Weekend in Romania: Bucharest & Transylvania

It's been 6 years since Florence and I last went away together alone, in fact it was on our Honeymoon to Mauritius. Since then there's been kids, two of them!

Free for the weekend!

So now they are old enough to be locked in the cellar for a couple of days without starving*, we saw a window of opportunity to spend some quality time together on a weekend away. I've always wanted to visit Transylvania, so Flo surprised me with a short break to Romania for my birthday; awesome wife alert!

We flew out of Luton Airport on budget airline Wizz Air, (the first time I'd heard of these guys - they're pretty decent as well) and 3 hours later we were touching down in Bucharest.

Wizz Air to Bucharest

Our itinerary was a tight one: arrive  on Saturday afternoon  and explore the city. On Sunday we were booked on a day long tour to Transylvania and Walachia, returning to the capital in the evening, and leaving  on Monday afternoon.

With such a tight schedule it was important to tap right in to the main vein of the city right away, so we joined up with a ton of other travellers on a free walking tour of Bucharest, provided by the awesome Vlad of Walkabout Free Walking Tours.

Good turn out for the Walkabout Free Walking Tour

Romania in the summer is damn hot! It was 34°C during our stay (late June), so make sure you have sun cream and water whenever you head out, especially if you're exploring on foot.

We met up with the group on the sprawling Bulevardul Unirii (Union Boulevard), Nicolae Ceaușescu’s extravagant marble runway leading through the city to his even more ostentatious Palace of the Parliament - the 2nd largest administrative building in the world (behind the Pentagon) and the world's heaviest building. The dictator travelled to North Korea looking for architectural inspiration, building this gigantic ode to communism on his return at a cost of €1.75 Billion. A few years later he faced a firing squad - go figure!

The gigantic Palace of Parliament in Bucharest 

Part of the appeal of visiting Bucharest was to explore what we assumed would be a city built of brutalist communist architecture. What we actually discovered (apart from the Bulevardul Unirii and Palace of the Parliament) was a city bursting with breathtaking Art Deco buildings, inspired by the architecture of Paris; a welcome surprise.

Just one of Bucharest's many Art Deco buildings.

However, whilst Bucharest is characterised by its wonderful buildings, it was painful to find that around 90% of them are defaced with crude graffiti. You'd struggle to defend it as 'street art' (something we're fond of), it's more like vandalism for vandalism's sake, and there seems to be little appetite to tackle the problem. The Romanians are extremely proud of their rich history, so it's mystifying to encounter such a lack of civic pride.

Roman Emperor Trajan Statue & The CEC Palace

The walking tour took us across the city centre, from the bustling Old Town to the protest battleground of University Square, with our able guide Vlad regaining us with the great history of the city, its escape from the grip of communist rule and further bloody revolutions. Bucharest is also a statue enthusiast’s heaven; from grand towering effigies to confusing modern art - you could spend a couple of days exploring this element alone.

We highly recommend the Walkabout Free Walking Tour to first timers in Bucharest; it's the best way to get an immediate grip on the city.

We ate at Caru' cu Bere in the Old Town that night, chowing down on traditional Romanian dishes like Sarmale (Cabbage leaves stuffed with mince and rice) and Kransky's (large pork sausages laced with cheese). Vegetarians may not fare well in Romania (Vegans even less so!) as there's a culinary obsession with meat, cheese and heavily fried foods.

Traditional Romanian Dishes

We were up at the crack of dawn the next day as we boarded the (thankfully air conditioned) bus of Travel Maker Tours, and headed out in to the stunning Romanian countryside on a tour of castles in Walachia and Transylvania.

Our first stop was Peleș Castle in Prahova County. We really started with the best here, visiting the former Royal summer retreat of King Carol 1, which is probably the most beautiful castle we've ever encountered. The facade was fairytale-esque and the inside featured the most intricate decoration imaginable. Unfortunately it is common in Romania to charge visitors extra to take photos inside many attractions, so having already paid for entry we decided not to be fleeced any further. If you want to see inside Peleș Castle, click here.

King Carol's Peleș Castle

Next we headed across the border from Walachia to Transylvania and on to Bran Castle, Bram Stoker's inspiration for Dracula's Castle and the inspiration for our trip.

It's important for vampire enthusiasts to do a little research before setting off for Transylvania to avoid disappointment. Dracula is a work of pure fiction and whilst its author Bram Stoker did base the story loosely on Romanian King Vlad Tepes (The Impaler), Castle Bran, which is marketed as Dracula's Castle, has little to do with him. Luckily we were aware of this, but our guide had plenty of stories of tourists freaking out because they expected to see "Dracula's grave" there!

The infamous Bran Castle 

Bran Castle is still worth the visit though, but expect to find a less ostentatious castle than Peleș Castle, as this one was constructed for soldiers from which to guard the main trade road in to Transylvania. Horror enthusiasts can still look forward to seeing implements of torture, a Witches Scale and all the cheap and nasty, super-fun Dracula merchandise you can shake a stake at!

From Bran Castle we ventured further into Transylvania to the lovely city of Brașov, circled by the Carpathian Mountains and characterised by baroque buildings, towering churches, and lively cafes and bars. There was a market taking place in the large Council Square when we arrived, and we wasted no time in getting stuck in to the various street deserts being peddled by stall holders.

Medieval city of Brașov

The kiwi fruit ice cream was a hit on a blazing hot day, as was the Kürtoskalács, a large, coconut shaving-covered pastry tube, originating from Hungary but sold widely across Romania. Our tour guide Valentin also turned us on to Rom, the only Romanian chocolate confectionary to survive the Communist era. It's a strong dark chocolate laced with rum, with a really interesting back story. It's an acquired taste, but we stocked up on it for the journey home none the less.

After a 4 hour trip back to Bucharest, we just about summoned the energy for a late night pizza at the City's brilliant, beach-themed 'Food Hood' before hitting the sack. There was a few hours left in the morning to take some extra shots of the city, stock up on Dracula souvenirs and kiss goodbye to the glorious sunshine before our flight back to the UK.

Bucharest's trendy Food Hood

Our trip to Romania was short, but well worth the effort. With a little more time we would have spent a few  more days in the glorious countryside of Walachia and Transylvania, but we're pleased to be able to tick a new country off the list. 

Rainbow street art, Communist chocolate & Dracula souvenirs 

The only downside  was that our visit coincided with Britain's bizarre decision to opt out of Europe, and we spent a fair bit of time fielding questions from both Romanians and other international travellers about the logic of such a decision. The Romanian tricolour flies proudly in unison with the EU flag across the country. As a nation long beset by the fall-out of wars and oppressive regimes, they understand the real value and protection of international collaboration, and it's reflected in their attitude and welcoming nature. Do yourself a favour, visit Romania.

* We didn’t really lock the kids in the cellar. They’d make too much mess down there. The kennels are a far more suitable solution.

Taking to the Skies of West Wales

Taking to the skies

Way back when we first started dating, during that period when you're really trying to impress each other, I booked Marcus a surprise flying lesson for his birthday.

15 years later (Jesus, we're getting old) he returned the favour with a gift voucher for a 30 min flying lesson along West Wales’ beautiful Gower Peninsula, with Gower Flight Centre.

I've jumped out of planes before, but had never piloted one, so I was super excited for the lesson, and to see how the kids would react to their mother taking the controls of a plane.

The C42

The weather was great on the day that I flew, and the kids' started to get really excited as we approached Swansea Airport.

Marcus booked with Gower Flight Centre because his friend Matt is a pilot there (his old job was as a guitarist for sadly missed Welsh rockers The Blackout - check him in action here!), and it was Matt who strapped me in and took me up for my lesson.

Ready to go

Once airborne, we flew over spectacular views of Oxwich Bay, Worm’s Head and the National Trust's Rhossilli. Somewhere between Three Cliffs Bay and the Loughor Estuary, I was handed control of the plane; taking the stick and flying solo. I was a little nervous to take over from Matt and was surprised at how difficult it was to keep the aircraft steady. I was encouraged to steer in different directions but I think I was too cautious to make any sudden movements in such a tiny plane. All in all, it was a fun experience.

View from the Cockpit

Gower Peninsular

Whilst I was in the air Marcus and the kids explored around the airfield. The boys watched in amazement as skydivers jumped out of planes above, saw the Wales Air Ambulance helicopter come and go, and got up close with the old jets scattered around the site.

An old jets lays in wait for eager young explorers

The family met me at the plane on my return and the kids took turns exploring the cockpit. Matt the pilot then very generously offered to take Marcus up for a quick joyride before his next student arrived, and off they went!

The boys exploring the Cockpit

We all had such a great time at Gower Flight Centre and the kids loved seeing their parents take to the skies, exploring the airfield and getting snapped in the cockpit.

A flying lesson is such a great experiential gift to give, and it will live long in the memory. At Gower Flight Centre Trial Gift Flights start from £59.00 for 20 minutes, but prices will obviously vary with other companies elsewhere. It was well worth the money and Matt and his team put us at ease and looked after us well.

Thanks to the guys at Gower Flight Centre for an excellent day!

Pilot Matt & The Boys

In such small aircrafts flying is weather dependent, to ensure your safety. Our flight was cancelled 3 times due to bad weather, so be aware of this when you book a lesson.