Comments
1 week ago
They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches. He went, but immediately returned with a letter. There was a dog howling all night under my window, which may have had something to do with it; or it may have been the paprika, for I had to drink up all the water in my carafe, and was still thirsty. Being practically on the frontier—for the Borgo Pass leads from it into Bukovina—it has had a very stormy existence, and it certainly shows marks of it. It takes a lot of water, and running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear. It takes a lot of water, and running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear. It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place. This may be so, for when the Magyars conquered the country in the eleventh century they found the Huns settled in it. They are, however, I am told, very harmless and rather wanting in natural self-assertion.
1 week ago
What ought they to be in China. All day long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty of every kind. I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting. Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps of this country as yet to compare with our own Ordnance Survey maps; but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. He went, but immediately returned with a letter. At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire. They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches. On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental band of brigands.
1 week ago
It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. The women looked pretty, except when you got near them, but they were very clumsy about the waist. I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe.
1 week ago
They had all full white sleeves of some kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of course there were petticoats under them. At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe. They had all full white sleeves of some kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of course there were petticoats under them. At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then. In the population of Transylvania there are four distinct nationalities: Saxons in the South, and mixed with them the Wallachs, who are the descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the West, and Szekelys in the East and North. When I came close she bowed and said, “The Herr Englishman?” “Yes,” I said, “Jonathan Harker.” She smiled, and gave some message to an elderly man in white shirt-sleeves, who had followed her to the door. It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains.
1 week ago
On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental band of brigands. I was evidently expected, for when I got near the door I faced a cheery-looking elderly woman in the usual peasant dress—white undergarment with long double apron, front, and back, of coloured stuff fitting almost too tight for modesty. It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place. They are, however, I am told, very harmless and rather wanting in natural self-assertion. When I came close she bowed and said, “The Herr Englishman?” “Yes,” I said, “Jonathan Harker.” She smiled, and gave some message to an elderly man in white shirt-sleeves, who had followed her to the door.
1 week ago
Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then. The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, who were more barbarian than the rest, with their big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all studded over with brass nails. All day long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty of every kind. I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting. It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place. On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental band of brigands. I am going among the latter, who claim to be descended from Attila and the Huns. Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. Being practically on the frontier—for the Borgo Pass leads from it into Bukovina—it has had a very stormy existence, and it certainly shows marks of it.
1 week ago
In the population of Transylvania there are four distinct nationalities: Saxons in the South, and mixed with them the Wallachs, who are the descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the West, and Szekelys in the East and North. I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting. I was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, as there are no maps of this country as yet to compare with our own Ordnance Survey maps; but I found that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then. Sometimes we saw little towns or castles on the top of steep hills such as we see in old missals; sometimes we ran by rivers and streams which seemed from the wide stony margin on each side of them to be subject to great floods.
1 week ago
I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of porridge of maize flour which they said was “mamaliga,” and egg-plant stuffed with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they call “impletata.” (Mem., get recipe for this also.) I had to hurry breakfast, for the train started a little before eight, or rather it ought to have done so, for after rushing to the station at 7:30 I had to sit in the carriage for more than an hour before we began to move. On the stage they would be set down at once as some old Oriental band of brigands. It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place. They are, however, I am told, very harmless and rather wanting in natural self-assertion. In the population of Transylvania there are four distinct nationalities: Saxons in the South, and mixed with them the Wallachs, who are the descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the West, and Szekelys in the East and North.
1 week ago
Some of them were just like the peasants at home or those I saw coming through France and Germany, with short jackets and round hats and home-made trousers; but others were very picturesque. It takes a lot of water, and running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear. I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then. There was a dog howling all night under my window, which may have had something to do with it; or it may have been the paprika, for I had to drink up all the water in my carafe, and was still thirsty. All day long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty of every kind. They are very picturesque, but do not look prepossessing. Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country.
1 week ago
They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches. He went, but immediately returned with a letter. This may be so, for when the Magyars conquered the country in the eleventh century they found the Huns settled in it. It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, who were more barbarian than the rest, with their big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all studded over with brass nails. In the population of Transylvania there are four distinct nationalities: Saxons in the South, and mixed with them the Wallachs, who are the descendants of the Dacians; Magyars in the West, and Szekelys in the East and North. It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains.