Castles

BRASOV: Another day, another castle. This morning we started with a local bus to Bram Castle famous, for a reason we can't entirely discern, as Dracula's castle. It had nothing to do with ole Fangy, but somehow a connection was forged and the owner's, and the local town, have used it as an excuse to print money and tacky Dracula t-shirts ever since. Unfortunately the castle is - what's a polite way of saying this - probably most likely to win piss weak award 2007. Kind of quaint inside with lovely wooden ceilings, a nice hidden staircase, and a charming collection of small rooms and the occasional view but unfortunately not really worth the trek out there.

Luckily we were also due to visit Rasnov fortress. Rather than being a monarch's castle, this particular citadel was built by the townsfolk to protect them for marauding Turks and Tartars. Originally just a collection of rubble, it had been bought by some business interests who are currently in the process of restoring the castle. It has stunning views of the surrounding hills (think Cold Mountain), an archery enclosure (which I utilised), a little museum and some surviving walls. I probably can't be bothered getting eloquent in my description but I've got pictures. It would probably be in the top half a dozen castles I have seen and was accessible by a particularly, given the snow and ice on the ground, treacherous goat track.

We had a picnic lunch - we're poor backpackers. And were accosted by two donkeys who chased us into the citadel.

In other news we've finally got our Trans-Man tickets sorted so we'll be sitting beside Lake Baikal sipping champagne come Christmas morning. Off to drink three pints for two quid.