MOTORCYCLE THROUGH ROMANIA - MARAMUREŞ, BUKOVINA AND TRANSYLVANIA

We begin the adventure at the point of our contractual base of departure for southern Europe in the town of Poczesna, at the Zornica Inn (GPS: 50.712850, 19.147917, http://www.zornica-hotel.pl/). Here, participants of our expeditions can take advantage of the full offer of the hotel and restaurant, at a special price for MOTOpodrozni.pl,

We meet at the appointed detailed plan (communicated to the participants) in the morning and set off with the group by the fastest possible route in the direction of Romania, along the roads of Slovakia and Hungary, for our first overnight stop planned in the vicinity of SATU MARE....On the way - as the custom of our organizations dictates - designated so-called inter-points of successive gatherings, so as to make it easier for participants to join in the most convenient places along the route of our drive.

In the evening, a joint opening and integration dinner for participants.

We set off at 8:00 a.m. The goal for today is the UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Sapanta with its Merry Cemetery, Voronets with its medieval Monastery from the 15th century, and a piece of Polishness - a cluster of villages of Polish settlers from the 18th century in northern Romania, in the territory of the so-called Bukovina.

The first Poles appeared in the Bukovina area as early as the 14th century, although they are not the ones credited with the existence of Polish villages in Romania. In the 18th century, sizable salt deposits were discovered,near Suceava. Mines were established, among them Kaczyce in 1791. A year later, 20 families of Polish miners from Bochnia and Wieliczka were brought in to resource the experience of the budding Bukovinians in the industry. At the beginning of the next century, Chadian highlanders and families from the Potocki estates also arrived in what is now Northern Bukovina.

In the district we are heading to there are several villages of Polish origin: Kaczyca (rum. Cacica), New Solonetz (rum. Soloneţu Nou), Paltynosa (rum. Păltinoasa), Plesza (rum. Pleşa), Pojana Mikuli (rum. Poiana Micului). A short stay among compatriots living in these regions will perhaps allow us to feel the climate of this part of the country.

We are planning a late afternoon meeting with the Polish community in Kaczyca (rum. Cacica) - a village inhabited by Poles, Romanians and Ukrainians, or in one of the others (if a change is required for organizational reasons). There is a Polish House that offers accommodation and an elementary school. Here is the Minor Basilica, built by missionaries from Cracow, which is a center of Marian devotion and pilgrimage. The most important monument is the salt mine, built on the model of the one in Wieliczka. Inside is a chapel, ballroom, playground and artificial lake. Many generations of Polish miners worked there. If time permits it's possible we'll take a look inside, although we have another one on our itinerary, said to be the most beautiful in Romania....

About 170 km to the Bicaz Gorge we will drive among the picturesque countryside of northern Romania from where a little over 200 km to the most beautiful salt mine in Romania - Salina Turda (we will visit the mine the next day in the morning), the whole thing will be covered in about 7 hours.

The Bicaz Gorge is one of Romania's top tourist attractions. Located in the Hășmaș Mountains, the canyon, with steep slopes reaching 300 meters, was hollowed out by the Bicaz River flowing through its bottom. Its fairy-tale charm attracts crowds of tourists every year, luring one of the more characteristically towering peaks here - the Piatra Altarului rock. It will successfully become the highlight of today's day.

We set off unhurriedly, so as to reach the Turda salt mine around 9:00.

Salina Turda is the most beautiful of all the salt mines in Romania. The complex includes three shafts: Terezia (with the deepest point - 120 m), Anton (108 m) and Rudolf (42 m). Specially illuminated wooden and metal structures are built at various heights, from which one can admire the intricate rock formations and individual attractions of the mine. For those familiar with Wieliczka, it will be an excellent comparison object....

Time for Dracula... We move on from Turda and head to Sighisoara (a city considered one of the best preserved medieval strongholds of Europe, and its uniqueness on the scale of our continent and the world, is confirmed by the inclusion of Sighisoara in the UNESCO World Heritage List), whose symbol of the city and the main tourist attraction is the clock tower . It was built in the 14th century as a gate tower to protect the entrance to the citadel.

Not far from the tower, the House of Dracula (Casa Vlad Dracul) - arouses interest mainly due to the legend. 1-2 hours to get around the old town, have a coffee, a photo/video session and move on, towards Brasov.

On the way to Brasov, we will stop in the village of Viscri, built around a fortified church. The church itself, along with the surrounding village, is one of the 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the region in Romania and an unusual Romanesque building at the same time. The settlement was given the name "Alba Ecclesia" or "White Church." It is an isolated village that can be reached by car despite the old road.

A dozen kilometers to the south, on the edge of the Bucegi Nature Park, in Sinaia, Romania's largest resort, is the distinctive Peles Castle (palace), built in the late 19th century for King Charles I. Until Charles I's death in 1914, the castle served as his summer residence. Today it houses a museum. The palace is a frequent frame-filler in Romania, so we will visit the place as a must-see.

What attracts tourists from all over the world to Romania is situated on a picturesque rocky ridge one of the most famous Romanian castles from the mid-14th century, built on the site of a wooden fortified castle destroyed by the Turks. The castle in Branie is mistakenly associated (thanks to writer Bram Stoker and his novel "Dracula") with the famous Wallachian hospodar Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula.

From Bran, we will drive north to Fogarash and continue west on national road 1 to the exit on 7C called Transfogaraska. The Transfogaraska route passes through the Fogaras Mountains, the highest Carpathian range in Romania. It connects Transylvania with Wallachia. The northern route starts in Transylvania, near Sibiu (we'll start there), follows serpentines through the peak itself at 2035 meters above sea level, and then descends on the other side of the Carpathian Mountains, at Curtea de Arges in Wallachia. Today's plan includes only part of the route and an overnight stay somewhere in the mountains, in a picturesque location.

A day of driving with beautiful views. We start by taking the entire Transfogaraska route in a southerly direction. In Curtea de Arges we will turn west on DN67, which we will take to Novaci and the beginning of DN67C called Transalpina. Today we will not cover the entire route - at the height of Obârşia Lotrului it is crossed by the DN7A road and somewhere in this area we will spend today and the next night, creating conditions for rest and relaxation surrounded by mountains, beautiful panoramas and opportunities for the persistent to speed along sections of winding, like pasta on a plate, routes.

The program also includes a joint dinner .

A day without motorcycles for those who need to relax surrounded by nature, sleep longer, do nothing. It can also be a day partly organized for joint or individual rides on the Transalpina and its branches. There is something for everyone. 

We begin the return... Ahead of us wa transit sections, but today will certainly not be boring. At a distance of just over 140 kilometers from the place of the morning start (overnight stay) is Hunedoara with the most beautiful Romanian castle.

Hunedoara is located on the Cema River, in the foothills of the Southern Carpathians. It is surrounded by the Poiana Rusca Mountains to the west, the Tarcului and Retezat Mountains to the south, and the Surenau Mountains to the southeast. Its biggest attraction is the 15th-century neo-Gothic castle of the Hunyady family, which we will obligingly visit today.

From there, it's straight to the vicinity of Hungarian Debrecen, where we plan our last night together and a farewell dinner. We will summarize the time we spent together, sort out impressions and memories. We will calm our emotions before returning home.

Return transit day. We return in subgroups and individually, depending on the destinations to which the participants are heading. The pilot's return route to be determined at the farewell dinner, some participants will probably join the last common transit, the others will choose their own pace and direction.

We are already inviting everyone to our next memorable trips together.