Beautiful Places of Romania in Autumn

Let me take you on a journey. It starts with autumn.. with winds and rains and libra sun that burns the leafs and turns them into magic. And then one day you wake up in the mountains surrounded by fairy tale scenery.

So let's start the journey. You wake up really early so that you don't catch everyone on the road. You know the saying and if you don't, I'll tell you, who wakes up early will get far. And you go far away from the busy city and into the mountains.

If you go from Bucharest and choose Bucegi mountains as your destination, the first place you want to stop is at Sinaia and Peles Castle.

This is the place King Carol I of Romania (1839–1914), under whose reign the country gained its independence, fell in love with. He first visited the place in 1866 and was mesmerized by the magnificent mountain scenery. In 1872, the Crown purchased 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi) of land near the Piatra Arsa River. The estate was named the Royal Estate of Sinaia. The King commissioned the construction of a royal hunting preserve and summer retreat on the property, and the foundation was laid for Peles Castle on 22 August 1873.

I don't know if he came here in fall or not, but for sure I understand why he fell in love with this place.

It's like the entire fall and the castle surroundings came together to create a magical place, out of this time.

The cost of the work on the castle undertaken between 1875 and 1914 was estimated to be 16,000,000 Romanian lei in gold (approx. US$ 120 million today). Between three and four hundred men worked on the construction. Queen Elisabeth of the Romanians, during the construction phase, wrote in her journal:

"Italians were masons, Romanians were building terraces, the Gypsies were coolies. Albanians and Greeks worked in stone, Germans and Hungarians were carpenters. Turks were burning brick. Engineers were Polish and the stone carvers were Czech. The Frenchmen were drawing, the Englishmen were measuring, and so was then when you could see hundreds of national costumes and fourteen languages in which they spoke, sang, cursed and quarreled in all dialects and tones, a joyful mix of men, horses, cart oxen and domestic buffaloes."

I guess that is why this place is filled with an amazing vibe and good feeling. People from different places of the world came together as one to create it.

The style in which the castle is built is a romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades, which have allegorical hand-painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to that seen in northern European alpine architecture. Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics.

As you leave behind Sinaia and Peles Castle, the next stop you want to make is in Busteni at the Cantacuzino Castle.

The Cantacuzino Castle was completed in 1911 by the architect Gregory Cerchez at the request of Prince George Grigore Cantacuzino. It is built in Neo-Romanian style, the total surface of the estate is over 3,000 square meters.

Here is another place where you can find amazing scenery which fall dresses up in golden colors, maybe to remind us of the golden age of the place.

I, my self, was mostly attracted by its beautiful fountains which even though do not look anymore as they looked in their full glory, they contain those marks of time which I believe makes them even more beautiful and reminds us of romantic fallen times. How can you not be attracted to that in autumn?

And what I found most joyfuller in this place was the fact that they have placed swinging chairs between the trees from place to place. Of course I swung and swung until I got dizzy. The child inside of me was very happy.

So you have many things to enjoy at Cantacuzino Castle. There is also a very good restaurant where you can take your lunch before continuing your journey. I really advise you to grab some good lunch because if you also want to do the next thing I did on my journey, you will need good strength.

After you get your stomach full with new good fresh energy, the next stop I propose to you is Seven Stairs Canyon.

The canyon has been carved in Jurassic limestone and is composed by seven waterfalls, the tallest being 35 metres (115 ft) high. The trail within the canyon is arranged with metal stairs and platforms.

It's an amazing hiking trip, I've been to this place two times - once in summer and now in autumn - and I have to say autumn brings to it more magic. So if you pass by this place in autumn, don't miss it!

This was my autumn trip in which I rediscovered places I already knew, but saw them, this time, in the magical colors of fall. The best time to visit this places in autumn is at the end of October, around 21-22 October.

I hope this inspires you to visit these places and discover your own versions of them.

Be a traveler, always a seeker of beauty and amazement!