Saturday, 11/9. Our first Viking tour on this trip. The main point of interest is the 1990 government building, billed as the second largest administrative building in the world (behind the Pentagon). It is truly impressive. There are popular rumors regarding the subterranean floors. Supposed to be seven, may be many more. It’s strange that after 30+ years of democracy, it still holds secrets. Odd statistic: It’s the heaviest building in the world. 1,200 rooms. Designed by an architectural contest winner, a 29 year-old woman.

In spite of communism’s efforts to tear down the older, historical parts of the city, there are still lots to see. Extremely eclectic architecture. There was certainly no master plan. A lot of renovation is going on.

A massive orthodox church is being built next to the hotel. When completed (“very soon now”), it’ll be the largest orthodox church in the world.

Had a fine lunch outdoors (space heaters). Not that cold. Ribs. Dinner was just desert. Massive, rich chocolate cake and cheesecake. We each ate maybe a third.

Friday, 11/8. A long day trip north to the mountains of Transylvania. Heavy traffic to get out of the city, which does not have any highway connectors. They have a highway ring, but it’s too far out of the city to be helpful. Someone is expecting the city to grow a lot. After nearly 3 hours we reached Sinaia in the Prahova Valley. “Pearl of the Carpathians” due to the beauty of its natural setting and the elegance of its architecture. Very Alpine. Visited Peles Castle, former summer residence of the Romanian Royal Family. It’s much more like a palace. Incredible artwork and design. I could have spent all day admiring it’s interior. The exterior is fine too, but most of the building is being repaired, so there was a lot of scaffolding.

Next stop was “Dracula’s Castle”, so named only because it bears a striking resemblance to Bram Stoker’s description. The story is that readers of the book (or watchers of the earlier movies) stopped by and begged the owner for a tour. The owner saw dollar signs and began offering tours at a price. Bram Stoker, an Irishman, never visited Romania and never saw the castle. Prince Vlad “the Impaler” (surname Dracula) occasionally used the Castle. Perched atop a 200-foot-high rock, but very close to the town below. For the joy of foreign visitors it was decorated in Halloween-themed style. I asked Dan our guide if Romania celebrated Halloween. “No”. The Castle’s interesting setup was as the home of Princess Marie, the very popular British wife of Romania’s crown prince and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. I enjoyed the factual history more than the mythical one.

Last stop, Brasov. It’s a very old city with a wealth of very interesting architecture. Had a very late lunch in a past dungeon. Hungarian goulash. (Understandably, Romania’s most disliked country is Hungary.)

The drive back was far longer than we expected. Not enough roads, too many cars. Endured a 40+ minute slowdown for no apparent reason. Arrived back at 8:30.

Romanians have placed themselves in my rankings as the worst drivers in the world, mostly due to their unpredictability. They absolutely force other drivers to take preventative measures. Since I’ve noticed that everyone has one eye on their phones, this is scary.

Thursday, 11/7. Flew out on the day after elections. Some might see it as an escape from countrymen I don’t understand. But we’d booked it long ago.

Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria. On (or near) the Danube. Our flights were long and uncomfortable. As usual. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t like to do the things you do like.

An interesting Uber drive from the airport to hotel. Romanians drive like bad F1 racers. Wait too long for a gap, then accelerate until the gap closes. Horns! I don’t remember the last country that used horns so much.

Surprisingly, Romania is the sixth largest producer of wine in Europe. I’m going to experiment.

Hotel is top notch. Restaurant served traditional and most popular beef & pork sausage. Excellent.