Teach Middle East Magazine September 2014 Issue 1 Vol. 2 | Page 36

Travel Featured

RENDEZVOUS IN ROMANIA
By Richie Chin

Palace of the Parliament in Romania. According to
the World Records Academy, it is the world’s largest
civilian building with an administrative function,
most expensive administrative building and heaviest
building.

I

n the previous issue, I talked
about my trip to Salalah in Oman.
After that whirlwind of a weekend
and only a few hours at home to
get some sleep, my friend and I were
back at the airport for the second leg of
our journey, Romania.
The package holiday we had booked
provided us with transfers to and
from the airport. A driver was waiting
for us outside the Bucharest Airport
customs hall. The drive to our hotel
took a little less than thirty minutes.
We had expected the city to be similar
in look to Tbilisi but noted that it was
more modern and less austere in
appearance. Arriving in early spring
meant that the climate was pleasantly
fresh. A light jacket was all that was
needed for the entire trip.
Our hotel was located in the center of
the city and within walking distance
of a few key attractions. We checked
in, put away our bags and headed
straight into the city for a quick wander.
Our walk took us through a local park
that sits on the edge of the Palace of
Parliament; an imposing building that
seemed to take up a whole city block.

From there, we walked up through a
trendy part of town with lots of cafes
and restaurants that reminded me a bit
of London’s Soho. There were many
monasteries and most were open to the
public. Most allow pictures to be taken
inside, as long as respect is given to
the worshipers and no flash is used.
Not far from the restaurants was the
famous Revolution Square. This was
where on December 22, 1989 the
former dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu
fled by helicopter from the roof of the
building that was home to the former
Romanian Communist Party. It was
here that the Romanian Revolution was
born. The square contains monuments
to commemorate that day. The Royal
Palace, which is also in the square,
now houses the National Museum of
Art of Romania.
On our second day we hired a driver
to take us to Transylvania to see Bran
Castle. It was this castle, and its most
famous denizen, Vlad the Impaler, that
provided the inspiration for the book,
Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After all, what’s
a trip to Romania without visiting
Dracula’s castle?
The drive from Bucharest took nearly
three hours but was broken up with a
few stops at other sights such as the
stunning, Manastirea Castel Peles in
Sinaia. On arriving at Bran, we toured
the castle and bought a few souvenirs.
I have to admit, the castle was not as
exciting as I had expected. I realized
later that I had gone there with an
image of the Hollywood interpretations
colouring my expectations. What I
encountered was a fairly plain castle
(if such a thing exists) surrounded by
picturesque landscapes. It did not help
much that we visited on a beautifully
warm and cloudless day.
However, it was not a wasted day as

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September 2014

After The Bell

the drive across the beautiful Romanian
countryside with its snow-capped
mountains and lush fields, more than
made up for it. Our last stop in this
region was in the quaint medieval town
of Brasov. We did not have enough time
to really do it justice, but the little we
saw convinced us that we need to make
an extended return visit. There were
just too many cobbled paths beckoning
for us to take a stroll through history.