Balkans_2018...You Only Live Once!

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
No Aussie-style forest of dumb-down signs, no speed signs, do this/ do that or the rest of the roadside-garbage...
....just ride your own race, simple as that.:woot:



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I have just as much fun in the lower, forested parts of the TransAlpina Rt67c
towards the north lateron.
There are small, interesting roads, sealed and gravel, branching off everywhere.... places and tracks to explore for months on end, I'm sure. :drool:

Now the weather is pushing us north....blackbellies over Lake Oasa.



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Leaving the Transalpina for the navigational challenge of the 40km rollercoaster of small roads across the High Plains, the endless string of hairpins, narrow alleyways, 5-way market-places, dips and sweepers and endless turn-off options through Jina, Baiesi and Poiana to Saliste...now THAT, was the real kick of the day for me. :thumbs::glu


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
BYO....no footstool, no cash! :so



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...and sometimes in life, one trips over something REALLY SPECIAL

Pensiunea Mioritica in Sibiel, worth the extra few k's at the end of a long day....100 times over! :wot::lao

What a place!! What a host, what a location, what a life's work and what a load of dreams, ideas and imagination that have been transferred into reality.
EXCEPTIONAL :happy:


Read up on the Bookings.com listing...


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Mystic Gardens, God's Little Paradise, Sibiel (near Sibiu), Romania
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Sibiel (Romania) -> Sibiu -> Transfagarasan -> Budeasa (Romania)


https://goo.gl/QNokFT



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Last day on the road !! :(:(

Everyone knows it has to come, but ...but....but how about only another 2 or 3??
PLEEEEEEASE???





A early stroll before breckie to start the day... what a beautiful place ! :clap:


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Anyone chomping away at breckie already? Naw??? Good!!




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Might be time enough to check out the other half of the gardens...and creek, and bridges, and endless little nooks and crannies full of the weird, old and wonderful.




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Someone else had the same idea :)



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...and it goes on and on. Inside and out, both sides of the spring and creek, upstairs and downstairs...



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Finally it's time to leave this gem, museum, art-galley, display gardens....call it whatever, all rolled into one :glu


A similar, sedate pace in the main street, out the front gate...



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Roads and weather are good, traffic non-exist, navigating easy with good signage circling Sibiu.... so we're at the start of the northern ramp of the Transfagarasan fairly early to make the most of it and spend a little time here.


Transfagarasan....aka Rt. DN7C
:glu




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Even before we're officially on the road proper...

No bland Chicken-Noodle soup or limp + mushy sausage rolls here :happy:

OH NOOO!! ....THIS is PROPER roadside tucker!!
:thumbs:



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Let's hit it!



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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Things are still quiet at the top, where the road cuts underneath the ragged ridge.
Some whispy fog plays with the blue skies and sunshine for some speccy shots during the walk along the lake....



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...and some of the traders are busy setting up to "catch the early bird".
While the peak-season is well and truly over... there's still a buck-to-be-made. :cool:


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
There's always ONE to jump the "safety"-fence :bs



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Some of that fog from the other side of the ridge has decided to creep its way through the tunnel and make it look like a huge, horizontal smokestack.



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Only a few minutes later we're popping out the southern portal and hey :eek:, this isn't shabby either!! :drool:




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Vidraru Dam is another well-known rest-area sprouting a dozen or so food-stalls and kitsch-sellers through the high-season....deserted now, but just as welcome to turn the key and get off the saddle for a while....



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Another typical reminder of the former dictators Ceaușescu's (fake) communist aligment with Moscow....well, somebody paid for the dam
and the hydro-power while Romania was flat-out broke (nothing's changed to this day...W-))



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Just having a snooze in the sun...a couple of the usual strays, the rest of the pack most be somewhere close.




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It's all in the faces.... :(



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We cross the river....and shortly after turn off the main road for some narrow backroads along Lake Budeasa.
Finding our booked stay turns out a bit of lucky shot.... after cruising up + down the main road through a couple of small villages. Who would have looked for a long gravel drive up a steep-ish hill with only the 2. story of the place poking over the edge of the hill :D


Found it....and the entire 2-storey place is ours, with the owner leaving for a night on/ in the town. :eek:W-)

No worries....it only takes a "supply-run" to the small General Store to find some tucker for dinner and breckie...and some local coldies :chug:


Classy...real timber light switches! Great hosts, HUGE place, check out the link below.



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Last night on the road....Budeasa/ Romania
 
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