The Carpathian mountains have one of the highest populations of brown bears in Europe and there are constant reminders from signs advising caution while walking, to bears on the beer bottles and advertising restaurants and souvenir bears.
Our first visit today was to the Libearty bear sanctuary which has some 100 rescued brown bears who now live safely in 69 hectares of forest.
There are just a couple of tours each day and the guide was swift to point out it was a sanctuary, not a zoo.
The stories of where the bears came from and how they had been treated were deeply affecting but we were pleased to have seen the bears and supported the work of the volunteers who rely on visits and donations to feed and care for them.
We both came away sad that such a place was necessary, and reflected it would be better never to wish to see another wild animal if staying well away ensures their safety.
We couldn’t come to Transylvania without paying a visit to Bran Castle, billed worldwide as Dracula’s Castle, based entirely on the fact that it is the only castle in all of Transylvania that fits Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s Castle!
As for the name Dracula, Stoker probably derived it from the Romanian prince, Vlad Tepes – commonly known as Vlad the Impaler whose father was associated with the Crusader Order of the Dragon, or ‘Dracul’, but his castle is 80 miles away and we will pass the ruins later in our trip.
Bran castle certainly looks like the residence of a vampire count, perched above a craggy rock face with terracotta turrets soaring above, but it was built by the Saxons to protect the trade route.
The castle receives a constant stream of visitors, many arriving on coach trips who seemed to constantly bump and jostle and we couldn’t wait to get out!
Having said that, I was taken with the tiled stoves, and snapped several.
Queen Marie, the last queen of Romania and a grand daughter of Queen Victoria spent her summers here in the 1920’s and 1930’s and the rooms inside the castle look much as they did then.
Of course there was a Dracula room …
… and finally, it would be hard not to see the photographic potential of the castle …
… it was just a shame so many strangers are in my pics!
On the way back, we stopped at Rasnov Fortress …
… which is bigger than Bran Castle and promised spectacular views …
… but the fortress is closed for renovation and when we arrived the advertised garden was just an overgrown meadow!
That evening as we walked through town …
Chris spotted Pilvax, a restaurant with a vegetarian section on the menu, the first so far, so we had to give it a go.
Chris had Transylvanian dumplings stuffed with cheese in a spinach purée …
… and I had Tafelspitz, actually an Austrian dish of simmered beef served with apple and horseradish and yogurt.
Chris was still a tad peckish, so we polished off a cheese plate with the last of our very lovely local wine, but it was yet another fab meal and brings our time in Brasov to a close.
Northwards tomorrow!
Off Travelling Together 