Saturday, December 22, 2018: Bucharest to Brezoi:

            Breakfast is also served on the penthouse level of the hotel.  We had a lovely view morning view of this part of town, as there is 360 degrees of glass around the restaurant.  Bucharest, the capital city of Romania is a large city of 1.8 million, compared to Slovakia’s capital city Bratislava’s with a population of approximately 450,000. Bucharest is a busy place.  After the traffic we encountered last night we were glad it was Saturday morning, so hopefully the traffic will be less as we drive out of town.

            It was almost 10:00 until we were on the road to the town where we will meet a former Rotary exchange student who attended Mt Pleasant Community High School in 2003-04.  We put her town into our GPS, then will call her when we are near, for further directions. 

            The traffic was heavy in the city, but as we exited the city, thankfully it kept moving. We finally reached the Motorway/Autobahn, so we could get up to full speed.

            The mountains are beautiful with the small amount of snow that fell the other day.  It highlights the formations. The roads are clear, thank goodness.

Bucharest

Bee Hives

Monestary

 

            Our friend said it would take 3 ¼ hours with good traffic conditions, but plan for longer.  Of course, it also depends on where you are located, within Bucharest. It took us over 4 hours to get to her town, from downtown Bucharest.

            The outskirts of Bucharest, along the autobahn, is full of with all sorts of company warehouses.  Being along the motorway is an easy on/off for truck carriers.  The landscape west of Bucharest is very level – reminded us of Iowa north and east of Mt Pleasant. 

            We could see mountains in the distance, and we were going directly to them.   It definitely appears we are going to their holiday house in the mountains.  It was a beautiful drive through the mountains.  We followed a river, winding our way northwest of Bucharest.  Due to the recent snow, the view in the mountains was beautiful.  

            We made plans over the phone with our friends, as to where we would meet. Her boyfriend was there soon after we arrived, and we followed him to their home. Their vacation/holiday home is in a small valley about a 15-minute drive from the main highway.  The mountain is directly behind their house. There is just one street with houses on both sides. It is a lovely mountain get-away. 

            Of course, everything is snow covered now, but you can see they have a beautiful garden in the summer time, with roses, flower boxes, etc.  Right now they have Christmas decorations around the house.

            After settling-in, eating a light lunch, we loaded up and drove to the town of Sibiu to see their Christmas market.  It was a 2-hour drive in the dark.  Our friend’s boyfriend was driving, and we were riding with them. The snow was melting, so the roads were very messy with a constant spray on the windshield. Since it was dark, we could not see the surroundings, but we were continuing to follow the river north, winding our way through a gorge.    

            Sibiu’s central plaza was decorated beautifully.  There were lights on the buildings, ice skating, and the usual Christmas market vendors of merchandise and food.   

After the Christmas market we had a little to eat, before driving the 2-hours home.   

Sibiu Christmas Market

Hungarian Sweet