Welcome to Cârța, in the heart of the Carpathian mountains. Hope you had a good trip to Transylvania? Tomorrow a beautiful drive awaits you on the famous Transfăgărășan, past a number of beautiful sights, ending in Bran.

The guest house stands next to the dilapidated monastery of Cârța. Take the time to look around here and climb the old tower. The monastery was built in the early 12th century by the “white monks”. The circumstances were not favorable for these monks: their difficult way of life, but also the Mongol invasion, meant that many monks died at a young age. Their bodies are buried in the cemetery next to the church building.

I ask you to be respectful during your visit to the monastery. Ghosts regularly roam the grounds and poltergeists cause unrest in the buildings. We don't want to draw their attention… In addition, the inhabitants of the village have never had a chance to ensure that the deceased do not rise again as strigoi.
Therefore the friendly request not to leave the guest house in the dark. I wish you a good night's sleep and see you tomorrow at breakfast!

…

The Transfăgărășan was described by the TV show Top Gear as the world's most beautiful mountain pass. After a hopefully not too short night, you can finally make the trip over this pass today. Because there are few opportunities to refuel on the way, it is wise to refuel the engines at the Lukoil just outside the village. After this you can pick up the route to the South, where you climb the pass almost immediately. Since you leave early, the first part of the pass is relatively quiet: because the TV program Top Gear labeled the road as the world's most beautiful mountain pass, it can be very busy here in high season. Keep in mind that the speed on the pass is limited to a maximum of 40 km/h.

The mountain pass was built in the 1970s under the Ceaușescu regime. He wanted to have built the route to be able to move soldiers quickly through the country, to resist Russian invasions. It was also a prestige project to get it finished as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this resulted in many soldiers and craftsmen dying during the construction of the road. To this day it is unclear what the exact number is. The Transfăgărășan monument further up the route commemorates these people.

The first part of the route leads you through a number of sharp hairpin bends to an altitude of over 2,000 meters. Along the way there are plenty of opportunities to stop and enjoy the view. Besides a spectacular road you will also find yourself in the majestic nature reserve of the Făgăraș Mountains.

About a 50-minute drive from the starting point, you reach the highest point of the mountain pass. Here you can get a tasty snack and a drink at the many market stalls and admire the Balea lake.

After this break, the route disappears into a long dark tunnel. Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel after a short kilometer of driving and you have the sun on your face again.

The road winds further south towards Vidraru Lake. Before you get here, you can decide to partly deviate from the original route. The Transfăgărășan road runs east of the lake, but you can choose to follow the DJ7041 west along the lake. As it is not the main road, this route is less used. The road surface is also considerably worse, but the tranquility makes this route attractive. Eventually you will return to the original route on the south side of the lake. The lake's dam, built in 1965, is located here. A statue of Prometheus guards the dam.

Take your time here to gather courage for the rest of the route… not only did Ceaușescu show interest in this area, but also Vlad Dracul – or Dracula – left his mark on this area.
In addition to a shared interest in the area, there is another special similarity between the two men: as evidenced by the experiences in Cârța, it is important to give the deceased an appropriate burial so that they do not turn into strigoi. This belief is so strong in Romanian culture that when it was found that Ceaușescu's body had not been properly buried, measures were taken to prevent him from becoming strigoi; a bloodthirsty monster like Dracula.

Dracula (Vlad Dracul III) is revered as a hero in Romania. He fought several successful military battles against the Ottomans, protecting his people. In Western stories, he is best known for his brutal methods of fighting and frightening his opponents. One of those legends is about the Poenari castle. Vlad Dracul saw the castle and was charmed by its perfect location: on the Transfăgărășan, atop a mountain overlooking a gorge. Because the castle had not been maintained in the past decades, it was dilapidated. Dracul captured his opponents and had them renovate and expand the castle under barbaric conditions. After the renovation was completed, the prisoners were impaled on stakes in the valley below the castle.

Today the castle is once again dilapidated, but nevertheless open to visitors. Please note that the climb to the castle involves 1480 steps, enclosed by an electric gate. The tourist office claims that this was done to protect tourists from the bears and lynx in this nature reserve. Locals are silent, but their faces tell different stories…!
It is said that Dracula and descendants of Dracula are still around in this area. People staying overnight in the castle complain about the feeling of being watched all the time. Several people also talk about the feeling of being bitten… it is also unclear with Vlad Dracul where his body has gone after his death…

Once at the top of the castle, you have a perfect view of the area around you and it immediately becomes clear what the military strategic advantage of this castle was. Dracula has also been able to repel several attacks from Ottomans and other opponents with ease.

Back down in the valley it's time to drive on. After all, it is important to arrive at your final destination before it gets dark.

The further course of the mountain pass is less challenging, so you quickly bridge the distance to the last sights on your route. In addition to a number of cultural-historical sights (such as monuments of honor and a Roman fort), the route passes through the Piatra Craiului National Park. Some geologists describe this park as a major morphological accident, due to the many special stone structures such as deep gorges, steep canyons and a large number of caves.

On your route we drive through one of those deep mountain gorges: Cheile Dâmbovicioarei. The gorge starts wide, so that the sunlight still penetrates well and the ride starts pleasantly. As you drive further into the gorge, the rock walls come closer and closer to you and even the sun struggles to break through here. This creates a mysterious and blood-curdling atmosphere, which makes you think you've entered Bram Stoker's book… Consider whether you want to stop for photos or rush through… “Denn die Todten reiten schnell” as Stoker describes in his book.

Once out of the gorge, the last kilometers roll under your wheels. In Bran you can spend the night at the Transylvanian Inn or one of the many other accommodation options. The offer here is overwhelming because close to the town is a special tourist castle. The story goes that Dracula would have been imprisoned here. Incidentally, no evidence for this has been found. The castle especially appeals to the imagination of all tourists because of its terrifying appearance.
If you want to visit the castle, it is best to postpone it until the next morning. You will then have ample time to look around and learn more about the noble family who did live in the castle.