The Dracula Experience

Leaving Poiana Brasov for Bran Castle, we came across a monument to a lone revolutionary who chose to commit suicide in 1989 ,  to draw attention to the oppressive regime in charge of Romania. He walked to the ski slope and shouted that living in Romania was like living in Auschwitz, and set himself on fire in front of horrified tourists. The martyr Liviu Babes made worldwide news everywhere except in Romania.

Later that year, the Revolution began in earnest in hot spots including Brasov, where people sheltered in the Black Church to escape the fighting, but were still shot at. The bullet holes remain on the pillars inside the Black Church.

Onwards to Dracula's Castle at Bran, which is in a village strategically positioned at a pass in the Carpathian mountains between Wallachia and Transylvania.

See how moody and ominous the clouds are at Bran Castle.

The castle must have been daunting to traders and travellers who had to pay a toll to cross the pass.

Vlad the Impaler conquered this castle centuries ago, and his name, Dracula, son of his father Dracul, which means Devil or Dragon seems to be etched into the conciousness of visitors who throng in the village, wallowing in the Dracula legend.

Look closely, there's a werewolf on the loose!

Some soul food at Bran. Everbody was eating this delicacy, so I had to give it a try. It waslike a v light doughnut mixture, fried then coated with the ubiquitous smantana and branza i.e. sour cream and one of the 2 types of cheese. The other is cascaval.

The wooden bracelet is from Bucharest; the extra weight from untold numbers of pizzas.

This is quite hard to believe, but you know when you are visiting somewhere and you look around to see if there is anyone you know, but if you are at Dracula's castle in Romania, you don't bother? Well, we had no sooner finished our nameless snack, when a voice from over the road caught our attention, and it was a very nice Romanian lady who I met at a BBQ recently, so we had a cosy chat right there and then in the shadow of the castle.

I was with relatives and they were going to a local restaurant to sample'Bulz', or polenta formed into balls with salami and goats cheese incorporated, or smoked ham and feta. There is a recipe for bulz on the BBC Good Food web site if anyone is interested.

See     www.brasovtravelguide.ro/en/brasov.../draculs-castle.php     for more information on the checquered history of the Castle.

 It's other famous resident was Queen Marie, granddaughter of  Queen Victoria who was born in Kent and transported by marriage to a remote castle in the  Carpathian mountains.

The genuine Dracula's castle, where Vlad marched the captured boyars from the Princely Court at Targoviste, and set them to work with the peasants, is Poienari Castle. Vlad lived in this remote citadel on a mountain top in a prism shaped room, from which his wife leapt to her death when the Turks finally fought their way to the top. To visit the castle, the last 4 Kms is on foot on a rough track, followed by 1,480 steps up to the castle, some of which crashed down the mountainside long ago. This location deters many people from visiting including me, but the following will give more information to the curious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew1n6NiZnoY

There are a further 2 videos in the series, and more.

Note the comments underneath. Despite the extreme means of ruling Romania and deterring invasion from neighbouring countries, many Romanians think of Vlad as a hero who kept the Turkish Empire from expanding into Europe, forcing foreign ways and Islam onto  Christian countries.

Live and let live I say. People are people everywhere and should be able to follow their own customs and religion as long as they are not harming others.

It is over 30 degrees now, so it's Siesta time. I have some sangria for later!

Adios amigos!