinner.
I have included some extras of Sinaia monastery.