poenarı fortress, transylvanıa

Poenari Fortress ıs supposed to be one of the most haunted places ın the world. I defınıetely believe ıt as ıt was used as a dungeon and torture palace for Vlad Dracul and hıs successors. It has sınce been mostly abandoned, which ıs why the Romanıan government toots Bran castle as Dracula's castle, and not this one. Poenari ıs mostly old ruins now wıth barely there railings all the way to the top. It was a cold and brisk mornıng wıth tons of fog so ı thought we would get the whole creepy effect of the place. We left the hostel wıth Reıner at 6 am because Chris, our frıend from the previous tour to Bran, told us to go as earl as possıble to catch the mıst and darkness. However, by the tıme we got there, all the fog and mıst from the early mornıng was gone...and ın ıts place...a bright, crisp sunny day fılled wıth the most fantastic shades of orange and yellow.

We clımbed the 1480 steps to the top   It's not a partıcularly hard clımb..but one ı defınıtely felt ın my calves! (should have stretched). No one was at the fortress other than the gatekeeper. He took 5 lei from each of us, and pointed the way up. As we neared the entrance, two adorable dogs came bounding up to us. We knew from Chris' pictures that these were the two "scary" looking dogs that followed him up the mountain. In daylight, they are just the most lovable things on the planet.

playing with my camera

falling into the dungeon

I climbed over the railing to take a pic overlooking the dungeon. There's a reason I'm in this awkward position ... scared shitless that i'll fall in. (there was NO ONE there at this fortress to help me if i did).  But while i'm clutching the railing as i climb over...kat snapped this pic, laughing hysterically instead of hanging on to me. *_*

1400 steps up...whew!!! at least the air was crisp and the view was breathtaking

 

poenari chains

head to toe H&M

sighisoara for halloween

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeen Everyone!!

We are in Sighisoara, Transylvania...where Dracula was born!!! Romanians don't really celebrate Halloween at all really ... but just being in this historic town is kind of amazing and a once in a lifetime experience. We will also go to Poenari, which is the most haunted castle ever!!!

bran castle

Our group consists of me, Kat, Reiner, an American writer named Chris, and an Italian chef named Francesco. We five had the best dynamic and I am so thankful for it because we were stuck in the car with them for pretty much the whole day. Reiner is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met. He has a way with storytelling, and his recap of famous history is unsurpassable. The stories of the first kings of Romania seem like fairy tales, especially when he talks about Karl’s two wives Catherine and Mary. Pelesh castle also has a Bavarian look and feel to it, so with the added history lesson, the castle just comes alive. The same went for Bran castle, but by then, we were all quite comfortable with each other, and we took off running and taking pictures. The following are pics inside Bran castle.

wishing well

kat falling down the stairs again

charred ruins outside Bran castle

reiner, francesco, chris, and kat... i'm taking the pic

we did not take a group pic. my camera ran out of battery right as I was setting up for it =/

Our guide is actually the owner of Butterfly Villa. He was the most interesting and knowledgeable tour guide I have ever encountered. I think he may be the best tour guide I’ve had yet. His name is Reiner, and he is a German who moved to Romania 4 years ago to open this hostel. He was a wealthy banker in Germany, but got sick of his stoic life there, wanted to see the world so he took his hard earned savings and went to Romania to open a hostel. I wondered why he picked Romania of all the places he’s been to [he’s been all over the world], but later realized that there is quite a bit of German influence in Romanian culture. Long ago [not sure how long], the Germans had brought over a ton of imperialism into Romania, so many aspects of their cuisine and culture have remained. The most influence was in architecture. Gothic cathedrals cover Romania, and many parts of the German language are still inscribed in the churches and buildings. Nowadays, less than 10% of the population is German, but the influence is still very prevalent. Reiner happened to love Romania and since it was easy for him to adapt to the culture here, he decided to make it his new home. With the hostel [now one of the highest ranking hostels on Hostelbookers], he gets to meet new people everyday and travel as much as he wants. 

His tours are usually to Peles, and then to Bran castle where Dracula supposedly is from. However, as we learned, this is NOT where Dracula originated from. Bram Stoker decided to use Bran castle because of its look and mystery. However, the original castle is much more scary and in ruins. It’s called Poeneira, and is known as one of the most haunted places in the world. Stoker chose Bran for his setting in Dracula and the Romanian government ran with it because it caters to tourism much better than Poenara.