1905 – Time that waits
“The road through the Prahova Valley winds to the right, among fir trees bending under the weight of the summer heat. It smells like the beginning of a new century and fresh lime in Sinaia, where Karel Liman has just finished building Pelișor Castle.
The streets of the town bustle like on a Saturday, with women carrying their children and market baskets in their hands, and the breath of the town is interrupted only by the sharp voices of street vendors. There is a pleasant torpor at lunchtime, and against a rocky backdrop of conglomerates and granite, the small houses smell of patience, coffee, and pies. The street stretches lazily along the park.
Here, at number 27, they work hard among the tables full of customers, who have made it a habit to spend all their afternoons in the company of carefully prepared delicacies. Look now, the customers laughing loudly under their umbrellas as they light their cigarettes, unaware that war is coming, and when it ends, this place, so beloved now, will never open its doors again.”
DAN GHIȚESCU
2008: The time that waited patiently
In 1914, the war began, and since then nothing has been the same. The road to Sinaia continued to wind its way as before, and the fir trees waited year after year for the arrival of summer.
The three buildings continued to exist for a while and, depending on the needs of the time, restaurants, pastry shops, and later porcelain shops were developed here.
As the years passed, of the three buildings, only one retained its functionality and continued to be the favorite place of elite personalities: writers, politicians, and people of culture.
In 2008, out of a passion for history and design, Radu Savopol laid the foundations for the brand and brought the bohemian spirit of the place back to life by opening the Sinaia 1905 Park Café—a space where the elegance of the past meets jazz, photographs, and period décor.
Designed in a style faithful to the times, the café quickly became a magnet for locals and tourists alike: some returned out of nostalgia, others out of a desire to discover a piece of history, all attracted by the passion invested in the renovation of the space.
A return to the past, to a lively, fresh, and promising 1905.
Cafeneaua Parcului Sinaia 1905
“I created Cafeneaua Parcului out of a desire to bring back a certain feeling. A feeling you get when time seems to be patient with you. It’s a blend with personality, inspired by the atmosphere of old-fashioned cafés, where conversations flowed unhurriedly and coffee was a pretext for meaningful encounters.
For me, Cafeneaua Parcului means peace, memory, and connection with Sinaia, my beloved city. It is an invitation to pause for a moment and enjoy the moment.”
A coffee blend with personality, inspired by the atmosphere of old-fashioned coffee shops.
Memories
“Have you ever walked into a room for the first time and suddenly had the impression that you had been there before? Were you aware that you had never crossed the threshold before, yet you knew the place and its atmosphere perfectly? Those who study paranormal phenomena recount all sorts of bizarre stories. A peasant woman from a village in Sicily arrived in Rome for the first time in her life and was taken to a castle, where she was to be hired as a cleaner. Well, the girl proved that she knew the palace, down to its most secret rooms. Strange, isn’t it? Had she lived there in a previous life?
All this to tell you what happened to me at the beginning of April, while visiting Sinaia. One day, I met the painter Nicolae Savopol and we went in for a cappuccino at a place called “Cafeneaua Parcului Sinaia 1905” (Sinaia Park Café 1905), which was due to open in a few days. When I opened the door, I had the strange feeling that the place was familiar to me. I took a few steps, then sat down on one of the elegant sofas. Immediately, the feeling turned into certainty, even though I had never been there before in my life.”
