Historians don’t know much about his early years. He had an older brother, Mircea, and a younger brother, Radu the Handsome. His early education was left in the hands of his mother, a Transylvanian noblewoman, and her family. His real education began in 1436 after his father succeeded in claiming the Wallachian throne by killing his Danesti rival. His training was typical to that of the sons of nobility throughout Europe. His first tutor in his apprenticeship to knighthood was an elderly boyar who had fought against the Turks at the battle of Nicolopolis. Vlad learned all the skills of war and peace that were deemed necessary for a Christian knight.

At the age of thirteen, young Vlad and his brother Radu were sent to Adrianople as hostages. He remained there until 1448, at which time he was released by the Turks, who supported him as their candidate for the Wallachian throne. Vlad’s younger brother apparently chose to remain in Turkey, where he had grown up.

Vlad’s initial reign was quite short (two months). He return at the throne of Wallachia in 1456 with the support of Hunyadi and the Kingdom of Hungary. He established Tirgoviste as his capitol city, and began to build his castle some distance away in the mountains near the Arges River. Most of the atrocities associated with Vlad III took place during this time.

More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty. Impalement was Vlad III’s preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement was and is one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable, as it was typically slow and painful. About more details of Vlad’s atrocities we’ll write another articles.

Although Vlad III experienced some success in fending off the Turks, his accomplishments were relatively short-lived. He received little support from his titular overlord, Matthius Corvinus, King of Hungary (son of John Hunyadi) and Wallachian resources were too limited to achieve any lasting success against the powerful Turks.

In 1462 the Turks succeeded in forcing Vlad to flee to Transylvania. His first wife committed suicide by leaping from the towers of Vlad’s castle into the waters of the Arges River rather than surrender to the Turks. Vlad escaped through a secret passage and fled across the mountains into Transylvania and appealed to Matthias Corvinus for aid. The king immediately had Vlad arrested and imprisoned in a royal tower.

There is some debate as to the exact length of Vlad’s confinement. The Russian pamphlets indicate that he was a prisoner from 1462 until 1474. However, during this period he was able to gradually win his way back into the graces of Matthias Corvinus and ultimately met and married a member of the royal family (possibly the sister of Corvinus) and fathered two sons. It is unlikely that a prisoner would be allowed to marry a member of the royal family. As the eldest son was about 10 years old at the point Vlad regained the Wallachian throne in 1476, his release probably occurred around 1466.

Another possible reason for Vlad’s rehabilitation was that the new successor to the Wallachian throne, Vlad’s own brother, Radu the Handsome, had instituted a very pro-Turkish policy. The Hungarian king may have viewed Dracula as a possible candidate to retake the throne. The fact that Vlad renounced the Orthodox faith and adopted Catholicism was also surely meant to appease his Hungarian captor.

In 1476 Vlad was again ready to make a bid for power. Vlad Dracula and Prince Stephen Bathory of Transylvania invaded Wallachia with a mixed contingent of forces. Vlad’s brother, Radu, had by then already died and was replaced by Basarab the Old, a member of the Danesti clan. At the approach of Vlad’s army Basarab and his cohorts fled. However, shortly after retaking the throne, Prince Bathory and most of Vlad’s forces returned to Transylvania, leaving Vlad in a vulnerable position. Before he was able to gather support, a large Turkish army entered Wallachia. Vlad was forced to march and meet the Turks with less than four thousand men.

Vlad Dracula was killed in battle against the Turks near the town of Bucharest in December of 1476. Some reports indicate that he was assassinated by disloyal Wallachian boyars just as he was about to sweep the Turks from the field. Other accounts have him falling in defeat, surrounded by the ranks of his loyal Moldavian bodyguard. Still other reports claim that Vlad, at the moment of victory, was accidentally struck down by one of his own men.

The one undisputed fact is that ultimately his body was decapitated by the Turks and his head sent to Constantinople where the sultan had it displayed on a stake as proof that the horrible Impaler was finally dead. He was reportedly buried at Snagov, an island monastery located near Bucharest.

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The pension consists of two parts. The first part occupies about half of hectare. There are 10 cozy wooden cabanas on the territory and big recreation area for active games and sunbathing. Each cabana has everything necessary for comfortable vacations: 2 beds, shower cabin and wc, tv, electrical heater. Cabanas have little verandas where you can comfortably rest on a chaise longue.

This part of the pension also have a restaurant where you can enjoy both delicious Romanian food and gorgeous mountains’ view. Also there are several tables outside if you like to eat your barbecue under the open blue sky. This is a really perfect place for ecological tourism lovers.

On the second part of the pension there is a hotel, decorated in national Romanian style. It was built on the place of a real village house. It combines romantic spirit of ancient Transylvania and required facilities of modern hotel (rooms have balconies, wc, shower, minibars, TV, Internet).

At the Pension Bodrogeni you can rent a bike, play football and another games or just observe mountain cliffs and green forests around. Perfect conditions and inspiring nature guarantee unforgettable vacation.

The price of cabana is just 30 euro per day (breakfast is included). Price can differ a little because of local currency rate (RON) changing. For booking rooms please email here: info (at) bodrogeni.ro or visit official web site of Pension Bodrogeni web site. Also please take a look at the pictures of this amazing place (below).

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Walking near Prague Castle and Royal Garden we arrived to Prague wine harvesting festival (vinobrani) and we decided to stay and check it out. Our participation consisted in tasting of young fermenting wine and purchase of some old wine for later.

Throughout southern Moravia local ‘vinobrani’ (wine festivals) celebrate the arrival of ‘Burcak’, the new, semi-fermented wine, in late August and early September. Visitors can also expect to be entertained by costumed jugglers, sword fighters and dancers. The weekend presents a full program, beginning with an evening costume procession. Other events and attractions include a knights’ tournament, an historical market, medieval music, dances, theater performances and plenty of opportunities to try the celebrated burcak. The grand finale comes with a display of fireworks.

The tasting and drinking of burcak has been part of Czech fall since old times. Tasting this young wine bring back so many memories from childhood, when this was only “alcohol” we have been allowed to drink.

Burcak is very young grape juice that is just starting fermenting. It is high in sugar and low in alcohol, but throughout fermentation the ratio between them is changing in favor of alcohol and wine is being born. We are not wine experts, but in our travels we learn little about flavor, color and taste.

From a wine producer we wound some interesting facts about the Czech wine production. The most productive part of the Czech Republic is the southeast part of Moravia. They have some vineyards in Bohemia and Prague, but Moravia with its plentiful sunshine, fertile soil and the right amount of rain gives grapes an excellent color, flavor and taste that give the wine the best quality that can be compared to quality of French and Italian wine.

We know that in north America it would be hard to find this wines, but if you look after small Czech, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian or Romanian store you could find them or you could order them. The California’s wine can’t even compare with the sweetness of this wines. You have to trust us by word.

While tasting the burcak you can listen some folk music or watch some folk dancing. It is a very popular event and you are surrounded all time by people all drinking burcak.

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Situated at about 279 km far from Bucharest and 117 km from Brasov, Sighisoara attracts a lot of foreign tourists every year. One can get here by car on the E 60 European Highway, from Targu Mures to Brasov, or by train, on the Bucharest – Brasov – Teius route, with shunting to Arad and Oradea. The accommodation possibilities are unlimited, in hotels, motels and boarding houses.

The city was attested first time under the name of “Castrum Sex”, in 1280, although there is evidence of its existence since 1191. The city was developed by the Saxon colonists living in Transylvania who had to watch over the frontiers of the Hungarian kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries A.C., the fortress gathered inside its walls Saxon, Romanian and Hungarian craftsmen. That’s the reason why the citadel was named in all the three languages: SCHAESSBURG, SIGHISOARA, and SEGESVAR. The craftsmen were organized in guilds, each of them administrating a defense tower. The defense walls are 960 meters long, and of the 17 towers there are only nine left, except for the clock tower.

For past 15+ years, each summer in Sighisoara is organized a three days Medieval Art Festival.
I would try to present in couple of words the multitude of tourist attraction points of this town: towers, bastions, churches and houses.

The most important are considered to be the Clock Tower – the entrance gate in the citadel – which is also a symbol of Sighisoara, the Tin Coaters Tower, the Butcher’s Tower, the Shoemaker’s Tower, the Taylor’s Tower, the Furrier’s Tower, the Blacksmith’s Tower, the Rope Makers’ Tower, the Tanner’s Tower, the Church of the Monastery, the Church on the Hill, the Venetian House, the House with Antlers, the Cliff House, the House with Shingle, the house attributed to Vlad Tepes and so on.

The Clock Tower

During history, the Gate Tower was used for the council’s meetings and for storing Sighisoara’s archive and thesaurus. The Gate Tower was named the Clock Tower after 1604, when a clock with a wood mechanism was installed in it. In 1648 the blacksmiths of Sighisoara rebuilt that mechanism using metal components and improved it so that its hands also indicated the minutes. The two faces of the clock are each 2.4 meters in diameter, and one of them looks towards Lower Town, and the other towards the Citadel. The clock was also equipped with two groups of wooden statuettes disposed in three registers. Two of the statuettes represent Justice and Fairness, symbolizing the judicial autonomy of the town. Another statuette represents a brazier announcing the exact time. A “desperate man” is also represented by one statuette, telling the strangers that death penalty is applied in the citadel. After the style of that time, there are also present 0.80 meters tall statuettes made of linden trees, representing the pagan gods personifying the days of the week: Diana, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Sun.
In 1964 the clock was equipped with an electric engine. Nowadays, the Clock Tower shelters the History Museum of the town.

Here we ate best “kurtos kalacs” ever. What is kurtos? Is a cylinder made from dough, fried on coal and served with sugar, coconut, walnut or cinnamon. I can assure you that is the best thing you ever ate. One is around 10 RON (approximate 2.5 euro).

The Tin Coaters Tower

It is a robust and at the same time strange building, combining a pentagonal drum over a rectangular platform, above which there are the ramparts forming an octagonal floor, and in top of it there is the hexagonal roof, with unequal sides. The mortar, riddled with bullets and cannon balls, gives the impression of a building that went through the heats of many battles. The tower is completed by the Gunmen’s Gallery, a sole exemplar in the architecture of the citadel.

The Tanner’s Tower

One of the oldest towers, is situated on the South – East side of the citadel. From the architectonic point of view, it looks like a square prism, with a one slope roof. In 1631, the Barber’s Tower was joined to it, but this one was destroyed later.

The Goldsmith’s Tower

The Jeweler’s Tower or the Goldsmith’s Tower is documentary mentioned in 1511, being built on the South – West side of the citadel, next to the Castaldo Bastion, on the highest point of the town. In 1706 it was blown out by kurutzy peasants, in 1809 a thunder destroyed its roof and floor, and by 1863 it became a gymnasium of the School on the Hill. In 1935 it became a mortuary.

The Taylor’s Tower

Dates from the 14th century, being the second entrance gate in the citadel. The tower belonged to one of the richest guild in the citadel. In 1676 the tower was destroyed by a fire, especially because there were barrels with gun powder and different weapons inside it. Three years later it was rebuilt, and the North – West corridor was turned into a gun powder storehouse.

The Rope Makers’ Tower

Is situated on the North – West corner of the upper platform. In 1935, after some archaeological diggings, there were discovered some crenel vestiges, which led to the conclusion that it had been built over an older wall of the citadel. The attendant of the cemetery lived in this tower for a long period of time.

The Butcher’s Tower

Seems to have been built in the 15th century, and then rebuilt in the 16th century. According to documents, it was mentioned for the first time in 1680. It had a great strategic importance, because it was situated at the foot of the steepest portion of the hill that went down from the superior platform to the inferior platform.

The Blacksmith’s Tower

Is a flank tower and was built in 1631 in the place of the old Barber’s Tower. Its front part has windows and shooting holes that confer it a special aspect. In the past, it protected the Church of the Monastery in the event of sieges.

Unfortunately, in the 19th century some of the buildings were demolished; for instance, the Locksmith’s Tower and the Franciscan Monastery were pulled down in 1894 to build the Catholic Church; the Cooper’s Tower, which was said to be one of the oldest towers of the citadel and whose rooms were used as dwellings, was pulled down in 1886. The Weaver’s Tower is also known to have housed the military prison of the town, but it was demolished in 1858, and the streets of the citadel were paved for the first time with the resulting stones.

The Furrier’s Tower

Built in the 15th century, seems to be the most humble of all, being placed at a small distance from the Butcher’s Tower; Torle gate, where the sheep were shared in the evening, unifies the two towers.

The Shoemaker’s Tower

The first documentary attestation of the the Shoemaker’s Tower dates from 1594, but it was rebuilt under the present shape in 1650. It looks like a hexagonal prism, and it is shorter than the other towers. What is unusual is its small observation tower oriented towards the town. It used to have an artillery bastion in front, but it was demolished in 1846. Nowadays it houses the local radio station called “Radioson”.

Other tourist attractions in Sighisoara

The Church on the Hill is the only old crypt Evangelic church in Transylvania, and its walls contain 60 tombstones. Inside the church there is also a collection of altars, brought from Germany, and a collection of bottom drawers. On the walls of the church there is also a fresco dating from 1380 which presents the Holy Trinity as a person with three faces. In the Church of the Monastery there is also a collection of oriental carpets, and an organ concert takes place here every week as well.

Vlad Dracula’s House is one of the oldest buildings, and it is placed on the left side of the little square in front of the Clock Tower. The building was the official residence, belonging to the mayor or to the royal county lord of the citadel. Vlad Dracul, the son of Mircea cel Batran, lived here between 1431 and 1435, as well. Nowadays, the building shelters a restaurant.

The House with Antlers, a construction specific to the Transylvanian Renaissance period, received this name because of a stag head fixed on the angle of the building.

The central square is limited by 18th century houses, inhabited by the noble families of the town. The main fairs or the criminal trials took place in this square, the execution post (pillar of infamy) being placed here as well.

The Bastion Street, on which can be found the House with Shingle, a specific handicraftsman’s house, continues the Square. The house shelters the residence of the Interethnic Centre for the Youth, as part of the German Forum of Sighisoara, where they carry on a great number of educational courses for the youth, and it also shelters an Internet-Café.

History Museum from Sighisoara

During the Medieval Art Festival, those who move about the streets of the fortress, artists, keepsake vendors, or even tourists, generally wear clothes reminding of the Feudal period. In 2007, the local authorities launched the “S.O.S. the Citadel of Sighisoara” campaign, trying to aware the Government of the defacement of monuments.

In 1999 Sighisoara was included in the UNESCO patrimony, beeing, together with other European cities with the same type of monuments, on the World Heritage Cities list of protected monuments as well.
How to get there and accommodation possibilities

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We have been announced by email that car arrived to Constanta which is a port at the Black Sea. We jump in a train and travel 12 hours by train to arrive to Constanta.

From train station you can find a taxi to take you to the port. Is not expensive since is not far. If you have time you can walk.
Arriving in port. If you don’t know what you have to do, you are fucked. We are from this category.

At the entrance of the port are offices of the shippers. If you lucky you might find somebody to prepare your papers.
We found out that the car is in a different port in Agigea which is like 20 km distance. We got papers fast, and even the lady introduce us to some guy that is going to help. The guy which has a trucking company has give us a ride to Agigea and explain us how things are going around. He propose us to give him papers and 50 Euro and he is going to make the papers for us.

At the arrival in Agigea we found out that we need a commissioner to help with papers between the port authorities, customs and us. They noticed that the papers where wrong, that the shipping company had misspelled the name. They send us back to Constanta to the shippers office to make a paper to correct the misspelling. At the shippers office we found out that they can’t do anything till next because of the time difference. (car was imported from Canada)

The same guy give us a ride to a pension. People nice there. Not expensive at all. Reason is that it wasn’t in the summer season when the price is getting tripled.

Next morning we went again in port waiting for the correction paper. At the entrance of the port you are charged a fee for each person to enter. If you are foreigner you are going to pay more. The correction paper arrived at noon and the commissioner try to help unload the car that day. Guys if you need somebody to move faster be prepared to give bribe. Other way, your papers would be sent at the end of the pile and you might stay there 2-3 weeks. But if you expect to see them “flying” you would be totally disappointed. They have 2 speeds: slow and stop. We stay in the commissioner office almost all second day and we have never seen people more lazy.

BTW, don’t ask about taxes and fees. I can swear that some taxes and fees have been invented just for me.

Only papers we have been able to finish the second day where the ones from customs, and we found the container and move it to the unloading ramp. We spend 1.5 h waiting for a custom agent to come and open the container. Didn’t happend. I think was hidding somewhere, because he show up with 5 minutes before his work time was over.

We returned to same motel where we spend another night.

Third day, early in the morning we grab the custom agent directly from his office and, almost drag him, bring him to the ramp to open the container.

Finally it happened. We saw the car. In good shape.

We sign the papers and off we go.

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Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849.

In 1832, count István Széchenyi, “the greatest Hungarian” began to organize the construction of the bridge. While travelling in England, Széchenyi became personally acquainted with William Thierney Clark, who was commissioned to draft the plans for the bridge, and his namesake Adam Clark was asked to direct the construction, which was finished in 1849.

At the time of its construction, it counted as a wonder of the world. Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, raised it among the most beautiful industrial monuments in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West.

In January 1945 the retreating German troops blew up the Chain Bridge. This vital element of Budapest’s cityscape was restored on the 100 the anniversary of its inauguration.

At the ends of the bridge are sculpted 4 lying lions. There is a popular anecdote which says that the lions were sculpted without tongues and the sculptor was mocked so much that he jumped into the Danube in shame. The lions do have tongues, but they are not visible from below, which is the usual point of view, as the lions are lying on a stone block some three meters high. The sculptor lived into the 1890s, and the only message he sent to mocking people was “Your wife should have a tongue just as my lions have, and woe will be unto you!” He jumped into the Danube when a little boy asked him about it.

After a nice walk over the bridge you arrive at Adam Clark Square, with the Zero Kilometer Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle.

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The original construction of the bridge between 1897 and 1903 was carried out according to the plans by Aurél Czekelius. Many houses and squares had to be destroyed at the Pest end of the bridge, today’s Kossuth Lajos Street was straightened, and the bridge-gate and the two Eclectic “Klotild-Palaces”, were also built.

The bridge was designed in such a way because a wealthy nobleman, a member of the City Council owned the particular area of the riverbank. He wanted to make a fortune by selling the piece of land for bridge construction purposes, bribing the other councilmen and engineers on purpose.

The beautiful bridge, the world’s longest chain-bridge until 1926, was blown up in 1945 by the retreating German troops.

The novel design, planned by Pál Sávoly, was rebuilt as a cable-bridge in 1963 and first in Central Europe and not without weaknesses. Tram traffic and its heavy tracks had to be removed from the bridge in 1973 after signs of cracks appeared in the structure. The 2×3 lane Erzsébet bridge is relatively well maintained because it is part of the route where foreign dignitaries are being taken from Ferihegy Airport to the government quarter.

At one end of the bridge you can find the March 15 Square, with the oldest church in Pest, Inner City Parish Church, built in the 13th century, and the famous Mátyás Pince restaurant, while at the other end is Döbrentei Square in Buda with the monument of Saint Gellért on the Gellért Hill, a sculpture of Queen Elisabeth and the Rác Baths and Rudas Baths nearby. A luxury spa hotel is currently being built in the area.

Is one of the greatest places for a walk across Danube. Comming from March 15th Square you have easy access to the bridge and from it you have one of best views of surroundings. On the right side you have a good view on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Parliament. While passing on the left side of the bridge you have a good view on Rudas Bath or Rudas fürdő which  is a thermal and medicinal bath that was first built in 1550, during the time of the Turkish occupation of Hungary. To date, it retains many of the key elements of a Turkish bath, exemplified by its Turkish dome and octagonal pool.

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The fountains are one of Russia’s most famous tourist attractions, drawing millions of visitors every year. Fountains were intrinsic to Peter the Great’s original plans for Peterhof – it was the impossibility of engineering sufficiently powerful jets of water that prompted him to move his attentions from the Strelna site to Peterhof – and subsequent generations competed with their predecessors to add grander and ever more ingenious water features to the parkland surrounding the Grand Palace.

The most famous ensemble of fountains, the Grand Cascade, which runs from the northern facade of the Grand Palace to the Marine Canal, comprises 64 different fountains, and over 200 bronze statues, basoreliefs, and other decorations. At the center stands Rastrelli’s spectacular statue of Samson wrestling the jaws of a lion. The vista of the Grand Cascade with the Grand Palace behind it, the first sight to great visitors who arrive in Peterhof by sea, is truly breathtaking. The Grotto behind the Grand Cascade, which was once used for small parties, contains the enormous pipes, originally wooden, that feed the fountains.

Everywhere in the park we can find many fountains, the range and diversity is astounding, from a monumental ensembly like the Chess Cascade and the Pyramid Fountain, to the ever-popular Joke Fountains, including one which sprays unwary passers-by who step on a particular paving stone. The Joke Fountain is not that funny in a cold day.

From an official we found out that the official opening of the fountains, which usually takes place at the end of May, is an all-day festival, with classical music, fireworks and other performances, as each section of the park’s fountains is turned on one by one.

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The palace and park at Peterhof (also known as Petrodvorets) is one of St. Petersburg’s most famous and popular visitor attractions. Often they are referred to as “the Russian Versaille”, but we think that the comparison does a disservice to the grandeur and scope of this majestic estate.

However, from the historian tales, Versailles was the inspiration for Peter the Great’s desire to build an imperial palace in the suburbs of his new city. Peterhof – which means “Peter’s Court” in German – became the site for the Tsar’s Monplaisir Palace, and then of the original Grand Palace. The estate was equally popular with Peter’s granddaughter, Empress Elizabeth, who ordered the expansion of the Grand Palace and greatly extended the park and the famous system of fountains, including the truly spectacular Grand Cascade.

During the 18th and 19th century’s improvements to the park continued. Catherine the Great moved the court to Pushkin, but Peterhof once again became the official Imperial Residence in the reign of Nicholas I, who ordered the building of the modest Cottage Palace in 1826.

In the Second World War, Peterhof was ravaged by German troops. However, it was one of the first to be resurrected and, thanks to the work of military engineers and over 1,000 volunteers; most of the estate’s major structures had been fully restored by 1947. The name was also de-Germanized after the war, becoming Petrodvorets, the name under which the surrounding town is still known.

The palace and park are once again known as Peterhof.

As you enter the estate we pass a beautiful park and some fountains.

In front, between trees, you can see the grand palace. The Grand Palace at Peterhof was designed to be the centerpiece of Peter the Great’s “Russian Versaille”. Around 1720, the Tsar gave up on attempts to establish his court at Strelna, mainly because the boggy ground proved entirely unsuitable for the canals and fountains that he envisioned. Moving his attentions further east to Peterhof, the Tsar began to draw up his own plans for the grounds and palace. Work had already begun on a modest palace, designed by Jean-Baptiste Le Blond, in 1714, and that building was completed in 1721.

Meanwhile, fired by Peter’s untiring enthusiasm, a massive amount of work had been completed around the palace, including the landscaping of the Lower Park, the digging of the Sea Canal, and the building of Monplaisir, Marly Palace, and most of the Hermitage. The original Higher Palace was somewhat inadequate for its surrounding splendors, and Peter instructed Le Blond and his pupil, Johann Braunstein, to expand the building.

Work was halted after Peter’s death in 1725, and Peterhof was almost abandoned until Peter’s daughter Elizabeth came to the throne in 1740. Elizabeth commissioned Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who had already completed the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg, to build a genuinely regal palace. Rastrelli chose to retain the original building within his design, and the result is supremely elegant and surprisingly restrained. The long, narrow palace, which was built in the last decade before baroque made way for neoclassicism, has minimal decoration, and Rastrelli’s chief stylistic flourishes are the two white pavilions with gilded cupolas at the end of the wings. Beige and white, the palace is majestic without being overwhelming, and provides a perfect backdrop both to the elegantly formal Upper Garden, and to the spectacular Grand Cascade.

Unfortunate we came in a day when we couldn’t visit the inside part of the castle. Maybe we’ll have better luck next time.

Opening Hours: Daily, 10.30am to 5pm. Closed Mondays and the last Tuesday of each month.

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