Budapest to Bran | Hungary to Romania

2015-05-14T19:01:00.000+02:00

Visiting Transylvania is a must. The other national monument and landmark in Romania is the Castle of Bran. It was better known as 'Dracula's Castle' just because the 'hero' of Bram Stoker's Horror book and vampire novel about the Dracula was living there.

Yes, he was a real person, and it is hard to decide whether the fiction of the vampire or the real historical person is more cruel.

From Budapest to Bran is about 9 hours by car. Bran is the infamous 'Vampire City' where you can find out more about the Castle and Draculas. You can easily drive there by the M3 motorway. As it was in vicinity to Brasov, we decided to visit the castle of Bran.

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Zsolt was telling the story to Daniel and me in the car on our way there. Vlad the Impaler was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia ruling mainly from 1456 too 1462. In Eastern European history, voivode is a local ruler who are semi-independent ruler of Transylvania, Wallachia or Moldavia before c1700. Vlad the Impaler was the name he received due to his cruel 'passion' of impaling enemies on poles. Grrrrrg....why didn't he choose another passion?

There were some descriptions of impalement on the topmost floor of the castle during the museum tour.

Albeit the horror story as a background, overlooking the top of the castle, you can get a wonderful panorama that looks like this:

If you looked closely, there are several beautiful villas in vicinity:

The Bran Castle is rather narrow inside with dark walkways and lots of wooden stairs. Towards the third level, there is a very narrow stairway that you must passed. I was actually wondering if someone with a big built will be able to get through it. That part of the stairway appears very dark. Furthermore, my imaginations went a bit wild recalling those days in the 13th century, and supposing they were using candlelight. Imagine those flickering shadows....hoo! spooky :)

This castle was dated 1378 when it was first constructed, this was the time where rock and wood were mostly available from Magura Branului. Its addressed is now 498 Traian Mosoiu St, Bran which lies between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountains.

Other than the wooden rooms (where there were about six to eight rooms), a dungeon, a round tower and a gate's tower, there is also a cellar that acts as its prison. A few traces of the initial defense position still exist if you visit it today. It did not seemed too old as it was open as a museum since 1947.

Inspite of the fact that it was more famously known for the legend of Vlad Dracula, historically this castle used to be where Queen Maria of Great Romania lived with her royal family. They were living there from 1920 to 1947. In the 14th century it was rather a fortress that played an important role in protecting the Hungarian King from the Ottoman and Tartars' invasion. That time, the Turks were coming from Wallachia through Rucar-Bran Pass.

Budapest Apartments

2011-03-08T15:32:00.001+01:00

Lately renting an apartment is popular in Budapest. They are relatively cheap, and the feeling is more like having a home than in a hotel. Though we have cautioned you to NOT get involved with people approaching you at railway station offering apartments, basically renting an apartment is a great and exciting way of living in Budapest.

When we were in Prague or when I traveled to Kiev, I always choose this option. Furthermore, there are several other opportunities in Budapest other than renting an apartment.

Private, independent apartments in Budapest

Akademia Apartment
Akácfa Apartments
Alfa Apartments
Angels Apartments
Art deco Apartments
Asbóth Apartment
Blue Lagoon Apartment
Buda Castle Apartments
Canaletto Apartment
Casa Sol Apartments
Castle District Apartment
Cavaraggio Apartment
Dali Apartment
Designer Apartment
DeVille Apartment
Dohány Apartment
Embassy Apartment
Galamb Apartment
Happy Apartments
Holiday Service Apartments
IMI Apartment
InnerCity Apartments
Jacuzzi Suite Apartment
Kékgolyó Apartment
King Edward Apartment
Kígyó Apartment
Margit Apartment
Michelangelo Apartment
Mondria Apartment
Monet Apartment
Museum Boulevard Apartment
Navigare Apartments
Opera Apartment
Opera Residence Apartments
Queen Mary Apartments
Raffaello Apartment
Rákóczi Apartment
Rákóczi 2-room apartment
Rákóczi 3-room apartment
Riverview Apartment
Semmelweis Apartment Budapest
Swedish Apartment
Szerémi Apartment
Thalia Apartment
The Baroness Apartment
The Hollywood Apartment
The Venetian Apartment
Van Gogh Apartment
Vaudeville Apartment
Vaci Apartment
Váci utca Apartment
Városház Apartment

More choices at:
www.hotelonlinehungary.com
www.apartmentsinbudapest.com
www.best-of-budapest.com

If you stay for more than a month, it is worth to rent an apartment for a longer term

Some examples:

You can find more choices:
www.budapestrent.com

Our Advice:

As you can see, there are so many choices in Budapest for renting an apartment. Both for the long term and short term. Even you can choose among different categories considering the price, the location or the quality of the service. The real serious services have a website in English and they answer e-mails, phone calls. And most of them are.

If they do not, just simply ignore them..and go for the next choice on your mind. From some of my friends, I've heard that sometimes during the booking process, they start to talk about extra charges like cleaning or anything else. For me, I personally don't like surprises in this field, and if I find the price "starts to be" different from the rate they showed on their website, I finish the conversation there and then.

If you are planning to travel to Budapest for a longer period of time (student, businessman, moving here) and you are searching for a rent, it is better to search for an agency. Since we did it just recently and we needed a service which can handle our case in English, too (communication, contract in English, they help to arrange the registration papers for foreigners)

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Budapest to Bran | Hungary to Romania

Budapest Apartments

Private, independent apartments in Budapest

If you stay for more than a month, it is worth to rent an apartment for a longer term

Our Advice: