by Nick Boulos

Three minutes to midnight， and the train finally slowed to a stop.

Darkness pressed at the window and a chill whipped through the carriage. I emerged onto the platform as the handful of other passengers hurried away， figures slipping into the shadows.

It seemed an appropriate way to arrive in 1）Transylvania： land of vampires， 2）spooky castles and tall tales in the northwest of Romania. Walking to my hotel in the 3）medieval town of Sighisoara， its fortified walls and 4）crooked streets illuminated by twinkly lanterns， it seemed I had stepped into the pages of Bram Stockers chilling classic， Dracula.

But， reader， I had nothing to fear. My guide Andrea， who met me the next morning for a tour of Sighisoaras 12th century 5）citadel， was 6）chirpy and not in the least bit vampish.

The town—located 300km north of the capital 7）Bucharest—has gone down in history as the birthplace of Dracula. Or rather the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler， on whom Bram Stokers 8）protagonist， a Count with“peculiarly sharp and protruding teeth” is based.

A bloodthirsty individual， Vlad earned his gruesome nickname from his 9）penchant for 10）gory capital punishment. Ill spare you the details.

Beside the tall clocktower， we lingered outside a house with a white 11）plaque on its mustard yellow facade. “This is where he was born，” said Andrea. Today， it is a soulless restaurant serving tourists a dedicated Dracula menu of tomato soup and pork 12）medallions with garlic sauce.

Despite having never visited himself， Bram Stokers tale of Dracula—celebrating its 115th anniversary last year—put Transylvania on the map.

But not everyone is happy about this. “Why are we famous for that when we have so much real history？” one disgruntled local woman told me. “Dracula is always the first thing people think of when they hear Im from Transylvania，” she continued. “I always say， ‘Yes， Im his wife！”

From Sighisoara， we ventured into rural Transylvania， where the flatlands are dotted with ancient oak forests， abandoned castles and quiet 13）Saxon villages untouched by the modern world. Driving on unpaved roads， we pass children being pushed along in a wheelbarrow and gossiping old ladies in headscarves and moth-eaten 14）cardigans.

The Saxons settled here in the 12th century， but their heritage was almost wiped out completely after the Second World War. Thousands of villages were destroyed and locals sent to the cities to work in factories.

Around 250 villages remain， many lovingly restored by the Mihai Eminescu Trust， a local charity dedicated to their conservation. The trust has earned support from Prince Charles， who visits regularly and even owns a house in nearby Viscri.

Sweeping through valleys that glowed with autumnal colours， we arrived at one of Transylvanias most 15）idyllic spots. Dissected by a shallow stream bordered with weeping willows， Malancrav is a sleepy village of manor houses and apple orchards， and home to families of farmers and weavers.

Its main road is lined with traditional houses； each long and colourfully painted with 16）terracottatiled 17）gabled roofs and arched wooden gates wide enough to accommodate horse drawn carts—the preferred mode of transport around here.

Having admired the 18）frescoes inside the 14th century fortified church， we emerged in the 19）throes of Malancravs rush hour. After a hard days grazing， dozens of cows strolled down the street heading instinctively towards their own barns.

Inside one， farmer Nelu was hard at work. Sat on a low stall， he milked Dragana， his prized water buffalo， who eyed us suspiciously. Offering me a cup of her freshly extracted and frothy milk， Nelu spoke of life in Malancrav. “Time flows differently here and we value different things. Nothing is more important than family and nature，” he said.

The next morning， I travelled further south towards the buzzy city of Brasov—complete with its own hillside version of the Hollywood sign. Undulating hills backed by the Carpathian Mountains—the peaks that encircle Transylvania， where wolves roam freely—accompanied our journey.

My thoughts turned to the angry howls so vividly described by Stoker.

With my guide Peter， I headed for iconic Bran Castle. Built in the 1300s， and rising 60m from a bed of lush trees， the fortress of white walls topped with old Romanian style 20）turrets， cylindrical towers and crumbling 21）battlements has been dubbed “Draculas Castle” for its passing resemblance to the Counts abode.

This clever piece of marketing has put Bran firmly on the tourist trail and the surrounding streets permanently celebrate Halloween. People stroll around in black capes and the Skeleton Tavern provides the refreshments.

The real story of the castle， however， is more interesting than any fiction.

Destroyed by the Mongols and rebuilt as a stronghold against the Ottomans， it was later transformed into a home fit for royalty in 1920， when Queen Marie moved in. Now， its open for business.

I roamed endless rooms， fitted with old furniture to give an impression of the castles days as a royal residence， climbed the creaking secret staircases and savoured the rooftop views of the Moeciu Valley and Bucegi Mountains.“Queen Marie fell in love with this place， the landscapes and the people，” said Peter. No wonder.

離午夜還差三分鐘，火車終于減速緩緩駛?cè)胍粋€車站。

黑暗壓迫著車窗，一絲寒意襲過車廂。我現(xiàn)身于站臺上，像其他少數(shù)幾個行色匆匆的乘客一樣，身影悄悄融入暗影之中。

這樣似乎才是進(jìn)入特蘭西瓦尼亞的恰當(dāng)方式：這片土地充滿了吸血鬼、陰森的城堡，以及羅馬尼亞西北部的奇聞怪事。在中世紀(jì)小城錫吉索拉步行至酒店，閃爍的街燈照亮了堅實的城墻和蜿蜒的街巷，我似乎已步入了布萊姆·斯托克的經(jīng)典恐怖小說《德庫拉》的書頁里。

但是，讀者啊，我無所畏懼。第二天清早，我的向?qū)О驳吕飦喤c我會面，帶我游覽錫吉索拉城建于12世紀(jì)的城堡。這個活潑的姑娘可是一點兒都不像吸血鬼。

這座小城——位于羅馬尼亞首都布加勒斯特以北300公里處——作為德庫拉的故鄉(xiāng)，或者更確切地說，作為“穿刺公”弗拉德的故鄉(xiāng)而被載入史籍。布萊姆·斯托克的主人公德庫拉，一位“有著特別鋒利且突出的牙齒”的伯爵，便是基于弗拉德為原型而創(chuàng)作的。

作為一個嗜血成性的人，弗拉德獲得他那可怕的綽號全因其對血淋淋的死刑的酷愛。我就不談細(xì)節(jié)了。

在高大的鐘樓旁邊，我們在一所外墻暗黃并且鑲有白色紋章的房子外徘徊?！斑@里便是他出生的地方?！卑驳吕飦喺f。如今，它不過是一間呆板乏味的餐館，為游客們供應(yīng)一份由番茄湯和蒜汁豬肉片組成的德庫拉吸血鬼套餐。

盡管布萊姆·斯托克從未親身來過這里，但他的德庫拉傳說——去年慶祝了其出版115年——卻使得特蘭西瓦尼亞聲名遠(yuǎn)播。

然而并非每個人都為此而感到高興。“我們有著那么豐富的真實歷史，但為何偏偏因為那個傳說而出名呢？”一名怏怏的當(dāng)?shù)嘏訉ξ艺f道?！爱?dāng)人們聽說我來自于特蘭西瓦尼亞時，第一個想到的永遠(yuǎn)都是德庫拉，”她繼續(xù)說道?！拔铱偸钦f，‘是啊，我就是他老婆！”

我們從錫吉索拉進(jìn)入特蘭西瓦尼亞的郊區(qū)進(jìn)行冒險之旅，那里的平原上遍布著古老的橡樹林、廢棄的城堡和未受現(xiàn)代世界沾染的寧靜的撒克遜小村莊。行駛在沒有鋪柏油的路上，我們與坐在獨輪車?yán)锉煌浦靶械暮⑼?，戴著頭巾、穿著有蛀洞的羊毛衫正在嘰喳聊天的老婦們擦身而過。

撒克遜人于12世紀(jì)定居于此，但在二戰(zhàn)后，他們的村落幾乎被夷為平地。上萬的村莊被摧毀，當(dāng)?shù)厝藙t被送往城市的工廠做工。

大約有250個村莊得以保留，不少村莊是受益于米哈伊·艾米內(nèi)斯庫信托基金會才得以悉心修復(fù)。這個基金會是當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患掖壬茩C(jī)構(gòu)，致力于保存這些村莊。此機(jī)構(gòu)還得到了查爾斯王子的資助，他會定期訪問此地，甚至還在鄰近的威斯克里擁有一處住宅。

我們疾馳過綻放著秋日繽紛色彩的山谷，來到了特蘭西瓦尼亞最具田園風(fēng)光的景點之一。一道淺淺的溪流穿過村莊，兩旁垂柳依依，馬蘭克拉維是一個寧靜的小村莊，里面有著莊園宅邸、蘋果園，還有農(nóng)民和織工的家庭住房。

主干道的兩邊排列著傳統(tǒng)的房屋，長長的房子外墻刷著繽紛的色彩，人字形屋頂上鋪著陶瓦，寬大的木質(zhì)拱門則能容得下由馬匹拖拉的馬車通過——這是當(dāng)?shù)厝俗钕矚g的運輸方式。

在欣賞完那座建于14世紀(jì)的防御型教堂內(nèi)的壁畫后，我們遇上了馬蘭克拉維痛苦的高峰時段。在一天辛苦的放牧結(jié)束后，大批的牛群信步走過街道，本能地徑直朝著各自的牛棚而去。

在一個牛棚里，農(nóng)夫尼魯正在辛勤勞作。他坐在低矮的畜欄里，為他視為珍寶的水牛德加娜擠奶，而水牛卻滿腹狐疑地打量著我們。尼魯遞給我一杯剛擠出的還泛著泡沫的牛奶，并說起了馬蘭克拉維的生活?！霸谶@里，時間的流逝方式與眾不同，而我們也珍視著不同的事物。沒有什么比家庭和自然更加重要，”他說。

第二天一早，我一路向南往更遠(yuǎn)處走去，來到了喧鬧的城市布拉索夫——這里的山邊也有著如同好萊塢一樣的巨大標(biāo)志。連綿起伏的山丘背后便是喀爾巴阡山脈——山峰環(huán)繞著特蘭西瓦尼亞，野狼在這里自由散步——伴隨著我們的整個旅程。

我不由得想起了被斯托克描述得如此生動形象的狼群怒嚎。

我跟著向?qū)П说靡黄鹣蛑鴺?biāo)志性的布蘭城堡進(jìn)發(fā)。建成于14世紀(jì)，聳立于茂密的叢林之中，這座高達(dá)60米的白墻城堡樓頂高聳著羅馬尼亞舊式的炮塔、圓柱形的塔樓和漸已坍塌的城垛。因其曾經(jīng)酷似小說中那位伯爵的住所，這個堡壘曾被稱為“德庫拉的城堡”。

這一聰明的營銷手段使得布蘭城堡成為了游客們的必經(jīng)之地，而其周邊的街道如同永不落幕的萬圣節(jié)歡慶之地。人們身著黑色斗篷漫步于街頭，而“骷髏酒館”則提供飲品點心。

但是，這座城堡的真實故事遠(yuǎn)比任何杜撰的作品更為引人入勝。

它曾被蒙古人摧毀，其后又被重建為抵御土耳其人的要塞，之后在1920年當(dāng)瑪麗皇后遷居于此時，它又變成了一處皇室住所。如今，它成為景點對外開放。

我漫游在無窮無盡的房間里，里面擺滿了老式的家具，以重現(xiàn)城堡作為皇室住所時的景象。我爬上嘎吱作響的秘密樓梯，在屋頂欣賞莫爾丘山谷和布切吉山脈的美景?！艾旣惢屎髳凵狭诉@個地方、這片景色以及這里的人，”彼得說。這點毫無疑問。