You called, m’lady?

It was great to wake up to a smattering of snow at last – every little helps! Today we had the promise of a couple of really good things to see. First, off to Castle Bran to see the legendary Dracula’s Castle. Unfortunately, it really is legendary! In fact, the castle’s history is much more exciting than that. It was the home to Queen Maria of Romania, who was much loved by her subjects – not bad for a furriner! She rather enjoyed going into town with the minimum of fuss and being one of the locals. I suppose, at a pinch, you MIGHT say she was the template for Diana.

The castle is perched high on a crag in the centre of town and as you walk up the hill you are struck by the aspect -and the wind! It was a very cold day and there was MUCH more snow than in our village! The drive was fairly easy, if a trifle dull, but well worth it…and we still had that sneaking hope that we’d see our old friend Vlad! But it was not to be. In reality, the said Vlad only stayed in the castle for 48 hours. Yes, afraid so – just two nights! This did not diminish our fun one bit and we enjoyed wandering through the rooms – and deliberately setting off the alarms!

Sorry! But we did.

When we walked down the hill we found an outdoor museum – of course being December and just before Christmas it was shut – but we wandered round anyway and enjoyed the snowy views.

Then it was off to lunch. The restaurant was very cozy and the food was very good -and the hot brandy was even better. You know, these Romanians really know how to warm up on a freezing winter’s day! There really is no shortage of excellent beverages. A point here - our 'deal' included all trips and food etc - and we were NEVER offered the cheapest thing on the menu. In fact, quite the opposite. We were encouraged to order as much as we liked - starters, mains and puds too!

I did notice that the decorations were a tad gaudy…and even more worrying was the ever so slightly evil looking Santa in the hallway! But never mind…we were fit to venture once more into the snow…and to a second fortified castle…high on a hill en route home.

The village was Răsnov and was built in 1225 (for those of you history buffs), and as yet another Teutonic Knights hangout. It was more of a fort really and the snow was so heavy that we were unable to appreciate the 360° view. It was whiteout time! However, we still enjoyed the visit and all that fresh air and food and walking and …and … made for a very quiet car en route home! The big Zzzzz must have been seen from space. And when we got home – full house for Christmas. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve and we were all wondering what that might bring as we’d been promised a wonderful dinner…