Romania 2014 (#3)

Part 3: June 29th – 31th

By Watracz Is Traveling

Day 9: Bușteni, Bucegi, Râșnov

June 29th, 2014

View Day 9 route on Google Maps

Just after breakfast I set off to the south, heading for the town of Bușteni, about 35 km away. Today I’m riding packed light. My top case and my camping gear are back in Ioan’s apartment, so I’ll be able to go wild. The day is sunny, but chilly, and riding the winding roads through Transylvanian valleys is a ton of fun.

Bușteni

An hour later I reach the first spot of today’s itinerary. The town at the foot of the mountains is small, but picturesque. It’s a bit like a smaller version of Poland’s Zakopane. The parking lot by the cable car station is empty, so I get to pick the best spot. Since I’m going to be away for a few hours, I put a lock on the front wheel and cover the entire bike; as they say — out of sight, out of mind.

It turns out that the first cable car goes up at 9, so I still have an hour’s wait ahead of me. In the meantime, more and more tourists are coming, and a big line is forming for the ticket office. A few guys with mountain bikes stand by the end of the line; I guess that means you can bike downhill from the top. Ioan did mention the day before that I could try going to the top on the motorcycle and save the cost of the cable car ticket, but looking at the routes on Google Maps back home I decided that wasn’t really an option.

Bucegi

The cable car does set off sometime around nine, and up we go. Sadly, the weather has gotten worse and the mountain tops can barely be seen. I decide to wait it out at the local chalet, then go take a walk around the Babele — the famous mushroom-shaped sandstone monadnocks.

Then I head for another well-known, rock formation: the Sphinx. On my way, I can’t help but notice lots of garbage strewn about; bottles, soda cans, candy and cookie wrappings. It’s even worse than the Polish Tatars in that regard, but I’m hoping the rest of the mountain trails are in better condition.

The Sphinx, a major attraction for hordes of tourists in the summer, sits at over 2,000 m.a.s.l, and it’s more than 10 meters tall. If you look at it from the side, at the right angle, it resembles a skull, with large, eye-socket-looking holes.

Having walked all the way around the Sphinx, I go back to the cable car. About half way back I see a donkey that looks a little lost — it has a saddle and some rags on its back, but the owner is nowhere to be seen. At the chalet, I buy a cup of ridiculously expensive, but very tasty, raspberries.

Taking the cable car down, I leave the cloud zone, and it gets warmer almost instantly. I eat a sandwich for lunch by the bike, then I start riding north, towards the Râșnov Citadel.

Râșnov Citadel

The castle was built on a huge, inaccessible hill, not too far from the town under the same name. You can only reach it on foot, going through the parking lot at the foot of the hill. People who don’t feel up to the the lengthy uphill trek can use the tourist “train”. Naturally, I opt for walking up.

There are some pretty cool activity areas set up within the castle, such as throwing an iron axe at a target. When you’re standing on the side and watching someone experienced do it, it looks easy — but it really isn’t. The axes are heavy, the target is far away, and in order for the blade to bite into the shield, the axe needs to spin the right way. I have 5 tries, but only 2 of my throws stick into the target.

Getting up to the Citadel walls gives you a brilliant panorama of the surrounding mountains. I meet a couple photographers at the view point; they ask me to take their picture. Then they give me some pointers about framing and composition, which is awfully nice of them. On my way back down I take a moment to shoot a bow, which proves easier than throwing an axe.

View of the Râșnov Citadel from the north-east side of the town.

After leaving the fortress I still have some time left to wander around the area. I get to the hill, just outside of Bran, where a year earlier we set up camp with Paweł. On my way to the clearing I get chased by a pack of sheepdogs — clearly, they don’t like bikers too much.

From the clearing I head for Brașov. After dinner I fold up my laundry, and begin packing for my trip back to Poland. Later in the evening I sort out my photos and make use of the last bit of Internet access that I’m going to have on this trip.

Day 10: Câmpulung, Transfăgărășan, Sibiu, Turda Gorge

June 30th, 2014

View day 10 route on Google Maps

In the morning, around 7, I make myself sandwiches for the road, then I say goodbye to Ioan. I thank him for hosting me, then take off due south-west, towards Câmpulung. Today looks like it’s going to be a good day. It’s sunny and warm, there’s no wind, and barely any traffic on the beautiful Transylvanian roads, otherwise so full of potholes and stray dogs.

Transfăgărășan

At 10:30 I pass Dracula’s castle in Poienari and reach the dam on Lake Victory — and that means it’s high time for a photo shoot. From this point on, every few minutes I make pretty much mandatory stops and photo sessions. It’s definitely worth it.

As I get to the higher parts of the mountains, it starts to get cooler. My remote shutter breaks during one of the stops, but I manage to fix it quite handily with tape. It wouldn’t really be a proper trip without stuff breaking, now would it?

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There are very few vehicles on the road. Last year, when I was here, cars and bikes were coming and going almost without a pause. Maybe the weather has scared the tourists off? Back by the Black Sea, I did hear that there was snow in the mountains, and that the Transfăgărășan was impassable.

I’m riding through a dark, narrow tunnel at the highest portion of the route. Thick water droplets are falling from the ceiling onto the slippery tarmac. At least some of the puddles I’m weaving between are still frozen. Past the tunnel, I turn to the parking lot by Lake Balea and take a stroll in these gorgeous surroundings.

This glacial lake sits at 2,034 m.a.s.l. and is almost 11.5 meters deep. There’s a chalet and a weather station next to it, and numerous food and souvenir stalls along the way.

Motorbike + mountains + lake. Doesn’t get better than that!

The northern part of the Transfăgărășan, winding through the valley between the summits, is famous thanks to the many photo shoots and videos that promote it. Even the ad for the new Kawasaki Versys was filmed here. It really makes you want to stop and enjoy the view for hours. But what can you do — you need to ride on.

I’m gonna miss this view…

As I head towards the town of Sybin, I overtake a car on an almost empty, straight stretch of the road, and that’s the exact moment when a police car comes around from the opposite side. They have a dashcam, apparently, and they turn on the siren as they see me. Well, that’s going to be a ticket for sure. Talk about bad luck! After all, I stepped on the gas for just a moment. I pull over to the side and wait for the police to turn around. The policeman explains what I did, in English. I try to gloss it over, telling him I’m by myself, that I’m going back to Poland, that I have no money, especially for a ticket. Phew, I did it. I pay 100 PLN and I can keep going. Naturally, they don’t give me a stub or any other confirmation for the ticket, but at this point, who cares. And what do you know, there’s another police car standing on the side of the road behind the next turn.

Turda

In the evening, I reach the Turda Gorge and the Cabana Cheile Turzii chalet, where I put up my tent. The prices are really high, and a shower costs an additional 20 PLN. I meet some Polish tourists at the campsite, and we talk for a while, but it starts raining, so I jump inside the tent.

A storm comes at night, making it hard to sleep. The trees around the tent are shaking hard in the wind. I go outside to secure the bike, because it could easily fall over in wind this strong.

Day 11: Oradea, Debrecen, Košice, Nowy Targ, Krakow

June 31st, 2014

View day 11 route on Google Maps

I leave before sunrise. It begins to rain on my way towards Oradea, so I put on my rainsuit. It just keeps raining all the way through Romania, all through Hungary, until I reach the Slovakian border; I keep the rainsuit on, because it’s still cold. I only stop to fill up the tank and to eat. By the time I get to Poprad I’m exhausted from riding all day and I need to take a longer break. I sit down under a tree, eat my last, emergency-only can of herring that I bought back in Poland, some apples, and I fall asleep for about an hour. Late in the evening I arrive in Krakow, in one piece and with no surprises along the way.