Sinaia, Romania

When I first heard the name Sinaia, my mind went to Sinaloa. Sinaia is a town in Romania; Sinaloa is a region in Mexico. The former is famous for the Neo-Renaissance Peleș Castle, the latter for the city of Culiacán, home to the Sinaloa drug cartel. I’m not sure which I find more fascinating.

Peleș was the first castle in Europe to have electricity and central heating. It has 60 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms and took 300-400 men 39 years to build between 1875 and 1914. It cost the equivalent of about €/$120 million.  That’s a lot of bathtub for your buck.

The 16m high entrance hall is nothing short of magnificent. The ceiling opens (if I understood correctly) and the pictures are made of tiny pieces of wood that fit together. I was delighted to see it painted in the same green as my new office. I always knew I had royal taste. Up till he died in 2017, the castle was owned by King Michael, the last king of Romania.

The castle has some 800 stained glass windows and more than 4000 weapons in the weapons room. Not all were on show. The library has a secret door – sure it wouldn’t be Romania if it didn’t – and the stained glass windows in the music room depict Romanian fairytales.

One room was grander than the next. I had little trouble imagining myself living here – and not that long ago, either. Its recency is what makes the place so special.  The trio of spring, summer, and autumn paintings left me wondering why winter went and though I’m sure I was told, I can’t recall.

No castle in Europe would be worth its crystal if it didn’t have at least one Murano glass chandelier but this time, it was the leather ceilings made from Córdoba leather that stoked my inner fires of envy. The wallpaper in the Concert Hall was leather, too. Also from Córdoba. The pragmatist in me baulked at the thought of cleaning it but wow… it was impressive.

The European influence could also be seen from room to room. All very cosmopolitan but more sherry than martini.

Of all that we saw inside and outside, what impressed me most was a suite of teak furniture from India that took three generations of the same family 100 years to make. And there I was, put out to the nth degree when I had to wait three weeks for my bathroom tiles.

Speaking of bathrooms, we saw only a couple of the 30 the castle houses. Loved the his’n’her sinks.

It’s an impressive place. The outside is being dolled up and the scaffolding didn’t do it justice. But get yourself your tipple of choice, sit back for 15 minutes and enjoy this virtual tour. It includes everything I’ve not told you. And more.

If you go, book online. Reserve a tour and then walk into the inner courtyard skipping the queues. There you meet two more queues – one for tours in English and another for tours in Romanian. The folks outside are either queuing for admission tickets or were as lost as we were. You can tour one floor, two floors, or all three. We didn’t do the top floor and were glad not to have booked it; the trivia is a tad overwhelming. It is possible to get too much of a good thing. Oh, when you park downtown, take a Bolt up to the castle and then walk back. Much easier on the shins.

Were I a betting woman, I’d wager there isn’t a town in Romania that doesn’t have a gobsmackingly gorgeous church or monastery. Sinaia is no exception. Aptly named the Sinaia Monastery, it dates to 1695 when Prince Mihail Cantacuzino had it built on his return from a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai in Egypt. I suspect that’s where the town got its name. It was built originally to house 12 monks – with a nod to the 12 apostles – but in time, they outgrew the place and a new church was built. It’s still a working monastery.

The new church is stunning but it was the cloisters and the old church that swept me away, back to a time when religion was more silence than noise.

Elsewhere in the town, designer shops do battle with restaurants and cafés. Tourists hustle, drawn by the must-see pairing of Peleș Castle and the smaller Pelișor Castle, which is practically next door. I’d found my limit though. Two churches I can do but one castle was enough. 

The old villas speak to times gone by – many I’m sure are now in flats, no longer single-family homes with a horse-drawn carriage parked out the back.

I found my fixer-upper and added yet another property to my ever-longer Lotto list.

The town’s 15,000 or so inhabitants thrive on the year-round tourism that reaches an unmerciful height in the summer months. Not me. I was ready to bail and didn’t even consider eating locally. Instead, we hit the road back to Brașov, choosing to stop in Bușteni, at Alun Restaurant, for one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time.

Driving out of Bușteni, we spotted a sign for Cantacuzino Castle. And yes, I know I said I was castled out, but I’d a burger under my belt and was feeling curious. Not because of the castle but because the town seemed so proud that Wednesday had been filmed there. None of us had heard of it, but we went for a look. Well, in fairness, himself had a notion it was something Addamsey.

If you’re as clueless as I was, let me help you. Wednesday is a Netflix series by Tim Burton set in Vermont but filmed in Romania. Imdb tells me it ‘follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student, when she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree, and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents’. Who knew?

Cantacuzino is used as the exterior of Nevermore Academy, which has brought no small measure of fame to this Romanian town. Of course, since I know that now, I’m tripping over Wednesday merch, bumping into racks of it in Tesco in Ireland.

Romania is my new favourite country. More to come.