Dracula v Santa in Romania

I have had a fantastic long weekend in Romania with great friends. We flew from Stansted on Friday morning; flight was 3 hours. Arrived in Bucharest early afternoon and they approx. 40 min transfer to the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Central which lived up to its name and was very centrally located. Dumped our luggage and they set off for the Christmas market. This was one huge market outside the constitutional building with lots of huts, stage with entertainment, some rides and food and drink stalls too. As we were a group of 8, I booked dinner at a local Romanian restaurant not too far from the hotel. We tucked into a hearty dinner of wings, pork belly, polenta, schnitzel, and pork knuckle at Vatra restaurant. Entertainment by Romanian dancers too. After dinner we headed back to the hotel via a tiny craft bar for a night cap. A lovely bar with just a few stalls and max capacity of about 12 people called No Room Tap Room. Early night tonight as an early start tomorrow (as well as 2-hour time difference).

Breakfast at the hotel at 7am then met in reception at 7.20am to walk a short distance to meet our guide. Then off we set in a minibus to Peles Castle, approx. 2 hours drive. A good opportunity for a nap or to look at the scenery whilst the sun was still rising. At Peles Castle our guide Ionut was great at whisking us through the queue, so we weren’t hanging about. So, in we entered the castle and Ionut gave us a commentary about each room. It was interesting and the perfect length tour. The castle is amazing, no expenses were spared to make it a show castle including the retractable roof in the room where they greet guests. After the tour we had a little free time to wander the gardens and take photos then back on the bus to Brasov.

The journey was under an hour. At Brasov we were given a couple of hours to explore and find lunch. They also had a Christmas market. First things first we found a lovely craft bar for a refreshment and convenient stop. Then we wandered down to the market. Few food stands but still nice for a short visit. We then found a local pizza slicery place so a quick lunch then back to the bus.

Then we set off to Bran’s Castle, yes the Dracula castle. Once we arrive it was short walk from the car park so the view of the castle on the hill were great. It’s not a pretty castle like Peles Castle but more a gothic and quite eerie castle. Lots of narrow staircases and small dark room including a torture chamber. I personally didn’t linger in that room for long! Interesting to see the castle but definitely not as impressive as Peles. After the castle visit a bit of free time then back on the bus for the long ride back to Bucharest. Depending on traffic it could have been 3 or 4 hours, but we got lucky so not too painful. It was a good opportunity to have a pre-supper nap. Then back in Bucharest a quick change, aperitif and then off to dinner again at a nearby and local Romanian restaurant. Some of the meals were good and we mainly tucked into the starters and were full before mains but think we’d been spoiled by the yummy food the night before. After dinner night caps in the other local craft bar called Ironic then back to hotel for sleep.

Next day was a day at leisure and breakfast was until 11am so a bit of a chilled start to the day. After breakfast we went for a wander then ended up at the Christmas markets. As the loos on the Christmas markets weren’t overly pleasant, we had to find a weestop. We stopped at a Mexican bar with lots of cats running about so I was happy. After this we headed to the Old town for a bit of a bar crawl and lunch. We shared some platters of meat, cheese and accompaniments. Very tasty. Then we either wandered back to the hotel slowly via some bars or headed back to the Christmas market for the final shopping. Then back to the hotel to quickly drop off shopping and quick clean up and off to dinner for our final night. This night we headed to a highly rated Italian meal. Good pizza (huge!), cordon blue with mash, chicken in creamy mushroom sauce with mash and prawn pasta to name a few of the dishes we ate. Then as it was our last night and the birthday eve of one of our party, we headed to our favourite tiny craft bar called No Room Tap Room. They even stayed open to welcome us back. Several drinks later and lots of singing it turned midnight, so we sang happy birthday in English and Romanian and they back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep.

Final morning and breakfast in the hotel then ready to be collected to return home at 10.45am. Then flight home to Stansted.

Great weekend, lots of fun and several beers. Good food if you like hearty meat dishes. Christmas market was good but only the one, but it was large. Excursion to Peles Castle, Brasow and Bran’s Castle was really good and very interesting, just be prepared for long journey in mini bus.