R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 5

Romania — Touring Castle Dracula

‘Tis best to visit Castle Dracula during the day, whilst the count lies in his coffin

Forget everything I told you on Monday about Bran Castle and you’ll have a lot more fun today. Suspend your disbelief as we concentrate on the horrors contained within the cold, dank walls of Castle Dracula. I can already feel the chill and the blood draining from my body. How about you? Not yet? Well, how about shaking hands to Vlad the Impaler, who has resided here, off and on, since the mid 1500s? Not fa...

Romania — The Horror of Dracula; Bran Castle

Bran (a.k.a., Dracula’s) Castle, with entrance to Vlad’s crypt (I jest)

About 186 driving kilometers/115 miles northwest of Old Town, Bucharest, just 16 miles/25 kilometers southwest of Brașov, an ominous looking edifice sits high atop a tall hill overlooking Bran, Romania, which lies on the Transylvanian side (where else?) of the Transylvania-Wallachia border. This is Bran Castle, which was built by the Saxons in 1377, and which today belongs to Archduke Dominic  von Habsburg of Austria-Tusc...

Fun Photo Friday — Romania Favorites 3

Biserica “Sfântul Nicolae” — “Saint Nicolas” Church, Bucharest, Romania

Today is the third Fun Photo Friday of Bucharest, Romania favorites:

Wouldn’t “Dracula Lives” be an oxymoron? Bran “Dracula’s” Castle Eastern Orthodox mosaic icon I’m pretty sure this is not Erik the Red Cats and Dragons — What a combo Winter in Romania

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Romania — The Rooms of Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle Hall of Honor

Today I’m going to present images of some of the rooms awaiting you in Peleș Castle. I begin with the image above of the three-story Hall of Honor with its incredible, richly detailed woodwork, corinthian columns, and other exquisite features. In case you’re wondering how one eats in a place this elaborate, here’s the dining nook:

Peleș Castle dining room — seating for 32 of your closest neighbors

Of course every castle needs a music room:

Peleș Castle music...

Romania — The Art and Stained Glass of Peleș Castle

Strada Săniușului — outside Peleș Castle

As one would expect in a royal palace, Peleș Castle is filled with fine art, including some magnificent examples of stained glass. Other works within the walls of Peleș Castle are finely decortated ceilings, statuary, and medieval implements of knightly arms and armor used is decorative wall hangings.

Peleș Castle stained glass

All of this combined creates a wonderful and fascinating collection of exquisite art pieces.

The queen reading in the ...

Fun Photo Friday — Romania Favorites 2

Dracula’s Castle

Today I present to you the second Fun Photo Friday collection of Romanian favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Romania — The Arms of Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle has an extensive collection of medieval arms and armor, including armor for a horse. However, before you step into this armaments room, you’ll pass by some interesting wooden carvings, impressively tall ceilings, a magnificent carved wood spiral staircase, and other sights. But you don’t need to listen to me drone on about all that. You want pictures, and pictures you shall have:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Romania — Arriving Peleș Castle

Peleș Castle, Roman

About 70 miles/115 kilometers (87 miles/140 kilometers by tour bus) north of Bucharest, 20 miles/30 kilometers south of Brasov, high in the Southern Carpathian Mountains, lies a grand 34,000 square foot/3,200m² palace containing over 170 rooms. This is Peleș Castle, begun in 1873, opened in 1883, and improvements continued into 1914. As you might expect, 170 rooms and the surrounding grounds is a lot to cover, so we’ll be looking at this magnificent palace both this week a...

Fun Photo Friday — Romania Favorites 1

“Castle Dracula” Looking Particularly Ominious

Welcom to Fun Photo Friday Romanian favorites volume one:

Carpathian Mountains Bucharest Chamber of Commerce CEC Bank Palace The Onion Domes of Saint Nicholas Stavropoleos Monastery

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Bucharest Romani — Strolling the Streets

Biserica “Sfântul Nicolae” (Saint Nicholas Church)

Our base of operations on this visit to Bucharest, Romania, was the Moxy Bucharest Old Town. We’ve stayed at Moxy hotels before, so we had every expectation that this would be a pleasant and affordable option. We were not disappointed. And being right in the Old Town section of Bucharest was a real plus. We were mere minutes walking distance from a lot to see and do, such as being only three minutes from Biserica Sfântul Nicolae (Saint Nichol...