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 or 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? 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 and along with the other trainers had a few days of exploring before going our sepearte ways to new adventures or home.
So on the 31st July we found ourselves heading towards Bran Castle in Transylvania, or known more popularly 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 certainly ignores this and perches on a high and small cliff face with a rather steep 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.
Draculas Castle for obvious reasons is a very popular tourist destination. We arrived not to 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 leading on a specific path to the next. Each with a little bit of story and history to share.
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 had some dramatic effects which would have been fun to admire but unfortunately due to the number of people in the halls we were made to move on rather swiftly.
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 itself we careful went back down the hill before spending some time exploring the gardens and the 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 certainly would have been better if there was more space and less people to explore amongst. 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.
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