Tag: Bran Castle

The Best Posts of 2024 – A Year of Hidden Gems

2024 was an interesting year where I only traveled to eight different countries, four of which I had never been in before. I also hit the fiftieth country I have visited this year, and after all of the travel I have done, it is getting harder to find those places where I have never been before. Still, the new countries I went to, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, and Romania, are not the ones that many people put on their lists for travel. I found that they were some of the best traveling experiences I have had in a long time due the fact that the places were not overrun with tourists, and I was able to find some spectacular hidden gems out there. The interests of some of these sparked my readers’ interests as well, especially the country of Georgia, because this was the best year I have seen for this little blog that I write, and I appreciate that all of you come to visit to see what I am up to in this world.

Enough talking, here is the list of the most popular posts I wrote this year:

10. The Next Big Thing – Tbilisi, Georgia

This is the first appearance of the country of Georgia on this list, and it is not the last. My exploration of this country on the Baltic Sea captured the imagination of my audience throughout the year even though I was only there for a couple of weeks early in the Summer. It is not a place that is on the usual destination route for many Americans, but after being there, I think that this might change. The capital, Tbilisi is a great undiscovered city that I can see becoming the next big city that people will flock to. I loved the blend of the European feel with the old relics lingering around from the Soviet era. There is a reason that this country will appear on this list a couple more times.

9. Wadi Rum – A Photographer’s Paradise

Wadi Rum has gained in popularity over the years, but because of all of the unrest that is happening in the Middle East right now, it is not getting the tourists that it used to have. This means that the place is quieter, and it makes it feel like you are the only one there as you get explore the amazing landscapes. It was the second time I have made it to my favorite place in Jordan, and I am also amazed at the pictures I am able to get while there. It will only be a matter of time before people once again make there way out there to see its beauty.

8. Sighnaghi, Georgia

This is the second time that Georgia will appear on this list, and it will not be the last. Sighnaghi is not as big of a town as Tbilisi is, but it is one of the must-sees if visiting this country. This is the wine country of Georgia, and they are known as the place where wine originated. They still produce it the same way they did over 8,000 years ago in huge clay pots that are buried under the ground, and there are numerous wineries in this region that allow you to go and try out the unique blend that can only be found here. It was one of the more memorable parts of this trip and I can see why the post connected with the crowd.

7. A Day Trip to Armenia

Officially this is a different country than Georgia, but it was a day trip that I took while staying in Tbilisi. It was part of a day tour that took us through the majestic mountains of this country to explore its many monasteries. It was a great way to spend the day, and the landscapes out there were breath-taking. I also had fun getting to know the variety of people on the tour. They had come from all corners of the world with different beliefs, and ideologies, yet we were all willing to share in the beauty of the day.

6. Columbia Gorge Hotel – Hood River, Oregon

I was able to spend my wedding anniversary in Hood River in Oregon. It is a touristy town in the Columbia Gorge area that attracts many people who enjoy windsurfing. The town also boasts one of the oldest hotels in the state, the Columbia Gorge Hotel. We spent the night here, and enjoyed the accommodations. It was fun to take a little trip back in time while enjoying the landscape of the Gorge.

5. Gergeti Trinity Church – Kazbegi, Georgia

Yes, we are back in Georgia. This time we traveled to the border for the mountain town of Kazbegi. I remember taking this picture and saying, “I can see Russia from here”, and yes, we were that close. This post does not surprise me about its popularity. It talks about how to find the hiking trail that will take people up to the small church that sits on the peak of one of the mountains. This was one of my favorite days of the year taking this hike and staying in this small mountain town. I am glad that it was one of the bigger posts from the year as well.

4. The Foodie Tour – Bratislava, Slovakia

This was another one of my favorite days of the year, and also one that we had stumbled upon. Because of the recent turmoil in the Middle East, it had been difficult to find a quick flight to any place in Europe. Ryan Air had just about left the region, and the prices of air fare had grown a lot. We were able to find a cheap flight to Vienna, and we flew there to take a short bus ride to the town of Bratislava. We spent a long weekend in this small European town, and spent one of those days stopping at the various restaurants in town and having a drink and a small bite to eat. It was a great way to spend a day, and I would love to do it again in other small towns I get to visit.

3. Peles Castle versus Bran Castle – Transylvania, Romania

I was able to travel to other place other than Georgia this year, and another place I enjoyed was Transylvania in Romania. I did go to two of the bigger tourist sights, Bran Castle and Peles Castle, while I was there, and I did a quick comparison of these bigger attractions. Both of them were fun to go to, but they both had their own vibe and reason for going there. Many people found this post helpful as they made plans to make it out there on their own.

2. The Chronicles of Georgia

One of the strangest places I went to over the past year was also in Georgia. The Chronicles of Georgia is on the outskirts of the city of Tbilisi, and overlook the people as they move about their daily lives. It is actually a relatively newer structure that hints back to the days of Soviet occupation as it tells the history of the Georgian people. It was never finished, but there is enough going on in the carvings on the stone that it easy to spend half a day here looking at all it has to offer.

1. Arkham Horror, The Card Game – A Review

This is the post that surprised me the most this year. I have been writing board game reviews on the side ever since I got back into the hobby during the pandemic. Some of them have done well, but I never expected anything big to come out of it. I got this game because I knew I was going to have some time where I would be by myself and could play it alone. I really enjoyed the game, and posted the review. Apparently it is a game that many people are interested in because this was the post that is constantly being clicked on. It easily became the biggest post of the year, and has inspired me to write more board game reviews in the future.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The following post also had a lot of traffic, but they were written in previous years.

A Quick Tuk Tuk Ride – Chennai, India

The Basilica Cistern – Istanbul, Turkey

The Dead Sea, Jordan – The Salt Flats

The Best Short Stories

Blue Wine – Cyprus

Wingspan versus Everdell

Denver International Airport – It is still weird

The Bat Cave – Railay, Thailand

Happy Campers vs. Go Campers – Iceland by Camper Van

Peles Castle versus Bran Castle – Transylvania, Romania

Transylvania is known for one creature that stalks our nightmares, Count Dracula, and it is the main reason that people come to visit. The good people of Romania play this up, and it is hard to find a place where the inspiration for this legend, Vlad the Impaler, does not show up somewhere. It makes for a great place to visit during Halloween, and many people who come out to Transylvania make sure that they tour the place where Vlad ruled from, Bran Castle, but is that the best castle to check out?

There is another place that brings many people to visit as well, Peles Castle. It is a more modern take on the medieval masterpieces with this one being built in the late 1800’s, and early 1900’s. It still has the feel of a fortress that could hold back the invading hordes, but it comes with modern conveniences such as running water and toilets. Both of the places housed the royalty of Romania, but are both worth the visit? If you came out to Transylvania and you only had time to go and see one of them, which one should you go? Well, that is the question I will be answering for you today.

There is a stark contrast between the two places. Peles Castle still has the feel of a large sprawling building with many twists and turns with secrets and ghosts hiding around each corner. However, the castle has a lot of the modern conveniences that would make living there very easy. The only problem is that there is so much money that has been put into the place that there is no possible way that only but a select handful of people could ever think about living in a place like this.

Each room showcases the amount of money that King Carol I had when he had the place built. The walls are covered in expensive paintings, specially designed leather wallpaper, and intricately carved wood. I would have spent more time looking at the walls if it wasn’t for all the furniture that was also supplied in the place, each one handcrafted to fit into the room where it now resides.

The pieces don’t only come from Romania either. King Carol I lived during a time where international travel was starting to become more of a thing for people in power, and he took full advantage of that fact. He not only traveled all over Europe, but spent a lot of time in the far eastern part of Asia. There are many art pieces that come from India, China, and Japan that help to decorate this place, and though they come from all over the world, they never feel out of place in this palace.

If the interior of Peles Castle is not enough to enjoy, taking a stroll out on its massive grounds is also worth the visit. Right next to the castle there are manicured gardens that have spots where you can sit down and enjoy the day. Beyond this are forest paths that can take you to the town down below. It is a beautiful walk on a fall day, and there are stalls set up along it where merchants sell their own handcrafted art, or the typical souvenir. It is an impressive place to visit though there can be crowds that will cause some delay to get in to see what the place has to offer.

Bran Castle also has large crowds that go and see it every day. However, it is dramatically different. The most obvious is the connection that the place has to the famous horror character, Count Dracula. He did not live in this castle, but the inspiration for the character, Vlad the Impaler did, and they play that up at any opportunity they can. It is a little bit campy, but when you are out here during the month of October, a little bit of camp can be fun.

It is an older castle, built in the 14th century, and it does not hold the modern conveniences that Peles Castle does. The rooms are also simple compared to the other castle, but it still offers a feeling like people could have actually lived in a place like this, as opposed to Peles Castle where everything is so extravagant that it is hard to believe that anyone ever lived like that.

The furniture is also not nearly as elegant, but then again, it comes from a time when even royalty looked more to practicality rather than showiness. It would still have been greater than anything that could have been found in a house from the locals living off of the land, and its durability highlights how something like this could have lasted throughout the centuries.

Its grounds are not as immense, but it is situated in a hilly part of Transylvania where the views from the windows are spectacular. If would offer a simpler kind of lifestyle, but it would still be elaborate enough to know that you are in the house of royalty.

All in all, both places are great to visit. Peles Castle is a little more memorable because of how extravagant everything is there, but that does not mean that Bran Castle does not have a lot to offer. It basically comes down to whether you are really into the vampire legends or not. If this is your thing than you will really enjoy the camp of Bran Castle over Peles. My biggest suggestion would be to plan for a long enough trip where you could visit both of them because they are both worth it.

Until next time, go out there and see as much of the world as possible.