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Published: October 12th 2009
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We found this cute little beach town on the border of Bulgaria and Romania called Vama Veche. After being inundated with offers of sub standard accommodation that were much more expensive than Bulgaria, we found the perfect place. Vama Veche is a tiny place, a few dirt roads and the main road through the town. Its full of hippies with dreadlocks and contrastingly flashy people in expensive cars who have come here from Bulgaria. Lots of people camp on the beach here for free and there are plenty of bars on the beach so we spent a lazy few days here between those bars and the water. It's a tough life we lead!
Vama Veche is a bit awkward to get in and out of, the only real transport is a mini bus to the nearest big town, Mangalia, 20 minutes away, and from there you can go to most places. So that's how we got to Brasov. Brasov is a town in the Transylvania region. Seriously, every time I say the world Transylvania I think of Count Dracula's voice on Sesame street and it still hasn't worn off! Brasov is beautiful, lovely old buildings, cobbled streets, with a real
old medievil feel to it. There is a lovely cable car that brings you up Mt Tampa with great views of the town, it has one of those hollywood signs up there and the town even boasts one of the smallest streets in Europe - which was really just a lane way but anyhow. From here you can do some day trips to some amazing castles which is what we did.
At Sinaia, there is Peles castle, which was the residence of the Romanian Monarchy (King Carol 1st), who was actually brought here from Germany. This place is like a fairytale, it is stunning, and the inside is so ornate. There are even themed rooms like the asian room and the turkish room. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed inside so we only have ones of the outside.
We were expecting Bran castle to be just as spectacular however it was quite simple in comparison. This is hyped up to be Dracula's castle but in fact, it is not. But it does have a lot of history all the same. Bram Stoker is believed to have based his character Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, a real figure in Romanian history.
Vlad's father was in something called the Dragons Order which translated to him being known as Dracul. Vlad was known as Dracula, which means son of dracul, or the dragon. His father sent him away with the Turks to save the kingdom, and due to this Vlad became a vicous ruler on his return. He was still looked favourably by the locals as he saved them from Turkish invasion numerous times. Vlad lived in a nearby region, not actually in Transylvania, however people believe that it is Bran castle that Bram Stoker used for inspiration. So there is Dracula memorabilia everywhere you turn here. Apparently Bran castle was actually owned by the Romanian monarchy who were forced to flee the country and is now owned by an American descendant.
There is also a 13th century fortress in Rasnov. Although there is not much here right now there are hopes to reconstruct it.
On our way to Budapest, we made another Transylvania stop in Sighisoara. There is a small citadel on top of a hill here that is so quaint, very medieval like Brasov, with the obligatory cobble stone streets. Vlad lived here as a child actually, and his
house is now a restaurant and cafe. There is beautiful clock tower which you can climb and get great views. All in all, Transylvania is a great place and did not disappoint.
We got a very packed and over heated night train to Budapest. We didnt have much time here but we squeezed a lot in. Budapest is two cities - Buda and Pest split by the Danube river. On Buda you can see the church in the cave, Gellert Hill and the citadel with the statue of the angel. There is also a palace with funicular to the top as its on a hilltop over looking the Chain Bridge over the Danube River. Crossing over to Pest, there is the impressive Parliment buildings which were modelled on Westminister, and also heros square and castle. Budapest is a huge city but amazingly easy to get around. After our brief stop here we got a bus to Prague and not just any bus, the cheapest one going that had coffee/tea/hot chocolate service, it felt like a plane on wheels. By the far the best transport in Europe yet.
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