ROM 101

After crossing the border, I had a 60 minute drive to Constanta, 40 miles away. I found a hotel with a sea view and the smallest balcony I’ve seen in my balcony evaluation studies. I went for a walk around the old town and met an old woman. Her English wasn’t up to snuff, but I knew what she wanted, so I gave her some money. Not much, but she seemed happy enough. The smallest banknote in Romania is the equivalent of 17p. 

I found lots of shabby historic buildings, or as it’s spelt in Romania, “istoric”. I don’t think there’s much money sloshing around Constanta, which is the largest port on the Black Sea, bigger than Odessa, Ukraine, Varna, Bulgaria and Batumi, Georgia. I was lured into an Italian restaurant by an Indian chap and had a pizza. 

The next morning I left Constanta with a two and a half hour drive toward Bucharest. At one point I drove over the Danube River without realising it. I headed for my airport hotel, north of the city which was very fortunate because about 20 miles outside Bucharest the traffic ground to a halt. The Rin Hotel was less than a mile from the airport, which made the satnav directions even more curious. Picture below. A number of the hotel staff were from Nepal which surprised me. 

My friend Dimitra had joined me, and the following day we had a three hour drive north to some castles. Two hours in, the scenery became magnificent as we entered the more mountainous region of Romania. The town of Sinaia, where the castles are located, was picture perfect. 

First up was Pelisor Castle which was adequate. The poorer cousin of Peles Castle, a five minute walk away.

Peles Castle was far more impressive – built for Carol I, King of Romania who acceded the throne in 1866 and ruled for 48 years until his death in 1914. The castle was built between 1873 and 1914 – a long construction project if ever I’ve heard of one. It was the first house/ residence in Romania to have central heating, an elevator and various other mod-cons. 

We pressed on and stayed in the Grand Hotel Belvedere overlooking the town of Brasov. Super balcony. We dined in the hotel in what must be one of the top restaurants in Romania. At least that’s what the notice said. The food was excellent. 

On Saturday we headed for Bran, home of Bran Castle made famous by the legend of Dracula. It was much busier than the day before, but I’d bought tickets online…which gave me no advantage whatsoever. 

The castle was interesting thanks to Bram Stoker, but the rooms were cold and basic, and the queues were rather difficult at times. Dracula was based on the historical figure, Vlad the Impaler, born somewhere around 1430, died somewhere around 1476, aged some where around 46. He was actually Vlad III. It’s difficult to ascertain how many Turks and Bulgarians he impaled, but it was his preferred method of “unaliving” someone and some say it was around 20,000. He killed around 80,000 in total. His dad, Vlad II, was called Vlad II Dracul which is where Bram’s title character name came from. 

Vlad the Impaler was rumoured to have stayed in Bran Castle during some of his military campaigns, but others say that he never stayed there. However, Romanian tourism does very well out of the former. After leaving the castle I got my vape out and became briefly known as “Pad the Inhaler”. 

Sunday was wet and I went for a rainy walk around the town of Bran, located in southern Transylvania near the Carpathian Mountain Range. For those interested in elevation stats, Bran is about 2,500 ft above sea level. For those not interested, skip to the next bit.

The next stop was the city of Sibiu, listed as one of the top cities in Romania. It was okay and the central square was the top attraction, but I’ve seen many better. And it was raining.

The hotel in Sibiu was the Imparatul Romanilor, and Eugen, at reception gave Naomi at the Rin Airport hotel a run for her money as the person least suited for a role in hospitality. 

Monday marked the highlight of the road trip. It was a 50 minute drive to reach the northern entry point to the Transfagarasan, a 56 mile route across the Southern Carpathians or the Transylvanian Alps as they are sometimes called. Top Gear claimed it to be the best road in the world back in 2009, relegating the Stelvio Pass into second place. I think they over-egged it somewhat though. 

The road was constructed between 1970-74 by the government who wanted to ensure quick military access across the mountains in case the Soviet Union invaded.

The journey started at 1600 ft above sea level (only for those interested), and it was a gentle ascent towards ominous looking clouds and fog and mist and anything else that looks foreboding. The scenery was mostly conifers at the lower levels, but during the ascent the landscape changed as the temperature dropped.

Within the past week they had had snow at the top and I wasn’t sure if crossing the alps was possible. At the town of Fagarasan the elevation was 6,700 ft and it was snowing. I didn’t realise at the time that this was the high point, meaning the weather wasn’t going to get any worse. I spoke to some Romanian workmen who were standing by a snowplough. I say spoke, but they didn’t understand a word, so it was a conversation involving hand movements, pointing and facial expressions. Apparently it was fine for me to continue. You know what they say, always trust a Romanian snow plough operative, so I did. 

The descent was delightful. The sun came out and the road, full of switchbacks, could be seen in its full glory. The switchbacks only account for about ten miles – 5 miles either side of the summit. Several miles of scenic pine trees beyond that on both sides, and the river Buda. There was also a lake and a dam and some sheep getting up to no good by a stream. 

At the end of the Transfagarasan, it was another two hours to Bucharest. The lodging du jour was the Grand Hotel Bucharest, which was five star and reasonable. Super room, excellent views from the balcony, and a sauna on the top floor.

My last full day in Romania started with a self-guided and self-propelled walking tour of Bucharest. Probably the best place I had visited on this trip. Some fabulous buildings and it was sunny. I missed out on Ceausescu’s residence as it was a bit far away, and besides, the images looked like a crime against interior decorating. I also missed out on the Museum of the Romanian Peasant which was voted “European Museum of the Year” back in 1996. This award started in 1977 and I figure it’s only a matter of time before the Penis Museum in Reykjavik wins the award.

In the afternoon it was back to the Rin Airport hotel to see if Naomi had improved her customer service skills. She had not. Then I had to return the car which proved to be challenging. Satnav was deceiving me, and Green Motion hadn’t invested in any signage. I let them know of my vexation when I finally arrived, before Ubering back to the Rin. 

Wednesday was flying day, heading to Athens 90 minutes away. I enjoyed Romania (country 101), a whole lot more than Bulgaria.