Transylvania! By Elizabeth Kay
It’s always interesting going to see a place that inspired a book – but to have inspired a whole genre? Consequently, I’m not really sure what I expected from Romania. It wasn’t the axe-throwing (at which I was surprisingly good). It wasn’t the bear hide (Romania has the largest area of unspoilt forest in Europe). It wasn’t the wonderful food, where, however hard we tried, we couldn’t spend more than £20 per head on dinner – including drinks. The beer is really good, so good that I didn’t even get around to trying the wine. The ingredients are mainly organic from the surrounding countryside, and the cheese is exceptional. There are forests here; mountains, storks, swallows, and bears forsaking the reserves and begging for sandwiches at the side of the road… English is widely spoken, and the people are friendly and helpful. But of course, we were there mainly to visit castles. Transylvania is, historically, the north-western province of Romania...