We couldn't have asked for a more perfect autumn day; sunny
skies and cool temperatures, great fall colors and wonderful places to
visit.
Bran Castle was the setting for Bram Stocker’s Dracula, despite the facts that Stocker
never visited Eastern Europe and Vlad the Impaler, the model for Count Dracula,
may have been held prisoner at Bran but never lived there. But the castle was the real home of
several members of Romanian royalty.
We stopped for a brief visit to the Curteadearges Episcopal
Church on our way to Horezu.
Despite its name, the church, where King Carol I is buried, looks
Ottoman. It is probably the most
pristine church we have seen.
The Horezu Monastery, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in
a word, amazing. The dark wood
trim stands in contrast to the whitewashed plaster buildings. Everything is adorned with bright red
geraniums, probably a touch from the nuns who wander around. The one with the key allowed us into
the church, every inch of which is covered with icons.
Days like this, however, come with a price. We drove more than 500 kilometers on
some pretty rough roads. But they
took us through some spectacular country, rich in fall colors and colorful
people. We saw carts drawn by
donkeys, horses and oxen, peasant women selling fruit, home-made sausage and
local fruit drinks, and even a couple of romas, Romanian gypsies. Even though most Romanians live in
urban areas, the peasantry is alive and thriving.
