Romania and Bulgaria

25 May 2017, Bucharest

For this spring break, we chose to explore Eastern Europe. And the country that came to our mind was Romania. It is famous for its natural beauty and also the Dracula story. We took the  09.30 am flight from Amsterdam. We arrived at 13.15 at Bucharest Airport. From the airport we took the bus no 783, it cost 7 Lei. The bus stopped at Piata Romana and from there, we walked to our hotel, Berthelot Hotel. There were many hotels in this area since the location are good, close to many attraction.

After we checked in and got a little rest, we were ready to explore the city. All the destinations today can be reached by walking. We started with Roman Athenaeum. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we arrived, so we just could only admire the building façade and the garden that surrounded the building. Roman Athenaeim is a concert hall and one of the landmark of Bucharest.

Just across Roman Athenaeum, there was the Royal Palace/National Museum of Art of Romania. It was built in 1820 and became royal residence. Today, it served as National Museum of Art of Romania.

Still in the same area, there was Revolution Square/Palace Square. Before 1989, The Revolution Square was known as Palace Square. In this Square, we can see some interesting sculpture, such as, statue of King Carol I, sculpture of The Eternal Glory to the Heroes of the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 to commemorate the blood bath in December 22, 1989, a tall obelisk as a symbol of people desire for freedom, and a Memory Wall, where we can read the name of victims of the communist repression in December 1989.

From the Square, we continued walking. We passed the famous Casa Capsa. Casa Capsa is a historical hotel. It was built in 1852 and become a symbol of Romanian high life society. We did not go inside the hotel, just looking from outside. It is still use as a hotel until today.

Then, we continued to Ion Mincu University. It is a University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest. This university is the oldest and most prestigious academic institution in this field in Romania and South-Eastern Europe. It was named after Ion Mincu, a famous ar
chitect, engineer, professor and politician in Romania. The building façade was beautiful but not well maintain. Across Ion Mincu University, we can see the unique building of National Theatre.

After that we continued to the old town. On the way to the old town, we had a quick snack at La Placinte Restaurant. It was a Moldova Restaurant. We tried their polenta and chocolate cake. From the resto, it was not far to the Old Town. Old Town Bucharest was a nice place with lots of beautiful buildings, nice cafés and shops. We started with Banca Natioanala a Romaniei or National Bank of Romania. It was a very massive building and with its French renaissance style, it becomes one of the most beautiful buildings in Romania.

Another beautiful building in the old town area is Palatul C.E.C. It was built in 1900 with ecletic style. The most beautiful parts of this building are the domes. It was made of glass and metal. The building was built as a headquarter for a new headquarters for Romania's oldest bank, the public savings institution Casa de Depuneri, Consemnațiuni și Economie, later known as C.E.C. and nowadays CEC Bank.

Contrast to all the massive buildings in this area, the Biserica Stavropoloeos is small in size yet has very beautifully decorated. This church was built in 1724 by the Greek monk Ioanikie Stratonikeas and is a masterpiece of Brancovan architectural style. It has beautiful stone and wood carvings. Inside, we can see the beautiful murals. Besides the building, there was also a peaceful small courtyard, where we can see some collection of tombstones dating from 18^th century.

Not far from Biserica Stavropoleos, there was another historical building, Manuc Inn. Manuc Inn is the oldest operating hotel in Bucharest. It was built in 1808 by Manuc Bei, a wealthy Armenian merchant. It became a favorite meeting and resting place for merchants in old time. Manuc Inn has preserved to this day its old style. It now serves as a hotel with a restaurant, a wine cellar and a pastry shop.

Manuc Inn was the last place we visited today. We went back to our hotel by walking while eating Corvigi-Romanian Pretzel that we bought on the street.

  

26 May 2017, Peles Palace, Bran Castle, Rasnov Castle and Brasov

We took Transylvania 2 days tour from www.transylvania-discovery-tours.ro. Alex, the tour guide, picked us on time at 9 am. We drove straight to the first destination, Peles Castle. It took around 1.5 hours to get there.

Peles Castle is located at Sinaia and it is one of the most beautiful castles in Romania. It was built in 1873 by King Carol I. The King was fell in love with the magnificent mountain scenery when he visited the area and decided to buy the land and built his castle. Inside the castle, we can see how beautifully its design.


It has an impressive armoury room, with large collection of swords and armours. It has a library room that has a secret door to another room for the King to rest. There is also a ball room with beautiful paintings from different season, but there were only three seasons, spring, summer and autumn. Since the King did not like winter, they did not put the painting with winter season themed.

Outside the castle, we can visit the garden. The garden has a beautiful landscape design. The fountain and sculptures across the garden make it more beautiful. We can see a beautiful view of the mountains and surroundings since its location that up on the hill. The castle has been the summer residence of the Romanian Royal family and it is the most visited museum in Romania.

From Peles Castle we went to Bran Castle. But before that, we stopped at Bran Village to have our lunch. The restaurant in this village has a good view. We can also see the Bran Castle. It is a big restaurant and served Romanian food.

 After lunch, we went to Bran Castle. Bran Castle also known as Dracula castle. Bran Castle was built in 14^th century and has been serving for ages as a military fortress controlling the entry route to Transylvania. Later, it was used as royal family residence.

How it becomes Dracula Castle, is because Bran Castle is the only castle in all of Transylvania that actually fits Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s Castle. Bram Stoker never visited the castle. He only used the information that he got. But amazingly, his description was very similar to the castle.

From Bran Castle, we went to Rasnov Fortress. Compare to Bran Castle, it was much more quite in here. There were not so many visitors. Rasnov Fortress is located on a rocky hilltop in the Carpathian Mountains. The fortress was built by Teutonic Knights as protection against invading Tartars and was later enlarged by the local Saxon population.



 

From Rasnov, we drove to Brasov. It was a short  drive. Alex dropped us off at the Hotel. Since it was still has day light and the hotel location was good, we decided to walk to the old town. We went to The Council Square with its Council Tower. Next to the square, we can see the famous Black Church. There were also many shops and nice cafés in this area.We strolled in the old town until the sun was set.

27 May 2017, Brasov, Viscri and Sighisoara

In the morning, Alex picked us up from the hotel and showed us around the old town. He told us about Katharina of Brasov. Her love story with Vlad Dracula was very famous. Vlad Dracula wanted to take Katharina as his wife, but religion did not allow divorce. She is the only woman who managed to tame the heart of this cruel and feared ruler. After the death of the Vlad Dracula, Katharina, at the age of 39, returned to the monastery where she was educated as a child. Of the 20 years of love, the only witness that still stands today is the house at Str. Poarta Schei No. 14.

We visited Catherine’s gate which was built in 1559. For centuries Catherine's Gate was the principle entrance into the walled medieval city. The name is thought to come from a monastery which once stood on the site.

We also had a chance to visit The Rope Street (Strada Sforii), the narrowest street in Brasov. It is also known as one of the narrowest streest in Europe.

After that, we left Brasov and headed to Viscri. We travel through Persani Mountains. During the trip, we enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Bogatii Forest and some gypsy villages. Around one hour, we arrived at Viscri Fortified Church. Viscri is Saxon fortified church that was built around 1100.

Inside the church, there are several art pieces to be admired such as the altar, the old pews or the baptismal font dating back to the 13th century. The altar, dedicated to the Blessing of the Children, was made by J. Paukratz, an artist from Rupea in the 19th century. We also climbed the tower and got a great view of the village. There was also a tower which had been transformed into a museum. We can see the displays of tools, traditional costumes, books, ceramics or dowry chests.

Then, we continued our trip to Sighisaora. Sighisaora is the best preserved medieval town in Romania and it is an UNESCO world heritage. One of the main attractions here is the Vlad Dracula’s House. He was born in this house. Today, the house is become a restaurant. But we can see the bedroom in the third floor. They had a surprise when we entered the room :)

The Clock Tower is also a must visit place in Sighisaora. It is the main entry point to the citadel. Today, the Clock Tower has become a museum, where we can see some artifacts from the past and learn history about Sighisaora.

Not far from the Vlad Dracula’s house, there is Venetian House, named after the appearance of the windows, which imitates the Venetian style. Another interesting building is The Stag House. It is the most preserved house of in Sighisaora. It was called so because of the stag head fixed on the corner of the building.

Sighisaora was our last destination before we drove back straight to Bucharest.

28 May 2017, Northern Bulgaria

Today, we started our journey to Bulgaria. The northern part of Bulgaria can easily reach by car from Bucharest. There were a short qeue in the border. Once we passed the border, we exchanged our money in a small money changer not far from the border.

Our first stop is Ivanovo Church. It is located in the valley. We need to climb some stairs, but it was not that difficult. Once we got up there, we were impressed by the interior of the church. The rocks were covered with beautiful frescoes. Since, its location up on the valley, we also got a breathtaking view of the valley and Rusenski Lom river. The church was small, but it is worth it to visit. We can walk around the valley, breath a fresh air and admire the view.  

The next stop is Veliko Tarnovo, one of the most beautiful cities in Bulgaria. We went to the old town, which was very picturesque, with the old buildings and coble stone path. Most shops sell souvenirs. There were also some café and restaurant. We decided to have our lunch at restaurant in Hadji Nikoli Inn. The inn was built in 1858 for Hadji Nikoli - a famous Turnovo tradesman who took an active part in the struggle for an independent Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Hadji Nikoli Inn is a unique masterpiece from the age of the Bulgarian Renaissance. The restaurant served Bulgarian food.

From the old town, we continue by car to The Tsarevets Fortress. For sure, this fortress is the main attration in Veliko Tarnovo. First, we bought the ticket from the ticket office which was located across the fortress. Then, we passed the fortress entrance. We walked along the coble stone path with a breathtaking view of surrounding hills, Sveta Gora, Momina Krepost and Trapezitsa. On the top of the hill, we can visit The Patriarch’s complex. One of the building in this complex was The patriarchal church of the Ascension. It has a modern interior and the unique murals, painted by Teofan Sokerov.

The Village of Arbanassi is our last stop. It was only around 10 minutes drive from Veliko Tarnovo. Arbanassi is a quiet picturesque village preserving the medieval atmosphere through the old local architecture. The must visit place in here is the Nativity Church. It is the oldest church in Arbanassi, which was built in the 15^th century. It has separate sections for men and women. Almost all the wall inside the building was covered by beautiful frescoes.

29 May 2017, Bucharest

Today was our last day in Romania. We just spent our day in old town. We decided to have lunch in Hanul Lui Manuc Restaurant. The inn is a historical building. Built in 1808 and belongs to Manuc-Bei, a very wealthy merchant at that time. It was Bucharest's most important commercial complex and the oldest hotel building in Bucharest.

Just across Hanul Lui Manuc, there was Church of Saint Anthony. It is the oldest church in Bucharest. It has a beautiful bricks wall façade. It is surrounded with a nice garden. We also visited the famous book store, Carturesti Carusel, not far from the church. It is famous because it has a beautiful interior design.

After that, we went back to the hotel, got our luggage and went to the airport. This time, we took Uber, it was much faster though more expensive compare to the bus. Our flight was 18.05, we still had enough time looking for last minute souvenir at the airport.