Vlad's Birthplace

The fortified town of Sighisoara

Sighisoara is an idyllic city, but is also the birthplace of a man was who born to be remembered for his gruesome atrocities against humanity. Then again, if you ask the folks from Romania, the vast majority with whom we spoke believe this very same man is a national hero. To the Romanians, Vlad Dracula saved Europe from the invading Ottoman Empire. Though he may have left a trail of death wherever he and his army marched across the country, one fact remains steadfast - the Turks left Europe broken after encountering what this man was capable of.

Am I hero or monster? Choose your answer very carefully!

He didn't earn the nickname from those very same Turks as Vlad the Impaler (Tepes) randomly. No, this Prince of Wallachia used unimaginable tortures on his enemies, both foreign and domestic. He was cruel, there is no doubt, but 15th century Europe was cruel with empires fighting each other constantly, family murdering family to take the throne, invading armies butchering everyone and everything that they came across. At that time, life was cheap.

Very cheap.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's start with a cute little story of a boy being born in the small village of Sighisoara.

In the wooded lands known as Transylvania, centrally located in Romania bordered, by the Carpathian Mountains, Vlad's father, Vlad II had lived in a small three story home in the fortified town of Sighisoara. He had been destined to rule Wallachia but had to leave and live in a brief exile in Transylvania when his half-brother, Alexander I Aldea invaded Wallachia and dethroned Dan II.

Vlad II - Vlad III's father

Fortified entrance for Sighisoara

View from the top of the original Sighisoara

Seems complicated? During the fifteenth century in Europe politics were nothing if not confusing - trying to keep up with who killed who for the throne, (and there were many thrones), is enough to drive a researcher batty.

Get it? 'Batty' and we are writing about Transylvania and vampires - well not vampires exactly, but the region from which Bram Stoker got the idea for his infamous vampire tale. Clever!

Laureen getting ready to visit Vlad III

So, the Dracul family's patriarch, Vlad II, had become a member of the Order of the Dragon in 1431. He was inducted by Sigismund of Luxembourg, while living in Sighisoara awaiting when the moment that the time would be right for Dracul II (as he came to be known) to move back to Wallachia and regain his throne.

The house were Vlad III was born...

Campy but fun - Dracula trying to make a meal of John.

But this isn't about Dracul II. Rather it is about a little boy born into a family with a mother, perhaps Dracul II's wife, Cneajna - a daughter of Alexander I of Moldavia - or a mistress, along with his older brother Mircea. Dracul II's last male child, Radu wouldn't be born until around 1439. So, the Vlad Dracula we know from countless tales and films started life like any other person who was born into royalty.

He was brought up to read, write, master horsemanship, learn warrior skills, and perhaps a few other skills that would make him a delight in any royal court.

Little Vlad used to run through these streets as a young boy...

But then again, little Vlad III did grow up to be something the world had never seen before.

A monster or a hero, depending on your perspective.

And this is the question we pondered during our trip to Romania. Who was this person? This Vlad III - was he the hero who kept Europe safe from the Ottoman Empire? Or just a psychopath who enjoyed killing for killing sake?

If a monster - why all the plaques and statues of him throughout so much of Romania?

Doing research for a new novel - J mentioned that one thing he learned from the three weeks traveling Romania is that he knows less than he did before the trip. There are so many back alleys and plot twists to understanding who this person made famous, or infamous, by the Irish writer Stoker that it almost defies comprehension.

A store owner in a cobbled narrow street of Sighisoara shared that to her and most Romanians, Vlad III - Vlad the Impaler was a national hero. She said that if I were to write his story, please let the world know he was a good man, a true hero, and of course, not a vampire. Though she did admit his way of restoring order in a difficult time may have seem cruel. She said, "He was a cruel leader for a cruel time." We must judge individuals by the time in which they live. Very wise, these Roma.

The tourist information administrator, the one dissenting voice with whom J and L spoke in our travels, stated that she believed Vlad was nothing but evil. "I've never heard anyone say he was a good man."

J stated that he never said Vlad III was a good man but perhaps a hero.

"I've never heard that either," the woman followed up.

Pretty women love the bad boys - don't they?

Whatever her beliefs were, there is one thing that is certain about Vlad III - the Dracula in Stoker's novel - he is good for business. The main portion of Romania's tourists come for one thing and one thing only - Dracula.

Many shops depend on the myth or reality of Dracula - Vlad III

Traveling the highways and byways of Romania, one can get a certain feeling that the population - a large part of the population believes Vlad III is a hero but there are those who feel the methods he used to control the population were beyond cruel and bordered evil.

Was this gargoyle in Sighisoara a harbinger for of the future reign of Vlad III?

Of course, it is not these researchers purview to decide on how people should feel but just to simply write stories backed by research and exploration.

Then again, this is the telling of a young boy being born in 1431 in a small but important fortified town in Transylvania.

Dude, who are really? And don't impale me for being impudent?

Miles of Smiles

One valley in the Faragas mountains

On a cool September 20th in 1974, the Transfagarasan Road was completed. It took four and a half years to carve this engineering marvel over one of Romania's highest mountains. Today it is considered one of the most beautiful highways in the world.

In fact, the popular television show, 'Top Gear' referred to this asphalt ribbon as one of the world's best roads.

We can not refute that claim.

J and L drove this beautiful landmark late June and breathtaking would be an understatement to describe this majestic highway cut through passes, valleys, and anything else that got in the way of the dream of a megalomaniac.

A bit of a winding road.

In 1970, the Communist Dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, came up with an almost impossible task. Of course, no one says 'no' to such a ruthless person as Ceausescu, and thus the idea of a road through very high mountains was to be realized. Now, it was up to the engineers in the military - isn't that always the case with communist regimes? It's up to the military to make things happen because civilians may say - 'Huh, a highway where and what for?"

Build what over what?

Ceausescu wanted to build a road between the counties of Wallachia and Transylvania in case the Soviet Union invaded Romania as they had done with Czechoslovakia in 1968. He thought if the Soviets invaded, he could command his military to secure this road and keep the Soviets on their heels. They may lose either Wallachia or Transylvania, but one would be saved. Too bad that the road is closed most of the year due to the heavy amounts of snow that build up at this high elevation, making it nearly impossible to secure any of it.

A lot of bridges over the roadway

Oh well - sounded like a good idea (not).

The road was built in a little over four and a half years using 14 million tons of dynamite and the loss of 38 military personnel. The cost of building a road - unknown tons of mountain side along with a the human fatalities. Ceausescu demanded the road and the highway was built, and so it deserves the nickname it earned from the Roma (locals): Nicolae's Folly.

It's the Communist way, but enough of the politics - for now.

Laureen feeling the power of the waterfall

The drive through the Fargas Mountains takes roughly three hours but could be less if the scenery wasn't so darn unbelievable. It truly is one of the most scenic roads J or L have ever driven. The switchbacks (a million of them if we counted correctly) make for a spectacular view at every turn. The thick green forests making visibility out either the driver or passenger window nearly impossible and then suddenly getting so high in elevation that the tree line is staring you in the face is amazing. Nothing but mountains - bare, exposed and stunning. That's where the road can really be appreciated.

John trying to help a runaway piece of glacier

Magnificent glaciers poke their iciness around nearly every bend, waterfalls pounce out of nowhere allowing the traveler a chance to hear and see one of natures most beautiful acrobatics, stunning views of nature at every inch of the highway and yes, there are also sights only humans can create.

So many sheepies and no where for them to go except the highway.

Not once or twice, but three times J and L had to stop on this highway for a time to allow sheep and sheep herders to clear the roadway. This road is the access from one side of the Fagaras Mountains to the other and the sheep herders don't mind the walk and it seemed as though the sheep didn't mind either. There was a 'baa' here and a 'baa' there and we were obliged to wait until the sheep cleared to one side or the other on the highway before we could safely to pass. No warning was needed - a sheep hood ornament was not on order for the day.

Thanks for the help. How to pass a million sheep? A sheepherder, of course.

This road had everyone, both locals and tourists, stopping to take a thousand photographs with phones, cameras, whatever was handy. No one got angry if a vehicle slowed to a stop since it only made sense to get out and breathe the fresh mountain air, and enjoy the wonder that both God and man had a hand in making.

Top Gear had it right, but perhaps the best aspect of this path through the Fargaras Mountains is how peaceful the scenery surrounding the road is. It's a highway to experience with all senses.

Our rented Audi handled the road expertly and there were times that J put his foot into the pedal - after all, sometimes a hair-pin turn needs to be tested.

In Search of Vlad

Where the research and exploration took place

A very warm afternoon in late June found J and L landing in Bucharest, Romania.

We were on a quest to discover the true identity of Bram Stoker's infamous villain - Dracula.

Exploration and research was afoot - to borrow a phrase from the greatest detective in all literature, Sherlock Holmes.

The dynamic duo - J and L, not Holmes and Stoker, flew nearly fourteen hours from LAX to Charles de Gaulle  and then on to Otopeni International in search of this legendary badman. Of course, in certain sections of Transylvania, Wallachia and most of Romania itself, Vlad is not cursed. The fourteenth century prince is actually exulted as a hero.

The Hero - Vlad Dracula

Then why paint him as a killer? Why did Stoker pen such a sinister character based on Vlad III of Romania? Could it be because the Ottoman Empire had dubbed him 'Vlad, the Impaler' after the nasty habit he had of impaling all those with whom he disagreed? That would include Turks fighting for the Ottoman Empire, the Boyars (those rich nobility who often looked down their long noses at Vlad's family), the local people, the peasants, and pretty much anyone else who, in his eyes, had committed a crime.

A German woodcut depicting an impaling lunch

Vlad, according to many historians, was a product of his times. The thirteen and fourteen hundreds in Eastern Europe was not for the squeamish. Rulers fought other rulers for the right to rule. Sometimes those wars would last months or years and then start over again. Land was at a premium in Europe and the nobility was not against killing tens of thousands of their own people, soldiers and peasants, for as much land as they could obtain.

So, Vlad Dracul (his father - the suffix 'a' means 'son of'') raised Vlad and his two brothers to fight like champions because they would need the skills to rule. Without warrior talent during those years in Eastern Europe, you could not hold onto any land. It would be taken from you by a mightier warrior.

Vlad Dracula - the son of Vlad Dracul - would take the lessons learned to an entirely new dimension. But once the research started, we discovered that there is much more to the story of this man - this prince.

And this is why J and L found themselves in Eastern Europe in the summer of 2017. To learn more and more about this man of many faces. This Vlad Dracula - Vlad the Impaler - Vlad III - or the voivode (war-lord) of Wallachia.

Who was he? Why did he obtain the reputation he either deserved or did not deserve?

The real Vlad Dracula

There were trails to be hiked, bridges to cross, castles to explore, and libraries to research all through Romania, in search of the answers to such questions.

Many steps to numerous deserted castles

That's why J and L were there. And, J was doing research for a new historical-fiction on Vlad the Last Crusader.

Not just curiosity but a more long lasting purpose - a new book - a new genre than J is used to writing. The research would be done, the exploration complete, and then the challenge of putting all the pieces into a piece of literature would come to light.

But - for now the traveling had just begun.

Let the sleuthing begin!