Dracula Tour Report Day 1: The Adventure Begins

As I have mentioned previously, I am writing up a report of the tour I took of Transylvania over the next week or so. Today's entry is the introduction and day 1. If you are interested in the tour, you can learn more about it at Dractours.com.

Introduction:

It was a dark and stormy night…Ok, not really. It was mostly sunny and warm. But despite the great weather, the 2005 Dracula Tour was a huge success. With 69 (insert joke here, Radu) unsuspecting victims traveling to a place most of us only dream about, the only possible result was more fun than any of us had ever imagined. If you are reading this tour report and trying to decide if you should go on a future Dracula tour, ask yourself these questions: 1) Do you have any interest in Vlad Tepes, Bram Stoker, Count Dracula, or Romania? 2) Are you adventurous and do you like to have a lot of fun? If you answered yes to either question, sign up now before the next tour sells out, and then come back and finish reading this tour report! If you would rather be completely pampered and can’t be bothered to see the rest of the world through your closed American eyes, then move on. Dollywood awaits your next visit.

Day One: The Adventure Begins

A group of virtual strangers arrived at JFK, mostly anxious about the trip and about meeting the people with whom we would be spending the next week in close quarters. Immediately upon walking through the doors of JFK, it was possible to recognize the other members of our group. For some reason, most of the people standing around JFK were not wearing goth clothing, horror t-shirts, or carrying items such as coffin shaped purses. The stares from the non-believers indicated just how much we stood out from the regular crowd, and how much we fit in with each other.

Our fearless and funny tour organizer, Charles, handed out the tickets and goodie bags. Inside were lots of horror magazines, Dracola, and Vampire energy drinks. Just what each of us would need to survive the long journey ahead, but at the same time, quite different than the supplies that Jonathan Harker must have taken on his trip.

After the check in process, (Just how hard is it to get frisked by a cute security guard?) a delay in our departure sent many of us running to the airport bar, while others grouped at the gate. Right then and there the best of friendships began to form.

Even a few necks were bitten as Damien and Maggie showed off their fangs to the delight of our group and the horror of the other passengers awaiting their flights.

At about 8 pm we finally left JFK on Czech Air. Charles our tour organizer was asleep before we reached cruising altitude, and the rest of us struggled to overcome our excitement so that we could get a few winks in before we landed in Prague.

A few drinks and a Unisom helped me to close my eyes for a little while, but it was difficult. While Czech Air was a fine airline, it presented the same sleeping challenges that all airplanes do, and thus, we were tired when we landed many, many miles from home.

Tomorrow I will continue this report.

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