Good evening from Săcele.

I don’t even know how I got the idea that we were driving the Transfăgărășan in asphalt form today 🧐 We wanted to turn left at the dam instead of right, I knew that. There’s a tunnel there and you’re allowed to drive through it. Somehow I expected it to be a paved road. That wasn’t the case 😀 One day off-road break really has to be enough 😉 But it wasn’t so bad, while I happily nibbled a few cookies bouncing up and down and Marco checked his various apps, we meandered along the edge of the really big reservoir. (It’s also relative, the one on the 66A is much bigger 😉 ) We were on firm forest ground with little debris, a little shaking to the left and right – that was it. Every now and then another vehicle came towards us or overtook us. All in all, the path on the left was very quiet. We could hear motorcycles a few times from the opposite bank. Towards the end, there are a few campsites and small hotels. Even though the “road” was no problem for our off-roader, we wondered how normal vehicles are supposed to manage it – but there were quite a few of them there. Okay, must be possible – we wouldn’t do that with our Daily vehicles 🙈

As the “normal” Transfăgărășan continued for us, it actually started to rain :-O we had checked all the weather apps – the rain wasn’t supposed to be HERE, so not yet. Well, what the heck, that’s no reason to despair. And again, it wasn’t that bad, it soon cleared up again (yay). If we thought the Transalpina was full yesterday, it was topped again today. There were lots of vehicles at every spot and parking lot. The locals know how to make the most of this and set up their stalls with all kinds of regional food, snacks and souvenirs right there. This makes it even more crowded everywhere. We were even stuck in a traffic jam! In the tunnel directly in front of the apex, from where the cable car takes you down into the valley and you have the perfect panoramic view of the fascinating bends in the road.

We struggled to find a parking space, looked for something to eat and realized that we should have taken some photos and videos first. A thunderstorm rolled in, it got darker and darker, clouds “flowed” over the mountain peaks. We already had that last time. hmpf. We quickly made an attempt, but no, it’s too tricky for the copter and it was also rapidly getting cold and windy. Nevertheless, it is an impressive spectacle of nature how quickly the weather can change in the mountains.

The ride down into the valley along the hairpin bends doesn’t take long at all, and almost at the bottom we realize: a) it’s sunny again and b) this would have been the ideal route for the 360° camera. Again: hmpf. And now? We had booked our accommodation for arrival at around 9pm. Up and down again? Where do we shoot with all the crowds? Never mind, it’ll work out. No sooner said than done, Insta back on the roof and up again. At the top it was cloudy again, cold and even windier. Nevertheless, Marco let the copter take off. I made sure we didn’t lose it. In the end we were rewarded, a hole in the clouds appeared, the sun shone in the valley and together with the clouds that drifted over the ridge we had a very special view. But then quickly into the car, seat heating on (yes, our little all-rounder is comfortable too :-D) and off to our accommodation. Exhausted from the last few days and the many impressions, we say goodnight for tonight.

Conclusion: We recommend taking the Transfăgărășan in the low season, when it is significantly less busy. The weather and the views up here change really quickly – no matter what time of year. Sometimes it’s enough to eat a few “mici”(mititei) with polenta and the world (or Transfăgărășan) looks completely different again. 🙂