Now that the kids have finished for the summer, we decided to take a little outing to Targoviste (Tar-go-vish-tay), which was the capital of Romania before Bucharest.
Making plans and comparing routes...
We got there... but it was a Monday, so the area around the ruins was closed... we got a good view from a nearby park... this tower was built by Vlad Tepes.
We could have gone in through the broken back fence (look close), but Rebecca wouldn't let us.
Me and Claudia posing with Vlad
Since Targoviste was closed, we headed up the hill to check out an Orthodox monastery, which was full of nuns, not monks. One of them gave us a tour.
Inside the old church - build in 1501, but repainted many times.
Looking down on Valea Mare (Big Valley)
Some seriously wild juniper berries
After that we headed further into the mountains and stopped at Bran to see the castle there. It was built here on the Bran Pass to watch out for Turkish invaders in the 14th century. It's famous for being the setting of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but Vlad Tepes (the very loose inspiration for the story) didn't build it or even spend much time here.
On the way back... a strange, yet familiar sight...
the valea mare looks like Holmes County Ohio. Remember the parking lot that overlooked that one valley where we took pictures? haha, the world doesn't change much does it? : )
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