Romania
959 Kilometres – 18 Days
30 June – 17 August 2007Szeget, Hungary – Arad, Romania – 78 kilometres
Eddie and I left Szeget, powered by a stiff tailwind that quickly turned
into a near gale-force crosswind, making the ride more challenging.
The road was further congested by trucks and heavy traffic, and I
feared for my life. Upon arriving at the border, I found my Hungarian
visa wasn’t what I had expected, but a 2 x 10-day visa (where did
that come from?). I had inadvertently overstayed, and after being
shuffled back and forth from building to building, I was eventually
allowed to leave. What a relief!
I was eager to see Romania. It finally felt like I was on my way. Since
childhood, I have been fascinated by the Romani people and knew
there were still real Romani communities in Romania. Add the allure
of Dracula’s castle and names like Transylvania, and I couldn’t wait to
explore.
As always, in a foreign country, the language barrier remained a
significant challenge; everything (as expected) was in Romanian, and
very little English was spoken.
We arrived in Arad in the late afternoon, but the campsite on the map
turned out to be an abandoned field. It was raining heavily and
growing dark, so we decided to overnight at a nearby pension.