One of my main reasons for going to Romania was to get a look at Bran Castle, one of a few Romanian castles associated with Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'.
Below, we are beginning the short ascent to Bran Castle passing a moss-covered, wooden building on the way:
And after only a few minutes of walking up a steep path, we were almost there:
Of course, the old cross (at the foot of the castle, I think?) below added some Gothic-type charm to the ascent:
Once inside Bran Castle, there are some spectacular views of the surrounding countryside on offer:
Of course, most visitors want to feel something of the Dracula legend here, and it's easy to imagine such things as the armour below having belonged to Vlad the Impaler:
But our Polish guide told us that in reality, Vlad the Impaler (15th century protector of Balkan Christians from the Ottoman Turks) may have only spent a couple of days at Bran Castle in jail, and that the real charm of the castle lay in it having been a favourite retreat of (the originally British) Queen Marie of Romania.
Below, there's a shot of the castle courtyard:
And finally a shot looking down from the castle:
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