Trrrransylvaaaaania!

As a political entity, Transylvania is mentioned from the 11th century and has been conquered by the early Hungarians/Huns, been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, an autonomous principality under the Ottoman Empire, then a province of the Habsburg monarchy and the Austro-Hungarian empire and, after World War I, a region within the Kingdom of Romania. (The map shows Romania, with the Transylvania region in yellow.) [Thanks to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, for elements of the above discussion.]

Romania contains a crescent-shaped swath of the Carpathian mountains which make up much of Transylvania (but also extend down into the central "blue" part of the map; Bucharest is in the "blue" lowlands, about where the dot is). So most of Transylvania is either mountainous or is made up of a high altitude plateau. It contains many beautiful vistas, quaint villages and historic castles and other sites. And, of course, being mountainous, is a favorite summer-home-site for those who can afford summer homes. To most of us in the Western world, Transylvania is famously the home of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. (As I type this I can hear Vincent Price talk about Trrransylvaaaania -- rolling the "r", of course.)

We had a chance to take a day trip into the region, with a guide and one other tourist -- a very congenial American man from Denver. A drive of a bit more than two hours took us from Bucharest to the town of Brasov, near the southern end of Transylvania. It contains many fine examples of medieval buildings, surrounding a very attractive town square (pictured nearby). From Brasov it was off to another medieval town, Sinaia, the site of the extremely beautiful former royal castle of Peles, considered by many one of the most beautiful castles in all Europe. The castle was begun in 1873 and completed in 1883. It was the home of Romania's first modern king, King Carol I, and it is the final resting place for several Romanian monarchs, including Carol I, who died there in 1914. It is unusual in being a "modern" castle (with central heating -- something sadly mssing in other castles). The exterior, when compared to the many magnificent castles and palaces of Europe, doesn't seem very prepossessing -- but the interior is magnificent, with room after room showing the artistry of the finest craftsmen available in Europe, used in large numbers. The rooms were designed to a variety of themes and several of them contain the largest crystal mirrors ever made. There is even a small theatre which, in the 20th century, was converted from a stage to cinema. You can see some pictures of Peles starting at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/2403377#P-3-9

Then it was off to Dracula country -- to the town of Bran, the location of "Dracula's Castle". Of course, it's worth a moment to remind ourselves that Dracula, as we know him, is a fictional character. A real character, Vlad Draculea, was born in 1431. His grandson, Vlad III, had a habit of impaling his enemies on spears and earned the label of "Vlad the Impaler". Legend has it that he even dined surrounded by enemies impaled on posts. It is widely believed that Bram Stoker took the inspiration for his Dracula the Vampire character from the life of the Vlad Draculea line, and probably Vlad the Impaler in particular. This Vlad is often referred to as the "real Dracula", though there is quite a difference between him (killing for the pleasure of watching his enemies suffer) and the fictional vampire Dracula who killed to feed, as many creatures in nature certainly do.

Whatever the truth about all this, the castle at Bran is associated in history with the Vlad Draculea line of warriors. It is located outside the town of Bran, and was obviously sited to command a pass through the mountains. For several centuries it served to block the passage through the mountains of a succession of invaders, including the Turks, and was never conquered. Bran was the third stop on our Transylvania excursion. Bran Castle is significantly different form the magnificence of Peles, being several centuries older and, in comparison, quite primitive. (It certainly never had central heating.) Some pictures of Bran Castle are at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/2403377#126268046

Romania Roam

Chuck recently took a trip, with two US Army civilian colleagues, to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, which recently became one of the newest member countries of the European Union. It was a week long visit intended to assess the potential for research collaboration with researchers in various organizations in that country. They visited the National Defense University, the Military Technical Academy, the Military Engineering and Technical Research Agency (which has Army, Air Force and Navy components) and met with members of the materials department of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and the government's Metallurgrical Institute. One afternoon was spent with a Romanian software company that specializes in electronic learning and which presented them with a variety of very impressive products -- the company has grown from nearly nothing to 500 employees in just a few years, with a 20% annual growth rate. From a business and professional standpoint it was both very busy and very valuable.

Kathi, along with Pat Johnson, the wife of one of the Army scientists, made the trip as well. The ladies were able to do a lot of sightseeing during the days the others were visiting various Romanian institutions.

So, what can we tell you about Bucharest? Well, like almost every European city, it contains a great variety of beautiful monuments and buildings, museums and cultural attractions. And, of course, having been part of Soviet-occupied Europe for so long (until the revolution of 1989), the city still has evidence of those oppressive and bleak days -- the most visible being the decaying, ugly buildings the Soviets seem to have erected in very large numbers everywhere they held sway. Today, however, Romania is a new member of the European Union, with both unemployment and inflation low and with real wages increasing nicely. The process of privatization of previously-state-owned industries is being tackled in a

measured way (about 30% are now privatized) and numerous small businesses are opening in an environment of increasing entrepreneurship.

Bucharest, like Prague and Budapest (we haven't gotten to Warsaw yet), has its legacy of many beautiful buildings from the 19th and early 20th century. The ladies got to visit a number of these during the days. Since 1989 there has been a significant construction boom of modern office buildings. Shown here is the Atheneum, a busy venue for concerts and lectures. Also shown, on the left, is the George Enescu (a revered Romanian composer) Museum of Music. There's not enough room here, of course, to try to show you as many of them as we'd like, but you can see more of them at http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/2403377#125946731