ROMANIAN TRIP 2024 – DAY ONE

7.30 am – I slept well and woke up around 4.30 am. I kept snoozing and by 6 am I just had to get up. I enjoyed a soak in the bath and then caught up with my journal. We all met for breakfast and indulged in cake, cheese, salami and fresh omelettes.

8.10 am – We have a bigger bus today that can seat 26 people so it was rather comfy. The journey to Peles Castle takes approximately two hours, but the scenery is worth it.

Our guide, Marius, shares many entertaining stories en route through the city. He has a funny sense of humour and explained that Michael Jackson was once booed off stage in Romania as he announced: “hello Budapest, rather than Bucharest”. He never returned but there is a statue of Michael Jackson in the village museum which makes no sense!

10.04 am – A quick coffee stop at a service station. I asked the lady for a hot chocolate and she replied “black or white?”. That was a tad confusing. They have white hot chocolate here!

11.00 the scenery is now changing and we are driving through beautiful snow-capped mountains.

10.50 am – Castle time! We stop in the mountain town of Sinaia to admire the breathtaking beauty of the stunning neo-renaissance Peles Castle, the former residence of King Carol I. Our hearts sank as we made our way to the entrance of the castle and the queue went on for miles! Marius explained that it’s Green Week (school holiday), so there are kids everywhere. But… he winked at us and told us to look inconspicuous, take photos and he would call us over, one by one, and sneak us in! He was carrying a box of chocolates which I soon realised was a bribe for the gatekeeper! It worked. Emma went first, then Stephanie. It reminded me of the film “The Great Escape” except we were going in, not trying to escape!

12.10 pm – After the castle tour we stopped at the cafe for a break. I had a slice of Pizza and a glass of hot mulled wine. wow! Blew my head off!! It was a very strong wine. Time to have a snooze as we were back on the noddy bus.

2.20 pm – We arrive in Brasov. Our hotel is very old and full of quirky corridors, and lots of stairs with no lift. Poor Lou & Allie were once again on the top floor. They must have been bad in a previous life!

2.30 pm – We dumped our cases and met Marius outside who took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch. We go downstairs to a basement and through some stone tunnels to find our table. Wow! Lunch was served. We had Hungarian goulash which was quite spicy, and had small strips of dumplings inside. Some of the group had this served in a bowl of bread. Pudding was strudel, tiramisu or a cake thing with chocolate and cream and nuts, like a cake Sundae. I had the cake sundae.

 4.30 pm – We are going on a bear hunt! Let’s hope we see some big ones! Back on the noddy bus which takes us through beautiful scenery and again we have another quick pit stop before reaching the site where our walk starts.

5.50 pm – The bus pulls up and a different guide is waiting for us. His name is Alan and he is a ranger in the park. There is no one else here. Alan explains that we need to whisper from now on, walk single file, not stomp, not eat snacks as it can be very dangerous. How exciting! The walk starts and we set off into the forest. Alan then points to something on the floor. One by one, I see people stopping to take a photo. As I approach I see a massive bear paw print in the mud. This is so real now! Alan whispers to us all and points to the paw print. “This is a big bear. Please, if we see a bear DO NOT run. We need to make as much noise as possible and the bears will run away”.

The walk leads us up a stone track which takes us further into the forest. We are all completely silent as instructed. The trail goes off road and shortly we are presented with a wooden hut. It was quite exciting as we all found our seats. Almost immediately a fox crossed in front of us and even though we see foxes all the time it was still for the blood pumping.

6.00 pm – We now play the waiting game. I’m not good at sitting still for long periods and regretted not bringing a book. We wait and wait some more. Debby started a game of whispering ISpy but we soon ran out of things to spy. Meditation worked for about 45 minutes but then I needed to be distracted. Oh… what’s that? Oh, it’s Mr Fox again! I whispered to Alan, how long do we stay here before giving up? He looked at his watch and said “Another hour”.

19.40 hrs – omg, the wait was over! Two brown bears appear from the side. A mother and a young son (about 3 years old). They are fast (go up to 50 km per hour) and very nervous. Our guide had laid corn and chocolate down for them. It’s such a wonderful sight to see these two bears just playing and grazing in the wild. They have not long come out of hibernation so are not yet up to their full weight. Alan asked us all “What size/weight do you think a bear is when it’s born?”. We all guessed saying 15kg upwards. He smiled and responded 500g! (That’s less than my Jetboil weighs!). The bears run off and it’s time for us to leave the little hide. Alan went first to check that the coast was clear. He also pointed out that the bear print we saw earlier was not that of the two bears we’d just seen. The print was of a much bigger bear. As we walk, Alan is constantly keeping watch and looking left and right. He tells us that there are over 4000 bears in this part of Romania! Blackmon the noddy bus again.

9 pm – We reach Brasov and Marius guides us to another restaurant which again is underground. The waiters are all dressed in traditional outfits and the place is very lively. I’m shattered and I’m ready for bed, but first, we need to eat. We ordered a mixed grill with all sorts of vegetables and side dishes to share. The waiters cooked the meat on a live fire right next to the table and it was delicious. We then had a choice of dessert. Six of the group had the doughnut thing that we ate yesterday. Stephanie and I chose the apple pie. I have never eaten so much food. I now feel uncomfortable and super tired. I need my bed!

11 pm – What a jam-packed day we had. I slip under my duvet and say goodnight to Maddie (my roommate). Before I know it, I’m in the land of nod. Night night

Tomorrow is Dracula’s castle and the bear sanctuary.