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"Romania: simply surprising" "Students
of European history know the scene well, an image of the continent as it once
was: a bucolic paradise of rolling fields tended by lonely shepherds, horses’
hooves on cobble-stoned roads; a pace of life as unhurried as a farmer chewing a
piece of hay. … Romania and Moldova are among the last bastions of Europe’s
traditional heart and soul. Here the pastoral heart beats on in unspoiled
countryside. Isolated villages nestled in lush valleys carry on traditions long
relegated to tourist attractions just a few hundred kilometres west: yes, gentle
shepherds tend to their flock – only they’ll be talking on their mobile
phone as they do." Romania
& Moldova, Lonely Planet, July 2004 Wed
28th July, Left home at 5.30
pm odometer 63190, a nice evening, arriving Dover just after 9 pm, MSF (Miles so
far) 190. Spent the night on Dover seafront. Only
Andy, & Rosemary this time. Thurs
29th July, caught the 0700
P&O ferry Pride of Aquitaine, arriving Calais slightly late, 10:00 local
time. A lovely day and a smooth crossing. Drove North then A2/E314 via Genk to
Brussels. The Genk road has proved quieter than the alternative route we
normally take. Holland at 14.30, MSF 392, 14:45 Germany MSF 411. 16:10, Cologne
ring road, 452 miles. A45 > Frankfurt. Stopped overnight at service area near
Wurzburg, MSF 676. Fri
30th July. Left service area
at 0800, crossed the Danube at about 800 miles, travelling via Nuremburg,
Regensburg, entering Austria at Passau 12:30,
MSF 892, Linz, reaching Camping Wien West (Vienna) at 17:00, MSF 1058.
Site cost about £16 p.n. inc. electricity. Just below the site is some amazing
architecture, a museum dedicated to Ernest Fuchs. We think he was a
psychologist, but we aren't sure! Sat
31st July. Spent the day in
Vienna. We were rather confused with the bus timetable, thinking the buses went
into the centre. In fact the buses only took you to the train & tube
station, so we then had to catch a
train. Even then we didn't twig, assuming we had just caught the wrong bus.
Vienna
is a beautiful relaxed and open city, rather a cross between Prague & Oslo.
It was a hot cloudless day, but luckily there was a strong cooling breeze.
Rather than spend the day inside - there are masses of museums and galleries, we
walked the streets admiring the sights - and Vienna is full of them. Walking the
streets is easy, as there is very little traffic, considering Vienna is the
capital. The only downsides are the pedestrian crossings - crowds build-up
waiting for the green light to cross even if there isn't a car in sight, and
being pestered by touts dressed as Mozart trying to sell concert tickets. We
especially enjoyed the shade of the botanical gardens adjoining the Summer
Palace. The
confusion about buses continued on the return journey - it took us an hour of
searching for non existent buses to work out the truth, aided by some Turkish
shopkeepers. However, we got back to the site eventually - we were fortunate to
remember the name of the locality- Hufflepuff? Hutteldorf. Sun
1st Aug. Left Camping Wien
West at 9.35, and headed for Budapest. As we thundered along the motorway we
suddenly ground to a halt 3 miles from the border - the end of the queue to
cross the border. It took us 2 hours 40 minutes to reach the border, change cash
for Forints, and buy a 4 day vignette. 100 Forints is about 33 pence, making a
litre of petrol about 80p. Thence on into Budapest (1223 miles) - taking the M1
in and the A3 out means you need to follow right through the centre of the city. Whereas the motorways are brand new, smooth straight
and fast, the city roads are like we remember from our visit 7 years ago - ruts,
deep potholes, cobbles and very uneven surfaces. There may be 3 lanes, but they
are narrow and the local traffic leaps from lane to lane with hardly a glance.
Then onto the M3 - again fast, smooth, and probably paid for by the EU. At
Gyongyos we turned off on the A24 to Sasto, heading up towards the
highest Hungarian mountain (not terribly high!) and stopped at the local
campsite in Sasto (Matra Camping) (small, slightly tacky, untidy little shacks,
and cold showers - but more than adequate). the area round the campsite is
obviously the local tourist spot - a little lake, boats, children's amusement
rides, refreshment cabins. MSF 1294. Mon
2nd Aug. Paid up, ( 2250 Ft
~ £7.50 ) and headed up over the
mountain route to Eger. Many hairpin bends, but the road was wide, and the
slopes not at all steep - 3rd gear all the way. (Once you've done the
Trollstiggen in Norway, everything else is easy!). After Eger we picked up the
M3 to the end at Polgar, then A36 Nyiegyhaza, unclassified road to Nagykallo and
Nyirbator, where the campsite we were aiming for was now closed! Hmm! So a
frantic search in Lonely Planet turned up a site at Turistvandi, North East of
Fehergyarmat. This turned out to be a lovely little site, beside a restored
water mill. The owner (Mary) and her son (Gabor) spoke excellent English, and
there were 2 Yorkshire born teachers were spending a week teaching English to 30
Hungarian children of various ages. We had stuffed cabbage, which was very
tasty. The evening was spent drinking beer with Barbara & Chris. They have
been in Hungary a year, as English tutors to 2 small boys, whose parents intend
to send to boarding school in England when they are a bit older. MSF 1483 Tues
3rd Aug. A lazy day on site,
catching up on chores, including the washing. Walked into the village for a spot
of shopping, and strolled in the wood beside the river. We
ate again at the camp restaurant - home made plum brandy (Polinka), goulash
with home made bread (delicious, and nothing like goulash at home), and a
very nice cake. Then more beers with Barbara & Steve, round
a fire that Gabor eventually got going. Wed
4th Aug. Left the site, and
crossed the Romanian border at 12.30, at Satu Mare,
and followed the A19 towards Sighetu Marmatiei. Changed some cash - there are
60,000 Lei to the pound! The roads are APPALLING! In one section, descending
from a pass, max speed was 10 mph because of the size, depth and frequency of
the potholes. Reached Camping
Poleni at Sapinta, near the Merry Cemetery at about 4 pm. A tiny and relaxed
campsite, with no formalities at all - no interest in names or passports. 1
night, with electricity, and an evening meal of excellent trout cooked over a
fire, plus beers, cost £10, inc. tip (600,000 Lei). 2 Dutch motor caravans
arrived, 3 German bikers and another German family, and a convoy of 4 Italian
motor caravans. MSF 1585 Thurs
5th Aug Walked 3 Km to the
Merry Cemetery. This a remarkable place - almost all the closely packed graves
have brightly painted carved wooden boards depicting the departed, and a poem
about their life & death. These are all modern, beginning in 1935, and
continuing today, and sometimes quite graphic - someone being knocked over by a
car; a housewife in her kitchen, a shepherd with his sheep or a tailor with his
Singer sewing machine. Romanian coach parties arrived regularly, and there is a
very small cost to go in. A little way away is the museum about it - actually
the home & workshop of the original carver, and where the work still goes
on. Nicolai Ceausescu visited here,
and there was a carving of NC & the Romanian politburo. There was also a
copy of a 1991 book, with full colour plates of some of the graves, and an
English translation of the poems. We later saw this on sale by a street trader
or £9, and bought it. We had been intending to try to find it from Amazon. We
then attempted to walk to the river that forms the border with Ukraine, but were
defeated by flooded footpaths. However, we did picnic near the local monastery, and
visit the newly built wooden church (in fact building is still in progress).
This is beautiful, and very reminiscent of the Norwegian stave churches (but
very much larger). There is a glorious smell of new wood, and a small boy
presented us with a wooden roof shingle. Returning
to the camp site, the Italians had left, but some French & Polish campers
had arrived. It was all very international, and we all conversed, in English.
The Poles were from Krakow, and were pleased when we told them we had been
there. It looks like the Dutch are following a similar route to us, so we are
likely meet again. There was also a
group of English travelers, stopping only for a meal, who had been bringing
relief to a Romanian town for years, and working in a hospital there (repairs,
painting etc). Now there is a new hospital, with better facilities than the
hospital the Brits had come from. A large & noisy group of Hungarians were
using the barbecue facilities, before moving on. One of them wore a shirt with
"Digital" displayed. I enquired, and he has worked with Digital
Hungary for many years, now HP of course. He had an English Basset hound, and
said that this was now a fashionable item in Hungary, and was effectively his
4th grandchild. He had heard of Barclays Bank (a big Vax user), and was
surprised to come all the way to Romania to find another
IT guy. We
dined on steak, chicken snitzel, red wine, and beer, and again the cost came to
about £10, inc. camp fee. Fri
6th Aug. We eased our way
out of the camp at about 10:00 - it was fairly tight - and made our way further
into Romania. Visited Barsana (on the A19) - a new and spectacular monastery
there, where we saw a priest blessing a car, scattering murky looking "holy
water" onto the seats. Further on the A19 we turned right looking for the
oldest wooden church in the Maramures, at Leud. We found that wherever we went,
2 Dutch motor caravans were never far behind. We finally all settled up at a
pension in Leud, all in a line up the drive. The Dutch all speak English (just
as well, as my only Dutch is a few swear words!), we also discovered that quite
a few Romanians speak French, which is useful. In fact, many words are quite
similar to French. We have found that we can partially understand some written
Romanian, unlike Hungarian, where there are no recognisable words. Leud
itself is remarkable, and probably typical. People sit outside their gates on
seats built in to the wall, or wander the streets, because there is little
traffic, and includes cows, horses, & carts. Older ladies, and some of the
young ones, wear traditional costume. It is like I imagine English villages were
before WW1 - tranquil and idyllic. We
were introduced to the family, all teachers. The father, Ion, and his wife spoke
fluent French, their daughter, Celia, spoke fluent French & English, had a
masters degree in both languages, and taught French. Then we all ate a merry
meal together - 4 Dutch & 2 Brits, provided by the pension host & his
family, under a vine in the garden. We started with a fiery polinka, home-made,
double distilled to 52% alcohol, or a sweeter & fruitier one at only 25%. A
delicious vegetable soup, main course of veal, small egg & vegetable burger
things, and deliciously cooked potatoes. Finally, a home made banana gateau.
Peter had retired from the Royal Household, his wife Rijt
was a secretary, Heinrich & Monique had their own garage. They were
all jolly good company, I was persuaded to sing (?) Wild Rover & they all
joined in the chorus. MSF 1620 Sat
7th Aug. Rosemary's
birthday, and she was given a bottle of wine and some Dutch biscuits by our
companions. After a few photos, and fond farewells, we set off alone (but not
for long!). Along the way we stopped at a local market in Sacel to buy food.
Fresh local produce, but a narrow range of
fruit and vegetables. We were fascinated by the gypsies dressed like
something out of our children's story books - women with long colourful skirts,
blouses and headscarves, girls with flashing eyes and
long dark braids plaited with bright ribbons. Celia had said that the
travelling Roma caused problems wherever they stopped, but although they begged
us for money on many occasions, we
never found them threatening. On
to Viseu de Sus, where we found an Internet cafe to pick up email, but failed to
find the steam railway. Then back along the A18 through Borsa to the pass Pasul
Prislop, 1416 m. The road through Borsa was the worst yet - badly made concrete,
very rough with large gaps between slabs, and potholes as well. Even 20 mph was
too fast. We were fearful it might extend to the summit, in which case we might
have given up, but it was only in Borsa. Interestingly, all the towns and
villages are long and thin, so our concrete road torture went on for a long way.
At the pass, which was a very easy climb - wide road and 3rd gear all the way,
we found Peter, Rijt, Heinrich & Monique already parked up. Preparations
were in hand for tomorrow's folk festival. So having settled in beside the Dutch
motor caravans, we walked a track up into the hills for an hour or so. On the
return journey, as we passed a church under construction, we asked if we could
have a look. A very proud foreman showed us round, including several flights of
unfinished stairs. He explained that there was a lot of fighting here during the
war, and after the battle the soldiers came here to pray. and the dead buried
here. Over the course of only a few hours men arrived with logs, constructed a
bell tower, and hung the bells. Very impressive.
MSF 1685 Sun
8th August. Well, having
parked neatly in a small car park by the road, we were all woken at 06:00 by
knocking on the windows. We ignored it, because we thought they were the gypsies
that had been doing the same last night, but it turned out to be the police, who
needed the space for police vehicles. So after much to-ing and fro-ing, we
settled in a spot near the building site of a church. Meanwhile,
stalls were being erected, and in some cases built from scratch, up the
hillside. There must have been 100, in all, from food - skinless spicy sausages
were the most common, and we had some for lunch. 3, with bread & oodles of
mustard cost 30,000 Lei - about 50 pence! There were also stalls selling tacky
toys, clothes, tools, silver, even bolts of cloth & suits. From 13.00 to
about 18.00 groups of mainly children, but some comprising quite old people, all
dressed in exquisite national costume, sang and danced. As one group left the
stage another entered, so there was none of the enormous gaps in performance you
sometimes get. 6 very brave French scouts from Rouen also performed, singing 3
songs to a very appreciative audience. There must be something in the air or
diet that gives Romanian girls perfect complexions - just look at the photos to
see what I mean! Afterwards,
and before we cooked our tea, we joined the Dutch in a drink or two outside. We were shortly joined by a German
couple, and their Romanian travelling companion (Mihaela). There opening words
were: "What language are we using this evening?" On hearing it was
English, Mihaela said that that was her only language other than Romanian (and
she spoke it beautifully). A nearby French camp was getting a fire going, so we
went to join them, as it was getting very cold. More French arrived, and we
found we had quite an international party going on. We all drank far too much,
failed to get an evening meal, stayed up far too late, and got bitterly cold,
but we would not have missed it for anything. Mon
9th August. We were awoken
at 0700 by church bells only 50 yards away. We could all have done without that!
There were several delicate looking individuals around that morning! One by one
we all went our separate ways, after many farewells. After a walk up into the mountains, we returned at lunchtime
to find a number of gypsy children making a nuisance of themselves again. We
would have given them something, but we had seen from experience that that
didn't stop them pestering. So we moved on ourselves, arriving at Vatra Dornai
mid afternoon. A reasonable campsite, for only £4 inc. electricity, and we
wandered back into town to do some shopping, and use an Internet cafe to check
email, before returning to eat at the site. Whilst eating we got into
conversation with a French couple who were travelling round Romania using public
transport - "An interesting social exercise" they said, "but
frustrating and slow". MSF 1729 Tues
10th August. On the site we
met some Italian scouts, taking Romanian orphans camping, and some Czech scouts
from Prague. Their common language was English. This follows the meeting with a
group of Slovak back packers yesterday. We left the site at 10:00, heading for
the painted monasteries. Immediately it started to rain, and we found the
windscreen wipers wouldn't work. Not only that, but the indicator lights and headlights were doing strange
things, which rather points towards a faulty earth connection. Then suddenly, it
all worked again. Worrying, really, as faults that "just go away" are
likely to "just come back again". The rain had stopped by the time we
got to the first monastery, at Voronet. These painted monasteries are so called
because they are painted on the outside with biblical scenes, as well as the
inside. They were built and painted in the 16th century, when Moldavia was
threatened by the Ottoman Empire. They were intended to educate and entertain
the troops that gathered inside the monasteries' defensive walls whilst they
waited to do battle. The colours are quite vivid, with lots of blues and red.
Lunch, then onto the second, at Humorului. Here we bought a hand made
"runner" to go on our new chests of drawers, 400,000 Lei (~£7.00).
With some trepidation - I was worried my card would be swallowed -
we drew 3 million Lei from a cash machine. These holes in the wall have
transformed holiday cash. The petrol stations here don't take credit card, so
more cash is required than usual. Then on to the third monastery at Vatra
Moldovitei, where we spent the night in the car park, between the old monastery
and the new, joined by a convoy of 3 Italian motor caravans.. MSF 1810. Wed
11th August. After
breakfast, a tour of our 3rd painted monastery, before driving 24 miles over a
pass to our 4th, at Sucevita. This mountain road is being extensively re-laid,
and there were miles of road works. The new surface was excellent, but
bizarrely, at a hairpin bend, there was no real road at all, just a steep muddy
track. On the way out we were going down, but I worried about the return journey
in case we got baulked on the hill, and had to take it in 1st gear (the wheels
would have spun). Luckily, in the event we got through at a reasonable speed,
continuing on down the E576 to Bistrita, then A15 via Reghin, & Targu Mares,
& A13 to Sighisoara. We took a wrong turning at Targu Mures, and a kind
Romanian English speaker stopped his car to help. He ended up driving in front
of us to show us the way. We noticed a novel and useful feature about the
traffic lights - it counts down the number seconds before the light changes,
both red and green. At least one village, Petelea, every house had a shadoof in
the garden, to lift water from their wells. Along the way, a bang, clatter and
tinkle came from the back of the van, and one of our spring assisters broke into
3 pieces, and fell away, a victim of Romanian roads. This held us up for a short
while as I collected the bits, and we arrived in Sighisoara as it was getting
dark, 230 miles from Sucevita. As we
approached Targu Mures we noticed that the villages looked like the Hungarian
villages we had driven through earlier in the holiday. We were in Szekely Land,
settled by and claimed by Hungarians. The villages all have Hungarian names, and
speak Hungarian. Recently Hungary relinquished its claim to the area, in return
for improved rights for Hungarian speaking Romanians. The relationship continues
to be an uneasy one. Actually, the road from Targu Mures was pretty good. We
failed to find the poorly signposted campsite, and spent the night beside a
municipal building on the main road - and we didn't get a lot of sleep. MSF 2050 Thurs
12th August - an early
start, and into Sighisoara. We found the campsite - not at all impressive. The
morning mist burnt off, and it turned into one of our hottest days. Sighisoara
is a charming citadel town, with some nice squares, old streets, towers, and
currently, few tourists. A few French, a few Germans, a handful of Americans,
and 2 Brits. (In 10 years time it will be horribly touristy.) There is a
fascinating covered staircase of 172 steps, built in 1642, that leads up to a
Gothic church and a school. Sighisoara is also the birthplace of Vlad Dracul,
"Vlad the Impaler", the inspiration for Dracula. Far from being a
tyrant, he is a local hero, as he defended the country from the Ottoman
invaders. Until 1991 this was in the heart of the Saxon, German speaking area.
They had been invited to settle in the 12th century as a bulwark against the
Turks. In exchange they were offered land (in the days when most of the
population were serfs), freedom to worship and organise themselves in fortified
villages and cities. In 1991-1995 most of them up sticked, and went to Germany,
where their ancestors came from 900 years ago. Only 500 German speakers remain,
and one little old lady was asking tourists if they spoke German, presumably so
she could have a conversation with someone. An American charity ran a cafe,
& Internet cafe, and we checked our email. We had a late anniversary lunch
at Casa Wagner, reckoned by Lonely Planet to be Romania's best hotel, run by a
Dutchman & his Romanian wife. Very nice, and 3 courses each, & 3 beers,
cost £18 including a tip. Late
afternoon, we made our way to the camp site we failed to find last night. A
strange place - most of the facilities seem to have been destroyed, and water is
provided in a bucket from a pool inside the cafe/bar. Time to use filtered water
for cleaning our teeth! MSF 2066 Fri
13th August. Moved on a
short way, to some of the Saxon villages - Biertan, where there is a grand
fortified Lutheran church, and a lovely village to boot. It is interesting how
different the Saxon villages are. We filled our water tank from the fountain in
the square, and paid 30,000 Lei each to visit the church (and 50,000 Lei to
park!), followed by a stroll round the village. Then up the road to a less
touristy Richis. We didn't stop long here, but carried on up the road, which
turned into a dirt track, becoming steeper with hairpin bends. With some
trepidation we carried on for 3 Km before rejoining a metalled road. There
followed a long drive through lovely scenery, spectacular views, and farm scenes
not seen in Britain since the 1920's- horse drawn farm carts, hay making with
scythes and rakes, boys and girls tending flocks of a dozen sheep. Like a scene
from Beethoven's Pastoral symphony! Rejoining the main road at Seica Mare, we
failed to find the fortified church there, or at nearby Seica Mica. So we
carried on into Sibiu, a large and now industrial town, and on to Orlat nearby,
looking for a pensiune recommended by Lonely Planet. We eventually found it, but
they were unable to take us, so we carried on south, and wild camped on large
expanse of grass below a dam. Here we watched goats and cows being brought down
from the hill pastures back to the village for the night. MSF 2168 Sat
14th August. Drove into
Sibiu, via a look around the fortified Saxon church at Cristian, and a foray
into one Romania's few modern hypermarkets. The contents were pretty much the
same as any French, Spanish or Belgian equivalent. Many customers had trolleys
overflowing with goods, but there were very few checkouts in operation. It
looked like we would be in for a long wait, so we decided against shopping
there, and made our way out. We
parked on the edge of Sibiu, and walked in. Sibiu is to be the "European
City of Culture 2006", and a great deal of renovation is in progress. The
have a long way to go, but when renovation is complete, it will be similar to
Prague. It architecture is gloriously Hapsburg, but dreadfully neglected. Our
hope is that they don't overdo the restoration, but restore sensitively. Time
will tell, but we will certainly return to see how they get on. Over
lunch, in an Italian pizza joint that sold only German & Belgian beer (why
not Romanian? - it is pretty good.) we met an oldish German lady, on her third
coach tour of Romania, who spoke excellent English, and who joined us at our
table. She was very knowledgeable, and very talkative, and we had a very
enjoyable and learned lunch. We
returned to our wild campsite, to discover that the village festival was taking
place very close to there. Nevertheless, we camped in our usual spot, and went
to see the festivities. This much more of a local village affair, but much more
organised. The stage appeared to have been made on the spot, from trees felled
nearby. Indeed, this has been one of the big surprises of the trip. You want a
stage? No problem, we'll cut down a tree and make one. You want a table? no
problem ..... All evening horses and carts were bringing villagers to and fro.
Later in the evening, a village meal was in progress, cooked in cauldrons over
fires, served in china on white table cloths. It was interesting to note that
national costume here was black & white, whereas in Maramures it was much
more colourful. MSF 2197 Sun
15th August. The festival
continued today, but we needed to get to Timisoara. We followed the E68 via
Sebes, Orastie & Simeria, then turned left to see the castle at Hunedoara.
This is supposed to be the loveliest castle in Eastern Europe. It is 14th C
Gothic, and largely complete. Its Hungarian origins angered Ceausescu, who
surrounded the castle with ugly, and now derelict, factories. Rather than return
to the main road, we continued south along a country road with glorious views,
to Hateg, where we picked up the A68 to Caransebes, thence the E70 to Timisoara.
The campsite was on that road, about 5 Km out of Timisoara, which saved us a
battle in the city centre. We were keen to come here because this is where the
1989 revolution started. The campsite, Camping International, was by far the
best we've been on in Romania. The site is set in tall oak trees, with stacks of
shade. Each pitch has a small wall around it, electricity supply, its own water
tap, and electric lights, but on one side is a busy road, and on the other side,
a busy and noisy railway. Alongside us was a Dutchman taking a long sabbatical,
a Belgian motor caravan, a young German family, an Italian motor caravan (that
left very noisily at 6.30 the next morning), and a few Romanian tents. MSF 2410 Mon
16th August. The site is on
a trolley bus route, so we caught the No 11 bus into the centre. Return fare was
about 30 pence each. We decanted at the market - one large covered space full of
fruit & vegetables, another smaller hall purely of flowers, This has to be
the best flower market we've ever seen, with artistically arranged bouquets of
exquisitely perfect blooms costing only £1 or so. There were 3 squares, and
numerous cathedrals of various denominations. The architectural style, like much
of Romania, is faded Hapsburg. The fading colours add to the beauty and
grandeur, rather than diminishing it. In a few years these squares will rival
Prague (but without the King Charles bridge). We visited the Hungarian church
where the revolution was sparked, the square in front of the Opera House where
the first demonstration took place, and the first deaths. There were many more
swish pavement cafes than we have seen elsewhere, and in 10 years or so
Timisoara will be a very smart destination indeed. And again, we found ourselves
talking to Romanians keen to speak English. This included one chap who had
studied in Aberdeen for 3 years. We had a very interesting conversation. His
view was that the Romanian rich would get richer, and the Romanian poor get
poorer. We returned to the market to top up on fruit & veg, before catching
the trolley bus back to the site. Tues
17th August. Left the site
at 8 am, to break the back of the journey home, spending the last of our lei on
petrol. It took us half an hour to get into Hungary at the border crossing near
Kiszombor (H) & Sannicolau Mare (Ro), even though the queue was short. Both
Romanian and Hungarian customs were being very thorough. A Hungarian looked into
quite a few lockers, but I'm not sure what he was looking for. We wondered how
we would explain the home made Hungarian polinka
we were importing into the EU, but he didn't find it. Then a long slog
across flat and straight Hungarian roads. We mostly avoided motorways, because
we didn't have a vignette, and because all motorways lead to Budapest, which
wasn't on our route. (and now I can’t remember what our route was.) The
southern side of Lake Balaton is almost completely given over to holiday makers,
and the eastern end was very busy with traffic. A number of lay-bys had young
ladies standing in them, presumably waiting for lifts. We spent the night at
Castrum Camping, in Keszthely, at the western end of lake Balaton. MSF 2690 Wed
18th August. Saw us heading
for the Austrian border (2760 miles, & 2 hours from lake Balaton). Although
there were only few cars, it took us half an hour to get through. An Austrian
customs official insisted on coming in and opening a few lockers. Thence via a
10 Km tunnel underneath Graz, to Liezen, & Grindelsee. We squeezed unto the
last remaining pitch at a campsite, with a glorious view over the lake. Just 20
steps, and we were swimming in pristine water, just what was needed after a long
hot drive. MSF 2927 Thurs
19th August. Another
glorious day. This is such a lovely site we have decided to stay on for another
day. We walked along the shady and quiet shore, and back the same way, returning
mid afternoon for a refreshing swim. We ate in the restaurant by the lake - beef
goulash, simply delicious, and were joined by an Austrian couple, with whom we
had a long and lively conversation. All in all, a very enjoyable day. Fri
20th August An overcast day.
We left the site at 8 a.m., to slog across Germany, via Saltzburg, Munich,
Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, to Germersheim. We went through the Alps without seeing
any mountains because of cloud & rain, and there were numerous hold ups
on the autobahns. At Germersheim we looked out the wohnmobile platz we
had discovered last year, which costs €3per night. MSF 3310. Sat
22nd August. Left
Germersheim at 8.30 am, topped up with more wine, German this time, at the Real
supermarket at Dillingem, near Saarlouis (J10 on the A8). We reckon that it is
better for wine (German) but nowhere near as good for food as our usual Cora
supermarket at Dunkerque (French). But note, the motorways in this areas do not
have fuel facilities! Then to Calais via Luxembourg, Namur, Charleroi, Mons,
Lille, & Dunkerque, arriving Calais Aire de Camping Car
8 pm. MSF 3737. This route is shorter and quicker than the outward
journey via Genk. As we crossed from Luxemburg to Belgium the odometer clicked
over to 66,666 – satisfying. Sun
23rd August. Caught the
10.15 a.m. P&O ferry Pride of Aquitaine, coming ashore in Dover 10.55 UK
time. For the first time we were checked by the UK Immigration Service before we
were allowed on the ferry, and specifically asked if we had any stowaways. An
uneventful run home, to a mountain of mail and email, and a lawn to mow. Overall
distance travelled, 3932 miles. So
an overall verdict on Romania? Absolutely brilliant, despite the roads. A
beautiful country with charming and resourceful people, and a great deal of
potential. We shall return.
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www.pippins.me.uk Page Last updated: 29 December 2007 |