Patricia Furstenberg, Author of Historical Fiction, Kids Books
Travel Through Stories
These are indeed true stories of 13 scary, eerie places you can visit in Transylvania or nearby, and immediately read about them in my latest book, Dreamland.
Visit them here with me. Too scary for you? I’ll hold your hand!
Continue reading “13 Scary Places from Transylvania to Read About in Dreamland Now”
Today we’ll be travelling from mountain top to sea side celebrating Thursday Doors and stories of 2021. I found it difficult to choose a handful of doors, but here are the ones that stuck to my heart…
Continue reading “Travelling from Mountain top to Sea side, Doors and Stories #Im4Ro”
Strolling uphill from Rucăr to Bran is like walking through a dream-like space among villages lost in time, and under the watchful eye of millennial Bucegi – Leaota mountains on one side, and the spectacular Piatra Craiului, Prince’s Stone (like a sleeping dragon covered with a blanket of clouds) and Iezer on the other.
Rucăr is located in Arges County, the historical province of Wallachia, while Rucăr-Bran Pass and Bran Castle are located in neighboring Brasov County, in the historical province of Transylvania.
Yet the beauty of the natural passthat winds uphill from Rucăr, through a mountain corridor, to finally reach Bran Castle lies not only in the nature surrounding it, or in the history trapped underfoot, but also in the memories it carries.
Continue reading “Rucăr Bran Corridor, Romantic, Beautiful, Charming, Historical Uphill #Im4Ro”
A reader’s literary comparison between Bram Stoker’s Gothic character Dracula and Wallachian Voivode Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula.
I was reading through the notes Bram Stoker made prior to writing his gothic Dracula novel – the originals should be in Rosenbach Museum & Library of Philadelphia. Like many of you, I know that the opinions are divided between scholars and fans who believe that Stoker used Vlad the Impaler as his inspiration for Dracula, and those who do not.
If my scientific background taught me anything, is to research and draw my own conclusions. So here we go, looking at Bram Stoker’s notes and at how he portrayed his literary character Count Dracula and comparing them to what historical documents and sources tell us about Vlad the Impaler the man, aka Vlad Dracula, Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia.
Continue reading “A New Literary Comparison, Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Vlad the Impaler”
Bran Castle, Romania, inaugurated an unique Time Tunnel, a museum that comes to life, but unless you’re obsessed with the history of Romania it will help to know beforehand what is each exhibit’s connection with Bran Castle. So here’s all you need to know before visiting the Time Tunnel at Bran – or a virtual one.
Continue reading “Bran Castle, Time Tunnel Explained, All You Need to Know #Im4Ro”