ROMANIA
August 2021
With one month left to travel in 2021, we've decided to pack up our Defender again and go eastbound, aiming to explore Romania.
Exploring the country in our Defender
THE FULL TRIP
STUTTGART - BUCHAREST
Originally, we had planned to drive through Czechia and Slovakia in order to visit the High Tatra National Park but one look at the weather forecast and we let go off that idea. Thunderstorms and heavy rain would be going down the next couple of days and no need to mention how well Boggy deals with water from above.
Boggy also decided that it was time for a little caretaking after his lonesome times in Sudan, so we made a brief detour to a garage in Vienna to get the goodest boy a new battery.
We took a couple of overnight breaks in Hungary, enjoying lakes and castles, but decided to head straight to Romania in order to have more time exploring.
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO
WITH YOUR CAR IN ROMANIA
THE WOODEN CHURCHES.
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AND A FUNNY GRAVEYARD...
The wooden orthodox churches in the Maramures region in the north of Romania were built in the 17th and 18th century. They are an impressive example of fine handmade craftmanship and you can easily explore them via your own hop-on/hop-off tour.
On your tour you will most likely pass by the Funny Graveyard – an expression which is a paradox to anyone living in a western, especially German, culture. The dependants of those buried at the graveyard had decided that there can also be a comical (or is it even late revenge in some cases?!) touch to death, so you will find inscriptions like this one: “He owned a garage and worked hard his entire life, relaxing with the help of a lot of liquor and women.”
HIKING WATERFALLS.
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AND Riding the CHairlift...
After all the driving from Germany to Romania it was time to get active again. Competitive as always, we went for the (supposedly) highest waterfall in Romania and in order to avoid the (mostly overweight and therefore not very mobile) touristy crowd, we decided to hike up and take the lift down.
The trails in Romania are not marked by some mountaineering organization, so we got lost in the end (to be honest, we also get lost when trails are perfectly marked) but eventually we started hearing the waterfall and followed the sound. Real adventurers know how to deal with the wilderness!
SLEEPING IN THE MOUNTAINS.
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AND Drinking with DUtch Defender Dudes...
UFBCD IJCWPD DPCKDSC
The Carpathian Mountains – a Defender owner’s offroad dream on the edge of Europe! Our first stop was at a campground owned by Dutch Defender fans who are also offering guided offroad tours in the Carpathian (link?). It turned out that the guys not only offered a great Jacky & Coke but also all the maps and knowledge about the National Park and offroad routes. We told them about our level of experience (like 1 out of 10) and they should us a route where we most likely wouldn’t get stuck.
We took off the next day and after an hour on the highway we turned onto a gravel road leading into the mountains. After about 20 Minutes we passed the campsite for all the VW, Pössl and Mercedes Sprinters which apparently marked the border to the offroad terrain. Soon, shepherds and their herds crossed out path, as well es their highly alert livestock guardian dogs. The road was steep and rocky, but we managed to move on and found the perfect spot in the middle of nowhere, just in time for the sunset. After dinner, we lit a fire and right then and there we were in heaven!
THE UNDERGROUND AMUSEMENT PARK.
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AND a steep hike in the Gorge...
The Salina Turda in Transylvania should be on everyone’s to-do list for Romania – not because of the thrilling activities but because of the stunning setting: an amusement park set in a decommissioned salt mine! We went early to avoid the crowds and even managed to squeeze in a table tennis match where Benzino got to show off his skills.
When the crowds kept coming in (mostly Romanian tourists), it was time for us to leave and take in some fresh air. Luckily, the Tureni gorge was close by and we decided to take a hike up. On this tour, we came to realize what was different about the hikes in Romania: as the average hike you expect more serpentines the steeper the trail becomes. In Romania it’s the other way round: once the path gets steep, the path is like: wtf, let’s get this done with and walk straight up! So, we often found ourselves almost on our hands and knees, clinging to steep hills in an effort not fall over backwards. Good for the booty though, I guess!
CAMPING BY THE RIVER.
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AND Enjoying the Peacefulness...
Romania offers a lot of diverse experience, so after days filled with mountains, we decided it was time some water and looked for a spot right next to the river. We enjoyed a peaceful and quiet evening and night with the occasional visits by shepherds and their livestock. Once the sun set, it was time for a Boggy shower, dinner and drinks by the river. We fell asleep by the sound of the river, only occasionally disturbed by the thought of a loose handbrake leading us to wake up floating on said river….
EXPLORING TRANSILVANIA.
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AND taking a glimpse at Dracula's Castle...
Of course, everyone has heard about Transylvania and its most famous citizen. But there is more to this region than a bloodthirsty count and his dislike for garlic. A lot of history, traditional villages whose residents often live mostly self-sufficient and lovely campgrounds in the backyards of people’s homes. Driving through the hilly landscapes, it seems as though time passes more slowly in this part of the earth and we highly recommend taking the time to slow down and take in the special vibe of this pristine region.
FINDING BEARS.
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And exploring wooden mountain huts...
Romania owns the largest populations of wild brown bears within Europe. Back in the communist day, Ceaușescu used to fly out his fellow communist leaders in helicopters to take them bear hunting. We tried to find a tour operator that works as sustainable and animal friendly as possible and joined one.
Bears today are protected by rangers who lure them to places where they will spread food in order to keep track of the animals and their development. The rangers knew every bear by name and age, explaining to us their social status within the group.
Since Benzino suffered from his classic 24hours travel sickness, we decided to stay a bit longer in the area to give him time to recover on slow and easy hikes. Before leaving we made sure to get some schnaps and jam from the region, just amazing and a great gift for home.
RIDING THE TRANSFĂGĂRĂȘAN.
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And FINDING FELLOW DEFENDER FRIENDS...
Named „The Most Amazing Road” by pretty much all the motorsports’ magazines out there, it was out of question we would hit it as well. Here’s how it went: you drive a car with no servo control up a serpentine road and 2 km before the top you get stuck in traffic with all the motorsports’ magazines subscribers. Is the drive itself fun? No. Is it worth the view? Definitely.
On the way down you also get to take in spectacular landscape and we even saw bears on the side of the road (attracted by food people were purposefully throwing out of their cars). Stopping at the Vidraru dam we even got an offer for Boggy (wayyyy to low) written on his dusty back side. Obviously, we had to decline – how will we ever be able to say good bye to this boy? And also, we needed a ride to Bucharest.
On our last night before the big city, we camped on a lovely rural campsite owned by a young Romanian couple who had just returned to their homeland after having lived in Germany for many years in order to find work. Upon entering we saw Boggy’s doppelganger already parked on the grass and met Victoria and Max whom we exchanged Defender stories and took couple photos with.
EMBRACING BUCHAREST LIFE.
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And learning about its history...
Bucharest was the final stop on our trip since we did not have enough time to go down all the way to the Black Sea. In big cities we always try to get as much history in as we can and there was a lot to learn about Romania and its capital. We booked a free walking tour with focus on the communist era and learned a lot. The People’s Palace, the seat of the Parliament of Romania, is supposedly the heaviest building on earth, sinking deeper into the ground centimeter by centimeter each year. Oh well, the status symbols the leaders of the world….
K-Girl did her job by finding us the best vegan spots and if yet rare they were pretty amazing and unexpected (links?). We needed those nutrients since we had decided to tour the extensive city via E-Scooters which was a lot of fun and his highly recommended!
JUST BEING ON THE ROAD.
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And enjoying the travel lifestyle...
Road tripping is easy in Romania – beautiful landscapes, slow roads, very little traffic and friendly people. Boggy enjoyed being able to get out there again and so did we. After all the dust and sand in Sudan it was also finally time again to let some water inside our home on wheels!
CHECK OUT THE HIGHLIGHT CLIP FROM OUR ROMANIA ADVENTURE.
COMING SOON...
FINAL THOUGHTS
Can we recommend a roadtrip through Romania?
100% yes! The country has so much to offer for those who love to explore by car and like to take it off road. There is a lot to learn about the history as well as observe and take part in the everyday life of the Romanian people. So, get out there and do it!
