We
were disappointed after spending 10 days in the Carpathian Mountains of
Romania without meeting a single vampire. Disappointment changed to joy
when my host, Gustave, informed me that he had arranged for a meeting
with a five hundred year-old vampire in Bucharest. Driving through the
Transfagarasan Pass on our way to Budapest was an exciting moment, one
that I will never forget.
We
stayed at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, probably Budapest's finest
hotel. After a delicious dinner of cooked cabbage rolls, a traditional
Romanian meal, I slept for several hours before a midnight meeting with
the vampire, who I will call Mr. Radescu. For obvious reasons, I cannot
mention his name or given any information that would identify him.
We
went to his luxury apartment in the downtown city center, near the
financial district Mr. Radescu, a ruggedly handsome and urbane vampire,
is about 6'4" tall and somewhat slender. He wore a fine English
tailored suit and spoke without any trace of an accent. His apartment
was furnished in the Art Deco style, which he said reminded him of a
time when he enjoyed his existence very much. Mr. Radescu offered us
some fine Romanian wine, but because of the lateness of the hour, I
declined to accept any.
Gustave
and I sat on a sofa opposite Mr. Radescu who seemed comfortable on an
odd-looking chair. He was charming, as well as gracious, and answered
almost all the questions we asked. He told us how a vampire attacked him
over five hundred years ago and of the years that followed. He was
quite apologetic for the injuries and deaths he caused since that time,
and told us that he stopped taking blood from humans early in the 18th
century. He spent the next 200 years taking blood from farm animals,
which did not provide all the required blood contents and left him
perpetually weak. Mr. Radescu was delighted when whole blood became
available. He was able to regain his strength and had not had any human
blood up until fifteen years ago.
He
chuckled when he told us about the impact of Ann Rice's novels
throughout Europe and the flourishing of the vampire subculture among
the youth of Romania. One night he ventured into one of the underground
nightclubs, and was suprised when a young woman approached him and
offered him some of her blood. When he declined, she was offended and
walked away. By the end of the evening he had learned more about the
culture, and when another young lady offered him some of her blood, they
went back to his apartment where he took a modest amount of blood from
her wrist.
Since
then, he has been able to sustain most of his need for blood by going
to clubs where young men and women offer him as much as he wants. Mr.
Radescu was quite amused by the sudden romanticization of the vampire
and had seen most of the recent movies. His thoughts and observations
about the current times were quite illuminating. All in all, it was a
wonderful chance to meet an extraordinarily interesting vampire. Before
we left, he made it clear that Vlad Tepes was not a vampire despite all
the books that had been written. Tepes had committed horrible
atrocities, and he defended Romania from infidels seeking to conquer it.
Mr. Radescu invited us to drop by again if we were ever in Bucharest.
It was the highlight of my trip, and one of the great experiences of my
life.
Unholy Embrace is a swift paced,
action-packed novel about the relationship between a mortal man and his
immortal female vampire lover as they fight werewolves, vampires, and other
creatures in their effort to kill a soul eating demon.
If this sounds interesting, and I hope it does, please follow
the link and read the reviews on Amazon.
Unholy Embrace is a swift paced,
action-packed novel about the relationship between a mortal man and his
immortal female vampire lover as they fight werewolves, vampires, and other
creatures in their effort to kill a soul eating demon.
