Claudiu Moga

Azi 9 Martie pornesc intr-o tura de vreo 3000km spre Cipru! Voi traversa Peninsula Balcanica, apoi Turcia si Cipru unde ma asteapta un loc de munca la un hotel! Ne auzim si o sa postez aici aventura cand o sa am posibilitati! Traiasca cicloturismul!

Then we go to a restaurant to have a decent breakfast. Soon we will experience the famous "Balatoni Korut" - one of the best bike ways from the Central Europe - very popular with cyclists. We feel so good cycling in such good conditions in such a lovely environment with no traffic. In no time we get to a great bird's eye view over the lake. This is paradise on earth for cyclists. Long live the Balaton lake! We feel so good.

Soon we finally reach Balaton and we start feeling good in Baloton-kenese spa first. The lake seems endless and I can't wait to take a dip in it. After an enjoyable day and evening we end up sleeping in a camping site. We start the next morning admiring the neighbourhoods from this site. Then we go for a swim, the weather is just great.

Right in the vicinity there is a huge hill(1124m) and this is a great place for climbers and paragliders. We decide to spend the night here, so we pitch the tent next to the chalet on a lawn and we have fun drinking beers and chatting about our adventures. The next day we enjoy a fast descent of about 8km long with plenty of hairpins. Then near Mihaileni village we struggle against the toughest climb from all our tour. The gradient reaches 20%. we are lucky that the climb is only 500m long. I am very happy to vanquish it. On our way before entering Criscior we run into a flock of sheep. Then from Brad we have to take a train till my place for tomorrow we are going to set out on a new bike trip in the Western Carpathians. This was a glorius bike trip and I thank my friend Razvan from the bottom of my heart. Dear Razvan I'm looking forward to you returning to Romania to have a new bike tour together.Best rergards,your true friend Claudiu

It's quite a pity that a wing of the palace is in bad condition. The facade needs restoration. In another chamber we see some hunting trophies. The lawn is perfect, the architecture is quite astonishing. To my sheer joy, I run into some fragrant flowers. I do hope one day I will return to this architectural masterpiece of Pannonia. Sincerely it looks like a palace from the Loire Valley. But now even the name of the village where this palace is, remains an enigma to me. So, Hungary is a land of choice.

Here even the banks have the head office in stylish old buildings. Soon we get to another gorgeous architectural masterpiece that has to be immortalized. Before we leave this true urban gem of Pannonia, i snap another photo of my friend Marius that takes on an haughty appearance. On our way to Balaton, after about one hour of cycling, in a village we suddenly encounter one of the most imposing palaces we have ever seen. Inside the palace we see a map with the family tree of the noblemen who owned the palace and the surrounding estates.

From the pass we have another 10km of descent with severe gradient till we reach the beautiful and historical town of Abrud. From here we follow a scenic route passing through traditional villages and enjoying great views. This lovely area is full of rolling hills and the colours of the spring are really vivid and enticing. We have to climb another pass but this one is very easy and we are rewarded with the magnificent vistas. The villages seem to be scattered all over the hills. Soon we get to Vulcan Pass(725m) and here we find a chalet where we eat some delicious traditional sausages.

The architecture here is so spectacular and attractive. We are lucky to see a group of teenagers dressed up in medieval attires. Then we draw near to a balcony that seems to be taken out of a fairy-tale. The plants are not missing, too. We continue our tour in this wonderful after we drink something outside a tavern.

We can not believe our eyes to face this weather in mid-October. It's snowing like in fairy tales. Wow! but Razvan is well prepared and used to this sort of weather. The only problem is he doesn't have a proper cap and the helmet is not efficient to struggle against the vicious cold. The night overtakes us, our progress is very slow and the layer of snow grows thicker the more we climb. In the last km we have to face a dreadfull smowstorm, but we are lucky to get to Balea Lake in the nick of time before getting hypothermia.Here we recover in a restaurant eating a great steak and we have to rent a room which is quite expensive, about 50EUR. During the night I suffer from my toothache again and I hardly can get some sleep, writhing with agony in my bed all the night long. Oh, what a night! Oh what a day! The Saint Parascheva must have punished me for my sins.The next morning after the breakfast we decide to return to Avrig and to take a train home for we ran out of money.This time the weather is fabulous but the temperature is bellow 0 centigrade.We have to go down on ice so in a short time I fall and hit my back against the frozen road. Holly Shit! The view below us is absolutely magnificent. I am quite delighted to cycle here and I'm happy that my toothache disappeared but our hands are freezing. On the left we can see Transylvania where autumn still dwells. The clouds are so white and fluffy! Till Balea Waterfall we still can enjoy winter weather with plenty of snow. As we descend below 1000m the snow begins to decrease. We are now in deciduous trees' area again. We cycle another 30 minutes till we get to the main road where we have to head for Avrig. Here we eat well at a restaurant then we take a train to Arad and then to Ineu where we have some other bike trips but in my region.

We can not believe our eyes to face this weather in mid-October. It's snowing like in fairy tales. Wow! but Razvan is well prepared and used to this sort of weather. The only problem is he doesn't have a proper cap and the helmet is not efficient to struggle against the vicious cold. The night overtakes us, our progress is very slow and the layer of snow grows thicker the more we climb. In the last km we have to face a dreadfull smowstorm, but we are lucky to get to Balea Lake in the nick of time before getting hypothermia.Here we recover in a restaurant eating a great steak and we have to rent a room which is quite expensive, about 50EUR. During the night I suffer from my toothache again and I hardly can get some sleep, writhing with agony in my bed all the night long. Oh, what a night! Oh what a day! The Saint Parascheva must have punished me for my sins.The next morning after the breakfast we decide to return to Avrig and to take a train home for we ran out of money.This time the weather is fabulous but the temperature is bellow 0 centigrade.We have to go down on ice so in a short time I fall and hit my back against the frozen road. Holly Shit! The view below us is absolutely magnificent. I am quite delighted to cycle here and I'm happy that my toothache disappeared but our hands are freezing. On the left we can see Transylvania where autumn still dwells.

We continue our tour in this town and we see beautiful teens. All of a sudden we find an interesting character from times immemorial. Roaming about the streets we reach a gorgeous statuary complex. The next amazing architectural landmark we come across is an old and glorious church. Its stone's portal welcomes us. Then we visit some medieval cobblestones' streets which are rather narrow keeping a particular charm. This town is indeed one of the best in the Central Europe. I highly recommend it. Soon we reach an interesting mausoleum.

All the day we have to go down next to the Sebes River passing through interesting villages and enjoying wonderful views. In the evening we get to Sebes, quite a nice town and then we go to Lancram where we pay our respects to the great poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga who is burried here in the village where he was born.It's quite a solemn and emotional moment for me. Blaga is one of my favourite writers. Then we sleep in a motel just before the entrance in the Municipality of Alba Iulia. The next day we have to cross the Western Carpathians which are not so high as the Middle Carpathians that we've already passed. Cycling another 15kms. from Alba Iulia we get to the wooden gate of the Western Carpathians. Soon we get to Ampoita village where we can see some spectacular lime stones' formations on a hill. The scenery is very green and vivid and the traffic is so light. Till Zlatna we have a steady and easy climb, then not far from Abrud we have a few kms. of tough climb with hairpins. We climb Bucium Pass (915m).

We have four days of incessant rain so we make a very slow progress but when we get to Balaton lake, the sun comes out again. We cycle on the northern part of the lake on a good cycling path. At Balatonfured we see swans with cubs. They are so cute and we start feeding them with some cakes. I simply fall in love with the tiny nestlings. All along this huge lake which is the largest from the Central Europe we find swans and we are quite excited about this. On the other part of the lake at Szigliget we stopped at a lido and there we decided to separate for I wanted to head for the Alps to climb there as many passes and possible and Andrei wanted to go to Wien.So after 9 wonderfull days we had to take leave of each other. Before leaving he gave me some money and I promissed him that one day I would return the favour.Thank you a lot dear Andrei for this wonderful trip!I'm looking forward to our next adventure on 2 wheels!Thank you very much to Mircea Florescu, the generous sponsor who gave me the great bike Kona Sutra for this tour!

Next day I headed for the Rarau Pass(1450m), one of the steepest climb from Romania with gradients up to 20%. On my way to the top of the climb I stopped at Rarau Monastery, where the monks were very kind to me, one of them gave me a blouse and there I received a tasty meal. I also met there a young man, called Daniel who was a cyclist, too and he joined me by his bike another 50km till Gura Humorului where he lived. He knew very well his native land and he taught me many legends and interesting things. Together we went to the famous Voronet Monastery, that is surnamed the “Sixtin Chapel of the Eastern World”. The wall paintings of this monastery, which are second to none, impressed me a lot and made me very proud to be Romanian. Then I had to bid farewell to Daniel and I continued my journey, visiting Humor Monastery, that is also endowed with fabulous wall paintings, and is found under Unesco patronage. Then I headed for Putna Monastery, maybe the most well-known from Romania, that is a princely necropolis and here lies to rest for evermore, the greatest and the most illustrious and glorious voivode from Moldavia and from Romania; our unforgettable Stephen the Great who ruled between 1457 -1504. It was such a holy and a solemn moment for me, to be there present after having crossed Romania by bike, exactly 500 years after his death. It was a dream come true, for he remains for me one of the most influential personalities that really had a profound impact on myself. He taught me to be brave, to love my country and to believe in God that will favour the righteous. He also taught me that the good will prevail against the evil in the end. I will never forget this voivode who defeated the conqueror of the Constantinopolis. I recall the most special moment, a mystical and very vibrant one, from my entire tour was my kneeling in deep prayer before the tomb of the great hero and saint, Stephan the Great, tears rolling down my face, entreating God to bestow upon my country Romania, and upon my people, a magnificent and thriving future as we deserve among the nations of Europe. God bless Romania and set us free from the tyranny and slavery of the turbulent times we are living! Then I headed for Radauti and Siret, beautiful towns where I admired 2 old medieval churches from the 14th century. Then I slept one night at Gorovei Monastery in the county of Botosani, where some of the most outstanding figures of our country were born, such as: the greatest poet: Mihai Eminescu, the greatest musician and composer: George Enescu, the greatest historian: Nicolae Iorga, one of the greatest painters: Stefan Luchian and so on. A great spiritual and cultural place for Romania and not only, indeed!Then I went to Suceava, where I visited some churches and the ruins of the Princely Court of Stephen the Great. Then I halted at Falticeni, another cultural town where I visited the Art Museum, where I admired many works of art of the great sculptor Ion Irimescu, who is considered the 2nd sculptor after the great Brancusi. At that time the great sculptor was living his last days in a house next to the museum. He was 101 years old. I must admit that I worship him, as I adore art. I tried to pay him a visit but the director of the museum told me he is too old and too sick to be visited. What a pity! Off I rode. Then at Targu Neamt I visited the memorial house of Ion Creanga, the greatest narrator from Romania, who was such a good friend with Mihai Eminescu and charmed and adorned my childhood with his spellbound fairy-tales and stories. Then in Piatra Neamt I visited some museums and I was impressed by the historical centre where I liked very much a medieval church founded by Stephan the Great. Then I passed through Moinesti and Comanesti, where Cristian Tzara, the founder of the Dada Trend, was born. Then at Targu Ocna I ran into an old guy who was a friend of Nadia Comaneci’ s family and he told me how he had the privilege to visit and to talk with the young girl who would turn into a legendary gymnast. It was so interesting! Then I passed through Onesti, the town where this goddess of the gymnastics, was born.Then after climbing Oituz pass (866m), I got to my beloved Transylvania again. At Brasov where I have some relatives I stayed a few days, but every day I would go on a short tour climbing a pass such as: Bratocea(1257m), Predeal(1000m), Poiana Brasov (1000m), Sinaia Quota 1400m or Bran(1275m). I love cyclo-climbing so whenever I am close to nice climbs I always approach them, for nothing can surpass the feeling of reaching the top of a climb, exhausted but proud and overjoyed, being a real friend with the glorious nature, a real son of the almighty God.Then I continued to Campulung Muscel, one of my favourite route in Romania. Then I cycled along the scenic Olt valley, to Sibiu, again. Then after cycling in lovely Saxon villages such as: Rasinari, Cristian, Gura Raului, Orlat, Sibiel and so on, I headed for the mountains again and I passed through the highest townships of the county of Sibiu: Poiana Sibiului and Jina, inhabited by the richest and the most industrious shepherds from our country. Then after 10km of descent on non-modernized road with hairpins I reached the Sebes Valley, one of the most picturesque from Romania. I cycled upstream, and I started climbing again. On my way I came across 2 gorgeous storage lake at Tau and at Oasa, then I halted at a chalet for lunch. After that I climbed Tartarau pass (1678m). This route is one of the wildest and among the most spectacular and best preserved regions from Europe. It’s an heaven for cycletourists and the traffic is very low. The landscapes are magnificent and the wild life is well preserved. Then I stopped at Obarsia Lotrului chalet where I met a large group of Czeck hikers. I had a nice talk with some of them while I was eating a tasty trout, they seemed very satisfied with our mountains. Then I had a difficult climb on my way to Urdele Pass (2145m) which is the highest from all the Carpathian range. The views from the top of it are breathtaking, you can see glacial lakes, variegated flowers, snow-capped peaks, lovely pastures and so on.On my way down I stopped a bit at Ranca ski resort, then I continued my journey at high speed till Novaci where the steep slope ended. From here I went to Bumbesti then I followed the Jiu Valley, some of the best of Romania, where the boisterous and noisy river seems often engulfed by huge cliffs and deep ravines. On this river you can go rafting from Petrosani to Bumbesti Jiu. On my way I stopped to visit the Lainici monastery, then I continued my trip to Hateg, then on my way to Caransebes I stopped to see some ruins of a roman settlement at Sarmizegetuza. I was impressed by an amphitheatre. Then I followed a busy road to Orsova, where I reached my beloved Danube again. I enjoyed a lot cycling along the Danube Defile till Moldova Noua, a small and poor town, where unfortunately I had a big misfortune. While I went to a toilet into a restaurant, somebody stole my small bag where I had my money, my cell phone, my identity card and so on and. I was stupid enough to let this bag in a unzipped side pocket of my pannier and the bike was propped against a wall next to the restaurant. Stupid me and what a loss! I went to the police headquarters, but it seemed I only lost some times there, nothing concrete could be done for me. I remember the policeman laughed at me, calling me such a fool to be so mindless. He humiliated me by giving me about 0.3€ to have for a small coffee to calm down my broken nerves. So funny situation, I was at 300km away from home, with a penny in my pocket, no food, and run down after over 2600km of cycling. However I was lucky to be understood at the first monastery where they gave me a meal and 3€, then at Ticvaniu Mic village, I was helped by the great poet Gheorghe Azap who was so hospitable to me, and who sponsored me with 15€. Long live this generous artist who predicted me a promising literary future!Then in only 3 days I was back home after 2900km and 42 days on my bike with so many adventures in my wonderful country.Long live the cyclotourism!Pantani Carpaticus

This is quite an impressive town teeming with tourists. Suddenly we get to a grand church. We go inside to visit it and to say a short prayer thanking God for such a good life on two wheels. The interior is awe-inspiring full of masterpieces. We are really delighted by what we see in this town whose name is so hard to pronounce or to remember.