Day 17

"Are those the pockets of her shorts?"  So asks the 16-year old who has attended private schools all her life (apart from that one year at the one-teacher school house in rural Wyoming).  We could call it naïveté. We could call it a sheltered life.  Or we could just call it common sense.  As near as I could tell, she was seeing a prostitute standing by the side of the road, cell phone in hand, decorative pockets sticking out from under those skimpy shorts.

We were on the ring road around Bucharest.  In an attempt to avoid the traffic-clogged city, we were attempting to take the bypass, but so were countless semi trucks.  Thus, we were in bumper to bumper traffic, easing our way around the outskirts of a city with limited infrastructure.  It was a two-lane by pass, with no paved shoulder.  Thus, the occasional car-in-a-hurry, went speeding over the incredibly bumpy, pot-holed side of the road, attempting to cut in line before their shocks gave out.  There were countless vendors walking up and down the middle of the road, some wearing those umbrella hats that protect their heads from the sun.  What were they selling?  Not the flowers or newspapers we often see when we are stuck in traffic in Denver, but a shoe...that's right, a single shoe.  You can imagine the fun NS and S2 had with that.

We were en route to Bulgaria, trying to get across the border and stay the night there, since we were down to our last Romanian leu, there was no reason to stop.  We'd only have to go to an ATM.

The day had dawned back in Sibiu, another great historical city.  We had a lovely room in a pension on the corner of two very busy, one-way, narrow cobblestone streets.  It had not been a restful. Ought, as we all jumped every time a car came zooming by, or at least that's what it sounded like they were doing.

We packed up and headed out to drive over the Trans-Carpathian-Polyhedron highway (NS added that last bit).  It was a gorgeous stretch of incredible hairpin curves (google maps shows 15 on each side of the pass).  It was fairly exciting starting up, wondering exactly what the top of this pass would look like.  Trees? No trees?  Snow?  No snow?  Semi-trucks or not?  How much traffic would there be?  This was the road the border guard told us about.  It was  spectacular winding up to the mist, leaving timber line, passing countless cyclists pedaling their way up.  There were so many, with their obvious sag wagons, walking-talkies in hand, grins on their faces, that I did wonder if we were driving through a race or something.  

We were a sag wagon as well, it was just that our rider was getting out at the TOP,of the pass, and we'd meet him at the bottom of the hill.  Hey, when you are over 55, you know life is a lot more about having fun than proving anything.

NS squealed with delight as we went in and out of the mist, as the "land below" disappeared before her very eyes.  When she saw the cable car on the wire overhead, she gasped and wondered why we couldn't ride up the mountain that way.  We stopped at an open space near the top as she wanted to feel the air, touch the raging waters of the stream tumbling down, and take the traditional Uncle John photo

Courage in the face of a brisk wind

She remarked how Victoria, Klaus' Singaporean girlfriend would freeze just looking at the water (we all marvel,at her complaints about how cold it is in LA).

We let S2 out and watched him glide downhill, while we tried to set up the do to the radio for musical entertainment.  Of course, we caught up to him, took some photos and continued on down the hill until we saw THE lake and a place to pull off the road.  He joined us 26 kms later.

Border crossing was easy, once we got in the correct line.  It is a bit confusing, the car is EU, but we are not.  We joined the Ukranians, and were waved in.  All while listening to Bulgarian radio playing the soundtrack of Mary Poppins!

We programmed Carmen to get us out of Ruse, but stopped at a Kaufland first (mega grocery store).  The ATM provided with Bulgarian Lev.  We got dinner food.  It's so easy to point and agree at a deli or bakery or fast food place.  This, we ended up at Ray's Tourist Complex with a gorgeous room, eating some concoction of liver, rice, cheese and humus with great bread.  Oh, and another GREAT bottle of wine.  The air conditioning that night was stupendous!  Yes, I do like my comfort!