My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Part of our route as we head back to Bucharest was over a route we took on our second day driving in Romania. That day the mountains were almost impossible to see in the clouds and haze. Today they stood out against the blue sky.
Not long after we left Deva we made a detour to find a good spot to get some mountain pictures. Eventually we found this church down a side road at the top of a hill.
Church yard where we stopped for mountain picturesMountains on the horizon
Fǎgǎraș where we are tonight has a big church with a gold dome and a castle. We are staying at a very nice hotel right on the main square. We went for a walk around the castle and the church.
More mountains along our routeFǎgǎraș churchFǎgǎraș castle
I think that no matter where you are, Spring weather can fluctuate a lot from day to day. There was a lot less haze in the air today. I think that was partly because it was very windy. The two hour drive to Deva was scenic although part of the way it did rain.
Entering Deva
After checking in we went out exploring.
Deva Castle and pedestrian streetDeva has a lot of beautiful buildings
After walking through the park we stopped for coffee and shared a very tasty piece of chocolate cake.
The park and the castleCoffee and cake
As we headed back to our hotel it started to rain.
Walking back to the hotel in the rain
By the time we walked to dinner the skies had cleared.
I did an 8 am yoga class this morning. The teacher, Heather was from Manchester, England she was great. I didn’t pack yoga clothes. I felt a bit strange doing yoga in jeans but it wasn’t a problem.
The view from breakfast
Bram Castle was just down the road so we drove about 20 minutes and then stopped to take pictures.
Us with Bram Castle 🏰 n the background Bram Castle
Our drive today was fairly long, just over four hours. There were beautiful mountains on the horizon but it was hazy and we couldn’t really see them.
We did see lots os storks
Tonight we are in the village of Vlaha. After checking in we went for a walk down to the village.
Walking to the villageIn Vlaha
About half way through our drive we got a text message asking if we wanted dinner at the hotel. When we said yes she sent us the menu and we ordered.
We shared a cabbage saladMy sausageDuke’s chicken and red cabbageCheesecake for desert
This morning after breakfast we walked down to the waterfront to check out Lake Snagov.
Lake Snagov, where we ate dinner last nightRowers out for morning practice
Then we checked out of the hotel and drove two and a half hours northwest into the Transylvanian Alps.
Bran Castle
Tonight we are at Akasha Retreat – Wellness Resort. It is a lovely little guesthouse in the mountains. Before dinner I took a yoga class. If the weather was nicer the class would have been outside.
Our guesthouseThe lounge were we sat and read this afternoon The view from the balcony
We had a very nice breakfast overlooking the Danube.
Breakfast
Our plan was to take a taxi from Ruse, Bulgaria across the border to Bucharest, Romania where we would pick up our rental car. Duke had booked a taxi to pick us up at 10:45 and of course we had a rental car reserved near Bucharest Airport.
We waited in the hotel lobby but the taxi never showed up. The owner and staff at Ruse Boutique Hotel were wonderful. We even had a long talk with the owner who has been to Reno!
Waiting in the lobby
Eventually after making several phone calls and sending several messages we were notified that the taxi had been cancelled!
The desk clerk booked us a new taxi and in short order we were on our way to the ExpediCar rental car office about five miles from Bucharest airport. The taxi driver was friendly and we had a nice ride.
We had to call the rental car office again because they had no sign on the street.
The rental car officeThe rental car location
After a few more phone calls eventually we were seated in their office. There were two guys behind the desk. I didn’t ask for their names.
They asked for papers. Everything started out fine.
Passport ✔️
Drives license ✔️
International drivers permit ✔️
Credit card ✔️
Things went down hill from there.
Our credit card was no good! They said it had to be an embossed credit card?!?
Embossed credit card ✔️
We met that requirement so they threw up a new hurdle. It has to have the word “credit” on the card !?! None of our credit cards say credit card on them.
So they wouldn’t rent us a car!?!
I don’t know what their scam was but there definitely was something illegal or at least shady going on. I don’t know if they weren’t happy that we didn’t want to buy their insurance or if they didn’t like Americans or if they wanted a bribe. Who knows! I am sure that if we had an embossed credit card with the word “credit” on it there would have been some other excuse.
As we were leaving I gave them my card and told them they can read all about or experience on my blog and watch it on my YouTube channel. He smiled and said don’t be too hard on us!!
So now we had to get to the airport. To get an Uber I had to download the Uber app. But eventually we got an Uber to the airport.
At the airport Duke booked another car with a pick up point a 15 minute walk away. We walked to the address but there was nothing there and then when Duke looked at his phone he had an email saying the reservation had been cancelled because they didn’t have a car!
So we walked back to the airport. On the way a security car stopped to ask why we were in such an empty part of the airport! But we got back to the airport and Duke rented a car at the rental car desk. Of course this is much more expensive than the original reservation.
Our rental car. It’s nice and even an automatic transmission!
So we have a car! The drive to our hotel was short. We got to our room and celebrated surviving!
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