Day 3 - Castles of Transylvania

Our morning drive started off on a sour note, literally and figuratively. When we picked up the car a day earlier, we didn’t have our luggage with us. We were just our touring with our backpacks. Despite looking over the exterior of the car carefully with the rental agent, we never thought to check the trunk. 

When we opened the trunk in the morning, we found two objects, a rectangular red case with flares and tools for emergencies, and a black nylon bag. We assumed that both were standard equipment for the car.

When I moved the black bag to make room for our luggage, we experienced an unpleasant shock. A putrid liquid started leaking out of the bag. It smelled like rotten eggs.

I removed the bag quickly from the trunk and set it on the concrete. I have no idea what was inside; I didn’t want to open it. Eventually, I tossed the whole bag into a nearby trash bin, but I was left with the unpleasant task of cleaning a spot of the stinking liquid from the trunk. I took some napkins that I had picked up at a coffee shop, wet them with my water bottle, and scrubbed the spot to the best of my ability. I covered the soiled area with a black trash bag that, thankfully, I had brought along in my tripod case. (Trash bags have many uses!)

It was too early to exchange the car at the local rental office - they wouldn’t open for a few hours - and driving to the airport would have taken us out of the way and off schedule. We decided to press on with the mess concealed under the plastic bag.

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Our first stop was the city of Sinaia to see Peleș Castle (PELL-esh), a magnificent structure that has been featured in a number of movies. One can imagine Cinderella dancing here at an elegant ball. A second, smaller castle on the same grounds, Pelișor Castle, was more home-like and understated in its elegance.

We next ventured to the village of Bran to see an older, more traditional stone castle that would make a good backdrop for a story about knights, dungeons, and swordplay. Bran castle is sometimes mistakenly associated with another story, the story of Count Dracula. Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ was inspired by the ruthless Transylvanian nobleman, Vlad Țepeș (Tseh-PESH), infamous for impaling the Gotts and Turks who foolishly invaded areas under his control. Bran Castle was not Vlad’s home, but he passed through the area on occasion.

As the afternoon waned, we drove to our hotel in Brașov (BRASH-ov), a beautiful walled city that reminded me a bit of scenic Heidelberg in Germany. We strolled through the central square and the neighboring streets as evening fell and enjoyed dinner on the square at Pizza Roma.

The food quality in Romania is excellent. Produce is vibrant and flavorful, as though it had just been picked from someone’s garden. Fresh juices are available everywhere, orange, grapefruit, and apple in particular. The wines are of consistently high quality. Every one of our dining experiences was a delight.