DRACULA!!

  Bran, Romania
Friday, October 26, 2007

Bran Castle

As I mentioned in my last entry, I am in Transylvania: vampire land. Vampires are central to Romanian folklore, having a hoof as one foot or a tail growing out of the spine. However, the famous "Dracula" was written by Englishman Bram Stoker and was originally set in Austria. Stoker never even visited Transylvania.

Pop culture, however, has assigned Dracula the historical identity of Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, who ruled Wallachia, the region south of here, on and off from 1448 to 1476. Raised and frequently raped in a Turkish prison, he had plenty of pent up anger to unleash on the

Bran Castle 3

Ottomans when they invaded his lands. His brutal treatment and torture of his prisoners earned him the name "Impaler." If you'd like to know more about his methods, I suggest you look him up on Wikipedia. They were quite graphic, but not all that uncommon at the time.

Today, I visited Bran Castle, which has been expertly marketed as "Dracula's Castle," though if he ever came here, it's likely Vlad only spent one night whilst fleeing the Turks. I had expected a tourist trap par excellence, and the parking lot is overflowing with tacky Dracula

Rasnov Fortress

kitsch, but I rather enjoyed Bran Castle. For one thing, the castle was inhabited by the royal family in the early 20th century and so isn't all dark, cold stone. Rather, it seems a series of rooms has been arrayed around a central courtyard. The labyrinthine rooms wander every which way, covered in photos of Queen Marie, much beloved Queen of Romania from 1914 until her death in 1938. I didn't see any photos of her husband, King Ferdinand, but perhaps this is due to Marie's shocking habit of wearing peasant attire on a day-to-day basis. I must admit, the photos weren't exactly regal, but more interesting because of the dress.

Me at Rasnov

Matt and I also visited Rasnov and its hilltop fortress. A word to the wise, just because you love the boots you bought in Odessa does not mean you should wear them for a day of castle sight-seeing. Scampering up to the fortress on wooded, stony trails proved a challenge in the least, but i made it! In contrast to Bran, Rasnov is more like a walled city, mostly ruins, on top of a hill. It was enjoyable to wander, but I rather more enjoyed Bran.