Day 60 - 19/9/11 - Monday- Brasov- Viscri- Targu Mures- Sighisoara

After perhaps wisely deciding not to head toward the north of Romania, our plan was now to focus on immersing ourselves into the Transylvanian scenery. This would allow us to spend more time on seeing some of the smaller villages, and the more traditional and primitive Romanian way of life.
The first little destination we plotted in our GPS navigator was Viscri, however the turnoff was at a nice town called Fagaras. It had a lovely citadel surrounded by a lake, and also was in the middle of constructing a huge gold domed church.

Viscri was so small that we actually could not get any lunch- there was no restaurant at all. It was very nice- the main street had multi coulored housing. So much for lunch in Viscri plan.... another hour later we were back on the main highway and pulled into a truck stop for lunch. It would have been nice to stay in Viscri and watch the horses and carts come home from a day's work, however our plan did not allow it.

Taga Mures was next on the agenda, as it was a Austrian/ Hungarian architectually influenced city, so quite different from the Saxon triangle. Aside from some crazy traffic, it was a worthwhile deviation north. Although Cintha had visited Hungary, Czech Republic and Austria I hadn't, so it was interesting to see the buildings. Cinthia said this city was like a mini Vienna.

Sighisoara was our last stop for the day, and our stop for the night. Although we had a quick glance at the old town it was getting late, so we needed to go and find accomodation for the night, like the spontaneous travellers we had increasingly become.

Some interesting aspects of driving through Romania are as follows:

Off the major highways, the first thing that you notice are the horse and carts. Whilst in first world countries this disappeared perhaps 80 years ago, it still exists here. Trotting slowly on the side of the road, the single horse powered mode of transport continues to be essential in the lives of Romanian farmers. The slow speed of horse and cart makes driving more difficult, as one endeavours to pass whilst at the same time negotiating opposing directional traffic. This is made more difficult when trucks are involved in the equation.

Another common feature is to see Gypsys (known as Roma) on the side of the road. They wait around service stations, preying on tourists and others, with the belief that we need our plams read in order to understand our futures. Even if I could understand Romanian, I don't see why I'd consider this a necessary undertaking. I'm not really sure how Gypsies get by, however it doesn't seem many choose the working 9-5 option. In many parts of Europe people still dislike Gypsies, for practices such as taking taxis, and then refusing to pay. It is often forgotten that in WWII Hitler's SS killed not only a lot of Jewish, however a lot of Gypsies also. If there are 4% Roma in Romania, that pretty much would seem like 4% unemployed when an economic analysis is applied.

The city traffic lights are also different, as like many American cities, the lights exist on the entry side of the intersection, not the exit side (or in Melbourne's case.... both sides). The lights are also a little confusing between the turning and straight ahead indications. Overall, Cinthia did a marvelous job driving, whilst managing the stress of other drivers putting us, themselves and other drivers at risk.

The last paragraph I will devote to Romanian Drivers, and not in a very complimentary way. Only through luck it seems have we not yet seen a major crash, as Romanian drivers take ridiculous risks in order to pass trucks and slower cars. Given the Romanian roads are often windy, partcularly around the mountains of Transylvania, there are few opportunities to pass safely. This does not present a problem for many drivers, they just pass with minimal distance to spare prior to arriving at a corner.