Roadtrip - Failed miserably

[Arthu®]

Hey guys,

I thought some of you might get a kick out of this. Let me start with the beginning, this past Sunday I was ready for the new season of Top Gear. Having spend my summer crossing around Europe in my rather old automobile I thought I had seen some of the best driving roads there are. I mean I had been in the Alps, the Balkan, some awesome dirt roads in the Baltic states. Basically I had seen 75% of Europe. So back to Top Gear, well what do you know they proclaimed to have found the best driving road in the world. And what do you know, it's in Romania. After having seen this episode I deeply regretted not going to Romania this past summer, slept a night over it and still had that very itchy feeling. I couldn't help myself, so fast forward to Thursday at 19:30 I filled up my gas tank, checked the oil and other vital fluids and set out for Romania. A 1000km journey that according to map24.com would take me about 24 hours, so I had a mission.

But after arriving in Slovakia the fog arrived and it remained that way until I was almost at the Romanian border. I can tell you driving on narrow country roads and mountain roads that you don't know with less than 25 meters of visibility gives a whole new perspective to gambling.

But after I had arrived in Romania things started to clear up and boy did they reveal an awesome country. It was absolutely stunning, I could already see why Top Gear might have found the best driving road here. Also the Romanian driving style had a very liberal attitude towards rules, much to my pleasure. So I was making ground pretty fast and than I spotted what was the goal of my journey. The Transylvanian mountains.

To be more precise I wanted to drive on the Transfagaran Highway a road that lead straight through the highest parts of these mountains, I knew it would be closed during the winter but since it was still 15 degrees celcius and clear I thought I had a good shot. But I was wrong, when I came there it turned out they had already closed the road. So my ultimate goal became a total failure, but than as I traveled up the mountain as far as I could it treated me on a unforgettable sunset and the entire trip, the sleep and food deprivation, the fog, it was all worth it.

So after it became dark I decided that there is also another end of this road and that I might be able to make it up a little further on the other side, so I decided I would drive around the mountain and try the other side. After having driven to the other side it was closed even sooner and I decided to give up on this road and head back. My bank card from the Netherlands was not working for some reason and my Polish account had a very student like amount on it and I can tell you that is not much. So I thought I would just start to drive back as economically as possible, anybody who knows me will know that this is something that doesn't suit me very well. It turned out to be a disaster, to fight the lack of sleep I endeavored in a race between me and a Romanian Skoda in the mountains back to the Hungarian border. Luckily before my fuel became too low I found an ATM in a larger city and was able to draw some cash from my Dutch account. So after having filled up my tank again + my spare tanks in the trunk I set out again. This time fuel was not a problem anymore and so it was WOT time again, but than the fog became bad again so I decided to take a nap and wait a little while. After my 1 hour nap I felt even worse than before the nap so I figured that sleep was just a bad thing and I continued again. But after another 2 hours of fog, some more fog and last but not least fog my eyes began to hurt so I had another 1 hour nap. Waking up it was still foggy but than I hit another pack of mountains and it turned out it was already day again and boy did the valley look nice. You can still see the fog hanging in the valley.

The way back was much like the way too with loads and loads of fog during the night time. I arrived back in Warsaw at 1 AM last night and I had driven 2788km. It was nice to be back again, being able to take a bath and go to bed. The trip was unforgettable and I decided that if it is possible I will go back during the summer next year and do drive the road Top Gear calls the best driving road in the world. But the country itself is worth visiting anyways, it's just beautiful.

Oh yeah and these are the specs on the "Grand Tourer" that made all of this possible. It's a 1989 (meaning true soviet quality) Lada 2105, many many years ago it produced 65hp and weighed just over 1000kg. It has reduced both since so I guess the performance figures remained the same, but they are relatively meaningless anyways. It's a 4 speed manual, rear-wheel drive and has given me over 22000km's of joy this past summer until now with never breaking down except for 1 item I broke myself and 2 flat tires. It feels right at home on these terrible roads and nothing can break it, although I hit a huge pot hole in Hungary and it changed my light configuration slightly (much to the dismay of my fellow road users as I was now blinding them), so I had to fix that and add some oil. I know it's probably the worst car in the world but it has been good to me and therefore I will not tolerate any harmful words on his account .

Arthur

For more pictures check: http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q188/itisik/Romania/

[b5blue]

That's a Fiat clone....they sold them here in the late 60's and early 70's. My friend had one, we put an Abarth exhaust on it and a tweeked out Webber carb. then had it painted Forrest Green with a huge white race stripe down the middle of the car. It would burn rubber and never broke also. Since Fiat bought Chrysler your now part of the MoPar family! Great photos, not a fail if you made it back in one piece under your own power. 

[Arthu®]

That's a Fiat clone....they sold them here in the late 60's and early 70's. My friend had one, we put an Abarth exhaust on it and a tweeked out Webber carb. then had it painted Forrest Green with a huge white race stripe down the middle of the car. It would burn rubber and never broke also. Since Fiat bought Chrysler your now part of the MoPar family! Great photos, not a fail if you made it back in one piece under your own power. 

Haha that's long stretch but yeah it is a Fiat clone. Only usually you would think that you take something and would improve it, all the Russians did was make it worse...

[Johnny SixPack]

...not a fail if you made it back in one piece under your own power. 

So true!

Cool travelogue and pix. 

[Big Sugar]

Arthur.

Did you start ot in Holland ? noticed your NL plates.
I did a mini tour of Europe with the wife and kids a few years back, After visiting family in Holland, we went thru Bavaria, then on to Wurtzberg Germany for more family time and then south to Austria. I regret not stepping into Switzerland or Nothern Italy, But I will for sure next time.
Beautiful Country !
Driving was a real pleasure.


Ron

[69bronzeT5]

Wow, awesome scenery! I've been numerous times through Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic for family visits considering I'm 1/2 Czech (my mom was born there). I love the countryside, it's so beautiful.

[Silver R/T]

that's a very cool road trip, looks like you had a lot of fun driving

[Arthu®]

Arthur.

Did you start ot in Holland ? noticed your NL plates.
I did a mini tour of Europe with the wife and kids a few years back, After visiting family in Holland, we went thru Bavaria, then on to Wurtzberg Germany for more family time and then south to Austria. I regret not stepping into Switzerland or Nothern Italy, But I will for sure next time.
Beautiful Country !
Driving was a real pleasure.


Ron

Ron I'm from the Netherlands I bought this car just a couple of months ago and it is registered at my mothers. I am currently living in Warsaw for half a year for a study exchange. This summer this car has seen: Belgium, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy, Austria, Hungary and now Romania. But I'll need to get back to Romania next summer or so, because it is just an awesome country. I can really recommend Northern Italy if you can deal with the Italians, personally not a big fan of them, but alright. The Alps are absolutely incredible and there are some the best driving roads and the best thing is Italians just can't seem to see anything wrong with driving a car fast. If you go to Switzerland though and you want to drive there, be aware. Switzerland hates the car and especially ones that go fast. Fines are enormous. That is one plus side of being here in Eastern Europe (or what they would call Central Europe) I don't get the speeding tickets from the cameras with my Dutch plates.

Arthur

[CB]

Arthur, I must say... you got balls 

I mean, with a Lada doing a cruise through Europe wow 

Cheaper on gas anyhow

[bakerhillpins]

I can tell you driving on narrow country roads and mountain roads that you don't know with less than 25 meters of visibility gives a whole new perspective to gambling.

Based upon that picture it seems you were betting all on green up by using one hand and one eye to take a picture while you were driving. 

[RD]

arthur,

awesome story! thanks so much for the play by play.  I, too, saw the top gear episode where they found the best driving road, it was awesome.  thank you for sharing!

[chargergirl]

Not a miserable trip. Great memory and great pics thanks!

[FlatbackFanatic]

 

[TiMopar]

Great story and pictures... If you ever make it to England, look me up.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Whats wrong with us Italians?  

[Arthu®]

Whats wrong with us Italians?  

Where should I start  ... I mean Italy is a beautiful country and has a rich history, but every time I go there I feel like I'm being screwed in every way possible except the good way...

As for the others thanks for the nice comments and CB the gas really depends on how you drive it... I had hoped it would be more friendly on my wallet than it is, but than again I am by no means a very good economical driver. It is already too cold here so I want to warm it up as much as I can .

Arthur

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ha thats pretty funny Arthur

A trip away from the daily grind can never fail IMHO

[Nacho-RT74]

Oh! LADAS!!! they were sold down here in earliers 90s... Only NIVA's has been survived.

Great road trip! thanks for share ( I wouldn't make it on a LADA for sure, but something comfortable )

[68r/t]

Did you stop for any Romanian gypsies?

[Brock Samson]

 Thanks Arthur! Excellent job!  Glad your back comfy and wiser... 

[Arthu®]

Thanks guys.

68r/t as opposed to what everybody is always saying about the gypsies I do not believe of them as too dangerous. Having been in the region now since July I have learned that it just takes a different kind of attitude to survive in these parts. If you look like a tourist walking around with equipment that costs a bunch and you are careless than yes I agree they might be dangerous. If you mind your own business and be straight forward with them they will not do as much as point a finger at you. I was taking a nap in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night and when I woke up there were these 3 Romanian guys walking around the car, I just rolled down the window and asked if I could help them. The fact that I spoke English had the effect that they looked at me as if I were an alien, they just walked off. They were probably just checking if there was anything valuable to get, well it's an old Lada with a student in it, how much do they think they are going to find...

Nacho the Niva's are great, they are actually quite good all-terrain vehicles, those are also the ones that survived in the Netherlands. I have a rare-breed of these fine cars these days .

Arthur

[Magnumcharger]

Arthur, that was a great story even though it was a failure as you said.
That episode of Top Gear was infinitely enjoyable too! Perhaps there's a way you might be able to get ahold of a Dacia Sandaro to take on the Ultimate highway next year?
http://www.dacia-sandero.org/

[Arthu®]

Arthur, that was a great story even though it was a failure as you said.
That episode of Top Gear was infinitely enjoyable too! Perhaps there's a way you might be able to get ahold of a Dacia Sandaro to take on the Ultimate highway next year?
http://www.dacia-sandero.org/

Now that is a great idea. I bet 90% of the rentals in Romania are Dacia Sandero's the country is literally filled with them so it shouldn't be a problem getting hold of one. I could fly in to Romania and than rent one. That's probably a lot cheaper than driving from Holland. Btw whoever created that website has no life...

Arthur

[chargergirl]

They have Gypsy's that travel through Florida...they were in Tampa every year. I was questioned by the cops when cars were disappearing like vapor throughout the mall parking lot...but not mine. I was driving a 1980 Z-28, rims, spinners, dark tint...the ideal car for them to steal. Somehow I had made friends with them..didn't know just nice to everybody. So they didn't take my car. Odd ethics, but they have them.