Lucy Mallows

Bratislava Partizans statue, Namestie SNP © LucyMallowsOct2008

Lots of info packed in for weekend getaway
Written by Bob Dent
The Budapest Times
Sunday, 07 June 2009

Bratislava is perhaps not the first destination people in Budapest might think of for a weekend break, but according to Lucy Mallows now is the time to go. In the spring and summer, she says, the city can be “really gorgeous” and from the end of April “out come all the terrace tables and chairs outside the pubs, restaurants and cafés, turning the Old Town into one big open-air café.”

As with her other guides to Transylvania and Slovakia, of which Bratislava is the capital, it is enthusiasm which shines through this work. Slowly but surely you are drawn in by the author’s subtle appreciation of the city, which is barely two hours away from Budapest. Sometimes it is not so subtle. Beer lovers will themselves appreciate her frequent positive comments about the beverage, as well as her useful listing of over a dozen local varieties.

Mallows says that Bratislava packs a vast selection of cultural and leisure attractions into one pocket-sized capital, “with a huge choice of museums, galleries, churches and historic monuments”. It is rather surprising, therefore, that this guide devotes only just over ten per cent of its volume to such attractions. Perhaps more would have been needed, particularly in view of the fact that a fair amount of text covers history, albeit mainly the history of Slovakia and the Slovaks rather than of Bratislava itself.

Down to details

On the other hand, the strength of this work lies in its nature as a practical guide, brimming with information about accommodation possibilities, eating and drinking places, entertainment and shopping, as well as details about public transport, banks, health and safety matters, red tape, local customs and much more. This is the second, revised edition of the work and as it was published earlier this year, we can justifiably assume that the plethora of practical information - opening hours, telephone numbers, websites, etc. - is up to date. There is a wealth of detail here, plus tips and recommendations. A number of clear, colourful maps and a plan of the city’s tram routes are also very useful.

Throughout it is the Old Town’s lively atmosphere which repeatedly comes to the fore in this guide, not so much the historic nature of the place but the “wall-to-wall, eat-out city with cafés, bars, cocktail venues, restaurants, self-service canteens and stand-up buffet stalls” … so many in fact that “you’re totally spoilt”. That’s assuming you can avoid the stag party groups. In recent years Bratislava has become a noted destination for Western European, particularly British, revellers. The feeling this guide gives is that you can avoid them if you want, but should you happen to end up in a hotel with a noisy group, Mallows has a tip for that too - before you go don’t forget to pack some ear-plugs!

Buy the book

Bratislava: City Guide
by Lucy Mallows,
250 pages, illustrated, paperback,
Bradt Travel Guides, 2009

Labels: Bob Dent, book, Bradt, Bratislava, Budapest Times, guidebook, review, Slovakia

Bratislava Hlavne namestie at night © LucyMallowsOct2008

My blog CV was 'deleted' by Blogger for about a month....just when I needed it the most.
I am now back in the blog/cyber world again - yipee - but wondering (in paranoid magyar fashion) whether some nasty person had reported my blog as 'spam'...that would be very unkind, but there are some weird people out there in cyberland.

However, I'm back again.

The Budapest Times recently (Monday 08 June 2009) published a review of my Bradt City Guide to Bratislava, edition 2.
It was written by the great Budapest author Bob Dent, a man famous for his erudite dissections of Magyar history, culture, statues and more.

The link to the Budapest Times is HERE and I hope it opens.
Sometimes, I get a message to say the page won't load because it contains malicious Malware.
Another unpleasant element of the internet universe, but - hey ho - here goes.

Labels: blog, book, Bradt, Bratislava, Budapest Times, media, review, travel guide

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Brasov town hall © LucyMallows2007

Here is an article published in The Independent on Saturday travel supplement (10 January 2009), The Independent Traveller

To see the original, click on:
www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-complete-guide-to-transylvania-1264495.html

The Complete Guide To: Transylvania
There's much more to Dracula's homeland than creepy castles and blood-soaked myths. Lucy Mallows uncovers a region so charming that even Prince Charles has a house there
The Independent, Saturday, 10 January 2009

Transylvania: a real place?
Some people assume Transylvania is an invention of Bram Stoker, ripened by bloodthirsty Hollywood directors. However the "land beyond the forest" – as the Latin name translates – is genuine enough. This region, three times the size of Wales, is located right in the heart of one of the EU's newest members. While the Romans called it Trans-Sylvania, the name is Ardeal in Romanian, Erdely in Hungarian and Siebenburgen in German. The latter translates as "seven fortress towns", and hints at the significance of Saxons shipped in during the 12th century from Flanders and the Moselle Valley to defend the sparsely populated region from repeated invasions.
Those seven towns (Bistrita, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Medias, Sebes, Sibiu and Sighisoara) are great survivors. They emerged relatively unscathed following the brutal years of Ceausescu's communist tyranny from 1965 to 1989 and have since been restored to their former imposing elegance. Any of the seven makes a good base for exploring Transylvania, though Sibiu, Brasov and Cluj-Napoca offer the chance to dine like nobility and sleep in regal surroundings for bargain prices.
Film fans might imagine that Transylvania is a dark, foreboding region filled with mountains, creepy castles on crags, pale-faced nobles with sharp teeth, and a menacing menagerie of wolves, bears and flapping bats. The real Transylvania is more of a daylight fantasy: flower-filled meadows, lost-in-time villages, sun-drenched plains dotted with Saxon churches and castle ruins, and family-friendly ski slopes. This complex and exciting region makes a superb holiday destination.

So no vampires?
Transylvania still pushes the Dracula link, as the tourism bosses seek to get their teeth into the European market. Bran Castle, close to the city of Brasov, is always advertised as "Dracula's Castle", though Vlad the Impaler, the man behind the myth, stayed here only for a few nights. Bran Castle museum (00 40 268 238333; brancastlemuseum.com) opens 9am-4pm daily except Monday in winter, and 9am-6pm daily (Mondays from noon) in summer; admission 12 lei (£3). The castle is ringed with stalls offering Dracula mugs, T-shirts and tea cloths.
There are plenty of other creepy castles where you might imagine the old count flapping his cape and laughing in sinister fashion. The Saxon fortress town of Sighisoara is an essential stop on any tour of Transylvania, Dracula-hunting or otherwise. Sighisoara has a Dracula café, Casa Dracula (00 40 265 771596; Str Cositorarilor 5) within the citadel walls. This has a much-photographed plaque referring to the father of Vlad the Impaler, which reads enticingly "Vlad Dracul". Endless shops proffer vampire tat. For a full-blooded experience, stay at the Dracula Country Club (00 40 265 772211; dracul.ro) located just out of town on the road to Medias. A double will cost you 130 lei (£32), including breakfast.
Another entertaining hotel, the Dracula Castle (00 40 264 316850; huntercastle.ro), is found in the fragrantly named town of Turda. It has bathrooms created from stone grottoes and an over-the-top medieval banqueting hall with gory murals, skeletons and skulls. Doubles cost 204 lei (£51), including breakfast. The castle makes an ideal base for visiting the beautiful Turda gorge and the excellent salt mine (00 40 264 311690) open 9am-3.30pm daily; admission 8 lei (£2).

Favourite fortresses?
Transylvania's beautiful, unspoilt landscape is dotted with imposing medieval castles, elegant palaces, Saxon fortress-churches and crumbling ruins. Visit the magnificent Corvin Castle at Hunedoara (00 40 254 711423) to see an icon of Transylvania. Patrick Leigh Fermor, who travelled through the region on his long walk from France to Turkey, called the castle "fantastic and theatrical". It is next to a communist-era steel factory, but transcends the dour location. It opens 9am-3pm (until 6pm in summer) daily except Monday, admission 6 lei (£1.50).
The chunky Fagaras fortress recalls the 17th-century battles of Transylvanian prince Gabor Bethlen, though in the 1950s the Communists turned it into a prison for dissidents. The restored castle (00 40 268 211862) is now used as a museum and library, opening 8am-4pm daily except Monday from October to April, to 6pm in summer.
In the Prahova Valley, renowed for both wine and skiing (though not at the same time), the sumptuous Peles and Pelisor Palaces were homes to the English-born Queen Marie (1865-1938), who preferred their elegant rooms to the draughty Bran Castle.
Peles Palace (00 40 244 310918; peles.ro) has 170 rooms. It was the first castle in Europe to feature electric lighting, an electric lift and central heating. Peles opens 9am-5pm daily except Monday (Tuesday from 11am), admission 9 lei (£2.25).

And outdoors?
Nature lovers will feel they have stepped into an unspoilt medieval landscape of rolling hills, lush meadows, oak forests and fence-free fields dotted with haystacks. Traditional, wildlife-friendly agriculture makes Transylvania one of the best places for fauna in Europe.
The region has four national parks, two biosphere reserves and three of Romania's five natural parks. Retezat National Park (retezat.ro) protects more than 300 species of flora and 50 species of mammal including brown bear, wolves, lynx, foxes, deer and chamois. The rare monk eagle has been spotted.
Dan Marin, an award-winning guide, leads tours around the gorgeous Piatra Craiulai National Park. "There is a very healthy population of red and roe deer and wild boar," he says. "The variety of habitats – flood plains, river margins, hay meadows, forest hills and high mountains – is home to an impressive number of butterflies, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians." Dan and his wife, Luminita, created a lovely guesthouse, the Transylvanian Wolf House (00 40 744 319708; transylvanianwolf.ro), in the village of Zarnesti. A double room costs €45 per person per night with all meals included, €25 for B&B accommodation. The day walks cost €70 per group, with transport paid separately at a rate of €0.30 per kilometre.
Dan takes visitors bear-tracking, birdwatching and on visits to the local Roma community, while Luminita prepares Romanian and Roma dishes. Some two million Roma (the official name for Gypsies) live in Romania, though the similarity in the names is coincidental. Many Roma communities are based in Transylvania on the outskirts of larger towns.
Transylvania is watered by many rivers, and large lakes provide the venues for sports, fishing and relaxing holidays. The spooky St Anna Lake is the only intact volcanic lake in Europe; nearby are rare peat bogs and sulphur caves. In summer, a tent city grows at the waterside as locals come to swim, go boating and have barbecues on old-fashioned family breaks.

Wintry temptations?
Mountains surround Transylvania. The borders of the region are defined by the swooping crescent-shaped loop of the Carpathians enclosing all but a small stretch in the northwest. Transylvanians love winter sports, and with the arrival of the first snowfall they head for Poiana Brasov, the best-equipped resort in Romania. The slopes suit beginners and intermediates and there are excellent nursery slopes.
Iglu Ski (020-8542 6658; igluski.com) offers seven-night, all-inclusive packages departing London or Manchester from £465. The gigantic Hotel Piatra Mare (00 40 268 262064; piatramare.ro) has every luxury under the sun, while the Vila Zorile (00 40 268 262286; vila-zorile.ro) provided a comfortable base for Nicole Kidman and Jude Law when they were filming Cold Mountain nearby.
South of Brasov, en route to Bucharest, the Prahova Valley holds a clutch of ski resorts. Sinaia, the "Pearl of the Carpathians", boasts a collection of cable cars that sway up to the towering peaks at 2,000m. Busteni is a health resort and gateway to the dramatic Bucegi (bucegipark.ro) mountains and Natural Park, and is filled with houses that wouldn't look out of place in The Addams Family. Meanwhile, Predeal (predeal.ro) is the highest town in Romania, at an elevation of 1,033m.

Some living history?
Head for Saxon villages such as Biertan and Viscri to see a way of life that hasn't changed in centuries. Many Saxons left for Germany in the 1980s under a "cash for countrymen" deal paid for by the Federal Republic. Some, though, such as the Fernolend family, remain in Viscri. Caroline Fernolend now works as director for the Mihai Eminescu Trust (mihaieminescutruest.org.uk) arranging accommodation for visitors in traditional houses in villages such as Viscri, Biertan, Crit and Malancrav. In Malancrav, remaining Saxons hold a "Kronenfest" every July with suitable bacchanalia.

Other places to stay?
How about an heir's house? Prince Charles liked Transylvania so much he bought a property in Viscri, and he is a frequent visitor. The house was sensitively restored by another noble, Count Tibor Kalnoky, and you can book HRH's property through the count's company (00 40 742 202586; transylvaniancastle.com).
At his family seat of Miclosoara, Count Tibor Kalnoky has created a wonderful holiday complex of rooms restored in the tradition of Szekely (Transylvanian Hungarians). Guests spend the day birdwatching or visiting caves, waterfalls, fortress churches and historic cities, then taste delicious Hungarian cuisine under an arbour in the garden. In winter, the 17th-century wine cellar is at guests' disposal by a roaring fire.
For yet more noble nights, aim for Zabola. Countess Mikes returned here after decades in exile. Her sons Gregor and Alexander work on rebuilding the estate and its many buildings. Gregor's wife, Zsolna, converted the interior of the Machine House into an elegant boutique hotel (00 40 267 375547; zabola.com) in traditional surroundings.
Brasov, Targu-Mures, Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu offer urban comforts and sophisticated hotels. But to get a taste of Transylvania it is better to stay in a village and watch the evening cow parade or the regular traffic of oxen-pulled carts, wandering wild horses and trailers piled high with hay.
At Rosia Montana, in Transylvania's gold-mining country, a Belgian woman named Françoise Heidebroek has restored a farmhouse, Ursita Inn (00 40 723 230790; ursita.ro), where visitors can bathe in mountain streams and mingle with the ethnic Moti shepherds in the village.

Transylvania survival kit
Getting there
The only direct flights from the UK to Transylvania are on Wizz Air (00 48 22 351 9499; wizzair.com), between Luton and Cluj-Napoca. Otherwise, the best route is to Bucharest's Otopeni airport from Heathrow on British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) or Tarom (020-7224 3693; tarom.ro). Budapest is another possible gateway, with a fine train ride into the heart of Transylvania.

Getting around
Rail services are the cheapest in Europe, and reasonably efficient if not exactly express; see infofer.ro for times and fares. Buses and minibuses ("maxi-taxis") cover the region; schedules are patchy.
A hire car is a tempting option, though road surfaces and local driving skills are erratic. A home-grown Dacia Logan (sometimes advertised as a "Renault Logan") understands the potholed roads like a local horse. Cars4Rent (00 40 72 334 7192; cars4rent.ro) delivers to the airports and all over Transylvania.

Eating
Transylvanian cuisine is hearty peasant fare, ideal after a day's hike. Pork is king. Sarmale are cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with spiced meat; mici are grilled meatballs. The substantial national dish, mamaliga, is cornmeal mixed with tangy sheep's cheese. For vegetarians there is zacusca (a ratatouille-esque spread on home-made bread) and salata de vinete, a fabulous aubergine paste.

Drinking
The beefy red wines from the Prahova Valley complement the hearty dishes. The best beer comes from Miercurea-Ciuc and is known in Hungarian as a Csiki sor (pronounced 'cheeky sure').

More information?
The Romanian Tourist Office in London (020-7224 3692; visitromania.com) is a good source of information for potential visitors, as is Lucy Mallows's Transylvania: the Bradt Guide (£14.99)

Sink your teeth into the real Dracula
The Irish author Bram Stoker never actually set foot in Transylvania, and he claimed that Dracula, published in 1897 was "born of a nightmare following a supper of dressed crab". However, the man he used for inspiration, Vlad III Tepes (pictured left), was a real 15th-century villain whose deeds were even more dastardly than those of the vampire count.
Vlad III Tepes was born in Sighisoara, the Transylvanian town, but spent much of his life in the region of Wallachia to the south, where he was a voivode (prince). Tepes helped to keep the Ottoman army at bay but he was ruthless with his own people. He earned the nickname Tepes ("Impaler") through his preferred method of dispatching his enemies. He liked to bind victims spread-eagled then hammer a stake through the poor soul's rectum as far as the shoulder.
The prince was killed in 1476 in battle against the Ottomans near Bucharest. Legend tells how his decapitated head was preserved in honey and taken to Constantinople as proof of death for the sultan. Vlad's headless body was reportedly buried at a monastery on Snagov Island, in the middle of a lake 36km north of Bucharest, although many doubt he lies there.

ATTILA'S DESCENDANTS
Separated from their mother country by vast swathes of deserted countryside, the 700,000 Hungarian-speaking Szekely people live mostly in Transylvania's eastern counties: Covasna, Harghita and Mures. They claim to be descended from Attila's Huns. In Stoker's Dracula, the Count is a Szekely and tells Jonathan Harker "Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things".
Szekely villages can often be identified by the beautiful carved gates guarding each yard and occasionally on the road leading into a village. The picturesque road between Odorheiu Secuiesc (Szekelyudvarhely in Hungarian) and Miercurea-Ciuc (Csikszereda) has some good examples. A slight detour to the pottery-crazy village of Corund will satisfy all ceramic cravings.
The Kalotaszeg region near Cluj-Napoca comprises 40 villages inhabited almost exclusively by Hungarians. Old people wear traditional costumes on Sundays and travel by horse and cart as life continues barely touched by the trappings of the 20th century.
The Hungarian composers Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály drew inspiration from the rich tradition of folk melodies found here. In Sancraiu (Kalotaszentkiraly), visitors can stay in the guesthouse (00 40 264 257580; davincze.ro) belonging to local Istvan Vincze-Kecskes.
Many people nominate Rimetea (Torocko) as the most beautiful Hungarian village in all Romania. The collection of white houses set in rows nestles in the shadow of the mystical Szekely Stone, a looming 1,129m-high outcrop.

Labels: accommodation, drinking, eating, Europe, holiday, Independent, LucyMallows, Romania, sports, tourism, Transylvania, travel

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Labels: Flickr, Lucy Mallows, photographer, photos

St Catherine's Gate, Brasov ©LucyMallows2007

Press release from www.travel-media.co.uk

Transylvania
FIRST EDITION

Too fast the year has turned a corner, aquaplaning on puddles of a British summer’s liquid sunshine – Halloween is almost upon us. In Chalfont St Peter the crepuscular rays of dwindling daylight search deep into the Bradt offices. A nearby murder of crows is disturbed, breaking the evening’s tranquillity in raucous flight. In the furthest recesses of a basement storeroom something ancient is awakened - Transylvania lives...

Transylvania has paid an economically expedient homage to Bram Stoker’s Dracula for many years. Rocky Horror’s Dr Frank N Furter, the ‘sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania’ added a later twist, though not one known to have had local origins. Tourists by the busload, lured by macabre gothic tales, have fallen on the stories of Vlad III Ţepeş ‘The Impaler,’ ensuring the legend’s immortality. However, Bradt’s Transylvania sheds a withering light on vampiric myth – Vlad’s penchant for puncturing was it seems indulged elsewhere. Much more shockingly, the book discovers a far darker secret – the disturbing phenomena of those twin Transylvanian songstresses, The Cheeky Girls…
The reality of Transylvania is a vast area, almost 58,000 square kilometres, occupying the heart of post Ceauşescu Romania. Here, vast swathes of countryside unafflicted by the brutal homogeneity of agribusiness, where horse-drawn carts are very often the only transport, preserve traditional lifestyles and indigenous wildlife lost to more intensively cultivated regions. As author Lucy Mallows reports, ‘Transylvania is the perfect escape from the hectic, stressed-out Western world. It’s impossible to rush. The region is very affordable and getting easier to navigate. Local cuisine is delicious, hearty peasant fare, fruit and vegetables often organic and locally produced.’ Mallows expands to cover eco-tourism, bear, wolf and lynx tracking together with birdwatching, hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Elsewhere, she describes a landscape strewn with medieval cities, hidden Saxon villages, romantic palaces, rocky ruins and imposing fortresses. Transylvania offers a window onto a Europe that’s long been exorcised out of existence further west, and your name doesn’t have to be Professor Van Helsing or Buffy the Vampire Slayer to brave a visit.

Lucy Mallows is an expert on central European culture, architecture, politics and history. Her links with Transylvania date from the late 1980s when she worked as a volunteer with Operation Romanian Villages, a campaign to save settlements from demolition during the Ceauşescu regime. She is also author of Bradt’s Slovakia and Bratislava.

For review copies contact Travel Media – 01830 540 440 or info@travel-media.co.uk
Title: Transylvania Author: Lucy Mallows
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides Publication: September 2008
Price: £14.99 ISBN: 978 1 84162 230 9

Bradt Travel Guides
01753 893 444
info@bradtguides.com
www.bradtguides.com


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Labels: author, Bradt, guide, Hungary, new guide book, press, Romania, Transylvania, travel

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The Bradt City Guide to Bratislava
By Lucy Mallows
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 2Rev Ed edition (15 Dec 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 184162229X
ISBN-13: 978-1841622293

Labels: accommodation, Bradt, Bratislava, city, drinking, eating, guide, guidebook, travel, vacaction

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Richis, Transylvania, Romania ©LucyMallows2007.

Labels: guide, life, photography, Romania, rural, tradition, Transylvania, travel, village