Irish writer Abraham "Bram" Stoker (1847-1912) is best known for his vampire novel Dracula published in 1897 and although most of it is set in Transylvania, which he describes with remarkable accuracy, he never actually set foot there. His story was based on research he undertook at the British Library into European folklore and vampirology (who knew such a word existed - Beattie (Maureen Lipman) would be thrilled.
In the folklore of Romania and surrounding countries, vampires share little with the Dracula image; far from being suave, handsome and aristocratic (as portrayed by Christopher Lee and countless others in the 200+ movies that have been made) they are mean, shuffling creatures with red cheeks, unkempt hair and a foul stench.
Some Eastern Orthodox followers once believed that renouncing their religion could lead to vampirism and those seeking to link vampires and Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) sometimes ascribe his own conversion to Catholicism as the catalyst. Others suggest he may have had porphyria; symptoms of which include pallid skin, light sensitivity, receding gums (giving the impression of oversized teeth) and sometimes accompanied by neurological disturbances.
However there is no link between Bran Castle and Vlad Tepes, or between Bran Castle and Dracula, other than it is set in a similarly looking Gothic castle, although in many peoples' minds they are inextricably linked and as a result it is the most visited place in Romania.
Originally we had planned to visit Bran Castle, along with Peles Castle, on the way back to the airport on our last day. However having driven the roads of Transylvania we quickly realised that the Google times given between two places were quite unrealistic and as day trips to Bran are easily do-able from Brașov we thought it made more sense than being stressed out with a plane to catch.
Just outside Brașov we came across this fabulous Orthodox Church and after much searching on Google I found it was the Church of St Peter and St Paul. Shame about the vehicles.
The journey to Bran only took about half hour and there was a large car park right in the centre of town. We followed the throng of coach parties and found the castle entrance about 10 mins away. Delicious looking local produce.
Despite what we'd read, we didn't have to queue to get in but there was a steady stream of people and a one way system. I was somewhat underwhelmed by our first view of the castle.
Although there were explanatory notices in most rooms there wasn't a great deal of interest worth repeating here so just a few snaps as we went around.
The rooms were very small.
And lots of hidden staircases linking the numerous different levels.
British born Queen Maria of Romania (granddaughter of Queen Victoria - weren't they all) was much loved by the people of Brașov and they gifted her the castle in 1920 when Transylvania became part of Romania. It is now owned by her grandson (Austrian) Archduke Dominic of Habsburg.
The castle was built here as it's a strategic point to defend the Barsa Valley you can see in the distance, which was the main route between Transylvania and Wallachia (separate countries at that time). In the foreground are a few farm buildings and also Queen Marie's private chapel.
Making the most of a non-existent link to Dracula and all things ghostly, there were several screens with moving images detailing supernatural beings. Mostly I just took stills.
But then I couldn't resist this.
These show the higgledy-piggledy layout perfectly.
Back down to the gardens in front of the castle.
From our experience so far the Romanian Tourist Board is a bit of a misnomer as it doesn't seem very proactive in promoting this superb country and the Tourist Info Offices invariably only open briefly. So we resorted to doing our own research based on other people's blogs and recommendations, one of which was to walk just 1km out of Bran village for a better view of the castle. Apparently the view is even better if you climb the wooded hills behind but the paths were described as tricky to impossible and given that it had rained yesterday we erred on the side of caution and stayed on the flat.
Romania has the largest population of European Brown Bears and the Brașov area has a high concentration, in fact they often wander into the suburbs looking to raid the rubbish bins for easy food. We had considered going on a bear watching trip but the hide had glass windows and so would have been useless for photography.
During our short walk now though we came across this pile of scat and having looked it up (I know, unbelievable the things I have to research) I think it definitely belongs to a brown bear.
"Quick Ian, it's behind you!" (I should have photoshopped one in).
These are the farm type buildings we could see from the castle.
And Queen Marie's private chapel.
Unfortunately there was major construction going on here, although you wouldn't know from the lack of H&S, so we couldn't access the church. The sculptures were pretty amazing though once you got your eye in.
Finally, as we were just about to turn to head back to the car, what did we find on the ground in front of us - a dead bat. Or, more specifically given where we are, probably a dead Vampire Bat!!!!
We turned to walk back and in that instant the blue sky had vanished and the castle was lit by the most amazing light.
