Day 24
Driving the Transfăgărășan
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Bună ziua,
Today was another day we had been looking forward to. We were going to be driving the Transfăgărășan, a mountain road across the Făgărăș mountains. This road was famously named "The Best Road in the World" by the presenters of the Top Gear television show. Their Romania Special was part of episode 1 of season 14.
When Czechoslovakia was invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries in 1968, our old mate Nicolae Ceaușescu got a bit concerned. He didn't want the same thing happening to "his" country, The Socialist Republic of Romania. So Nicolae ordered the construction of the Transfăgărășan as a pathway that would allow his military forces to move across the mountains, from South to North quickly.
Construction of the Transfăgărășan started in 1970 and was largely completed in 1974, although some work continued until 1980. The construction project consumed six million kilograms of dynamite! At its highest point, the road is 2,042 metres above sea level, which is above the tree line. The Transfăgărășan is closed during the winter months due to snow, and only open to the public through the summer until late October.
We knew that this was going to be a long day. Leaving from Brașov, it is a ninety-minute drive West to get to the intersection at Cârţa. At the roundabout, we turned left onto Drumul Național 7C. From there it would be a further three and a half hours of driving, across the mountains, to our overnight stop in the town of Pitești. So, we were driving the Transfăgărășan from North to South.
Helga and Buzzy Bee could not wait to get started!
Behind Closed Doors
Before we head off on today's adventure, let's look behind the closed doors of Rope Street Apartment, our cosy accommodation in Brașov.
Rope Street Apartment is perfectly situated near the centre of this beautiful alpine city.
Northern Side of Transfăgărășan
What a road. What a stunningly beautiful bit of scenery. As we started our journey South, we also started to climb. Through the trees. Around tight corners. We climbed and climbed. The road surface on the Northern side of the mountains was very good. It was smooth and relatively wide.
Just below the tree line, there was a painfully sharp hairpin bend. There was ample parking, and a collection of stalls selling street food and souvenirs. We stopped for a break, to stretch our legs, and got something to eat.
All through Hungary and Romania we had seen people selling "chimney cakes". In Budapest in particular these seemed to be available in every street, slathered in Nutella or chocolate and served with ice cream. But here on the Transfăgărășan was a lady selling chimney cakes, cooked herself over hot coals, and simply sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. We tried some and it was delicious.
After a short break, we carried on. Only a few kilometres up the road we broke through the tree line into a wide, ancient valley. As we looked up the valley we could see the road we had yet to drive climb the valley walls. It was beautiful.
We were not here to punish Helga by thrashing her up the mountain road. And nor was anyone else. The scenery is simply too beautiful for that sort of nonsense. And the road is too busy.
Many other people were using the road, and all were like us. Happy to enjoy the experience, stopping to take lots of pictures, and marveling at the view. Oh, there was one idiot in a Nissan 370Z who was trying to make a statement. But that's a Nissan driver for you.
Almost everyone else was like us, just trying to take it all in. In almost every car we saw, the passenger had their window down with their arm out the window using either an iPhone, a GoPro or a camera to take photos. Grandma was certainly no exception!
Driving the Transfăgărășan
We just had to break out the GoPro on this road. Grandma shot this cool little video as we reached the summit and started heading down the Southern side of the Transfăgărășan.
Southern Side - More Wild Bears!
You reach a point while driving the Transfăgărășan that you start the descent. This is the Southern side of the Transfăgărășan, and the road surface is not nearly as good. It is quite bumpy and pot-holed.
Whereas the Northern side is quite a short, steep climb, the Southern side is a gentler and longer descent. We spent a long time in the forest, as the road gently flowed through the trees. And here came our greatest surprise.
Wild bears!
Brown bears are very intelligent animals. They know that humans are stupid creatures. Despite all the rules and warnings not to go near wild bears, humans cannot help themselves. The bears of the Carpathian Mountains know that if they sit at the side of the road looking cute and gorgeous, stupid humans will stop, take pictures, and throw them food.
We were incredibly privileged to come across seven (seven!) wild bears on the descent. Cars travelling in both directions would stop, take pictures, and, sadly, throw food. We also witnessed some idiots open their car doors to get a closer look. We would not be surprised if some people tried to get out of their cars to get even closer to the bears.
If you see a bear on the side of the road, you should slow down. The last thing you want to do is hit a 350kg bear with your car. But what we should be doing is tooting the horn and training the bears to be afraid of cars and humans so that they stay away from the roads. But we don't because brown bears are just too gorgeous for their own good.
Grandma and Koro were no better than anyone else. We slowed down to take pictures, Grandma even lowered her window so she could take a better photo ... and of course, tell all the bears they were beautiful.
We eventually left the forest and continued on to the city of Pitești where we stopped for the night. This is only an overnight stop, as tomorrow we will cross the border to Bulgaria.
Does driving the Transfăgărășan live up to the hype? Yeah, it does. No, you are not going to cane your hotrod at warp speed up the mountain pass. The road is far too busy for that. The speed limit is 40km/h for much of the drive. Take your time and enjoy the experience, the incredible views and the fun that everyone is having.
We have really enjoyed Romania, it is a beautiful country. It is a country we would recommend anyone to visit. There is much more to see in Romania, particularly along the Black Sea coast which is supposed to be stunning. If you ever get the chance, you should visit Romania.
Love to you all from Grandma & Koro & Buzzy Bee.