How We Do What We DO!

With 68 days behind us on our “summer vacation,” we’ve stayed at 21 different places. Two have been courtesy of friends, only one was “unacceptable,” and most have been good to great. People always ask, “Do you book your places in advance?” and the answer is “usually.” It takes away some of the stress, and probably 95% of our units are via AirBNB or Bookings.com, with a smattering of unique situations or drop ins.

Another question we get asked is, “How can you afford this?” so I calculated how much on average we paid for rooms (only) over nine weeks, and that came out to be $35.48. THAT is higher than what we usually pay when we stay long term, but for summer season it’s pretty damn good!

Kat and I were talking about what we missed the most living outside the US, and her response was, “a clothes dryer,” which we were lucky to get a few days ago, so she washed everything, and it was so nice to have wrinkle free clothes! Again, life’s simple pleasures.

My answer to what I miss the most is probably still the same as from day one: bacon. No one does bacon like America does bacon, and I think our national motto should be “As American as bacon,” instead of “apple pie.”

We’re back in Romania and spent three days in the town of Timisoara. We’ve been here before and we both agree that we’ve lost a bit of that “WOW” factor that we had in the early years, which is probably inevidable when you’ve seen as many castles, churches, and monasteries as we have.

Mission: POSSIBLE!

We’ve been in Romania (again) for about a week, and before we got here I wondered why we never saw any STORKS or stork nests in any of the other Balkan countries, and sure enough, within 10 minutes after crossing from Serbia, we saw one! In the past week we saw two, and they are quite unique, huge nests on top of telephone poles with a few long skinny legs sticking out. We also did something we hadn’t done in a while: we saw a movie! Mission Impossible (thumbs up) and it was in English and a real throwback to “old times,” when we used to go to the theater a lot. This was our first outing in over a year, but sometimes it’s nice to feel “normal.”

Our first visit in Romania was in Timisoara, where we stayed before, and our next destination city was Sibui, also a place we’ve visited, but it was such a long distance we had a “stop over” in a small village called, Hateg. It was hot that day and we were tired and frustrated trying to find a room on the fly, but we found one and it was also unique in that it had a POOL! Just what the doctor ordered and we cooled off there for just one night but realized that there was yet another castle nearby, so on our way we took a slight detour to Colvin Castle, AKA Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle. I’ve shared our castle experiences and how we get jaded with yet another castle, but this one WAS unique and special. It was built in the 1400’s near the (now) city of Hunedoara, but over the centuries went through many rebuilds, modifications, and name changes. Its one of the largest castles in Europe and seems to be under continuous renovation, but they are doing it right, and not spoiling the original architecture.

From there it was on to Sibui through relentless wind (!) which makes for a interesting bike ride, and on to one of the nicest rooms we’ve had in a while. We’re right in Old Town, about a 5 minute walk to eateries, coffee, and anything we want. There’s a large square in the center of town and there is a Folk Festival going on, so we have live music every night! We have three nights here and then on to Brasov, a city we loved in 2019, and we’re mulling over crossing the border into Moldova, just to say we’ve done it.

We spent the last three days in the city of Brasov, Romania, which has risen to the top of our list of places to return to for a longer stay. In 2019 we were there for almost 3 weeks and felt almost the same way, so that’s good! After our three days we had some extra time that was unaccounted for and unplanned, so we went away for the weekend to a small mountain town called Busteni, which is about an hour away. Traffic was a little crazy since lots of traffic flows through it, but the mountains surrounding the town are spectacular. And having a BIKE, cut our driving time by half.

In Brasov we reconnected with our good friend, Paul, a fellow nomad, who is also in love with Brasov and he will be there for 90 days. That’s a strong commitment, and this is his second time staying in Brasov! The elevation is such that you really don’t have to worry too much about summer heat, but it is still eminently affordable compared to many other places. The biggest challenge as a nomad is, “Where do you stay in winter when it’s cold, and where do you stay in summer when it’s hot, expensive, and crowded?” So we are looking for multiple solutions to have the flexibility to go to different places.

Before we got there, we went through one of the most impressive mountainous areas in the world, called the Transfagarasan Highway. I will be posting a video specifically on that, but here’s an example of some of the roads that we went through. Kathleen, like always, was a rockstar, and took some great videos while we were driving!

After our weekend getaway in Busteni, we are returning to Brasov for another three days, and get to know it even better. It’s hard to believe, but our summer journey is almost to an end, with only 10 days left before we return Eragon, our BMW bike, to Bucharest. We’ve been to seven countries since the end of May and have ridden over 5300 km, about 3300 miles, so almost the distance from the east to the west coast of the US. The bike has been awesome, and except for 20 minutes of rain that I ran into on DAY ONE before I picked up Kat, we have had no rain but for occasional sprinkles! We are thankful every day for our good fortune.

As we slide into our last week in Romania, we have grown to love this country in so many ways. Last week we were in Brasov for 3 days, and went away for the weekend to the town of Busteni. Not only did we enjoy the beautiful scenery, but we also visited an exquisite castle called Cantacuzino. I was vaguely familiar with the Netflix show called Wednesday, an expansion from The Addams Family TV show, but this is where they filmed it. The school she attends is called Nevermore Academy, and this castle has all the vibes of a show set in that genre!

Over the years we have seen countless castles and I keep thinking we’ve seen enough, but every once in awhile, including now, one catches my fancy and makes me go WOW!. This castle is not as old as many, but it has so much character, with statues and artwork spread out throughout the large estate.

We came back to Brasov, and reconnected with some friends who we met four years ago, Mihai and Georgiana (above). They were our Airbnb hosts, and we all connected, so much that we were invited to their house for a barbecue and a wagon ride through the hills of Romania. That experience still stands as one of the most unique and outstanding experiences over our 5 years of travel. We met them again yesterday, and it was though we had never been separated by 4 years, we all just reconnected again, and I know that we will be back to see them. I also hiked to the top of the tram to see the Brasov sign. I was proud of making that hiking about 1 hour!

We are now on to our next to last stop, the small village of Sinaia, which is on the way to Bucharest. It’s a little bittersweet knowing that we only have one week left on our trusty steed, Eragon, and then we will be moving on. To say it has been a fantastic summer would be an understatement, and we live in gratitude for every day that we get to experience this nomadic lifestyle. Sure, we sometimes miss some of the luxuries of a stable home and living in a country where everyone speaks English, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

We are in our final city of our 87-day biking tour: Bucharest. This is where I picked up the motorcycle the end of May, and six countries later and 5772 km/ 3586 miles behind us, we are packing up and getting ready to move on. Many thanks to Sergio at www.motorentals.ro for helping us create a great and amazing summer on two wheels.

We spent two days in the small town of Sinaia and visited the main attraction there: Pele Castle. It was strange, on my Facebook memories I found out that we were there exactly four years to the day, 1461 days later. What are the odds?? We had a nice room there that was a throwback to Romania from 30 years ago, but it had its charm. Almost all the places in Romania have their own identity and sense of charm. We also went looking for an attraction called Rock St. Anne, which took us up a narrow winding road. We never could find The Rock, but there were other cars on the road so we thought, “let’s see where they go.”

It took us to the top of a ski lift, and 20 minutes later we got off the bike and took another chair lift to the very, very top of the mountain. It was spectacular, and once more proved that sometimes the roads that are mistakenly taken work out for the best.

Now we are in Bucharest, we have an awesome apartment right near Old Town, but our fascination with Old Town has diminished. The restaurants are overpriced and a quality of the food is not that great, but we found just a block or two away an area where all the streets were closed and people were walking around listening to the street musicians. Magic! It’s like we visualize when we think of Europe sometimes.

In a few days it’s on to our final European city: Paris. This will also be the 30th place we will call “home” since the end of May. The only reason we picked that is because they had well priced flights back to the United States. It’s strange, neither of us is fascinated by Paris, and we will do just a few tourist things, like re-visit the Eiffel Tower, (if we can get tix) and I will probably go to the Louvre museum, since I missed it the last time. Thank you press pass!

We are now in the process of packing, bringing everything into carry-on size! There are things that we need, things that we don’t, and others that we have to make that decision. I got a new backpack, much larger than the last, and Kathleen has a more comfortable one too. We avoid check in luggage, which greatly reduces the stress! It’s been an eventful summer, and now we’re ready for the next chapter. Stick around for that since it’s taking us to the US, Hawaii (including Maui), and onward via a repositioning cruise to Sydney, Australia.

After Brasov it was time to work towards our holding location for awhile: Split, Croatia, where we stayed a few months ago. I will depart for the US for a month on Sept 8 and Kathleen has rented a place in Split town. Meanwhile, after Brasov we found the lovely town of Sibiu, recommended by some fellow American travelers. This town was about one third the size of Brasov and we got here while they were having a medieval festival, which is always fun. Some of what we saw highlighted differences between things (and attitudes) HERE vs. the US. These people play for real as they staged sword fights in the center square with real, authentic, sharp swords! We took a video of two guys going at it and even after the helmets came off they continued to fight, bashing each other with their helmets. There is little concern for lawsuits and litigation and people take responsibility for their own safety and well being. We have noticed throughout our travels when we saw few barriers to keep visitors safe. Of course they post signs, but anyone can venture out to cliffs or high places and if something were to happen, then it remains the fault of the people. No lawsuits here.

Another thing was the display of medieval equipment and devices which were REAL, which makes sense since those events in history happened right HERE. It brings things into perspective when you realize the names we learned from history walked some of the streets we may have walked on.

From Sibiu it was on to the city of Deva, a three hour bus ride. The public transportation system in Romania is NOT that good, and trains are very, very slow. Local bus companies are inexpensive and one of the best ways to travel from city to city. Some are less than impressive, however, since they are small vans holding anywhere from six to 18 people. Even though we had the (mostly unused) Eurail pass, these local buses made that waste of money less painful.

The bottom line on Romania is that it is much better than expected and certainly a country to return to. Besides, there is yet ANOTHER road which were told about which is even MORE impressive than the Transfăgărășan Highway. It’s called the TransAlpina and it is 2145 meters above sea level, about 7000 feet, and it’s rare to DRIVE a road with that elevation. Stay tuned!

#romania, castles, #romaniacastles, #bran, #vladtheimpaler, #dracula, #transalpina, #Transfăgărășan, #sibiu, #deva

In some places people are friendly but phony. Not here. People on the street and especially those in the food and hospitality industry are amazing. Our AirBNB hosts have truly become friends and have been super helpful, teaching us new things in the area and finding new places to explore. We stayed a few nights in one unit and ran into a plumbing glitch which took us upstairs to a nicer one. They have invited us to their home for a TRUE Romanian meal, so we’re looking forward to that and we liked it here so much we are extending our stay an additional week.

A few days ago the country opened up as we rented a BMW GS750 motorcycle and now we can visit the many castles in the area (including the inspiration for Count Dracula!) and over the past few days we traversed what is called the most beautiful road in the world. Tours are great, but pricey and forces you to conform to the guide’s agenda. Maybe we learn less, but we enjoy more and more freedom to come and go as we please.

That beautiful road is called the Transfăgărășan highway and it is the most jaw dropping and exhilarating experience I have ever had. Views that made me speechless, plus waterfalls, bridges, tunnels, green fields, cows meandering along the road- wild burros, too- the list just goes on. (More pix at my personal Norm Bour site) We stayed in an area that is known for bear activity but saw none; not sure if that’s a good thing or not!

After six months on the road we have developed a sixth sense of the places that have good energy and especially ones worth returning to. A few towns in Spain, most notably Sevilla and San Sebastian, get high marks and we plan to go back there for our typical six week’s stay. In Italy we were likewise awed by the Amalfi Coast, and several towns there. But we will NOT go back during holiday season, when all these areas turn into madness. Croatia, of course, will turn into a 90 day at a time stay when we need to get out of the EU, and ironically Romania serves that same purpose. It is an EU member, but non-Schengen, so this would be an awesome safe haven. (Make a note ex-pats that don’t want to mess with visas). These two countries, by the way, have an amazing way of making your money go further. Food, both in restaurants and grocery stores, are silly cheap. We had cappuccino on our journey to the Transfăgărășan which was less than $2 US and our room was less than $50. These things offset the downside of not having a home. When people ask, “Where are you from?,” we tell them the US and California, but that we really don’t have a home anymore.

What we have not seen yet is the Romanian coast, which a few people have said was not that impressive, though they gave high marks to Bulgaria, which is immediately adjacent. So we may check that out. We have determined that large towns (say 250K plus) are NOT appealing to us and we enjoy the intimacy of smaller locations. As much as we love the water, we are finding Romania, with the hills and valleys and greenery to be almost as captivating.

For those Baby Boomers (or younger than) that follow our adventures and are tempted to Travel Younger, we say GOOD FOR YOU! If this motivates some to start a new adventure, then that makes these blogs all the better. And for those that say they can’t take the time or spend the money, I say TRY IT! We don’t know how many days any of us have on the planet, so enjoy every one you can.

#romania, #brasov, #brasovromania, #romanianfood