Day 30 - We rushed from breakfast to the room to check in online for tomorrow's flights home. Then, we walked to the train station that's near our hotel. We boarded a 10:00 am train which was going to Sibiu in the Transylvania part of Romania. However, as this was our final day, we didn't want to spend our entire time on a train. We had purchased tickets to the mountain resort town of Sinaia, Romania
The city of Sinaia was a royal summer residence before 1947. That was the year that Russian troops occupied this country and deposed the royal family. The city is the site of a famous Orthodox Monastery built in 1695.
The train station was in the narrow valley and in order to get to the town centre, a hike was involved.
We walked through a famous park and continued climbing to the site of the Monasterio de Sinaia. We went inside the old church dating back to the start of the site.
We also did a lot more walking. We thought we might get a glimpse of Peleș Castle, even though we knew that it is closed on Tuesdays. Rather than a taxi, we started walking up. The 1.6 kilometer walk didn't sound too far, but in the end it was.
Today's temperature in the mountains was only 26C while the numbers in Bucharest were to hit 36C today. Still, the incline and the pressure of a time limit prevented us from going all the way up. We did enjoy the views nevertheless.
In order to be back in Bucharest by 4:00 pm, we had to catch a 2:20 pm return train. By the time we got back down to the town center, we didn't have enough time for a proper sit-down lunch in a restaurant. Instead, we bought super large, frozen, chocolate ice-cream cones for lunch!
The train back to the capital had a broken a/c and as we got down out of the mountains it got really hot inside. The train was designed for air conditioning and did not have ordinary windows. No air was moving and it got really hot. We were very happy when getting out in the station near our hotel. We picked up premade sandwiches and assorted items in the station to go. Our lunch was at 4:15 pm.
We'll go out tonight for a proper dinner. Oh, and have to pack. We don't have to leave for the airport until 9:30 tomorrow morning, so we will have our last leisurely breakfast at the buffet.