Romania and Bulgaria

Romania: a country full of countless wooden churches, colorful building facades, beautiful landscapes with lush green forests, twisty mountain roads, friendly locals, curious brown bears, and spooky towns that inspire vampire legends.

These are just some of the things that awaited us as we left Belgrade, Serbia en route to the border of Romania. Our exit from the capital city was surprisingly easy with very little traffic. After a few hours of riding, we were greeted with our first views of the Danube River - oddly enough our first of the trip. We continued along the windy road that paralleled the river, stopping to check out a medieval fortress and eat a pizza almost as big as our table.

While filling up at a gas station, we met two friendly Danish riders who were also making their way to the Romanian border. We continued crossing paths with Jasper and Kurt as we stopped to take photos of the beautiful river and the Iron Gates Gorge.

We asked where they were headed for the evening and since they hadn’t decided yet, we swayed them into staying in the same town and same hotel as us. After arriving in Târgu Jiu just as the sun was setting, we all went out for dinner and drinks. It was such a fun night and we couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that we were two Americans and two Danish guys eating burgers at an Italian restaurant in Romania. If that isn’t globalization I don’t know what is.

The next morning we set off for the Transfăgărășan, a famous road through the Carpathian Mountains known for its gorgeous vistas, hairpin turns, and frequent grizzly bear sightings. Not long after reaching the iconic road, we saw our first bear! It was surreal to be this close to something so formidable as we passed by on our motorcycles.

We saw four bears in total during our ride. Unfortunately, the bears often hang out next to the road because ignorant tourists give them food. In fact, we saw a car in front of us throw an open beer can at one of the bears. After one lick, however, it appeared this particular bear was not a fan of Foster’s.

We continued on the winding road up the pass. After ascending above the tree line, the views of the surrounding mountains and road below were spectacular.

It was a fun ride down the other side and we probably would have ridden it again if not for the waning daylight hours. While stopping for gas we met a lovely Romanian couple who gave us tons of recommendations of foods to eat and places to visit. They even offered us some of their cozonac cu nuca, which is a Romanian version of the kolache nut roll my grandma used to make and I had been looking for since we entered Eastern Europe (can you tell I was excited?)

We arrived at Motocamp Sibiu in Cisnădioara just as the sun was setting. We were hoping to meet some other riders at the motocamp, but this particular night we were oddly the only ones there.

The following morning we set out to ride the highest paved road in Romania - the Transalpina. We took curve after curve through forests, past lakes, and up mountains.

The Transalpina was one of the best paved roads we had ridden in a while, but after stopping for lunch in the town of Rânca, we were eager to do some off-road. Brian had read about a dirt track called the Strategica that was supposed to be epic - and epic it was. The track was around 50 kilometers of dirt and gravel roads with incredible vistas, loose rocks, deep ruts, mud, water crossings, and over-protective sheep dogs. We quickly learned that it is not the bears you have to be afraid of when riding off the beaten track in Romania - it is the sheep dogs. Luckily we came away unscathed and with zero bike drops. It was an incredibly fun and challenging day.

When we returned to the motocamp we were no longer the only guests. We met a Swedish rider named Johnny and spent the evening chatting and sharing stories.

After a rest and planning day at the motocamp, we were anxious to do some more exploring and off-road riding. Brian had read about a five-day route called the Adventure Country Tracks (ACT) that includes a number of off-road sections. We made a plan to ride north for five days and to incorporate two of the five ACT days. The motocamp owner, Doru, let us leave our side bags and other unnecessary weight behind and we set out for a five-day adventure in Northern Romania.

We took some winding roads through the countryside before arriving at our first off-road section. It was an easy gravel stretch next to a beautiful river. After stopping for an afternoon coffee, we began the second section of dirt which involved undulating steep hills of thick gravel, ruts, and huge loose rocks and boulders. This was by far the hardest off-road I have ever done, but I somehow managed to keep the bike upright. I was sweating and cursing at times as I tried to control the 400 lb machine that was trying to knock me off with every bump and jolt up the treacherous hills, but it was so rewarding and fun! Although I have ridden plenty of dirt tracks in the past, I feel like something finally clicked on this particular ride and I gained an incredible amount of confidence and appreciation for off-road riding.

Another benefit of going off the beaten path was that we got a glimpse into rural Romanian life. We rode through many tiny villages and encampments, often exchanging waves and hellos with the locals.

We arrived in the small town of Beliș just as the sun was setting. Unfortunately, it appeared as if every restaurant in town was already closed for the evening. We saw a hotel a little over a kilometer away that Google showed had an open restaurant. When we got there, however, they told us they were closed for the night. After explaining (via Google Translate) that we had no other options, they were kind enough to make us some food. It ended up being the Romanian version of a dish my mom used to make when I was younger - chicken paprikash! Relieved and full, we walked back to our hotel along the spooky deserted street into town.

The next day we continued our northern tour into the historic region of Maramureș. Some highlights included stopping to admire the Surdesti wooden church built in 1721, riding along the Ukrainian border towns (getting so close that our mobile plan sent us the “Welcome to Ukraine” text message), and visiting the Merry Cemetery full of colorful hand-painted wooden tombstones that give a glimpse into the lives of the deceased.

After a day of pavement, we were ready for some more off-road. Before hitting the dirt, we stopped by the Bârsana Monastery and quietly admired the beautiful grounds as a mass was going on in the courtyard. While we were there, we met three Dutch riders. Once we realized we were all heading in the same direction, we made plans to grab dinner and drinks the following day.

We continued riding, making our way up to the top of Prislop Pass where we met a fellow female rider and her father. I am always excited to meet other women who ride so we chatted with them for a while, admiring her father’s very unique MV Augusta touring bike (1 of 200 built), before an approaching thunderstorm chased us off the mountain.

Although it was raining, we decided to push on and ride the off-road track. Luckily, the rain let up and the road was fantastic. We made our way through the scenic countryside before popping out at another town on the border with Ukraine.

We made a short stop to see the Moldovita Monastery before ending in the town of Vatra Dornei for the evening. You would think we were on some sort of pilgrimage with the number of churches and monasteries we have visited, but in a country of 14,500 churches there are many unique ones worth seeing.

Wet and cold are the two best words to describe our next day of riding. We awoke to pouring rain that didn’t seem to stop for the next six hours on our way to Sighișoara. My waterproof layers proved they were not very waterproof, but we still enjoyed the winding roads through Ceahlău National Park and Cheile Bicasului Gorge.

We arrived in Sighișoara and quickly changed out of our drenched gear. After drying off, we walked to the hotel where Peter, Bjorn, and Joey (whom we had met at the monastery the previous day) were staying and had a night of so many laughs and too many drinks.

After our long and cold ride the previous day, we decided to spend a rest day in the gorgeous and colorful town of Sighișoara. Aside from its vibrant buildings and charming cobblestone streets, it is known for being the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracul the III - the man who inspired Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. Although we didn’t pay to visit his alleged house, we did walk the eerie staircase up to the cemetery at night.

The next day we completed our northern loop and rode back to Motocamp Sibiu, stopping to admire two churches turned fortresses along the way.

That evening, we ate some delicious Romanian food and explored the nearby town of Sibiu, which is often referred to as ‘the city of eyes’ due to the narrow window slits on the roofs of the houses.

After reorganizing all of our luggage and saying goodbye to the motocamp owner Doru, we set off the following morning to ride the Transfăgărășan again! Since the first time we rode it was on a weekend with a lot of other cars, this time was even better as there was very little traffic on a Monday afternoon. During our ride, we spotted one grizzly bear and even managed to fly the drone.

We continued on, taking some winding roads through the beautiful countryside. We stopped to admire Bran Castle, which is often referred to as Dracula’s Castle for its resemblance to the novel’s depiction, before arriving in the town of Braşov.

We spent the next two days exploring Braşov, running errands, and relaxing. Inspired by all of the vampire stories from the region, we also watched the 1992 film adaptation of Dracula for the first time and had some good laughs at young Keanu Reeves's terrible acting in the film.

Our final stop in Romania was the capital city of Bucharest. On our way there, we paid a visit to the Slănic Salt Mine, which is the largest salt mine in Europe. It was a dizzying and nauseating van ride down the corkscrew tunnel to the mine 70 stories below ground, but boy was it worth it. We felt like we had been transported to the moon as we walked around the expansive cavern.

After reemerging to the surface, we rode the last couple of hours to Bucharest, fighting through crazy rush-hour traffic to get to our hotel. We spent a few days exploring the city and actually ended up extending our stay to recover from a cold we both caught.

^ Another great restaurant name.

Following a day of relaxing, we were both feeling good enough to ride so we headed to the border of Bulgaria. The crossing went smoothly and we ended in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, the historical and cultural capital of Bulgaria. We walked around the cobblestone streets of the old town and up to the top of the fortress before retiring for the evening.

The next day we headed south. We rode through some small towns, many of which felt abandoned, and past a few of the prominent concrete monuments that can be found all over Bulgaria.

The most iconic monument of them all, however, is the Buzludzha Monument, or “UFO Monument” as many people call it. It was built by the former Bulgarian Communist Party, but it fell into disrepair with the end of the Communist regime. It then became a popular urbex spot for its unique architecture and design. Unfortunately, the inside is no longer open to the public as there are plans to try and restore it as a museum, but it was still worth the visit to see this quirky building’s exterior. 

We ended the day in the city of Plovdiv, which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe and one of the oldest cities in the world. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to walk around before it turned dark, but the city at night was lively and full of history and charm.

We would have happily stayed in Plovdiv longer, but we had a reservation to stay at the renowned Bulgaria MotoCamp the following night. We made our way back up north via a different route which took us through some more quaint towns and over the beautiful Troyan Pass. We spent some time admiring the concrete Arch of Freedom and the surrounding view at the top, before taking the winding and car-free turns down the other side.

We arrived at the motocamp and it definitely lived up to its reputation of being a rider haven. We spent the next two days chatting and laughing with new friends and preparing for our upcoming country: Turkey!

We also finalized our plan to store our bikes at the motocamp when we finish our trip, so we know this won’t be our last time in Bulgaria and there is still so much left to explore.

Cheers,

Brian and Erin