We have enjoyed our time in Brașov this week. I wanted to post a few photos before I reached the paralysis that comes with maximum photo saturation. The city is very verdant and beautiful, with Tâmpa Mountain coming right up to the edge of it. You can see it from almost everywhere in the city. It’s a shame about the Hollywood-esque sign on it. They have them on all the major sites here.

We’ve hiked most days here because the mountain is so beautiful and so close that it’s almost impossible to resist.

Look at all those beautiful trees! Transylvania certainly lives up to its name (etymologically, because sylvia means forest).

They also use a tree as a symbol for their city. When I first saw it, I thought I was in Narnia or maybe Fillory because it’s just a tiny bit sinister. Like the trees are taking control…

Of course, Transylvania is also known for Dracula. We went to Bran Castle today where supposedly Vlad the Impaler/Dracula hung out and tortured peasants. The history is mixed up in the myth, but by all accounts Vlad was truly a monster. Burning down barns with poor people in them, impaling people for stealing, employing a breathtaking variety of torture instruments, the whole nine yards. On a fun note, our tour guide said that Airbnb had a Halloween special once where people came to stay in Bran Castle on October 31st and slept in coffins. It’s a spooky place, so I bet it was awesome.

The place was a bit of a tourist trap, but you have to go to some things, don’t you? It was very, very cold and windy. The guide said the locals call the area around the castle, “the mouth of the mother-in-law.”

We also learned a few of the superstitions that helped feed the myths like Dracula. The “strigoi” are the evil souls of the dead who come to torment the living. They usually manifest in children who have special marks on them or who have aversions to garlic, holy water, or frankincense. The strigoi can bring bad luck and affect various things, like the harvest or the weather. If it rains while the sun is shining, it is believed that a strigoi is getting married. That’s close-ish to the southern saying “the devil is beating his wife” which is super cool. Look at the cool anti-strigoi song and symbol below.

We also went to Râșnov Fortress. It’s an outdoor fortress built in the 13th century that was used for defense. It doesn’t seem to have been occupied constantly–the peasants would come up here during war or plague and hide out until the danger passed. It’s mainly outdoors, so we were so grateful it wasn’t raining and that it had warmed up. Unless you’re willing to be really mean, it’s impossible to get photos without people in them.

Garett looking cool.

Look at those mountains. Romania is truly a beautiful place.

And a few pictures of food. In the one below chimney cakes are being made. They are delicious. We had ours with cinnamon and sugar

And a mushroom pie for me and a chicken “cauldron” for Garett. The pie was really good, but the sauce that went with it was even better.