A
TRIP TO REMEMBER
It had been a
long time since I last went on a school trip. It was a cold Wednesday morning
in the end of October when we set off for the vampire land of Romania – my six
musketeers, my four noble ladies, our forty faithful companions and me – Lady
d`Artagnan. We were about to spend three full of surprises and challenges days
abroad, and celebrate the amazing night of Halloween once we arrive. Most of us
had never been to Romania, or at least this part of it – the regions of
Wallachia and Transylvania, so the trip was even more interesting. Except for
the travelling itself, which is usually the best part, there were lots of new
things to experience and see.
Our main
destinations were three – Bucharest, Braṣov and Bran. Cities with a millennial
history, just like ours. Maybe, if we weren`t that prominent we would have
taken a closer look at the Little Paris, as Bucharest is also called. But as
our nobility requires, we went to the Biggest Shopping Center, which was not
even in the center, and we spent two hours there, wandering around and
coquetting. Anyway, it seemed like a nice capital. There was a lot of
grandiosity, refinement and precision in its buildings. Impressive elements of
the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Gothic periods. We were indignant by the
number of churches in Bucharest – 360 – one for almost every day of the year. The
city is a major cultural, political, industrial and financial centre, but most
of all the effort has been to make it a “green city”. There are lots of forested areas,
parks and vegetation. Too bad we didn`t have the opportunity of getting to know
this beautiful capital.
We had arrived
at Braṣov in the late afternoon. Although there were some problems while
checking in at the hotel, my four noble ladies managed to clear the air, so we
were able to fully enjoy our Halloween celebration as well as the party the
following night. What to say about it. It was unforgettable. After all, even
peerages like us can have fun. The six musketeers and I organized entertaining
programs – a variety of games, performances and even a karaoke-dance show the
second evening.
Obviously, nobody wanted to go back to their obligations at the
“Arcus” castle. Speaking of castles, the second day we went to visit the home
of our long forgotten friend Vlad Tepes – Dracula, located at the town of Bran.
Yes, Dracula is wide known for his weird desire for blood. He was highly
satisfied with torturing and impaling his enemies. But Vlad was undoubtedly a
great ruler. And he also had a great residence - the one we visited.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much left from our friend in the castle, but we were
delighted to see Queen Marie`s art and furniture collection, exhibited at the
fortress.
After that we were kindly released to satisfy our needs in the center
of Braṣov. Together with one of my musketeers, also thirsty for adventures, I
visited the Evangelical Biserica Neagra (Black Church), symbol of the town. I
was speechless. So much hugeness! After that we received the needed dose of experience,
even more. We got lost while trying to reach the White Tower with the
spectacular view of the city. Well, thanks to our good communication and intuition,
we made it to the tower. Then our bad luck decided it had not given us enough,
so we were almost killed by a hurricane or something. At least it wasn’t
something that happened every day in our homeland, so it was kind of
interesting. Thankfully, everybody survived, nobody got hurt and our countrymen
missed the chance to lose such VIP persons like us.
So on the
third day we got home alive and well, with lots of moments stuck in our heads
that were about to turn into some of the best memories of our lives. Our
children will have to listen to our glorious stories when we grow old, so this
trip will definitely be remembered. For good, of course. And by then, Lady
d`Artagnan, her six musketeers, her four noble ladies and the rest of the
companions will seek for adventures and challenges to become the new “trips to
remember”.
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| The view from the White Tower, Braṣov |
