The next we woke up early in Curtea de Arges, intending to see the local cathedral, and get the car back by 11am.

The cathedral was pretty cool- it's the one where the master builder put his wife in the foundation for good luck, then later committed suicide. Right next door was a real church with a funeral going on. That explained the crying people we had seen entering the park, and also served as a reminder for what all the gorgeous churches we always tour are really about.

On our way out of Curtea de Arges, we decided to skip the Poienari Fortress there- some people say it's the "real" Dracula's castle, but we were running late and it has 1484 steps.

We were all pretty bummed, so as we drove, and it became clearer that we were not getting the car back in time anyway, I called the agency and extended our booking half a day. This freed us up for a lovely, leisurely journey. On our way out of town we grabbed two loaves of bread for 1 lei (about 30 cents) from a bakery, hoping we'd find the rest of a nice picnic on the road.

We saw strange buildings and more sweeping vistas. We stopped randomly at what turned out to be a WWI memorial. At the foot of the monument a man was selling homemade cheese and tiny delicious apples, so we bought a rind and 2 kilos of fruit.

We were soon back up in the hills, with the by-now standard breathtakingness. We passed more cheese stands, and then jackpot- a sausage stand. The two carnivores, after careful tasting, got several smoked bear sausages, and a smaller number of smoked elk. We also picked up another kind of cheese and a jar of fresh black honey to keep Tania happy.

Suitably supplied, we picnicked off and on until we arrived at the next Dracula castle- this one in Bran. It's by far the most touristy castle in the area, but we thought we'd check it out briefly. It's certainly picturesque with a cross I liked, but in the end it makes you realize that these castles were actually homes, and imparts very little dracula-ness. The surrounding town was full of vampire nick-nacks, and they probably have some festivities at night.

The last castle we hit was Rasnov Fortress, perched high on a hill above the town. It had a much castlier feel, and was very satisfying. Rasnov, like Brasov, has a Hollywood-style sign that you can get behind. It felt just like LA. The view from the top was pretty stunning, and it looked like there'd be some festivities later, but we had to book. I got in a quick session first with some of the torture devices that seem to litter Eastern Europe.

We raced through more picturesque little villages, carts, etc, to get the car back. Just before the rental lot, a car caught on fire right next to us (that picture is after it was put out), and everybody jumped out with fire extinguishers to help. If you want to see a Romanian car renter freak out, say anything about a car catching on fire without making it clear you don't mean their car.

We said a fond goodbye to our traveling compania, and Tania and I jumped on another sleeper. In a strange twist, the conductor gave up his car to us, and dozed in the hallway. Although we were leaving Romania, the feast we had on board kept the memories fresh as we pulled away.

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