Poenari Fortress ıs supposed to be one of the most haunted places ın the world. I defınıetely believe ıt as ıt was used as a dungeon and torture palace for Vlad Dracul and hıs successors. It has sınce been mostly abandoned, which ıs why the Romanıan government toots Bran castle as Dracula’s castle, and not this one. Poenari ıs mostly old ruins now wıth barely there railings all the way to the top. It was a cold and brisk mornıng wıth tons of fog so ı thought we would get the whole creepy effect of the place. We left the hostel wıth Reıner at 6 am because Chris, our frıend from the previous tour to Bran, told us to go as earl as possıble to catch the mıst and darkness. However, by the tıme we got there, all the fog and mıst from the early mornıng was gone…and ın ıts place…a bright, crisp sunny day fılled wıth the most fantastic shades of orange and yellow.

We clımbed the 1480 steps to the top   It’s not a partıcularly hard clımb..but one ı defınıtely felt ın my calves! (should have stretched). No one was at the fortress other than the gatekeeper. He took 5 lei from each of us, and pointed the way up. As we neared the entrance, two adorable dogs came bounding up to us. We knew from Chris’ pictures that these were the two “scary” looking dogs that followed him up the mountain. In daylight, they are just the most lovable things on the planet.

I climbed over the railing to take a pic overlooking the dungeon. There’s a reason I’m in this awkward position … scared shitless that i’ll fall in. (there was NO ONE there at this fortress to help me if i did).  But while i’m clutching the railing as i climb over…kat snapped this pic, laughing hysterically instead of hanging on to me. *_*

 

Our group consists of me, Kat, Reiner, an American writer named Chris, and an Italian chef named Francesco. We five had the best dynamic and I am so thankful for it because we were stuck in the car with them for pretty much the whole day. Reiner is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met. He has a way with storytelling, and his recap of famous history is unsurpassable. The stories of the first kings of Romania seem like fairy tales, especially when he talks about Karl’s two wives Catherine and Mary. Pelesh castle also has a Bavarian look and feel to it, so with the added history lesson, the castle just comes alive. The same went for Bran castle, but by then, we were all quite comfortable with each other, and we took off running and taking pictures. The following are pics inside Bran castle.

We spent two nights in Brasov eating and taking pictures. Just a small fun town by Bran castle with an old square and pretty buildings. Again, the fall colors everywhere. This awesome car was on the way up to the Brasov sign. I thought it was the coolest car ever.

As kitschy as it is, we couldn’t resist going to Count Dracula Club in Bucharest. There is a real Dracula actor that comes in on Tuesdays and Fridays so we were sad to miss him. He supposedly chooses pretty girls to bite and then takes them into his “coffin” that rotates out.

Peles Castle is just too pretty. It’s nestled in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia. Mount Sinaia is where Moses got his calling to climb the mountain to receive the 10 commandments. It is just spiritual to be around here. Autumn is definitely here. Showers of yellow, orange, reds, and gorgeous browns surround us, and I cannot be happier. Peles Castle reminds me of Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. The wooden architecture is impeccable. I wish i was able to take pictures of the intricate woodwork inside the castle, but they wanted to charge over $10 to take photos.

Caru cu Bere means beer carriage, or beer wagon. It’s the most well known restaurant in Bucharest, so we had to go! The food wasn’t that impressive, and neither was the beer…but the atmosphere made up for it.