On The Road

Today I’m off to Romania. This is the one country that well meaning people have warned me most about. According to them I will have all my stuff stolen and will be besieged by begging Sinti and Roma. I generally ignore such warnings. Surly, the country can’t be as bad as its reputation. I do have some trepidations though. Romania, along with Albania, were there poorest of all the countries of the former communist block. I remember sending care packages to these countries as a kid.

So, I make my way to the border, going past this small post communism, phase 1, enterprise.

Romania is just across the Danube. Luckily, motorbikes get a free ride over the “Bridge of Friendship”. Border formalities are minimal for EU citizens.

I try to exchange my Bulgarian Leva for Romanian Lei but the exchange place won’t take Leva. Great, no choice but to go back to Bulgaria. I fill up the tank and buy some snacks for the Leva I have left and head once more across the bridge.

The road is good and there is not much traffic. I make my way through some villages

until I have to go on a major highway with crazy traffic.

My destination for today is Curtea de Argeş, which turns out to be a lovely town at the foot of the Fagaras mountains. Historically it was the second capital of Wallachia, around the 14th century. The Princely Church from that era still stands. It’s the oldest church in Wallachia.

The Curtea de Argeş Cathedral at the other end of town is from the 16th century and a true architectural marvel.

I can’t get enough of it and spend a long time locking at some of the details. I’m no expert and it has hard for me to make out which parts are from the 16th century and which are from 1875-1876, when Frenchman Lecomte de Nouy added some pseudo-moorish bits. The overall result is undoubtedly stunning.

Tomorrow I’ll take the famous Transfagarasan!!!

The Transfăgărăşan, or actually DN7C by Romanian road designation, crosses the Carpathian Mountains between the two highest peaks, connecting Wallachia and Transylvania. It’s famous for its many turns and great vistas. Crazy Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu had it build in the early 70s at the cost of 40 lives.

Riding through the first tunnel. I notice that it is kind of dark. Sure enough, my front light bulb is broken and it took the fuse with it. I swap out both and continue.

Coming out of the last tunnel on the Northern side I see this:

The map below shows the same section of road as the image above:

For those of you who want to do a Google Earth fly over, here is the same section as a KML file that should open in Google Earth:

Transfăgărăşan for Google Earth

Once I get off the Transfăgărăşan it does seem a bit boring by comparison I end up in Brasov at the end of the day.

Brasov is an interesting town. The historic center looks very German, which is no surprise since it Transylvanian Saxons had a huge influence in the area as far back as the 12th century. Brasov is called Kronstadt in German. Nowadays the German population amounts to less than 1%, most of them left after WWII and the end of communism. You do meet the odd German speaker on the street though and it always makes for an interesting conversation.

There is some sort of cultural festival going on and I get to see a performance here and there

Another old Trabant. This one looks like it hasn’t moved in a while.

OK, off to a little loop around Brasov.

First stop is Bran castle, often revered to as Dracula castle. Evidence of that is pretty slim. It just seems to be a money making machine for the royal descendant from New York who owns it now. Pretty much a tourist trap but in a nice area. So it is still worth going there. Even find free parking after a bit of a discussion.

Half way between Bran and Brasov is Rasnov (or Rosenau). On a hill above the town is Rasnov fortress with a long and colorful history, dating back as far as 1331.

Rasnov too has a “Hollywood” sign. Seems to be the latest craze here.

On my way to Peles, Castle I stop for a nap at Sinaia Monastery.

Peles, Castle, built by King Carol I and inaugurated in 1883 is very impressive. It does look very German though, which I guess is again no surprise considering that Carol I was Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen before the Romanians made him King.