Yesterday was a big day of driving from Brasov, the Transfagarasan, through Sibiu, to Cluj.
Our last night in Brasov was lovely, I think we really made the most of our time there and our amazing location, and caught up with Yvonne one last time. We got up relatively early to get on the road towards the Transfagarasan, the most beautiful drive in the world, and home to many bears! We decided to start at the top, go half way, turn around and head back to see the most beautiful part of the drive without it taking an entire day (this way it still took around half a day to get there and drive).
The drive exceeded expectations in every way, and we saw about 12 bears! Andrew’s bear shirt (or maybe our snack) must have been the lucky charm. We saw a bear almost straight away after heading in to the first forestty part, and then saw a million more after the serpentine area close to Lake Vidraru. It was really amazing to see them, as Andrew would say, they look very beary! The whole experience was a bit bizarre in that there were signs everywhere saying do not feed the bears, the bears are dangerous, then also a million little cute picnic areas, signs for hiking trails and camp sites, and places to stop right next to thick woods. We saw multiple people walking around where we’d just seen a bear, heaps of people on push bikes, and some people slowing to a stop with their window down right next to a bear (we of course did NOT do that). I guess this is why there’s the occasional story of people getting bitten, but the situation is somewhere between “the bear will definitely kill you” and “it’s fine, just go hike and camp in the woods on your own”.
This was so awesome, there was a bear hanging out directly on the road! You always knew you were coming up to a bear when there was a big slow down in the cars, and this was the closest encounter we had.
The serpentine area of the drive was breathtaking, both the road itself and the natural beauty of the mountain and waterfalls. We kept giggling and saying wow, and it was really cool to do it both directions since you got completely different views, and the difference in lighting made it quite a different experience too.
On the drive to Sibiu, we noticed heaps of giant nests with stork like birds had made nests at the top of power poles and chimneys at all the little villages along the way. It really seemed like the nests would cause an issue, but there were so many of them that maybe not!
We stopped at Sibiu to stretch our legs and get a gelato, and explored the beautiful little town briefly. There was an event going on with stages being prepared, and lots of people out and about. The town is beautiful in a similar way to Brasov, so we’re glad we stayed more in Brasov rather than taking day trips out to Sibiu and Sigisoara (which we missed out on completely, but you can’t do everything).
Dinner in Cluj was at a lovely traditional restaurant called Roata where we had salata de vinete (this one was made with cream), ciorba de fasole cu afumaturi si ceapa (quite similar to at home), sarmalae (more similar in style to the Hanu' lui Manuc rather than Caru cu Bere), mamaliguta impaturata (mamaliga with cheese), and pastrav, a fish my mum remembers fondly but I was not a fan of, but glad I tried it! It just had too many little bones, and I realise that we’re spoiled for fish with Andrew’s family’s knack for fishing. The papanasi were nice, but not as nice as the ones from Caru cu Bere; I think that’s one of the desserts we’ll remember for the rest of our lives, Yvonne still remembers it from over 10 years ago!
Today we’re heading to the salt mine in Turda, and then will explore the night life in Cluj.
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