First thing in the morning was the news of the horrific crash of an Air Canada plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York City the night before. Our own Air Canada flight at 15:30 was still on schedule. Another check at 10:00 showed our flight was cancelled, but we had received no notification. A call to the Viking Air emergency number indicated we were rebooked on British Airways, leaving at 19:35 for London Heathrow, rather than the original flight plan to Montreal, then Frankfurt to Bucharest.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Arrived in Bucharest, Romania at 15:30, and Viking transferred us to the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, a 5-star hotel. Although we have been here before (Passage to Eastern Europe), we did not realize that this hotel was built later during the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu for overflow administration and to house VIP guests. It was not completed when sold to JW Marriott, and it opened in 2000 as a hotel.
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| JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel room |
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| JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel room |
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| JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel bathroom |
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| JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel lavatory |
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| Being on a Viking extension to Transylvania, dinner was on our own; Kent ordering at the kiosk at Chicken Staff |
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| We split a chicken breast meal; it was very unusual to meet another Viking couple, Paul & Cynthy, who were also dining where the locals eat (including a Viking rep) |
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
We boarded a motor coach to head up into the mountains of Transylvania.
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| An example of "Paris-style" housing in Bucharest |
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| An example of fancy Communist-style housing in Bucharest |
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| Two hours later we arrived at Peleș Castle in the town of Sinaia |
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| Peleș Castle (1873-1914, by Johannes Schultz, then Karel Liman in Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival style as the royal hunting preserve and summer retreat of the first king of Romania) |
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| Holul de Onoare/Hall of Honor with busts of King Karl I and his Queen Elisabeta; they had one daughter, Princess Mărioara, who died before age four with scarlet fever |
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| Ceiling of the Hall of Honor is retractable (KSS) |
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| Detail of woodwork in the Hall of Honor (KSS) |
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| Picking Fruit (18C French tapestry) |
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| Carved wooden spiral staircase (1610, by 25-year old Romanian Gorgesanesco, who may have carved himself holding up the stairs); there is also supposed to be a bust of Karel Liman |
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| One of several inlaid-wood depictions of German and Swiss castles that belonged to the king's Hohenzollern family |
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| Sala Mare de Arme/The Grand Armory (KSS) |
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| A complete set of German armor (weighing 120 kilos/ 265 pounds) for a horse and rider |
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| A replica of the Romanian crown, which was made of steel from an Ottoman cannon captured during the Romanian War of Independence in 1878, and is a symbol of independence from the Ottoman Empire |
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| Stained glass in a door |
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| Apartamentul Imperial/The Imperial Suite with tooled leather walls |
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| King Karl I liked to use the standing desk on the left to insure that audiences with constituents lasted only 15 minutes or so; more important guests would be seated in the nook beyond the desk |
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| Because the castle had a forced hot-air heating system, all the fireplaces were decorative: Kingdom of Romania Coat of Arms with the motto Nihil Sine Deo/Nothing without God |
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| Biblioteca Regală/Royal Library with a secret doorway (second bookcase from the right) to the king's apartments |
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| Sala de Muzică/Music Room features a Bechstein piano and Raffaello harp as well as intricately carved teak furniture gifted by the Maharajah of Kapurthala |
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| Paintings by Dora Hitz depict scenes from the writings of Carmen Sylva, the pen name of Queen Elisabeta; Dora Hitz was the first court painter of Romania under Queen Elisabeta and was a contemporary of Gustav Klimt, although she was associated with the Berlin Secession |
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| The Music Room stained glass windows depict scenes from Romanian fairy tales by Vasile Alecsandri |
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| Sala Florentină/The Florentine Room with a chandelier of Murano glass |
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| The large mirror is also of Murano glass and the angle of the photo is such to show the ceiling painting of the muse Calliope (after Giorgio Vasari, c 1555-1558 original in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy) |
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| The Education of the Virgin Mary (after Peter Paul Rubens, c 1625-1626 original in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp); I missed the painting by JM Keuttel, who was armless |
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| Sala de Mese/Dining Room (KSS) |
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| Salonul Maur/Moorish Salon was inspired by the Alhambra and incorporates Spanish and North African Moorish designs; at the far end is a fountain made from Carrara marble |
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| Salonul Turcesc/Turkish Salon is decorated with silk embroidered with gold |
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| Vent for the forced hot-air heating; the castle also has a central vacuum, an elevator, and its own power plant (KSS) |
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| A statue (c 1912, by Rottermun of Germany) of King Karl I in the uniform of a cavalry general; because he had no heir the second king of Romania was his nephew Ferdinand; Karl himself was chosen by the nobles of Romania to become king and he signed the new constitution creating a constitutional monarchy |
Next: Sinaia.
