We drove south on E81, east on E68 and then south again on 7C--the Transfagarsan Road. This Ceausescu project was built in the 1970s over the course of 4 1/2 years. Parts of it is closed from October to May and driving is not permitted at night. It is best driven from the north.
At km 22, you'll find souvenir stands, a restaurant, the lodge Cabana Balea Cascada and the Telecabina Balea, a cable car that whisks you up to Lake Balea when it's snowy.
The stands are loaded with sausages and cheeses.
From the parking area, you can see waterfalls off in the distance.
The Transfagarasan Road is best known for this section with hairpin turns.
13 km later, you'll arrive at Lake Balea. It was barely visible through the fog and it was so cold, we dodged into the Cabana Balea Lac. You can grab a quick bite or even spend the night.
We found this very well fed bear on the side of the road. He was so well behaved. It was hard to believe he was a wild bear.
54 km later, we arrived at Vidraru Dam.
Make sure to look at the side of the dam away from the lake. It's impressive at 165 m high.
Be careful of bears in this area.
Statue at the top of Vidraru Dam.
Continuing further, we arrived at Poienari Fortress, the real Dracula Castle where Vlad Tepes ruled.
The castle is in ruins at the top of a hill.
We couldn't visit the castle because of bears in the area.
Near Vlad's castle, you can grab lunch at this hotel.
Coming out of the mountains, we saw many haystacks. These are piled high, in the Romanian tradition.
This fruit stand sold fruit and a very sweet nectar made out of cloudberry.
2019 09 25
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