I was watching the Hammer Horror version of Dracula with a friend and noticed that the whole story seemed to happen within range of an easy day trip. It's not a documentary or pretending to historical accuracy, but it got me wondering about the actual state of infrastructure in the region everyone's favorite blood-sucking count is most associated with. Could a nineteenth century gentleman of means get his baggage to a train with reasonable ease and be off for an easy trip to Vienna or Constantinople? Might he direct his agents in London by telegraph from reasonably near home?

Or does he have to wait until the twentieth century for all that?