This time I won't bring a pistol!
I'm packing my bags and flying to Romania tomorrow!
I keep remembering a funny incident about my last visit to Romania and Serbia, well, it wasn't funny at all at the time!
Many years ago, about 16, we drove a van to Turkey, taking a good acquaintance of mine to the Turkish/Greek border, from where he cycled all the way back, conquering the entire stretch in exactly 21 days! Well, buddy, this time it's not about the bike!
The three of us were driving back from Turkey, talking about visiting Romania to see how they're doing. Said and done, we arrive at the Romanian border, wait in line, we're about to enter Romania, when a group of youngsters, about 14-20 years old and at least 10 of them, approach the van. One of them, probably the leader of the pack, comes to the window, motions for me to open it, and I do, because this is the border, there are border guards everywhere, nothing to fear. With one hand, he takes a coin, places it against the car door, and says, either pay up or we'll scratch the whole car. At first, I was a little confused, then I said I had no money and slowly started moving forward, he grabbed onto the window and walked with me. All the cars ahead had already left, I started to block traffic, but the youngsters wouldn't back down either. The border guard in front motions for me to drive to the barrier, but I show him that I can't move because the youngsters are clinging to the car. The border guard just waves his arms and starts yelling something, I wave my hands back at him, indicating we can't move, and I don't want the car scratched. My friend says, "Come on, let's get out, stand back-to-back, and go for it, hit those young racketeers." I say, "That won't be good, then we'll have to hit those border guards too, because they're probably in on it!"
I see the border guard starting to lift the barrier and motions for me to drive to passport control behind that barrier, but as soon as the barrier is raised, I hit the gas and drive through border control as fast as the car can go, we drove through the entire nearby town and village like a rally, and only after about an hour, when we realized no one was chasing us, did we start driving according to the rules, in common traffic with tractors and horses.
This adventure ended successfully for us, and we arrived home without incident, but then a new year came and a new trip, and again to Turkey.
This time we are smart and, knowing the situation in Romania, we borrow and take along 2 gas pistols, so to speak, for peace of mind!
We drive through Romania, this time without incident and without the need to use the weapons we brought along, we go to Turkey and decide to drive back through Greece, then Bulgaria, and then Serbia!
We are at the Bulgarian/Serbian border, a thorough car inspection is taking place, everything is in order, they let us through the Bulgarian checkpoint, they also let us through the Serbian checkpoint, our back van doors are open, we roll slowly, smiling foolishly, as is typical at all borders, we are already at the last border guard, we greet each other, smile again, and then suddenly, he decides to stick his hand into the pocket behind the front seat, and there, it turns out, we had placed our firearms and forgotten to hide them deeper.
If you've seen in movies how drug gangs are arrested, that's roughly how it all happened to us, instantly there were whistles, shouts, the army was there, we were all pulled out of the car, arrested, handcuffed, the car was taken apart, I just wanted to tell them, if you drain the oil, don't pour it back in afterwards, but generally, it wasn't funny at all.
Several hours pass, we are interrogated, there are no more parts in the car that could be removed or taken out, since two weapons were found, two of our team were also arrested. In total there were 3 guys and 2 girls, and of course, I was arrested because I was the driver and the other person who was sitting next to me.
After several more hours, we are taken to the nearest Serbian town and placed in a temporary detention cell. The cell is quite small, at best 3*2 meters, with 2 spring beds, no mattresses, and a small window facing the backyard! Approaching the window, you can see the opposite house, and the funniest thing is that plaster has fallen off this house, and the place where it has fallen looks like the outline of the country of Latvia. I tell my friend, the other arrested person, "Come to the window, look at Latvia for the last time!" Of course, the humor is heavy, but one has to entertain oneself somehow. The other person didn't take this as humor and became even more nervous. I knocked on the door and asked to make a call, they gave me the phone, and now I'm thinking, who should I call first! I call my friend who is on a mission in Kosovo, I say, "Maybe you can help me out," he says, "If the Serbs find out that your friend is on a mission in Kosovo, you'll definitely end up in prison, better keep quiet altogether."
So I do that and rule out that option, I call my friend Viktors Ščerbatihs in Latvia, he was a Member of Parliament at the time, I explain the situation, he of course promises to help and contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several hours pass, silence, our friends have put the van back together, sitting outside the police station and waiting. A few more hours pass, the door opens and several people enter, a lawyer, a judge, and several policemen. They say, "Guys, you're lucky this time, because my National Guard ID, which was in my wallet, worked in our favor, and the judge imposes a fine of 300 EUR, confiscation of the pistols, and a one-year ban from entering Serbia!" The lawyer also explains that when entering Serbia, even if you have a toy pistol with you, the minimum is 30 days in prison, so we were lucky this time.
As we left the police station, we were warned that we had 10 hours to cross Serbia and get out of the country. If you knew how fast we flew through this country and with what joy we crossed the border, it was a true celebration and a great relief to enter Hungary!
But we really hope that this time everything will be great with Romania and we will definitely share our experiences and stories from this Balkan region!
First impressions of Romania!
We fly with AirBaltic, as there is a direct flight from Riga to Bucharest and the departure time, 11:55 AM, is ideal to still be able to explore the city on the first day, and that's our plan: we land in Bucharest, quickly rent a car, and hit the streets! So far so good, our plan is perfect, as always, only the execution is a bit lacking. The delay starts with the luggage, which we have to wait for at least 40 minutes. Finally, after getting it, we go to pick up the car. It turns out the office from which we rented the car is in the other airport, but their staff quickly come to pick us up, and after 15 minutes, we are in the car and being driven to their office. Everything is fine here, and the price is excellent: a fairly new Škoda car for 8.4 EUR per day. But then the insurance issue begins, and our Swedbank gold credit card is not accepted. It turns out they don't accept credit cards without embossed letters and numbers, i.e., not 3D. I explain at length that everywhere else in the world it's fine, but they are adamant, it's not accepted, and that's that. I say, "Okay, take another card," and he takes one with the numbers as he likes. Full insurance with his discount is 300 EUR, but if you don't want insurance, the security deposit is 2100 EUR, and this money is returned approximately after 30 days. We choose to pay 300 for insurance, and the total car cost for 10 days is 384 EUR.
We load our bags into the car, set the navigation to the hotel's location, and hit the road. Evita, after a moment of silence, says that the Seat is actually quite a good car! I say, "I don't know what Seat you're talking about, but the Škoda is certainly not bad!"
After 30 minutes, we are at the hotel, we check in, they give us the last, fourth floor, and we happily drag our bags up the narrow, winding stairs. But to be more precise, I drag 3 suitcases, 2 bags, and 3 shopping bags, while someone from the team carries their handbag and enjoys the beautiful view from our window!
It's already past 5 PM, and we're hungry, so we go looking for something quick to eat. Nothing quick works out; we can't find anything in our area, so we head towards the center, and along the way, we conclude that we've ended up in some Maskačka-like district, all gray and uninviting!
We find a new bistro with opening balloons still tied to the door, order Romanian burgers with fries and lemonade, and pay 35 EUR for everything. Prices are like in Latvia, but the minimum wage is just over 400 EUR. Is it really true that someone is having an even harder time than Latvians?
After eating our burgers, we hurry back to the hotel because we have to meet Julia after X hours. We've been in contact with her for a long time, and she works for the ministry responsible for tourism in the country. She's ready to show us the city and its most beautiful places on a Sunday evening. We meet in the center, near McDonald's, and she shows us the longest fountain park in the world, the second-largest parliament building in the world (after the Pentagon), the two most popular and beautiful city restaurants, a bank building, and much more. You'll be able to see all of this in our latest series about Romania on the Retv and Gold Barbell YouTube channel.
But after this walk through the streets of Bucharest, covering 10 km in total, we realize that the city is fantastically beautiful, with many grandiose buildings. You walk and marvel at its grandeur and beauty, and Julia is right when she says Bucharest is called "Little Paris"!
Tired but happy from the adventures of the first day, we go to bed, because tomorrow a long drive awaits us all day, and we really hope the weather doesn't fail us and we'll see one of the most beautiful mountain roads in Europe, Transfagarasan, and maybe even a Romanian bear by the roadside, and enjoy the wonderful nature!
Me, Evita, and 9 bears!
Romania, Day 2.
We have arranged to meet Julia, Iulia Dangulea, the woman from the ministry who showed us Bucharest the previous evening, at McDonald's at 9 AM. Today, she will accompany us to the town of Rasnov, near which Dracula's Castle, or Bran Castle, is located! We need to be at this castle by 4 PM, as a guide has been arranged to show us around and tell us about both Dracula and the castle itself!
We wake up early, pack our belongings, and head to the first floor for breakfast. We sit down, wait for breakfast, but after 10 minutes, a woman from the hotel approaches and says that we haven't ordered breakfast, so we either have to pay an extra 9 EUR or go without breakfast.
Since breakfast isn't a buffet but served in portions, we decide on a third option: pack everything into the car and drive to our meeting point, McDonald's, and have breakfast there.
That's what we do, eating breakfast at McDonald's and wondering what warm clothes we have with us, because it's +12 degrees outside and a strong, damp, northern wind is blowing.
After picking up Julia, we set off, as our entire day is planned down to the minute – well, by the hour – and we have to stick to the schedule strictly, otherwise all our plans could fall through.
Today's main plans are to see at least one Romanian bear, cross the Transfagarasan mountain pass, which is considered one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Europe or even the world, accessible by asphalt road, by car. Romanians, of course, emphasize that it is one of the most beautiful roads in the world. And finally, at 4 PM, we must be at Dracula's Castle.
We start approaching the mountains, and at every turn, beautiful views open up. We have to stop, take pictures, film, and occasionally fly the drone. We've reached Lake Vidraru, get out once again to take pictures, and here we begin to realize that if we continue like this, we might not make it to Dracula's Castle in time! So, we get back in the car and continue driving, constantly waiting for those beautiful views we've seen so often in various videos and photos to finally appear. Transfagarasan is the road I've wanted to drive for at least 15 years, if not longer; I always watch various videos and pictures, and my little dream is to get to this pass, on this road, and finally see it all with my own eyes. While I'm waiting for these views and dreaming about this pass, Julia shouts from the back, "Bear!!!" I slam on the brakes, the cars behind don't understand what's happening, honking, but I've suddenly stopped and my eyes are searching for the bear. And indeed, a bear is calmly lying by the roadside, watching passersby. I've blocked the road, but I'm happy to see the bear and I'm taking pictures with my phone, while also filming with the camera. The nervous Romanians continue to honk, but I don't hear them; I'm in another world, I've experienced another little dream, meeting a bear in Romania.
After a few minutes, we continue our journey, and after just 3 bends, we see 3 more bears; this time, a mother with two cubs calmly walking in the middle of the road and, pretending there are no cars or people around, continuing their daily routine.
We continue moving towards the mountain pass, and after the eighth bear, we stop counting them. Evita Eidina says we saw 9 bears, but since she's driving a Seat car, that number might be different!
There are many bears in Romania, and not far from the town of Rasnov, there's a bear sanctuary where you can adopt a bear cub for a year for 60 EUR. This means you're helping to buy food for these bears!
It's 2:30 PM, and we are just starting to approach the mountain pass. We still want to photograph and film it, and after that, we have 2 hours until Bran Castle, so we are already starting to doubt that today's plan will be fully implemented!
As we get closer to the mountains, the road starts to climb. The dense forests with their lush trees begin to disappear, a few bushes appear, and soon they too are gone, and we arrive at the first waterfall. The view all around is fantastic and this beauty is even difficult to describe, so you'll be able to see all of this in the Romania series, on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel, in the latest season. I can only say that I have fulfilled my dream, and as we climbed the mountain, the weather cleared up and the sun even began to shine, so the drone shots will be excellent, and my heart is now at peace; this beautiful road has been seen and experienced.
While taking pictures, filming, and enjoying these magical views, we realize that we've missed everything else today because by the time we drive down the mountain, the clock already shows 4:30 PM, but it's about a 2-hour drive to Bran Castle.
Therefore, slowly, without much haste, we head towards our apartments, where the hostess awaits us, shows us our rooms, and one girl accompanies us to dinner, where we enjoy Romanian cuisine. Time flies while eating and talking, and we don't even notice that it's already past 11 PM, time to sleep, because tomorrow is another long day!
Transylvania and Dracula's Castle!
Overnight, we stay in an excellent guesthouse, Rems Pansion, located in the town of Rasnov, 11 km from Bran Castle.
Since we missed visiting Dracula's Castle the previous day, we head straight for Bran Castle after breakfast, and at the gates, a guide is already waiting for us. He takes us through the entire castle, tells us various stories, and shows us different horrifying implements used to torture people many years ago.
We saw and heard a lot, and two hours flew by unnoticed, but what will certainly stick in our minds the most are those sadistic tools used in ancient times to torture people and, in doing so, to intimidate others and subjugate them to their will. Many things were such that it would be difficult to even conceive of them, but in ancient times, it was probably a common thing, similar to mobile phones today; it's hard to imagine life without them!
Here you realize how cruel and sadistic a human being can be, and you appreciate that those times are in the past! Although, on the other hand, perhaps some of those devices should be introduced even today, for example, for those deputies who only make promises during election campaigns and, once elected, do nothing and forget what they promised! You will be able to see all these torture devices in our series about Romania.
Having learned about Dracula's descendants and heard his life story, we return to the guesthouse, have some coffee, and, together with the guesthouse owner, drive up the nearby mountain to see an ancient fortification, in the middle of which is a large ancient village. Currently, renovation work is underway, and a lot of money is being invested so that this place can be revived very soon and tourists can visit it.
As I mentioned before, nothing in Romania happens on time. On this day, at 12:00 PM, we were supposed to be in the town of Piatra Neamt and check into a guesthouse, a brand new glamping site, but it's only 2:30 PM now, and we're not going down the mountain to continue our journey. Instead, we're still driving up the mountain, where we'll explore a large cave with stalactites and stalagmites. After parking the car, we enter the forest and are surprised; we haven't seen such a beautiful forest in a long time. We turn around, take pictures, film, and enjoy the light green shades given by the leaves of this particular tree, but what kind of tree it is, we don't know!
It's already 4:00 PM, and it's only a 4-hour drive to our next city, so we're not rushing at all, as we're already at least 8 hours behind, which is apparently normal here.
After bidding farewell to the guesthouse owner, we, along with Iulia Dangulea, head to another city, Brasov, just to drop in on the center for 5 minutes. You already understand that those 5 minutes turn into 1.5 hours, and now we are 10 hours behind. But it was worth it, and the center of Brasov is truly beautiful, and the Black Church, which is the largest Gothic-style church in Western Europe, is the icing on the cake!
After saying goodbye to Julia, we are ready to drive for 4 hours and arrive late in the evening in the town of Piatra Neamț, at Zenzia glamping, where we will stay for the next 3 nights. The hostess invites us to dinner in a large glamping tent, and we can only guess at the view outside the window, but we can't see anything in the darkness. So, settled in our cabin, we go to sleep and eagerly await the morning when we'll open the curtains and see the natural landscape that we've only seen in pictures until now!
Good night and see you again tomorrow!
Fourth day in Romania, and now everything truly begins!
The first notes of the alarm clock ring, and I'm already on my feet, much like in the army for morning assembly, that's me opening the curtains! I pull back the curtains, but I don't quite understand the terrain, so I slip on my slippers and rush outside, and there it is, the view I had previously seen in pictures, and even better. Mountains all around and glamping cabins in the middle. I take pictures with all possible cameras until I realize that it's actually very fresh and even a bit cold outside, so I get dressed and come out again, to record the first morning speech while the emotions are still fresh, but the speech doesn't quite work out, my voice is hoarse. In recent months, we've discovered a great helper: before we need to record something, we suck on an Isla tablet, and the voice is back in order.
Our breakfast is scheduled for 8:30 AM, in the same tent where we had dinner last night. We arrive a few minutes before the scheduled time, and our table is already set, right by the window with a view of the mountains. We meet the hostess and tell her about our glamping site, and that's how breakfast passes, with conversations about campsites, glamping, and extensive experience – they have 2 months, we have 3 weeks.
This excellent glamping is https://www.facebook.com/zenziaglampingro
Around 9:00 AM, a car pulls up, three young women get out and come into our tent. It turns out that for the next 3 days, we'll have three excellent guides and fantastic people with whom to explore the Romanian region of Piatra Neamț.
After breakfast, we get into our car, and for the rest of the day—no, for all 3 days—we can switch off our minds and not think about anything; the girls have made a plan for us: what to see, what to enjoy, and where to eat.
First, we head to the city center, find a place to park the car, and go to the first church, located right in the center. Before that, the girls explain the whole day's plan, and we realize it will be a long day.
After the church, we visit a museum where an employee tells interesting things about various exhibits. Next is the Jewish Synagogue, and after that, straight to lunch.
And now it begins, the real story of Romania, I haven't eaten so much in a long time, and the moment I said thank you, I'm full, the girls said that this was just an appetizer, now the main course would come. And after the main course, there was dessert. Romania knows how to surprise, and this fantastically delicious food is their calling card. If you want to eat well and a lot, go to Romania. It's worth mentioning that in Romania no one rushes; if it's lunchtime, then it's for lunch, and that's no less than 2 hours.
Our excellent lunch at the restaurant https://www.facebook.com/Cocosuldeaur
After lunch, our plan is to go to the city lake, where we'll stretch our legs and burn off the calories we've eaten by going for a ride on water bikes. We enjoy the water and pedaling for an hour, exploring the surroundings and seeing large flocks of swans; perhaps some of them have even visited us in Latvia.
Water bikes and kayaks https://www.facebook.com/LaCaiace
Next on the plan is the horse stable, where we see horses training and we also have the opportunity to chat with some horse owners. We learn that their horses cost from 12-30k Euros and cost a lot of money to maintain annually, so this is definitely not a sport for everyone.
It turns out we will see another old wooden church and then go eat again. If on other trips we are happy with a slice of pizza or a chocolate bar, throughout the day, then here they want to feed us so much that we will never forget what Romanian hospitality, delicious food, and large portions are.
The wooden church was built 500 years ago and nothing, except the roof, has been renovated during these years; all the walls are as they were built in the 16th century. The church has its own aura, and upon entering, it radiates warmth; perhaps the wood makes this building cozier. Both wedding ceremonies and funeral services take place here, and there are graves in the churchyard intended only for members of the church community, and the most interesting thing is that monuments have been erected, names engraved, pictures placed on these monuments, but these people are not yet dead, so to speak, they have reserved a place for themselves!
Dinner and time to eat again. While driving to the restaurant, I try to convince myself that I’m hungry, but it’s hard to fool myself. I sit at the table, menu open, reading the names of dishes and waiting for a signal that my appetite will finally appear. Our new friends have arranged for me to film a little of how the food is prepared. Being in the kitchen and watching a steak being cooked, I finally start to feel a slight hunger and I'm ready for the dinner marathon. Steak, dessert, and Palinca, their local alcohol, to help the food digest better, so to speak!
Dinner restaurant https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561047637231
After dinner, we return to our glamping site and prepare for a new day, which promises to be just as active and with lots and lots of food!
Romania Day 5, and today it will be revealed how small the world is!
In the middle of the night, we hear raindrops hitting our glamping tent, but we knew it was going to rain today, so we weren't too worried. We have a great team; they'll figure out today's plan, even if it rains.
When we wake up, the rain has stopped, but while we're getting ready for breakfast, it starts raining again, and we have no umbrellas or waterproof shoes, so we rush down the mountain in our indoor slippers as fast as we can! Breakfast at Glamping Zenzia is excellent, and while eating it, we even forget that it's pouring outside. Our team of girls soon arrives, this time only two, the third will join later for lunch.
Since the rain hasn't stopped, we head to a private gym that's set up in a private house in the city center. We ring the doorbell, a guy in army uniform opens it and invites us in. The first room is quite small, with about 6 exercise machines, we go further and there's another room with 4 exercise machines, to the right another room with 4 more exercise machines, in between the rooms there's a corridor that leads to another room with 3 exercise machines and at the end of it there's a large room, with at least 20 exercise machines, but behind the wall there's another equally large room with at least 20 more exercise machines and another 2nd floor with 10 more exercise machines. I had never seen such a large gym in a private house before. The owner says that he started building and equipping the gym with exercise machines 8 years ago, because he has been involved in various strength sports all his life and it's his hobby, and here, along with him, 60-70 other people who want to exercise train.
The rain is still falling, and our next stop is Zero Waste, a small shop selling various local producers' products that promote waste reduction. Here, bread and various sweet buns are baked on site, and it is possible to buy many different products, from narcissus balm to refillable laundry detergent!
Guess what will follow after visiting this shop? Absolutely right, time for lunch! This time we are at a family restaurant where the chef is famous all over Romania, having participated in the popular TV show, Chef Knife! We've taken our seats at the table, the chef himself comes out and chats with everyone, asking what they would like for lunch. I am surprised by the Romanian hospitality. This chef's smile has stuck in my memory so much that I would be willing to eat here every day because of it. Such a positive person will surely prepare something very, very delicious for us. I was even lucky enough to film our cooking process in the kitchen!
You already read, in the previous article, that if Romanians eat, they really eat; they have dedicated meal times in this life, they are not Latvians who grab a hot dog at the gas station during lunch, coffee in the other hand, phone pressed to their ear while driving to the next meeting, because, perhaps, a comet will hit tomorrow and some work will be left undone!
We sit at the lunch table, each enjoying their meal, tasting our neighbor's portion, chatting and sharing various life experiences. At one point, when I started talking about my friend from Latvia who lives and works in France, one of the guides said that she also has a friend who worked in France, and possibly even at the same time as my buddy. For a moment, we changed the subject, because we didn't believe in such coincidences that these two, one from Dobele, the other from Romania, could know each other. But after a while, a certain unease still bothered me, and I wanted to find out the truth, for peace of mind. I took a picture of the girl's friend on Instagram and sent it to my buddy, but I didn't get a reply; perhaps he was working during the day and would only reply in the evening. 10 more minutes passed, still no answer, but the itch in my side grew stronger and stronger, and I wanted to hear an answer. I picked up the phone and called. My buddy answered and said that he was just about to reply. He said, "We were good buddies, weren't we? Give him my regards." And here we all smiled broadly and understood how small the world really is and that such miracles happen, and that finding a needle in a haystack is not impossible at all!
After finishing all the dishes, we are brought dessert, and we have to guess what the ice cream is made of. It seems very familiar and known, but all guesses are wrong, then the chef brings and puts grain bread on the table, and that is the correct answer, ice cream made from grain bread! Restaurant https://www.facebook.com/chefGiovanniPopa
After lunch, we get in the car and head out for a longer drive. 40 minutes away is a small lake that formed naturally 34 years ago, as a result of an earthquake. A ditch or lower area, through which rainwater always drained, collapsed, and in 1990, a lake formed here. Now it's a reserve, with all the consequences that entails: no swimming, fishing, camping, boating, and many other activities are allowed. But the lake itself is very beautiful, and this is the largest naturally formed lake in Romania. In autumn, it will be incredibly beautiful here!
Having photographed the lake and ourselves, we are ready to head back towards the city, but on the way, we will stop by Tatiana's and her daughter's place, just to visit for a few minutes, but.....
But in Romania, no one visits for a few minutes, and no one lets you leave until you've eaten properly. The hostess shows us her guest house, with an outdoor pool that can be used year-round, 24/7. After a while, the hostess invites everyone to a shed where a round grill has been lit, and each person is given a skewer with a salted piece of bacon impaled on it, while in the other hand, a plate with a large slice of white bread and onions is given. The task is as follows: roast the bacon, and the moment the fat starts to drip, it should be dripped onto the bread, and this is done until the bacon starts to turn a darker color!
When the bacon is ready, we are all invited to the garden house, where the table is already set, and this evening will be no exception; we will only leave the table when we are close to bursting. In addition to the bacon, the hostess and her daughter had prepared Goulash, a fantastically delicious beef stew. For the first time, we tasted salted watermelons and melons. During the evening, the table was set at least 3 times, and at the moment when I truly felt I would burst, freshly baked cinnamon rolls were placed on the table.
Whether I ate them or not, that remains a secret, but the kind of hospitality we experience here in Romania is hard to find anywhere else in the world! To say the least, we are surprised, and with each passing day, we like Romania more and more.
Romania Day 6, here we will let you rest from the long descriptions, because we also rested a bit ourselves.
Today we have to move to another city and also to another accommodation, so we arrange with the girls to leave a bit later than usual!
The morning starts with fantastic views from the window and balcony; the sun is shining this morning and a few small clouds are stuck between the mountains, but the morning is chilly, only +4 degrees. After breakfast, we pack our belongings and still find time for a small photoshoot on the balcony. One would want to spend at least half a day here, relaxing on the balcony, enjoying the views and the sun!
As always, we missed the appointed time and arrived at the meeting point exactly one hour late, but that's normal in Romania!
Having parked the car, we head to the cable car, which is similar to the one in the High Tatras of Slovakia, and we take this cable car to the top of the mountain, from where we will then walk for 40 minutes through a beautiful forest to the highest point of the mountain! This forest is a reserve, and 30 million years ago, there was supposedly a sea here. For many years, fish fossils and fish bones embedded in rocks and hard strata have been found in this reserve, at the top of the mountain. That is why this place is so popular, and many people choose this place for their walks, as well as for dancing. We also, on our way to the top of the mountain, in this beautiful forest, met Zumba dancers who were filming a commercial video, and our girls, within a few minutes, learned the steps and participated in the filming of this video! You will be able to see the video of this dance in our series about Romania!
Having reached the top of the mountain, we took pictures by a rock resembling a skull and headed back to the lift to go down to the city and have lunch, as all the girls were already complaining about hunger! What an interesting feeling to be the only guy among 4 girls and to be the only one not complaining about wanting to eat!
For lunch, we are in the city center, at the restaurant Turnulberarilor, and Nina helps me choose the dishes. She says I should start with a soup made from cowhide, and the liquid looks like milk. The first spoon feels like it will be the last, but with lots of pepper and salt, a super spicy chili, and warm buns, the soup is conquered. The main course is a meat mix, from sausages to ribs; here, unfortunately, my strength is too little, and half of the portion remains on the plate. For dessert, we are ordered Papanași. I like this and eat my half, but Evita Eidina gets halfway!
https://www.facebook.com/TurnulBerarilorOficial
After lunch, we continue our unhurried conversations and promise to stay in touch as we bid farewell to the girls! We are so joyful and happy for every person we've met here, because the hospitality we've received is not something you can experience everywhere. So, thank you girls for these 3 wonderful days, but we must move on to the town of Targu Neamt.
Tomorrow we will have new girls again, who will help us continue to explore Romania! See you again tomorrow, because tomorrow promises to be a very emotional day!
The most emotionally rich day is also Romania's 7th day!
We are well-rested in the new hotel, heading for breakfast. We choose seats at the table where the sun shines more, as this morning is cloudless, but very chilly. For breakfast here, there's no buffet; instead, we have to order from a menu that's only in Romanian. A waitress comes, and I feel that we're not connecting; her English skills are as good as my Romanian. After a while, a hotel employee comes and helps with the translation. We order breakfast, and it's fresh and delicious.
Our hotel https://www.facebook.com/PensiuneaEderaVanatoriNeamt
So far, whenever we've interacted with local Romanians, their English skills were very good; at this hotel, perhaps we just happened to encounter an exception!
After breakfast, we are ready to embark on our first adventures with new guides who arrive at our hotel at the agreed time. We get into our car and after just 7 minutes, we have arrived at our first stop, which is on our plan. This plan was put together by Simona, one of our new guides.
https://www.facebook.com/omdvanatorineamt
Our second guide will translate from Romanian to English.
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On the way here, we realize that we will be visiting local residents who are engaged in making various products, as well as gathering to celebrate various holidays, meet daily, work together, and have a good time. In short, this is a social center for local residents – mostly older people.
We are invited inside and greeted by a woman who speaks good English and who offers to translate for us and tell us all about this place. To the left, in the large room, sit 6 women on a sofa, further on there is another woman, well over 70 years old, a young girl, then to the right in the room there are several more women and in the antechamber there are several people - one of them a man who joins our conversation because he speaks English. All the people are in beautiful costumes and beautifully made vests, this is their national costume and this vest is made by a woman who, it turns out later, is well over 80. The woman who is ready to tell us about this place says that people gather here for celebrations, daily, and in the evenings, come to make various things, cook something delicious, dance, sing, and have a great time together. And today will also start with songs. The women who were sitting in the room on the left start their song and they sound very good, it feels like they do it very often because singing at that level is no laughing matter. One song follows another, then a third, and after the fourth song, I say that they should participate in Eurovision, at least there would be something to vote for. Next, we are introduced to a woman sitting at an old loom, weaving a small towel or scarf, we observe and film how she does it, we also see how the yarn is obtained, and then we are led to a table on which stand many traditional shoes, only in their style. Here, the woman shows us how these shoes are made, from Italian cowhide, and after the demonstration, she gives a pair to Evita Eidina. Evita immediately puts on these shoes, this woman helps and additionally gives us small ornamental shoes that can be hung on the wall at home as a souvenir. We are grateful for the gifts, we continue to look and film the next things, and this time we are introduced to an older lady who turns out to be the seamstress and maker of these traditional vests, and all the vests we see on people in this room are made by her. All these people sitting around, in this room, radiate such warmth and are so genuine in their smiles, looks, and actions, that I feel the level of emotion in my heart and head starting to flow like lava from a volcano, and looking at this old lady, who is so genuine, so real, so sweet, and in her own way completely simple, emotions start to overwhelm me, and I shed a tear, something like this is not often experienced, but these people, and especially this elderly lady, broke me, and her unfeigned and truly sweet smile is still before my eyes! As she talks about her vests, her voice and facial expressions are so touching, she is like a sweet grandmother whom you want to hug and cuddle. She gives Evita one of her vests to try on and fit, and we take the opportunity to immediately take a photo. She stands nearby and smiles, then suddenly hands me a vest too and says to take a picture of both Evita and me in her vests, I say for grandmother to come in the middle and we hug her warmly. Out of interest, I ask how much such a vest costs, on average it's about 150 Eur, because the work on the vest takes a whole week. After taking off the vests, we are shown how the patterns for these vests are drawn, and this is done by a young girl who is learning this craft from this lady and very much hopes that one day she will be able to continue this interesting work. Before we leave, sweet bread is brought, which the women have prepared specially for this occasion, and a local drink, Tuica, a 60-degree strong infusion, is also served! We start tasting the sweet bread and the woman who is translating everything for us here approaches me and says that the lady who embroiders these vests wants to give me one, I look, this lady is standing nearby, smiling wholeheartedly, so genuinely and sweetly, that a lump forms in my throat, tears in my eyes, and the only thing I can do is hug this woman and not let go until I compose myself and control my emotions. This lady says that the vest suited me so well that she definitely needs to give it to me. We hug again, cuddle, and we are all called for a group photo, Evita and I are put in the middle, a small girl jumps into my lap, and we are all immortalized in an emotional moment that I will certainly never forget in my life. It didn't end there, there are still dances and songs, we are given the strong drink, Tuica, and only after collective applause for this fantastic event and a warm farewell do we leave this building, because we have to drive further according to our plan. I get into the car, but I realize that I need to film something while the emotions are still so warm and genuine, but upon turning on the camera, I realize that my emotional level is so high that my speech falters, tears flow under my sunglasses, and the lump in my throat prevents me from saying a word. It was something incredible! You will be able to see this whole adventure on our YouTube channel, Gold Barbell, in the series about Romania.
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Our plan is to go to the monastery, where a monk will greet us and show us around the monastery and tell us some behind-the-scenes stories of monastic life. Our first impressions are WOW, it's not a monastery, but a 5-star hotel, everything here is so clean, so beautiful, so symmetrical and so unique. We meet two monks, one looks like the main one, the other will be our guide, both are very friendly, smiling and accommodating. From what we have learned of Romanian words these days, we understand that the main monk tells us not to take us where it is not clean and tidy, he smiles broadly, shakes our hands and wishes us a successful filming. The monk who stays with us says that he is not a museum employee and doesn't know much, but in two hours, he never stopped talking, telling stories and more stories. At one point, as we were going up the hill, I asked him if monks like Tuica, he jokes and says that they don't just like it, but they love this drink, which of course is a joke on his part. After walking around the entire territory and getting acquainted with the monks' daily lives and tasting the apples grown in their garden, we move to the main building, where we are led through a door and we find ourselves in an incredible garden, with many different plantings, bushes, lemon trees and flowers. Here the monks have lunch, dinner or meet for celebrations. We are invited into a room where we are treated to coffee, sweets, and the monk brings us Tuica and wine, both said to be made in this monastery. We have a glass with the monk, talk about life, he follows our YouTube channel, we take a picture and say goodbye. Now we can confidently say that we have a good friend in this wide World, a monk, and our channel has a new follower, a monk who promises to follow our journeys! If someone had told me some time ago that I would be sitting at the same table with a monk and drinking wine with him, I would never have believed it.
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After the monastery, we head for lunch, driving towards our hotel, but our guides tell us to turn left, onto a dirt road, along which we drive past a herd of cows, through a flock of sheep, and then suddenly a fence appears, with an entrance road in the middle, and upon entering, there is an asphalted road, an alley of trees, a pond on the left, with ducks and fish. We find out that there are fish in the pond when we are already having lunch and we are served grilled fish with Polenta, the fish is delicious, but I haven't acquired a taste for Polenta yet. This lunch spot is a true paradise for events, with a hotel, a restaurant, and a wedding or party venue, and most importantly, very far from the main roads and civilization. While we were enjoying lunch, newlyweds also arrived here, and the guide arranged for us to come back in the evening to film a local wedding, but fast-forwarding, we didn't have the energy in the evening to come back for the wedding party.
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After lunch, we head to the other side of town, as we have an appointment with the museum owner, who is also the son of a famous sculptor. Arriving at the gate, it's already clear what kind of museum this will be and what we will be able to see there. We open the gate, enter the yard, along the sides are various figures carved in wood and stone; it turns out, the artist of these sculptures is the owner's father, who died at the beginning of this century and left his son so many different things that he decided to organize it all beautifully and create a museum. There are so many museum items that it would be difficult to tell about all of them, so it's better to wait for the latest Romanian series, we will show you everything.
After seeing the museum and watching the owner's brother working on a new work of art, we go back to the owner's house for coffee and tea and to discuss various topics.
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As the day has been long and full of emotions, we head back to the hotel, upload all the files and go to sleep. Good night and see you again tomorrow, right here in Romania.
Romania Day 8, Citadel, lunch at the monastery, museums and monastery again.
This trip is very different from other trips and this is a journey into Romanian culture and Romanian everyday life. With each day, we understand their traditions and their inner world more and more. The more new people we meet and talk to and get to know them, the more we begin to ponder the life we live and its value.
Our morning starts with another breakfast at the hotel, where, with the help of a phone, we get delicious pancakes and omelets.
After breakfast, we are already on our way to Neamț Citadel, which can be seen from afar, built on a hill and offering a magnificent view of the town built at its foot. We pull up to a small market, park the car, and are ready to climb the hill, but then our second guide arrives and invites us to drive this stretch to the citadel by car, which of course we don't refuse, because looking up, we realize that the road is steep and there will be a lot of walking, and it definitely won't be easy. Having reached the Citadel parking lot, we see people sitting on benches and catching their breath after this long and steep climb. If I didn't have so much equipment and cameras, I would definitely want such a morning workout for myself. We are at the entrance and are greeted by a guide who is ready to accompany us and tell us everything, both about the history, about the restoration work, and about various legends and stories. We spend a little over an hour here, walk through all the rooms, the museum, take pictures, and are ready to go down. Of course, you will see and hear much more about this Citadel in our latest series about Romania, on REtv and Gold Barbell YouTube channel.
We drove down to the market, the guides introduce us to an artist, https://www.facebook.com/ionela.lungu.585, who also has her own souvenir shop here. She makes various faces from clay here, we wanted her to make Evita's face too, but she said it would take 3 days and we wouldn't wait, so we look at the souvenirs, get some ourselves and then head to the central market to buy fruit. Yes, we've been here for a week, but we haven't tasted the local watermelon and grapes yet. Well, a few grapes we had borrowed from local gardens and no, we didn't steal them, we drove up to the fence, there were bunches of grapes hanging there, we picked them so as not to dent the car, because that's exactly where we had to park the car and we wouldn't throw away the picked bunches, we honestly put them in a bag and ate them in the evening.
But the market, that was colorful, both vegetables and fruits, watermelons, light and dark grapes, peaches and nectarines, plums, large and small, everything was there. We bought a lot, almost a little of everything. And we were not disappointed, everything was sweet, juicy, and very delicious. Evita Eidina says, I have never eaten such delicious grapes in my life.
Having bought fruit, we drive to the museum, where the guide tells us about the life of a certain writer and his most popular works, but after the museum, we have earned some homemade ice cream https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054235820751 and coffee, and this is like a warm-up for the stomach, because after eating ice cream, we head straight to the monastery, where we are scheduled to have lunch today.
At the monastery, we meet Gabriel, because of whom we are in this region in the first place, and who is the main organizer of this plan. We are invited into a room where everyone who attends mass on Sundays eats, and a table is set for us too. https://www.facebook.com/Vovidenia At the dinner table, we get to know the chief monk of this monastery and talk a lot about various topics. I never thought I would be so uplifted talking and discussing with a monk. Seeing that we had finished our soup, he quickly cleared the plates, took them to the kitchen, and returned from the kitchen with several plates of food, cabbage rolls, and similar rolls made from vine leaves. After having soup, salad, and potatoes with rolls, we were brought 2 more desserts, we drank wine made at this monastery, and when our stomachs were full, we took a farewell photo with our new friend, the chief monk! This monk will remain in my memory for his voice; it has such a pleasant timbre that I would be willing to listen to it again and again. He has a good sense of humor and is very intelligent and knowledgeable on various subjects; it's a shame we didn't have more time to talk about other topics. I could have asked him what he thinks of Eurovision, but that will have to wait for next time!
After lunch, we visit the monastery, the museum, within the grounds of this monastery https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057217668685 and we have to move on to the next monastery, Neamț Monastery, which is one of the most important and oldest monasteries in this region. These two monasteries are a 2-minute drive apart, and this second monastery is truly impressive. We are given 30 minutes to explore this monastery and see the church on our own, but later there is a guided tour with a monk who is also the guide of this monastery. There is so much information that it is difficult to remember everything; we learned that the church has burned down several times, which is why everything inside is black; we learned that the first printing press in Romania was here and we saw the first machines that were used to print books, including holy books. We saw many different historical artifacts, and each one has its own story. I don't know how many stories we will include in our videos, but we will definitely tell more there.
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After the monastery, we drive to the hotel, order dinner using our phones, and make our notes so we don't forget them and can share them with you!
Before we make our films about Romania, we want to know if you'd be interested if we included more facts about each place we've visited in these films. If you'd like that, please write "I want!" in the comments!
Romania Day 9: Bison, lunch at a local home, and the Romanian Canyon!
As you already know, the morning starts again with breakfast, again no one speaks English, again we communicate with the help of a phone, and again we get delicious pancakes!
But as every morning, at 9:30 AM we are in the car and together with the girls, we head to the National Park where bison live. We are told about the park and a little about the animals, and together with the guides, with the sun shining and warming, we walk through a beautiful forest, looking for bison tracks and hoping to see them. After exploring the nearby area, we realize that the animals have gone deeper into the forest, and this time we will have to leave with long faces (disappointed). The entire park area is 30,000 hectares, and it's no wonder we didn't see any of the 88 animals.
The girls, seeing that we were a little sad, took us to a nearby animal park, similar to a zoo, and there we saw these bison up close. I even managed to put our heads together and take a photo.
Having satisfied our curiosity and seen not only bison but also other animals, we are on our way to a private house in our village, not far from the hotel, where we will prepare lunch with the hostess and once again eat until our pant buttons burst.
The hostess greets us at the gate and invites us into her kitchen. She has already peeled and chopped various vegetables, and the whole house smells of her freshly baked bread. Evita Eidina has the opportunity to spread oil on the bread and cut it, but meanwhile the hostess has put 2 pots on the gas stove, one for soup, Borscht, but without beetroot and with buttermilk, and the other for chicken stew. When all the spices and necessary ingredients are in the pots to cook, the girls cut several types of cheese, meats, and vegetables. But an interesting dish is put in the oven, it will be for dessert, I really hope there is still room in my stomach for this sweet treat. In the hostess's yard, there is a beautifully arranged canopy where we can have lunch, and next to the house are grape bushes full of large, blue, and as it turns out later, very delicious grapes. Our lunch starts with cheese, small dried meats, then soup, then chicken stew, and then pancakes are served. I rate these pancakes 10+, on a ten-point scale. I first tasted half, then another half, then a whole one, and I would be ready to eat it all if someone just showed me a room where I could lie down after a hearty lunch. These pancakes are filled with cottage cheese and sugar, with a little lemon added, all arranged on a glass plate, which is placed in the oven, and topped with whipped cream mixed with egg. Well, this was one of the best desserts I've ever had.
Having eaten well, with our pant buttons undone, we bid farewell to our cook and drive to the hotel to say goodbye to the girls, and we will spend the second part of the day with Gabriel. Our plans include seeing the Romanian Canyon, Bicazului Cheile, and the Red Lake. We drive and talk with Gabriel, and every now and then we stop to photograph the beautiful Romanian natural landscape. Upon reaching the canyon, we are surprised by another WOW in Romania. This canyon, which can be driven through, is truly impressive. We walk on foot, buy some souvenirs, Gabi tells us about the Edelweiss flower, which grows in the mountains and in Romanian means "Queen's flower," and it is considered a symbol of love and purity. In folk medicine, it is used for stomach aches and respiratory diseases. We don't get to enjoy this natural beauty for long, as we still have to drive to the Red Lake, which is similar to what we saw 4 days ago, with tree trunks in the water, only this one is a bit older. And it is called Red because there are many red rocks around it, similar to clay, and in rainy weather, these rocks flow into the lake, and at sunset, the water looks red. After spending 30-40 minutes at the lake, climbing to the viewpoint, taking pictures, we head back to the hotel, because the travel time will be more than an hour, and the next day we have to wake up at 5:00 AM to go to Bucharest and be at Terme Park by 12:00 PM.
Once we reached the hotel, we said goodbye to Gabriel, went to pack our bags, and quickly went to sleep, as we only had 4 hours of sleep left.
Romania's final days, Day 10 and 11! Europe's largest thermal pool complex, Therme Bucharest.
We get up early in the morning, right after 5, pack all our bags and head towards Bucharest, over 400km, and the navigation shows exactly 6 hours. Along the way, we catch the sunrise, which paints the local mountains, we look for grapes in the large vineyards, but someone has just picked them. The entire journey passes quickly, and by around 12:00, we are at the doors of Therme park, where we are greeted by Diana, the park's marketing girl. She gives us wristbands, me swimming shorts, Evita slippers, and takes us on the first tour so we don't get lost in the park and understand how all the zones are arranged.
Our task is to film this park and include it in our shows so that you, the viewers, can see this park and appreciate it with your own eyes.
The park has several zones; the first zone is the central pool, which has a large bar and the option to swim to the outdoor pool. Around this pool, many palm trees and various plants are planted; in total, the park has about a million living plants and 1500 real palm trees. The air temperature here is +30 degrees, and the water temperature is +33 degrees; everything here is done to make all these tropical plants feel at home. On both sides of this pool, there are many sun loungers where you can comfortably lie down and relax during the day. The next zone is the water slide zone, which has a total of 16 different slides, a pool where there are occasionally waves like in the sea, and a large area with sun loungers where parents can relax while their children enjoy themselves in this zone. Further on, there is a zone where parents with children can relax; there is a separate pool with a bar in the middle where various drinks can be ordered. There are hydro massage beds, infrared lamp beds, 3 wet saunas, and on both sides of the pools are huge arches made of Himalayan salt bricks. In the evenings, they are illuminated in various colors, and a total of 40 tons of this salt are said to have been used.
There are also several outdoor areas here, but they only operate during the summer season, from June 1st to September 15th.
The adults-only zone is on the second floor, where there are 6 different dry and themed saunas, a restaurant, and an outdoor area where you can relax after various sauna rituals. Here there is a sauna with a panoramic window, where you can see the main pool, there is a sauna with Himalayan salt, there is a ritual sauna, and there is a Hollywood sauna, where you sit similar to a cinema and a film is shown on the big screen in front of you. Here you can also sign up for massages, but if you don't get in line in the morning, you won't get a massage today.
As evening approached, many people started to gather, and it became harder for us to film, so we arranged with Diana that she would let us in the next morning before the park opened to film everything we couldn't manage today.
There are several restaurants in the park, and everyone's taste buds will be catered to, from American burgers to steaks.
Time is passing, but we haven't booked a hotel yet, and at 9:30 PM we have to meet Julia, the woman responsible for our visit to Romania.
After dinner at Therme Park, we go to meet Julia, and together we drive to a restaurant by the lake, which is one of Julia's favorites. We have various drinks, chat, and in the meantime, I book a hotel near the airport, as Therme Park is also close to the airport, and tomorrow at 9:00 AM we need to be there.
After a great evening with Julia, it's time to say goodbye and a big thank you for this wonderful adventure, but we agree that this is not our last meeting here in Romania.
We head to the hotel, drive up to reception, and I go to check in, but the employee can't find my Booking reservation. I take out my phone to show him the confirmation, but there I see, under the influence of fatigue, that I have booked the hotel for Christmas, not September. Luckily, there are still rooms available at the hotel, and we book without Booking.
The hotel room is good and spacious, but since it's well past midnight, we quickly go to bed, as we have a lot of work to do tomorrow morning.
How good it is that this park is so close to the airport, it's possible to hang out and relax until the last minute, then go to the airport, check in luggage, board the direct AirBaltic flight, and after 2 hours and 10 minutes, you're already in Riga!
Happy travels everyone, and see you on new adventures!
