Eastern Europe: Transylvania

Day 13 - July 27th, 2012
Miklosvar, Romania (Day trip to Bran, Romania, and Brasov, Romania)

Storks

This was our last full day in Miklosvar.  We had our breakfast under the canopy of grapes and got ready for our tour.  Since it was our last day we got to pick the tour.  Two guests had arrived the day before and they would tag along with whatever we chose.  Well, I did get the idea to come to Romania based on Dracula (as many do) and the most famous site is Bran Castle.  So... that was the choice.

Bran Castle

The Door

Inside

Across the Courtyard

Inside Bran Castle

Rooftops

Over the Castle

Hungary's Old Border

Crown

Window

Painted Beams

Armour

The Castle

Windows

Looking Up

The Courtyard

This time we did not have the nature guide, instead our hostess was to show us around.  We piled into a van-thing and were on our way.  We had been warned that due to the touristic nature of Bran Castle it could be very very busy.  It was busy, but not very.  Our hostess mentioned that it has taken thirty minutes just to get tickets to get in before, but today it took only five.  I looked up at the castle and I could see why people associated it with Dracula.  It may not have been the right castle, and the author may never have seen this one, but the description matches exactly.  There it was, high atop a cliff, tall and ominous.  We climbed to the castle and then we followed our hostess up and around.  We saw the rooms, the relics, and we were very aware of the fact that this castle truly was a labyrinth... thank goodness we had a guide.

From the castle we headed to Brasov, which is another major city in Romania, and headed into the old city.  We explored the main square, had lunch on it in fact, and wandered the streets.  We were taken to a model of the city as it was, and taken to the famous "Black Church" (UNESCO).  We ogled at the frescoes, and the carvings, and just the everything.  Everything.

Amazing.

A Brasov Street

The Square

A Damn Fine Hat

Girls in Brasov

Brasov

Home and Sport

The Old Border

BRASOV

The Black Church

Having seen Brasov we headed back to Miklosvar.

This was our last day and seeing as we had only seen the smaller of the Count's properties we requested to see the old manner house.  The Count lives elsewhere in a much larger estate, but the old manner house sits in Miklosvar.  It was, once upon a time, a hunting lodge, though it is bigger than most homes I've seen.  The building is unfortunately in ill repair, as it, with many other estates, had been seized by the communists and treated poorly during their reign.  After the communist era ended people had ten years to reclaim their land.  This manner was not in the Count's name before so he could not reclaim it as he did with other assets.  For the present time it is leased from the town.  Being our last day our hostess acquiesced and took us to the lodge.  At one point it must have been gorgeous, though even in its forlorn state there was a certain beauty about it.  The basement was in ruins (as evidently people had decided to use it as a stables in a time of war) and the main floor wasn't much better.  Still... it was gorgeous, and looking at the fragments that remain it was not hard to imagine how lavish and exceptional the building must have been.  Inside the main living room there are photos along the wall.  There was a photography contest a few years back and professionals from all over the country came to take photos of the land.  If only you could see what they captured as I saw it!  We finished our tour of the hunting lodge at a single furnished room (for overflow and special requests), then we headed back past the horses in the yard and out the gates of Miklosvar.  We toured the main property's grounds and then enjoyed our last Miklosvar rush hour.

A Guesthouse

The Guesthouses

Ducks

Reaching

Ducks

Duck

Ducks... and Goose

The House

Miklosvar's Church

War Monument

Mainstreet Miklosvar

Gate to the Main Estate in Miklosvar

Murder Holes

Buttress

The Back Gate

An Old Table

Canopy of Grapes

Snail!!!

Kids

Escape

The Kids

An Old Wagon

Birds Aplenty

The Breakfast Table

The Kalnoky Hunting Lodge

The Old Stables

Looking out from the Basement

A Lone Pony

One Door

The Hunting Lodge

Kalnoky Crest

Inside the Kalnoky Hunting Lodge... Cut short... awkward moment when I was filming and my hostess didn't know it... she was all... "Is someone there?!"

In the House

Rooms

Back Through

The Furnished Room

A Warm Window

Video of the Furnished Room

The Old Stairs

Hunting Lodge

Up the Lane

The First Cows of Rush Hour

A Closer Look

A Much Closer Look

The Goat

Eats Everything...

Ducks

The Dining Room Table

Candelabra

Into the Dining Room

Supper was amazing as always, and our usual table of Brits was joined by a handful of Americans from Houston.

We walked back along the dark streets of Miklosvar and enjoyed that final night as the Count's Guests.

p.s.  We did not get the opportunity to meet the Count as he was in Greece during our stay (or just returning from), but everything I have heard says that he and the Countess are amazing individuals.