June 13th- Brasov, Romania (Transylvania)

We woke pretty earl @ 6:30 so that we could catch our train to Sinaia about an hour away. We wanted to see Peles castle which was well worth the lost sleep. It was the summer home of the first Royal family in Romania. The royal couple was from Germany- Carol and Elizabeth. Being extremely wealthy, King Carol I payed for the castle with his own money and it cost him 16,000,000 golden lei, which at the time was worth 12 USD. That is a chunk of change. This castle was the first castle in Europe to have electricty and was the first castle with an elevator, vacuum cleaner system and an electric sliding window above the Hall of Honor. The castle was by far one of the most beautiful we have seen. There was so much diversity in the architecture that you never got bored. There were 160 rooms and 30 bathrooms decorated in Italian, French, German and Oriental fashion. I decided I would like to live in a castle. Now accepting applications from foreign Princes. #HMU. 

Queen Elizabeth was really talented. She painted many of the pieces in the Castle and she wrote a spattering of poetry and short love stories. She had them published, some even in English. I want to read them! 

We headed back towards Brasov for a quick lunch beofre we met at the hostel with a few other guests to take a car to Bran Castle, Dracula's Castle, and Rasnov Ciitadel. 

Romania is beautiful. I can't help thinking that as we pass the snow capped mountains and the rocky hillsides topped with beautiful green trees. It is a gorgeous place. 

Anywho, Dracula was born in Transylvania and got his nickname ina really long and (langauge barrier) confusing kind of way. I encourage you to look it up because it is interesting. All you need to know is that he didn't actually suck blood. He was an impaler. He took a long sharp spike and put it in a prisoners anus. The weight of the man would push him onto the spike until eventually the spike would come out of the neck or head. This slow agaonizing death lasted 1-2 days because the spike missed the vital organs. It is disgusting. The reason he got a bad name, besides the fact the he performed acts as mentioned, was that the Germans ensured his bad PR because he had a conflict with them over taxes in the past. The lines are blurry on why it is considered Dracula's castle. 

The Citadel was cool. Good views. I bought a box that is pretty for my coffee table in my non existent apartment. It would go perfectly with these ceramic pieces I fell in love with in Berlin. I guess I will have to go back and get them....

I also want to put it out there that I am getting less funny everyday. I have started laughing at bad tour guide jokes. I think I laughed before, but out of pity and now I am laughing because I actually think they are funny. Where has my sense of humor gone? I can't fall prey to the (I just saw someone in head to toe CAMO. It feels like Sweet Home Alabama) days void of laughter and great jokes. I make myself laugh from time to time, but my humor is lost over here. The people who hear it either don't get it or don't understand English. Its a hard life sometimes people. 

I did Katelyn's hairwrap last night. I think I found my calling. 

Quick story, I booked this particular hostel through Airbnb and so I had already paid in full online. Well it is easy to confused when you have booked 7 hostels so I wasn't sure which ones were booked with Airbnb (paid in full) and which ones were booked with Hostelworld (only paid deposit). I went ahead and paid for both nights unknowingly and never thought twice about it. That evening, the night shift desk clerk noticed the mistake and had cash waiting for me. I was so shocked by her honesty and professionalism that I had to share the story.