idyllic
No trip to Europe is complete (so I heard) without visiting castles. I was lucky enough to see two, the first being the Peles Castle in Sinaia. With it's Renaissance Revival architecture, the Peles was the first castle in Europe built from the ground up already with electricity. It also came with an elevator centralized heating AND a centralized vacuum cleaning system. The detail work in and around the castle is amazing, with stone and wood handcarved by mostly German artisans. Of course the aesthetic would not have been complete without traditionalist art and Murano glass chandeliers.
The Peles also had it's own weapons room -where the King Carol I kept weapons he received as gifts from other kings. It also had a retracting stained-glass roof in the central reception area. The reception area was pretty amazing on it's own with the very, very high ceiling (and that roof!!!), was surrounded by carved wood and featured a wooden spiral staircase that led from the second to the third floor. I can only imagine the adventures that were had in this castle. If only walls could speak!
Following Sinaia, we did a quick stop at Rasnov where Dan spent some of his late youth. The architecture here is distinctly different from Sinaia. It was almost peasant-style stone and brick with tile roof. I loved the pastel colours throughout. We also did a quick stop at Brasov, for lunch and I got to say hello to some local bovines.
I was lucky enough to visit Transilvania to see the infamous Bran Castle where Vlad the Impaler also once lived. This was the countryside castle forever immortalised by Hollywood vampire flicks. Honestly, it was so homey. I could imagine a nice old grandma baking some bread for their grandkids. The only remotely creepy place was the secret stairway. The entryway and the cliff side of the castle was also a bit intimidating but once you enter, it's like fresh baked pie.
We ended the countryside visit with a stop at Sibiu which was Viennese in architecture. We were very tired and it was quite late by the time we got there so I was not able to take too many photographs of the city. We did stay in a pretty modern hotel called the Ibis. There I came upon this hilarious Romanian series called Les Fierbinti. Pity I can't understand Romanian...maybe I will learn just to watch the show!
One of the best things about Romania is the smattering of street art. They're mostly clever and highly creative at that! Throughout Bucharest there are loads to be seen. I could have spent an entire week just snapping away at them!
And speaking of art, I convinced Dan to join me at the Muzeului Naţional de Artă al României, Romania's National Art Museum. It was two buildings one was three stories and the other was four stories, filled with Romanian religious artifacts, European and Romanian art. I took art in the Philippines and was mostly exposed to French, Spanish and German artists so it was great to see Romanian works. My favourites from them are Stahi, Tattarescu, Aman, Andreescu, Grigorescu, Luchian and Tonitza.
I consider myself lucky to also get to see art by Rodin, El Greco, Rembrant, Rubens, Signac, Pissaro, Renoir and Monet!
When we came out of the Muzeului, we both had big headaches from having so much to look at, and had achey back and feet from standing for almost four hours! It was such a bummer that photography wasn't allowed but at least I have the memory of it.
I only have a couple more photos from Romania to share :) I hope it's not getting too boring yet. Oh and in case you're artfully inclined, I posted some old work in my art blog.
Hope you all had a great weekend!