We drove into the Carpathian mountains and to the gem of a town Sinaia, Romania, to visit Peleș Castle. The walk was rather steep and was a considerable challenge for Christiane. The walk inside the castle with a walker was also very tricky. When we finished our tour of the castle Christiane was clamouring to go home. She was already tired of this trip and all of the challenges that had not been disclosed to us.

One of the most stunning places we visited was Peleș castle. Even though there were hundreds of people on the grounds and in the castle, from a little distance they seemed to blissfully disappear.  When I was close to the castle people were swarming around it. A striking feature of the castle is its spires that, as someone said, are “towers that scratch the sky like sword.”

The castle can be found in a lovely little town called Sinaia, Romania. It has been suggested that it is the prettiest town in Europe. That might be true. The town is located in the Bucegi Mountain range of Romania and is surrounded by ski trails. At one time its 17^th century monastery was a royal family residence. Now it is a museum.  Sadly, the royal families of Europe can’t afford all that once was taken for granted. Like castles.  This one was filled with Gustave Klimt frescoes and stained-glass windows.

A portrait of King Carol I

The castle was designed to show off the new monarchy of the new country of Romania so expense was not spared. It was intended as a dynastic monument and cradle of the new monarchy, becoming after the Romanian War of Independence, a symbol of the state’s independence. When the castle was finished and ready for royal occupancy in 1883, the castle resembled a Swiss chalet with a main tower and was faithful to the German neo-renaissance, a style chosen by the royal couple in accordance with  the site – a mountainous landscape that represented a specific background for German romanticism. I have to admit I was blown away by the castle from a distance when I walked halfway around it.

It was the first European castle to have electricity, supplied by its own private power plant.   This was a big deal in the late 19^th century. Heck, I remember when our house on Kroeker avenue in Steinbach did not have running water in the days of my youth in the 1950s. The castle also boasted hot and cold running water, central heating, telegraph, telephone, a small elevator for the royal family and central vacuum system are other amenities the castle offered, from the very beginning.   Christiane and I did not have central vac until nearly 200 years later!

The stained-glass roof of the foyer opens mechanically. We still don’t have a stained-glass roof in our house, and if we did, it would probably leak.

It also contained an impressive library of 30,000 books, putting my modest library to shame. Another interesting feature was a unidirectional and hidden door that leads directly to the king’s suite. Apparently, from time to time, King Carol I would say he was going to study in the library, when he would sneak out to his suite for a nap, or even a little drink. The castle also has a 60-seat French Louis XIV style theatre.

The music room is carved of teak, a gift to King Carol I from the Maharajah of Kapurtala in India. Handmade silk embroideries adorn the wall of the Turkish Salon.

Carol would not permit political discussions nor talk of religion at the dinner table. Advice that in these polarized times even commoners often consider wise. He preferred talking about art and history.

I am a sucker for stained glass

Peles castle dining room features rustic Breton furniture and priceless silverware from 18th-Century Brittany.

This is what original democracy looks like in Romania

In Romania we were joined by a genuine character—Vio.  He was our guide for 3 days.  He in turn introduced us to our driver of the coach, Mr. Nelo.  Mr. Nelo was not only an excellent driver, and a safe one at that, he is a successful business man. He runs a fleet of coach driver.

Vio talked as much about himself as he did Romania. He clearly loved Romania, but knew that his country was flawed.  He was very different than the Trumpsters in other words, who only see the greatness of their country. He was a former downhill skier. He still looked fit in his sixties.

One of the first things he did was to walk up and down the aisle of the coach to ask each of us what we wanted to know about Romania.  My question, to which he repeatedly tried to give an answer over the next 3 days was, given that so many of the countries of Europe, particularly the former Soviet satellites, were turning towards autocracy, to what extent is Romania a genuine democracy? He gave me a number of amusing answers. He did that by mocking the term the communists of Romania had given their enterprise, namely, “original democracy.”  In other words, they claimed to have a unique form of democracy. So unique, that many of us would not want to call it democracy at all, even less, “original democracy.”

To Vio, original democracy meant that it was unpredictable.  Really, that means that it does not operate according to rules. No democracy means that people can do whatever they want. Every country has rules to control actions. No country can allow people to drive on whatever side of the street they choose. But in Romania Vio claimed drastic reversals could happen in 24 hours.

First, Vio told us who he thought was the greatest man of the twentieth century?  I paused wondering who he would say.  Before I could come up with an answer he said, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. That seemed like a remarkable choice, but Vio had a good explanation.

Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to its dissolution in 1991. Ideologically, he at first adhered to Marxist-Leninism, the official doctrine of the Soviet Union, but he gradually moved towards social democracy by the early 1990s. He, not Ronald Reagan, as so many Americans believe, was the driving force behind moving The Soviet Union and its satellites away from Communism.

To Vio however, the reason he admired him so much was and was the greatest man of the twentieth century was because as a result of him, Vio believed, he was able to speak his mind. Because of Gorbachev, he was free to answer the question I had posed.  Before the time of Gorbachev, it would have been very dangerous of me to ask such a question, and much more dangerous for him to answer it truthfully, since he lived in Romania, which was part of the Soviet empire. Vio called him “a gentle dictator.” That is what social democracy is too—gentle socialism.

As we were driving down National Highway No. 1 of Romania, which Vio said was the only national highway, he warned us that at times under Original Democracy it would become, the “National Parking Stall.”  Of course, we in the west are very familiar with this concept too. Often freeways become the “no free way.”

Romania is now part of the European Union which means that it must meet some minimal standards of democracy. Like Hungary which is also a member of the EU, Romania has its own currency.  Their own people acknowledge it is not much of a currency.  They call it “funny money”. No other country accepts it, but people who travel through it, like people who work on this boat will Romanian money since they can us it when they sail through it. According to Vio, it is a product of Original Democracy. Funny.

Since Romania joined the EU, its people must be free to live and work elsewhere. Many of them have taken advantage of that privilege. It used to have 22 million people, now about 5 million of those live abroad. They prefer real democracy, or perhaps just better economic benefits than that offered by Original Democracy. Original democracy did not sound very appealing.

As we continued our tour of what we thought was the Old Town of Bucharest on foot, we enjoyed a lavish visual feast. Not all of it pleasant, but all of it interesting. Immensely interesting.

Christiane was using a walker on this trip and it worked fine, except when she encountered steps or cobblestone. She was tortured by them. And frankly, they were everywhere. Needless to say this hampered her enjoyment. Part of the problem is that when she walks she must keep her eyes glued to the ground to avoid falling.  On these streets that was a constant danger.

Christiane and her siter Huguette

Graffiti can be found in Bucharest in abundance again, like so many other European cities. It has been called the art of the people. I have to admit I like it—sometimes. I don’t think it is fair to mar private or public property with it, but sometimes it is compelling.

As well, we found interesting art on the walls of Bucharest.

Someone found “fun shit” in Bucharest.

We were also urged to “start thinking” in Bucharest. That is never bad advice.

Finally we encountered this wild man in Bucharest who had come all the way from St. Boniface.

It was a great little visit in Bucharest, despite the disappointment of the Hop-on Hop-off bus

After we were done with the Hop on Hop Off bus ride from a very hot place, we went for a gentle stroll through what we had been told was the Old Town of Bucharest. Frankly the buildings, or at least many of them, did not seem that old. Like an old church.

The town was pleasant and we just walked into old buildings that seemed interesting.

Our first genuine stop was a lunch break.  And guess what we did? We stopped at an Irish pub in Bucharest.  That makes as much sense as stopping at a MacDonald’s restaurant. But we enjoyed it. I particularly appreciated the woman that greeted us when we arrived and the sign on her sweater:  “Chasing Dreams not Deadlines.’  And, “breaking stereotype” and “slaying the game.” Those seemed like worthy goals. Well worth chasing.

I love Romania.

We did get into a mild “Hey Rube” however, when I opened my big mouth.  And people who know me know I have a loud big mouth. I was discussing Donald Trump with my sister-in-law who said he was an ass. I did not disagree with her, but this aroused the attention of a patron at the next table who said we did not know anything about Trump because we had never met him. How could we call him an ass? To this I replied, that Trump was the most famous person in the history of the world.  I said I knew Trump better than almost everyone except my closest friends and relatives because he was constantly within our attention, like it or not.  I had heard him speak on and off the cuff literally thousands of times. I felt qualifed to speak about him. To reinforce my point, I said I knew Trump better than my sister-in-law. Now I had two people mad at me.  The patron left in a huff, clearly thinking we (or at least me) were idiots.

We spotted some Old Coca Cola in Old Town Bucharest. It looked sort of new, not old time.

Finally, we saw some of Old Town of Bucharest. After all, it was not that long ago that Bucharest along with all of Romania was part of the sclerotic Soviet Empire that finally fell a part in 1989.

Now this building looked old. It was a great walk through Old Town.

Even though I signed up for this trip up the Danube at considerable expense, I had only a vague sense of where Romania is located.  The country is located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southwest Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east (hence the proximity of drones), Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, and Moldova to the east. The Black Sea is to the southeast. It has what is called here a continental climate and is an area of 238,397 km². That is the 6^th highest in Europe. It has a population of 19 million people, making it the 12^th largest in Europe.

The modern state of Romania was formed in 1859 with the unification of Moldavia, and Wallachia and became a kingdom in1881 under a brand-new monarch Carol I. They pronounce his name as Karl a member of the Hohenzollern family of Germany. When he came he could only speak one phrase in Romanian—“I promise to serve.”  Which he was required to swear to become the monarch.

White we were waiting for the bus, we admired this lovely church. It is called, Kretzulescu Church and is found just outside of Revolution Square. This is a small church but still magnificent. Small is beautiful as a wise German philosopher once said. During the Communist occupation, this church which was built in the 1720’s, was scheduled to be demolished by the Communist regime, but thankfully that never happened. Think of the wooden-headedness of non-religious people wanting to destroy such a beautiful church.

Yet, we learned over and over again on this trip, this is exactly what happened repeatedly in Europe.  The conquerors brought with them their religions and disposed of the old religions as quickly and efficiently as possible. Frequently, that was accomplished with bloody swords.

Of course, historically such vandalism happened frequently by all sides without shame, sense or mercy.

Today, we went on a stroll with friends from Winnipeg who were on the trip with us, with the goal of taking a hop-on hop-off bus. I have enjoyed such rides in the past. This one not so much.

There is a lot to see in Romania. Sadly, my friends did not catch on to how a hop on and hop off  bus works. You should hop on and off. But our friends, with whom Christiane sided when I dissented, wanted to go all around to first pick out the best sites to hop off. But as I suspected, after being on the bus for about 90 minutes everyone, including me, had enough. So, we never hopped off once. As a result, all these photos are taken from the bus rather than on the ground.

The second problem on with the Hop-on Hop-off bus, for which I cannot blame my misguided friends, is that the operators could not speak English and provided no commentary whatsoever. As a result, we drove around the city without knowing what we were seeing. There is very little point in that. That is why I have called it the worst ever Hop on Hop Off bus ride ever.

There was one building on our city tour I could recognize without guidance from an interpreter.  It was called originally the People’s Palace, even though no people ever called for its construction other than Nicolae Ceaușescu who was the was the second and last communist leader of Romania after serving terms as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist party from 1965 until he was overthrown and promptly executed in 1989 as the Soviet Empire collapsed. He was executed together with his wife Elena. This was part of what is now called the Romanian Revolution.

During the 1980s Ceaușescu he became obsessed, as demagogic leaders so often do, with conducting his business in a palace.  He wanted a substantial office fitting a substantial man.  So he thought. And it had to be big, gaudy, and ornate. In fact, the neighbourhood had also to be grandiose. So together with a huge building, he wanted the neighbourhood properly renovated too. After all, it had to be suitable for a king, even if he was not called a king.  The building was called The People’s Palace.

In order to build this monstrosity of a palace that no people had ever asked for, it was necessary to demolish 8 square kilometres of the historic centre of Bucharest. This included 14,000 homes, 22 monasteries and churches, and other structures, including a sports stadium. It is now called a Palace of Parliament and even though it started in 1984 it is not finished yet. It is testament to megalomania in stone.  A monument to power and Communist inefficiency.

As a result, it is the 2^nd biggest administrative building in the world (after the Pentagon) and the heaviest building in the world.

JP and I went on top while the women stayed on the first level. Up to there was a man making a video of a woman in striking black pants.  She was making some kind of commentary that was not in Enlish. I think she was some kind of an influencer or podcaster.  Interestingly, though he was perfectly groomed, every time he lifted his hand off his video camera he had to pat down his perfect hair. They were a perfect couple. Ready to influence the world.

I have included a couple of photos of buildings I thought were interesting, but frankly, because no one was commenting on them during our Hop On Hop Off Bus we had no idea what they were. Too bad; so sad.

Another building we did understand was the Triumphal Arch which was rathe reunification 1992 of the reign of King Ferdinand Queen Marie in 1918. There was lot of traffic and naturally, driving by on our bus I was not able to photograph   it without vehicles.  It probably is impossible during the day to achieve that even had I been on the ground.

Well, we did arrive in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania,  world weary in body and soul.

Driving in to the city from the airport we were given a brief introduction to Romania by a local guide Dan. He started with a Romanian joke:  “Originally,” he said, “Romania was supposed to be the place where we would get English humour, French food, and German precision. Sadly, we got instead, English food, French precision and German humour.”

Atheneum Concert Hall, Bucharest Romania

On the way to and very near to our hotel Dan pointed out the Atheneum concert Hall. Apparently during World 11 it was nest of spies.  But we did not spot any. No suspicious men in trench coats wearing deep black sunglasses. This has been the most prestigious concert hall ever since it opened in the city in 1888.  It is considered a landmark of the city and is the home of the George Enescu Philharmonic orchestra and named after Romania’s most famous musician.  It was advertising its annual musical festival which were told attracts the top musicians in Europe. It has been inscribed with label of European heritage site in order to catch the attention of tourists, like us.

As we drove through town, I was struck by the fact that most of the signs were in English. We saw the sign of the Big M, KFC, and Ted’s coffee. Clearly, Bucharest was ready for tourists. Tourism is one of their main industries so that is probably smart. Apparently KFC is big in Europe. The only thing wrong with that is that it part of an inexorable process of eliminating differences between cultures. Cultural homogenization.

Frankly we did not do much today, our first in the Romania. We were too tried to do anything but eat. I was totally exhausted. So exhausted that I was partly delirious. I went to sleep very early at 8 p.m. and woke up at 2 a.m. completely refreshed. I was instantly in the love with this city and its people. Youseff, the bell boy insisted on carrying our luggage even though I explained I had no cash for a tip. Later our waiter also did not want a tip nor did Bohdan the maitre’de.

On the way in from the airport, we saw the neoclassical Romanian Athenaeum, which is much loved by locals, and for good reason. It was opened in 1888 and stands at the heart of Romania’s classical-music tradition. Classical music is immensely popular in Europe, and musicians are rock stars, but of course, rock stars are musicians. It works both ways. This building might be the finest landmark in the city, though I must admit, we just got in and was one of the first buildings of note that we saw. It is home to the most famous Romania’s musician, George Enescu, and the orchestra is named after him.  He gave his debut performance with this orchestra and became the most celebrated Romanian composer in history.

The building has pink-hued Doric columns and four monumental spiral staircases that lead up to a huge hall where there is lead up the Big Hall, where a large 70m (229ft) fresco depicting 25 scenes from Romanian history keep watch from the ceiling.  We did not go in. After I saw a photograph of the building from the inside I realized I made a mistake by not going in. My bad!

Every two years, during most of September, Bucharest welcomes some of the world’s major orchestras and soloists to give tribute to George Enescu. The annual festival is named after him and is considered a feast for lovers of classical music. That festival is a month-long musical extravaganza. During this time the city is filled with music lovers from around Europe and the world.

In the evening we went for a fine repast at a nearby restaurant.  A good time was had by all.

We returned to our hotel room quite early to get a good night’s sleep.  We had been awake for about 30 hours.  It was a divine sleep until I woke up at about 2:00 a.m. I doubt that I have ever felt more refreshed than I did after that sleep.

My refreshment filled me with joy. I felt like it was the happiest day of my life and Romanians the nicest people in the world, comparable only to Newfoundlanders and that Romania was the best place ever. Even though we had only been here for a few hours. From exhaustion to refreshment of the spirit after one solid sleep. And this was not only the delirium felt by cheap Mennonites when they don’t have to tip. After waking up, I went back to sleep and continued with my deep repose, totally exhilarated. Delirious or not, this was spiritual rejuvenation.

What a day. What a night.

Just a couple of days before we ventured out on our 3 flights that ended in Romania, we were watching PBS News and listened to a story about Russian drones bound to kill Ukrainians got a bit off course and flew over Romania. Holy shit, I thought, will we be that close to Russian drone attacks? I never thought I would be that close to danger. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a chickenshit. How could this happen? Apparently, they flew over Romania for 12 minutes and could inadvertently have set off World III in the Balkans just as World War I had been set off in the Balkans. After all, Romania is a member of NATO.  And you don’t mess with NATO.

Partly, the war was avoided because Romania just does not have the cash or resources to defend itself against drones. It has an air force that could repel a few traditional forces, but could do nothing about drones over its it’s sovereign territories.  In this case at least, that was a good thing. It was also good that Romania did not call the other NATO countries to defend it. Reminds me a bit about George Bernard Shaw’s play, Arms and the Man, in which a soldier from the Balkans, Serbia I believed, had an ammunition bag filled with chocolates rather than bullets.

It turns out there is a lot more to worry about in the Balkans than I ever realized.