Goodbye EU...

I think that we managed to soak up some of the Transylvanian atmosphere in Romania. It rained most of the time so the hills were very misty and eerie. We visited the alleged birth place of Dracula, Sigisoara, and the beautiful city of Sibiu. Sibiu is sharing the role of European City of Culture with Luxembourg this year and the Romanians have gone to great lengths to present it in its full glory- it is spotless, unlike the rest of Romania. On our way to the Bulgarian border we drove over a mountain road through the Fagaras Mountains and for once we were treated to a view from the top. However the rubbish was disgusting. I understand the area to be a National Park, it was so disappointing. On our way down we did see some workers clearing some of the rubbish but they were just making little bonfires out of it- there was too much to transport away.

Band on the street in Sibiu, Romania

Romania is a beautiful colourful country with something to interest everybody in every corner; however, I did become weary of having to clean up the area every time we stopped.

Mountain pass, looking down the hanging valley

The final stretch to the border was via a rather rickety and isolated road made much worse by the rain. It followed a railway line and we passed numerous what looked to be derelict large Collective Farms.

Again in Bulgaria the roads were washed out but the police were very efficient in diverting everyone. We headed for the Black Sea Resort of Varna and then a little further south to camp is a Special Reserve area of forest right on the beach. Again we are not sure what the Special Reserve was for. Not wanting to moan but again the litter was pretty foul. Luckily the part we chose to camp on had just been the subject of some flash flooding so I think all the litter had been washed into someone else’s patch. After it started to rain again, our neighbours, Dianne and Mark, played host to us in their “White Box” until the wee hours of the morning with the help of some fine Bulgarian wine.

Breafast stop, first morning in Bulgaria

We found a better beach further down the road at Sozopol. The town, despite being extremely touristy was delightful and after regular dips in the Black Sea to cool down we made a move to find a secluded shady spot where Gavin could do some maintenance on the car. I will let him explain about this in more detail, but needless to say it did not go to plan and those pesky flies were attracted to every orifice on ones head. Finally, with Gavin’s patience holding out the task was a “good ‘un” and we were on our way again.

The road to Turkey was through a hilly green and lush Natural Park, home to many types of oak and periwinkle and fly- tipping.

Now we are finally out of the European Union and I had to pay for my first visa, Gavin’s was for free. So far Turkey has been delightful and the Turkish people have been so courteous. Initially the road down through the hills from the border to the first big town, Kirkareli, was full of villages and babbling streams. Kirkareli was stuffed full of different grocery shops and little eateries. The whole place was simply bursting with life.

We are now cooling off at a beach campsite right on the Sea of Marmara before heading into Istanbul.