Gas prices here are high - makes me appreciate less than $5.00 a gallon! The currency converts to about $7.55 a gallon here - and everyone seems to have a car!
We have seen houses in all states of repair - or disrepair!
The Heroes' Cross on Caraiman Peak was built between 1926-1928 to honor the memory of the soldiers who died in the First World War. In 2014, the construction has entered the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest cross in the world (128 feet) placed on a mountain peak at over 7516 feet altitude.
We arrived in Sinaia after an hour drive and visited the Sinaia Monestery. Sinaia Monastery was built in 1695. There are currently 22 monks still living here. The monastery complex includes two churches: the Old Church (Biserica Veche, 1695) which has original frescoes and traditional Romanian monastic architecture, and the larger New Church (Biserica Mare, 1842-1846) with impressive Byzantine-style paintings, elaborate carved woodwork, and a richly decorated iconostasis that shows the 19th-century revival of Orthodox artistic traditions. The New Church is under renovations so we could not really see what the outside looks like.
We were able to go inside the New Church and there was a service going on. We watched from the back of the church. The priest - who is also a monk - does most of the service from the second room, part of the time with the door closed or with a curtain hanging down.
The inside of the church is beautiful and the ceilings are very ornate.
After a while, we moved on to the Old Church.
It was much smaller, but still very ornate.
After our visit we headed on to see the Pelisor Castle, about 10 minutes away. This building with the bear statue in front was just before entering the castle grounds.
As far as castles go, the Pelisor is relatively new. It was built in 1899-1902 as the residence of the future King Ferdinand and Ferdinand's consort Queen Marie. It was truly state-of-the-art. There are 160 rooms, it had electricity and central heating from the start, and 2 elevators were added in 1903!
We entered and went up this grand staircase.
There are over 4000 armory items in the palace's collection, but they only have about 1600 pieces on display. The armor on the rider of this horse weighs over 250 pounds! It was only worn for ceremonial parades, never in battle!
Many of the rooms had secret doorways and spiral staircases leading to other levels or escape routes.
The dining room
As we exited the palace, this gentleman was on the stairs to say goodbye!
One of the garden areas
We were originally going to have free time to explore the grounds and have lunch, but as we were inside the castle EVERYONE'S phones went off with a severe weather alert for thunderstorms and hail. We had to climb the hill to get back to our bus - about a 10 minute walk - so the guide suggested we get back to the bus and drive to get over the mountain pass.
We had about an hour drive and stopped at a gas station that also had food and tables. Next to the station was a field filled will poppies, daisies, and nettles. We didn't get rained on so that was good.
Coming into Bucharest there was quite a bit of traffic. We circled the Arch of Triumph in one of the roundabouts so we could all take pictures because we won't be going by it again while we are here. It was originally built between 1921-1922 as a symbol of Romania's victory in World War I.
We also went by a group of protesters in Victory Square near the government palace headquarters.
We arrived early to the Sheraton Hotel in Bucharest about 3:00pm. After checking in we took a short 30 minute walk to get oriented to the area before heading back to the room to rest before dinner which was here at the hotel. Dinner was a sirloin and mashed potatoes, but the dessert was the best! It was a chocolate and vanilla mousse.
Tomorrow we have a driving tour of Bucharest and visit the Parliament building. Our time is winding down!
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