Romania!

Our usual travel style is running madly through the airport, dragging our children behind us.  However, the beginning of our vacation to Romania and Turkey was a pleasure!  We made it to the airport (even did a park and ride) in plenty of time, ate lunch, and even had time for a bathroom break… unheard of!  I knew our first main stop was going to be Transylvania.  Prepared to go eat breakfast and head out for a day of travel, I was informed by my trusty travel agent that we were packing up, leaving for another hotel.  Ok, in full disclosure, I generally have no idea what is going to happen on a trip.  I know the main destination, pack a suitcase for Juliette and myself, and am prepared to leave for the airport.  I am very spoiled because Greg takes care of all the details.  He does a fantastic job and why fix what’s not broken, right?! 

What we saw of Romania was beautiful and a cultural treat.  Men guiding horse and carts full of wooden beams or other items to complete their days work, roadside stands full of fresh strawberries, old women sitting on the side of the road selling baskets of fresh eggs, and carts selling what we thought were bread and honey.  Of course we had to stop for some bread and honey! 

The thing about travel for us, is it’s all about having as authentic of an experience as possible.  Turns out, we got the honey part right (and it was delicious!), but what we thought was bread was actually smoked cheese.  They had cheese from the cow, sheep, and bison.  We landed on the bison cheese, well, because we had never had it and it’s about the experience.  I’m happy to say, the bison cheese was also delicious!

So on we go to Transylvania to visit what is known as “Dracula’s Castle.”

Dracula (his real name was Vlad Tepes- his father was Vlad Dracul, thus Dracula) did not live there, and only likely laid siege to it in 1460, but apparently this castle is much more interesting than Dracula’s real home.  Vlad has a rather interesting story including being given as a hostage by his father to gain favor with the Turkish Sultan, rising to power, impaling people- yes this includes stakes and rectums, a death by being beheaded, and a buriel in a Monastery located in Snagov, Romania. 

Brady and I took a secret staircase while in the castle- because it’s all about keeping up the excitement for a 4 year old when you’re making him roam around a castle.  We got separated from the group because Greg, who was wearing Juliette on his back, was too tall to fit through.  Brady and I proceed to practically run through the rest of the castle stopping only for a moment at a bear skin rug, the king’s crown, and a suit of armor.  Brady pretended to shoot a small cannon gun located in a window, I’m pretty sure we got yelled at for that, and then he enjoyed a pretzel snack while we waited for Greg and Juliette to show up.  I’ll call that a success!

After a brief stroll through the market and an ice cream cone, we head on to Sinaia, Romania. Once there we took a cable car ride up a mountain, ate at a little restaurant where we took the advice of the waitress and had no idea what we ordered (this was also delicious!), then settled in for the night at a charming Inn where we had breathtaking views.