When last we talked your hero had faced Tudor Castles without regular evening beheadings, but it was nothing compared to what he faced in Transylvania – brilliant Fall colors, a private dinner with Vlad the Impaler himself, & exquisite food & wine aboard the luxurious Golden Eagle train. This is the same company that runs the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The owner was along on this trip as he is looking to fill the gap currently created by the war on Ukraine.
Enough silliness, I picked up 3 new countries & I’d like to give some of my thoughts on each country:
- Istanbul, Türkiye – my 2nd visit here & unfortunately did not have time to venture out to more of the city.
- Bulgaria – the terrain & flora reminded me very much of my days in Dalton, GA & Massachusetts. It was mountainous with colorful trees. The architecture of all these countries spans eras from the Roman times to the present.
- Romania – of course we were here for Halloween & one would be leaving money on the table if one were to ignore the legends from Transylvania & Wallachia, but this was the main intersection from Türkiye to Europe & was a huge focus for control by the Muslims & Eastern & Western Christians. Our private dinner at Bran Castle (the touristic Dracula’s Castle) with Vlad Țepeș himself was lots of fun.
- Hungary – Budapest is lovely & we saw some nice local events outside of the city.
- Slovakia – this was my 2nd time to Slovakia, but my first spending time in Bratislava. Judging from the number of pictures taken, this was my favorite place.
- Austria – this was my 2nd time to Vienna this year. I did manage to visit the Belvedere which was completely new to me.
Okay, so on to the pictures:
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