Очаровательный отель в стране чарующих гор. Charming hotel in the country of charming mountains.

I think that Transylvania is a place that is simply impossible not to fall in love with! Everything is here: the purest mountain air, picturesque landscapes, architectural and historical monuments, modern developed infrastructure and European service. All this contrasts very strongly with the depressed areas in the south of Romania, which we passed on our way to Bulgaria as part of the tour "Spring cocktail. Bulgaria + Romania" (Accord-tour). The reason for such a striking contrast was explained by our guide in Romania, Irina Ciobanu. The fact is that the Black Sea coast of Romania cannot compete with its neighbors - Bulgaria and Turkey. The reason for this, among others, was the great European river - the Danube, which decided, for the most part, to flow into the sea in Romania. "The Danube muddies the sea for us, " the Romanian government decided, and waved its hand at all the achievements of the Ceausescu era in this industry. Having entrusted its seaside health resorts to private business, the state focused on the development of ski and balneological resorts. And, judging by the number of Germans and Americans vacationing here, it did not fail.
Hotel "Rozmarin" is located in a small cozy town of Predeal. This is the highest point of the Southern Carpathians, the town is located on a high mountain pass (1060m), which once served as a natural border between Wallachia and Transylvania. Despite the fact that the resort is considered a ski resort, life here is seething all year round. "Rosemary" is located in a quiet beautiful place, far from the center (about 20 minutes on foot), but the surrounding peace and quiet compensate for this. It is interesting to watch, sitting on the second floor of the restaurant, how clouds float UNDER the windows. . . You feel like in a dream. The rooms are small but cozy. In the room: hair dryer, minibar fridge, TV (no Russian channels), wardrobe, two beds - in general, "standard set" : ) Good varied hearty breakfast, friendly English-speaking staff. Upon arrival at the hotel, most of our group went "for reconnaissance" to the center, but we, tired of the move, decided to have dinner at the restaurant at the hotel.
Restaurant "Rosemary" is decorated in the form of a "hunting house", everything around is made of wood and stairs, and furniture. The waiter who served us knew a few words in Russian, and I had a Romanian phrasebook at hand, so we easily found a common language - English: P Contrary to our pessimistic expectations, the prices in the restaurant turned out to be acceptable and my friend and I "bulged out" as much as 12 euros in a restaurant with "special service" and live music. In "Rosemary" they serve very tasty white wine, the price of which is only 3 lei per glass (this is less than one euro), in "budget" Bulgaria in a similar restaurant a glass of wine costs three leva (about one and a half euros). Mititei - a national dish, pork sausages, small but very satisfying -2.50 lei per piece, "Bulgarian salad" 300 gr -13 lei, bun ("kifle") - 1 lei, there were also various chorba on the menu ( soups) from 4 to 8 lei, but, unfortunately, at 8 pm they refused to feed us soup : ( In the restaurant you can pay with a credit card, which is very convenient, since there was no place to exchange money. At the border and at the reception at the hotel, the rate is not very profitable 3.90 lei for 1 euro, while in the same Bran, where we went the next day, it was possible to exchange currency at 4.0 -4.05 for 1 euro.

In general, in Romania, although it was "strained" with ATMs, they accept cards almost everywhere both in a cafe at a gas station and in a store, which was very convenient, especially on the way to Bulgaria, because there were no stops for currency exchange by the tour operator at all. Hungry tourists are brought to a "baited" bistro-type cafe on the outskirts of some downtrodden village, where all the food is sold to us for euros. Naturally, they refused to accept my card there, even though the terminal was available. Lunch of chorba, chicken leg and a cup of coffee cost me 8 euros! This is almost the cost of dinner at the Rosemary restaurant for two with alcohol : ) A little more prices for souvenirs in the Romanian Bran: a magnet - 2.5-5 lei, a T-shirt - 25 - 35 lei (depending on quality), cheese ("authentic "homemade, made only here) - 33 lei kg, goes somewhere around 13-15 lei for a small head. Cuica, which is sold at the souvenir market, is very expensive - 60-40 lei per bottle. Last year, when we traveled on our own, we bought exactly the same one in a supermarket in Galati for 20 lei : ) So I limited myself to buying homemade palinka, having agreed with a Romanian grandfather for 15 lei per half liter. By the way, the palinka turned out to be very tasty. Recommended for hard drink lovers. But in general, I didn’t spend much on souvenirs, firstly, there wasn’t much money left after Bulgaria, and secondly, last year I brought a kilogram of magnets from here : ) And there was not enough time to go around the market - only an hour and a half, and still need I had time to eat before a long road...
I liked the "Accord" tours of Bran and Peles Castle, the cost of excursions is 20 euros, maybe a little expensive, but I did not regret it. In Peles Castle paid photography - 30 lei, take pictures only without a flash. I was greedy, I thought - I’ll buy a book, it will be cheaper, but the pictures are the same there. In short, it turned out that it would be better if I paid for the shooting. The book costs the same 30 lei, there are very few photos in it and their quality is mediocre. Out of grief, I bought an expensive magnet with a view of the castle - 15 lei : )
Romania is a mysterious and hospitable country. I dream of spending at least half of my vacation in the local mountains : )
I wish you all pleasant travels and bright impressions! : )