Hi Fodorites - I am back with another question. We are thinking of going to add Eastern Europe to our Italy adventure. I was thinking there might be some truth to the rumors that there are supernatural happenings in Eastern Europe, for I know that fables are based on truths.

I knew a lady who stayed in Count Draculas Castle and thought it was neat. What do you suggest?

I don't know about Eastern Europe, but I hear well manicured werewolves hang out at Trader Vic's.

And his hair was perfect

It's true. And their hair was perfect!

LOL as far as I know, there are 4 castles in Romania that claim (or were) "Count" Dracula's castle. Most you couldn't stay in. I put Count in quotes as the real Dracula, Vlad Tepes, was Prince of Wallachia, the portion of modern Romania that did not include Transylvania. He was born in Transylvania, which was a part of Hungary at the time.

Anyway, the castles are:
1) Bran Castle, in Bran, Romania. A fairly interesting castle being used as a tourist attraction at the moment with regular opening and closing hours. It was actually built by Saxons and he is said to have visited once. The Dracula theme gets a lot of play here. No rooms for hire though.

2) A hotel with a fakey front remotely resembling a castle, albeit of a plywood variety, in the Borsa Pass of the book. Haven't stayed there. Not believed that Vlad ever visited the pass, but Bram Stoker never visited Romania, so all bets are off there. Probably fun though.

3) The ruins of the Royal Court at Targoviste. This is the real thing - and a national landmark.

4) Poenari Castle. Vlad's private residence and completely in ruins, it sits at the top of a mountain in a fairly remote area. Around 1200 steps to the top.

All that pedantic stuff aside, Romania, and Transylvania in particular, is very cool and in some ways, Bram wasn't far off. Towns like Sighisoara (where Vlad was born) are very gothic and feel very mysterious. Check out pics online.

Rural areas of Transylvania are much as you might think. 100+ years in the past. Picture haystacks, horsecarts and headscarfs of the non-Parisian variety. Fog really does come rolling in off the hillsides and mixes with smoke from village chimneys, at least it did in autumn, creating some really creepy valleys at dusk. You can definitely see where all the stories came from! And there are castles and walled gothic towns without the connection to Bram's book and without many tourists that are amazing to see.

And if you DO see a werewolf, they like to be scratched behind the ears.

peeky--yes, fables are usually somehow based on something real. But the something real is not supernatural. Supernatural explanations for phenomena come about when people don't know the real non-supernatural explanation.

Ah, P_M, you were quicker on your fingers than I was!

Hi p,

> We are thinking of going to add Eastern Europe to our Italy adventure.<

You are also thinking of adding another week?

Wow that is great Thanks.

I wonder how the fashionable werewolf wears his hair nowdays.

Ira I was thinking of taking a bus over there from Italy. Is that possible do you think?

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and a Werewolf. My grandfather told me so.

Peeky-I'm laughing-a BUS from Italy to Romania? I think you're joking, but maybe not, sure, they used to have buses that you could take with regular stops all over Europe, (I don't think they have those anymore though).

As far as Romania, Peeky, if you go, you absolutely must try their great national liqueur -TUICA-a very potent drink made from fermented plums-quite tasty as well (much better than grappa, IMO). AND their excellent wines-which I sampled at a party given by the Romanians at their Embassy in DC. They served both red and white wine, label-VAMPYRE-with a little trickle of blood on the label underneath the "V." I am telling you, these people LOVE their Dracula heritage!

I guess I will have to rethink the bus to Romania although it seemed like a good idea. I didn't think there were trains directly from Italy. Thank you.

But, but, but Peeky at 6:59pm you planned on getting a nose job in Switzerland That is a good idea IMHO. And you can take the train from Italy to Switzerland. Cin,cin.

peeky, whatever you do, Do Not Get a Nose Job in Transylvania!
Have you seen the nose on a werewolf??

Same goes for dental work. You'll come back looking like either a werewolf or Mrs. Dracula.

We are tossing the two ideas up in the air but you all raise good points. I will have to think this over.

While in Switzerland, get some hormones for the hair growth you'll need to go with your werewolf nose.

Werewolves are in fact true, peeky. That Dracula guy is going to zip all of us with his two fangs -- at least those people who are not nabbed first by Big Foot Sasquatch, Martian invaders, the Bermuda triangle, and all the other eefills on the planet. Gosh, I think I better dig a deep hole or something. This is udderly frightening for all the children.

"udderly"??? You mean there are Mad Cows too??

Let's see,
Italy, Switzerland for a nose job, recuperation in the Alps, and then Romania. Nobody nose the trouble you'll see.