How to Hunt for Dracula in Brasov

By Kate | October 21, 2015

What started as a joke. How to hunt for Dracula in Brasov? To truly find the Dracula story, you must go to many locations. We began in Bucharest. As we drove out of town, we saw the Royal Palace. But when we arrived at the Royal Palace, the gates opened up for us.

Really? That was weird!

Are we still hunting for Dracula in Brasov, or should we change course? I asked,

“Let’s go in if they are opening the gates.” Nicole was wise beyond his 40-something years.

“No,” I said. “We need to get to Dracula’s Castle.”

I looked at the radio, and it was on KISS FM, a local station at home. It was the same local station for Nicolae, too. We share a radio station.

Hunting for Dracula in Brasov

Searching for Truth or Fiction- notice the radio station

I asked, “Why did they open the gates?”

“They think you are part of the diplomatic or royal family.”

“Really? Why?”

The car was a brand-new black Mercedes. I figured that was why the gates opened. Maybe new black Mercedes are rare here. Nope, it was the license plates — Nicolae said they were secret service plates.

W in Romania means secret service. Nicolae had applied for the plates and hadn’t taken the car before today. He was as surprised as I was. Brasov images here. Maybe it’s just another Romanian tale.

 The Daunting Itinerary

We were off to Brasov. We saw the ancient guard tower.

On to the Black Church, named because it was black from a fire

I entered, and Nicolae stayed outside. When I was done visiting the church, we continued our walk. Through the town we walked, chatting about the history, and I stopped for loads of photos.
We were stopping for every photo, so we made horrible time. But because we had a great parking spot, we could make up some of that time.

We saw lots of Romanian squares and historic sites. The largest organ in Romania is at the Black Church.

Medieval tempera paintings on wood

As we walked, I thought about the Nazis and the Holocaust Memorial

I told Nicolae that wherever I go, I always see the Holocaust Memorial. He said he would take me there. That meant a lot to me and was a special gift. It was a gift because my daughter and I have a tradition of always honoring the Holocaust Memorial.

We walked slowly through this historic place.

Without the special parking spots, we never could have seen so many things.

Nicolae said. “The guards, they think you are a diplomat or part of the royal family because of our license plate.”  I hope that is a true story! But it is true, and it just so happened that the British Royal family was there for some event. People assumed we were part of the Royals. I think it was because Nicolae tipped everyone very well, but also because we had special license plates. This treat is, it was worth it. I was a princess for a day in Romania.

Was it Worth it?

For one day, I was actually a diva. I was treated like I was very special by the service and Nicolae. Yes, a princess for a day, on the way to Bran Castle, hunting for Dracula, isn’t a bad way to spend the day. I actually recommend taking his tour. A private car, all inclusive, with an excellent tour guide who is fluent in English, was well worth the price! It was very reasonable, too.