During our drive through the Prahova Valley north from Bucharest to Brasov this past March, everything seemed one of two colors: grey or more grey. Mud was everywhere. The famous Carpathian mists hung about the valleys and hillsides mournfully. The inhabitants seemed categorically depressed, as if they all knew winter would never end. By contrast, what produndity in the lanscape of Transylvania in the spring! At least eight colors of green comprise the lushness of every hillside. Up around the ski resort town Predeal, the Carpathians begin making their own weather and we were treated to a perfectly spooky bit of fog and rain, just as we made our approach to Peles Castle, which caught the occasional blast of sunshine. Finished only about a century ago on behalf of the Saxon kings of Romania, the castle was tastefully opulent and gorgeously tucked into one of the slopes behind the village of Sinai. Even our kids were impressed (what's not to like about rooms full or armor and Medieval weapons?), mouths agape the whole time while we took in the rooms full of Murano glass, Klimt friezes, and Moorish finery. We decompressed yesterday afternoon with big Austrian beers in the sun-flooded central square of Brasov (my love affair with this fair city continues), girthing up for another round of castle touring tomorrow at Bran. Then into the hinterlands of Transylvania for a night in a traditional village house. We'll let you know how that turns out, provided we survive the horse-cart ride through the mountains! Enjoying this dose of shameless tourism? Yes, indeed!
C & All
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