Rally Elan

Perhaps the title is a misnomer as we toured Romania and Bulgaria – but the Carpathian mountain range doesn’t get to Bulgaria. Anyway 9 cars took part, seven being classics plus two rentals. We all took advantage of transport so the cars were collected from our homes (or garages) and we met them again in Bucharest. The rental cars started from Sofia and took just five hours to drive the 250 miles which in a roundabout way took us two weeks! For this rally we took the Porsche – so no Lotus photos!
Our first stop was Doftana Prison, home to Ceausescu in the 1930’s and now derelict, inhabited only by cattle – and probably some smaller animals

Then to lunch with warnings from the RO that there were bears on the woods – doing what bears do in woods….
Then to the fairy tale 150 year old Peles Castle We had timed entry tickets but would have done better to wait 15 minutes before starting to avoid the crowds though we did manage to find some empty areas. and on to Brasov to a small hotel in the town centre where our travelling kettle blew the room’s fuses. But we did find a rather unusual pub nestling against the old City Walls .

Day 2 and our first stop was a bear sanctuary – they also do dogs but we didn’t see or hear them. They have 130 bears in well fenced compounds

Our route bypassed Bram Castle (Dracula) and after finding a friendly local in Fagaras we arrived at the village of Viscri, famous for its fortified Church and King Charles House – with a giftshop stacked full of royal memorabilia . Then on to Sighisoara where I was sent to find some Dracula themed gifts having failed to get to Bram Castle
Next day was uneventful, a picnic stop and a short scramble amongst limestone crags before arriving at Campulung Moldovenesc which did have an interesting museum of rural life.
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Day 4 and rain. Our first visit was better than expected – a studio of painted eggs. Inside there were cabinets of painted eggs in colour themes but each egg, and there must have been thousands, was slightly different – amazing! And on to the equally amazing Moldovita Monastery (1532) with its painted walls From Moldovita we went via an organised home-cooked lunch to Banffy Castle, once splendid and now decrepit but with hope of restoration then on to Cluj and a rest day. There was no group meal this evening so we set off towards the park into crowds, sirens and police – the hotel was right opposite the football stadium and it was derby night with the two Cluj teams playing each other; in the pub we were asked to move as we were right below the TV screen.
Cluj is Romania’s second city; we took a taxi to the main square, Piata Unirii and St Michaels Church Then via coffee shops and lunch to the old walls and the best preserved section at Tailors Tower – the various town guilds were tasked to supply and maintain parts of the towns defences and this is most of what remains.
From Cluj, our first stop was Alba Carolina Citadel, built 300 years ago on the site of a Roman fort – the outside walk is 3km Then to Corvin Castle, built in the 14th century possibly on the site of a roman fort and considered one of Transylvania’s finest architectural gems Then in contrast to Densus Church which claims to be the oldest functioning Church in Romania – it was closed and drizzling! Decaying past glory was the theme of tonights stop at Baile Herculane, once a splendid spa resort with hot waters now just left to fade and fall We visited the Roman Bath Museum which still has warm water and the old bathing cubicles. For those really keen, a small pool with running spa water was just outside the hotel
Next day didn’t go according to plan. It was miserable lower down and our route was planned to go over the Transalpina Pass, described as a “big ticket item” – but when we got there (first car), it was barricaded and we saw the tail end of a reporter speaking to camera probably discussing the closure There had been snow on cars coming down so it was no great surprise – except to us as our expectation was for warm weather in the mid 20’s. So we had to leave the off-the-beaten-track roads favoured by the RO to find alternative routes to Sibiu – sadly TomTom picked up the heavy lorry routes which we had experienced on our last visit.
Day 8 was overcast and turned to wet as we climbed the Transfagarasan Pass, only 2000 metres but at least it was open. The rally hotel was in a vineyard and RO waxed lyrical about the beautiful drive through the vines along the ridgeline – but he didn’t write that when it was cloudy and raining….
Next day we were back on the Ceausescu trial, first to the house where he was born and then to the once grand football stadium he built for the small village. After a few seasons of Fear-induced success, the team dwindled and the stadium remains a monument to inappropriateness. . From Scornicesti it was a run to the Danube bridge at Ruse and into Bulgaria. We thought we’d be clever and use TomTom to get there fast – but it was slower than the Route book and we had a 20+ minute delay on the bridge with road works. Lunch then on to the rock cave Churches at Ivanovo This was one of six in this valley and is c.800 years old. From Ivanovo we headed for the Orlova Chuka caves but missed the hourly tours so carried on to Veliko Tarnovo. The planned group evening meal was cancelled so we got a lift back into town, finding a restaurant in an 1850’s building with just Bulgarians eating and were surprised by how quiet a group of 8 was compared to our raucous mob! Enjoyed a bottle of Miskeet which Allison is now struggling to find in UK.
5th October started with a group visit to the Tsaravets Fortress . A pleasant change wandering in the sunshine after the unseasonal rain/snow Next stop the Dryanovo Monastery,nestling by a quiet stream . Our proposed lunch stop was cancelled so RO arranged a picnic near Shipka Pass from where we could see the next stop – Buzludzha Monument – more decay and whatever it should have been, it wasn’t. After a detour to see a Thracian tomb – a large mound, mainly overgrown we continued to Plovdiv where our hotel was in a restricted access area and the car park overlooking the Roman Theatre
We had a rest day in Plovdiv, the morning being taken up by a food focussed walking tour. We started at the market where we were challenged to buy and taste unusual items followed by a tour round various eateries/drinkeries. Sadly the best food was the last by which time we were too full to do it justice . Underneath the main pedestrian shopping street is the old Roman Stadium, exposed at one end and with on-street markers further along and ruins exposed in some shops Then a wander (in the rain); one that was open was the Georgiadi Building dating from 1846 and now a museum . The Ethnographic Museum Kuyumdzhiogh House was closed for a private viewing but we were allowed a photo of the outside . Allison’s next task was to find the restaurant we had visited in our first Bulgarian trip in 1977 – we did but it was closed for refurbishment, so in typical fashion we reserved dinner at an empty hotel nearby. She also found time to buy a small rug – no packing challenge in the Porsche!
From Plovdiv our last stop before Sofia was Pamporovo where we were in ski chalets – yes it was going to snow! It had rained all day and overnight and one car was trapped by a landslide which closed the road – we were ahead of that, visiting Asen’s fortress (built around 1200) Via a coffee stop (with log fire) we went on to Bachkovo Monastery Outside it was still raining and not nearly as splendid
As we neared the ski area, the continuing rain turned to snow which did not suit the Porsche at all. The main roads had been ploughed and we needed more ploughing before we could reach the chalet parking area We were split between two chalets and RO had thought to lay on supplies of wine so we were happy whilst he and Katya cooked!
Leaving the Pamporovo ski chalets wasa easier than arriving as the snow had melted slightly and it was an easy run to the Yagodinska cave complex where we had a group tour.
The highlight of our last day to Sofia was Rila Monastery From Rila next stop was a motorway service station outside Sofia where Sunshine Steve had his transporter for the trip back to UK. We shared an Uber taxi to the hotel – then found I’d left the camera in the taxi. Sue messaged the taxi and for the cost of a local fare, the driver dropped it off a few hours later. By that time we were at RO’s surprise evening meal venue – no photos as it was a “dark” restaurant, where mobile phones were banned and it was completely dark. The waitresses were all blind and lead us in a crocodile to our tables (of 6 or 7). Definitely different and actually enjoyable though not to everyone’s taste.