Transylvania
The next morning we hit the road early, and it’s time for my chosen part of the trip: Romania. We get some coffee at a place below our AirBnB called “Andy’s Pizza.” It’s a popular chain that we see all over Chisinau. We get some fruit and pastries as road snacks at the adjacent super market and off we go.
The previous day’s drive to Odessa prompted us to refer to driving on the roads as the “Moldovan Massage” due to all the bumps and vibrating. Really should have considered renting an SUV rather than a compact.
The first thing we notice on this day is how much better the road towards Romania is. There has to be some implicit indication with that. It’s only a short drive to the border, but the border crossing gets complicated again. The Romanian guard asks for our Green Card. I’m miffed again, I thought Moldova’s membership to the European Commission would get us some administrative leeway with a European Union member nation but no such luck. We have to buy insurance again. Naturally we have no cash on us and we spend the next thirty minutes trying to find the ATM at the border. It’s Ukraine all over again, we randomly go from office to office in a bunker complex of trailers until Javier finds someone to take out money from. The Green Card is much more expensive this time; a two week pass (the minimum duration option) for Ukraine was about $15. For EU countries like Romania it’s $100.
After paying and crossing the border it’s just one km to the Romanian side. The Romanian customs official asks me a question, in Romanian. Rather than give the smart answer, “I only speak English,” I give the answer that has gotten me by throughout my life, “Yes,” with a big smile. Javier tells me that the customs official asked if we are bringing guns, drugs, and alcohol across the border. My answer gives a brief moment of incredulity from the official, and he calls over someone else who speaks English and we get it sorted out and enter Romania.
First impression: the oh so glorious roads. The potholes and narrow lanes of Moldova are left behind and the new asphalt, wide double lanes and copious signs indicating where we are and hazards ahead are a welcome relief to driving. Membership to the EU brought Romania a lot of civil development money and it’s been well spent on the highway system as far as I’m concerned.
We stop in a little city/big town called Husi for a “local meal” but all we can find is a pizza joint playing techno music. At least they have wifi; even more so than Moldova, everywhere in Romania has wifi. Even the gas stations.
The day’s drive is a long one to Bran, a town in the Carpathian mountains famous for “Dracula Castle.” The castle itself is only loosely associated with Vlad the Impaler, Bram Stoker’s inspiration for “Dracula.” Vlad held several castles in the region and Bran was apparently the least frequently inhabited by him and Bram Stoker himself had a neighboring castle in Rashov in mind when he modeled his setting for his famous novel. Still, he who markets first wins, and Bran is now known for its association to the Dracula legend although everyone knows how loose that association is.
Despite the good roads, it’s still a haul and we have to drive first over the Carpathians into a vast valley and then back up again through Transylvania to get to Bran. It’s dusk by the time we get to Transylvania and we still have two hours of driving ahead of us. Though I wanted to get to Bran before nightfall, there’s something pretty awesome about driving through Transylvanian mountain passes as the sun is setting. The inner child in me felt like I was racing to a safe haven before vampires descended upon us.
We pass Rashov castle just before Bran. The façade is lit up and the castle is massive. By the time we get to Bran I’m a little disappointed that in comparison to Rashov it is much smaller. Still, Castle Bran is lit up as well and against the dark ridgeline of the mountains it’s really really cool. Our hotel is “Pensuine Casa din Bran” which I can’t help but read as “Penis Wine.” We check in, but despite requesting a room with two single beds we’re given a room with one double bed. Some lines I won’t cross with Javier, and he won’t either, and he opts for a room of his own. Both have balconies and views of Castle Bran, and it’s off peak season so the price is cheap, so we can’t complain.
The off peak season limits the restaurant options for dinner. We have two options: traditional Romanian restaurant or a pizza place. Given the number of pizza places we have been running across I’m beginning to wonder if pizza is a traditional Romanian dish anyway. We elect for the Romanian place, and start off with a dark beer from Romania called Silva. Our waiter, George, is also the owner and recommends pork dishes; Javier gets a dinner special with pork chops and sausages but I opt for mutton pastrami. George speaks great English and explains the meat comes from his own farm in the Bran valley. Javier’s dish is amazing, the pork is super tender and served with bits of braised fat. My mutton unfortunately is too fatty; George brings out a garlic sauce for me and I pour it over the mutton but the garlic is too strong and I just make the meal worse. Though I guess the strong garlic will keep me safe from vampires that night. The beer is great though so the meal overall is a nice way to cap off a long day on the road.
Javier tries to tempt George into a game of poker, but George only plays backgammon. Javier takes the challenge and we spend the next hour or so watching George wipe the floor with Javier. I have no idea how the game is played but based on the reactions of the two players it looked very lopsided.
The long drive and super comfortable bed at Penis Wine give both of us a long solid night of sleep. Perhaps too long as it’s almost noon by the time we get breakfast and out the door to the castle which is only about 100m down the road.
We get in on a student discount and the lady at the ticket window asks if we want to see the torture room as well. Yes, duh.
A black dog that reminds me of Sirius Black from Harry Potter walks alongside us as we hike up the castle’s entry. The exhibits within are actually kind of dull; it’s a representation of the history of the castle through the ages. Meaning it’s just a bunch of representative furniture and setting. There is the occasional vampire reference and Bram Stoker panel but for the most part the only thing I’m into is the architecture and views of the valley from the castle windows. There are cool secret passages, but it’s not until we hit the torture chamber that the castle gets really interesting.
The chamber is a series of rooms with old drawings depicting how the particular device was used. People were SICK back then. Worst device: the “Tickler” which was a spiky rake that would rip strips off a victim. Based on the pictures, it looks like women got the worst of it back then.
Thoroughly disturbed we leave the castle and start towards Targoviste to see where Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was killed.