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Photos courtesy Transylvania Live (866-376-6183, www.visit-transylvania.us)

except Sighisoara photos, courtesy romaniatourism.com.

VacationVampireswithin Transylvania By Andrea

BeringerRustle. Flutter. Scritch.

Rustle. Flutter. Scritch.

From the dark night, the sounds seep into a midnight slumber’s vision of a charming man who has a commanding air about him. Waking, you follow a pull to the drafty old room’s lead-paned window.

Small wings suspend the creature whose tiny red eyes adhere to your sleepy gaze. You sense its primal purpose, feel its instinctive persistence drawing you closer. Your arm extends to the window dividing you from predestination, reaching forward into another terrible dream of free-falling into blackness.

Morning brings bright reassurance, along with a stiff neck and headache. You must have slept wrong in the finely made guest bed, and had too much of the dark red wine your host served with dinner—

Wait. Wasn’t that window closed before you turned back the covers the night before?

Yes, you definitely had too much wine last night.

43OCTOBER 2007

Add turtlenecks, garlic andscarves to the top of the packinglist, muster some courage, andsummon your sense of adventure.The ultimate late October adven-ture awaits in a distant land wherea 15th-century ruler terrified allwho dared to challenge his ways.After time in Romania’s Transylva-nia region, Halloween trick-or-treat-ing and stateside spooky housetours will seem like a tame teddy-bear tea party compared to CountDracula’s haunts.

Would-be vampire hunters canexplore Transylvania solo or seekcourage in numbers on one of theincreasingly popular Dracula tours.The commercial tours find their ownways to inflict a bigger bite of vam-pire pop culture for victims—er, visi-tors. Outfitters may throw vampireballs, host Halloween costume con-tests, show classic Dracula films onboard the bus or hand out small

cross necklaces andsurvivor certificates totheir brave travelers.

All along theTransylvanian way,the terrifying touringunfolds against abackdrop of some ofthe oldest forest andunaltered land in all ofEurope. Transylvaniashrouds itself with thickquilts of old pine, projectsthe Carpathian mountains’ starkpeaks and then soothes its visitorswith natural mineral spas.

A VAMPIRE’S LINEAGEThe vampires caricatured for

silent films, best-selling novels, cerealboxes and even “Sesame Street” alldescended from Vlad III Draculea, aRomanian prince who reigned in the15th century. The prince earned thenickname “Vlad the Impaler” for the

merciless ruler’s grue-some method ofdoing away with ene-mies. His given sur-name, Anglicized as“Dracula,” is derivedfrom the word mean-ing either “dragon” or

“demon” in his nativetongue. Irish writer Bram

Stoker drew inspirationfrom Vlad the Impaler for his

novel “Dracula,” published in1897. The book’s antagonist, avicious Romanian count with a thirstfor young blood, rises from his cof-fin bed and masochistically preysupon British newlyweds JonathanHarker and Mira Murray. Decadeslater, the iconic vampire gaveactors, including Bela Lugosi, BradPitt, Tom Cruise and Gary Oldmanfilm roles they could really sinktheir teeth into.

Vlad III Draculea

Castle Bran, the fictional homeof Dracula

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T R A V E L

Tirgoviste fortress ruins©Transylvania Live

The charismatic but creepy Drac-ula popularized in books and film isactually a newcomer of sorts to hishomeland. Vlad Dracula may benative to Romania, but his scarierprotégés are recent immigrants. Inthe 15 years since communism fellin Romania, tourism entrepreneursfollowed the lead of the first visitingvampire aficionados. Now the sharp-toothed Count is a bona fide touristdraw who posthumously contributesto the country’s economy.

RETRACING DRACULA’S TRACKS

If they dare, travelers on theDracula trail can follow the vampireprince from birth to burial. VladDracula entered this world in theTransylvania town of Sighisoara,noted for one of the region’s fewwalled fortresses. The house ofDracula’s birth, marked with a mod-est plaque on the door, now multi-

tasks as a restaurant serving Roman-ian cuisine and a small museum ofmedieval weapons used duringVlad’s rule.

Although Castle Bran is stronglyassociated with Vlad Dracula, theforeboding edifice actually has theweakest historical ties to the Impaler.Perched at the apex of a narrow,climbing road near the city of

Brasov, the massive stone buildingclearly inspired the cinematographersand animators who worked on justabout every “Dracula” film project.In reality Vlad the Impaler wasrumored to have only briefly stayedat the castle. The Transylvaniantourist industry originally presentedCastle Bran as Dracula’s because ofits appearance and accessible loca-tion closer to main highways inRomania. As a result, Castle Brandraws hundreds of visitors a day andis still the best place to buy Draculamerchandise.

What remains of Vlad Dracula’sreal abode can be found about 50miles northwest of Bucharest nearthe town of Tirgoviste. The fortressruins are almost inaccessible, requir-ing a climb of 1,500 steps up amountain that overlooks a riverbasin. The castle served Dracula as arefuge from advancing enemies aswell as a place to watch theirdemise. Among the palace ruins, visitors can make out the overlooktower from which Vlad viewedimpalements that took place in thecourtyard.

Vlad the Impaler’s own finalehappened by assassination, afterSighisoara, birthplace of Vlad Draculea

The clock-tower inSighisoara

The fortress ruinsof Tirgoviste, whereVlad Draculea lived

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Spiraling and plummeting, you resist the creature’s lead in this deathly dance. Your garlic garland permeates; he laughs at its pungency. Tiny silver crosses reflect back in his defiant black eyes.

Desperate, you grip the rough wooden stake, the crude weapon that will splinter the captive bond born of his primal hunger.

Plunge. Pierce. Twist.

Plunge. Pierce. Twist.

It returns him to his tortured origins, so you may make your way back to more innocent ones.

As you move forward, the dark castle diminishes from view, something you know will never occur in your subconscious. Forever changed, you speak the words as if reciting a vow: “‘Fangs’ for the memories.”

which his remains are said to havebeen entombed in the Snagovmonastery just north of Bucharest.The 16th-century monastery, accessi-ble only by boat, is situated on anisland in the middle of a lake. Roma-nians still revere the ruler whodefended their nation against theTurks, and continue to honor Drac-ula with a portrait and vases of freshflowers near his resting place.

LEGENDARY HAUNTSOther Transylvanian Dracula sites

are steeped more in myth than his-tory. Hotel Coroana de Aur inBistrita was a key setting in Stoker’snovel. It was “The Golden Crown”inn where main character JonathanHarker stayed and ignored the warn-ing not to travel “tonight, when theclock strikes midnight, all evil thingsin the world will have full sway.”Harker dined there on robber steak,a dish still served in the restaurantalong with “Dracula elixir.”

Castle Dracula Hotel on theBorgo Pass now stands where Stokerfictionally located the Count’s castle.The vampire-themed hotel seemsstandard enough with 62 rooms,restaurant, banquet facilities and

Hotel Coroana de Aur in Bistrita, animportant setting in Bram Stoker’sclassic novel.

CHOOSEYOUR OWNADVENTURE

Most Dracula tours originate andend in Romania’s capital city,Bucharest, but can vary widely byamenities included and targeteddemographic. Doing some home-work before booking will ensurethat your trek through Transylvaniasuits your style.

Fodor’s included TransylvaniaLive’s (www.visittransylvania.eu/index.html) Dracula tour on its list oftop adventure travel picks. The tourfeatures firsthand experiences, suchas instruction in preparing woodenstakes and an excursion reenactingthe ritual vampire killing on its 10-day Halloween with Vlad theImpaler excursion.

Transylvania Express (www.transylvaniaexpress.com), based in theUnited Kingdom, is “the little tourthat could.” Guests of the four- orseven-day Dracula tours travelRomania’s extensive rail system onone of the outfitter’s charter trains.The tour emphasizes historicalaccounts and sites related to VladDracula.

American outfitter InternationalTours & Events believes it’s Hal-loween year-round, running its Drac-ula Tour (www.dractour.com) inOctober and July. With escapadessuch as a rowboat trip to Vlad Drac-ula’s tomb, Halloween ball with cos-tume contest and a night’s stay in ahaunted hotel, the eight-day tour isnot for the timid.

For general information abouttraveling in Romania, navigate to thesite of the Romania National Tourist’sOffice (www.romaniatourism.com).

small nightclub. But below ground,Dracula’s vault keeps the vampire’ssignature resting spot—a coffin—undisturbed. It’s tempting to tiptoedown and peek into the casketdespite vivid murals that seem toshout “turn back!”

Castle DraculaHotel

Sighisoara