Photos in NE RomaniaThis message was written at mid-day on Saturday 9 October from Bucharest, and describes Ron's travels in NE Romania. Early Saturday evening he took a train from Bucharest back to Constanta, arriving there at 8:30 pm. He said he couldn't stand another night in Bucharest! He'll spend a few days in Constanta, then head back to Istanbul.
If you are looking at an atlas, Suceava is in the NE corner of Romania, about 25 miles south of the border with Ukraine, and Bicaz is about 50 miles south of Suceava (in a straight line on the map, but longer if you're biking!). Constanta is on the Black Sea coast, about 40 miles north of the Romanian border with Bulgaria.
Ellen
Hi Ellen,Finally had some adventures and some beautiful scenery to ride through.
First the route for those that may be interested: Train to Suceava in Moldova [province or area in NE Romania]. Bike west to Monastery Humorolui. Next day bike southeast to Faiticen, bypassed the main road by using little road to Baia and Bogtiresti, then continued south on 15C to Targu-Neamt. Next day biked west on 15B to Monastery Neamt with Seminary. Next day Continue 15B west, then south to Lake Bicaz, biked east around the northern coast of lake to city of Bicaz. Next day 32k south to Lake Rusa. Train from Bicaz to Bucharest.
Now some stories. The first monastery was small, and I thought, very commercial. They sent me to a private house, and wouldn't let me see their gardens. The village was small, and the trip there was beautiful, but the experience left me wondering why all the tourists and Romanians go to the Monasteries. I decided to try another one a couple of days later. First I had lunch at a restaurant on the road, then turned into the 3K road to the monastery. The first big building I came to, I turned in and when someone was found (quickly) who could speak English, I was led into a big room with a couple of hundred or more people eating lunch. I was invited to eat but explained I had already eaten. Some people moved around, and I found myself surrounded by English speaking students who explained I was in a Seminary. Actually it serves as a high school with students starting at 15 and attending for 5 years. About 300 students. Many will go on to become priests.
After lunch I was taken on a tour of the building and grounds including two monasteries, the older and smaller one being used by only the monks.
A lot of apples were picked and given to me. The views were spectacular. And the students were most interested in my stories. I also got the thousand year history of Romania and a deep explanation of their religious views. For the next several hours the conversation was extensive with several students. With one exception, they were all seniors, and several spoke and understood English well. I was invited to spend the night and provided with a dorm room with a private bath. Being the only person in a room with three beds must have been a rare occurrence. I visited some of the seniors rooms and I think they had 5 to a room, with the younger students having more.
All in all a wonderful experience. Trying to take a picture of the group before going to bed I had trouble with the camera. The battery holder was loose and my black tape [the cover to the battery compartment on our point-and-shoot camera is loose, and we've taped it shut with black electrical tape] got hot, then cold, and was loose so the battery was not making proper contact. Even when I held it tight, I couldn't get the flash to charge or the film to turn. We thought the batteries were weak so they showed me the Romanian way to charge batteries: Stick them in the door jamb and squeeze them with the door. Sort of squares them up, but they explained that it concentrates the energy. Still didn't work. Then we thought the film had re-wound. When I opened it, I found it had not, so I may have lost some of my pictures. With new batteries and a new tape job in the morning, I got it to work to take a picture of a couple of the groups.
The ride to the first monastery was beautiful, up a mountain and through a national park, I think. The ride to Targu-Neamt was really interesting, but not as spectacular. I got a little bored and decided I would like to try out the little roads to avoid a stretch of a major highway that I would have to use otherwise. It was a great 5k downhill to Baia. The first little road I was going to take before Baia was a dirt road, so I continued to Baia to take the second road to Bogtiresti. In Baia there was a wedding so I stopped and produced a shiny new penny for the bride and took a picture. Lots of people wanted to talk to me, but little English speakers in the group. When I asked about the road to Bogtiresti there was a lot of discussion, which I could not understand of course. Then they told me to go back the way I came, but I had no interest in going back up that wonderful 5K downhill ride. We looked at the map and they tried to explain, and there was some disagreement about what I should do. Finally this one guy says to follow him. So I do, through several turns on dirt roads I would never have found, over a creek, and finally to the river, where I could finally understand that the bridge had been washed out. But there was this cable bridge. Two large steel cables with boards tied to them, and two smaller higher cables to hold on. The first part had no boards so the bike had to be lifted up and over. At the other end there were no boards but a ladder down. Along the way there were sections with no boards so the bike had to be passed over. Quite an adventure getting across. Then there was another 3k or so to a paved road, which I thought was the one I wanted, but after continuing for several k, I discovered I was going the wrong way on a different road. Twice I had to pass through a large group of rather drunk youth, which made me a little nervous, especially since one of the people at the wedding had warned me about the drinkers in Bogtiresti.
Getting to Lake Bicaz was a wonderful ride. I did a bit of walking to get over the mountain, which I have no idea how high it was. The lake was beautiful and reminded me of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, which I loved so much. My friends in Constanta had suggested a bus from this intersection to the city of Bicaz, but I really wanted to continue the ride. I asked a couple of people about the road, with my hand indicating level or up and down, and everyone said flat and good for a bike. Compared to the mountain I just came over, perhaps they were right, but obviously they were not cyclists. There were several very high and very long climbs, with wonderful views of the lake below. It felt and looked like the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Afton Valley if it were flooded. Many of the roads had good pavement, with stone or concrete walls along one side, like you would find on the parkway.
All in all, I think this has been my best bike trip yet...well, the one in 1995 in the central highlands of Vietnam from Kontum to Playku, An Khe, and Qui Nhon may still be the best.
The second day, I took a bike ride south from Bicaz. My friends in Constanta had recommended a ride on this stretch of road. I thought I would go 20K and then turn around.
The first 10 was industrial and followed the railroad. Slight incline, but felt flat. The next 10 was more of an incline, but easy cycling, and more interesting. I decided to go a little further and found a place for lunch. About ready to turn around, but I could see a couple of interesting mountains ahead, one was mostly rock, and the other seemed red. So I thought I would go a little further. The road got much steeper and windy, the mountains more and more interesting. There was a river, like the one behind our house, and the road was going parallel. I continued on, up and up through winding curves and switchbacks. There were some warning signs about an 8% incline, and signs saying no horns. Some of the switchbacks I had to walk. I knew from the map there was a lake ahead, and figured it must be on top. So I kept going. It was like going through the Grand Canyon. Some places the rocks were hanging overhead. There was a tunnel I had to go through. Of the last 12K I must have walked two or three of them. The last part got a little easier after passing through some narrow areas with stands selling tourist items. I had found Romania's Grand Canyon. Spectacular. And the 32K return was downhill all the way. What a wonderful downhill ride, wandering through the rocks and mountains along the stream. All the pictures had to be taken up and down. I hope they come out. Perhaps because I didn't know what to expect, and I sort of stumbled on this site, it even made it more like an adventure.
I was going to take another ride going East from Bicaz before heading to Brosvo (spelling?) [I think he may mean Brasov, but I'm not sure!] but it rained and turned cold. So finally took a 1 AM train to Bucharest, leaving in the rain and figuring it would be raining in Brosvo also.
So here I am in Bucharest, having trouble with my bank card (I used the wrong pin number too many time before getting it cut off) I thought it was the bank's ATM because other people were having trouble also. So I tried the other ATM a few feet away. Then someone from the bank wanted me to demonstrate the problem, so I tried again. Then I went to a different bank and the screen told me I had tried the maximum allowed times. Sometime last night I finally realized what I had done. I will wait 24 hours before trying again. And today the banks are closed and the exchange house wanted to see the copy of my receipt for buying the travel checks, which I don't keep with my checks. So, money problems. I have an emergency supply of course but will try not to use it.
Will probably leave here today to go back to Constanta to make a dinner party with my friends. Then on to Istanbul to meet you.
So, see you soon. Less than a week.
Love you.
Ron
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