Budapest - Land of the Undead

But, having studied that mystical text, the Cosmos Balkans and Transylvania itinerary, it wasn’t to be too much of a surprise.

The beautiful fantasy on the Danube establishes Budapest as a city you can visit over and over again, to admire the Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau architecture, sip coffee and tuck into splendid food.

The allure of the trip, however, was venturing into the Balkans, a brief visit to Serbia before getting to know Bulgaria and Romania, culminating in a taste (excuse the pun) of Dracula’s Transylvania.

Once out of Hungary - and the EU - into Serbia we had entered the Balkans and headed to Belgrade.

It is hard to believe this city was bombed less than a decade ago: It is modern, comfortable familiar, brimming with young people and full of life.

Milling around the city’s sparkling shops, we made a tour of the sights – all wonderfully illuminated – and strolled Kalemegdan Castle, which dominates the sweep of the Danube as it joins with the tributary Sava.

We entered Bulgaria, heading for the comfort of our hotel in Sofia.

It might be one of the prettiest names for a capital city but it has a long way to go before the gloom and blandness of half a century of state Communism is erased.

However, it’s interesting to see mosques and churches co-existing peacefully and, admiring gems like the ornate Aleksander Nevski church, a monument to the Russians who helped end Turkish rule.

It proved quite a trek, but our itinerary took us to the most famous of Bulgaria’s monasteries at Rila. Surrounded by snow-packed mountains, the monastery retains its charms despite vast number of tourists.

The years have also been kinder to the city of Plovdiv, a more picturesque town, boasting wonderful architecture from the Turkish period and all lovingly restored.

After days of sightseeing and evenings in taverns, watching folk dancing and supping local beverages, it was goodbye to Bulgaria as the bulk of our stay in the Balkans was in Romania.

Our increasingly merry band headed for Paris of the East, Bucharest, where, again, Romania’s brand of state Communism has not been kind to the vast, sprawling city.

While money was lavished on grand projects it seems the city’s former elegance was swept aside, along with churches, some of which are now tucked behind modern buildings.

But encouragingly, there is major redevelopment work, particularly to the charming cobbled streets lined with French-inspired shops, bars and restaurants.

Most interesting are the grand public buildings, smart embassies and the megalomaniac building projects carried out by Ceausescu’s regime.

The Palace of Parliament is the world’s second-largest building after the Pentagon, with chilly marble corridors, sprawling meeting rooms and galleries.

Our guide gave us a fascinating account of the fall of Ceausescu from her own memories, while standing outside the former Communist Party headquarters, looking up at the balcony where he made a speech in December,1989, before a helicopter whisked him away to execution rather than exile.

Less known and infinitely more conventionally appealing is Veliko Tarnovo.

The ruins of a huge fortress dominate what was once Romania’s capital, the remains of the 13th-century home of the country’s tsars, who briefly established an independent kingdom.

Across more mountains we entered Transylvania, that most mysterious of places, now beckoned us across the mountains for what was possibly the most revealing part of this tour.

The history and ethnic mix of Transylvania is as complex as its daft image in western popular culture is limited.

Medieval towns pepper the tranquil scenery that mask turbulent times that have seen waves of peoples come and go.

What remains are chocolate box towns with gorgeous architecture, including the Black Church, the largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul, in the city of Brasov.

And, yes, we did join the legions of Dracula fans in search of the famous vampire making the pilgrimage from Brasov to Bram Castle.

Fortunately we learned instead about Vlad Tepes, who many believe was Bram Stoker’s quasi-historic model for the blood sucker.

Vlad wasn’t even really from Transylvania but was a Prince of Wallachia, back over the mountains, and never visited Bram Castle, which is marketed as his lair.

But that hasn’t stopped a tourist market being established in the village below.

So, better informed, although still clutching one or two Dracula souvenirs, it was back into Hungary and the return visit to Budapest, that well deserved extremely meaty feast, followed by a little night clubbing with some fellow creatures of the night.

Fact box: Escorted touring specialist Cosmos Tourama offer a 13-day Treasures of the Balkans and Transylvania tour from £969 per person, including return flights from Gatwick (£1,068 excluding Manchester), airport transfers, 12 nights B&B, sightseeing and the services of a professional tour director.

For a copy of Cosmos Tourama America, Canada, Europe and Worldwide brochure visit www.cosmostourama.co.uk or call 0871-622-4167.