Transylvania Castles

When you visit Transylvania, you "have" to see Count Dracula's castle.  So, after skiing for five days we took the sixth to travel the surrounding region and take in some of the rich history.  The castle that is marketed as Dracula's house of horror, is more correctly called Bran Castle (because it is located in the town of Bran).  According to Wikipedia, Bran Castle has only tangential associations with Vlad III (Vlad the Impaler), who is said to be the inspiration to Bram Stoker's Dracula.  The information at the castle itself was also quite clear this manufactured association, while good marketing, is not exactly accurate - there is no evidence that Stoker had Bran Castle in mind when he wrote his famous novel.

Anyhow, we visited the castle with Dracula in mind, and it looked pretty scary as we approached.  The interior was (luckily) not so terrifying, and for us it was a little glimpse into the lifestyle of the upper class back in the 1200.  It seemed as defense was more important than glitz back then, or they were just very modest people.  The castle was quite charming with small rooms, tight staircases, and a cute, little courtyard.  The buildings smelled heavily of wood polish, but we didn't get the sense of dread we had anticipated walking up the hill.

The staircases and doorways were proofs that people used to be much shorter than C

The countryside we saw was bleak, and people seemed very poor.  I am sure if we visited in the summertime, it all would look greener, happier, and friendlier.

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The town of Sinaia, in the Carpathian Mountains

The beautiful Peleş Castle used to be the summer home for King Carol I of Romania, and is located in the Carpathian Mountains.  On the same compound is the Pelişor Castle, also built by King Carol I, and this was the residence for his nephew and heir, King Ferdinand.

The Peleş Castle

King Carol I in front of his summer home

The Pelişor Castle

Love the gutters

Romania had a royal family from 1867 until 1947.  

To put an end to the internal struggles for power, Romanian politicians appointed the German prince Carol of Sigmaringen-Hochenzollern as prince of Romania in 1866. He continued the independence policy of his predecessor and declared 1877 (after the Turkish defeat in the Crimean War) the independency from the Ottoman Empire which was recognized one year later by the Peace Treaty of Berlin.   http://www.welcome2romania.ro/en/history/kingdom-of-romania.htm