We started out the weekend with my cousin Brooke and her husband Nick visiting us in Köln. We were able to show them all of our favorite spots including the cathedral, the Rhine river and of course, a few places to drink beer. Plus, it was wine week (a small festival with 30+ stands with many different wines to choose from) too so we were able to enjoy some delicious wine from this region. We had a really good time with them! They left on Saturday and Alex had Monday off so it was the perfect time for a mini vacation before Alex has to go to South Africa next week.

Alex has always wanted to go to see Dracula’s castle so we choose Romania for the weekend. With our early morning flight, we got to Bucharest around noon and had the rest of the day free to wander around the city. We grabbed lunch then checked out the local sights (then had to take a quick break to watch the royal wedding, of course). After walking around the city for a while we stopped for dinner. We had reservations at the oldest brewery in the heart of Bucharest. We enjoyed a hearty meal sitting on the balcony overlooking the beer hall with a great view of the amazing architecture. They even had traditional Romanian dancers for entertainment. It was a great dinner.

The next morning we woke up early for our 12 hour tour. We hopped on a bus with a small group and we were on our way to the first castle. Our first stop was to Peles Castle. This castle was actually built by a German king who fell in love with Romania and wanting to stay, built an amazing castle in the middle of a forest. Having seen my fair share of German castles, it was very true to the German style of architecture. Three floors of very intricately decorated marble and wood carvings as well as huge rooms all depicting different themes. Just beautiful. After the castle, we stopped in a town called Brasov. Our guide gave us some history during our walking tour then allowed us some time to walk around ourselves. Then we drove through Transylvania to get to Dracula’s Castle (or Bran castle). Bran castle was much different than Peles castle. Where Peles castle was built for comfort and luxury, Bran castle very much lacked the lavish decorations and comforts as it was built as a defense fortress on the border between Walachia and Transylvania. Actually, Bran castle was really just made up of small rooms with not much furniture inside. The outside was very cool though, built right into a huge rock, standing high up on a hill. It was a very neat experience and made us more interested in learning the history of Dracula. We then drove home through the hilly forest of Transylvania and small little towns (having to stop every so often for cows that were in the middle of the road). Once we got back to Bucharest, we went to eat at a medieval restaurant (Alex loves them). We got a carafe of wine and shared the King’s platter for two. It was A LOT of food; chicken breasts, sausages, grilled hot dogs, bacon, potatoes, cabbage, mixed vegetables etc. We couldn’t finish it all, but it was only $26 for everything. Oh and the kicker, no silverware! Okay, okay they gave us knives to cut up the meat but no forks (although they would give you one if you really needed it) and a bowl of water to wash your hands in. It was a fun way to finish our weekend in Bucharest.

The cathedral

Having fun at wine week!

Umbrellas in Bucharest

Brewery in Bucharest

Peles Castle

Dracula’s Castle

Dracula’s Castle

Inside Dracula’s castle

More of Dracula’s castle

Medieval dinner

Alex is loving it

Excalibur!