With place names such us Transylvania, Wallachia, Bran, Peleș, Viscri and Sighișoara on your itinerary, then it is hard not to be constantly thinking and looking out for Bram Stoker’s Dracula in every corner of your trip.
Romania is so much more than this 19th Century story of the 15th century prince – Vlad the Impaler (we’ll just call him Vlad) – nonetheless it makes for a mysterious backdrop on a visit in this wonderful country. Ironically, the story of Dracula is set for the most part, in England and not Romania, but his real life counterpart – Vlad – you will find all over the country and who will be your constant companion on your travels here.
Orientation
Romania is not too big on the face of it – about a third the size of France (or Texas) – but factor in single track roads, horse drawn traffic and mountain ranges that criss-cross the country then a 4 day Easter weekend will mean that you will be focusing mostly on the key sights of the south / central parts (with a rental car).
Bucharest is located in the far south, taking a line northwards into Transylvania and you’ll hit almost the centre of the country at Sighișoara, then branching out to the west from that point for the mountains.
Into Transylvania
Our trip started on the outskirts of Bucharest, flying directly into to the international airport, not stopping to see the capital but heading directly northwards into the heart of Transylvania. Early on you will get your first meeting with Vlad at Snagov Monastery,
with suitably foreboding grey clouds we crossed onto this island to find quite a pretty little monastery that will open up just for the random passing visitor. It is purported to be the final resting place of Vlad (minus his head, that was paraded around Istanbul centuries earlier), but it’s not for sure, so don’t expect headless corpses to greet you on your visit.
Rather you will find a lovely country walk and probably your first visit to a local Romanian village – friendly locals, football in the streets and the fashion sense dominated by tracksuits.
Peleș Castle
Nothing to do with Vlad, rather the summer residence of King Carol I, said to be one of the finest castles in Romania, and it really does look like it from our visit.
Fairy tale turrets, wood paneled halls, stained glass windows, secret doors, hidden passageways, armour and swords, this is every (big) child’s fantasy of a castle and is well worth the stop on the way to Brasov and the additional tour of the insides.
The grounds are also beautiful, framed at this time of year with a backdrop of snow capped mountains. Close by is the monastery of Sinaia that is well worth a look-in for all its icons and icon worshipers.
You can also find a very filling lunch in the castle grounds, hearty soups and traditional meat dishes to fill you up for the rest of the day.
Brașov, Bran, Viscri
Set in the heart of Transylvania, Brasov is a great base from which to explore the region, cast in the shadow of a large hill with the Romanian equivalent of the Hollywood sign for the town name, but sadly none of the celebrities that we could recognise.
The town itself is quite pretty, with a big square to enjoy a drink on, great restaurants for local eats, such as Sergiana restaurant for sarmale (pork in leaves with polenta), very sour sourkraut all washed down with excellent local wine and finished off with the local spirit that had us hooked Polinka.
Accommodation has to be at Casa Wagner…right on the main square with big, antique adorned rooms with perfect views over the square.
To be honest, there is not much in the way of tourist sights in Brasov itself, but it is perfect to locate yourself after coming up from the south and then jumping off to see Bran…home of Bran castle, purportedly the inspiration for Dracula’s castle…
‘On the very edge of a terrific precipice…where there is a chasm with silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forest’, i.e it’s high up and dramatic! You will see all this when you visit, plus the added bonus of a tourist market selling all the Romanian and Dracula delights for you to take home with you.
Even though Vlad is unlikely to have done more than pass by the castle on the way to do some impaling, the castle itself is quite an interest to visit as it is made up of a plethora of spires, balconies, twisting corridors and stunning views of the surrounds. Fortify yourself with a Kürtőskalács,
a bread / pastry that is as long as your arm, sweet, tasty and cheap, giving you all the energy you need to move onto your next sights at Viscri. Taking a 10km long mud track into the green hills to this saxon town that has a colourful, friendly feel to it with an impressive fortified church
sitting on a hilltop above this UNESCO World Heritage village. The quaint 12th century church that is just like a kids idea of a fortress should be, surrounded by high walls, narrow corridors and walkways to the high up turrets for stunning views of the beautiful countryside.
Sighisoara
Sighisoara is exactly what we had in our minds as a town in Transylvania; a fortified citadel from the 12th century,
the birthplace of Vlad
with colourful houses, cobblestones, a huge clock tower to chime the witching hour and a main square with a foreboding tree.
Take a walk up to the church on the hill and up the covered wooden staircase that amplifies that gothic feeling.
We spent the night at the well placed Casa Georgius Krauss, right next to the cathedral…well placed to watch the Easter celebrations from our bedroom window (and to wake at 6am when all the bells go off!). Here you can eat in the hotel dungeon for filling fare and tasty ribs.
Into the Mountains
A quick pass through Biertan, yet another UNESCO haunt, although on Easter Sunday its fortified church will be securely locked up against the hordes of tourists coming through. So get your medieval experience at the restaurant Unglerius.
Sibiu, a bit more of a larger sized town, with an impressive main square, tourist market and its Bridge of Lies. The first bridge in Romania to be cast from iron…or maybe not!
Being in sight of the Fajaras mountains we took a bit of a detour to head up towards the snow and check out one of Top Gear’s favourite roads…the Transfăgărășan.
Beautiful river meadows down below, twisting roads going up as patches of snow began to grow.
We were never going to get that full tv motor show experience in our little ford fiesta, but it definitely all came to a halt where the road was blocked by a landslide about halfway up at Bâlea Cascadă. You can still get out and stretch your legs, to take the cable car further up (which we did not), and check out local souvenirs, snacks and skiing outfits.
Romania definitely needs more time to do it justice and is definitely on our list to go back again, until then we’ll continue to eat our garlic and keep a bottle of holy water handy should we run into Vlad or one of his progeny. Enjoy!
