This week we are in South West Transylvania. A region full of stunning scenery, forest covered mountains and awesome driving roads.
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The Detail:
Distance Covered: 343 miles
Financial: Fuel £59; Groceries £62; Household £12; Alcohol £19; Zeus £4; Vehicle £6; Eating Out £11; Entrance Fees £12; Total £186
Stopovers: Sibiu [2 nights]; Transalpina; Campu Lui Neag; Old Jiu Bridge; Hobita; Brebina
A bit of a change in focus this week as we explore the South West Transylvania area.
This is a mountainous area of Romania, full of stunning scenery, wildlife, and of course, mountain roads. Two of the best-known, the Transalpina and the Transfagarasan are in this area.
So for us, this was a week of driving around soaking up the dramatic scenery, and trying to drive some of the most famous roads in Europe.
The Transfagarasan
After a lovely few days of R&R, doing pretty much nothing, it was time to move on. Well, I did pretty much nothing, Carol did a shed load of laundry and gave the van a thorough clean.
The plan was to drive as far as we could on the Transfagarasan. We knew it was not fully open yet, but we still wanted to see as much as possible.
We had a leisurely drive cross-country to get there. I have to say there really was some lovely scenery en-route, and we even saw a herd of Water Buffalo!
The road was open as far as the cable car at Cascada Balea. It was a lovely drive, although it didn’t include the most scenic parts, unfortunately. Workmen were busy repairing the parts that had been damaged by the avalanches that occur as the snow melts bringing rocks down with the snow. The worse areas have bridges to try and protect the road a bit. The falls themselves were nice to look at too.
However, the real highlight was spotting a bear on the drive down. We sat and watched him for ages, and at one point he came right up to the van…looking for food as the bears get fed by visitors despite being told not to. All bins in the area regularly get emptied by the bears.
A slightly odd occurrence
We parked close to a river in a meadow a little outside Sibiu for the night. It was a bit of a drama when we got to the access road as it was closed for works. We couldn’t find an alternative nearby, so after a quick look on satellite view we found a dirt track which cut across to an alternative way to get there. We made it but rather muddy, pot holed and overgrown with trees – not a route for a posh, low slung or new motorhome. Turns out we didn’t need to use this dirt track as it was the original road that was closed and there was a nice, wide temporary dirt track running parallel to the original road – the sign said (after we googled it!) road closed, diversion to the left…oops!
Given that we are so close to a city it’s actually quite a nice spot. Obviously used by locals for family BBQs at the weekend, but it was quiet on a Monday.
There was one slightly odd occurrence. While preparing supper I noticed a chap sitting in an Audi watching the van. He eventually got out of the car, walked past us and carried on a short way, then turned around and walked back the other side of the van, all the time staring into the van. He left shortly after so I didn’t think much of it.
A little bit later the local police did a drive by. Bearing in mind we parked up as out of the way as we could so we didn’t disturb anyone and it wasn’t immediately obvious we were there, they must have been checking on us. The only thing I can think of is similar to what happened in Hungary. A well meaning local reporting us to the police because they think the UK sticker on the back of the van stands for Ukraine.
Needless to say the police didn’t disturb us, they just turned around and left again.
Sibiu Old Town
Sibiu Old Town, where the houses watch over you.
Sibiu is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Romania. The Old Town is centred around the two main squares, the large and the small, both surrounded by historic landmarks.
In this easy-to-explore area you will find Brukenthal Palace, the Blue House, the Haller House and the Catholic Church in the large square.
In the Small Square, you’ll find the impressive Council Tower, the famous Bridge of Lies, Hermes House and Fresco Hall.
Packed with cafes and restaurants the two squares are a popular tourist destination.
The Bridge of Lies, the first cast iron bridge in Romania, has many legends surrounding it.
According to Wikipedia, the most popular one has it that the bridge will collapse when someone tells a lie while standing on it. Another legend says that the bridge was often crossed by merchants who were trying to fool their clients. The ones who were caught were tossed off the bridge. According to another legend, the bridge was a meeting place for boys attending the military academy and their girlfriends. The boys wouldn’t show up, leaving their girlfriends waiting until realizing they had been lied to. One legend also has it that the bridge was often crossed by young lovers who swore each other eternal love. The girls also swore that they were virgins, which often turned out to be a lie after the couples got married. As a punishment, they were thrown off the bridge, since it was the place where they had lied to their lovers.
Sadly, however, the truth isn’t quite so romantic. When originally built the bridge was called Liegenbrücke, German for a bridge that lies down. This sounds very similar to Lügenbrücke, meaning “bridge of lies”, and the legends spread among the local people helped Bridge of Lies become the popular name.
If you venture out just a street or two from the main squares you can’t help feeling that the houses are watching over you. The buildings here all share one unique feature. In their roof they all have two small elliptical dormers which have the appearance of eyes.
Stopped off at a small market on the way out and got some lovely local strawberries at 12 Lei per kg, and some tomatoes I haven’t seen before, Rozalie de Budila, a rare Romanian variety. Super delicious.
Astra Museum
Just a short distance outside the city is the Astra Museum.
This is actually a complex of 4 museums that explore the ethnic diversity and history of Romania and includes many recreations of cultural communities.
It covers some 96 hectares and has over 400 carefully restored and preserved buildings.
It can be very busy, especially at weekends. So whilst dogs (on a leash) are allowed to wander around with you, the times when you can go there with a pet are restricted to 8 to 10 am, and 6 to 8 pm.
As we visited on a Tuesday and it wasn’t too busy we were able to get in a little earlier, around 5.30 pm.
The site is organised by region and is a delight to explore. Many of the buildings you can go right up to and some you can even go inside.
It could, however, in my opinion, benefit from some improved signage. We went in the main entrance and followed the only visible signs to a church and school. However, a short walk to the lake would have led us to the main site map which would have been really helpful in deciding a route to follow.
Some general information about each region as you go around would also be useful, and although some of the buildings do have some information it is a bit sporadic.
Nevertheless, we had a lovely visit but could have spent much longer there. We only saw about half of the buildings and many of those we had to rush through.
Marginimea Sibiului
The plan for today, such as it was, was to drive through the Marginimea Sibiului region to the south west of Sibiu towards the Transalpina road.
The Marginimea Sibiului region is an area whose economy is based on agriculture, shepherding and traditional crafts, and is said to have many beautiful villages dotted all over. And we weren’t disappointed, with some narrow streets winding their way through some lovely villages with their uniquely detailed buildings, lovely rolling hills, friendly waves and smiling faces.
Transalpina
The Transalpina is the highest road in Romania. It crosses the Parang Mountains in the southern Carpathians. The highest point is in Pasul Urdele at 2145 metres on a section of the road approximately 18 km long connecting the peaks of Dengheru (2,084 m), Păpușa (2,136 m), Urdele (2,228 m), Iezer (2,157 m) and Muntinu (2,062 m).
When we got to the beginning of the Transalpina we were fully expecting it to be closed, at least in part, as the Transfagarasan was. However, according to the signage the highest section is open restricted times at the moment, from 9 to 5 each day.
So we drove up the road and found somewhere to park up for the night. We shall see in the morning whether we can do the rest of the drive.
If the drive so far is anything to go by we are in for a real treat. The road itself is (mostly) in really good condition, at least so far. And where it needs some repairs they are working on it before the tourist season gets into full swing.
And the scenery is just awesome. Probably the most scenic road I have been lucky enough to drive so far. Steep mountain slopes covered in beech trees lower down, changing to pine as you climb. Burbling streams and cascading waterfalls. Spring water sources dotted the road, delicious according to the locals when I asked if it was good to drink.
Two dams along the way create stunningly beautiful lakes, mirror calm, and are backed by the forest-shrouded mountains, gorgeous.
Turns out I was wrong.
We continued on the Transalpina up through the part of the road which was time limited part. It wasn’t the part that crosses the highest point.
In Romania, if a road is classified as unfinished it is legally only allowed to be used for restricted times. There was a short section of the road which was still a work in progress with no tarmac and an unfinished bridge. Hence it only being open 9 to 5 each day.
It was still a lovely drive, the stunning scenery continuing, as we climbed and we started to see the remnants of the snow amongst the trees. Briefly we rose above the trees, and I thought this is it, here we go. But then we started to descend again. Steep, sweeping hairpin bends. Great fun to drive, but not the drive I was hoping for.
Eventually we came to the junction where the Transalpina (67C) meets the (7A) and we saw the dreaded road closed signs (reopening 20 June 2023). Somewhat disappointed, despite the lovely drive to get there, we pulled over to decide where to go next. And we weren’t alone. A steady stream of motorbikes, vans, and cars also came and went.
Heading West
In the end we decided to head West, along the 7A and then the 66A, for no particular reason other than it being a, hopefully, scenic drive.
I guess the 7A is a less used road as it wasn’t in as good condition as many of the other roads we have travelled. Nevertheless, that didn’t detract from the amazing scenery. We were treated to stunning tree lined gorges, rushing streams, cascading waterfalls and a thunderstorm. We actually really enjoyed the drive, despite our earlier disappointment and the rain.
From the 7A we picked up the 66A. Here things changed a little bit. For a start the road was definitely not as good as other places in Romania. But also, I guess, it is a poorer region. The houses were not quite as well maintained as other areas, with Bulgarian style roofs, including the poorly cemented hips and ridges. The towns looked like communist era buildings, still occupied, but now starting to look dishevelled and run down. The locals stopped what they were doing and stared as we drove past, as if they don’t see many motorhomes in these parts. I think we may be in a part of Romania where the tourists don’t usually go.
Ascension Monastery
We finished the day at Ascension Monastery, near Campu Lui Neag. A fairly small, modern Monastery nestled against the trees on the hill behind, overlooking what looks to be a man-made lake. There was plenty of land around where we were able to find an out-of-the-way spot to hunker down for the night.
Ill fated DN66A
We have really been enjoying the more laid back approach of the last few days. Just pootling around, no real pressure to do anything or go anywhere in particular.
Today we thought we might drive along the DN66A, continuing in a generally westward direction.
Things started off swimmingly. Road not too bad. Scenery lovely. Then we passed a sign for Cheile Butii, so we thought we would take a little detour.
A short drive from the main road and we come to an adventure sports complex offering all kinds of activities. Caving, rock climbing, ATVs, hiking, nature photography, you name it they had it covered. There was a hotel there, in the process of being built. Open, but still with some finishing work to be done. When finished it will be a lovely place.
We parked up and took a walk up to the gorge. Maybe not as deep or long as Cheile Turzii, but absolutely magical nonetheless.
Moving on from there we continued along the DN66A. What a lovely drive it was through lush gorges, tree-lined hills, and green meadows.
Then the tarmac ran out. Here we go again. Shades of a couple of weeks back. This time however we decided to stop, have some lunch, and scope out the road ahead.
With no phone signal, the only option was to walk along the “gravel” road and see what was in store. First impressions weren’t great. The first couple of hundred metres were pretty rough going. On top of that thunder was rumbling overhead. SatNav was saying that we had 50 km to go.
The only sensible option was to call it a day, turn around and take a different direction. So that’s what we did. When we got a phone signal a few kilometres down the road we pulled over to decide where we were going. We also checked what the DN66A was all about. Turns out that from the point it turns into a dirt track it is 58 km to the other end. Much of it is passable, but there are long stretches in woodland that get very muddy when wet. I think we made the correct decision, even if it wasn’t what we wanted to do.
Old Jiu Bridge
So we continued west, albeit via a longer route. We had to backtrack quite a long way, then picked up the DN66 towards Targu Jiu. As time was getting on we decided to stop for the night.
The first location was a free campsite just off the road. The access road looked very narrow so we parked up and took a walk down it to see what was there. The access road was narrow with many water filled potholes and low branches, but probably navigable. However the meadow the other end, whilst lovely, would have proven difficult to get out of the next morning, what with the thunder rumbling overhead and the threat of heavy rain.
So we drove just a little further and found a spot near the Old Jiu bridge. Not the prettiest of places, but we are parked on the old disused road so have no worries about getting stuck.
Parcul Sculpturi, Hobita
Continuing onwards we headed into Targu Jiu. From what we had read we were expecting “a mix of poorly maintained paving, disheveled mass housing, jumbled signage and buildings of every size and description”. The overall cityscape is “mundane, but vibrant and no doubt livable”, with “often dissonant” street pattern and urban fabric.”
I guess that things have been tidied up somewhat since that quote was written. The city actually seems quite nice, although we only passed through and didn’t linger other than to pick up some groceries.
From there we continued generally westwards, heading for a small sculpture park at Hobita. Not specifically for the sculpture, but as somewhere we thought might be quite nice for a lunch stop.
When we got there it was such a tranquil setting, a small meadow on the outskirts of the town, next to a river and surrounded by forest. We decided to stop and just chill for the rest of the day.
There were a few loose dogs around, they weren’t strays as their home was nearby and they didn’t bother us….at least during the day…..
Overnight, from about 3am, something or someone must have disturbed them, as they started barking all around…and under..the motorhome chasing something, which of course set Zeus off too. We didn’t get a very restful night’s sleep after that especially as it happened again at 5 am
We decided not to stop another night as we had originally planned.
Brebina
Just a short drive today. Looking for somewhere else to stop for the night as we didn’t fancy another disturbed night.
A few kilometres up the road and we come to a picnic area just outside Brebina. Weirdly Google has it marked as closed – guess it thinks it’s a business of some sort. We initially parked up close to the picnic area itself, but a short walk revealed that the access track continues around the hill to a larger meadow area with gravel parking so we decided to move round there as it was a little more secluded.
After lunch, we were treated to yet another thunderstorm. It seems to be a regular afternoon occurrence in this region. As we were comfortably parked on gravel, we decided that the best option was to stay put. Despite the weather there are definitely worse places we could be.
Some menu highlights from this week
Click on the picture for further information. If you would like recipes or further information let me know in the comments
As before, There is so much more we saw and did that I haven’t included here – you’ll just have to go see it for yourself!
I haven’t gone into great detail about anything in particular in this post, so if you would like me to expand on anything please leave a comment and I will endeavor to write another separate post on the topic.
Happy Motorhoming.
Hope You Enjoy!
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