Bran Castle!

I am still quite in awe that I visited Bran Castle - famously known as Count Dracula's castle and wrongly associated with the real Vlad III.  My tour manager oddly told the busload of us not to be afraid of the castle even though no vampires had been documented residing in Bran Castle.

The visit to Bran Castle was scheduled initially to be a five-minute walk from the Restaurant after lunch.  Due to two accidents on route, we arrived at the Restaurant after 5pm.  So in a twist of fate, Bran Castle could be seen in fading daylight and the atmospheric light-up when darkness fell.

The guide assigned to us had the good humour of still accepting our group despite us being terribly late, and was hilarious about the Victorian hit written by Irish Bram Stoker who had never set foot in Transylvanian still being THE marketing tool drawing tourists to Transylvania.  He was patient enough to explain to me that Vlad III was the ruler of WALLACHIA and not Transylvania (and where Wallachia is in relation to Transylvania) and how the impaling was carried out.  Which made me wanted to hear his opinion if Hotel Transylvania should rightly be titled Hotel Wallachia instead, but I guess for most people, Transylvania is a more recognizable name than Wallachia.  

In deep snow, Bran Castle looks every bit that medieval castle where time has simply stopped its relentless march along.