The Dracula Connection

Ok, so what is the first thing you think of if I say “Transylvania”? For many people it would be the blood-thirsty count of Bram Stoker's book of the same name. And Transylvania is full of castles claiming to be the Dracula's castle.

There is Dracula's Castle or Castel Dracula as it is known in Romanian: a 53-roomed hotel perched 1116m high, on the very spot where Bram Stoker is said to have sited his fictitious Dracula's castle. But there are also various castles said to have belonged to Vlad Tepes, the real-life blood-thirsty (not blood-drinking) fifteenth century leader on whom Dracula was based, one of which is Bran Castle (pictured). And to top it all, Bram Stoker never even visited Transylvania, so go figure.

Language

The language issue can be a little confusing. Transylvania has, throughout its turbulent history, been fought over and occupied by all of its neighboring countries at one time or another. As a result, each region seems to favor a different language, making Transylvania harder than ever to define.

The South of the region was at one time part of the Hapsburg Empire and speaks a mixture of Romanian and German. The West of Transylvania contains one of the largest ethnic minority groups in the form of a Hungarian speaking population of well over a million. Add to this mix a colorful population of Roma whose language is closer to Hindustani and it makes for a veritable Babel of voices.

If you are lucky, you may find yourself in a region where Romanian is spoken. Romanian seems to be a mix of all the Latin languages cobbled together and, as such, is far easier to learn and understand. It is also much easier to locate a Romanian phrase book. Very little English is spoken in Romania so you may find a little Romanian goes a long way.

Train Travel

Romanian trains are a real paradox. There is the strangest divergence between 1st and 2nd class compartments. If you book a ticket in advance, which is recommended, you may be tempted to automatically book 1st class, particularly if you have ever seen the interior of a Romanian train. However, this would in no way guarantee you a higher quality of carriage than the 2nd class option, particularly on the more rural lines. On the contrary, 1st class is often far inferior to 2nd; it seems to be a sort of lottery. One can only assume that, to the Romanians, the higher price keeps the riff-raff away.

You will, without doubt, need your phrase book at a train station as the staff rarely speaks English. It is also a good idea to write down the phrases you think you will need in advance: train stations are high pressure environments and people will always try to queue jump and generally get grumpy with the bumbling traveler.

The great advantages of trains are that firstly, they are cheap. A trip of 100km would cost you between 4 and 9 Euros, depending on the class of the ticket and the speed of the train. And secondly, despite the wildness of Transylvania, they are invariably on time.

Accommodation

Transylvania has a wealth of fabulous, affordable accommodation options. There are, of course, hotels and in some towns these will be your best option. But it is well worth being a little more adventurous and straying off the beaten path, particularly in rural areas. Some of the villages in the countryside have changed little since the medieval era and these really are “the wild West of Europe”.

If you can plan a little in advance, you may be lucky enough to find guesthouse accommodation that includes breakfast and dinner. It is worth checking places out on the web before you leave, and check out the Lonely Planet guide on Romania and Moldova. It suggests some very reasonable and welcoming guesthouses. Prices are generally between 15 and 30 Euros per night. For this, expect a large, traditional breakfast of bread, cheese and meat; and also some home cooking of indigenous dishes in the evening washed down with homemade wine and a chat from your genial host. It is a little like staying in someone's home and thus, it gives you a flavor of the real Transylvania.

Although guesthouses often provide the best value for money, there are also many hostels dotted around Transylvania. Often the price includes breakfast, and you can get a double room for about 30 Euros. This is perhaps better if you are just looking for a base to explore from.

However, hotels in Transylvania are really not expensive. You can get a double room with bath and all the mod cons, for less than 70 Euros. In some of the older towns such as Sinaia or Sighisoara, you can stay in a slice of history for the same price; the hotels there are often over a hundred years old and sometimes palatial.

On the whole, it s a good idea to stay in a mix of accommodations to get a taste of the real Transylvania.

Arriving by train in India is even more of an occasion, and you could happily spend a month doing nothing else, whereas Delhi's Indira Ghandi Airport is like any other airport in the world, paranoid about security and mind-numbingly boring.

Travel by train is exciting, romantic, and an adventure. Some of the advantages it has over air travel are as follows:

• You get to keep your possessions with you at all times
• There are no unreasonable queues, having to show up three hours before departure
• You don't have to have a stranger run his hands all over your body before you board
• There is always something to look at through the window

There are others, but I've already convinced myself!

Some of the most exciting and adventurous routes I know of are:

• Istanbul to Aleppo (Syria), the original terminus for the Orient Express
• Delhi to Kolkota, most of it along the Ganges
• St Petersburg to Odessa on the Black Sea, via Moscow and Kiev

There are thousands more.

Check out Seat 61 for inspiration and information and let your mind run riot.

First, there are the usual airline carriers. They are fast, safe, and reliable. But they are also pricey and may not always be an option. The second choice would be to go with a budget airline, but their reliability is often in question and in order to get the best deal you may have to fly on dates that do not cohere with your long anticipated travel plans. Fortunately, there are two other very good options to keep your plans afloat without sinking your wallet.

Trains

Fast, safe, and often less expensive than traditional airline carriers trains are how Europeans travel within Europe - and who better to learn from than Europeans themselves? Trains are a great option because not only do they provide an affordable way between almost all cities, but they run more frequently than planes and afford you the opportunity to see more of the countries you are visiting. In fact, an entire trip can revolve around a train trip. Perhaps you wish to retrace the path of the Orient Express. By train it's easy to get off at any stop and stay for a few hours, then hop on the next train to wherever you were going. Non-reserved tickets can be purchased for almost all trains giving the bearer an option of several months within which to travel. The flexibility and affordability are hard to beat!

So why chose anything other than trains for travel within Europe? Well, when trains are an option, you shouldn't! But sometimes towns are too small or too remote for train stations. In that case, take the bus!

Bus 

Often regarded as unsafe travel in Eastern European countries, busses - minibuses included - are safe ways to travel to areas where trains don't go. Busses are ultra affordable and occasionally good alternatives to trains when traveling on a really tight budget. Busses run very frequently and offer smooth traveling - most busses are well designed for comfort, even during extended trips. In fact, many conclude on the end of their bus journey that even Polish minibuses are superior to the Greyhound services available in the United States! The one drawback to busses is that bus drivers rarely speak English and stops are usually announced only in the native language so riding prepared is a must!

For great places to travel by train or bus within Europe check out this list of undiscovered travel destinations.

Whether by plane, train, or bus, happy travels!

I long for a place with a cool swimming pool and hot tub to soak in after a long day of sightseeing.

Needless to say, we didn't camp this summer. Instead, without any particular itinerary, our family embarked on a road trip to experience the spectacular United States. Fueled with excitement as well as gasoline, we stayed in a different hotel each night. We could've flown, but that takes the fun out of a good old American road trip.

Sure, airplanes get you there faster, but the seats are rather uncomfortable. Remember when it was glamorous to fly? Well the style and sophistication have been replaced by stale sandwiches packed in plastic trays served by snippy flight attendants. The golden days of train travel have also disappeared. Instead of nice meals served inside a dining car,we now eat microwaved beef dinners and look out dingy windows as we chug along the tracks.

Besides, there is something comforting and thrilling about traveling long distances by car. It's a spontaneous, panoramic adventure into the real world. You can stop and go as you please, and if the kids have to pee for the umpteenth time, who cares?

The pleasure of being “somewhere else” gives us a burst of energy. Travel has proved to be the ideal Rx for boredom, broken hearts and strange illnesses. I think part of that is because no matter where we travel, we look at similar things through a different pair of eyes. A cocker spaniel panting on the sidewalk on a hot summer's day in Santa Fe is suddenly much more interesting than a dog panting on the sidewalk back home. Heck, we'll even take its picture on our digital camera.

An old historic building in North Carolina is more exciting than one with similar architectural features at home. Breaking down in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa is much more adventurous than having your car stalled on Main Street at home.

We even look at people crossing the street in awe. See the old man in Martha's Vineyard smoking a cigar on that bench over there? Such a scene suddenly seems poignant to us.

Moreover, everything is unusually significant because we aren't going to stay there too long and we are compelled to experience everything within our reach.

We'll eat in a café in Ontario and although the scones are like hockey pucks, we convince ourselves it is the best thing we've ever eaten, just because we're so far away from home.

We'll eat stale bagels in New York just because not eating a bagel in New York is a sin.

We also tend to do foolish things we normally wouldn't dare do at home. Things like dancing in the water fountain without our shoes on, for example. Sometimes I like to speak with a Russian accent to see if I can fool people. I find it to be a very inexpensive form of entertainment. These people will never see us again.

I have an entire collection of hotel lotions, shampoos and bars of soap and shower caps I will never use, but I feel compelled to “steal” them anyway.

Many of us convince ourselves that we'll be more productive at work if we take a vacation. Ironically, when we return it's the same old thing all over again and we realize we need another vacation to recover from the original vacation.

And I think we travel not only to see new places, but to appreciate where we live.

Dorothy was right: There is no place like home.