Vlad the impaler

Woke to a rat, tat, tat. Craig was up and about, spinning the washing and making up a washing line from tree to tree. By the time I realised what day it was, he’d nearly finished and it was time to go and explore (sorry in advance for all the photo’s but it was fab! click on photo’s to enlarge).

Sighisoara is the village most famous as the birth place of Vlad Tepes, the Impaler or better known as Dracula. So what’s the story behind Vlad? Well, his dad Vlad Dracul became some sort of noble guy in the area, so he sent his two sons to Anatolia as hostages. Nice daddy. Five years later the dad got murdered and the sons were released. But the damage was done, the son’s experience under captivity and exile to brutal and horrid condition left their mark.

Vlad became the ruler of Wallachia and to maintain law enforcement he brought in the death penalty, which mainly resulted in ramming a stake up their jacksey and then standing the stake upright for them to slowly die. Ouch! Later on he went to war with the Turks and impaled 20,000 soldiers. He had a bit of a to do with the Saxon’s, so he fled then came back then he got betrayed and killed at the ripe old age of 45. When they found his body, the head was missing.

Six centuries later lives a far happier community that prosper on Vlad’s ghoulish past. Despite the tacky souvenir stalls the Romanians see Vlad as someone who brought order in a lawless time, a fighter and defender. From the town square life is buzzing as you stop, look up and see a jumbled mess perched on a hill.

Its 16th century architecture is more ramshackle and shabby built on a limestone rock. With brown dull buildings and the odd pastel-coloured house topped with a tangled mass of telephone lines, its streets adorned with satirical political graffiti. Dotted about the city are crumbling walls and damage sustained during the various wars and rebellions. But as you walk up the cobbled alleys through the old town archways things feel a lot different, the town is vibrant and full of colour. Other than Vlad birthplace, the highlight has to be the clock tower with it mechanical figures, its beautiful.

Our Bumble Verdict: Sighisoara is full of history and character from Vlads pad to crumbling shacks and clock towers.

Back to the campsite, washing dry, lunch scoffed and chill time.