Romania - The Bear Necessities

On Saturday morning we visited the Libearty Bear Sanctuary. Home to over 120 brown bears, it is the largest brown bear sanctuary in the world. We were fortunate enough to enjoy the 10.45am tour which meant that we got the chance to see the bears scoffing their elevensies; a melange of fruit and bread products (I watched one of the bears make off with a giant pretsel in it's mouth - it was hilarious!)

The tour involves a gentle stroll around the sanctuary with a storyteller guide who gives you the low down on some of the residents of this beautiful reserve and what their lives were like before they were rescued.

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All the bears had suffered a life of torture and abuse: the stories that the guide recounted were nothing short of harrowing with the bears being basically abused for money. Thankfully the Libearty Bear sanctuary has been able to offer a home to many of these magnificent creatures, none of whom deserved the raw deal that they suffered for years and years. The entrance fee helps to keep the sanctuary going and I highly recommend a visit to this little piece of bear-heaven🐻

The afternoon was spent visiting Bran Castle, the inspiration for Count Dracula's castle in Bram Stokers gothic novel.

The castle welcome half a million visitors a year and to be honest, it felt like half of that five-hundred thousand were there on Saturday afternoon, which made it extremely difficult to soak up the surroundings and wander through the rooms.

There are quite a few exhibits and some heavy wooden pieces of furniture but I expected a bit more of a gothic vibe and it felt like I was mooching around (yet another) stately home.

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