Trip or treat - Halloween holiday

If you want to feel that your holiday is sending shivers down your spine, a trip to Transylvania is the right thing to do (Halloween is almost here anyway).
You can land either in the heart of Transylvania (an airport of choice could be Cluj Napoca or Targu Mures) or in Bucharest then start your trip armed with a cross and some garlic.

Targu Mures is closer to Sighisoara, the place where Vlad The Impaler (aka Dracula) was born. The town also has a nice medieval citadel and legends say that you can find there the house of the last hangman (who used to work in the citadel) which recently has been restored and turned into a peaceful (and hopefully not haunted) library. Not far from Targu Mures there is the village of Bezid - it has a huge lake which entirely covered the village - all the inhabitants had to leave their houses and move. You can still see the drowned houses under the water and the church steeple sticking out of the waters.

Your next holiday stop should be Sighisoara - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of its famous residents was Vlad Dracu. The citadel built in the 12th century includes the house where it is believed that Vlad Dracu was born, a Weapon Museum and a torture chamber. For a bit of a Gothic peace head up to the Church on the Hill by climbing the Covered Staircase (there are around 300 stairs to climb).

From Sighisoara head south and after about 120 km you will reach Bran where you can visit Dracula's Castle in Bran (built in the 13th century). You can go to a Halloween party (which are organised mainly for tourists since most locals do not have much time to party, being too busy and tired with agricultural work) or buy some souvenirs (Dracula mugs, Matryoshka dolls which are not at all Transylvanian and strong plum brandy called palinca).

If you survive Halloween night you can head south to Bucharest and visit the Palace of the Parliament, one of the largest buildings in the world.