Romania. Transylvania. Day 72

 Day 72:

Dracula's Castle

I woke up at 8:30 but once switched on the TV I realized that actually was 7:30! Yeah, clock had been put back one hour, pretty news for lazy boys. After a few kilometers by car, and a quick breakfast in a petrol-station, we were the first visitors of the day at Bran Castle, Dracula’s home!!! Interesting place, with its particular beauty and strategically erected in a mountain pass. But we expected a different thing. All those legends about Dracula and the vampires… we thought we would see something scary and bloody! In fact, we visited the whole castle (is a museum now), with lots of things from Princess Ileana (the real owner), and saw very few mentions to the Romanian’s hero who inspired Bram Stoker to write “Dracula”: Vlad Tepes, also known as “The Impaler”. 

Fortified Church in Rasnov

Hordes of tourists were coming when we decided to leave and drive back to the nearby Rasnov. My friend Casar had recommended me to stop here and walk to the upper village, an ancient fortified church from where we could see the entire region in such a cloudless day. 

In the top of the fortified church

Our route

It was time to take the road to the west, parallel to the Carpathians. We arrived to the city of Făgăraş very hungry, so we stopped in the centre and bought 2 kebabs each one. Yeah, nice ones! We visited the fortress there, which has a museum inside with lots of ancient objects, coins, documents, weapons... Interesting.

Fortress in Fagaras

Sibiu

The road continues to the west, always with the magnificent presence of the mountains on our left side. We arrived to Sibiu, a beautiful city with charming old houses, streets and cathedrals. We took a walk –with a fresh beer in the hand- until it got dark, which was the moment to look for the booked hostel. It wasn’t easy, but we finally found it: Flying time!! The name is quite appropriate for this nice hostel, with its own bar and discotheque (10 € per night).

Southern Carpathians

Flying Time

We drank several beers in the bar while playing chess (at a very low level), expecting some party that night. We tried it after having dinner, but it was impossible… everything was closed, except our discotheque! We went there for a while, but it's not funny at all being only we and the waiter! 

Tomorrow will be very, very hard. Now --> BED.