Vila Paris Sinaia

... even enough room in the trunk for my backpack.

Anyway, the castle was fantastic. We walked up a long hill to the entrance and then went on a tour through the interior. The tour guide was really good and gave us an interesting history lesson on Romania. The castle is so detailed and has the most beautiful paneling, ceilings, wall paintings, furniture ... it was beautiful inside and out.

After our tour we returned to the Spark and got on the highway to Brasov.

... by casinos,new cubic buildings and ski resorts. I wandered around a bit and made friends with a street dog.He sticked to me from the first moment i got off the maxitaxi and warmly welcomed me to his town. I walked and he walked.I stopped and he stopped. I figured he would be hungry so i gave him a few crackers from my backpack but he didn`t like them. Neither do i, but they are supposed to be healthier than Ritz crackers. I had lunch at ...

... of the place...which I will post later. When we emerged from our self guided tour...even got our own stylin protection booties to wear...it was pouring and slight wisps of the fog were starting to cover the mountain forests surrounding the castle. Had lunch at a non-descript place later on, listening to Mexican Cumbia music and enjoying an actual 'non-smoking' section. I was going to whip out something sharp if ...

... impalement. He used to stick a wooden stake into the spine of his victims and let them suffer for two days. Real nice guy. Bran Castle was built by the residents of Bran on their own coin in the 1300's. The castle was meant to guard against the seemingly imminent invasion by the Turks and to serve as a toll booth along the trade route through Eastern Europe. It's believed that Vlad Tepes was imprisoned at Bran ...

... spires (St. Nicolas) is directly down the hill from our hostel, as is the first school where the Romanian language was used (its a museum now). We walked through the Gate of Brasov, saw the Brasov (Hollywood) sign on the hill, and several of the important Gothic looking buildings around the city. The strange thing was the weather, it would snow every other hour, sometimes big puffy flakes, sometimes a lot more like sleet. 14 November: When we woke in the ...

... famous Black Church, which got the name after its appearance caused by a fire in 1689. The fire miraculously spared a fresco of the Virgin Mary, only blackening the color of her clothes. Built between 1383 and 1477, it is the largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul and is still used by German Lutherans to this day. It has a massive organ, incredible Turkish rugs hanging from the balconies, and the largest bell in Romania. I capture a brief movie as the ...

... anything loosely related to dracula or horror movies as a whole. There's even a disco setup similar to a ghost train. Tackville to the maximum. All in all it's one of those places it's nice to say you've visited or to 'tick' off the list but if you're considering doing it yourself, only do it if you're really really interested in the legend of Dracula. Otherwise I feel you'll be very disapointed. Next pod, Sighisoara - Romania. Love, Nath and Kat.

... This palace is certainly a hidden gem as most have not heard of it and so the place has relatively few tourists. Once the word spreads, I am sure tourists will flood in so perhaps a good time to invest into hotels in the area. This area also has many beautiful Romanian houses which are very unique in their styling and in their use of sheet metal or bronze as roofs. At the palace, they were very strict and did not allow any picture taking. They screamed at anyone who took ...

Brasov is where all the tourists go in Romania, in the heart of Transylvania, Dracula country. So I spend a day doing that, walking through the old castle and all. But the real attraction for me was just seeing a country in the heart of Europe that is still village-based and peasant-based, with lots of arts and crafts ...

... too fast and erratic to capture any of the moments on film! I have to say I am getting used to this crazy attitude regarding road travel, and I am no longer phased by all the near misses! In Bran, we stopped at the castle which once housed the royal family. It is more commonly known as Dracula's castle, because this was the setting of Bram Stoker's novel. I have to say, it was not an overly exhilarating attraction, but it was kind of neat to be in a ...