Bran Castle - A Tribute to Nat King Cole

Bran Castle is renown for being "Dracula's" Castle."  I am not going to debate the authenticity of whether Vlad Dracul ever lived there or not, it's irrelevant to me.  The legend and lore of this castle, it's choice by Bram Stoker's as the home to Count Dracula, and the fact it was built over 500 yers ago are enough for me.  See one of my later posts on the legend of Dracula for more information.

The castle is located about 140 miles (227 km) from NSF Deveselu where I live and if you know anything about Romanian roadways, it's not an easy trip. The village of Bran is 19 miles (30 km) from Brasov, between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountain ranges. Bran Castle is an important national monument and a landmark of tourism in Romania for many reasons.  It's history, its beauty, the surrounding landscape, and of course, the legend of Count Dracula, are but a few.

The first documented mention of Bran Castle is the document issued on November 19, 1377 by Ludovic I d 'Anjou, in which the people of Brasov were given the privilege to build the fortress.  Between 1419-1424, the fortress belonged to the Sigismund's family.  Then, at the end of the fifteenth century it was under the authority of the Szeklers' committee who was responsible for the defense of southeastern Transylvania. At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle was owned by the Romanian royal family, then it belonged to the state during the Communist era, and now it's a private property.

The owner's of the castle have turned it into a museum and, although it may have little to do with the real Count Dracula, it is a huge draw for tourists because of its references as Bram Stoker's inspiration as the castle described in his novel.  Bran Castle website

My coworker Paul and his wife Roxanna invited me to go with them to Bran Castle to see the Kamerata Kronstadt Orchestra tribute to the 100th Birthday of Nat King Cole.  What a great opportunity!

So on Saturday morning, Paul and I boarded a train in nearby Caracal and traveled the three hour trip to Bucharest.  I love riding on the train so it was a great adventure.  We arrived in Bucharest and transferred to another train headed to Ploieşti, north of Bucharest.  This is where Roxie's parent's live.  Did I forget to mention Paul's wife is from Romania?  They met in Chicago and have been married 20+ years.  Her family still resides here and she cares for her parents.

When we arrived in Ploieşti, we met Roxie and we drove over to her parent's house.  I was honored to meet them and, although they speak little English and my grasp of Romanian is still minuscule, this small barrier doesn't stand in the way of friendship.  We sat and talked, drank some beer, and enjoyed the afternoon before setting out by car to Bran with Roxie behind the wheel.

In a few hours we arrived at Bran and checked into our incredible hotel; Hanul Bran

This was the view from my hotel room balcony - Bran Castle!

We had several hours before the concert so we took the tour of the castle.  It was an incredible experience I won't forget.

When our tour completed, it was time for dinner before we headed back to the castle for the concert.

It was a great meal (a Dracula sandwich and Chimney Cake) and we quickly returned for the concert.

Time to head for our seats...the concert will start soon!

Ok, nobody comment about the movies being sideways, I don't know how to rotate them on this blogger forum.  These are just snippets of some of the songs (except for Unforgettable, which is my personal favorite).

 Following the concert, we shared wine and cheese and fruit with fellow concert-goers, the music was incredible and the "Blood of Dracula" wine was great.

Just enjoying some full-bodied red wine.

What are the odds - a full moon on the night I'm at Dracula's castle.

The next morning, I woke early and took a walk through the village of Bran and enjoyed an espresso and looked at some of the sights.  The castle was beautiful in the morning and a walk through the village park revealed some wonderful treasures.

Souvenirs anyone?  There are enough Dracula, Vlad, and Bran trinkets to keep Chinese manufacturing plants open for years to come.  There were many local gifts available too.

It was a wonderful stay and I can't wait to come back soon to do more exploring.

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I was able to revisit Bran Castle again, this time with two of my favorite people in the world.  On 21 December 2019, we toured Bran and this time I took some pictures of popular entertainment media from the 15th century.  Remember, they didn't have the Internet, television, or cell phones.  So they had to pass the time somehow...torture seemed like the pastime of choice.

Bran Castle, home of Dracula.

Can anyone guess what this is before you scroll down?  Hint:  I'll bet every father of a teenage girl would stand in line for one of these.

This looks like it could be painful.

Oops, I'm sorry.  How did this get in here?  I accidentally inserted a few pictures of the recliner in my Navy dormitory room.  I've learned to appreciate whatever the Navy gives us because the canned standard answer I ALWAYS get is..."Well, it doesn't suck as much as being on a ship."

Damn, the light in here is not very becoming of me.

💙 Bran wishing well...maybe they were wishing NOT to get tortured?💙