Day 5: Transfagarasan > Rupea Castle > Brasov > Fahrpause

Started today at 7:30am to conquer the Transfagarasan. On the way there we took the off-road track west of Lacul Vidaru. There are a lot of wild campers here and one or two luxury hotels are hidden here (but no Porsche can survive the muddy access road 🤔).

I conquer the Transfagarasan from the south, through small ski resorts, through long curves and tight serpentines up to 2042m - the surface has some grooves, so moderate cornering ☝🏻

A wonderful view at the top with an almost completely blue sky. RVs are camping in the lay-bys - not so nice. On the summit plateau, the markets are already busy at 8:30, although almost all you see are motorcyclists. Parking is only available for a fee. I can't make it to the summit lake because of the traffic jam 🥴. I enjoy the great view up here. I also meet racing cyclists. They are still clearly outnumbered on the Transfagarasan, but hopefully that will change. It would also be fun on a racing bike if there was little traffic.

As the summit is too busy for me, I go down one level, drink coffee and eat langos. I also take a typical 700g bran-style cheese wrapped in tree bark.

Once I've reached the bottom, I continue to breathe in the Transylvanian air. Many of the place names here are also written in German and welcome me.

Rupea Castle was a small highlight. From here you have a good view of the surrounding mountains.

The heat is unbearable at 35°C in the shade, so I decide to drive as directly as possible to Brasov, where I have already booked accommodation. On the way I spot the first 20 typical Romanian horse-drawn carts. Seems to be normal here.

In Brasov I struggle through the wild city traffic and then I'm exhausted. Now I'm taking a break from driving until Sunday.