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@lastminutemolnars-blog
Old bridge in Bosnia dating back to Ottoman Empire times . . . . #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #bridge #ottoman #empire #bosnia #bosniaandherzegovina #serbia #europe #old #famous #drina #river #driving #eurotrip #roadtrip #fun #beautiful #reflection #unemployedlife #thisismyeurope #travel #adventure #wheretonext #needtoblog #perfection (at Visegrad, Federation Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bosnia And Herzegovina)
According to google... the water here is very blue. Maybe we came on a bad day? . . . . . #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #vrelobune #bosnia #bosniaandherzegovina #easterneurope #europe #roadtrip #monastery #cave #natural #photography #fun #beautiful #old #bikeride #gotlost #campervan #sleep #water #freezing #greenery #missthedogs #doggos #unemployedlife (at Vrelo Bune)
Made it to the top! . . . . #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #fort #kotor #montenegro #europe #blackandwhite #selfie #travel #adventure #hiking #tired #somanysteps #viewpoint #ruins #old #history #photography #fun #roadtrip #homeonwheels #wheretonext #autumn #needtoblog #gettinglazy (at Kotor, Montenegro)
The rains are coming... . . . . #lastminutemolnars #nofilter #wingingit #sunset #nature #lake #lakeshkodra #shkoder #albania #border #montenegro #europe #cloud #photography #campervan #parkanywhere #sleepanywhere #homeonwheels #eurotrip #missthedogs #jetandlola #dogs #dogsofinstagram #travel #unemployedlife #needtoblog (at Shkodër, Albania)
Real or fake? Looks like a painting to us! . . . #lastminutemolnars #nofilter #wingingit #real #fake #mountains #surreal #picture #perfect #drivingshot #albania #bluesky #europe #roadtrip #campervan #adventure #canvas #nature #photography #travel #homeonwheels #scenery #view #drivingshot (at Albania)
Snow... what snow? Hot and sunny on the Albanian coast! #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #beach #sunny #ghosttown #whereiseveryone #ksamil #albania #greece #border #clear #coast #buzz #water #paradise #fromwhereyoudratherbe #finished #snow #missthedogs #dog #dogsofinstagram #campervan #houseonwheels #wheretonext #adventure #travel #photography (at Ksamili, Vlorë, Albania)
Sunrise on the lake. This view is the part we love most about our campervan!! #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #sunrise #prettysky #campervan #parkanywhere #sleepanywhere #homeiswhereyouparkit #driving #adventure #lake #ohrid #macedonia #europe #roadtrip #unemployedlife #wheretonext #travel #adventure #reflection #goodmorning #homeonwheels (at Lake Ohrid)
Pyramids... Bulgaria style #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #jumping #perfectlytimedpics #photography #ontopoftheworld #melnik #pyramids #bulgaria #europe #wine #homemade #homebrew #campervan #roadtrip #citylife #unemployedlife #sunny #hiking #nature #adventure #wheretonext #travel #traveller #homeonwheels #missthedogs #dogs #dogsofinstagram (at Melnik, Bulgaria)
Sunset reflection on the river #nofilter . . . #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #sunset #travel #plovdiv #bulgaria #europe #roadtrip #pretty #reflection #drivingshot #roadtrip #scenery #campervan #homeonwheels #unemployedlife #noplans #nomoresnow #warmer #travel #follow #missthedogs #dogs #dogsofinstagram (at Plovdiv, Bulgaria)
7. Bulgarian Birthday
Since leaving Northern Romania it has become more and more difficult to find places to stay with the campervan. This means, that over the past eight nights we have spent five in hotels or Airbnbs.
Two of these were spent in an absolutely beautiful town called Sibiu, our first stop in the Transylvania county. Here we ate some delicious traditional Romanian food, drank some Romanian wines and enjoyed the charming little town.
Above and below: Wine tasting at the Sibiu beer festival (Octoberfest, Sibiu styles)
A cool thing about Sibiu is that the roofs have ‘eyes.’ The effect is so striking that on reading about it we found paranoid people often panic whilst walking through the streets.
Our drive then took us on the tourist route through the medieval and very colourful towns of Sighisoara (the birthplace of Dracula), Viscri and Bran (the home of Dracula). Â
Throughout this route we experienced what people say when they comment on how bad the roads are in Romania! Pot holes, missing sections of roads, hidden dips, bumpy, being stuck behind animals of all sorts, insanely narrow streets…  they have it all! A 50km drive could take you two hours due to the road conditions.
Above: Every town in Romania you drive through has a fancy church.Â
Below: Annual meat and cheese festival in Bran welcoming the sheep herdsmen down from the mountains at the end of Summer. Â
Above: the garlic lady to keep away the Vampires!!!
Below: deep fried goodnessÂ
From Bran we semi-backtracked (standard) in order to drive down a road named the Transfagarasan which, according to top gear, is one of the world's best road trips. Andre thought we were driving up a race track, while I had to continually urge him to slow down because we definitely were not!!! The drive took us the most of the day but it was definitely worth it.
Take-away from Romania: We were both super fascinated to see animals (horses, sheep and cows) roaming the paddocks with no fences. Rather, each mini herd has a man who lives with his animals and makes sure they stay together under his watch.
We crossed the border into Bulgaria and went to Belogradchik where they have these bizarrely shaped rock formations, some reaching 200 metres high!
As it was Andre’s birthday, we went for a nice dinner where the owner was so hospitable giving us a free bottle of wine (because we were his first Aussie customers), free desserts and he even let us park the campervan and sleep in the backyard of the restaurant for free! Â
Above: photo shows how the communist era in Bulgaria is still fresh in their minds
Below: Roasting chickens in a tent on the side of the road
The remaining three nights not in the campervan were spent in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. We really enjoyed Sofia. There are heaps of new and modern restaurants with a strong focus on healthy / clean eating, accompanied by small bars everywhere all at a very affordable price.
Above: lots of street art in Sofia
Below: a geyser (hot spring of water that erupts steam and water into the air) in the center of town at the base of the Rila mountains. We spent two nights in this town and enjoyed the thermal hot springs they have on offerÂ
The Rila mountains were our next Bulgarian destination where we were SO excited to see SO much snow! Considering it was only early October, they had more snow than us Aussies get all season!!! Luckily for us it wasn’t our first hike in Europe so we were dressed appropriately for the three or four hours in which we trudged through the snow.
As the tracks were not often used, we sometimes found ourselves falling in knee (or higher) deep snow.
At the end of the hike through the Rila mountains you are meant to get a viewpoint of seven lakes. Unfortunately for us, the clouds were quite low which meant we could only see four. Ah well – still definitely worth the cold cloudy snowy adventure!!
Below: traditional Bulgarian dish. Note the cheese on top. I was pleased to find that they put this on EVERYTHING
Kilometres driven so far: 9,184
Time away: 7 1/2 weeks
Crazy windy Romanian road. According to Top Gear, one of the world's best! #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #transfagarasan #transylvania #romania #europe #roadtrip #campervan #houseonwheels #lovingit #windy #racetrack #road #wheretonext #sunny #photography #unemployed #fun #scenery #mountains #eurotrip #travel #traveldiaries #driving #foodie #wine (at Romania's Transfagarasan)
Our home on wheels #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #campervan #roadtrip #eurotrip #homeonwheels #driving #dethleffs #campervan #sleepanywhere #campers #romania #europe #transfagarasan #sunny #mountains #photography #unemployedlife #lovingit #missthedogs #dogsofinstagram #wheretonext #travel #travelblogger #fun (at Romania's Transfagarasan)
So much BBQ smoke at the meat and cheese festival in Bran. #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #bran #dracula #brasov #romania #meat #smoke #bbq #cheese #foodie #festival #wine #mountains #roadtrip #europe #campervan #unemployedlife #lovingit #wheretonext #travel #noplans (at Brasov, Romania)
The roofs have eyes... #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #eyes #creepy #sibiu #transylvania #romania #city #oldschool #unemployedlife #roadtrip #europe #view #wheretonext #noplans #campervan #sunset #unorganised #clocktower
6. Road to Romania
It has been brought to my attention that my headings are one post ahead of the actual blog. I shall use this one as an attempt to catch up.Â
Hungary was lovely. We dropped the campervan at Andre’s cousins who lived in a beautiful town on the Danube about 50km north of Budapest and headed into the city where we were fortunate enough to spend four nights in a family owned apartment in Budapest.
Our main objective of time spent in Budapest: eat some awesome food. As we had already been to Hungary in the past, we felt no need to see the sights or do the tourist things. Rather, we enjoyed city life and ate at a Michelin Star restaurant and countless other well recommended ones.Â
Our food highlight from Hungary was a ‘business lunch special’ at a restaurant called Friska where we enjoyed a quality three course meal, four drinks for only $30 AUD. BARGAIN!!!
Andre’s great aunt (who speaks not a word of English) was very hospitable to us and I must say her home cooked meals were a highlight of our food adventures in Europe thus far. Although there was a massive language barrier, we now know how to count to 10 in Hungarian without mishap!Â
All in all, it was lovely to meet the extended Hungarian family and we felt privileged for them to be so kind and welcoming to us. Picking up the campervan ensured we left with a fridge full of home grown fruit and veg, wine, as well as freshly made pickled goods and syrups. Thanks!
The road then took us East into Northern Romania.Â
Crossing the border was somewhat uneventful compared to what we were expecting. Our first night in Romania was spent in Sapanta, which is the home to the ‘merry graveyard.’ A meal consisting of baked polenta, cheese and sour cream (YUM!), a lamb stem, salad, pancakes and a bottle of wine set us back only $25 before tucking in for the night. The graveyard was a bit wasted on us in that we unfortunately could not understand any of the tombstones or the stories (as nothing was in English). We took some photos, and off we went further East into Maramures country.
We stayed in a town called Viseu De Sus where we took a day trip into the mountain gauges on the oldest running steam train in Europe.Â
Andre was very upset to learn that there was a slight communication issue when his lunch arrived and he was given a HUGE plate of cheese with a raw red onion in the middle. Now I love my cheese, but traditional Romanian cheese is somewhat hard to stomach.
The next day we spent hiking in the Rodna mountains. A grueling uphill (and more uphill) hike took us to Pietrosul Rodnei peak, standing at 2303 metres high, the tallest in the Eastern Carpathians. The hike was tough but the view from the top was amazing and made it all worthwhile. The patches of snow and the FREEZING icy breeze which also met us at the top was something we will not forget in a hurry.
Wooden monastery. The Maramures county is known for the wooden buildings they have. Also, this was the starting point of our hike. In the distance you can see our destination and the snow on the mountain (yes - it was A LONG way up).Â
MADE IT!!! 2,303 metres
Cold and windy at the peak
... and snowy...
Got bogged trying to get the campervan out the next morning, but some local Romanians with a four-wheel drive helped us on our way.
Northern Romania is like travelling back in time, horse drawn carriages, standing hay racks, old school buildings and houses, no card facilities anywhere, but WOW what beautiful country side they have!
Every town you drive through (no matter how small) has a big church in it
dodgy looking electricity pole
ROAD BLOCK!!!Â
Hard life for the Romanian ponies.
Kilometers driven so far: 7,547
Time away: 5 1/2 weeks
Campervan fails:
smashed a window on a very narrow street trying to get past a truck
broke the inner fly screen door (lucky it’s not hot!)
one broken window shutter
Sunset on the Danube New blog post available: https://lastminutemolnars.tumblr.com/post/165575960139/5-hungry-in-hungary #lastminutemolnars #wingingit #travel #eurotrip #campervan #wheretonext #poland #slovakia #hungary #eat #drink #traveldiaries #photography #unemployedlife #unorganised #unfit #missthedogs #dogs #dogsofinstagram #sunset #roadtrip #localshow #aragonite #lake #danube #tatra #blog #nofilter #budapest #krakow (at Veroce, Pest, Hungary)
5. Hungry in Hungary
Thirty in Krakow was a thoroughly enjoyable day. We had a relaxing morning before going to an old school ‘Milk Bar’ type restaurant for lunch for some tasty (both sweet and savoury) and cheap perogies.
History Lesson 101: The Milk Bars in Krakow have been around since the 1800’s as a way to serve cheap and nutritious food to locals during tough times. After WWII, if you wanted to eat out in Poland you often had no choice but to eat at a Milk Bar. Due to the communist regime, the majority of normal restaurants were shut down at this time.
They are tiny, canteen style shops and you never know who will join you on your table! We then had a few afternoon drinks before a 12-course degustation for dinner. All in all, I had a lovely birthday.
The remainder of our days in Krakow were spent exploring the city on our new bicycles, eating and drinking some vodka – when in Poland!Â
Krakow was surprisingly full of tourists. One street we walked down was so crowded we commented on the similarity to Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Â Â Â
We contemplated getting a ride on one of the multiple (seriously, there were A LOT) horse drawn carriages but decided against it.
Our next stop was Auschwitz. We went to both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau and wow – what a surreal and confronting experience that was. To think that over 1.5 million people died there is just more than words can say.
Some more history: Auschwitz was the largest extermination centre during World War II and the only camp to be preserved to such an extent in its original condition. Located at Auschwitz are the grounds containing human ashes, ruins of gas chambers and crematoria, the places where SS doctors carried out selection, the places where Jewish (and other) families awaited death and multiple execution sites.
In total, the land size is approx 500 acres over the two camps which was quite overwhelming to us. We saw over two-tonnes of hair which had been cut from the heads of prisoners, displays with hundreds and thousands of shoes, glasses, pans, pots, bags, brushes, shoe polish and other everyday items in which proved that the prisoners just had no idea where they were going when they were deported.
From here we drove south into Slovakia to the base of the Tatra Mountains.Â
The next morning rode our bikes approx 3km to the base of a chairlift which we caught to the top of the mountain. Went on a fairly tough eight-hour hike in which we saw a beautiful crystal-clear turquoise blue lake before ending up back at the bikes. Unfortunately for us, once we got up pretty high we were in the clouds and the views of the surrounding mountains were therefore limited (AKA non-existent). As you can see, this didn’t make for very good photos.
The below photo was in an Aragonite cave in Slovakia  (there are only three in the world where you can see this type of formation), just near the Hungarian border. The Aragonite is 138,000 years old.Â
Next, we found an organic food and wine festival which had one day left in a town in Hungary and decided to check it out.Â
Drove three hours to get here and ate some delish Hungarian food and sampled some of the local wines they produce. Still can’t find any kale though!!! As the rain seems to be chasing us on this holiday, surprise surprise at about 4pm the rain started and we called it a day. Â
Traditional Hungarian dancing
Goulash
Langos - deep fried bread with garlic spread, sour cream and cheese.Â
MULLED WINE!!!
Seeing as though we were already in Hungary, we decided to go and meet some of Andre’s Hungarian family, ditch the campervan and spend a few nights in Budapest. Read about this in our next blog!
The thing we have realised over the last week is there is a really strange feeling in that we have nothing to do, but yet no time to do anything.
Kilometers driven so far: unsure as the campervan is about 50km away.