Bran Castle

Bran Castle or Dracula's castle has both history and legend as part of it's story. Starting with history, a key figure was Vlad II. He fought against the Turks of the Ottoman empire in the mid-15th century and was awarded the Order of the Dragon, and gained the surname Dracul (Romanian for Dragon). But the dragon is also a symbol for the devil, a negative connotation. His son, Vlad the third became known as Vlad,the Impaler because of how he punished crime and corruption. The accused would be impaled on a wooden stake, such that it missed any major organs and then hung up on the stake until they died. Vlad, the Impaler was the ruler who inspire Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. The castle itself stood on the border between Moldavia and Transylvania on the major road connecting the two and was used to both protect the border from invaders and collect duty on goods moving between the regions. The castle was given to the royal family in 1920 and Queen Mary furnished the castle with what we see today. The castle was closed in 1948 after the communist takeover and reopened in the 1960's after all the Dracula movies made it a tourist destination. We toured the castle with its many rooms, ceramic fireplaces, and balconies. Queen Mary did a good job of turning a military fortress into a pleasant home environment.

Bran Castle

For lunch we went further into the mountains  - we now had about 6 inches of snow all around us to a local restaurant. The fields were filled with sheep. Lunch was plum brandy, vegetable soup, Tochitura (a Romanian beef stew) with polenta and chocolate crepes for dessert.  While at lunch we were able to observe the traditional dress for both men and women. The men's outfit was interesting particularly the wide belt used to carry their money and other valuables, the suba - a sheepskin covering and the clop, their felt summer hat.

John in Suba (sheepskin) and Clop

Since the weather was still cold and windy, Hunor took us to the Sanaia Monastery, the original reason for this settlement. It was started in 1695 and is named for Mt. Sanai after the founder had been a pilgrim to the Holy Land. In the courtyard of the monastery was a small chapel with a depiction of the last judgment above the doors. The nearby Orthodox parish church was built in 1834, one of the many small churches built throughout Romania. The Romanian style church has the traditional three steeples, but the bell tower itself is in a nearby building.  We went to a nearby restaurant, called Snow, where we had soup or a salad, but each couple also split the local dessert - a doughnut style pastry with sour cream and berries on top.

Interior of Orthodox Parish Church