Romania

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Up now: Halloween, visiting the home country of Dracula and seeing the Transylvanian castles that Vlad III the Impaler resided, in turn, inspiring Bram Stoker's legendary tale.

It was a brisk Halloween night when I left Budapest by train for my journey in to the Transylvanian Alps. This party was THE place to be. Vlad, the Impaler himself, invited us all to a killer party at his home, known throughout the lands as Dracula’s Castle. I arrived at the Brasov hostel within hours of departing for the castle. Almost everyone staying at the hostel that night was attending the party, so travelling companions helped pass the 35 minute drive to and from the castle.

There were people from all over the world. My hostel covered Brazil, Australia, India, England, Boston, MA, Ireland, and myself; and we met people from New York and Germany, Florida and Alaska- the full variety! Everyone enjoyed the mulled hot wine while waiting in the short line into the castle, as well as the free red wine at the end of the castle tour. All the drinks at the bar in the club tent in the garden were based off the Vlad Dracula theme, and though somewhat pricey, that is what ATMs are for.

The castle tour turned out to last much longer than expected as the castle is expansive and still contains so much of its original furnishings. There was a bear skin rug with the head and claws and all- it was quite large. There were weapons and a torture device collection that was utterly intense. His crown and scepter were on display; his library and many other chambers appeared to be fully intact. There was a nice balcony and a well in the center of the courtyard. This is where the free wine at the end of the tour was lined up by the dozens for us to consume as quickly as we liked.

Our group remained together as we danced the night away with a great DJ and a warm tent with folks from all over. Everyone was in agreement that becoming a Vampire was a goal for the night. We tried as many of the themed drinks as we could handle, and they were all delicious as hoped. We did have a fun time hunting for our coats at one point (interesting story to be told, feel free to ask when you see me next).

We got cabs a little after 3am and made it back to the hostel just around 4am, where some went right to sleep and several of us stayed up all night. At 530am, our hostel host called myself and one other girl a cab to the train station, which we happily split the fare and made it on our 6am train back to Budapest. She went on to Germany. No one made it to Vampire status; still, one of the most epic nights of my life.

Oh, and if you had to choose one to become, which would it be: Werewolf or Vampire? Why?

Of course, I'd choose vampire to stay this age and have the power to vaporize and mesmerize. =D

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