We last wrote just before meeting Becky in Sighisoara (SH) and what a sight she must of had when we rocked up.  It was 35 degrees plus on the day we cycled in teamed up with some spectacular Romanian broken concrete roads (we’ve found this by far the worst surface to ride on, nothing beats the impact on a bike with no suspension).  So we arrived sweaty and smelly but to a wonderful welcome and fresh Lemonade, followed by lots of beer, wine and catching up!

It was a delight, as expected, to see a familiar face and we spent our first three days in SH taking in the city.  We managed a day trip to Viscery and a volcanic lake, hiring a car in town and bumping along the roads of Transylvania.  Post SH we headed down to Sibiu for our remaining 3 days together and were very impressed by the cosmopolitan, well-kept city.  Another great excuse in having Becky around was to get out and try some of the local cuisine.  Her mother kindly transferred some money for Becky to take us for dinner on the last night and we had an exquisite chow down on her behalf – many thanks Cherie 🙂 The food in Romanian is very hearty with lots of stews, Goulash, soups and maize.  Every dish comes with a good portion of Polenta as the carb which is a barry bonus for the Coeliacs amongst us.  The standard snack of choice is piles of Polenta with cream and cheese atop.  We would of liked to take a picture to post but whenever it has been put in front of us it dissapears far too quickly!

Volcanic lakes with Becky glamour

The cobbled streets of SH

Leaving Becky was a sad farewell but the 5 days off had given our bodies a well earned recovery post the 7 day blitz to SH.  We both always love getting back in the saddle and to up the anti we decided to take a route through the Transylvanian Alps.  As we rose off the plains outside Sibiu it was nourishing to be back in the open space of the hills with the familiar horses and carts back on the agenda.

Our entry into the Alps

The Alps are a breathtaking sight and had us climbing 1200-1600m most days.  It would be comparable to the more western European ranges except in true Romanian style far more wild, empty and untamed. At times you were faced with so many fir tree covered hills it would look like the whole view was vibrating! The air was certainly cooler and with all the local pensiunes and guest houses taken up by locals who’d come in for the mushroom picking season, we were back in our trusty tent.  The isolation up the mountains was really quite astonishing and as we continued our 4 day traverse we saw less and less people and civilisation.

A chilly breakfast

For our last day Brian had decided to take a route over the mountains that was only coming up as a dotted line on the maps we were referencing.  A road finished and started either side but we had an 100 mile stretch in the middle which we weren’t sure of what it would entail.  Always up for a challenge we decided to push on through.  What we met was the most toe tingling scenery to date. Nothing but a rock and dirt track as our path through and absolutely no other road users for two days.  With 50 miles still to go we came across an isolated farm where with some tidy hand gestures and smiles the owner let us pitch our tent for the night.  As bears, wolves and lynx are all still out and about in these parts she kindly left the lights on she’d used to herd her cattle and sheep in off the mountains that night.  This was wild camping at it’s absolute best and a real buzz to hang out somewhere so far off the beaten track.

well off the beaten track, lovely

One for the album on the Alpine farm

Food was slightly low the next morning and we hadn’t realised quite how far it was to go to civilisation.  By the time we reached Baile Herculane we’d gone well past our last snickers and were rationing out the Gummy Bears – all good fun!! A part of cycle touring that makes it such a unqiue and exciting way to travel is that you often don’t know what the roads will be like you’ll travel on or the places you’ll pass through.  And whatever you encounter comes at a pace with which you have no choice but to take everything in.  You flow rather than fly through towns and villages.  Coming into Baile Herculane from the Alpine pass was one of these very parodies; isolation and bucolic delights to masses of people and fast food canteens!  We stayed for a noisy night and made a swift exit the following morning to Orsova and joined the Danube again.

The road out to Baile Herculane

The last time we were on her banks was back in Germany and what a different site we met this time.  Previously it was non stop freight shipping and tourists as far as the eye could see.  In Romania we’ve seen 1 ship in two days and have stumbled across a deserted riverside campsite/club Tropicana style Pensiune were us and our tent are the only guests. At 3 pounds 50 a night and a 25 metre out-door pool to boot we decided to take our rest day here 🙂

riverside Danube Romanian style

A deserted Club Tropicana

We’re not sure where we’ll be heading next but a few people we’ve met along the road have tipped us off about the Danube Delta.  So it may be a few more days on the river to the Black Sea coast or a border crossing into Bulgaria….we’ll see what the weather and our moods bring after a recharge.

Hope everyone is doing ok, sending all our love as always.

Tommy and Brian

xxx