Súbor s prehľadom takmer tisíc nazbieraných údajov a cien si môžete vo formáte XLS prezrieť a stiahnuť tu: www.cestujemespolu.com/files/kolko_stoji_zivot_v_europe_cestujemespolu.xls

A čo zaujímavé sa v ňom dozviete? Tak napríklad, vedeli ste, že?

• …najdrahší biely chleba (500 g, 2,90 eur) je v Andore?
• …najlacnejších 1 kg pomarančov (0,76 eur) kúpite v Aténach?
• …najlacnejšie víno (stredná trieda, 3,24 eur) kúpite v Belehrade?
• …najdrahší McMeal v McDonalds (11,92 eur), Coca Colu v reštaurácii (3,83 eur) či vajíčka (4,71 eur/12 ks), jablká (3,60 eur/kg), banány (2,98 eur/kg) a cibuľu (2,52 eur/kg) kúpite v Berne?
• …najlacnejšie nástupné do taxi (0,31 eur) je v Bukurešti?
• …najdrahšie rajčiny (3,83 eur/kg) kúpite v Kodani?
• …najlacnejšie domáce pivo (0,52 eur) či capuccino (0,74 eur) si dáte v Kyjeve spolu s najlacnejším jednosmerným lístkom na lokálnu dopravu (0,15 eur)?
• …najdrahší balíček cigariet Marlboro (11,48 eur) je v Londýne a rovnako je tu najdrahší aj priemerne jeden prejdený kilometer v taxi (3,83 eur)?
• …najlacnejšie vajíčka (0,92 eur/12 ks) zoženiete v Minsku?
• …najdrahší prenájom trojizbového bytu v centre je v Monaku (16 500 eur)?
• …najlacnejšie banány (0,91 eur/kg) a benzín (0,48 eur/l) majú v Moskve?
• …najdrahšie domáce pivo v reštaurácii (8,65 eur) či vodu v reštaurácii (2,70 eur) nájdete v Osle?
• …najdrahšie nástupné do taxíku (10,81 eur) je taktiež v Osle?
• …najlacnejší McMeal v McDonalds (3 eurá) je v Podgorici?
• …priemerne najdrahšie víno (stredná trieda, 17,63 eur) je v Reykjaviku?
• …najlacnejšie jedlo v reštaurácii (3,58 eur) a prenájom 3-izbového bytu v centre (384,99 eur) je v Sarajeve?
• …najdrahší jednosmerný lístok na lokálnu dopravu (3,89 eur) je v Štockholme?
• …najlacnejšie mlieko v obchode (0,51 eur/l) kúpite v Talline?
• …najlacnejšie rajčiny (0,63 eur/kg) sú v Tirane?

Údaje sú platné k 9.6.2016, zdroj dát: verejne dostupná databáza numbeo.com

The post Koľko stojí život v Európe? appeared first on Cestovateľský blog.

Avšak aby som priblížil moje pocity pred prvým tripom, musím dodať zopár základných informácií. Vodičský preukaz na motorku som mal presne 9 mesiacov a 10 dní. Najazdených motokilometrov cca 2200, z toho 500 s ľadvinkou (alias spolujazdcom). Rešpekt obrovitánsky a zodpovednosť na maximum, keďže som nešiel sám. Bolo to o veľkom prekonaní samého seba a výstupení z komfortnej zóny. Nabaliť sa do 42l kufra, keďže sme boli dvaja, každý dostal jeden. Do zadného zbaliť varič a caky paky okolo toho. Pripnúť spacáky a stan. Vyzeralo to pre mňa ako nemožné. Ale nakoniec sa to podarilo. Tank vak naplnený na maximum, baterky, nabíjačky, foťák…. A krok do neznáma sa môže začať.

Stále som nechápal, ako sa toto celé dá zrealizovať, ako zvládať dážď, teplo, zimu. Však v tom aute je to také jednoduché.

Skladáme sa, stretávame sa…

Stretávame sa po častiach v Maďarsku na pumpe, prvých 5 motoriek. Niekde za Budapešťou sa pripája posledný kus. Začína to nudne, nekonečná diaľnica, kukurica až kam dovidíš a teplo. Po pripojení sa poslednej motorky začínam bystriť a učiť sa, že na motorke sa nekuká len vodorovne okolo seba, ale aj horizontálne. Horizontálny pohľad nazvime v tomto prípade meteorologický. A kukaj ho hore, črtá sa pekná mela, čiernota ako sa patrí na parádny prvý krst jazdy v daždi. Neskôr pochytávame aj iné pokyny a posunky, ktorými sa učím dorozumievať sa s chalanmi.

Trasa dňa je relatívne easy BA-Budapesť-Karcag-Oradea, slabých 461 km. Prechod hraníc je tiež celkom zážitok, a je to vidno aj na cestách.

Za Alesd sme odbočili na cestu 1H smer Sinteu, kde sme to zapichli a ubytovali sa na lúke v Novej Hute / Sinteu. Tá cesta 1H je naozaj pekná na pojazdenie.

Čo sme nikto na začiatku nechápali, boli povedomé slovenské ŠPZ na autách. Neskôr sme pochopili, že sme v oblasti Rumunska so silnou slovenskou menšinou. Po náhodnej debate s náhodným okoloidúcim a otázke, kde by sme sa mohli ubytovať, či je tam nejaký kemp, sme dostali odpoveď, že na školskej lúke. A dnes je tam už druhý deň ich festival. Čo sa udialo je snáď jasné, vyzliecť, prezliecť a šup ho do spoločnosti. Zaplatili sme vstupné a už sa hodovalo, pilo a už si nepamätám či aj tancovalo. Ale bolo parádne. Ranné zobúdzanie nebolo z tých najľahších, ale našťastie ani najbolestnejších. Spánok v stane, topánky pred stanom. Spomienky na časy minulé sa oživili. Ale aj pocit, že to stanovanie nie je naozaj moja šálka kávy. Ale vydal som sa bojovať… tak som bojoval.

Viď reportáž, ktorú robili deň pred nami. http://tv.sme.sk/v/20467/ziju-tazko-ale-pokojne.html

Čágo bélo šílenci

Na druhý deň sme sa zmobilizovali, poskladali mokré stany, v blate sme pootáčali motorky. Skoro som zabudol spomenúť, že jedna motorka bola čisto ako stvorená na cestovanie, taký ‘malý’ chopper Paťov. Ten sa mal rovno ráno aj problém otočiť v tom ‘teréne´. Češť jej pamiatke, keďže ju predal a vymenil za rozumnejší stroj. Smer bol jasný, chceli sme prejsť Transalpinu a Transfagarasan. Cez Cluj Napoca, Turda, Alba Lulia do Sebes (246km). Po ceste sme stretli nekonečný počet rozostavaných ´zámkov´.

Za Sebes sme začali ísť do kopčekov a lesov na dlho očakávanú Transalpinu, ktorú sme mali značenú ako 7A. Prešli sme si to okolo jazera Oasa (Lacul oasa) a skončili ubytovaní v Obarsia Lotrului. Bol tam aj kemping, avšak pre neustále hroziaci dážď som uprednostnil motel/hotel a ukecal som na to aj spolucestujúcich (aj keď nie každý to prijal s nadšením). Vyložili sme ešte stany, ktoré bolo treba dosušiť po predošlej noci.

Transalpina netransalpina

Ráno sme sa zobudili a začali sa baliť. Nastalo veľké dumanie, ktorým smerom sa vydať. Na západ alebo východ? Kde bude TÁ Transalpina? 7A sa totižto vydávala oboma smermi. Tá na západ vyzerala nedôveryhodne. Tak sme sa vydali na východ. Okolo jazera Lacul Vydra. Počasie bolo také pod mráčikom s potenciálom dažďa. Pekne kľukatá cestička, trošku rozbitá, taká rumunská. Nevadí, však je deň kedy očakávame, že skončíme až na Transfagarasane, trasa príjemná a slabých 250km.

Cesta to vyzerá byť pekná, avšak od Brezoi až po Curtea de Arges dosť nudná a preplnená autami a dopravou, keďže to je hlavná tepna a súčasť E81. Pekná časť začína až okolo Lake Vidraru. Pekná kľukatá a hlavne už má človek očakávania kedy sa objaví TEN Transfagarasan.

Počasie nám tento deň nepraje a je to hodne upršané, viditeľnosť mizivá miestami nulová. Prechádzame ho dosť skormútený, uzimený a skrehnutý. Prejdeme aj tunelom na druhú stranu a nie je to o nič lepšie. Veľmi nezastavujeme a ideme ďaľej, potenciál je ubytovať sa a počkať na zajtra.

Končíme v Bâlea Cascadă. Ubytovanie obstojné za pár korún.

Príbeh Matthieu Tordeur, alebo sánka dolu

Večer pri ubytovaní stretávame mladého človiečika na bicykli, skromne zbaleného šlapajúc hore Transfagarasanom. Dávame sa do reči a zisťujeme, že je to Francúz a vydal sa z Paríža do Istanbulu, na bicykli. Dosť nám padla sánka. Skromne, s minimálnym rozpočtom, spávajúc kdekoľvek resp. u kohokoľvek. Miro neváha a ponúka mu, že môže dnes prespať na jeho izbe. Dávame spolu večeru, na ktorú ho pozývame. Veľmi príjemné stretnutie. Fešák neskončil v roku 2011 jednou trasou…. ale o tom si už každý koho to zaujíma može vygoogliť sám (ako hint okrem mena môžem dať ešte Microcrédit en 4L).

Transfagarasan po druhé a drakula na nesprávnom mieste

Ráno si dávame ešte grupen foto a ide sa ďalej. Prejdeme si ešte raz Transfagarasan, keďže deň predtým sme z neho veľa nevideli. Ale to najprv musíme naštartovať jednu neposlušnú motorku, či jeho baterku… Ešteže máme šikovníka Mira.

Obiehame Matthieua raz hore a raz smerom dole 🙂 a stále sa čudujem ako to hore na tom bicyklíku vyšlapal.

Obed dávame okolo 13:00 v náhodnom pocestnom kempingu v Poiana Marului, ktorý má pekný názov a ešte krajšie zatvorené brány. Hlad je vcelku silný a nutnosť obedovať radikálne rastie. Počas dohadovania sa pred zatvorenou bránou a bezmála štartovaním motoriek na odchod sa brána otvára a domáci nás pozýva dnu. Rozpráva len rumunsky, takže tak vyzerá aj naša objednávka, rukami nohami a čakáme vlastne na rozuzlenie čo sme si to vôbec objednali 🙂 Na príklade polievky sa dá ukázať, že nie vždy sa človek trafí.

Prechádzame smer Bran, kuknúť ten turistický bod menom hrad Bran, kde vraj žil gróf Drakula. Prechádzka hradom v moto oblečení je in a veľmi pohodlná. Úprimne, nič moc. Proste pre mňa ďalší hrad s okolím predávajúcim milióny verzií a druhov suvenírov. Lapač na turistov. Navyše sa hovorí, že toto ani nie je Drakulov hrad. Ten sa vraj nachádza na ceste k Transfagarasanu, ktorý sme videli z južnej strany. A to je už aj tak len zrúcanina.

Ubytujeme sa v malom penzióne Beatrice za Brašovom v dedinke Bradet. Cesta ide kúsok rýchlejšie ako očakávame a ako bol pôvodný hrubý plán. Pridávame do plánu záložný bod na dnes a to sú bahenné ‘sopky’ neďaleko mesta Berca. Penzión ma vlastné srnky a poníky:)

Sopky bez (s)lávy

Štartujeme okolo 9:00 a už o 10:45 parkujeme. Je tam pekné jednoduché parkovisko, prechádzka sa celkom dá zvládnuť aj pre takých lenivcov ako som ja. Nevedel som čo očakávať a celkom som bol príjemne prekvapený, že čo to je a ako to vyzerá. Kto bol na Islande nech tam ani nejde, lebo bude sklamaný, kto nič také nevidel šup na motorky sa tam kuknúť (pokiaľ ste v okolí) Je to taká prechádzka všeho všudy na hodinku a je tam aj bufetík.

Po sopkách ideme točiť smer veľkým oblúkom domov. Sopky boli najvzdialenejší bod našej prvej moto cesty. Otáčame smer Sighisoara. Je dosť teplo a nenachádzame žiadne rozumné miesto na jedenie. Dávame rumunské BBQ skoro už o 16:00.

Chceme potiahnuť smer Sovata, avšak pohľad na oblohu nie je veľmi pozitívny a z opatrnosti a aj už únavy zvažujeme niekde zaparkovať a ubytovať sa. Opäť rozkol camping vs motel.

Nakoniec vyhráva voľba motel, aj keď cez pár škrípajúcich zubov. Keďže sme mali zbalené stany, ktoré sme moc nevyužili, presne tri krát. Našli sme celkom pekný Motel Corsa za mestom. Rieši sa samozrejme bezpečnosť motoriek. Predsa len blízkosť mesta je väčší potenciál problémov ako mimo. Nakoniec nás recepčný ubezpečuje, že je to bezpečné, že má kamery a 24-hodinovú službu. Napriek tomu kombinujeme parkovanie motoriek spôsobom, aby potenciálny zlobor mal čo najviac problémov pri jeho zlom nápade. A posledné dve motorky sú naozaj zamknuté. Či už to nazveme bezpečnosťou alebo paranojou, bezpečnosť nepustí.

Lenivý deň a kúpanie v studených termálnych prameňoch

Ráno pozrieme mesto a okolie. Po včerajšej prechádzke po Mud Volcanoes nemám vôbec chuť na prechádzku. Mám zodraté nohy z topánok a dobrovoľne sa hlásim na strážcu motoriek. Trvá im to cca hodinu kým si prejdú mesto a hrad na kopci. Nemám z tohto mesta žiadnu pamiatku okrem fotky motoriek na ulici pekne zoradených vedľa seba. A spomienky, že moja kolegyňa odtiaľto pochádza. A našli aj dom kde žil vraj gróf Drakula v rokoch 1431 až 1435.

Okolo 11:30 balíme z mesta. Doľahla na nás únava, smerom sme mali kúpeľné mestečko Sovata. Je to len slabých 88km po dlhšej ceste. Je pekný slnečný deň. Cestou sa snažíme napojiť na hlavnú ťah, avšak je tam značka STOP. 6 motoriek chvíľu trvá kým nájde dostatočnú medzeru na pripojenie sa. Zrazu vidíme lokálneho policajta a nestíhame sa čudovať. Zastavuje dopravu a robí nám priestor. Avšak lokálny rumunský šofér sa nechce nechať zastaviť a opiera sa autom do policajta… viac si pozrite vo videu, ja som toto ešte nezažil,pekná drzosť šoféra.

Nájdeme Camping Perla Lacului Sovata a zhadzujeme veci, motorky, stany, proste všetko. Dávame plavky a ideme to vyskúšať. Stretávame stánok s langošmi, dávame pivo, trošken sa okúpeme v miestnom jazere Ursu. Stredisko je uznané na celoročné užívanie už od roku 1850 a stalo sa najvyhľadávanejším v Rumunsku a bolo obľúbené aj rumunskou kráľovskou rodinou. Je to heliotermálny fenomén jazera. Voda je slaná a iba horná časť vrstvy vody je sladká, nakoľko jej pôvod je primárne dažďový. Sladká a slaná voda sa nezmiešava a tým sladká voda pôsobí ako izolačná vrstva. Teplota priamo úmerne záleží od intenzity slnečného žiarenia.

V miestno obchode si nakúpime miestny proviant a lokálny alkohol Transilvanicum. Večer je rýchly, zábavný a súčasne únavný. Raňajky sú v štýle dojedz čo ti zostalo viď fotka (132).

Veselý cintorín a rozmary presahujúce hranice

Začína náš predposledný rumunský deň. Ideme na sever. Oddych z predošlého dňa pomáha ľahšie prežuť očakávaných 250 km, smer Sapanta. Pri sšudovaní mapy sme si nemohli odpustiť nespraviť si malú zachádzku k dedinke Moisei. Vznikla fotka s témou koniec Mojsejovcov v Rumunsku. Celá krajina je totožná s našimi Karpatmi. Stretáva tu človek neskutočný počet konských povozov alebo neskonale veľkých domov (159,160) ktorých využitie si moc nevieme predstaviť.

Až v Sapante sa človek pousmeje nad lokálnym vtipom ľudí vo forme veselého cintorínu. Bol tam aj akurát nejaký jarmok či trhy. Predrať sa medzi ľudmi bolo vcelku náročné, ale nie nemožné.

Zostávame tu aj spať, skoro na konci dediny sme našli kemping Sapanta. Rozložili sme stany a najedli sa v miestnej krčmičke alias penzióne Ana na brehu miestneho potôčika, ktorý bol hranicou kempingu.  Ranné prebudenie bolo milé, voľne pobehujúce kone po kempingu aj keď neboli zrovna mega kamarátske.

Každý trip raz skončí

Aj tento je jasne na konci, domov to máme cca 640km, čo by sa dalo spraviť na jeden krát a chalani to aj dali. My sme sa oddelili a zostali sme pozrieť ešte kamarátov na východe, nech sa aj krstný synátor, takže nám cesta trvá dva pohodlné dni. Zisťujem, že aj cestu ktorú môže mať človek milión krát prejdenú (viď Košice – Bratislava) na motorke má úplné iné čaro.

Tož koniec tripu s (aj) dvoma Transaplami na Transalpine.

Fotografie boli nasnímané smartfónom Sony Ericsson Arc.

The post Milan Dzilsky: Mototrip Rumunsko (2011) appeared first on Cestovateľský blog.

First of all, I need to tell you how I felt before our initial trip and provide some background information; at the beginning of our trip it had been exactly 9 months and 10 days since I had got my driving licence. By then I´d done approx. 2200 km, 500 of which I had my wife with me as a co-driver. I knew this trip was a big thing for me and I was fully aware of the responsibility I had since I wasn’t travelling alone. The point was to get over my fears and out of my comfort zone. I didn´t think we would manage to pack all of our stuff including a cooker into a 42 litre trunk. We also needed sleeping bags and a tent. But in the end we managed and with the tank bag filled to capacity with batteries, chargers and camera we made the leap into the dark.

I still didn´t quite understand how we were going to manage all of this. I mean, how we would cope with the rain, heat or cold. It was dead easy in a car but on the bike…

Our group is got together and we all met up…

We met up in stages, we first met 5 bikes at the petrol station in Hungary and the last bike caught us up with not far from Budapest. The road was pretty boring to start with like a never ending highway, just miles of cornfields in the heat. After the last bike joined us I started to look around and learn. I realize that while driving, one needs to look around horizontally just as much as they do vertically. When I say “look around horizontally” I mean to keep an eye on the weather. When I looked up I could see quite a few heavy grey clouds, so here we go our first proper downpour while riding the bike. Later we learn a few new commands and hand signs which helped us communicate with the other riders in our group while driving.

The route for today is quite an ease one; Bratislava -Budapest-Karcag-Oradea, it´s only a 461km route. The border crossing is quite an experience, and you can notice the difference immediately when you look at the state of the road.

After Alesd we took the 1H road heading towards Sinteu, here we finished for today and pitched our tents on a big meadow in Nová Huta/ Sinteu. The 1H is a really nice road and a pleasure to ride along.

At the beginning none of us could really understand why we kept seeing so many cars with Slovakian license plates. Later on we found out that we were in a part of Romania with a huge Slovakian community. After a little chat with one of the locals we found out that we could pitch our tents on a meadow near the local school. He also told us that we had arrived on the second day of the local music festival, so you can imagine what followed. We put up our tents, changed and went out to socialise. We paid for the tickets and then ate, drank and I can´t quite remember whether we danced as well. It was absolutely amazing. The next morning wasn´t the easiest one, but definitely not the most difficult either. Sleeping in a tent with our shoes outside the entrance brought back some good memories. But it also reminded me that camping wasn´t really my cup of tea. Never mind, I had accepted this challenge and I didn´t plan on giving up now.

Have a look at this Tv report they´d made just one day before we arrived: http://tv.sme.sk/v/20467/ziju-tazko-ale-pokojne.html

Čágo bélo šílenci

The next day we got ourselves ready, folded up our wet tents and in the deep mud we turned our bikes around. Oh, I almost forgot to mention just how absolutely perfect one of the bikes was for traveling with; Pato´s little chopper, who found it really difficult to turn around in muddy terrain. Now all I can just say is “R.I.P little chopper” as Pato sold it and swapped it in for a more reasonable set of wheels.

We knew exactly where we were heading, we wanted to cross the Transalpina and Transfagarasan roads through Cluj Napoca, Turda, Alba Lulia towards Sebes (approx. 246km). On our way we saw lots of yet unfinished mansions under construction.

After Sebes we entered the hills and forests leading to the long-awaited Transalpina road, which we had written down as the 7A. We rode around Oasa Lake (Lacul oasa) and found accommodation in Obarsia Lotrului. Here we found a campsite, but because of the impending rain I went for a motel/hotel this time. I even talked the rest our party into joining me (though I must admit not everyone was happy about this). We took out our tents out and let them dry after the previous night.

Transalpina not-transalpina

We woke up early and packed. We had a big decision to make concerning the days route. Were we to go east or west? Where would we actually find THE Transalpina? The 7A was heading in both directions. We didn´t really like the look of the road heading West so we decided to go East around lake Lacul Vydra. It was a bit cloudy and we were expecting some rain on the way. The meandering road was pot-holed but nice, typically Romanian and nobody really minded. It was the day we were expecting to end up at the Transfagarasan. A nice short route of not even 250km.

At first it looked like a nice road, but from Brezoi to Curtea de Arges it was quite tedious. The road was full of traffic since it is a main route and part of the E81. The nice part starts somewhere around Lake Vidraru. From there it´s a nice meandering road and at this point everyone was excited to see the famous Transfagarasan.

The weather was not on our side that day. It was rainy and the visibility was close to zero. We were crossing Transfagarasan downcast, cold and chilly. We crossed the tunnel to get to the other end but conditions didn’t improve. We didn´t really stop as we want to carry on and find accommodation and sit out the weather till the next day.

We ended up stopping in Bâlea Cascadă. The accommodation here was acceptable and cost us just a few euros.

The story of Matthieu Tordeur and how our jaws dropped

In the evening we met a young guy on his bicycle, very modestly packed for his trip, pedalling up the Transfagarasan.  After a while we found out that this guy was French and he was travelling from Paris to Istanbul on his bicycle. Our jaws dropped in amazement. He was travelling very modestly, with a very small budget, sleeping wherever he found a place. Immediately Miro offered him the spare bed in his room. In the end we invited him to dinner and it was really nice to have met him. Later we found out that this wasn´t his last journey… but if you are interested in his story, you can put his name into google and add “Microcrédit en 4L” to the end of it.

Transfagarasan for the second time and Dracula in the wrong place

We took a photo with Matthieu in the morning and went our way. We crossed the Transfagarasan for a second time since we hadn’t seen much of it the day before. But before we could do that we needed to start one of the more mischievous of the bikes, due specifically to its battery… thank God for our handyman Miro.

We overtook Matthieu twice. First on our way there, and then on our way back. To this day I still can´t understand how he could manage that road on his small bicycle.

At 1pm we had lunch in camp Poiana Marului which has a nice name and had an even nicer closed gate. We were really starting to starve and getting some food became our top priority. While we were parked up talking in front of the closed gate, and slowly getting back on our bikes, the gate opened and the owner invited us in. He only spoke Romanian, so after we ordered through the means of hand signals, pointing at legs and making facial expression, we waited to see what we had actually ordered 🙂 Our soup was a good example of how we had not exactly expressed ourselves well.

We were heading towards the town of Bran. We wanted to see castle Bran, the former home of Count Dracula. Walking around the castle in bike gear was very “in” and comfortable. To be honest, I wasn´t very impressed. For me it was just another castle surrounded by stalls selling all sorts of souvenirs. It was a complete tourist attraction. Moreover, apparently this isn´t even the right castle. The one Dracula actually lived in, or better said what is left of it, is the ruins we saw on our way to Transfagarasan.

We lodged in the small guesthouse “Beatrice” in a small village called Bradet, a few km from Brasov. We had made better time than we thought we would when we were planning our trip, so we decided to go and see the Berca mud volcanoes. Our guesthouse had its own petting zoo consisting of deer and ponies 🙂

Volcanoes without lava

We got on our bikes at around 9am and we parked up at 10:45 in a nice and simple parking lot. The walk up wasn´t difficult at all. Even a lazybones like me can do it without a problem. I didn´t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised by more or less everything there. If you´ve never been to Iceland, don´t bother, you ´re going to be disappointed. Come here instead. It´s approximately an hour long walk and when you get to the volcanoes there is a small snack bar to rest at.

Having visited the volcanoes we turned back home, the volcanos were the furthest point of our trip. We headed towards Sighisoara. The weather was quite warm and we couldn’t find anywhere to have lunch. By 16:00 we finally found somewhere to get a Romanian BBQ.

We wanted to get as far as Sovata that day but due to fatigue and the look of the weather, we started considering finding accommodation as soon as possible. Once again, we didn´t seem to agree on whether it should be a campsite or a motel.

In the end we decided to go for a motel. Not everyone was happy about it as we were carrying tents with us, which we had only used three times so far. We found quite a nice motel called Motel Corsa. We started considering the issue of security as we were in close proximity to a town, we worried about the potential danger of our bikes being stolen during the night. Having asked the receptionist we were assured that everything was monitored by closed circuit cameras 24/7 so it was absolutely safe. In spite of that, just to be on the safe side, we parked our bikes in a configuration that made it very difficult for them to be stolen. The last two bikes on the ends were also chained to things. Call us paranoid but it´s always better to be safe than sorry.

A lazy day with bathing in the cold thermal springs

In the morning we went to see the town and its surroundings. After yesterday’s trek I didn’t really want to walk anywhere. My boots badly hurt my feet so I immediately volunteered to keep an eye on our bikes. It took them approximately an hour to look around the town and visit the castle on the hill. I have no souvenirs from this town except a photo of neatly parked bikes and the knowledge that one of my colleagues was born here. When the rest of our group came back they told me they had found a house where count Dracula was supposed to have lived between 1431 and 1435.

We left the town at approximately 11:30 as we were getting a bit tired. The next stop was a spa town called Sovata. It´s only an 88km long ride and the sun was shining. We were trying to join the main road but we came across a STOP sign. It took a while to find a gap big enough to take in 6 bikes. All of a sudden there was a local policeman directing the traffic and trying to make a gap for us. But one of the drivers wouldn´t have it and tried to push the policeman aside with his car… if you want to see more watch the following video. I´ve never seen such a rude driver in my life.

We found Camping Perla Lacului Sovata where we dropped everything, put on our swimming suits and got ready to try out the lake. On our way we came across a stall selling langoše (A deep fried flat bread made of potato-based dough, served with toppings of for example sour cream, cheese etc.) We ate, drank bear and had a swim in the lake Ursu. This resort has been used and sought-after all year round since 1850 and it was personal favourite of the Romanian Royal family. Ursu is the largest salt and heliotheric lake in Europe. The water in the lake is salty but its top layer is fresh. The fresh water on the surface of the lake comes mostly from rain fall. Fresh and salty water doesn’t mix which means that the layer of the fresh water works as an insulator. The water temperature in large depends on the intensity of the sunshine.

We brought some supplies and the local alcohol “Transilvanicum” in the local shop. The evening was short, funny but also very tiring. For breakfast we had leftovers. Have a look at the photo (132).

Happy cementary and whimsy beyond understanding

This was the day before the last day that we spent in Romania. We headed north, having rested for a day, we were now ready for the forthcoming 250 km heading towards Sapanta. We took a look at the map and decided to stop in the small village called Moisei. That´s where the photo called “End of Mojsej in Romania” was taken (slovak story that can be hardly understood by foreigners, sorry guys 🙂 ). The entire country reminds me of the Carpathians; stark contrasts of many people on horse carts in areas with rows of huge houses (159, 160) the use of these houses remains a mystery to us.

It was only when we got to Sapata and saw the “happy cemetery” we could laugh at the wit and sense of humour of local villagers. At the time of our visit they held a local fair there. To get through the crowd proved quite difficult but not impossible.

We decided to spend a night here, since at the end of the village we discovered campsite Sapanta. We pitched the tents and ate at the local pub/guesthouse Ana, situated on the bank of the local brook which was also the natural border of our campsite. We were woken up by horses running unattended around the campsite. It was quite picturesque, shame the horses weren´t very friendly.

Every trip must come to the end

Our trip was definitely at that point now. It was only a 640km ride home which could have been done in one go as the rest of our group did. We however decided to say goodbye to them and visit our friend in eastern Slovakia and spend some time with my godson. This way we prolonged our trip by a further two days. I´ve discovered that even the same road (Košice – Bratislava) can be different every time you decide to ride it.

And that´s the end of our trip with two Transalpas on the Transalpine.

Pictures were taken mainly with Sony Ericsson Arc.

The post Milan Dzilsky: Mototrip Romania (2011) appeared first on Cestovateľský blog.