During our road trip, we also covered two mountain passes, Transfăgărășan and Transalpina. The Transfăgărășan Road passes through the Fagaras Mountains in the southern Carpathians, the highest mountains in the whole of Romania. I was inspired to visit this place after my friend showed me a video of Topgear driving through Romania, from Bucharest to the windy mountain roads of the Transfăgărășan. The greatest road in the world- Transfăgărășan highway which is a 90km long mountain pass with precipitous drops, complicated bends, long fast straights, steep curves and spectacular views. Driving on the windy roads would prove a challenge even to the experienced F1 driver. I was lucky that the mountain pass only opened a few days ago before we drove through it, because from November to June it is completely closed for the safety of vehicles. It’s a pity that the glacial Bâlea lake was covered in fog when we arrived and we couldn’t see much. It is indeed a sight to behold, especially when you are at the summit and you peer down into the valley.
 |
| beautiful lake |
 |
| complicated bends of Transfăgărășan |
After spending a night in Sibiu, we set off to conquer the Transalpina the next day. My friend even allowed me to drive the car and I had an exciting experience, crawling up the steep slopes and bendy roads, changing gear all the time; it was good practice for my manual driving which I seldom have the chance to do. We reached the top of the Parang mountains, told some amazing photos and even played Frisbee on the huge grass plain. It felt like we were on top of the world and being surrounded by the huge plateau with the valley below us was spectacular. There was some snow on the slopes of the mountain, so my friend collected it and we had a mini snowball fight. Can you believe it?? Snow on the mountain in summer? After having much fun on the mountain top and drinking some beers, it was time to drive to Craiova to meet our friend who lives there.
 |
| our ride |
 |
| jumpshot with such a beautiful backdrop. we also had a picnic along the river |
 |
| at the top of Tranalpine where we played frisbee |
