RV Roadtrip – Romania Part 2

After our visit to Bran and Vampire Camping we had a short drive over to Cheile Râșnoavei where there is a large guesthouse and camping site. It is an absolutely beautiful area and the camping was spacious and the facilities are good but most of all the hostess was extremely nice to us. We were the first Americans that had stayed with them! That’s always fun, hopefully we made a good impression. While we were camped there a lovely British couple pitched up near us, happily spending their granddaughter’s inheritance on a nice rig and touring the continent (so they said).

The camping is very near the entrance to Cheile Râșnoavei which as far as we could tell was a type of national forest. We did several long walks into the forest along a nice little stream. There are some pretty steep canyon walls and there is some rock climbing and bungee jumping, though we didn’t see anyone doing either. We also didn’t see any bears, though there were warning signs similar to the ones we saw at Dracula Camping.

While staying at Cheile we took a side trip over to see Peleș Castle, a relatively modern castle built in 1874. Built in a Neo-Renaissance style for King Carol I, and costing the current equivalent of 120 Million USD, it is one of the most visited castles in Romania. We thought it absolutely lovely, though we didn’t go inside (Sebastian was allowed on the grounds only.).

Here are some of our shots of the castle –

After our lovely stay in Cheile we were off for a town visit in Brasov with the specific goal of getting a haircut. This can be a bit of a challenge when the barber doesn’t speak much English and I speak zero Romanian! But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Brasov has a nice old town area and the barbershop was pretty easy to find and they could fit me in after a short wait. This worked out just fine as we got to explore a bit before my appointment.

Next on the RV roadtrip agenda was a visit to Sighișoara and a stay at Camping Aquaris. The camping was just a short walk to the heart of the old village of Turmul where, unfortunately for us, there was to be some sort of concert that day. The sound checks and partial songs were dialed up to 11 and it was not enjoyable music. Fortunately we found a spot off the main square to get a couple glasses of wine and have a go at the Dracula Fries. Think bright red hot chili sauce and honey drizzled over French fries to look like fresh blood on the fries and that’s the essence of these frites. Not bad, though I doubt we would go for the gimmick again.

Pushing the rig further into Romania we pointed toward Sibiu with our destination being Camping Ananas. Little did I know that getting past the last 100 yards of dirt road before the camping would be such a challenge. Romania, like most of the other places we had been, had experienced a very heavy winter and spring. The extra water had made drainage on the dirt roads especially a nightmare. And we rocked up just in time to find ourselves stuck in a sinkhole. The camp management had tried to fill the hole with large rocks, rocks that we dislodged and upended, effectively trapping our rig, well, between a rock and a hard place! (Really, it was just a bunch of rocks and mud but I couldn’t resist writing that)

After a few futile attempts going forward and back trying to get us unstuck, I got out of the rig to assess the problem. Big blocks on either side of the rear tire were keeping us in place, the only solution was to dig them out, so off went my ‘driving’ clothes and on went the grubby bits I keep for such things. I’m not sure how long it took. Shani was laughing and taking photos and video. I was head to toe in mud.

Finally, with some help from campers and hosts we got out of the hole. Long story short, after a few other maneuvers and such we finally got into the camping. To his credit, the owner comped our stay and let us do a few loads of laundry on the house. The management was super nice to us and even drove us and Sebastian to the local vet for a rabies booster.

While at the camping we took a taxi into Sibiu, an old town with a great town square. Sadly the rain wasn’t done with us and it came out of the sky in buckets. We grabbed an outside covered patio spot and had a snack and a glass of wine waiting for the deluge to abate. After realizing that wasn’t in the cards we decided to abort the mission.  Armed with only one small umbrella, one of us was getting the worst of the weather.

Hello China Shop! Under the auspices of looking for a fan for the van (which we desperately needed) I went into the China Shop and did find a fan, welcoming Chung Cho into our electronics family. I also ended up with the most epic umbrella in umbrella history. Meet Peppa! Shani nearly had a stroke she was laughing so hard.

Next on our agenda was a visit to camping at De Oude Walnoot and a visit to Salina Turda. First, of course, we had to get out of the camping. As we left Camping Ananas we tried not to wreck all of the work on the dirt road covering the sink hole but I’m afraid we did set them back a bit. Sorry guys!

Lucia and Nico at De Oude Walnoot are awesome hosts! Go there if you get the chance. When we arrived Lucia was heating up some soup and very much wanted us to join them. And then, later in the afternoon we were invited around for some drinks where they went through everything we could do in the area. One of their friends had spent some time in the Middle East as well working and they had him over so we could all share our stories. After a couple of drinks she wanted to feed us something else. Such hospitality.

So many fields of sunflowers as we drove along.

We had asked on arrival about the proximity of grocery shopping and it was going to be a bit of a trek, par for the course really. The next day Nico announced that he was headed to the farmers market and Lidl if I wanted to join. I hopped in the car an off we went! When you travel full time little gestures can mean a lot and it did. Thanks Lucia and Nico.

One of our main reasons for stopping at De Oude Walnoot was the Salina Turda salt mine. The mine has been converted into a tourist attraction complete with Ferris wheels, boat rides and arcade games. It was fascinating. Sebastian had to stay with the rig and guard the fort. Well worth the visit if you get a chance. Here are some photos from the mine (take a close look at all of the colors in the walls) –

We had two more stops to make in Romania; Aurel Vlaicu, a tiny village on our way to Corvin Castle and Corvin Castle itself. Getting to Aurel Vlaicu involved a lot of other tiny villages along the road. All of them seemed to be well kept, lots of flowers and no trash along the way. Pride of ownership. The entrance to the camp was the tightest we had seen to date, inches on either side but slowly with enthusiasm won the day.

Here are some shots from Corvin Castle –

Stay tuned as the RV roadtrip pushes north through Budapest and we eat a burrito, visit Bratislava, Krakow, Lithuania and board the ferry to Sweden on our journey north.