Set off mid morning up a long, straight road, lined with colourful but very tumbledown houses towards the nearest big town. We passed quite a few crosses at road junctions reminding us that this is a very religious country and also quite a poor one. Once in Timisoara, it became evident that most of the money seems to be inside the churches, with all their gold and finery and umpteen collection boxes.
It was quite a nice town, still with lots of derelict buildings, but it did feel like it was on the up. There were many squares and pedestrianised streets filled with pavement cafes. Some very impressive buildings, not least the Orthodox Cathedral with its mosaic patterned roof tiles.
As it was so hot, we found ourselves walking up a street shaded by colourful umbrellas – seems the thing to do in European cities but always looks great and makes for a good photo.
Had a bizarre club sandwich for lunch – had everything on it! Chicken, bacon, bright yellow cheese, some kind of gherkin mayonnaise, salad and chips! Filled Guy up for a few hours anyway and was good value. 😂
Heading gradually towards the Transfargasaran highway, we de-toured off to the south to find a ‘Park4night’ stop that had good reviews. Satnav then proceeded to take us up a cul-de-sac in a tiny village! Not the right place.
About 10km further on, after negotiating traffic on the wrong side of the road due to only one half having tarmac, we arrived in a beautiful quiet spot at the bottom of a lake. Such a lovely welcome from the owners Geoff and Hayley, this is probably one of the nicest overnight stops we’ve ever landed in. After plying us with a shot of the local strong stuff they proceeded to thrash us at cards. A tactical manoeuvre if you ask me – we will be back (after I’ve had some practice)!
