Bran Castle’s story is a tale of two characters. The first is Dracula. The book and movie character that most people associate with Transylvania. Stoker never visited Romania, but based on the description in his books and sources he used, Bran Castle was the inspiration. The second is Vlad Tepes. This is the historical figure most often associated with the thirsty bloodsucker previously mentioned. Vlad the Impaler, the man most responsible for preventing the Ottoman Empire from over-running Wallachia and possibly, for a short time, being imprisoned in Bran Castle.
The town is an eclectic mix of the two. The village below the castle has Vlad busts next to Bela Lugosi inspired busts, dripping fangs and all. There is a haunted house (which the girls and Cade visited and screamed throughout) and capes and fangs. The castle itself is rooted firmly in history. Many rooms are dedicated to Vlad Tepes and the history of the region, but most of the castle is presented in it’s prevalent historical context, with Dracula nowhere to be found.
The drive out to Bran pass, which the castle once protected, took us by the Piatra Craiului (Prince’s Stone). It is the highest and longest limestone ridge in the Carpathians and was still white from the snow cover while we visited.
We stood in the longest line while waiting for tickets to Bran Castle, only to discover the entire line was one group waiting to buy tickets and obscuring other ticket lines which no one was using. Once they moved on, we quickly passed through the gates and walked up the hill to the castle. The approach shows the formidable location of the castle, built directly on sheer cliff faces that the castle base seems to melt into.
We immediately entered into a secret stairwell that served as a Litmus test for claustrophobia before spending a couple of hours soaking in the views, architecture, history and beauty that earns this castle so many visits.
We spent some time in the village below; watching vendors play music on handmade pipes, searching for the perfect ie (traditional Romanian blouse), admiring hand carved pieces of wood. We decided on an Italian restaurant for a quick lunch before heading out from Bran.
We drove back to Rasnov and headed up the pass that leads to Poiana Brasov. We headed to Pestera Valea Cetatii, a cave offering guided tours. It was an 800 meter walk to the cave from the roadside parking. Lovely walk, we thought. It was also an 800 meter change in elevation. After spending 30 minutes catching our breath, we paid a few lei each for entry. The guide brought us through the steel gate and promptly locked us all inside. Our tour took us about 150 meters through a passageway before opening into a large room. There was a path that took us around the room before circling back to our starting point. Then the tour ended. It was a neat cave, and the price of admission was cheap. At least the return trip was all downhill.
The next stop was the Rasnov Citadel, visible from our home’s backyard. We gladly paid a few lei to take a tractor-drawn cart up the hill. The views from the Citadel were stunning, including the Piatra Craiului to the west and the Bucegi range to the south, thick blankets of snow rounding of the ragged peaks. The fortification, built in the 13th century, served it’s purpose well. It was only taken once, when the lack of a water supply made it vulnerable after a long siege. In 1623, two Turkish prisoners were used to dig a well 479 feet deep. They wrote Quranic verses on the well wall. It took them 17 years, with the reward being either release or death, depending on who you ask. We flung a few arrows as we left, then spent the night playing Phase 10 and recovering from the hike to the cave.
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