More than Dracula’s home
Transylvania may conjure up images of vampires and bats, but what is it really like?
Simion Alb, 41, is the New York-based director of the Romanian Tourist Office of North America. He is a native of Romania – from the village of Geoagiu de Sus, 10 miles northwest of Alba Iulia, the historic capital of Transylvania.
Q. In America, “Dracula” means “Transylvania.” Does that translate into tourism?
A. Transylvania may be the best-known name of a region in the world, probably due to Bram Stoker’s contribution: He wrote the novel “Dracula.”
“Transylvania” is probably one of the first words people say when they call our New York office; 62 percent of people who call for information and brochures mention Transylvania. It’s not easy to estimate tourism money, though. Transylvania is not an administrative region – it’s just a name for the central part of Romania. …
Transylvania is home to some beautiful medieval towns and villages. The best-preserved medieval town in Europe may be the town of Sighisoara.
Q. What do people living in Transylvania make of vampire-driven visitors?
A. Basically, not many Romanians were familiar with the “Dracula” novel and movies until 1990, when we got rid of the communist regime and finally could have access to more information and could communicate openly. That’s the way they learned about this whole thing.
Vlad Draculea – the Romanian prince who inspired the novel – lived in the mid-1400s. Most Romanians see Vlad as a hero. He was a very bloody ruler who fought against corruption and against the Turkish invaders.
He got his nickname of “Vlad the Impaler” because he used to impale enemies on wooden sticks. He had practical reasons for doing this. His army was much smaller than the Turks’ – maybe a tenth of their army – and he was trying to find a method to scare them.
He learned this technique in Turkey. He spent part of his childhood – about five years – in Turkey as a hostage. His father was appointed by the Turkish sultan to be the ruler of southern Romania, and the sultan asked the father to send Vlad and Vlad’s brother to Turkey as hostages.
Q. “Dracula” – the novel and the countless movies – makes Transylvania out to be an area of wild forests with wolves. Is the countryside like that?
A. Some parts are covered with woods like you’d find in West Virginia or upstate New York. Romania is home to the largest population of big carnivores in Europe – wolves and bears – probably 50 or 60 percent. But I see no reason to picture Transylvania as a wild, uncivilized part of the world.
Q. What’s the coolest castle?
A. Peles is one of the most beautiful in the world, but technically it is not in Transylvania. It’s about 35 miles south. It was built in the 1880s and is similar to castles you’d tour in Germany.
There’s another that many call “Dracula’s Castle” – Bran, which is in Transylvania. It was built in the mid-1300s and is quite medieval – much simpler than Peles, which has artistic decor, woodwork and so on.
Q. What is Transylvanian food?
A. Pork, beef and chicken are main meats. Pork is the first choice of most people. And there are potatoes, cabbage, carrots and beans. There are a variety of dishes for each area of Romania, but meat-stuffed cabbage leaves is probably most popular.
There are many smoked meats. Every household in small villages still has one or two pigs, which they slaughter during winter, one at Christmas and often one in February. They use old ways to preserve meat by smoking it. They make all kinds of cold cuts from their meat.
Q. Transylvania is in the Carpathian Alps. How’s the skiing?
A. There are a number of good resorts in southern Transylvania; Poiana Brasov may be the best known in Romania. It’s recommended for intermediate and beginner skiers. Skiing is quite popular from the beginning of December to the end of March.
There are four seasons, much like you find in the northeastern United States. The best time for visiting is probably the end of April and the end of October. It’s beautiful in winter, but sometimes we get lots of snow and cold temperatures.
Q. The best souvenir?
A. Anything from small, hand-carved wooden items to textiles. Maybe a woman’s blouse with lots of embroidery on it. Or Romanian pottery, which is richly decorated with flowers, animals or geometric shapes. You can get pottery decorated with images of Vlad, of course.
Q. And how would you say “Trick or treat” in Transylvania?
A. “Ne dati sau o incurcati.” The simple translation of this is, “Treat or you will get in trouble.” That sounds best in Romanian, but the “o incurcati” is a little bit threatening.
“Ne dati sau va pacalim” means, “Treat or we will trick you.”