Bran Castle

Sometimes you just have to be a tourist and let yourself be lured into a trap. Bran Castle has become one of Romania's top attractions because it "resembles Castle Dracula, as described in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (1897), in that both stand on rocky precipices and command spectacular views. But Stoker, an Irish writer, is not known to have ever visited Transylvania." Vlad the Impaler, the historical figure behind the fictional monster, didn't even reside in this castle, but was only held prisoner for some time in the dungeons.

Nevertheless, a multitude of gift shops, restaurants and hotels plaster the foot of the hill and the castle is venue to a number of events, including a spectacular Halloween party that actually did sound quite enticing.

The main attraction itself is a rather standard medieval fortress and the museum exhibits provide insight into the lives of Queen Marie and King Ferdinand. On the fourth floor, however, visitors get to encounter creatures and apparitions from Romanian folclore.

A fun tidbit is the haunted house tucked away behind the many souvenir shops: An entertaining 15 minutes that only costs about €5 with the promise of live actors "trained to scare you". This live actor turned out to be some guy dressed up as a devilish vampire ready to scare the children and envelop women with his cape.

Right before the exit, one of the mechanical creatures seemed to have malfunctioned - exposing visitors with the most terrifying sight of all: the local mechanic in a blue overall rummaging through the insides of a ghoul...Read more