Highlights Map
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After a relatively early breakfast it is time for our drive to Bucharest, with a lot of sightseeing planned along the way. In fact we planned crossing the high country on the Transfagarasan but due to bad weather and snow we decide to leave that for another time and cross the mountains at a lower altitude.
We have been on this route before and even stopped a few times but today we are planning slightly different stops. Some of them are planned like the Red Tower Castle, a former border fortification and now an orphanage with a grim reputation. From here we notice that the highway traffic is stopped, there are multiple work zones going forward that force us to lose time while waiting in line.
Next planned stop for the day is Cozia Monastery, one of the most historic monasteries in Romania. Parking is easy near the main highway and after somehow crossing the main street we enter the monastery.
The main church is impressive and well preserved and renovated. They style is quite interesting and we really like it, it is in a style typical of Serbian Morava school where likely the craftsmen were brought from. There are quite a few people here but they are mostly spread around making for a nice visit.
What is special here are the frescoes. While we cannot take photos inside even the outside ones are quite beautiful with the usual representations of hell and heaven and many saints. Inside is the grave of Mircea 1 of Wallachia, the ruler under which the church was built and a fresco depicting him with his family which is famous in Romania as it is in all history schoolbooks.
The details on the church are exquisite we really like how the windows are decorated, it is a style that really resonates with us.
We continue exploring the monastery complex and take a look over the Olt River that flows nearby, no boats or birds today.
There is also a small museum in the monastery mostly with religious iconography. Some of them are quite old and some are surprisingly new covering different styles of religious paintings.
Next stop is a city where we never stopped before but where our relative stayed multiple times on work trips. Still now she is finding it difficult to recognize any landmarks as the city has changed a lot in the intervening years. We park in an underground garage downtown and start our walk over the garage where a large plaza lies.
The plaza has a fountain feature in the middle that is happily taken over by the local pigeons to take baths and enjoy themselves.
From here we are searching for the history museum and are happy for google maps as there are no signs along the way. We pass multiple stately buildings along the way like the Valcea Court Building and also an old Orthodox Church that cannot be visited unfortunately.
And then past the prefecture we find the History Museum, marked by two guns in front of the building. We are the only visitors and quite a surprise for the museum keepers who turn on the lights to the exhibits so we can see them.
The museum itself is surprisingly good and informative. It covers the main epochs of civilization starting with the stone age. There were lots of ancient objects found in the area and even some burials and all are shown here.
There are some reconstructed buildings to show how people used to live and lots and lots of pottery found in the area.
And by lots we mean lots of pottery and from multiple epochs including the Dacian and Roman period. Here we also see the most famous piece from Roman times an interesting sculpture of a human head.
The museum sits in a house with an interior courtyard covered by a glass ceiling and here is the modern military exhibit. It is a bit out of period with the surrounding exhibits but a fun diversion.
Upstairs is the more modern section including the medieval times with some reproduced frescoes from nearby churches, unfortunately not Cozia.
Then comes the 1848 revolution then the first world war and that is where the history mostly ends. It would make sense to add a more modern section but still the visit was quite interesting even with what was covered. On the return trip we buy something to eat from a street stall and then it is time to move on.
The last stop for the day is Golesti Museum near Pitesti. We found it during our research and it seemed quite interesting so we decide to end our day with a visit to it. There is no official parking so we park near the old looking church and walk towards the entrance.
At the entrance the guard person asks us to wait until the ticket seller returns from somewhere but then decides to let us in and tells us we should pay when the ticket seller returns. We enter where he indicates which is a small museum of tradtional clothes focused on the cross motiv found on these type of clothing.
Interestingly there is also a small classroom here with old schoolbooks and benches, supposedly the landowner here. Golesti, opened one of the first schools for peasant children in Wallachia.
This initial museum section is in the guardhouse hear the entrance and we can even climb to the top where a small exhibit is showing where the leader of the 1821 Wallachian uprising against the Turks slept before continuing fleeing and then being captured and killed, not by Turks but by his erstwhile allies. When we descend from the tower the ticket person has returned so we pay the ticket and enter the the manor grounds proper.
We have only one hour to visit the grounds and we are not sure how big they are so we decide to start outside and then look at the manor house at the end. There aren’t that many signs here so we get a bit lost on the expansive grounds, at least we can find the restrooms which are quite modern.
After a bit more exploration we finally find what we are looking for the village exhibit. This is surprisingly large, they have brought houses from across Romania for the collection and immediately we recognize that we cannot visit it all, even if none of them can be entered as far as we can tell.
As a bonus we also see dark clouds moving in in the distance, with lightning flashing quite frequently. We are bad at estimating how far away storms are but still we hope that it won’t arrive in one hour as the houses are quite interesting and we really like our walk, we are the only tourists here this late in the day.
The village is quite extensive with a small panel at each house explaining where the house is from and from what period. You can enter the courtyard and sometimes peek in the house through the windows but the doors themselves are locked.
One of the most beautiful exhibits is an old wooden church. We are trying to imagine how it was moved here, was it each wooden beam separately with instructions on how to rebuilt or did they move bigger chunks of the church together? Or maybe the whole church at once?!
We also like the beautiful wooden doors. The detail on them is impressive, they are intricately carved and again our mind tries to understand how they were moved, in this case it likely was easier. An unexpected exhibit near a wineyard are the border crosses, these were placed to mark the boundaries of states and/or large estates like the Golesti one.
About here right when we are taking a photo of a very scenic house that seems to be sunk in the ground a person working at the museum approaches us. We assume it is to tell us to be mindful of the time but in fact she offers to open a few houses in the village so we can also look inside. How can we resist such an offer?
She is quite fast as we follow her but she gives us permission as we pass the grapes to taste test them and of course we jump on the occassion, trying to eat at least something while running towards the exhibit houses that can be opened.
She also gives us a short explanation of some of the houses and from where they were brought, interestingly there are even some from the Danube Delta with the boats a bit incongruous in this land of open fields with no major water around.
There are three houses that can be entered and we like to be able to see the interior decor. A couple of them were also used in movies and we can see why, they look and are quite traditional. One is even set up as a crasma (Romanian bar) and that one has been used more often in movies according to the guide.
Now there are only about 20 minutes left so we return towards the manor, now we know the way a bit better and enter through the gate in the manor walls. The walls themselves look like a fortress wall, we assume that the relations with the peasants wasn’t always friendly.
Right before entering the manor we find the only broken thing on the estate. It seems that somehow a turret has fallen down and they still didn’t get around to repairing this section. The manor itself however looks well maintained and we think, can we maybe even enter the building?
And yes the door is open and even though it is dark inside we find the light switches and decide to explore the exhibits. We are not 100% sure if it is open but somehow it seemed that the guide person directed us here so on we go. The exhibits are well realized and focused on the Golesti family, a very important family of bojars (noblemen) that lived here.
It is actually much better realized and set up than Hunedoara castle with the exhibits being quite informative and interesting.
Surprisingly here is also the First Romania King’s, Carol 1, table we have no idea how it got here but it is quite cool. There is also a princely chair which looks quite inviting as we try to wrap out our tour. At this point a museum keeper enters the building…busted. But in fact we were allowed to enter she just came to tell us that there are only a few minutes left so we have to make our way to the entrance.
We take one more look at the manor which is not that much castle like as you would have expected based on the wall and then return to the gate. Overall we were quite surprised, this museum was very well set up, with many interesting exhibits and quite varied, we really recommend it if in the area as it was a highlight of our trip.
Similarly to Cluj we stay at an AirBnB while in Bucuresti/Bucharest. And similarly the AirBnB is in the middle of downtown so we can easily access all the attractions and is close to the subway so we can get to our relatives. Finding the entrance is a bit difficult but inside it is quite cozy and we really like it.
But our day is not done as we also want to meet with our relatives for dinner. Luckily our relative we have driven with from Sibiu can take us there and we enjoy the evening with some good food before returning back to our AirBnB.
