October bike trip in Transylvania (part 3)

Soon we get to a busy european road and we cycle 80km stressed out by the heavy traffic till we get to Sibiu, one of the best town in Transylvania.
Here we visit the highlights of the town. Piata Mica (The Small Square) is one of them.


Sibiu is a thriving town with a grand history. It was colonised by the saxons from Rin-Mosela region in the 12th century.
Here we can admire the first bridge made of cast iron from Romania.


The tallest church in town is just a few meters away from this bridge. Its bell tower is 75m high.


Now it's time to celebrate. In this town I used to be a student a few years ago and I have lot of great memories from that period.
We go to a pub where they have good hot wine and my friend Cosmin with whom I went on many cycling trips in the past, joins us.
Long live our friendship!


We feel pretty good here and Razvan likes Sibiu a lot.


We spend the night in a motel after we drink some more beers with Cosmin and Dany, who is a great mechanic and biker.
The next day the weather is bullshits. It's raining cats and dogs. But Razvan is very happy with this kind of weather so we carry on cycling in the rain.
When we get to the first village Cisnadioara we are already soaking wet.


But we carry on till we find a suitable pub after we leave behind the town of Cisnadie.


Here I try to heat my wet feet a bit.


The rain doesn't seem to stop.


After 3 hours of wainting there the rain turned into a drizzle and we can go.
At Podu Olt we have to wait for a train at a railway.


At Avrig we get to the memorial house of Gheorghe Lazar who was an outstanding personality: the founder of the education in the national language.


Across the street we find an interesting orthodox church.


Its mural painting is quite original and well preserved.


Razvan is impressed by this great church dating back to 1762, painted by Ionascu and Pana brothers.


The tomb of the great educator, scholar, theologue and engineer Gheorghe Lazar is situated right here next to the church.


From here we have to cycle another 14km on a main road till we get to a hotel where we spend the night.
The next day it's time for the sheer adventure. The most beautiful and the longest climb in Romania is waiting for us. It's time to tackle the Transfagarasan, the alpine road that crosses the Fagaras Mountains which are the highest in Romania.


The temperature is very low, only 4 degrees centigrade and we have to climb 35km till Balea Lake.


After we cycle a few km we get to Cartisoara where we can admire a gorgeous traditional church.


From here the fun begins, we are in 14th of October and starting at an elevation of about 800m the snow begins to emerge.


Razvan is very happy about that, being a strong cycle tourist.