To Transylvania: mountains and castles and bears!

I fulfilled a lifelong dream recently by trekking across Transylvania (in Romania). I’ve been pining for a trip to the misty Carpathian Mountains since I saw my first vampire movie—or was it werewolves? Either way, the real thing topped even the most delicious of B-movie thrills. Sure, I hit the requisite Vlad “the Impaler” and Bram Stoker landmarks, but Transylvania itself turned out to be the real star. The emerald green forests, the medieval towns and castles, the majestic, brooding mountains—oh, and did I mention the wolf tracks and the nine(!) very real bears that we saw?

I could go on well past the witching hour about this, but I hear a picture is worth a thousand words. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorites from the trip:

At Bran Castle, a.k.a. Castle Dracula. If you’ve read Bram Stoker’s novel, that facade will be eerily familiar to you.

“Wolf Dan” Marin, the best (and coolest) nature guide in Romania, leads us high up into the Carpathians. I’m the dork in the red backpack (or, as the wolves say, the snack).

One of the nine bears we saw, 90 meters away—the distance to third base!

For more pictures, more bears, and one profoundly funky train, check out my album on Facebook.