Trip to Targu Mures - Bistra

We went again on a trip to Transylvania, more exactlly to the town of Targu Mures and then to the little village of Bistra for a weekend of relaxation.

As usual we took the train from Bucharest. There are not many options as there are two trains that leave for Targu Mures each day. One leaves at 13:00 the other at 21:33. The trip lasts an incredible 9h and 43 min. We had other options so we took the 13:00 train and got off in Sighisoara which is 60km away from Targu Mures. The trip to Sighisoara lasts 5 hours. There is no direct train line from Sighisoara to Targu Mures so the trip lasts another 5 hours by train.

The ticket price for a one way trip to Sighisoara costs 20 euros. There is also a Restaurant Car attached to the train. Prices are ridiculous, the waiters will take their own tip once you pay for the food, something I find unacceptable.

Targu Mures is a small town. There is a nice complex called "Weekend". It's full of restaurants and it has some great looking swimming pools.

On Saturday morning we left by car Targu Mures for Bistra. Almost one hour later we were there. It's a very nice location to have a cottage. The scenery is great and very relaxing.

On Sunday evening we took the train home. There is a train which leaves at 21:30 from Deda which is 5km away from Bistra and arrives at 5:30AM in Bucharest. It has sleeping cars so we decided to book a small room with two beds. One ticket costs 20euro + 15 euro extra for the sleeping car. The sleeping car was clean and tidy but very warm inside.

We had to sleep with the window open for some time. The guard was unfriendly when I asked him to unlock the door to our cabin. Next time I will take my ear plugs with me as it was quite impossible to sleep because of the noise. Our cabin was directly above the bogie which made strange noises on every turn. Plus the track is old so the sections are joined by fishplates and combining that with the poor noise insulation of the carriage I was able to count all the track joints from Deda to Brasov. I was able to fall asleep in Brasov from where the new modern track to Bucharest starts. So the sleeping car is not that comfortable but it's a place where one can sit comfortably in bed.

Tree planting reloaded

We volunteered again to plant trees. This time the location was a hill affected by landslides in the village of Ocnita just 80km away from Bucharest. To our surprise the village is quite idyllic. A small house for a weekend retreat seems a good option there, unfortunately the access road is unpaved and consists only of rocks. Also the deputy mayor had an imposing house which made us believe that something was "out of place" because the only way to make money in such remote a village is by selling land. We wonder what the land price may be in that area.

Getting there is quite an adventure, there are no signs to Ocnita Village, just to Gura Ocnitei Village which is confusing. More confusing is having a driver with a cheap GPS, even worse a driver who doesn't know how to use the GPS and plot a route. So you end up driving in circles and showing the driver, GPS functions he never knew he had on his gadget.

Here are some pictures of the surroundings once we managed to find the place:


After admiring the scenery we started to plant trees (150 in all) helped by other volunteers and local villagers. Much to our amazement we were done in about one hour so we were able to enjoy some sandwiches and a little drink (it was very warm, not summer like hot, but very warm).

The hill before the planting:

The hill after the planting:

Cute little forest, eh?
Again we left happy that we managed to help a small but hard working community. We managed to put a smile on the villagers' faces. But again, the mayor knows and sees that the hill is sliding away, he can see the road conditions in his village, he knows better than anyone else the problems facing his community so he should initiate projects in order to access funds from the EU. It's not enough for local authorities to put the EU flag on the village name sign, any village in the world can to that but only those belonging to EU countries can benefit from EU funds.

Eco Adventure March 2009

Last weekend we signed up to plant trees as volunteers in an area of the Danube Plain suffering from desertification. The area was 210km away from Bucharest near the village of Dabuleni also known for it's water melon plantations. The areas near the Danube are very poor, shockingly poor, having suffered from record floods 2 years ago, from constant heatwaves during the summer when temperatures rise to 42C and from the neglect of every government that came to power.

We left Bucharest at 7:00AM by a coach hired by one of the companies funding the eco project, and took the road to Alexandria (number 3 on the map above). The road was in good condition but traffic rules are not followed at all.

Then we entered the county of Teleorman and the scenery started to change

We eventually arrived in the city of Alexandria (again number 3 on the map) which is the Teleorman county's capital. The city was shockingly small and in somewhat decay. Life there seemed very boring, all we could see in the city center was a local market and some little stores.

Our journey continued to the town of Turnu Magurele (number 4 on the map). Before getting there we had a break at a gas station. There people tried to use the toilets but imagine 6 buses trying to fit in one toilet. We stayed there for about 30 minutes.

Then we left and in Turnu Magurele we were shocked to see the road leading into town:

And then the main street:

Then we got out of that sad, little town which once (before 1989) an industrial port on the Danube. We got out and then we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, on a road which was under the Danube waters in 2006. Pictures are worth 1000 words.

Then...the asphalt disappeared (which in Romania doesn't mean one can't drive fast)

This was the road to Corabia (number 5 on the map). When we thought we saw everything there was to see things got from bad to worse as we approached the bridge over the River Olt (one of the biggest rivers in Romania).

We managed to cross the river without the bridge collapsing under the weight of the coaches. Then it was a drive on the difficult road to Dabuleni. Cars were almost entirely replaced by horse-drawn carts. Although the road is straight, speeding is not recommended as driving is stressful when there are holes in the road and horse-drawn carts everywhere. I can't even imagine how it is to drive at night on such a road.

At 12:30 we arrived in Dabuleni, the place where we were supposed to plant trees.

There were 4000 people on the site, the media was present and of course politicians whose presence we suspect was only to attract votes.

In the end we had massive fun plating trees, giving interviews and hopefully giving new life to a barren and deserted area. An area of a country member of the EU yet an area where people live like they lived 100 years ago, an area that hasn't seen any government funds let alone EU funds.

Our only hope is that our effort won't be like a drop of good will in an ocean of neglect. We hope that the trees planted by us and everyone else will give new life to an area abandoned even by nature itself.

Day Trip

This last Saturday we decided to profit from the unseasonably warm and sunny weather and go and visit one of the attractions near Bucharest.

It is called Mogosoaia Palace and park.

We had a great time once we got there. Once we got there...because getting there is an adventure. First we had to drive through the most complicated intersection in Europe.

Cars were coming from all directions, to give way one has to stop on train tracks. There are no clear signs to tell you who has the right of passage, you rely only on the rule "give way to traffic coming from the right". Also mind the rule not found in the traffic code: "give way to the traffic coming from the left" because the white SUV coming from that direction is bigger than your car. Also watch for trains and do not rely on the warning lights.

Once clear of that intersection you get on a straight road. Somehow the asphalt was scraped so prepare to drive on an unpaved road which is also the ring road of Bucharest. Mind the cars overtaking on your lane, they keep coming towards you no matter how many warning flashes you give them.

So after that road test we ended up in another intersection. A rusty sign will point you to the palace. You won't see it because it's behind a gas station sign and it's crooked. I sort of knew it was there.

After turning right you end up in Mogosoaia village. From there it is a straight drive until some undetermined point where you will need to turn left. Rely on instincts because there are no signs to point you to the tourist attraction.

If you are lucky enough to find the palace, then you will have to do some serious research to visit the interior. The way in is not marked. Also wonder around, behind the palace wall there are abandoned statues from the communist past.

So, dear Minister of Tourism. Can you please put some signs to guide people to existing tourist attractions before implementing the project of turning Bucharest into a spa?

To us, natives and frequent travelers, these adventures are not able to ruin a perfect day. We had a great day at the palace and in the park.
Once back in Bucharest we faced the reality of traffic. It could be that the taxi might offer more than a ride...after all, (sex)tourism is more popular that regular tourism.

Wine

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14curi.html

I was never one for wine gadgets due to my strong conviction that their only purpose is to separate people from their money. I did have one of those corks that are supposed to make leftover wine last longer...but, really, I never used it since left-over wine is not something that happens in my household.


Still, the article is interesting.

AZUGA

Azuga is a short drive / train-ride (in our case) from Bucharest, and this makes it an ideal weekend getaway destination. We went there last weekend and generally loved it.

Arriving there noon-ish on Saturday, it's eery how quiet the place is. Walking for about 2 km, I encountered about 3 people and no more than 2 restaurants. Weird, particularly when compared to the bustle of other mountain resorts in the area. For example, 10-minute-drive-away Sinaia has traffic jams and full restaurants and shockingly many Porche Cayennes parked on sidewalks.

There are no street signs and no way to know the names of streets or the house numbers. Using a gps to find your accomodations is strongly recommended.

The place we stayed at, Vila Casa Alba was great though. The decor was lovely, the view was, wonderful, and it was steps away from the slopes. Strongly recommended. The one negative point was the lack of a restaurant. There was a well-equiped kitchen provided for guest use, but who really wants to cook on vacation?!

Now, for attractions and fun things to see and do, Azuga is severely lacking. There's the gorgeous view to take in and photograph. There are 3 ski slopes to enjoy (all easy ones). There are a couple restaurants, all rustic ones, from what we could tell. There's a wine cellar where you're likely to get no service (read below). There are no shopping opportunities. There is no coffee shop that I was able to locate.

If you're into peace and quiet and restful weekends away and beautiful scenery, Azuga might be a good place for you.

Whatever you do, though, do not arrive at the train station too early for your train. It is not heated and, at the time of our visit, the door didn't close properly. Brrr.

W(h)ining

I'm not frequently one to whine, but I was frustrated recently in my attempts to wine , so I figured it might be worth sharing.


A corporate Christmas party took us to Azuga this past weekend. One of the big planned highlights of the trip was a visit and a tasting, and potentially even some purchase at Rhein Cellar.




Now, let it be stated that we're not huge fans of their wines. We're nowhere near having tried enough of them to actually state a formal, informed opinion so let's just say that the bottles we tasted so far did not impress us at all.




But we were in Azuga, and it was right there, on our way to the hotel, and we love wine, and I love wineries, and I love wine tastings both as a great low-risk way to discover new favourites and as a low-cost way to get drunk on potentially-crappy wine and we shall visit friends and family over the holidays and what better way to show how much you care about them then to purchase mediocre wine?




So, we walked in to an empty, long driveway and a fairly large courtyard, empty except for a massive bus. We attempted to walk through a door labeled "reception" and that took us to an empty room. There was no bell and after waiting for a few minutes, nobody arrived. I, of course, suggested that the 3-4 bottles on display there were free for the taking, but Andrei's moral compass suggested otherwise.

Therefore we walked out and towards another door labeled "cellar". It was locked. With a large padlock. We then tried yet another door labeled "wine museum". Also locked. With a padlock. Finally, we walked into what appeared to be a restaurant-like space. That's where the former passengers of the massive bus parked outside were having a private party. We attempted to walk in, and actually did, hung around for a bit, partiers were eyeing us suspiciously but no partier asked us anything and no staff member whatsoever materialized.




Needless to say we walked out and they'd have to do some serious wooing to get me back there again.




It's one thing to have the place booked for a private party and nicely say to incoming people "We're sorry. We are closed to the public due to a private party. Maybe you can return some other time when we're open. This here is our schedule.". That is acceptable.




What is unacceptable is staff ignoring people and basically letting them wonder about the property without so much as making themselves seen or heard.




Also, as a side note, this invisible staff should not leave unattended bottles and handbags in the reception room because not everyone's moral compass is as strong as Andrei's.