A failed trip turns into a beautiful mountain surprise! Sinaia, Romania and Peles Castle (almost...) 

I fell in love with the country and the people after seven visits between 1992 and have now lived in Romania, near Sighișoara, for 13 years after selling my one-man signmaking business in Oxfordshire. The black dresine (car with railway wheels) on the platform at Sinaia was the heavily armoured personal rail transport of a particularly nasty woman who was a member of the Communist elite whose name I can't recall. It still bears the scars of an assassination attempt! There's also a large model railway in the former Royal salon of the station. I live in one of the largely unspoiled Saxon villages between Sighișoara and Mediaș.

Love to hear that you gave your lunch to hungry street dogs scavenging for food. That is a real human act. Your kindness really counts. I am really touched .❤

This is the best video yet in the Eastern Europe series. Trains, gondolas, ski resorts, mountains, castles, and dogs. What’s not to like? Another video topic could be a review of all the different Eastern European beers that you have sampled on your journeys. Best Wishes from 🇦🇺 👍👍

People in Romania know quite good English (especially in very touristic areas, like Sinaia). In some areas they even speak good German. So you could have just asked anybody on the street about the gondola 🙂. PS: wild bears are a real issue in mountain towns, the warning sign at the hotel was not a joke...

Romania is not only Bucharest. U have a lot to travel to discover how beatiful Romania really is.

Wow! Amazing. I never considered Romania as a destination. From the moment you got off the train in Sinaia, I was thrilled. What a beautiful location and the old houses. Hope you go back and show us the inside of the castle sometime soon. Wonder why there are two castles, must be some interesting history there. You sure put your legs to the test with all that walking uphill. Loved the entire video including seeing the rooms where you stayed. Thank you.

Now that is my dream holiday unprepared and spontaneous and on a budget. you Europeans are truly blessed with such variety of travel destinations on your doorstep. Much love from New zealand

What an absolutely stunning town Sinaia is. Thanks for bringing it to our notice Steve.

A great video, Steve. I was totally fascinated by it. The scenery in the Romanian mountains is stunning and the castles and houses are unbelievable.

What an amazing place. Pretty sure Disney took a lot of inspiration from this part of the world. Love the sounds of the birds and the peacefulness of the place. Great value as well. 👍

I never would have guessed that was Romania, such a great surprise! Wow such a lot of treats in just a 2 day adventure, amazingly good! Looks like a great place to live/visit.

The architecture of Peles Castle is simply breathtaking, I could stare at it for hours.

Awesome find. Wow, the castles, fairy tale stuff, didn't look real at first. What a fantastic video thanks for sharing Steve

Romania its really underated country..its beautiful with nice mountains..sea side....

What a beautiful place, please promise you'll take us back to look inside the castle 🏰 Bless you for giving the dogs your lunch ❤ Looking forward to the next installment, I wonder where we're going?? 😊

What a big surprise Romania was Steve....I think your "failure" turned into a big success mate, and it sems to me there was no shortage of attractions to make one of your best continental video's. The appartment you booked was a real bargain at the price you paid....certainly Romania appears to be a place where you get an awful lot for your pound! a bit like Poland was in the 1970's when I was a regular in that country.... Great stuff Steve, thanks again...

Another great video Steve. Not the Romania I imagined at all. You’ve really whetted my appetite for a bit of Eastern European tourism with your last few vids. Keep up the good work.

What a great film. I'd never have thought of Romania for tourism but you've opened my eyes.

Those castlegrounds looked absolutely stunning.. Beautiful built castles, all the wee statues and carved out stones.. That must have been so cool to be able to walk around that place.. Great video and thanks for taking us with you Steve.. 🙏🙂

That view of the Carpathian Mountains, 😎WOWzer and although I am not a fan of snow that blended in really well. These little gems you come across is what makes your channel mystifying and I'm ready for another adventure ☕🚂

I live in Bucharest and I haven't been to this place in like 15 years despite living so close to it. Your video gave me a huge nostalgia trip, and the reason for that is because you didn't add any silly music over the video like a lot of people do, you left the beautiful sounds of nature. I'm gonna go visit it again this year during the quiet days thanks to your clip.

Romania is an exceptionally beautiful country. I went many years ago in 2004 and spent two weeks around Romania in deep snow. This video has bought back many happy memories and sad ones. The amount of stray dogs and very poor people was something I will never forget. I also gave most of my food away to the dogs.

Sometimes when the trip doesn't go according to plan you see the best sights and gain the best experiences. Very picturesque, especially the views from the cable car and the castles. Romania is beautiful. Thank you for the upload.

Stunning nature, fairy tale buildings, affordable accommodation… it’s incredible that more people don’t go to Romania! Definitely adding this to my Bucket List. Nice video Steve :)

Absolutely brilliant Steve. From a journey that started not working out very well it turned out well. The view's from the mountain were amazing. Decent accommodation as well. I thought the castle's were out of this world. Your last accommodation was brilliant and a very welcoming host which was lovely to see. And to sit and have a beer with him which i thought was a great gesture. Look forward to seeing the next one. Aura Best.

Romania is very beautiful. I loved going to Sinaia, Brasov etc etc. So much history to see and stunning scenery to see. Quite marvellous.

That was absolutely beautiful Steve. You're such a wonderful travel companion mate. I love your gentle way's. You feeding those two stray dogs your lunch, was total class 👏 God bless you & please keep your incredible vlogs coming ❤️

Stop beating yersel up steve, you have never failed this channel.. superb as usual.

Another fascinating video Steve! Would you consider doing a Romanian grand tour to visit the many impressive castles and villas? There seems to be a wealth of history to see and explore. It would also be great to see more of the beautiful Romanian countryside along the way. I hope that you can return soon!

Steve you take us to so many interesting and fabulous places. This is a phenomenal video. Thanks again for making my day!🇨🇦

That castle was just stunning, imagine what it's like inside! Great video once again Steve.

You have a heart of gold and it is a nice place to stay and walk round and visit and have a ride on a cable car and the restaurant and hotel and the snow and thanks for the day out and beautiful weather

What a fabulous place to visit. The castles 🏰 and grounds stunning. So glad you had such a great trip Steve and thank you for sharing. Far from a fail, brilliantly filmed 🎥

Highlight of my week from my favourite 😊 Thanks Steve as always ❤

I will eventually settle in Sinaia I think. Since moving to Romania 6 years ago, it has always been a go to town given its proximity to Bucharest, and its just a beautiful, clean, and well equipped little place. The mountain air like you say is superb. The cable cars take you up to give stunning views over the Bucegi and Carpathian mountains, good to see you risked the old legacy cable car 😁. At 11:57 is my favourite little terrace restaurant with a great outside seating area looking over the mountains and always that 'gratar' or grill going with tones of smoke and the smell of cooking mici in the air! Yeh its a stunning place and good time of year to visit as not too crowded. 👍

You pulled the rabbit outta the hat, Steve! Your trip could’ve been memorable for all the wrong reasons. But, again as you do so well, you persevered. And a great video ensued. Very enjoyable!

Steve! Once again you’ve come up trumps. What a gem, definitely on my bucket list. Thank you for showing us this amazing place, and indeed all the amazing places you go to 😊.

What an amazing place and great value accommodation! Thanks Steve. And their tourist board should thank you as well!

Those castles were out of this world Steve. Simply stunning, as were your snowy mountain views. BTW, do you get funny looks from people in the gondolas when you are doing a piece to camera? Thanks for sharing your lunch with the street dogs too - they have it tough over there. All in all another lovely vid 👍

Thanks for another great one, Steve . It's always interesting to see the different ways houses and castles are built in different countries and the scenery from the top was just spectacular xx

Love this. Fantastic filming Steve, those views are amazing. You giving the sandwich to the doggies was my favourite party. You are a good man Steve. :)

Romania is very beautiful

Another great one Steve. So good that we get to see such beautiful and interesting places.

Bless you to heaven for feeding the stray dogs. And for making the best videos on RU-vid. ✨

Another awesome adventure. You could imagine those castles in a horror movie. Seriously, your Eastern European adventures get better and better.

" What a beautiful place and the surroundings are just " Stunning " ....The " Panoramic " views are " Sublime,"..".Definitely a location worth visiting." ..." Again the video was " Sublime."..." Many Thanks."

Absolutely beautiful area, and that includes the accommodating locals. Reminds me of some high-end mountain resorts here in the US. Thanks for sharing!

The interior of Pelés castle is amazingly sumptuous! I hope you could get to see it someday. I’d like to return, too, and visit some Romanian churches.

I’ve found some of the best places by becoming completely lost. Another great video!

I go to Romania for work every second year to Brasov (your next visit Steve. The people are so generous. When I went to the opera, about half the audience were under 18! Steve, the palace at Sainia is amazing. Well worth returning. I really love your attitude to travel. All such an adventure and you accept things for what they are rather than what they should be (Eastern Airlines apart). Best wishes for all your travels.

I have to say that Romania is quite a nice country in Europe and I think that the people are quite friendly. I would like to go to Romania as I never been there.

Great video of Romanian mountains and well done for not giving up in spite of the castle being closed. I love your voice and humour 👏👏👏 Romania is a fantastic destination, I've been a few times and I'm going back this summer to their Danube Delta. I can't wait to witness the slow life and the wildlife there 😍

As soon as you said 'I think I've found a shortcut to the castle' my eyes flicked to the timecode to see if this was good news or bad news? 😂 What a fantastic castle!

Stunning video. Glad you fed the stray dogs. They will love that.

Thank you so much. What an experience, even for me watching this hear in my kitchen!

Amazing engineering on both gondola rides! And of course cel phone towers intermixed with microwave towers. I never would have thought of Romania having ski slopes like that! The castles look more like what I would expect to see in Bohemia…❤❤❤

Amazing sounds of nature

Wow 😮 amazing scenery and that looked like a lot of snow for someone from Australia 😂 getting cold weather envy

Great trip! The mountains are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing this great tour.

That place was incredibly beautiful, cracking video Steve👍The castle sure looks like a place to visit, it looked amazing👌

Sinaia is so beautiful. Great video!

Beautiful Romania 🇷🇴

My boss is from Romania... I haven't asked her how she came to be in Seattle, but knowing someone from there has piqued my interest, and I love seeing these Eastern European travels.. right now I live vicariously but I really want to plan a trip there someday soon!

Wow Steve what an amazing video certainly looks like a lot more people will be visiting Romania those castles looked beautiful.

Yet another great vid Steve and the views from the the heights were amazing , for those of us in the world that are unable to get to these places (and never will) you are a 'must watch' keep doing what your doing best wishes and stay safe

Wow! What a fantastic country! The scenery and the buildings were stunning. Although it still seems really quiet and not very touristy. Romania doesn’t seem so depressing as Moldova anyway! Really loved this one Steve, thanks so much for sharing! Grand job!👍😊👏👏👏❤️

Great video! Once again 👍🏼

Dear Steve, thank you for your video, you made a great job. Sinaia and Peles & Pelisor castles are NOT in Transylvania, but in Wallachia (Muntenia) region of Romania.

Steve absolutely stunning, one of the most beautiful locations you have visited and you have been in some great places, hope some day you decide to revisit this remarkable stunning country

Lovely stuff, Steve! Shame about the long walk up/down the hill...

just goes to show the importance of having faith in humanity! makes everything better xxx

What incredible views from the gondola and from two thousand meters up. Considering you don't like heights Steve, I think you did very well. Fabulous video, definitely not the failure you feared!

Lovely Video As Always Steve I Luv Your Videos

You got some amazing views with blue skies steve the buildings near castle and the castle are lovley

Hi Steve, If that's a disaster I'll take it every day. Many thanks for some astonishing footage. Travel safely.

Wow Steve I didn’t realise Romania was so nice. Makes our historic sites poor in comparison.

This was a great video! I loved the mountain scenery and the castles were spectacular!

Steve you nail it again with your original stile.We all love you Steve and you make us very eager to travel to this country.Cheers!!

You were very lucky that you found Sinaia so quiet and chill. Usually it's very crowded and full with tourists.

Mornin Steve well at first I thought you might get lost looking for the gondola but when you did the view epic but after a little sleep your trip to the castle was a treasure to find ! Thx again take care stay safe see ya soon😘👍

I kept skipping over this one, thinking, what could be so interesting in Romania ! This is a great video, the castle and surrounding area beautiful 😮😮😮

I need to say thank you Steve. Romania had never been high on my "European countries to visit" list. Still, after this video, I really wanted to visit there (Sinaia) and now, a year after I saw your video I have been in Romania and it was even better than I thought it would be. Thank you for being an inspiration.

Wow, simply wow!!!

Beautiful place Steve. Thank you for sharing x

Lovely video. I’m heading there in April.

This vid had everything! I was blown away by the beauty of Romania. So, that’s another country added to the list.

Really beautiful grounds near the castle and peacefully with the birds singing. Glad I saw the views up and down the mountain, I would have my eyes closed and shake the whole way 😂

Very rarely a career politician can be a good ambassador of his country. He can be succesful abroad perhaps in front of other politicians, but not in front of ordinary people... The spirit of a nation, the beauties of a country can be much more effectively transmitted by a musician, a sportsman, a traveller... As a citizen of Romania and knowing its huge potential, I can only tell: thank you, dear traveller!❤

Absolutely gorgeous, Steve these vlogs just keep getting better and better ❤. So look forward to Saturday morning.

Are sat in first class on a train in France once and just acted the daft tourist because I only had a second class ticket lol but I was on the train for 40 minutes before the inspector came round

This the second video of yours i have watched. Excellent! I like your style very much.

As a Romanian i would like to say thanks for dropping by and hope you enjoyed your time here. If you ever plan to visit again go to some of the less touristy places and don't be scared of the bad rep the people kinda have in western media more UK and i think Nordic country's. It's an unfortunate series of events (some bad apples and some minorities) that led to this misconception. You will find people are super friendly and will help you to the best of there ability unfortunately in the more rural places English is less knows more or less by the older generation but that's starting to change as the newer generations come up. If your planing your next excursion try as cities go Cluj, Sibiu, Brasov or Sighisoara and as as region go Maramures, Mures, Valcea, Arges, Hunedoara (i like "Corvinilor" castle there it's a bit less know but i think it's spectacular) or Tulcea (to visit the Danube delta it's super chill and beautiful). These are just a few, I'm 33 now and in this time i think I've seen like 50% of Romania but i prefer the mountains and the delta more then the actual sea side, it being so crowded, unless you try to find the more secluded places for what it's worth the clubs and Bucharest (capital) and Constanta (Sea side economic center and state capital) are super fun if you like that sort of thing. Cheers all the best. 😉

Superb everything! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Never disappointed when I watch tour travelogues! We were in Moena at the start of March. 10 skiers plus myself, so I was only there for scenery and dog walking purposes 5 countries and a 13 hour drive to and from Italy via Austria, Germany, Austria (again), Czech Republic then Poland!

Value for money, that mountain apartment accomodation is off the scale!

As a Romanian who lived in Edinburgh for 4 years I want to thank you for this video about my country :) ... BTW, Edinburgh is an amazing city

Fantastic film. What a beautiful place.

That Railway Station door was already screeching when I was in primary school....I am now 38 and is still screeching ....legend

Glad to see you back in Romania and seems like you will be back for more . It's a great country to visit and people are very welcome to you ! Have fun traveling sir!

The "-şor" is the diminutive ending in Romanian, hence "Pelişor" = "Little Peleş". We visited Sinaia and Peleş when we lived in Romania about 14 years ago, and it's absolutely stunning at any time of the year, but looks like you timed your visit particularly well (apart from the castle being closed). Romania has hundreds of these beautiful locations, and we only managed to see a tiny fraction of them over the course of 2 years - Sibiu was our particular favourite. The Romanian people (also including the ethnic Hungarians, Saxons, etc.) are also wonderfully friendly once you get to know them. Just don't go round acting like a superior Westerner. Overall, great video Steve!