Arges Valley

Wednesday morning we were up bright and early to get packed and pick up our rental car for the next leg of our adventure.  We eventually found our way to the rental car company and began the check in process with a rather surly looking non-English speaking man. As we were soon to discover, nothing in Romania is ever done with great speed, so half an hour later we were finally on our way.  First stop was a mall just out of town where we purchased a car charger for Tim's phone as he had downloaded free maps of Romania before leaving the UK.  After a bit of an ordeal sorting out the right sort of charger he needed (and several useless ones being returned to the shop) we were finally on our way, with a working GPS directing us to our next destination, the Arges Valley.

Now the road from Bucharest heading north started out really well with a nice smooth highway beneath our tyres, but it was not to last.  After maybe 100km of lovely road all of a sudden the motorway rounded a corner, the two lanes merged into one and we were on pretty much a gravel road!  That was where the fun began, with giant pot holes to be avoided, crazy drivers trying to overtake on blind corners and having to share the road with all manner of other vehicles, horse and donkey drawn carts and pedestrians.  As the Lonely Planet points out:

"Some day a video game will be made of a Sunday drive across Romania, considering all its hazards - strolling cows and sheep, slow-going horse carts filled with hay, bear-sized pot holes, speed traps, unmarked curves, aggressive/distracted/clueless drivers.  Even the most hardened driver will be a little shocked."

But of course Tim being the seasoned driver that he is coped tremendously well, and once we got used to the appalling road conditions we were able to begin to enjoy the scenery as we passed tiny villages, fields of hay stacks and beautiful countryside.

After a few hours on the road we stopped at Curtea de Arges, a very humble town which was once a princely seat in the 14th century.  After parking our car on the outskirts of the town (in the shade after a spot was suggested by the nice attendant) we walked into the centre where a market was in full swing.  There was an outside area selling fresh fruit and veg, including the hugest mounds of watermelons I have ever seen!  And nearby there were two food halls, one dedicated purely to meat (mostly pork which is a staple of the Romanian diet) and another to cheese.  Hungry by then we let our noses lead us to an area where lots of locals were standing around a barbecue where lumps of delicious smelling minced meat were being cooked - Romanian fast food.  Communicating with gestures and a few words we soon had plates of meat and bread in front of us, and did what the others seemed to be doing, simply picking up the very hot meat with our fingers and dipping it in a generous amount of mustard before using the bread to mop up the tasty juices - yum.

Ready to hit the road again we continued  our way further into the Arges Valley where we easily found the hotel we had booked for the night, Pensiunea La Cetate.  We had chosen this place from the guidebook because it was only 100 metres away from the steps leading to what is known as Dracula's Castle.

Sure enough, as we got out of the car we were greeted by a mighty clap of thunder and lightning, very atmospheric.  After checking into our room the heavens had opened and it was absolutely pouring, so we abandoned our plan of heading up to the castle and settled into the restaurant for a drink instead.

Once the rain had stopped we headed towards the steps to the castle, where a sign warned us of the 80 metre - 1480 steps that were ahead of us.  Tough as it was to get up to the top, it was well worth it for the amazing view and  to have a chance to look around the castle ruins.

In 1459 ruler Vlad Tepes, known as the 'Real Dracula' led a group of captured Turks up to the top and forced them to build this massive defensive fortress, where the bloodthirsty prince became notorious for his brutal punishment methods.  Unfortunately not a lot of the actual castle remains as much of it fell down the side of the cliff during an earthquake, but it is still pretty impressive nonetheless, especially as the thunder and lightening continued to roll around us.

On our walk back down towards the hotel we were joined by one of the many stray dogs that seem to roam the cities and countryside, apparently a legacy from Communist times when Ceausescu urbanised the cities and forced people to live in apartment blocks, meaning they no longer had space for their dogs.  These dogs are used to humans but not really tamed, so we tended to ignore them which was hard as we are both animal lovers.  This one was really cute and decided to follow us for quite some way before being distracted by some passing motorbikes which he seemed intent on chasing, nearly giving me a heart attack as I thought he was going to be killed!

Heading back to the hotel we had a shower before dinner in the restaurant downstairs, typically Romanian fare - basic food with loads of meat of course!  The young waitress who served us spoke really good English so we asked her about a local drink we had heard of,  tuica - a plum brandy.  It was horrible, I had to hold my nose to even take a small sip, so needless to say Tim ended up drinking two and feeling quite merry by the end of the evening!