Although it is not nearly as cheesy as one might expect, the Hotel Castel Dracula is an important site on the world map of simulacra.* The hotel is a 1980s communist-era theme-hotel, located precisely on the spot where Dracula author Bram Stoker said the Dracula castle was. (Of course, Dracula is an entirely fictional character in an entirely fictional story). (More on this later: Vlad the Impaler was a real historical character, far more horrible than anything Stoker or his numerous successors could imagine). (Although Romanians sometimes claim he has been maligned; he only impaled bad people.) The building itself is hardly what one might expect--just a 1980s hotel/motel--and the Dracula theme is, if anything, understated. We had a large Romanian dinner, enough for two dinners, really, asked about staying overnight in the parking lot, they said sure, and then even gave us the password for the powerful wifi on-site. Life is good. But no water.
Their eagerness in inviting us to stay over has got me wondering. So I am watching The Fearless Vampire Killers again just to make sure I haven't missed anything we might need during the night...garlic strands: check (well, garlic powder); crucifixes: check (improvised); spike and mallet: check (in the tool kit). Extras available in the souvenir stands.
*Look it up
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The Hotel Castel Dracula
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Courtyard
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Wall decor in reception area
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Restaurant place mat; turns out the Dracula cocktail is mostly blue curacao
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Romanian sour pork soup; made Campbell's vegetable soup taste exciting
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My mixed pork and polenta dish; so hearty I'll get two meals out of it
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Vicki's weenie schnitzel and frites
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Bust of Stoker in the parking lot
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Typical souvenir fare, conflating Dracula and Vlad; hey, it works!
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| PS The sun has gone down, and the hotel is now all lit up... |
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