Bogdan arrived not long after and we set off. Before we left Casa Timar, I asked if Bogdan knew somewhere I could get a new memory card for the camera. He thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, I know a place. It's on the way". We drove out towards Sibiu and along the way we came across a shopping centre.
Inside was store called 'Real'. Real is what they call a cash and carry here in Romania. It's like a department store and a Supermarket all in one. We found the electronics section on the right as we walked in and looked down the aisles for an SD memory card. We found them I picked up a Sandisk 8 MB SD card, it was 44.99 lei ($15.00-$18.00 AUD). I looked at the other cards and they were cheaper but as far as I was aware, Sandisk were one of the better brands, so I took that one.
Bogdan was hungry so we went to the deli counter, which doubles as a food court type area. They have like little round bar tables that you can stand at and eat. He ordered an omelette and some salad and it took about 20 minutes to finally arrive. He ate while I was intrigued by the woman trying to catch these massive fish in tanks in the seafood department. They have life fish in tanks and I guess they sell them like that. After Bogdan finished eating we made our way to the checkout and payed for my memory card then hit the road onwards to Fagaras.
As we drive through some small village Bogdan points out on the left a structure called Fagaras Fortress. He makes a detour from the main road and we drive around the fortress. He pulled up to let me out so I can walk around and take some photos. Fagaras Fortress was different to Rasnov Fortress as it was built for defense and military purposes. We couldn't go in but it looked great from the outside none the less.
After I took some photos we continued onto Transfagarasan. It's because there is no real big fuss made about it. You just turn onto a road and you are on Transfagarasan, however as soon as you turn onto the road you instantly know it is Transfagarasan. Nicolae Caucescu ordered the road to be built in the 1970's as a reaction to the Russian invasion of what was then Chekoslavakia, as he feared Romania would soon be to follow. It was built solely for the purpose of transporting military personnel and tanks over the mountains faster.
In 2009, the British version of Top Gear came to Romania and drove around this 150 KM stretch of road and proclaimed it the 'Best Road In The World'. The actual surface of the bitumen isn't that great and as with much of Romania looks like it hasn't been upgraded or had work done on it for quite awhile. There are pieces missing from the bitumen all over the place and the surface was faded. The quality of the surface does not detract from the amazing experience this road is though.
Corner after corner you are surrounded by the beautiful and untouched Romanian forest. As you venture further you pass under some canopy type structures. The scenery is so calm and serene, it really is something to experience. There is hardly any traffic. The best section of Transfagarasan is closed between October and May. When Bogdan told me this I wondered why they would close it, but soon found out.
After driving around this amazing piece of road for 20 or 25 minutes we came to a bend with a few cars parked and and some buildings. In the gap between 2 mountains rose this enormous mountain peak. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. We parked the car and headed for one of the buildings. It was the base station for a cable car. Apparently the cable car will only operate with a minimum of 10 people. Bogdan said if you wait awhile usually people would come, but we were lucky and there were already people waiting. After waiting around 5 minutes for the cable car to arrive, I paid my 25 lei ($8.00-$9.00 AUD) and we boarded the cable car.
The cable car itself was old and rusted. It was red and cold. It was slightly cramped with nearly 25 people in it. Every time we went past one of the towers, it shook and swayed. I don't recommend this for anyone who suffers from vertigo. I took some photos as we were ascending between to 2 different mountain peaks. A fog had started to form on the mountains. As we ascended I could see the side guards of a road protruding from the snow. It was Transfagarasan. The snow had completely buried most of the road and this is the reason why it was closed. From the cable car it was easy to see the view but not so easy to capture in photos.
Once at the top we left the cable car station and immediately noticed the temperature was at least 10 degrees celcius lower. I asked Bogdan later, how cold he thought it was and he said it was about -6 degrees celcius but there were strong winds and the windchill factor must have made it feel more like -15 degrees. I had left my gloves in the van and I wished i hadn't. It was freezing. The wind was blowing snow up into your face and eyes and luckily I had my sunglasses with me.
There were a few buildings one was half buried in snow but there was still smoke bellowing from the chimney. Further down from that was another building which seemed to be spared the same fate as the other building. Bogdan told me that we are standing on a lake named Lake Balea. We trudged through the snow and with each step my feet sank into the snow and before too long my shoes were soaking wet. I could feel my toes starting to hurt, probably due to being cold and wet. I was reluctant to remove my hands from the warmth of my pockets, but unfortunately for me, photos don't take themselves. We followed a path that led to an alcove in the snow.
The first path led to an ice hotel. I paid 9 lei ($2.00-$3.00 AUD) and went inside. This place was fucking awesome. Apparently, you can actually stay here. To me it felt like it was even colder in the ice hotel than it was outside. The Ice hotel had about 8 rooms of the main area, all with different layouts. The beds and all the furniture were sculpted from ice. There was a bar made of ice with a DJ at one end and the main area was filled with tables and chairs all made from ice. You could even get shots in glasses made of ice.
Across the other side of the main path was another alcove built into the ice. This time it was a chapel carved from ice.
After visiting the chapel we trudged up a hill to the highest point. It was an incredible view from here. I took a photo but it was too foggy for the photo, but I could see for miles. It was very windy and a little part of me was concerned that the wind may drive me to close to the edge. After all, we were over 2000 metres up.
After taking in the view, we headed to the building that was not covered in snow and entered. It was a restaurant. We entered and sat down for a meal. It was maybe 1:30 PM by this time. It was good to be out of the cold. After about 20 minutes my toes started to feel OK again. I had the beef sirloin and Bogdan had some Mici. It was a nice restaurant and there were plenty of people in there. The meal cost around 100 lei ($30.00-$35.00 AUD). We finished the meal, braced ourselves for the cold again and made our way back to the cable car station.
We arrived and there were about 5 people waiting. We waited about 15 minutes then I decided to go for a cigarette. When I returned, Bogdan had joined a queue as a cable car was to arrive. By this time many more people had arrived at the station. The cable car unloaded a group of skiers and snowboarders and everybody paid another 25 lei and exited to the cable car. There were too many people in front of us and the barricade was pulled as it was our turn to leave. We watched the skiers take off the down the mountain from the window in the station as we waited for the next cable car.
About 10 minutes passed and the second cable car arrived. We paid and boarded and headed back down the mountain. We watched the skiers make their way further down the mountain as we descended. Once we reached the bottom, we made our way back to Casa Timar.
My calf muscles ached from trudging through the snow and I don't know if it was the high altitude, but I felt extremely tired. I fell asleep on the way back, but i think it was for only about 20 minutes. We arrived at Casa Timar. Bogdan arranged to meet me at 10:00 AM the next morning so we could go ride a snowmobile at Poiana Brasov.
I went to the store and got a few beers, wrote the story about the day before and then went to bed.
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