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I left Sighisoura fairly late, with no real plan. I was just taking side roads as much as possible and seeing where they went. I was roughly heading towards the Parcul National Munti Rodnei, a Romanian National Park on the Ukraine Border.
On one road, I saw an interesting monument of wood. I stopped, and there I met Tibor the Great, a Hungarian Armed Forces Officer, Retired. We talked about all things great and small. He explained that Transylvania, this area of Romania, is almost entirely Hungarian, and proud of it. They speak Hungarian, not Romanian, and follow traditional ways of living. The Monument was put up by the various towns in the area, and each town has it's own wooden monument.
Tibor the Great
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I stopped in Praid to see the salt mines there, as it was highly recommended. It was a nice tour, but I was not overly impressed. It would be a great thing to do with the kids, as there were all kinds of things to do, such as playground, ping pong, zipline, jungle jim, etc. As for information, there was not a lot. You take a bus into the tunnel, it drops you off, and everyone stands around looking at each other to see what they are supposed to do. Eventually the crowd realizes that they have to climb down some stairs.
At the bottom, there is a huge cavern carved into the salt. There are a few small displays with some information, but no tour, and no tunnels to wander around in. There are stores and restaurants, but most were closed early. I had to ask one of the people manning a snack booth what to do, as there were a few tunnels with different views you could go down. And there was an underground church.
In Poland there is a Salt Mine that is a UNESCO site. That is amazing and has a great tour, and lots of information. I suppose I was comparing this place to that one.
Large Cavern. This is pretty much it. 
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Some Salt Statues 
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The route I picked followed some roads that were recommended as being fairly good on a web site I use. I did not want to backtrack, so I picked a route that prevented that. What a mistake. The roads that were recommended were awesome, but some of the roads that I used to get there sucked. Lots of Smoky Trucks, Smelly Diesel Cars, and small village after small village, but not the cute kind. But, when I got to the good bits, they were great. Twisty, great scenery, not a lot of truck traffic and good places for a motorcycle to pass when there was some.
The temperatures dropped dramatically when I was in Sighisoura, and even more after Praid. The temps did not get above 40'F today (9/27) until well after noon, then dropped again after a bit. The day the weather turned cold, my sinuses revolted. Adding the diesel and the smouldering wood fires people here use for heat and cooking really messed with them. The View was worth it.
One of the roads that was listed as "pretty good" was near the national park. It was under construction and looked like it would be for a lot of miles. Just as I was going to give up and turn around, the road became brand new, and smooth, and fast. And Curvy. Did I mention fast? An 18 wheeler was doing 100 kph right behind me, right up until the tightest curves. Then I got to the higher elevations:
YES that is fresh snow below where I am. 
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And above 
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And a whole pile of it on a church. None on the road though 
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1,385 meters elevation. Not very high to have this much snow. The next morning the sun was out, and I thought I was seeing spots. It was ice crystals blowing around in the sun. 
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Cows walking down main street. There are more horses being used here than tractors. This is right outside my fancy hotel, which I got because, well, why not. The prices are pretty low here, so it makes sense sometimes. 
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These carts are everywhere. Makes driving fun, expecially when one tries to pass another in a blind curve. I recommend never outdriving your brakes. 
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Most of the towns up here had a ton of these houses that looked like they were made of glazed pottery. Even with all the dust from the road construction they were stunning. These are poor examples, but the construction prevented me from getting in a good position to get a photo of the better examples. 
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And haystacks. I finally got into a position where I could get a photo. These are everywhere. Some are huge. 
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I am heading to the Danube Delta, on the northern Romanian Coast. It is supposed to be absolutely beautiful by boat. A friend gave me a route that is full of great roads and scenery.
These golden churches are amazing, I took tons of photos trying to get at least one that could capture just how bright these are. None of them worked. 
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Lake Racaciuni, a beautiful lake with a great twisting road, that is an obstacle course it is in such bad shape. When you become airborne at 20 miles an hour, you know you are on a rough road. I had a blast. 
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I was at a gas station trying to figure out how to get Brake Fluid. When I changed my pads way back in Budapest, I must have cocked the reservoir seal just a bit and it leaked a small amount out, and a bunch had moved to above the seal. It was not all that low, but would have to be dealt with. These Romanian Guys stopped to make sure I was right, and they talked to the gas station attendant who had the Brake Fluid in the back. All set, but I would never have known how to ask. This is Alex
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This was given to me by Alex. Romania is celebrating 100 years of independence. 
Yet another wonderful park with great roads and great views. And by great roads, I mean twisty, not necessarily in good condition. 
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I stopped for the night in a small city, then the next day I found a bunch more great roads through even more parks. I was going to stop at a place where the ground is always on fire. THAT is what I call a worthwhile stop. The turn off was clear enough. The GPS and Google maps were both telling me there was 50 Km to go. And 2 hours ! ! ! ! !. That is one way ! I carried on, assuming there was something wrong, then I got to the dirt portion. I was only 8 Km away at this point. But still an hour and a half to go. Well, 8 Km straight line, I still had 37 Km of actual driving, before a small hike. Suddenly the burning ground did not seem so worthwhile, especially since it was 4 pm and looking like it was going to rain.
I turned tail and headed back to pavement. On my way south I met some bikers. It was getting late and I thought they could help recommend a place or area to stop. After photos they suggested Buzau, which was a moderate sized city. It was, but I found an OK place and it was easy in and out. Here I pondered my future. Well, my future few days. It was getting windy, and cold. The coast was supposed to be the same. Plus, I could not find a single boat on-line that was scheduling day trips into the delta this late in the season. Suddenly the mountains started calling. The next morning (9/30) I changed plans yet again. Peles castle then maybe Bucharest, then Bulgaria, and maybe Macedonia. Well, that is today's plan. Tomorrow it may change.
