place2place

dracula tourism

Bran Castle, located in Transylvania, matches Americans' Hollywood idea of where Dracula lived. The architecture screams gothic, but where is the foreboding cloud action?

Built as a fortress in 1212 when Rome and Luxemburg argued over the area, Queen Marie of Romania enjoyed summers here until they booted her out in 1948. The castle has been given back to the Hapsburgs, they've graciously spent quite a lot of money de-decaying it and scattering bear rugs and crowns about. In 2009, the castle opened as a museum and a place to rent for private parties, for the red-lined-dress-capes-for-men crowd, presumeably.

Wandering through the dining room, I thought of my favorite part in the book, where Dracula pretends to have servants and sneaks around fixing dinner and preparing rooms, scrubbing pots and making beds behind his guest's back.

The foundation that runs the castle does a good job explaining who Vlad the Impaler was, one of his many middle names was Dracula, and local beliefs about undead ghosts. People really do hang garlic over their doors in this area, but signing the guest book on the way out, Peter and I were embassassed by the Americans disappointed with the castle who found it "uninteresting." They weren't actually attacked by a vampire, so they want their $2 admission fee back?

We wandered past carved doors, ate blood-orange flavored black gumdrops, admired the sword collection and enjoyed the hospitality of the imaginary Count Dracula. We didn't see any sharp teeth climbing up the creepy secret staricase in the house, but saw plenty them for sale in the stalls at the base of the castle.

lake balea, go if you get the chance

We spent a long time throwing snowballs onto the frozen lake, then listening for the echo. Click on the photo to pretend you are there.

the road to lake balea, the transfăgărășan highway, yeah that

You know you've started your Romanian roadtrip and have left Bucharest behind when you have to drive around horse carts.

The Top Gear guys drove the road to Lake Balea last spring--in a Masarati, a Austin Martin and a Ferrari. We weren't really sure what to expect--maybe we should have watched the show before the drive?

But it started off pretty.

And then got stunning.

Then we started climbing up and seeing snow. Kind of a lot of snow.

Then it got ridiculous.

Since I've been home and watched the show, I know now that the Top Gear guys describe this road as the "best race track turns in the world, knitted together."

The road went up and up and up, a million hairpin turns, to an elevation of 6000 feet, then we came to what looked like end of the road. I'd heard the pass can be closed when it snows, but I didn't expect it to be closed in October. We drove hours of switchbacks and can't get to the lake?

As we approched what we thought was the end of the road, next to a WC with the best view in the world, we saw a tunnel.

You come out of the tunnel, (the longest in Romania) pass the lake by mistake, have to TURN AROUND on this road where there is absolutely no turning around, then go back up an even steeper road to the tiny alpine lake, almost completely frozen. The hotel couldn't be any more on the lake, in fact, we were a little afraid of it falling in.

They build an ice hotel in December, so I can't wait to go back.

In the night our water bottles in the car froze, so I was glad I'd stuffed the dog into a suitcase and smuggled her up to our room. She has no idea she's thrown up three times on what the Top Gear guys call the "best driving road in the world." 

spare me

Somewhere between Moscow and Bucharest, our spare tire was stolen. I don't like to think ill of others so I won't accuse one or the other except to say that it was documented that I had one when the car was parked in Moscow and when it arrived here in Bucharest, it was documented that we didn't (have one). My first thought was to buy it back on ebay! But then it occurred to me that it would take up to 3-4 weeks and we are planning a trip through the Romanian back woods next week and a spare tire is better insurance than... actual insurance. If I were a gambling man, I'd bet the odds on a flat tire were greater than getting in an accident — but the truth is, you never know.

So I set out in search of a spare tire locally. I thought a used one would be the way to go, seeing as to how I hope never to use it. A week of inquiry all led to "no." My 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser is either too old for old parts or American and therefore too rare to find in Europe. Save your breath on the fact that they are all made in Japan. European ones are different.

Plan B  - look to buy a new one: Three tire stores I drove by did not have the ability to order me a rim. "Too old" they said. And a tire my size is about $328 (I paid $117/tire 3 years ago but they were on sale). Romanian Parliament just passed a law that demands that tires be rated for snow and mountain hazardous driving or you can receive a huge fine (someone knows someone in the tire business). So tires are expensive here and rims for an 11 year old car are near impossible to find.

Plan C - I drove to the Toyota dealer. Ciprian (pronounced "Chiprian") is a very nice guy. He works in the parts department there. His English is good and he is sympathetic to my cause. He believes the Gypsies had something to do with it. No! Actually, he says he knows the Gypsies had something to do with it. We spend an hour looking on line: There is a rim for my vehicle but it is listed as made for Toyota 2002 - 2008. Then it says in fine print that it will fit any Land Cruiser model and in parenthesis if says, (not to be used as a spare). We debate why this is so. I figure it has to do with the center opening which it seems to lack. This open center rim is essential to suspend the spare under the carriage. So what if we buy it and exchange it with the rim already on the truck and use the old rim as a spare? Ciprian is hesitant. Apparently refunding a part after buying it is the Acme of bureaucracy. "This is a 4 signature and stamp case," he informs me. In my case, it's more because I have my own government to deal with to get the VAT tax refunded.

I decide to gamble after all and order the rim. Now to finding a tire. We find one that is actually a reasonable price and turns out to be the very same tire that is already on my car. Excited prematurely, I urge him to order it. He calls the shop and informs me that they have it but may not be able to deliver it before 5PM when the Service station at the dealership closes. They are located across town and only have one delivery truck. Of course, I can go get it myself, but my work schedule is pretty booked on Fridays. So we decide I will go get it as soon as they open, drive it to the dealership, leave it there for them to see if the rim fits, mount the old tire on the new rim, place the new tire on the old rim, and mount the brand new spare under the car. 

The early morning did not go as planned. I knew it as soon as it started. I forgot my wallet when I walked to the bakery for croissants, a sure omen. I engaged a concierge service from the embassy that will do just about anything for a price. They called me back and informed me they found another similar tire a bit more expensive but far closer to our location. I agreed to let them buy it and deliver it to me. I then drove to the dealership. 

The truck was lifted on the rack and we stood around wondering if the rim would fit or not. Yes! It fits! But there was one little problem. The lug nuts that anchor the rim to the wheel are different. So if the spare is used, the old lug nuts must be saved to use. An important yet small sacrifice to have a spare. At close examination, the rims are different and "look! You need new brake pads!" 

At the end of the day, all patients were seen, although I was late, and I now own a spare I hope I never need. And the squeal I developed since driving in Romania from the brake indicators is also gone. Must have been the Gypsies!