2016: Romanian «Vampire-Free» birthday ride [Bulgaria - Romania]

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Stara Varos Blog - Romanian [Vampire-Free] birthday ride

Like every year, in March, we open the new motorcycle season with a short Balkan ride, while at the same time we keep the tradition that wants me to celebrate my birthday on the road. This time southeastern Romania was chosen as the destination.

Day 1: Thessaloniki, Hellas – Bucharest, Romania [~ 655 km]

First we headed towards the border station of Promachonas and then we continued on the E79 highway in the direction of Sofia. Stop for refueling only [and a quick shower].

Since we were planning to cross to Romania by ferry, we thought of trying the one from the small town of Nikopol, mainly because we had a bad experience from a long delay on the Oryahovo ferry route. Arriving there, no one was found, let alone a ferry to cross. A passer-by informed us that the timetable we found posted was not valid and that there would be a service scheduled in three hours.

Disappointed with how this situation evolved, we considered our options: 1. to wait in Nikopolis, risking further delays, 2. to drive an hour on the provincial road 55 to reach Svishtov, where there was a ferry [unknown, of course, if and when there would be itineraries] and 3. to return to the main road leading to Ruse and enter Romania from the bridge over the Danube.

All scenarios would result in us losing about 3 hours, so we chose to stay in Nikopolis and rest. This delay gave me the opportunity to observe the empty city. A grievous feeling was spread all over it and i realized, once again, how often we take things for granted and, of course, i appreciated everything i have.

Our wait was extended by 1h over the initial three, until we boarded the ferryboat.

We entered Romania from Turnu Măgurele, then moved on the provincial road 52/6 and soon we found ourselves in Bucharest, where we strolled through the Old Town.

Day 2: Bucharest – Sinaia – Brasov – Bran Castle – Bucharest [~ 400 km]

We left Bucharest early in the morning to explore the province of Transylvania and enjoy its dramatic mountainous landscape. First stop in the small town of Sinaia. Here, in 1695, Michael Kantakouzinos, after returning from Mount Sina, built the Orthodox Monastery from which the city later took its name. Its top attraction is the summer residence of King Karol I of Romania, the German Neo-Renaissance (and perhaps the most impressive in Transylvania) Castle Peleș (Castelul Peleș).

Walk in the main square of the medieval old town of Brasov (Brașov - German: Kronstadt, Transylvanian Saxon: Kruhnen). Unfortunately, maintenance works performed on the site of the Gothic style «Black church» (Biserica Neagră) did not allow us to take a tour in its interior, so we registered it as «pending» for our next visit to Romania.

Bran Castle (Castelul Bran) is located very close to the city of Brasov.

Often referred to as «Dracula's Castle», there is no direct connection between the fictional castle of Bram Stoker's novel and Bran Castle, while it is very likely that Vlad III never approached it (some sources mention he may have been imprisoned there, while others that he besieged it).

We returned to Bucharest and visited the «Palace of Parliament», formerly known as the «Palace of the People» (Palatul Parlamentului). Although built during the presidency of the communist leader of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu, the statistics are still impressive today: it is the largest building in Europe, the second largest building in the world after the US Pentagon, while, in terms of volume, it exceeds by 2% the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.