We woke to heavy cloud and rain hanging off the hillside and more or less decided that the cable car trip was a no go, so enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. When we checked out our receptionist friend agreed it was probably a 50/50 chance that the cable car would run but there was no way to check and it just didn't seem worth the effort of a 20+ min walk from the hotel in the rain or the hassle of trying to park nearby only to find it closed.
Whilst we were talking to him a phone siren went off - exactly as had done on my phone half an hour earlier when I was packing only I didn't get to read the message before it vanished. He told us it was usually a warning that bears had been seen in town but that this time it was wild boar (porkies!!!).
We'd also spoken to him yesterday about the drive to Peles Castle which we plan to visit en route to the airport as our flight isn't until 2105. Although it was only about 30 miles Google maps were showing a journey time of about 2 1/2 hours so we wondered if there were road closures. He explained it was simply volume of traffic and that at weekends the mad people from Bucharest (his words) have to escape the heat and come into the countryside. Although that didn't really explain the lengthened journey time going south we took his advice and set off straight away prepared for a long journey.
Well the traffic wasn't too bad, apart from getting through the town of Busteni (nose to tail) but the weather was appalling with heavy rain and swirling mist. We eventually arrived at Sinaia town and fortunately parking was organised with an expensive pay car park and a long, 20+ minute, walk up to the castle.
Built as King Carol I's summer home, Peles Castle resembles a Bavarian schloss and is better preserved than many Romanian royal palaces as it was used by the communist party as a guesthouse for important visitors. Whilst it is acknowledged to be the Romanian royal family's private property, negotiations to return it to the current King (Michael) have been protracted as there are concerns that the king lacks the resources to maintain the castle.
On first sight it reminded me a bit of Balmoral or was it just the weather making me think of Scotland.
This little old lady was busy getting her little baskets of flowers ready to sell. We passed several others on the way up selling punnets of strawberries.
Pouring with rain in the outside courtyard which we had to queue around.
There isn't anything of particular note in the castle however the interior is lavishly decorated and no expense was spared on the fixtures and fittings, so much so that the King almost bankrupted the country. It had a vacuum cleaner and an electric food elevator (this is in 1901!) and the room used as the royal cinema was decorated by a young Gustav Klimt.
The exquisite glass ceiling is about 3 floors up.
There is an extensive collection of weaponry dating back through the ages.
Beautiful stained glass doors.
The difference between this and Bran was marked; so much furniture and ornamentation here.
Rather a modern bathroom
I wonder if this was the world's first mixer tap?
We'd rather hoped the rain would have stopped by the time we finished our tour, but sadly not - it was chucking it down. Instead of waiting for people to get out of my shots as I usually do I just took what there was and cloned people out where I could.
King Carol I and doesn't he look like George V and a few others.
What a shame it was such a dreary day, it must look beautiful on sunny days.
I couldn't manage a "sunny" edit so I've gone for another dramatic one.
Back to my LOL and she was desperate to sell me a posy of flowers and I was keen to take her photo. Unfortunately I didn't have enough lei left and so we had a bit of hard negotiation before she finally agreed to a photo. I've learnt over the years not to take one quick snap and walk away but to take as many as I want from different angles - after all I'm paying!
Eye contact obviously cost extra and a smile was definitely out of the question.
