Roumania Past and Present | Page 9

too great numbers, the
visitor will readily admit that there are few spots in Europe better
calculated to afford rest and refreshment to the wearied mind.[12]
Sinaïa presents many attractions for the tourist. Nestling on the slopes
of hills at the junction of three valleys, and immediately surrounded by
mountains which vary in height from 3,000 to 8,000 or 9,000 feet
above the sea-level, and are easily accessible to an ordinary
mountaineer, it consists of a fine old monastery, the temporary
residence of the Court, two good old-fashioned hotels, and a large
number of pretty villas, the property of wealthy landed proprietors,

officials, and merchants of Bucarest. There is a casino, or reading-room,
and small concert hall, a beautiful bathing establishment, and a garden
in which a military band discourses lively and lovely music every
evening within hearing of the guests whilst they are at dinner under
verandahs in front of the hotels. The monastery is situated upon a high
hill approached from the valley below by sloping walks and drives, and
it consists of two large curtilages surrounded by low dwellings, which
were formerly (and are still to some extent) occupied by monks, and
now serve as the residences of the Court and its attendants. The two
curtilages are really one divided across the centre, and in each division
is a small Byzantine church, in which the service of the Orthodox
Greek faith is conducted. At the further extremity of the convent are the
apartments of the King and Queen, and it is hardly necessary to add
that everything is done to render this old building suitable for the abode
of royalty.[13] At the side of the monastery is a verdant plateau, from
which there is a beautiful view, and whereon the peasantry, as well as
many officers and ladies of the Court, may be seen, usually on Sunday
afternoon, dancing the national dances of the country, and more
particularly the national dance, the 'Hora,' of which some account will
be given hereafter. Behind the monastery a small valley penetrates into
the mountains. This valley is, in reality, an extensive wood, containing
some magnificent forest trees and replete with ferns and wild flowers,
whilst through the centre of it a river rushes headlong, forming, as it
descends, three beautiful cascades, the last or highest being surmounted
by a towering rock, to ascend which, alone, is a good morning's
healthful enjoyment. Behind this rock rise the Carpathian peaks,
Caraïman, Verful, &c., and from the summits of these, which may be
reached in two or three hours, it is said that on a clear day the distant
Balkans are visible across the Danube.
But if Sinaïa, with its surroundings, is beautiful to-day, what will it be
in the future? Close to the railway station, on a conspicuous eminence,
a magnificent hotel is in course of erection to meet the wants of the
increasing number of visitors. At present the King only possesses,
besides his temporary residence in the monastery, a small châlet known
as the 'Pavilion de Chasse,' situated in the woods behind the monastery.
Although this is externally an unassuming little villa, the interior is

beautifully decorated with carved oak, and is furnished with exquisite
articles of the same material, and generally with a taste for which the
first lady of the land is so widely reputed. But the King is also erecting,
in a favoured situation close at hand, a beautiful summer palace, which
will command a magnificent view of the surrounding scenery; and
there he and his Queen will no doubt continue, as they do in their
temporary residence, to dispense a generous hospitality to visitors, and
to secure goodwill and popularity amongst their subjects.[14]
But we must apologise for this digression, and return to our general
survey.
[Footnote 12: Sinaïa may be visited either from Bucarest or
Transylvania. If from Bucarest, the traveller may go by the railway
from Vienna to that city in about thirty hours, and forward to Sinaïa in
about four hours more, or he may land at Giurgevo either on his way
from Constantinople by Varna and Rustchuk, or from the steamer down
the Danube from Pesth. If he approaches by Transylvania, it is from
Kronstadt, which is only a couple of hours from Sinaïa. Although a
visit to Sinaïa only is here described, as being the most easily
accessible to ordinary travellers, there are many beautiful tours to be
made in the Carpathians, and some of the more hardy of the young
Roumanians who have visited Western Europe assured the author that
the outlying districts of the Carpathians afford features of interest to
pedestrians which are not to be found in any of our known mountain
districts.]
[Footnote 13: The monastery of Sinaïa was founded by the Grand
Spathar Michael Cantacuzene, brother of Voivode