Transylvania Mania...

I spent the past few days traveling around the region of Transylvania; specifically visiting Tagru Mures, Sighisoara, Brasov, Sinaia and Bran. Before living here, I didn’t know much about the history, terrain, architecture, etc. of Transylvania. When people heard I was going to Romania they frequently made jokes about Dracula or me becoming a vampire. To the best of my knowledge, I’m not yet immortal and I remain repulsed by the idea of even eating animal blood. What I found in my travels were gorgeous landscapes and even more gorgeous architecture. Very bright and welcoming, quite opposite to the dreariness you would associate with Dracula.   

Let’s begin by exploring the Dracula myth. Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula set his story in Transylvania, a region that in 1897 was mysterious to most Western Europeans. Stoker himself had never set foot in Transylvania. While exploring Romanian history he came across the word Dracula, whose meaning is “Son of Dracul”, and replaced his villain’s name. The real “Son of Dracul” was Vlad Tepes, a ruler of the Wallachian region of Romania in the 13^th century. The history of Vlad Tepes is bloody and unpleasant, but he is actually considered a national hero, not villain, for defending Romania against the invading Turks. There are two loose, but interesting, similarities between the real and fictitious Dracula. Vlad Tepes preferred form of killing enemies was to insert a stake through the anus and out the shoulder in a manner that no vital organs were pierced. This guaranteed a few days of terrible pain before the victim succumbed to death. Tepes enjoyed eating his meals while watching the people dying on the stakes. Though he didn’t suck out his victim’s blood, his method is something only a select few (cough cough vampires) could stomach. The second similarity is that Tepes was decapitated and according to the story to ensure Dracula remains dead you have to decapitate him.   

If you’ve ever driven or ridden a train across the Austrian countryside, you have a good idea of what Transylvania looks like. Fields of crops and wildflowers shadowed by mountains with the tallest trees you’ve ever seen and speckled with villages containing brightly colored buildings. It’s absolutely beautiful. You have to resist bursting out singing The Sound of Music. Speaking of musicals, I also thought I was in The Wizard of Oz during this trip. Some of the streets in Tagru Mures were yellow cobblestone, nicely resembling the yellow brick road. Though I’m not sure the initial reason for the yellow cobblestone, I know it’s now a symbol of Tagru Mures and when street work has to be done they carefully replace the same stones.  

We're off to see the wizard

The main attractions of the trip were two castles: the Peles Castle in Sinaia and the Bran Castle in, go figure, Bran. Sinaia is found right at the border between the Wallachia and Transylvania regions of Romania. It became a popular vacation site when the first king of Romania, King Carol I, built his summer residence, Peles Castle, here. The grandeur of the castle was meant to intimidate the Austro-Hungarian Empire that at the time of construction controlled Transylvania. Peles has over 80 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms. You know, a comfortable sized place for a family of two and their over 400 workers.   

The grounds of Peles Castle

Just a lovely little summer home

Bran Castle is often referred to as Dracula’s castle though in reality Vlad Tepes spent at most a few nights here while attempting to escape from the invading Turks. The castle is realistically best known as the summer residence of King Michael until his abdication in 1947. The communist regime held the keys to all castles and palaces until the 1989 revolution, when the properties were returned to the former royal family. King Michael is currently in his 90s and lives in Bucharest and remains wealthy by renting the castles to the government for tourism. The Bran castle is much different than Peles. It’s not extremely decadent, with white stucco and simple wood covering most spaces. Its grandeur lives in its size, numerous rooms with even more numerous nooks, crannies, and winding staircases. One things for sure, if it was Dracula’s castle, it would be easy to get lost inside forever.   

Dark cross at the foot of Bran Castle

One of the claustrophobic staircases

Tight squeeze even for me

I have to say my favorite city of the trip and maybe even edging out Cluj as my favorite city in Romania is Brasov. Their opinion of themselves is also quite high though they try not to be too cocky by saying: “Brasov, Probably the Best City in the World”. They have a cheesy replica of the Hollywood sign that I found quite endearing, a lovely open piazza that is always lively and the happiest crowd I’ve seen in all of Romania. The fact that one restaurant served guacamole (the first I’ve had all summer) was the icing on the cake and sealed Brasov’s spot at the top of my list. 

Notice the Brasov sign in the background

Piata Sfatului

Guacamole!!!