July Update - 3/7/08 (6,883 km)
Szilvásvárad, Hungary 
| Unable to keep Oz away from a mountain for longer than two minutes we left Braşov and headed towards Sinaia and the Bucegi mountain range. We arrived in the small town and looked for the tourist information to see were the campsites were. | The Bucegi Mountains
|
| “There’s no call for campsites here” replied the grumpy assistant at the tourist bureau. “OK” we said, “we can wild camp”. At this he looked horrified, leaned over the counter at us as if he was sharing some government secret and said, “You’ll be attacked by the bears!” “Hmm...” I replied, “That would really ruin our holiday!” He also told us that there was also no demand for mountain biking maps of the area - Oz told me later he’d heard that this area has some of the best mountain biking in Europe and we did see 4 or 5 shops in the town selling or hiring mountain bikes!! | |
That night we parked at the bottom of the newest ski lift and went for a short walk around the car park at dusk. A man shot out of the office at the ski lift and started shouting at us! We couldn’t understand what he was saying and shouted back “English?” He then started shouting “Go, go, ursus, go!” (ursus being Romanian for ‘bear’.) We high-tailed it back to the Mog and sat looking out of the windows for these fearsome creatures roaming the woods looking for pale flesh to feast on... what we actually saw were a lot of trees and one small mouse! That night, whilst dreaming of bears, we were suddenly awoken by the biggest thunderstorm either of us has ever witnessed and I’ve seen numerous tropical storms in Asia and the Caribbean! The lightening was so bright it came through the curtains as if we’d turned every light on at once. The centre was directly overhead and the lorry shook with the noise of the thunder. It was quite an experience but the Mog remained a perfectly dry haven from the lashing rain pummelling onto the roof; we were quite sure the bears wouldn’t try to attack us that night!
The next day I was looking for something and realised my handbag was missing. I remembered putting it down on a chair in a cafe the previous afternoon. We went back to the cafe about 14 hours after leaving it there and never expected it to be there for a minute. As soon as I walked in the owner’s son approached me and said that his mother recognised me and had I left my bag there the previous day. He told me his mother and a friend had taken it to the police station and that he would go with me to collect it so he could translate for me. He even called a friend to drive us to the police station! These two men stayed with me at the station for well over an hour, then drove me back to the cafe. Once back, they looked over the lorry and we chatted for a while before they took down our email address and waved us goodbye. Wow... another example of just how lovely these people are! If it had happened in the UK I would have never seen my bag again, let alone have every item returned intact. One thing I have learnt from the experience is to carry much less stuff around! The policeman listed every single item in my bag, in triplicate, by hand right down to the number of stamps in my wallet and each pen was noted by colour and quantity! Mind you, the officer did say that his wife’s handbag was worse than mine!!
That night we decided to head to the top of the mountain to wild camp. On the way up the windy road we stopped dead just before a bend as there were two black bears wandering along. Oz quickly killed the engine and we sat mesmerised as the bears sauntered towards us. It was magical to see these fabulous, wild creatures so close at hand. One bear became fed up with waiting for us to give him food (people throw food out of their cars so the bears have learnt to wait by the road each evening) and he slumped down into a drainage channel to cool off! We eventually left them and slowly made our way up to the top to find a lay-by for the night. After supper we heard a noise outside and discovered a brown bear, much larger than the black bears we’d see earlier, wandering about looking for food 2 meters from the lorry door! Luckily the Mog is high off the ground so we could keep the top of the stable style door open. A few minutes later another two black bears appeared, though they were much more hesitant than the first two and kept a greater distance. There are around 5,000 black and brown bears in Romania and we’d seen five within two hours!! I took some photos (see below) without the flash as we’d heard a story that only last year an American tourist was killed by a bear here because she was taking photos with a flash; the bear became frightened and attacked her... although I don’t imagine the bear ate her as Americans can’t taste very nice!
 |
 |
 |
 |
The bears at Sinaia were truly a highlight of the trip so far. Click on each image to enlarge it. |
 |
We stayed in the lorry at all times and kept in our minds that these are wild, dangerous animals but were amazed to watch people getting out of cars taking flash pictures or throwing food at them, encouraging them closer and closer. It really is a shame as the bears will eventually end up attacking someone and then they will either be fenced off or made to live in small areas or people will not be allowed to see them. It also doesn’t help that there is such a poor regard for litter in Romania, people throw rubbish out of car windows or leave it scattered around picnic sites which attract the bears for the discarded food. The bears in the Brasov area now come down to the outskirts of the city in the evenings to scavenge the piled up rubbish and they too are coming into contact with humans far more than is healthy for them.
We left Sinaia the next day after a visit to Peleş Castle, the summer residence for King Carol I and Queen Elisabeta. Construction started on this magnificent castle in 1875 but it took 39 years to build and was finished just a few months before the King died. Leading communists used the castle as a private retreat between the 1950s and late 1980s – after all it must be such hard work having to imprison all those intellectuals and dissidents! The castle was built in German Renaissance style and its fairytale turrets, wood carvings and external murals all seated within lush manicured grounds really is a sight to see.
Peleş Castle at Sinaia - built for King Carol IClick on any image to enlarge. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Scary statues at the castle but for different reasons! |
|
Before arriving in Bran we stopped for the night at Râşnov and to look at the stunning, partly restored hilltop fortress. We arrived in the small town after driving a very small, windy road through the Bucegi mountain range with a large number of army camouflaged lorries passing us in the opposite direction. Taking a wrong turn we ended up in the main square at Râşnov and decided to ask the way. We stopped a pair of young lads and asked for directions, which one gave us. After thanking him we trundled onwards. Suddenly there was the blare of a car horn and a quick overtaking manoeuvre (which is quite normal in Romania!) but the arm out of the window waving us to follow him belonged to the young lad. He led us to the campsite, then with another blast of his horn and wave from the window drove off. Time and time again we have had people going out of their way to help us in this country. People are so friendly and genuinely helpful and kind.
The 13th century fortress at Râşnov is a rambling, walled ruin but has been partially rebuilt with interesting areas to explore. There is an extensive museum which includes medieval crossbows, swords, armour and the usual collection of earthenware and everyday objects, including period costume amongst its exhibits. In the centre courtyard there is a well 146 metres deep that was built by 17th century Turkish prisoners. The prisoners were told that they could go free once the well was finished but it took 17 years to complete! We found a small cage hanging from one tower where, we assume, a prisoner was kept captive until he confessed. I tried to get Oz to climb in but he seemed rather reluctant!
 |
 |
The Medieval Hill Fortress at RâşnovClick on an image to enlarge. |
|
 |
 |
Having escaped a hanging, Oz and I left Râşnov for Bran which I will tell you about in our next update.
Kate, Oz and the Mog
Still moving!