After two years of stasis and stagnation, having the chance to travel again is such a treat. As Covid cases fluctuate and restrictions ebb and flow, booking a flight to Romania seemed a little risky, but the hopeful expectation of travel was well worth the price of a Wizz air flight. And then my bestie decided to join and all of a sudden, this trip was a party that felt like the “before” times!
Our respective flights landed in the middle of the night on the 9th. One of us found ourselves dragging our suitcase along a freeway and one of us took a shuttle to the hotel, like a lady. We picked up our car the next morning, a fine gal named Dacia, and pointed ourselves towards Transylvania.
Peleș Castle
Our first stop was Peleș Castle near Brasov, an elaborate Neo-Renaissance castle, nestled in the lap of the Carpathian mountains.
This castle was built in the late 1800s for King Carol I. It is an elaborate palace with German, Italian, and Chez influences. The interior is lavishly furnished, with each door frame and banister intricately carved.
The armory is full of thousands of pieces of weaponry, including a horse suit of armor.
As per usual, I loved the music room, complete with a grand piano, harp, and paintings depicting scenes from Romanian folk tales.
The other fabulous room was an elaborate gold room with painted ceilings and two massive Murano glass chandeliers, which dominated the space.
As we walked around marveling at this unique and beautiful palace, I was struck by a sense of it being familiar – like I had seen some of these spaces before. It wasn’t until later that day that I realized that the Netflix hit “The Christmas Prince” and its two sequels (The Christmas Prince: The Royal Engagement, and The Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby) were filmed here along with some lesser-known hallmark Christmas romances (which I have obviously also watched).
Lovely Outliers 