Saturday, September 18. From Sibiu we take the road E68 to Brasov and then the DN7C to Cârtisoara. The mountains rise in front of us. Still some clouds partly cover the mountains. The road meanders up and up. What a views. On top we’re in the clouds, no view at all. Take the tunnel to the other side and here the clouds are a bit less thick. Just around the corner the clouds disappear. Amazing views again. Wild rocky mountains, wow. Some nice waterfalls and more winding road. Then a small traffic jam. Everyone is stopping, but why? Against the sun it’s hard to tell. A beer with two cubs sits next to the road and sadly people are feeding them. Still beautiful animals to see. Have a coffee at lake Arges and a bit further a beer with again two cubs is walking along the road. Very cool. At Scheau we take the highway to Bucharest. Check in and talk to the owner. He tells about the history of Romania. Apparently in the past the tribes couldn’t decide who would rule the country, so they invited a German prince. He modernised the country and that’s the reason a part of the country has so many German names. We go into town. See a huge fountain and an even huger building The Parliament. Ugly and huge. An event is in front of it so we walk around. Big mistake, because it’s a long walk. At the backside a new cathedral is built. Also huge, but not yet finished. Through the park to the city center again. Not so much beauty here. After dinner we go to the event at the Parliament. Show the vaccinated app and an ID and we’re in. Get some beer and enjoy the show. The band Subcarpati is not so special, but the light show on the facade of the Parliament is very cool. Good use of this ugly building.
Sunday, walk into the old center and see a nice book store. Several old bank buildings and then people wait outside the Orthodox church of Stavropoleos of 1724. Another bank building and some craftsmen in front of the National History Museum. We walk to the Parliament entrance and we book a guided tour inside at 13:30 h. We have to wait and relax just outside with a coffee. Again a vaccine check and we have to wear masks inside. The interior is huge like the outside. 365.000 m2 and more than a million kg of marble is used. All materials and workers used are from Romania. All we see is marble and huge rooms. Now the building is used for the Senate and for conferences. Still 80% of the building is unused. Maintenance is a huge cost as well, electricity of all lights is the same as a quarter of all buildings in Bucharest. Crazy numbers. We visit the visitors’ balcony of the Senate and the guide tells us all the information about the building.
Monday is a beach day at Constanta.
