Today was an easy day and almost a lay day. We did a total of 30 km in two bites. So it was a well needed sleep in this morning after five full on days on the road. Then after a lazy and late breakfast it was on the bike for the whole of 6km down the road to the town of Bran and Bran castle aka Dracula's castle. Here it is - the fabled castle of Transylvania
Now I happen think it is quite poignant having Dick Hubbard , cereal maker, visiting the town of Bran! I am determined to find out more. I find out that not just the town but the district is also called Bran which according to my reckoning makes the whole area "all Bran ". Got it ? It gets worse. Look carefully at the following photo
Blocking the dramatic view of the castle are the fibre optic cables as seen in the above photo. Got it folks? Yes, that is a picture of the high fibre in Bran!
It gets even worse! We go to the castle entrance to get in. There are souvenir shops everywhere. Some of the souvenirs look a little dodgy. Yes, I really do think some of them are Bran fakes!
On that note and with a self satisfied smile on my face it is time to visit the castle. It was built in 1377. King Ludavic gave the town of Brasov permission to build the castle. But the town had to finance it and build it. However it would belong to the King and the King would get customs revenue from it. Now that seems an enlightened way of financing and building public works that our government might well want to think about!
We join the crowds to visit the castle. As castles go it is not a big one
We see bed chambers and living rooms ( as you do when you visit a castle!)
We read about how the Dracula story came about. It was written by a romantic Englishman called Bram Stoker. I guess he called himself Bram of Bran! And he would have of course been " stoked" with the success of his legend.
And they did actually do nasty things to people in the castle. Look closely at the chair. It is not your average lounge chair !
Or try popping into this for a light afternoons entertainment
Thus we leave the town of Bran, the castle of blood sucking Dracula and we head all of 23 km up the hill to stay at a nice hotel right at the bottom of a ski slope
Tomorrow- the Black Sea and Bulgaria
Comments