Transfagarasan Road

Sunday, May 25

THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME, AND HOW WE LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!

We headed out this morning on a much-anticipated (especially by Tom) drive up, into and through the Fagaras Mountains on the road the BBC's Top Gear has declared "the world's best."  During our time in Romania, Tom has asked several people whether the road is open now, as many years the snow is not cleared until June; each time, he was assured that the the road is passable.  (Lesson #1: Don't believe everything people tell you.)

As we drove toward the high, rocky, and snowy peaks, through a green meadow populated by sheep, their shepherds, and small inns, we felt as if we were in a scene out of Heidi.  The feeling continued as we began to climb the winding road up the deeply forested mountain.  As we drove higher, the trees thinned, the temperature dropped, and the views were stunning; the fantasy continued!

At a certain point, the ascending lane of the road was barricaded and posted as closed (a Romanian word we had no need to look up, but did anyway), but when another car just continued upward, we did, too.  (Lesson #2: Even if all your friends tell you to jump off (or drive up) a cliff, don't.)

We were soon above the tree line (proving that trees have lots of common sense!) and began to see signage warning of falling rocks.  Judging from the looks of the debris on the road, there should be a sign for falling boulders!  (Lesson #3: Don't mess with Romanian falling rocks.)

Then, things began to get REALLY interesting.  We began to see snow alongside the road, which was, at that point,  decidedly and sharply zig-zagging.  The scenery, of course, was spectacular, with lots of photo ops -- cascading waterfalls, swirling clouds and fog, snowy peaks, rushing creeks, cable cars climbing to the top of the mountain, which we could sometimes see, hearty hikers and cyclists.  At one spot where we stopped to take all this in, we spotted several small cars making their way down the mountain above us, making us feel vindicated in our decision to disregard the posted road closure.  (Lesson #4: Appearances can be deceiving.)

And so, it was onward and upward -- WAY upward -- for us.  We soon found that much of the twisting two-lane road had been reduced to (barely) one lane and the fog was closing in.  Then, the narrow lane of clear road became the width of a snow plow's blade, and there was a wall of snow on either side of the car -- except for the places where there was no wall at all, always on the fall-off-the-cliff side of the road.  It was difficult and a bit scary as we neared the top, praying that we would not meet any descending cars, and thankful when we didn't.  (Lesson #5: If there's no oncoming traffic, probably a reason.)

As we (thought) we were nearing the top, we encountered two cars.  STOPPED.  EMPTY.  By a snowbank that completely blocked the road.  Talk about a dead end!  If we were not to leave the third car there, there was only one way down -- backwards!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was at about this point that we wished we' d mentioned our plans for today in yesterday's blog -- so people would know where to send the search party!  Tom is not only an amazing driver, a fact that I have relied upon and can attest to many times over, but he has the ability to convey absolute, everything's-under-control calm in absolutely hair-raising situations.

  So, VERY slowly, eyes on side and rear view mirrors (and the dropoffs visible through breaks in the snow wall) he maneuvered us backward and downward until we reached a place about 300 yards back (and a couple of ascending cars) where he could execute a multi-point turn.  We were shaking, from our core to the ends of our limbs, by the time we were actually moving forward again.  And then, while we still had every muscle -- physical and mental -- clenched, came the lovely, British-accented voice of our GPS advising us, "If possible, do a U-turn!"  We just howled with laughter -- COULD NOT STOP -- at the perfectly-timed release of our extreme tension.  Lesson #6 (and you really don't have to know any others):  If the road is barricaded and posted as closed, DO believe it.)

The snow-narrowed road down to Heidi-territory seemed much easier on the way down -- switchbacks and falling boulders no longer held any terror for us; the ride of a lifetime was not our last, after all!

Lesson #7:  Read Lesson #6!

We spent the afternoon in much calmer pursuits, touring several more small towns and villages in the Transylvanian countryside.  In Cisnadie, the sexton unlocked the fortified church for us, so we could admire it (very German-feeling) and the green and now-peaceful walled enclosure that encircles it.

  In Cristian, we were unable to enter the walls to see the church or the Bacon Tower, where townspeople stored sides of pork against the event of a siege.  We were able to see the extraordinary number of massive storks' nests that proliferate in the small town; the main street is full of nesting platforms above telephone poles, creating a display somewhat like the banners that often line neighborhoods in American cities.

  Our last stop was in the tiny town of Tilisca, which is home to an Orthodox church, whose exterior is painted light blue and adorned with gorgeous frescoes, and whose courtyard serves as a cemetery jam-packed with large family monuments.

This was a day to remember, if not to be repeated, though Tom does want to return in full summer someday to finish that drive!