Salut,
Sunt un ciclist amator din Bucuresti si in vara lui 2023 am avut norocul sa am la dispozitie 2 saptmani pentru o tura cu bicicleta prin Europa. Uitandu-ma pe Strava Heatmaps pentru inspiratie, mi-am dat seama ca Romania este cea mai putin explorata tara si ca povestea ei (buna sau rea) ar putea fi interesanta pentru alti oameni, din confortul canapelei sau saua bicicletei. Si cum si mie imi face deosebita placere sa urmaresc alte clipuri despre cicloturism in Europa, m-am gandit ca cineva trebuie sa spuna si povestea asta.
Mi-ar face deosebita placere sa-mi lasati in comentarii parerea voastra, dar si alte clipuri similare din alte tari, evident in limba engleza 🙂
Multumesc!
Hello,
I am an amateur cyclist from Bucharest and in the summer of 2023 I was lucky enough to have 2 weeks available for a bicycle tour through Europe. Looking at the Strava Heatmaps for inspiration, I realized that Romania is the least explored country and that maybe its story (good or bad) could be interesting for other people, from the comfort of the couch or from the bike saddle. And since I also enjoy watching other videos about cycling in Europe, I thought I should tell this story as well.
It would be a great pleasure for me to have your opinion in the comments, but also other similar clips from other countries, obviously in English 🙂
Thank you!
The route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3118857402501998012/
#romania
#biketrip
#mogosoaia
#prahova
#sinaia
#pelescastle
#busteni
#wednesday
#cantacuzino
#rasnov
#brancastle
#dracula
#vladtheimpaler
#piatracraiului
#magura
#zarnesti
#PoianaFlorilor
#racos
#viscri
#kingcharles
#saxons
#székely
#transylvaniansaxons
#saschiz
#sighisoara
#mures
#targumures
#bistrita
#colibita
#tihuta
#bukovina
#bucovina
#voronet
#megatirolianabucovina
#zipline
#vatradornei
#suceava
#transylvania
#wallachia
#moldova
#europe
#easterneurope
#bike
#biketour
#biketouring
@bbacalhau
This is a bike tour through Romania it’s an attempt to cross one of the least bike friendly countries in Europe from South to north crossing the carpathians twice and trying to figure out if this ride will turn me into a Ed mer famous cyclist also known as the cannibal or into just a
Vampire as this is going to be a long ride I will keep talking and talking and talking and try to document all the sites along the route and all the technicalities of this type of ride so let’s begin my ride will start in Bucharest I consider there is no better
Place to start this journey other than Milestone zero or kilom Z it’s right in P univers in the city center and it’s a symbolic Monument for for the fight for freedom and democracy this Monument was erected After the revolution in 1989 which led to the fall of Communism in Romania right across the street you will find the Palace of architecture you could easily miss this building as it is hidden behind the university and the busy Boulevard however this building will certainly make you stop to appreciate it moving on there is another Milestone zero Monument this one was erected in
1938 but is probably less known I have included this one in the tour for two reasons first it sits in this wonderful St George’s Church closely associated to Constantin branovan we talk about him later as his Palace will be on our route secondly it enlists the Eight historical provinces of Romania centered
Around the compass indicating the distances in kilometers as you can probably imagine today’s realities are slightly different than the ones depicted by this rather old Monument but this gives me a good opportunity to present you the historical regions and my route in general so here we goish and no no no let’s try
Again yep Transylvania mova and waha that’s it this simplified version should be good enough for me and the Casual Tourist Now heading to the old Court a former place of residence of Vlad Baylor AKA Vlad Dracula he was the ruler of waha and the first mentioning of Bucharest as a settlement happened in his time in 1459 there are many tales and legends about him one of the biggest being
Centered around Bran Castle a place we will visit later on our bik tour now I’m just looking for a statue of him but I guess the city council hid it from sunlight it’s worth mentioning that also here you will find hanu Li manuk the oldest operating in in Bucharest you
Definitely should check it out but for now I will just wonder the streets of the Old Town Easily accessible from P isop the beautiful French looking building on the left is currently the Palace of the patriarchy HQ for the Romanian Orthodox Church it used to be the legislative house until the parliament of Romania was relocated in the ’90s the building on the right is
The Palace of the patriarch residence of the patriarch head of the Romanian Orthodox church now heading on to the Palace of the parliament this huge building in front of me is the second largest Administrative Building after the Pentagon but is considered to be the heaviest building in the world since the
’90s the state struggled to find a purpose for this megalomanic building but it’s still about 70% empty Legends say that the megalomanic nature of the former dictator Nikolai chaoses was inspired by a trip he had in the 70s to North Korea now passing by the United Nations Square Cola Victoria or Victory Avenue it has 2.7 km and I recommend you to stroll from the United Nations Square to Victoria Square during the the weekend’s traffic is closed for cars and believe it or not Cyclist now passing through at Roman this is a concert hall which is a landmark of Bucharest Advancing through my road I’m leaving behind Victor P Victor I’m mentoring Bou heading on to Shard the gold Square this Square went by many names from panu P Mi minu pza Adolf Hitler pza Yosef Stalin pza vator Lord after Stalin died to honor the friendship with the French it was renamed after 1989 patas Shard the go behind my fellow cyclist you will see
The triumphal Arch or ar the Triumph it is a well-known symbol in Romania this Monument remembers the first world war and the unification of Romania in 1918 it is actually a little brother of Ark the Triumph in Paris exactly after seeing arul the Triumph it’s more obvious why Bucharest used to
Be called little Paris that’s it for day one Bucharest now it’s time to head to siia heading North I have decided to take the rout through dn1 a the blue route and try to avoid as much as possible the busiest Road in Romania which is dn1 or E60 red route on the map
I will unfortunately have to skip L to try to make it to Sia during daytime make sure you start early as this is going to be one of the longest and toughest rides on the route this ride will be 130 km long and will have 1,000 M of Elevation immediately after Bucharest you will enter in mosay here you will find palat mosay the palace was built between 1698 and 1702 by Constantin branu and it served as his residence he was the prince of wahia and he took the steps in negotiating anti-ottoman alliances first with the Habsburg
Monarchy and then with Peter the Great Russia unfortunately the Ottomans found out and captured him and his sons they were also asked to denounce Christianity but they refused and were beheaded in Constantinople Constantin bovano is renowned for for promoting a distinctive architectural style known as brov venes
As you will probably notice by visiting his Palace this is a synthesis between Byzantine otoman and late Renaissance Now hope we go from MOS it’s a long ride ahead I hope you brought enough stacks and maybe a cushion for your seat I guess now it’s time to see if it’s more about the ride or the destination now that we’re at let’s pick another track just to Mark the change of pace Now let’s get real a bit and talk about Road Safety make no mistake you are inside the country with the most dangerous roads and drivers just let me give you a real feel of the traffic most of the truck drivers are true professionals and during this road
Trip I have always felt safe and protected by them but I do consider that it’s also luck when it comes to this type of risk thank you for your Attention now if somebody from this Trucking Company sees this video I want to send them a big thank You And now the first downhill trust me it really feels like flying now let’s talk about what to expect in terms of places to rest or to find water and food you should always Google your way and plan ahead where to stop all the small towns and Villages
Have decent markets and most of them are open even even during weekends credit cards are accepted almost everywhere but I would advise you to have some cash especially for the Village Shops which are not on the main roads sometimes the markets are like this other times like this in all cases
I have always found good products and felt welcome and safe now okay this is not a classic Market or pop you would expect but the sou Romanian friendliness is quite unique and I have really come to appreciate It chip foreign Foreign Fore All right so I’ve hit the 100 km Milestone and it’s time for a reunion with a notorious dn1 or E60 right before commanding now I have to brace myself for the fun part a casual 25 km uphill battle to SI one tiny problem I’m already out of breath and ready to give
Up I will just do what I’ll always do when things get tough I just slow down adapt the pace and then try to bounce back on the bright side I’ve got plenty of time to admire the scenery very very slowly looking at the time stamps of my
Videos I can tell you it took me about 2 and 1 half hours to make it to Sia since the crossing to dn1 but I did make it eventually I might have wept upon entering Sia but that video was mysteriously Lost Cai is an elegant Mountain Resort offering a mix of activities for every season in Winter you can do Alpine skiing and in the summer you can do hiking and mountain biking you already know by now that I’m a roadie but I do appreciate this kind of infrastructure for my mountain biking
Cousins this mountain resort is not just about Adventure and Sport it’s a blend of natural beauty and historical Intrigue I will just leave you with some shots I took and Save The Best For Last pish castle and the Monarch Pap Much as Romania sin would not exist in its form without the monarchy let me tell you what I found on Wikipedia about the modern United Romania and its monarchy so how it started the idea of a United Romania came from Napoleon II it supported the unification of mova and
Wahia and this ideal was achieved by Alexandre yanza he was eventually hosted as some say he was too fast in his reforms now there were still some smart politicians out there and they went to look for a foreign King with just enough international support they first offered
The seat to Prince Philip of Flanders the son of Leopold the first of Belgium but this time Napoleon the third opposed then they have proposed in dor to Prince Charles of henzo zingaran a German Dynasty Napoleon III was amongst the few International supporters of this idea and this was enough for the politicians
Back home how it went 80 years of progress gained independence from the Turks unified Romania after World War One some say it was not enough to take the whole country out of poverty and medieval practices but who can really tell considering the context some say kuza was too fast
Others that the monor he was too slow how it ended well after Romania fell under the Iron Curtain the Communists have abolished the Monarchy now let’s enjoy some fun facts about peles I’m sure my friends here will appreciate them and see how cool it was for its times 1880s three fire hydrants were installed 1884 pellish becomes the first castle in Europe lit with electricity 1887 a hydr power plant is constructed
1900 a centralized vacuum system is installed throughout PES Castle notable visits to this Castle include the Emperor of Austria the queen of Netherlands the Crown Princess of Royal House of Belgium King of Sweden German Emperor and King of Prussia queen of Bavaria s of Bulgaria heir to the
Throne of the Ottoman Empire and two United States presidents that being said I would advise you not to miss the chance to add your name in the guest book of this Castle Okay in case you were wondering what’s that Pine in my left hand it’s a delicious Hungarian food called the langos good now I really have to go I need to get to Brand before dark anded I still have 50 km to go and my old friend Dian is just around the corner waiting
For me so let’s get real and focus a bit on the road So I’ve made it to bushen to kakuzo Castle this Castle is famous for many reasons let’s name a few it was built by the richest man of the 19th century Gregor kakuzo also known as the nabab he was prime minister twice and mayor of Bucharest this Castle was finished after
Peles in 1911 some say kakuzo had a friendly rivalry with the King and that this Castle is an expression of this fact last but not least it served as a filming location for the Netflix series Wednesday in 2022 because the Romanian authorities are not so good at keeping promises the production was eventually
Moved to Arland Okay I will have to leave my nabab friend to enjoy his view to Boi mountains as my other busy friend Dian 108 I still have 40 kilm to get to Brown wait wait wait if I’m entering in Brasov County it means that I’m technically in Transylvania change of tunes to mark this important Milestone Oh Believe it or not it’s freaking hot close to 40 Cel and I need to cool down a Bit good now I’m original a small city which has a beautiful Fortress which is said to have been built by the toonic knights you might be wondering why am I not in brush off well for this ride in particular it was a personal choice at after Bucharest and prahova Valley to
Take a more quiet path through BR and Mur but make no mistake you will love Brasov and I definitely recommend you to visit It Oh And the site of bran CER wraps up my day three Sia to bran tomorrow bran to Racos Ah let me get the coffee first I’m a bit hung over last night I went out to celebrate my first crossing of the carpatian by bike this dude blood challenged me to a drinking game he said he was very thirsty but obviously I was Thirstier Much better now let’s have a look around if you remember in Bucharest I told you that the greatest legend about vlader or Vlad Dracula is this Castle quick historical facts 1377 this Castle was built by the Saxons with permission from King of Hungary Louis the first 13395 sigismond of
Luxembourg German Emperor and king of Hungary uses this castle for military missions in wahia 1407 sigismond of Luxembourg gives this Castle to mitcha the Elder of wahia afterwards several Hungarian Kings take ownership until one of them failed to repay some loans to the city of brash which in the end
Regains possession of The Fortress in 1533 historians say that VL imp had nothing to do with this Fortress they say it’s likely that he only passed by bran C on his way to fight the city of brov over raising taxes but he never lived here now you might wonder what is
The connection between Vlad Impaler and Dracula the vampire let’s see was Vlad the Impaler called Dracula yes he was called Vlad dracul or Vlad Dr was Vlad the Impaler the crest ruler of his times yes Germans hungarians even Ottomans were horrified by his cruelty did he drink blood no last night
Blood was more like a water into wine Type that’s it with Brun let’s get going 100 km to go today’s ride will be only about nature and serenity what’s the plan for today I will pass through muu desus then push uphill to the pesque Village of mura pass by Zer nest and then I will enjoy a long and Mild
Downhill portion after poana floro but then I will still have about 60 km to one of the most Serene places in Transylvania rakos Lake [Applause] [Applause] o okay I will turn the volume down a bit I just want to remember what was like to ride through this wonderful tunnel of Vegetation great now I’ve made it to this wonderful Retreat it’s called LA chocola and the name is probably un illusion to a Romanian chocolate cake brand Mura [Applause] [Applause] W [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] enterings are Ned I want to bring up something after Road Safety the next thing you should watch out is wildlife I have left this part intentionally for zern here you can find a place called Liberty bear Sanctuary it’s basically a five-star refuge for bears in the
Natural environment after they had a bad life in circuses and Zoo cages end quote from Trip Advisor I have not visited yet but I kind of need to race to racos to make it before nighttime now following the discussion we had about Road Safety please please
Take into account that in these parts of the carpathians the bear population density is one bear per 10 square kilm the highest by far in all Europe so please please be careful and try not to take any chanes this is also one of the reasons or excuses for me not to consider Camping O Venia like in Venice and Venetian music Museum ah okay ven no nope I think I’m starting to imagine things I’m only 20 km to my destination but I can’t do it anymore as I need to stop more and more often to rest I’m thinking it would take me about 2 hours
To get to rakos and guess what I did not book any accommodation after Googling around to see what alternatives I have I learn I had actually none seeing these images again I remember I was overcome with extreme fatigue the sun was starting to turn its back on me and an overwhelming
Feeling of Doubt was starting to darken my mind I absolutely hated having no other option and being forced against my will with an aing body and mind to accept the unacceptable I could not go on anymore how could I have been so stupid then in the chaos in my head I found
Myself staring at my shadow stretching out on the road before me a profound sense of loneliness took over but at least the chaos was gone it gave me enough sense of Tranquility to start seeing things differently every pedal forward was actually pushing me farther and farther away from that moment of
Realization of failure in other words failure and fragility were being left behind in my head only to find resilience and strength moving Forward Fore fore Spe Today I just want to relax take some pictures fly my drone and most importantly stay hydrated you saw what exhaustion heat and dehydration can lead to so I don’t want to dive again into the depths of nonsense the only Deep thing planned for today is this Lake it’s called The Emerald Lake
And it has a depth of 18 M it was fored an old Basel Quarry which was flooded let’s see if this place lives up to its recent Rising Hype St Ah Sh I’ve lost the Drone all right better get going next Point getting to visre on a short 35 km ride I need to meet again my old friend E60 for 1/3 of my route but there is something even more annoying than the E60 a very stubborn headwind
It’s very hard to Pedal even though I’m on flat ground a guy from a gas station told me this every day from morning to afternoon the wind is blowing from sigara to brov the locals treat this as common knowledge so I guess we should know this
Too I have reached Vis and I’m a bit confused to see this sign to vce here okay short three for those of you who are not Romanians this is a village where King Charles bought a property he visits these lands quite often and he is very involved in promoting them back to
The reason for my confusion why would the Monarch this important invest so much of his time in a village which is clearly identified as a Germanic one this is a moment I realize how high my level of in is I mean I am aware of the
Term Anglo Saxon but I have no idea what it really me means I am aware of the term Saxons and SE sash Shi for the Romanians watching but again I’m absolutely clueless about their Origins so being an Romanian ignorant sou I will not even dare to try to
Answer these questions but I will happily share with you what I found on Wikipedia the name visre comes from a chapel built by SE which were the previous inhabitants before the Saxons came in the 13th century the origin of SE has been much debated but it is now generally accepted that they are
Descendants of hungarians on the other hand the first ancestors of the Transylvanian Saxons originally came from Northwestern territories of the Holy Roman Empire of overall Germanic origin from today’s regions from Belgium the Netherlands and Luxembourg their native dialect today resembles with luxemburgish I will try to shut up a bit
For you to enjoy this one the first place apologies for the dirty camera Lenses WI [Applause] You The beautiful blue house behind me is none other than the famous well at least in Romania House of King CHS I really enjoyed visiting it and came to appreciate even more the effort and the dedication his majesty has invested into putting these lands on the tourism map in the meantime trying to settle if there is a direct connection between the Anglo Saxons and the Transylvanian Saxons the internet did not give me a
Straight answer but if this historical puzzle got your attention feel free to unravel it while I’m busy with another Quest this is his Majesty’s KingSize bed and I really need to figure out what are the exact dimensions obviously using the metric system I’m glad I’ve spent the morning here but
Now I need to head on to Sigua Now I’m in sasis just behind this hour I find by accident this hidden tea house with its incredible backyard upon arrival the owners greeted me with some just out of the oven pie and with some cold mint lemonade this is just [Applause] Paradise [Applause] I have made it to sigara I personally call this the heart of the Saxon life it is a full-fledged medieval city dating back to the times when the Transylvanian Saxons came to these lands I will not get lost into too many details except to one or two the famous
Wahan ruler blood dra thei was born actually here in sigara Wikipedia tells me one other interesting fact the name waha derived from the term Valas used by Germanic people to refer to former inhabit ANS of the Roman Empire and to other speakers of foreign languages in Western Europe these gave
Rise to whales and Cornwall in the United Kingdom to wona in Belgium while in Eastern Europe it was used to designate Roman speakers currently the Romanians proof that thing sometimes just magically align this storm would have easily make my day miserable on the bike but it instead it make me duck into
This Pub only to wrap up the discussion between Germanic and Roman styles with some shots from this [Applause] Wonderful My journey continues to tures the morning greets me with another generous gift from last night’s storm fresh air and Clear Blue Skies We Yeah the ride to turum mores was quite pleasantful I kind of had to rush there for two reasons first the weather forecast showed some rain showers in the afternoon and secondly I had to get my bike fixed the this plates had worn off and I still have to make another
Crossing of the carpatian preferably one piece trying to groom Wikipedia for some interesting facts I will skip the parts of SES mon of Luxembourg again the habsburgs which are well known throughout Europe and stick to this one only 100 years ago turum mures had a population of almost 90% hungarians so
You cannot speak about turum mures without mentioning the Hungarian Brothers Living in Romania they make about 6% of the total population tum mures is exceptional due to the fact that it is the city with the largest urban Hungarian community in Romania now standing at 42%
So here I am in front of the Palace of culture this amazing Hungarian Novo building munching on a delicious CTO collage high-fiving with the locals and yet I’m clueless on how to say even the basic stuff like Hello thank you and goodbye it’s a bit embarrassing actually but I will fix this right
Now yop put VRA next part fores To Hey this is my last day in the Transylvania Plateau tomorrow as I leave bza I will need to be ready for what lies ahead my final ride I need to face again the carpathians Crossing into mova despite being Romanian I’ve never been to this part of the country so I
Really don’t know what to expect I guess it should be even harder than the first Crossing I did mostly due to the fatigue and the unknown so here I am in what looks like a voyage into Uncharted personal territory which could either be my greatest Triumph or just another
Hilarious chapter so please bear with me for this last stretch of the road I’m also eager to see this Through okay what happened to the big plan to storm the carpathians from B to vator well today I woke up with a head heavier than my bike gear last evening while asking for directions I’ve met some really cool people which took me under their wing and showed me around these
Guys were the kind of people which could find humor in anything including in my overly ambitious cycling itinerary through bis account so it turns out that my biggest challenge wasn’t the th000 M elevation it was actually saying not to good detour through piz Lake and keeping up with the local spirit and Spirits Hey as I was struggling to go uphill to kibit Lake feeling miserable and questioning the purpose of life these guys show up Hell Hello oh this could not have come in a better moment so grateful for this encounter with my cousins sharing the same love for the open road B For oh my God this is happening I did it L What a warm welcome now let me explain the moment I have passed the HSA passage from Transylvania to mova I knew that technically the carpens would have granted me the their silent blessing to reach my destination I knew it from the beginning that this was my return ticket however I
Do have some unfinished business and I know you are here for the Wikipedia fun facts I will happily share with you in just a couple of moments after wrapping up I will head to suchava in a couple of days to take the tra back home to Bucharest so let’s begin you cannot
Speak about North mova without mentioning the painted monasteries in book perhaps the most and stunning of all is vunet Monastery also known as the 16th chapel of the East it was built in 1487 by Steven the great to celebrate the victory over the Ottomans this Monastery has a stunning
Exterior adorned with Vivid frescos and the specific vonet blue color which the scientists had trouble decoding between the beautiful frescos you may find some astrological and zodiac signs but also Greek philosophers like aristotles and Plato perhaps one of the most fascinating Mysteries is how the 500y old paintings have managed to survive
Out in the open all this time now you don’t have to be a religious person unless you have survived countless 40ton trucks zooming past your bike but if you are a curious fellow wanting to leave the full Romanian Orthodox experience try this go inside the church and buy two candles
Light the first one at the V section for the living loved ones thinking of their names light the second candle and place it for the Departed again having in mind the list of their names this would be the section of Mor meaning Dead from the Latin mortos which reminds me to share another
Fun fact Romania is the only Latin Orthodox country much like Poland is the only Slavic Catholic country You might be wondering what’s up with this 30 m Tower in front of me this is the Bas line for the longest zip line in Eastern Europe it is 2.2 kilm long and you can reach speeds of up to 100 km in normal position and 150 km/ hour as Superman
Position yes which tickets I bought when they set me on the table I realized it was too late to exchange them Wo w w W w My arrival in saava marks not just the end of my journey but also a deep dive into the heart of Romania’s past this city once the capital of the mavian principality resonates with the stories of courage and resilience most notably through the legacy of Steven the great under his rule suchava flourished
Becoming a fortress of defense and a symbol of mavian strength by carefully crafting political alliances that wouldn’t allow any of the nearby Empires to gain a significant Authority this crafted politician was also a furious Warrior having LED over 40 Wars in battles unfortunately I remain in depth
To mova and to its history but the road took me only this far this journey has been more than just a physical challenge it’s been an exploration of Romania’s Soul each pedal stroke brought me closer to understanding not just what resilience is but also that any of the
European nations would find something to relate to upon setting foot here so whether you are French Danish or Greek I would like to hear the stories from your Europe but for God’s sake please do it in English as I conclude this adventure I’m filled with gratitude for everyone who
Has accompanied me on this path I’d love to see your reactions to the video and read your thoughts in the comments below thank you for pedaling along with me