Enter the Dracula

Brasov turns out to be a nice place. I'd heard good things, but the area around the train station is expectedly less than charming. Fortunately, though the town is big enough to attract top talent like Michael Bolton, the Old Town is tucked away so that you don't have to accost your sight with depressing communist apartments buildings.

The big activity of the day was a castle expedition. A hostel tour took a bunch of us first to the Rasnov citadel. This cliff top fortified village is fronted by a Hollywoodesque "Rasnov" sign and the citadel was said to have been in "Cold Mountain", but I don't really recall.

Next up was Bran castle, which is famously linked to Dracula. I don't think Vlad the Impaler actually spent much time here, but the locals selling tat outside would have you think otherwise. A red t-shirt with a fanged grin reading "A Smile From Transylvania" anyone? The highlight of the day, and what most Romanians call "The best thing in Romania" is Peles Castle. It was built by Romania's first king, Carol I. After successfully driving out the Turks, he chose a beautiful area called Sinia, which I guess reminded him of his Black Forest home.

Being German, much of the woodwork comes from his homeland. The guy was obviously very wealthy and interested in many things. Each huge room seems to have a different theme. From French Louis XIV style to the Alhambraesque. The highlight is the three story tall Honor Hall topped with a retractable stained glass ceiling. They convinced us that they still open it on nicer days.