Days One & Two
I flew to Bucharest, via Amsterdam, to meet my husband, who was waiting for me with our car and roof tent. From there, we headed towards the Bran area for our first evening.
We got caught up in spells of roadwork traffic, but it gave us plenty of time to take in the villages we passed through. Then the heavens opened. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled and rain swept across the landscape.
How fitting for Transylvania?
By the time we eventually arrived at our first campsite, framed by the Carpathian Mountains, the rain had let up, so we set up camp.
But after we’d cooked dinner, the thunder, lightning and rain picked back up.
Bats flitted about in the twilight, and a large black dog skulked around the campsite. He looked exactly like the dog Dracula turns into when he disembarks from the Demeter in Whitby.
Naturally, I named him Zoltan.
The rain continued throughout the night, and we were awoken at various points during the small hours by dogs howling and barking all around us. It seemed to go on for miles.
The next morning, we found Zoltan waiting hopefully to see if we’d give him breakfast. In daylight, he was considerably less hellhound and more kind-eyed gentle soul, complete with only one-and-a-half ears. He looked at us funny as we spoke to him in English. So I told him he was a băiat bun (good boy). But the blank look he gave me, I don’t think anyone had told him that before.
Of course, we shared our breakfast with him, then got back on the road.
Our first stop was Bran.
I wanted to see the castle from the outside, to stand in front of the building that may or may not have inspired Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s home. Given that Bram Stoker never actually visited Bran, and that the castle is something of a tourist trap, I had little inclination to go inside.
So we made a brief stop, took it in, and continued towards the mountains.
We passed through mountain villages and sweeping landscapes on our way to the Transfăgărășan Highway.
I can’t really put into words how special this road is.
It was everything I’d hoped it would be, and more.
And our luck was exceptionally good. We spotted fourteen brown bears along the way, as well as Poenari Castle which was the home of Vlad the Impaler back in the 15th Century.
After the Transfăgărășan, we made our way to Pui and our second campsite, where we made friends with the resident stray, White Bear.
Of course, we shared our food with him too.
Hoping for a peaceful night, we settled down.
Unfortunately, it was even noisier than the first. Dogs were barking everywhere all through the night.
This was now officially known as The Barkening.
And next door’s rooster chimed in for good measure.
R. H. DIXON 