Fagaras Mountains, home to Vlad the Impaler

I took the famous Transfagarasan Road, the C7, from just outside Vald's birthplace of Sighisoara, over the Fagaras Mountains and down to the Poienari Citadel aka Dracula's real castle.

Communist dictator, Ceausescu, built the road in the 1970's using 6 million kilograms of dynamite to remove 3.8 million cubic meters of rock. Paranoid that the Soviets would invade Romania as they had Czechoslovakia in 1968, he had it built in 4 and 1/2 short years. Thousands of people died in the unsafe and hurried construction. They say that 400 people died just building the tunnel through a piece of the mountain. 

I drove through the tunnel. It was really creepy! And incredibly dangerous. There were no lights at all, I'm sure there was no ventilation, my headlights barely made a dent in the inky blackness that completely enveloped me for over a kilometer. The road was filled with treacherous pot holes that I couldn't see and just had to smash my way through. Finally I saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel.

Then I was out! Out and on top of the Fagaras Mountains! Gorgeous, breath taking, magnificent!!

I looked around and noticed all these pigs eating the garbage that everyone just dumps on the side of the road.

There were packs of wild dogs eating the garbage as well. Ceausescu made everyone give up their domestic pets in an attempt to crush his people's souls and happiness. 30 years ago, Romanians let their dogs go wild. The entire country is filled with hundreds of thousands of wild dogs. It is so surrealistic! there are chic French poodles, tiny Pomeranians, German Shepherds roaming wild in packs with an Alpha Male leader. 

There we were in this amazing, breath taking mountain range with garbage everywhere, pigs, sheep, wild dogs and cows meandering aimlessly around and people camping along the side of the road. 

It is so bizarre for me to see the garbage strewn everywhere in such a magnificent and natural setting (or anywhere, for that matter). The Romanians picnic along side the road and just leave all their garbage where they sat! They take nothing with them!

They don't have designated camp grounds and they don't bother hiking in anywhere. They BBQ, lay in the sun, eat drink and sleep all along the road. Vacation!

I continued on and reached Lake Balea. Stunning. Reminded me very much of Flathead Lake in Montana. 

Continuing down a canyon ...

... I approached Dracula's castle. 

Crikey, my first glimpse!!

The river into which Vlad's first wife flung herself, preferring to die at her own hands instead of the Turks.

I didn't have time to stop as it was the end of the day, I carried on into town to look for a hotel.

I have mentioned that life is very rustic in Romania, as though you have time traveled a hundred years back in time. People cut their hay by hand, use a horse and cart to travel into town. It seems that many people have a cow for fresh milk. They take the cow out to feed during the day and bring it back into their yard at night. 

I slept in Curtea de Arges. It was full of wild dog packs. 

Curtea de Arges had an amazing Monastery and church. It was built by Neagoe Basard in 1515. Legend has it that the wife of the mason was buried alive within the walls of the church so that her spirit would protect it. The mason, Manole, told his workers that the first wife to bring lunch the next day would be the one entombed in the walls. The workers all went home and warned their wives. Manole's wife was the first one to bring lunch the following day, so he entombed her. Niiiice.

Here is the church in all of its splendor.

In the monastery, locals were crossing themselves over and over again, as is the custom, kissing images, statues over and over. I happened upon a relic, the hand of someone important, most likely hundreds and hundreds of years old. It was in this gilded box, with the small image of a saint.

The hand was real, no kidding. It was housed in a gold glove with a little door to open and show the real and dried up old hand. People went nuts, kissing it, praying, genuflecting and leaving tons of money on the box. 

Quite an experience. 

Tomorrow Vlad and his castle!!

Gros bisous et a demain.

Love, Charley