Transfagarasan Road

The next morning after breakfast in the restaurant we were back on the road again ready to tackle the main reason we had decided a to hire a car: driving the Transfagarasan Road.  Ever since seeing the guys on top gear drive this road, Tim was keen to have a go himself, and was not disappointed.  The winding road, dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents climbs to an impressive 2,034 metres altitude.

From the Lonely Planet:

Built out of Ceausescu's fanatic zeal to conquer nature, the Transfagarasan Road, Romania's highest asphalted road, provides an unforgettable experience behind the wheel.  Boldly charging up and down one of Romania's highest mountains, this two lane road sometimes has the narrowest of shoulders separating it from the edge of a cliff.  Driving its length is an adventure in itself, with breathtaking scenery around every one of the dozens of twists and turns.

So it was an amazing drive which called for many photo opportunities along the way, with beautiful lakes, waterfalls and forest making up the passing scenery.  At the top there were souvenir stands and food stalls galore, but more impressive was the amazing view down over the remainder of the road we were yet to drive, a series of sharp twists and turns that in some places it was hard to make out where the road was actually leading!  It was much cooler up there too, so cold that patches of compacted snow remained in places, despite the 40 degree heat and the bottom of the pass!  The road is closed from October to May and in winter time they construct an Icehotel there, similar to the one we stayed at in Sweden.




Our descent had to be the most scary part of the drive with a few white knuckle moments, but with Euro-pop blasting from the car speakers Tim was in his element, totally focused on the road.  Due to the topography our average speed was only about 40km per hour, which meant the drive took most of the day, taking into account the many stops that were made along the way.

Later on that afternoon after breaking for lunch we were down from the mountains and at normal altitudes again, heading towards Sibiu, where my cousin Ben's wedding was to take place.  After arriving at the hotel where everyone was staying it was time to catch up over a few beers with family we had not seen in many years, and of course to meet Iulia, the bride to be, and some of her family and friends. Ben and Iulia had organised a big barbecue down in the Open Air Museum where the wedding was also to be held the following day, so we spent a lovely evening with everyone, doing what seemed to be a big part of a Romanian wedding, plenty of eating and drinking!