Fǎgǎraș to Bucharest, Romania

Today we turned in the last of the 8 rental cars that we drove on this trip. We drove for 4 hours back to Bucharest where we turned in the car.

On our drive today

When we got to Bucharest we drove straight to our hotel and checked in. We dropped off our bags and then drove about a mile away to turn in the car. After leaving the car we walked back to our hotel.

Walking back to the hotel

We wanted to find a place to have beers and a snack to celebrate the end of driving. We found a Tex Mex restaurant quite near the hotel!

We are done driving!
Nachos

For dinner we went to a nearby Turkish restaurant

Appetizer plate

Deva to Fǎgǎraș, Romania

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 pictures
Mountains 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 route
Fǎgǎraș church
Fǎgǎraș castle

Vlaha to Deva, Romania

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 street
Deva 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 castle
Coffee 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.

Deva castle on the way to dinner

Peștera to Vlaha, Romania

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 village
In 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 salad
My sausage
Duke’s chicken and red cabbage
Cheesecake for desert

Snagov to Peștera, Bulgaria

This morning after breakfast we walked down to the waterfront to check out Lake Snagov.

Lake Snagov, where we ate dinner last night
Rowers 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 guesthouse
The lounge were we sat and read this afternoon
The view from the balcony