Bucharest to Bran Castle 🧛‍♂️

Our tour started in earnest this morning with some sightseeing around Bucharest culminating with a visit and tour of the Palace of Parliament, the world's second-largest administrative building (after the Pentagon) and former communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu's vanity project. It was appalling to see the resources he poured into the building. It’s estimated that it cost $4 billion. Ironically, he was executed before it was completed.

We then drove about 3 1/2 hours into the Carpathian mountains into Transylvania where we had dinner followed by a private visit to the iconic Bran Castle which was one of Vlad the Impaler’s hideouts. Vlad and this castle are said to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. We also learned about Queen Maria of Romania, the last inhabitant of the castle.

The castle was built in 1388 and Vlad ruled from 1431 to 1476. You can read more about him here:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/hist…

It was eerie to walk the halls that he had walked.Read more