SINAIA CASTLE

Our six weeks stay in Romania was coming to a close. The Boinganue family were "over the top" gracious hosts. The children began leaving for college and I felt a bit sad, realizing I may never see them again. Ben and Anna are dear friends, the kind you have for a life time regardless of the distance. We were so pleased that they had the time to take us on this site-seeking trip and leave us at a hotel near the Bucharest Airport.

I reported on the Bram Castle and now I want to report on the King's Castle. As you can see from the picture above, the grounds are very picturesque. I often wished we had made this trip in Spring or Fall. The mountains were beautiful anyway.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but it was on the order of Biltmore in Ashville. The castle had the first electric elevator in Europe, fully functioning bathrooms, radiant heat behind fake firepaces, and a central vacuum system. Every guest suite represented the decor of a different country. The Bram castle's walls were very plain with few picures or hangings, but the Sinaia Castle had gorgeous wood paneled walls, ornately carved in many places, lots of marble, huge framed pictures that the queen painted or that were presented by other countries.

Music filled this castle home because the queen was creative and musical herself, as well as bringing it into the family life in the form of concerts and art forms of all kinds. I enjoyed trying to imagine what it would have been like living in this spacious place as a child. Hide n Seek would have been a blast with secret doorways through huge wardrobes standing in a hall and a whole section of the library wall that opened up as a secret passage to somewhere I don't remember.

There was a lot of fascinating history that passsed through my mind. The Romanian people are lovers, not fighters, very creative, excelling in art, music and poetry.

THE CASTLE OF COUNT DRACULA

We finally got our trip to two of Romania's famous castles. Bram Castle belonged to the legendary Count Dracula of Transylvania. It was built right out of the rock base. The town of Bram was in the valley. At the base of this castle, shops and restaurants have sprung up to take advantage of the constant stream of visitors that come all year.

It was very plain construction with secret staircases and low ceilings and doors. I was told that Dracula was a short man. He was very cruel, as most rulers in those days were. But was not a vampire. He was called Vlad the Impailer. There were no lavish furnishings, only the bare necessities. It was totally different from the king's castle in Sinaia. I will report on it next blog.

In these shops, Tal found the hat like Ben's that he had looked for all over Braila. It looks a bit Russian I think. We bought other things to bring home as well. From here we continued our road trip that took us closer to our departure on Tuesday. But first, I must show you the King's castle in Sinaia. We acturally saw it first after registering in a cute Bed and Breakfast. We spent two nights there.

ORTHODOX BLESSING

We are so grateful to see the sunshine today after three days of intense fog and cold. I took close up pictures of the trees with the frozen snow. The sun warmed our face as we walked with hundreds of Greek Orthodox worshipers below our apartment on the Danube River. Barriers and stage props were being set up all day yesterday, so we went down to meet Ben and to get a closer look at how they carry out this special celebration. It has something to do with Saint John the Baptizer.

Tal got video of the army band playing as they marched up the street from the church where they had first had a service. All the people who were in this service followed the priests, who followed the band. A priest in beautiful robes and crown was blessing the by-standers with holy water. Just as he reached us, he dipped the "sprinkler" on a stick in the pot of holy water carried by his helper,and flung it on us. Ben said the "sprinkler" was a bundle of special herbs. I guessed maybe it was Rosemary.

The procession made their way on down a long flight of stairs to the amphitheater beside the river. I came back to the house and checked on the ceremony from our 5th floor porch window. Ben wanted to hear what the priests were telling the people, so he and Tal stayed a bit longer.

There were six barrels of water set up and after the priests bless each barrel by stirring it with their hands, they allow the people to bring their plastic bottles and draw off this holy water to take home. Every Orthodox church we passed in the city all day has had long lines of people waiting to fill their containers.

The last thing to happen in this ceremony is for the priest to throw a cross into the Danube River and young men dive in hoping to be the favored one to retrieve the cross. He receives a special blessing. Tal remembered that in Tarpon Springs, Florida, the Greek Orthodox carry out this same ceremony. It took place this past Tuesday. In Florida the weather was in the 50s; here in Braila, Romania it is 32 degrees temperature with ice on the edge of the river. It makes me shutter to think of making a plunge into that water for whatever reason.

TRAINING FOR GYPSY LEADERS

Tuesday Tal and Ben spent the afternoon in Spiru Haret with 25 men who are providing leadership for the Gypsy churches as pastors and lay leaders. By their excitement, it was a very successful event and Ben plans to continue meeting with them on a monthly basis. This was their request and they are excited about future meetings.

I spent a pleasant day reading and computering. They picked me up for supper. Anna and I enjoy grocery shopping, so after supper, Ben and Tal took us to pick up a very few things. We only have one more day in Braila.

Something unusual will be happening below us on the river front in the morning. City officials have been preparing the area for a traditional event of the Orthodox Church. I will tell you more about it later when we observe what they do here. Tal says the Orthodox Church has a similar tradition in Tarpon Springs, Florida.