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Published: August 9th 2014
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7 Ladder Canyon
Happy Anniversary! On the train to Bucharest 10am August 8 2014
We were glad to know we could still walk this morning. This wonderful Carpathian mountain range has worn us out. It has many forms and many political borders, many of which it has directly shaped over the centuries, and in every location and aspect offers rewards to the traveller and walker. Why have we not visited them before. Why do not more people come now. Whether it be in the Tatras, Bieszczady, Maramures or Bucegi we have been entranced by their beauty and the friendliness of the people living around them.
This last few days we have been exploring the mountains around Brasov as well the city itself. Our base has been a self contained unit in the next door house to the Gabriel hostel where we could self cater. It has been excellent. OK the sofa bed was a bit lumpy. There was a nearby square we fell in love with, with all the shops we needed (the butcher had been an aupaire in Tooting for a year, the grocer had picked strawberries in Norwich for six months in 1999) and free wifi to boot.
At Cabana Piatra Mare
sharing our anniversary with a couple of donkeys By the way even the local buses have free wifi! Our cooker was like an internal gas BBQ. Jane managed to singe her fringe on the fierce burner. Once tamed it cooked us many excellent meals.
Brasov is an old city with German/Saxon roots back to the 12th century surrounded by mountains and a great place to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Our way of celebrating was to take buses to Timisu de Jos and climb to the Cabana Piatra Mare via the so called 7 Ladder Canyon. The latter is a series of ladders next to a waterfall in a narrow gorge. After it you lost the majority of tourists for the two hour steep climb up the back of the valley. The area just below the ridge plateau clearer for stupendous views back to Brasov and the surrounding peaks. We had our lunch surrounded by donkeys (transport for the cabana goods?) in glorious sunshine.
We returned by a separate path. Near the bottom still in the steep valley there was a crude notice noting tree felling - Romanian style. There were four horses, as strong as any horses I have ever seen
Logging horses
Handler is just setting up logs and harness for another run down the hillside. it is steep. and slightly small than an English Shire horse. Each horse could pull three large stripped pine trunks. They picked them up at the top of the valley side and dragged them diagonally down the hillside between standing pines at trotting speed. When the logs momentum meant they were about the torpedo the horse from behind the handler and horse stepped to the side to stop the load. For the last stage the handler lead the horse running at speed on to the muddy track with the logs chasing behind. You could view it as awesome skill or a health and safety nightmare. It was an impressive sight from our viewpoint on the side of the track.
That evening we had a celebration meal at the restaurant Ceasu Rau recommended by our hostel. It turned into a meatfest with a large local charcuterie plate and then I had a pork knuckle the size of a small house. Jane had a more modest beef dish (a meat not so available in Eastern Europe). We were very impressed with the white wine we ordered Nomad based on the local grape Feteasca Alba.
We had a 'rest day'
to catch up on emails and plan future stages of the trip. (We are now in possession of Letters of Invitation for Turkmenistan and Uzbeckistan.) This coincided with a showery morning and in the afternoon we took the short cable car up the small hill, Tampa, that overlooks Brasov old town. You walk up to the Hollywoodesque sign and get great views. You can easily trace the old city walls between the guild towers stationed around the perimeter. We walked down the hill to the main town - a good loosener for our trip to the Bucegi mountains the following day.
This range about 50 minutes south of Brasov, not that far because the trains are slow. We started in Busteni and took the 20 minute cable car to the Cabana on the ridge plateau. This was a spectacular ride up pass the waterfall of a hanging valley. The first part of our walk was over a summit a short distance away and a drop down to a large cross over looking the valley 1000m below. Goats were grazing on the rock cliffs nearby. We choose to take an alternative route back to the ridge plateau which
turned out to be a narrow path under an imposing cliff and with the other side dropping down to the valley way below. In places the path was quite severely eroded and the bolts holding the safety wire had come out in places. Let's just say that the path had quite a high 'whitter factor' - and was quite the best path I have done in years.
With stops for more views we then walk down the ridge plateau past sheep flocks, grazing cattle and a running track with long jump pit and decayed steeplechase hurdles. Can anybody tell me why it is there? Our best thought was it was a Ceausescu idea for altitude training....we were only at 1700m.
We made the decision to skip the cable car down to Sinaia and to walk down instead. Yet again this was an excellent well marked path and after a long day seemed to go on forever. When we thought we had reached the bottom the sign said 5km to Sinaia. I think in the end we covered 20km. I am so glad I bought one walking pole from England. I have used it many
times and it has been a blessing for my knees especially on descents.
In between these mountain excursions we have explored the nearby chocolate box citadel of Sighisoara (birth place of Vlad the Impaler) and Brasov. The Black Church in Brasov hung with ancient Turkish carpets was particularly impressive. I was enlightened to learn about their two famous sons: in the case of Brasov it is Johannes Honterus, an sixteenth century intellectual, who made the first map of Translyvania, some of the cosmos, wrote the central treatise to persuade the local powers that be to change peacefully from Roman Catholicism to Lutheran, reformed the school system, built a library etc etc.
I first learnt about Herman Oberth from a display in the Sighisoara clock tower. This showed early photos of him growing up in the town in the late 1800's and his pioneering work and influence in early rocketry. I was surprised I had not heard of him. I did note it glossed over some what the WWII period. Later in the Old School there was another display and a German tourist my age asked me if I had heard of him. I said
Jane did not know what was around the corner!
If you look hard you can see the cable car in the distance. no. He explained that he had not been taught about him either despite Oberth being Von Braun's teacher because 'he was a real Nazi'. Well clearly Sighisoara are forgiving him because the main road and park now bare his name.
Excuse me while I stretch my knees. Ooouuw! That's better. 3 hour train journeys have their benefits for rest as well as catching up with blogs. Our final destination is Ruse on the Danube in Bulgaria tonight. We reach the end of the Carpathian Mountains chapter in our journey and will surely be back to see them again before long.
I add a few photos to this account and if you want to see more you can contact us and we can share with you the 'cloud' based drive all our photos are on.
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