A Visit with a Vampire
It was dark and gloomy day. Perched high on the hill, the castle stood. Cloud billowing around it, rain pelting the windows, only a crack of lightning and a boom of thunder could have made the day more ominous. For we stood at the base of Draculas Castle and despite the dangers ahead we proceeded.
Do I have your attention? While the imagination ran wild, reality was a bit less dramatic.
If I’m perfectly honest it was nowhere near as ominous or daunting. As far as I can tell there were no vampires present or even bats! It was gloomy and raining a little but nothing supernatural. Fun to imagine it being all scary though.
At the end of our first month in Romania, we had finished up at the first English camp in Păltiniș. Along with the other trainers, we had a few days of exploring before going our separate ways—either to new adventures or home.
So on the 31st July we found ourselves heading towards Bran Castle in Transylvania, or more popularly known as Draculas Castle from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.
As castles go it was quite the sight. Many that we had already visited were usually placed in more ‘reasonable’ positions of flattish terrain. Bran Castle defies convention, perched atop a steep cliff face with a daunting climb. Adds a certain level of awe and danger as you approach it. Once in the castle you can certainly see the value; easy view of those approaching and for many miles around. Still I would not have wanted to be the ones having to carry the necessary items for daily life to the top.
Dracula’s Castle, for obvious reasons, is a very popular tourist destination. We arrived not too late in the morning to find it already quite busy with a rather long line. Thankfully we had purchased tickets online in advance so we’re able to skip the lines straight to entry. From there it was a slow walk up the slippery hill to the castle entrance.
The line into the castle itself was rather long too. After a few pictures outside we joined and slowly made our way in. The trip through the castle started with a history lesson, sharing details of the castle, Vlad the Impaler, and Bram Stoker’s Novel.
From there it was a slow wander through the castle. Passing through bedrooms, kitchens, armoury, hallways and more.Each room led to the next along a specific path, revealing more of the castle’s story and history.
One rather interesting section of the walk included a number of dark closed in rooms that explored the history of various mythological creatures; vampires, werewolves, ghost and more. These rooms featured dramatic effects that would have been fun to admire, but the crowds forced us to move on quickly.
As we came to the final courtyard within the castle we were able to look up and admire the balconies and stare deep into the central well. Leaving the castle, we carefully made our way back down the hill before exploring the gardens and surrounding shops.
After a rather extended wait in the oncoming rain our ride returned to take us on to Brasov to continue exploring.
This visit was exciting, but it would have been better with more space and fewer people to explore among. Perhaps had it been a weekday and not the school holiday it would not have been as busy. Nonetheless an interesting place of legend where only kernels of the story we have all heard are actually true.
Good luck Vampire hunting,
Cohen