count dracula club

As kitschy as it is, we couldn't resist going to Count Dracula Club in Bucharest. There is a real Dracula actor that comes in on Tuesdays and Fridays so we were sad to miss him. He supposedly chooses pretty girls to bite and then takes them into his "coffin" that rotates out.

kat wants to be bitten

eeeep! she turned into an onion vampire!

scareddd

carpathian mountains & peles castle

Peles Castle is just too pretty. It's nestled in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia. Mount Sinaia is where Moses got his calling to climb the mountain to receive the 10 commandments. It is just spiritual to be around here. Autumn is definitely here. Showers of yellow, orange, reds, and gorgeous browns surround us, and I cannot be happier. Peles Castle reminds me of Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. The wooden architecture is impeccable. I wish i was able to take pictures of the intricate woodwork inside the castle, but they wanted to charge over $10 to take photos.

 fall colors make me happy

 Peles Castle

 Carpathian Mountains!!

bucharest, romania

ciuc, the romanian beer

Romania was almost crossed off my list for Eastern European countries to go to. Thank god it was not, and we made it here. Romania is one of the most medieval, gothic, yet the most charming countries I’ve been to yet. We arrived a few days ago to Bucharest, and still haven’t gotten bored with this majestically mystical country.

In Bucharest, we stayed at the Butterfly Villa hostel. It’s a backpacker’s hostel, nothing fancy…and it is a fantastic place. Although there are the usual annoyances of other sleepers in the dorm rooms, we have also met so many great people in the common room. The best thing about Butterfly Villa is the service. Carmen, the receptionist, was the friendliest, most helpful girl I have ever met. Her energy itself is amazing. She helped us book a tour to the castles [Pelesh and Bran] and we originally planned to pay 50 euros each for the car with a guide to take us there. As soon as we signed up, a sign went up saying there was a tour going to Brasov, and that it would be cheaper to join. Two other lucky travelers made the cut, which brought our price down to 35 euros each. 

Caru cu Bere means beer carriage, or beer wagon. It's the most well known restaurant in Bucharest, so we had to go! The food wasn't that impressive, and neither was the beer...but the atmosphere made up for it.

chicken schnitzel with potatoes

yummy creme brulee [flan??] and plum filled dessert balls