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Eastern Europe

Travel through Bulgaria, Romania and Poland with short visits to Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia Lue lisää

Seuraa Yhteenveto Kalenteri Valokuvat Jaa

Vanhimmat ensin

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🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Eastern Europe Matkaaja
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Day 43 ROMANIA Baia Mare
30. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We went to the local farmer's market in Baia Mare this morning. The vendors were very keen for you to try their produce. Even when you were walking past the stall but not engaging with the farmer, they drew you in by calling out to you to sample their cheeses, strawberries, sour cream etc. We saw some fresh mushrooms and stopped to buy some. After the purchase of mushrooms were finalised, the grower handed me a bunch of daffodils and said it was a gift. Then we found a dairy farmer who sold yoghurt that Ruby had developed an addiction to. To verify which animal the yoghurt came from we made "moo"and "baa"noises. The farmer shook his head vigorously and placed his finger around his head showing horns. So we exclaimed buffalo together. Happy with the purchase of buffalo yoghurt we were ready to leave when the farmer cut pieces of cheese for us to taste. Then continued cutting bigger and bigger pieces of different cheeses for us to taste. He gestured for us to wait, disappeared behind the fridge and returned with even more cheeses to taste. We even had to taste a large slice of the bacon fat we had been avoiding in all our breakfast and meat platters. It was smokey and melted almost as soon as it touched our tongues, like rich smokey butter. He then proceeded to show us on his phone pictures of his animals, cow, pigs, sheep and his wife. It felt like we were playing a game of charades and he was winning.
When we finally peeled ourselves away from the dairy farmer we avoided eye contact with all other cheese sellers and quickly exited the dairy section. We headed to the vege stands to buy a bunch of spinach. I decided to give my bunch of daffodils to the spinach lady and she said with a warm tap on my hand that the spinach I got was complimentary because of the daffodils gift.
As we were leaving the market I spotted a stall selling placinta creata (a gozleme crossed with roti chanai), that my friend in Perth had highly recommended. We ordered one each only to find that they were huge and had to take away the remaining ¾.
We spent the afternoon in the Baia Mare Art Gallery and a little walk around the old town. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the art in the art gallery so I took pictures of all the ceramic heaters instead. We came back to the apartment to prepare dinner.Lue lisää
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Matkaaja The cheese lady
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Day 42 ROMANIA Baia Mare
29. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We weren't able to see 2 of the 4 wooden churches that we drove to. Most disappointing. At the first church, after ringing in WhatsApp 7 times, the key bearer said in Romanian that she was out of town. Before I could ask who else had the keys, she hung up and wouldn't answer further calls. We could not understand how the key holder for a UNESCO heritage listed church could be out of town and the key not be held by someone else available. We met different passersby and asked if they knew who held the keys and we were sent on a wild goose chase with no good outcome. A whole hour wasted. Frustrated, we reminded ourselves that this was all part of travel.
The second church was at Barsana. It had a beautiful large monastic complex for nuns. When we arrived at the Monastery, all we could hear was what sounded like a team of power tools only to find that it was only one nun wielding one monstrous Sthil whipper snipper. There was a whole industrious team of nuns gardening. Somehow it detracted from the calm peaceful serenity of the monastery. We left quickly to search for the UNESCO heritage wooden church, only to find yet again that we could not get it in. Our eSims only allowed us data and we could not actually call the numbers listed at the church door unless they answered WhatsApp calls which they did not.
With having two failures we decided to hunt for lunch at this much acclaimed Maramures local restaurant in Breb. We had been in the region of Bucovina for the last week and this region of Maramures has quite different cuisine which we were very keen to try. In keeping with the theme of the morning the restaurant was shut.
It was with extremely low expectations and spirits that we made our way to the next church. St Nicholas saved us. It was his church, where the spell was broken. A car pulled up at the car park just after we arrived. It was an elderly English couple who could call the phone number at the door. The lady who answered said she would be there with the key in five minutes. The little boy and his granny appeared soon after. The church was opened and the boy very officially collected our 5lei (A$1.75) and handed each of us a ticket. The boy handed Ruby his phone and we had a 20 minute guide through the church from a lady on the phone with the boy pointing out the relevant features and frescos. We thanked the couple for making the phone call and they thanked us for giving them the encouragement to do so as they too had been unsuccessful getting into these churches.
The key holder at the last wooden church answered the WhatsApp call and told us that the key was under the mat. He also said there was going to be service at 4pm. We waited for half an hour, and at 4.15pm when no one and nothing happened, we left. We were used to such miscommunication or Bulgarian/Romanian time that we did not mind. It was special having that quiet time in the church looking at the frescos. From the phone guide at Saint Nicholas Church, we learnt that the wooden churches had tiny little windows of about 20cm x 10cm. The larger windows were put in much later. We were glad for these larger windows as we could not find the light switch for the church.
The drive to Baia Mare on DN18 route involved crossing the Gutâi Pass, which features winding mountain roads and steep serpentines.Lue lisää
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Day 41 ROMANIA Viseu de Sus
28. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
We went on the Steam Train Mocanita Maramures today. It's a single gauge train that takes 4hrs and ventures along the river, through the gorge and forest. Before the start of the journey, we were both interviewed by TV Romania doing a segment on this train.
The train ride was nice but the stops were also interesting for people watching. The train ride back was disturbing because the locomotive in front was attached back to front.

After the train ride we visited the first of 5 UNESCO listed Wooden Churches. This was The Church on the Hill in Ieud. It was locked when we arrived. We had to call the phone number at the door that did not answer. So a message was sent. A reply followed with the message to wait 10 mins. Sure enough a man arrives with the keys to let us in. It was worth the wait as the paintings were magnificently preserved from the 13th century. Paintings were found on the wooden walls, ceiling and both sides of the doors in the interior of the church. Similar to the painted churches, the paintings were Bible stories and on the life of Christ.
Whilst waiting for the church to open, we met a traveller from UK. After a brief chat we parted ways, only to meet her again as she was also a guest at our accommodation. We had a long 3hr chat exchanging ideas and travel stories before turning in for the night.Lue lisää
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Day 40 ROMANIA Viseu de Sus Maramures
27. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
Another place we were very sad to leave was Hai La Saivan. Their hospitality, gastronomic cooking and serenity will be hard to find else where.
We drove directly to the start of the hike called Horses Waterfall in the Rodna mountains in Maramures. On the way, we passed some quaint houses in Ciocanesti.

Horses Waterfall also known as Cascada Cailor in Rodna National Park is a stunning 240m high multi tiered waterfall in the Rodna Mountains, recognized as one of the country's highest. According to local legend, the name stems from a tragic incident where horses were cornered by a bear in a storm and plunged into the abyss.

Whilst the hike was unremarkable at the start, when we got to the Falls, there was an absolute WOW factor. It ranks in the top hike destination for us. After climbing for about an hour, what appeared before our eyes was just magical. It is the tallest waterfall we'd ever seen and it had snow and icicles formed in and around the waterfall. Waterfalls are already mesmerising. The sheer height and spread, the size of Horses Waterfall with the formation of icicles in the falling water, ice and snow around its rocks makes it all the more breathtaking. We stood and stared for a long time before Ruby had to do her usual rock hopping and sitting in the middle of the lower falls.
On most of our hikes, we had to work really hard to get to the destination. This hike was shortened by driving as far into the trail as we could, and decreasing the total elevation gain from 548m to just 467m. For such a relatively easy hike, we had a wonderful spectacle at the end.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaSpectacular!
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Day 39 ROMANIA Hai La Saivan Bucovina
26. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
At the last PUNCT Gastronomical restaurant La Nuta Si Ionica, the host told us that stinging nettles (urzici) was a delicacy that was good for arthritis and high in iron, found only in spring in a 1 month window, that happened to be now. Our Romanian friend back home confirmed the good effects of urzici.
While we were hiking on the property, we found some urzici so I picked one and showed it to the cook. Using Google Translate, and charades, she handed me a basket and said that she'd cook it with garlic when I had picked some. It was a prickly difficult process as only the first 4-6 leaves were picked from each plant.
The end result was worth it when it was served at dinner, urzici cooked in a creamy garlic sauce.
I had ciorba with meatballs for lunch because I could not resist soups even though we were both too full from breakfast. Ruby gave it a miss.
The cook produced a bowl full of cookies she'd made, with coffee and tea served at an alfresco seating area for afternoon tea.
Despite knowing we were expecting a big dinner, the cookies were irresistibly good.
It's a good thing we weren't staying longer or we would leave quite round like the meatballs.
We must have adapted to the slow paced farm life. Breakfast, a short hike, nettles picking, chatting via Google Translate to the farmer (hugs included), and afternoon tea filled most of the day. It was a very languid, quiet and restful day, which included a luxurious soak in an old fashion deep claw foot bath.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaBucolic bliss! I can only read your posts and admire the photos AFTER a substantial meal! Don’t restrict your intakes!
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Photos from Moldavite Monastery and Farm
25. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We parked our car at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere and were picked up by the driver from Hai La Saiven Bioretreat. It is a farm that has cows, sheep, and Freesia horses. We aren't allowed to bring any food here. When we told the driver we were from Australia, he was the only one who didn't seem too shocked or impressed. We usually get the reaction of the shake of the hand gesture that expressed a "wow from so far away." He then declared that they had Australian chickens on the farm. So the chickens beat us here. We never knew that Australia exported chickens.
We had to do a river crossing to get to the farm. Let's hope there won't be any flash flooding so we are not stuck here. On second thoughts, that would actually be great as it's our second paradise stay.
We are in a 100 year old farm house physically moved onto this property when it was earmarked for demolition to preserve the building and heritage.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaBeautiful! (I hope the Aussie chickens aren’t on the menu.)
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Day 38 ROMANIA Sucievita Monastery
25. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
We set out looking for 3 painted churches. We managed to see 2 of the 3. One was closed but there other 2 were very well preserved and maintained. Every wall, doorway, ceiling had frescos on them.
Each scene of the frescos told a story of the saints, stories from the Bible, the orthodox calendar, or the history of the church. We discovered that we could take a photo of the scene and Google AI will tell us what it depicts and the story. It's not always correct, but we did learn alot. It just meant that Ruby would stay for much longer at each wall.Lue lisää
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Day 37 ROMANIA Gura Humorului
24. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Today, we were reminded what travelling is about. We had quite the opposite day to yesterday when everything worked out in our favour.
Our day started well enough with buffet breakfast that came with our spa accommodation. The spread wasn't huge, but what was on offer was good quality and included traditional Romanian delicacies.
After a huge breakfast, we went looking for 3 UNESCO listed painted churches in this region. The first was only 8 minutes from our hotel. After an hour's drive to the second, we found it closed despite a sign stating it's opening times as 0900- 2000 hours 7 days. The third church, another 15 minutes further was under restoration.
The first church, Humor Monastery did not disappoint. It was built in 1537, the frescos were original from 1537 but restoration work had been done and the frescos had been cleaned.
We are seeing 3 more tomorrow before we get to our accommodation in a Bioretreat. Hopefully the churches will be opened.
We spent the rest of our afternoon at the spa. Ruby finally figured out how to stop bobbing around like a cork in the salt tub.
Walked 5.3kmLue lisää
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MatkaajaThe frescoed exterior is something I haven’t seen before. Pity it weathers …. as we do! But beautiful.
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Day 36 ROMANIA Gura Humorului
23. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
We had teary goodbye with our host at Lacu Rosu. We left early to do a scenic drive of the Bicaz Gorge and to visit Agapia Nunnery, the second largest nunnery in Romania. It was huge. We soon realized that the little houses around the main church and nunnery buildings were also for the nuns. It's like a nun village. There were nuns everywhere. They were walking, or standing and talking in most streets. We did not want to drive where there were many nuns, so we ended up parking at a minor side entrance. We now don't think that's where we were supposed to enter from but it gave us the opportunity to walk around the nun village trying to find where visitors were supposed to be. The nuns just looked at us indulgently and carried on with their nun business. We finally found the main church and a service was in progress. Three nuns were singing beautifully so we stood at the back to listen. There was a table laden with piles of breads, buns, cake, beverages in bottles, and painted eggs. Halfway through the service the priest walked up to a singing nun and whispered something to her. Shortly after, she came to us and told us, in English, to walk around the church for a look and not to just stand there. She pointed to the front of the church and asked us to go forward. We moved a few steps forward but were very uncomfortable standing between the priest and the altar when the rest of the nuns and the public was standing behind him. We stood for a minute or so and quietly made our way back to stand behind the priest again. Whilst the priest was chanting and the nuns singing in harmony, they gathered around the table of food while the priest blessed the food with holy water and the nuns together lifted the table and shook it ever so gently. Not a bottle moved, not a jingle of bottles, or sound was heard except for the beautiful singing. I could not help thinking what would happen to the piles of food and tall slender bottles if I had to perform that same task. To our surprise after the service the same nun kept presenting us with a handfuls of breads, kozana and painted eggs for us to take away with us. There was so much she had to give us a plastic bag to carry it all in. It all smelt lovely but we couldn't eat any because we were going to PUNCT gastronomic lunch.

Lunch was 4 courses, and each course would have been a more than adequate lunch in itself. We were given more dessert to take away with us. The hostess/ cook and her daughter-in-law ate the main course with us. The daughter-in-law was asked to come this afternoon to help explain and translate as the hostess did not speak any English. It was lovely learning that every single thing we ate, every ingredient came from either their farm, their family's farm, or a friend's farm. The village have a collective mentality of sharing their produce with each other. Even the white polenta was grown at "friend's farm". Needless to say, it was all most delicious. We had a "boy chicken" for mains. The whole boy chicken meat was dark, even the breast. It was just boiled with "bit salt" and was most tasty.

We stopped at the side of the road to buy some apples. Grace got down as it was too cold for Ruby. As Grace got into the car the apple lady presented Ruby with two huge apples. She must have thought that Grace was not going to share her apples and didn't want to Ruby to go without.

Ironically, or my friend Murphy struck again, as this is the only part of the holiday that we do not need provisions.

We managed to see our first UNESCO listed painted monastery, Voronet Monastery, before arriving at our accommodation at Forest Green Spa Resort in Gura Humorului. We checked in quickly and were relaxing at the steam room, the dry sauna, the salt tub, and the swimming pool for the last three hours. Actually I don't know if the salt tub was very relaxing. It must be much saltier than the last spa we went to and it was truely impossible to stay seated. We now know what zero gravity feels like. I gave up trying to sit as one should in a spa tub and used it as a flotation tub. I thought flotation tubs are supposed to be relaxing so that's what I did. Laid in my back and floated. However the jets kept tossingly me around like a cork in a storm and we ended up in fits of giggles. Fortunately no one else was around.
Walked 2.8kmLue lisää
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Different Snowbabies on the trip
22. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
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Day 35 ROMANIA Lacu Rosu
22. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
We chose a loop hike that took us from 900m to the peak at Killer Rock 1400m, 6km trek. We chose to descend without extending the walk to the hikers overnight hut as the grey clouds were looming and we did not have rain gear.
A good decision to descend earlier as when we were having lunch, there was a heavy snowfall.
We had a slow lunch at the restaurant The Panorama. We ordered the fasole soup in a cob loaf that I have been wanting to try. It was so stressful because the loaf soaked up the hot soup so quickly, the walls were caving in. It was yummy though. We can't imagine 1 person eating the cob loaf soup and then having a main after. Both of us shared that for our lunch and we were so full. The slow lunch was also because the views of Lake Lacu Rosu was peaceful and serene.
Walked 8.9kmLue lisää
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Day 34 ROMANIA Lacu Rosu
21. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
We had the best news when we woke up this morning that Granny's finally got a place in respite and can move from the hospital after 2½ months.
We had a huge breakfast at Casa Codrilor and headed out to the Lacu Rosu Lake for a 4 km hike. Even with Ruby's determination last night, nothing stopped us hiking except when it is unsafe to do so.
The Lake formed in 1837 when part of the Mount Ghilcoş slid down towards the foot of the Suhard massif after storms and torrential rains, blocking the Bicaz river valley.
The name of the lake, both in Romanian and in Hungarian, came either from Mount Ghilcoş (the Killer) or from the Red stream (Verescheu). Thus, in 1864, it is mentioned as the Lake of the Red Stone, later as the Killer Lake, as well as Tăul Roşu. Since 1936, it was officially named the Red Lake (Lacu Roşu).
The lake wasn't red now but when it is red in summer, the color is due to the clays rich in iron oxides brought by the Red Creek and deposited in the lake. At the same time, the red rocks of the Suhard massif accentuate the color of the lake.
The view is spectacular due to the submerged forest, the trunks of the spruce trees still piercing the water here and there, giving the lake a unique appearance in the Romanian water landscape.
After the hike we had lunch at Lacu Roșu Restaurant. After ½hr in the warm restaurant, Ruby's face finally felt normal. Her face was cold and numb during her the hike probably due to the driven snow on her naked face.
We had delicious grilled salmon, and venison stew finished with yummier lava cake dessert. With the huge breakfast and lunch, it more than made up for the lack of dinner last night.
Walked 9.4kmLue lisää
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MatkaajaBrrrrrrrr!! Very scenic and atmospheric, but aren’t you looking forward to some warmth and sunshine?
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MatkaajaRuby is looking forward to sunshine. I love the cold!
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Day 33 ROMANIA Lacu Rosu in Bicaz Gorge
20. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ 🌧 4 °C
Today's highlight was spending 3hrs at The Septimia Spa Resort. The spa resort had sauna, steam room, salt bath, jacuzzi, hydro massage, swimming pool and infrared sauna.
After a relaxing and restorative time at the spa we had lunch at a trout farm in Gheogheni town called Hanul Pastravarului on the way to Bicaz Gorge.
We had sunny spring days at Sighișoara with maximum temperatures around 17⁰. The temperature at Lacu Roșu, Bicaz Gorge was 6⁰ when we arrived this afternoon. It is forecasted for a maximum of 2⁰ tomorrow.
Ruby said that if it is wet, or snowing or windy and cold tomorrow, she will put both her feet, her 10 toes, and bottom down and refuse to hike. We shall see.
Walked 2.7kmLue lisää
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Photos of Malancrav Fortified Church
19. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
Photos of Malancrav Fortified Church and the scenery driving back to Sighisoara
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Day 32 ROMANIA Sighisoara
19. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
We had the most fortunate events today. We did a little drive to both UNESCO World Heritage destinations, Biertan Citadel and Malancrav Fortified Church.
Biertan Citadel was the Seat of the Bishopric Transylvanian Saxon since the Reformation. The Church is surrounded by three fortified walls with parapet walks and 6 fortified towers and 2 bastions. Built in the 14th century to house the inhabitants in the face of danger and to protect during a siege. One bastion was used later as a Marriage Prison where unhappy couples were placed behind bars to work out their differences with 1 single bed, 1 small table, 1 chair and 1 spoon. They were only let out when they sorted their differences and got along.

Having missed the turn to the fortified church at tiny Malancrav town, we decided to do a cook's tour first then drive up the the Fortified Church by the back way. We checked the route in Google, only to be told for the first time Temporarily Closed. That did not show when we were looking at information on the church last night. As we were already there, we were going to just walk around the outside to see what we could see. This is the first of our fortunate events. Just as we arrived at the outer gate of the fortification, and were reading a sign on how to get in when a gentleman emerged with a handful of enormous keys to the church. He kindly let us in though he seemed like he was locking up to leave. The Church's main attraction was stunning frescos that were well preserved even though the church was Lutheran and built in the second half of the 14th century.
The second of our fortunate events was that when we were at a PUNCT Gastronomical restaurant, not only was the food so good and delicious but we witnessed a special celebration for a 1 year little girl's birthday. First there was a selection ritual where the little girl had to choose from a tray with a car key, a roll of cash and a mobile phone. Straight away little Angelina's hand picked the roll of cash, then mobile and finally car keys. Then there was the cutting of a lock of hair ceremony. The lock of hair was sealed into a special box with wax dripped from a candle from church. We were also given a generous slice of her birthday cake.
This PUNCT Gastronomical restaurant was very generous and kept offering wine, water, coffee, more desserts and more just about anything you wanted. There was a jug placed on the table with the lemonade and I told Ruby it was syrup and she poured a large measure into her glass of lemonade only to find out it was more palinca, the local 50% spirit made from apples. She had already drunk half the short glass in front of her. It's also the first restaurant where we've had butter with our bread. Ruby got the recipe of the cabbage salad that was served with our pork with mushroom sauce and 2 mountains of mashed potatoes.
Needless to say we did not need to have dinner tonight.
Walked 5.1kmLue lisää
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MatkaajaWhat an amazing trip!
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Day 31 ROMANIA Sighisoara
18. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We had an easy rest day today. We walked around the Farmers Market and has breakfast of tripe soup, bread, and migees (small skinless sausages) at the local canteen. This local market was in the new town. Sighisoara mediaeval town on top of the hill is small. In 3 hrs, we had meandered through most of the mediaeval cobblestone streets.

Sighisoara is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and is famously known as the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Dracula). Founded in the 12th century by German settlers known as the Transylvanian Saxons, it served as a strategic frontier fortress for the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and remains one of the few medieval citadels in Eastern Europe that is still inhabited.
The town's most striking feature is its fortification system, originally consisting of a 930-meter wall and 14 towers. Each tower was built, maintained, and defended by a specific craft guild.
The Clock Tower was the biggest of the nine defense towers of the Sighișoara fortress that have survived to the present day. The building was used in the Middle Ages as the headquarters of the town hall and the city council, and from 1648 , by installing a clock, it received the character of a clock tower . The other towers we saw were the Tinsmith and Shoemaker's towers.

The Scholar Staircase had 176 steps that led to The Evangelical Church on the Hill and Hilltop School. The Church was built between 1480 to 1500, and was the most important monument of religious architecture in Sighisoara.

Sighisoara is also known to be the birth place of Dracula. Dracul came from his membership in the Order of the Dragon, but in Romanian, dracul also means "the devil," fueling the dark legends that follow. This was not helped by Vlad earning his nickname Vlad the Impaler as he would leave impaled heads of his enemies outside the city walls to intimidate the Ottomans. His political enemies (particularly Saxon merchants) disseminated accounts of his extreme cruelty to blacken his reputation. These tales of horror eventually reached BramStoker in the 1890s. While the modern vampire is a Western invention, Romania has long had legends of Strigoi—troubled spirits that rise from the grave to plague the living. Stoker blended these local superstitions with the historical figure of Vlad III to create Count Dracula.

We met the owner of the apartment when we came back from our walkabout, and he said that the apartment building was a 300 years old building. He had slowly acquired each apartment over 35 years as he was born in the apartment in the ground floor.
Walked 6.6kmLue lisää
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Matkaaja ❤️❤️❤️
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Matkaaja ❤️❤️❤️
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Matkaaja How lovely 🌷
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Matkaaja Beautiful tulips 🌷
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Day 31 ROMANIA Sighisoara
18. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ 🌙 6 °C
We were very sad to leave Casa Craita, our Cabana. It was raining so I think the place was also crying for us not to go.
Our drive to Sighisoara was with stops at a Monastery, that our host told us to visit, the UNESCO Rupea Fortress, UNESCO Evangelical Fortified Church and town in Viscri. The lady that sold tickets was a Saxon decendent, one of the few left in the village. There was a mass exodus for many reasons, namely the wars where the men were conscripted to fight as Germans, to join family members that were sold by Ceauescu etc.
Then we arrived at the highlight of the day. A farm to table meal at Mersendorf 65 Gastronomical. Ruby had the best polenta dish ever. The owner even sent her the recipe by WhatsApp later in the evening with helpful suggestions on alternative ingredients found back in Perth. The polenta was made with their unpasteurized cheese, milk, whey and butter that they churn on the farm. We had 3 more stops planned but lunch took such a long time, chatting with the owners, the other sights would have been shut by the time we got there. We'll get the the sights from Sighisoara.
I've also learnt that Romania has 0 blood alcohol limit for driving. So no more sips of palinca for me.
Walked 6.6kmLue lisää
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Day 31 ROMANIA Piatra Craiului
16. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
We went for a short but pretty steep hike to the Monastery Coltul Chililor. It still has 3 monks living at the monastery. When we went into the cave church, it was so peaceful, quiet and calming energy. This hike was no where as treacherous nor difficult as the last 2 days. Very enjoyable walk. We had lunch in Zarnesti after the hike and are now resting at the Cabana for one last afternoon and night.
It has taken us 4 nights to finish this bottle of Rose.
We will be very sad to leave this corner of paradise.
Walked 7.6kmLue lisää
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MatkaajaIt seems that you’re the only intrepid hikers: is that so? March on!!
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MatkaajaOn the previous walk to the chalet, we saw school groups, and many couples and runners, past us on the trail. There were however trails where we are the only ones. This could be because we are in the low season or there are many trails in the 1 National park and the other hikers may be on the other tracks.
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Day 30 ROMANIA Piatra Craiului
15. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Another beautiful day for a hike, blue skies and weather so warm I had to shed my thermal top early in the hike. We started the hike from Fontana Lui Botorog.The hike started with a relentless 4km steep climb. I took a long break to video call mum and showed her the forest. We finally climbed out of the forest into open alpine meadow, Poiana Zanoaga, with fields of purple crocuses growing around and amongst patches of snow, surrounded by snow capped peaks. It was so beautiful I had to give mum another video.
Another 2 km on this much kinder gradient, we reached Chalet Curmatura.
We were told by our host Dorin to convey his greetings to the owners however they were in Brasov. The chalet only provided a very basic menu and we shared a chicken soup, and sausages with potatoe stew.
The history and development of Cabana Curmătura is closely tied to the early development of mountain tourism in the Piatra Craiului. It started as a small hunting refuge in 1897 before a formal structure was established by the Transylvanian Carpathian Society (SCA-EKE) in 1897. The modern chalet was built by the Siebenbürgischer Karpatenverein (S.K.V.), a Saxon mountaineering association, between 1936 and 1937. In the communist Era, it was used as a Tourism Office. Today it remains one of the most well-maintained and iconic huts in the Southern Carpathians, serving as the primary base for those exploring the Piatra Craiului National Park.
The hike down took us past the Zarnesti Gorge.
We had to be careful with our footing for most of the hike. We had to negotiate rocks of various sizes, tree roots, slippery ice and snow, mud, river crossings, flooded paths, and narrow ledges with steep drops on one side. The last 2km gave us some reprieve as we walked on a rather flat old river bed of gravel. This time I was able to capture the bears foot print in the mud.
I think our host, Dorin took pity on us when he saw us hobbling up to the Cabana and invited us into an outdoor jacuzzi to lessen our muscle pain. The water was at a perfect temperature of 41⁰ with salts. We were rejuvenated after the jacuzzi and most of the aches and pain were gone.
We climbed from 831m to 1461m elevation.
Walked 13 kmLue lisää
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Matkaaja Beautiful!
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Day 29 ROMANIA Piatra Craiului
14. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
Day 2 in paradise. We cooked our first bacon and eggs for breakfast then we set off on hike up to Spirlea Hut and back.
Although only 8km, this hike was rated in the hard category. ¾ of the way to the hut, we almost gave up as it was really hard. The gradient had increased from 20⁰ to 60⁰-65⁰, with still 1.5km to get to the hut. The path was slippery with ice and snow. We could not even anchor our hiking pole into the ground to help with the slippery steep gradient as the ground was frozen. It was one hard treacherous step after another. Every 10 steps or so, one of us would say, "This is getting too dangerous. We should turn back." Yet we still kept on. It took us about an hour to ascend that 1.5 km. We had to remember to whoop loudly and shout every 10 minutes or so to make our presence known to these bears that we were told we not there. Grace was certain she saw bear prints in the snow, but the gradient was too steep to try for a photo.
We were almost face to face with the tops of the snow capped mountains at Spirlea Hut. It was freezing and blustery but magnificent mountain scenery. We sat outside the refuge to baske in our success and to catch our breath. We had every intention to have our lunch outside the refuge. However, it was so cold, we sat in the refuge for lunch, looking out the open door at the mountain peaks that were right in front. We ascended from 900m to 1430m.
Coming down was just as difficult. We came down off track, and took our chances with a steeper gradient, avoiding the snow and ice. The gradient was so steep we had to lean up on a tree to rest and to check our bearings.
Distance walked was a mere 8.3km but half of that distance was uphill.Lue lisää
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Matkaaja ❤️
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Day 28 ROMANIA Piatra Craiului
13. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
We were meant to stop at Rasnov Citadel and the Bran Castle but it was so busy with people, we gave it a miss and took photos from afar. Bran castle is dark and spooky from the outside. I'm glad I'm not in the castle.
We did stop at a lovely traditional Romanian restaurant, La Promenada, and had a traditional Easter platter for lunch with Chocolate Papanasi, a donut like dessert with chocolate on top for dessert.
Ruby added a tiny bit of salt and it turned out to be much yummier.
We have arrived at Piatra Craiului in an accommodation called Casa Craita. This accommodation was kindly bought by a great friend from Perth as a gift. Arriving at the Cabana is like arriving in paradise.
The host said it's very safe to hike as there are no bears, but whilst hiking, we have to make loud sounds to let the bears, that aren't there, knows that we are around and the bears should stay away.
The pictures do not do justice but it should give some idea of how magnificent this place is.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaVery scenic ….. and the exotic food obviously just keeps coming, along with a plethora of churches! Stay safe from the bears, existent or otherwise🐻
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More pictures of Brasov
12. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ 🌙 3 °C
MatkaajaLoving all your tales and pics just beautiful.
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Day 26 & 27 ROMANIA Brasov
12. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ 🌙 3 °C
Yesterday's drive to Brasov was very scenic and we stopped on the way to do a 7km hike. Our first sign at the start of the hike was beware of bears and what to do if we saw one. What did frighten us on the hike wasn't a bear but a wild dog who decided that he wanted to accompany us on the hike. He ran back and forth almost beckoning us to follow him. Never barked or growled at us, however, being wild, we were still unsure should he turn vicious.
Being frightened by the dog, we got to the waterfall and didn't realise that it had frozen over. We wondered why the hike description said that there was a Howling Waterfall but not a trickle of water was heard and because the mountain was covered in snow, we thought it was just snow.
The other eventful thing was that we hiked most of the way in snow fall. That was magical. Due to the troublesome dog our hike was shortened to 3.93km.
We had every intention to attend midnight mass but our attempt to get to midnight mass failed as it was freezing and we weren't sure if parking was going to be an issue. Mainly because it was freezing.
Today we spent the day in Brasov town. There was supposed to be a big Easter fair but it turned out to be only a little better than our 3 stalls fair in Bucharest. There were at least 20 stalls mainly selling cheeses, sausages and palinca(spirits). We also visited The Black Church and were pleasantly surprised by a young girl coming up to us to give us a guided tour of the church for free. She was very enthusiastic and informative. There were 5 pipe organs kept there for preservation and the biggest pipe organ had more than 3900 pipes that hasn't needed repair since 1836.Lue lisää
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Day 26 ROMANIA Sinaia
10. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
We have returned to snow quite unexpectedly.
We visited the Peles Castle and saw the opulence of 4 Grand pianos, Murano Glass mirrors and chandeliers, stunning and intricate carvings and copies of masterpieces of Reuben, Michael Angelo, Klimt, Tintoretto and more. Though it was built in the early 1900, it had modern conveniences like an elevator, plumbing to flushing toilets and baths and electric lights. We were fortunate to be in the same rooms with 2 old ladies from Brisbane who had a private guide and seemed happy for us to listen to the guides' narrative.
We had lunch in a bubble outside the restaurant. It was warm and quite novel.
We got to the accommodation just in time to avoid the snow. We did go out on the balcony to stick our arms out to "catch" the snow.Lue lisää
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MatkaajaBrrrrr! In contrast, we send greetings from a lovely sunny 30-degree day in Perth.We hope you’re enjoying special festivities (and food!) for Orthodox Easter, and that all the cultural and ecclesiastical treasures continue to delight! 🤗 Merome & Graeme
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Matkaaja Bello 😁
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Day 25 ROMANIA Bucharest
9. huhtikuuta, Romania ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
We started our day with the National Museum of Art Romania . We then went looking for the Easter fair which turned out to be a pathetic 4 stall fair selling wood craft and souvenirs. So disappointing.
The best pork knuckle I've ever had made up for it. I reckon it's better than the crispy skin German version. The pork knuckle we had was slow roasted to perfection at a restaurant recommended by the free walking tour guide, La Copac Restaurant. Though it was slow roasted, it was moist yet fall apart tender.
After lunch it started to rain so we headed for the monastery that was the last place to visit on our list to seek shelter. We attended some of the evening service of the 12 gospels reading at the Orthodox Church Stavropoleos Monastery. When we were leaving, Ruby got a hug from a lady sat next to us.Lue lisää
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