//Day 11 /22-03-22 /Szeged-Timisoara

Today I left Hungary and arrived in sunny Romania, the country where people smile, wave and show you the way. It took 115 K cycling along often a busy way. Unfortunate no alternative small roads were available. The closer I got to Timisoara the more traffic there was with most drivers keeping an acceptable distance. During the 115 K I encountered in average every 10 K a cross with a picture (often a young man, or young mand and a young woman) and a date. Signs of deathly accidents.No surprise if you see the speed by which some drive their car. But most of the time I felt save. Drivers swerving around me.The road I will take tomorrow to Vsrac is via smaller roads. 

The significant difference to me after entering Romania is that people waved, smiled and even spontaneous started talking or showing me the way. Quite the difference compared to the last days. Villages and people looking poorer then in Hungary but there is more life a and commerce in the streets. One of the things I noticed is that every village has an exchange office. My assumption is that so many Romanians are working abroad that there is a great influx of foreign currency….

The landscape remained dull ; flat, even bigger fields with an earth which is less sandy than the region I cycled in Hungary. Between villages very limited buildings. Most buildings are big/industrial farms still in operation or derilict. I did not  encounter any small farms as Romanian agriculture is industrialised (which does not mean modernised - e.g. 1 tractor/ 54 hectares compared to the European average of 1 tractor / 13 hectares). I also saw also 3  shepherds (wearing a long sheep coat) herding sheeps (luckily no lions) across the vast fields, not something I was expecting today.

Another “big” change is that I’m currently in another time zone, when crossing the border I lost one hour……and as result I’m 1 hour ahead compared to the homefront. 

10 k before Timisoara I saw a nice derelict building calling to have it’s photo taken. The building was slightly from the road. When I drove to the open gatepost suddenly 3 dogs started barking and growling and me. Although i have my Dazer at hand since a couple of days I was not ready to use it. I head read that the best approach is no to run/cycle away but make yourself big and start shouting. Luckily this worked, but is was a good lesson to have the Dazer ready……

Entering Timisoara brought me trough industrial area’s slowly changing into the apartment clad suburbs.5 K further I entered the historical city center…old buildings (not all renovated), big squares with people enjoying the sun on terraces connected by pedestrian streets,…street musicians (varying from a new wave performer, rocker to a violin player),..I checked in into the Central Hotel (I assume it was a state hotel in the past) and spend 3 hours walking through the city. If you are ever near Timisoara do not hesitate to visit it. The atmosphere and people are great and connected by 70-era trams….

Tomorrow I will leave (temporarily) Romania again as I will be heading to the Serbian capital Belgrade, where I will stay 2 nights. Before visiting Belgrade I will spend a night camping in Vrsac, known for it’s castle and considered as one of the more beautiful Serbian towns. The camping is officially not yet open (planned to  open Saturday) but the owner was so kind to host me. It will be a good moment to test my camping setup. I only need to ride 80K so I’m also planning to change my the chain of my bike (need to be changed every 1000 K….yes already 1000K cycled).  The camping does not have electricity and is beautiful located in the hills overlooking Vrsac. So tomorrow I will not be able to post an update….not only I will have no electricity but also not internet. I need to buy an “Balkan” SIM card since Serbia is not included in the European roaming area.

Today it was a good day, leaving Hungary, great weather, friendly people, interesting city…Tomorrow looks great as well : Even better weather and sleeping in my tent after having cooked my own meal (I may even make a fire) !

Lessons learned :

• It’s a thin borderline between grumpy and nice people.
• Timisoara is great city  to discover
• I’m so important that the Romanian border control requires 2 people to check my identity card.

Song of the day : You can’t put your arms around a memory (acoustic version) - Johnn Tunder