Transylvanian Adventures

Our trip to Romania had it's ups and downs, but overall it was a very positive experience. The country provided us with some stunning settings among palaces and castles, and some frustrations with unusual museum policies and less than helpful hostel hosts. We tasted some excellent--and cheap--Romanian wines and beers, and loosened our belts a little to accommodate all those meat-and-potatoes meals!

Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)

It was "Scary" in Dracula's Castle

First, the castles. The home of Dracula does wonders for the imagination, enough to overcome the obvious tourist traps awaiting us around seemingly every corner. Strolling through those medieval homes/fortresses two thoughts stood foremost in my mind, that people actually lived in these gargantuan edifices, and that some people probably met their unfortunate end through a pot of boiling oil dumped over the wall. I also could not help myself in trying to determine which wall would be most vulnerable and what type of equipment would be necessary to mount a successful siege. One can only be a product of his childhood, and mine, for better or worse, involved quite a few computer-based castle sieges!

The Citadel at Rasnov

We also went to Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler--Bram Stoker's inspiration for Count Dracula. It is a fantastic old town with most of the original city wall still surrounding the medieval citadel. There is an amazing clock tower standing at the main gate. It is about seven stories tall, and it looks like a giant cuckoo clock! There are different wooden people, all dressed or outfitted in some 12th century attire, who change places on the hour. The tower is also home to a small museum. My favorite part was that you could watch the clock machinery work. The complicated mechanism full of gears and flywheels could have held my attention for hours, if only the museum usher had more patience! We spent two quiet nights there and enjoyed a couple glasses of red wine in Vlad's first home.

Sighisoara clock tower

A view from the clock tower

Enjoying a "Gina Glass" of wine

Mmmm, stuffed mushrooms!

Dracula's house

Admiring a bust of Vlad the Impaler

I vant to suck your blood!

I wish we could post pictures of some of the places we visited, but Romania charges a pretty exorbitant fee to take pictures inside the museums. They were typically $15-20, while the entrances fees were $2-5, and since we didn't know what to expect we usually didn't pay. I only really regret not taking pictures in the Peles castle. It was one of the most amazing places I've ever seen, and probably ever will. It was built over 20 years centered around 1900, and maintains most of it's original furnishings as it was not used again after the first royal family died. From the dining rooms to the arms collection to the king's study, every room was incredibly decorated. Most of the ceilings and walls were intricately carved wood and every place else was gilded with gold--the absolute epitome of royal indulgence!