Week 7 up and down the Carpathians (Romania Transylvania/Transylvania)

So, arrived in Romania. Oh beautiful country. And actually... in Transylvania or Transylvania there were also campsites that were still open. And hard to believe, there were also the first bloodsuckers of our trip. A tick named Dracula got lost in Olli's knee pit. But we could still travel ;-). Shortly before Hermannstadt or Sibiu as it is called there, we found a campground and stopped. If you are wondering why there is also a German name for the places here, it is not because Google provided a bad machine translation, but because of the emigrated Germans who live here. However, the Germans arrived in the 12th century. At that time they were recruited by the Hungarian king to populate the sparsely populated land and secure the borders. Since there were probably famines in some parts of Germany at that time, many so-called Saxons Germans (who did not necessarily come from Saxony) accepted this invitation and settled in the country that now belongs to Romania. The detailed history is super interesting but probably too long at this point. Even today, ethnic Germans still live in this region and, despite or perhaps because of their minority status, preserve the German culture and language.

Our first trip took us to Hermannstadt. Despite some rain, it was fun to explore the city. The houses all have their own charm and are nice to look at.

But in the small winding alleys there was actually a lot of German things to discover. Once it was a grocery store...

... that only sold German classics like Jacobs Krönung and Kinder chocolate. Another time it was a German bookstore that sold bestsellers like 'Darm mit Scharm' or 'Ich bin dann mal weg'.

We also discovered a free open library in the city center that had some German books in its inventory...

and the Oktoberfest ;-) with a huge tent on the market square, beer, hocks and the Holzmichel as music accompaniment. Seriously?!?

Unfortunately, there were no campsites in Hermannstadt and on our way out of the city we decided to go to one of the numerous guesthouses because of the rain in the evening. Our guesthouse was already a bit up in the mountains and cost us a total of 28 euros for the double room including breakfast. Very cool, we were able to have a meal out again.

This monstrous grill plate was filled with lots of meat, polenta with regional sheep cheese (branza de burduf), grilled and typical pickled vegetables. Leckre like the real Frenchman would say! ;)

The next morning the world looked completely different again. The weather cleared up and it was dry. Since we liked the area around Hermannstadt very much, we decided to stay for a few more days. The weather promised to be much better and therefore we settled on a beautiful campground near the mountains in a small sweet village called Cisnădioara (Michelsberg).

But to get some exercise, otherwise our old bones and joints would rust ;-), we drove to the nearby open-air museum 'ASTRA'. Here you stroll along a trail about 10km long and can admire and touch old traditional windmills, sawmills, and many other craft buildings on both sides. Even entire residential areas have been rebuilt here. The houses and mechanical devices are all originals from bygone times and come from all over Romania.

Almost everything was built entirely of wood and was powered by water or wind energy if not by hand.

Particularly impressive was an example of the Romanian Orthodox churches. It is a masterpiece, as it is completely made of wood and every square centimeter on the inside is painted by hand.

The next day we went on a day hike from the campground, which really took our breath away. But the view from Götzenberg was definitely worth it.

Since we had the sun on our heads again, we decided after 3 days in Michelsberg to continue crossing one of the two high roads across the Carpathians in the direction of the south. They are among the most beautiful mountain roads in Europe and should definitely be driven with good visibility. So, towards the south, we took the Transfăgărășan, which delighted us on every section of the route. It probably doesn't come across in the pictures, but the many hairpin bends were nice to look at and fun to drive.

But then, the next day we took the Transalpina northwards and the smile spread across our faces. It was so beautiful to drive slowly along here. Every view was enchanting and there were opportunities to turn off the road with the camper van everywhere. We made more stops than we drove and it quickly became clear to us that we would cancel our original plan to completely cross the mountains in order to be able to spend a night at 2000 meters with a breathtaking view. At one stop we climbed one of the many mountain peaks...

at another stop, two young strays were cuddled. And almost included in the luggage ;-)

and at the third stop, the perfect overnight spot was discovered. Far enough away from the road and a fantastic view from every window of the bus.