Romania

Date: August 2019
Duration: 1 day
Distance: 250km

Despite both Bulgaria and Romania being EU members, neither are part of Schengen, so consequently there are border controls. Fortunately these formalities do not take long and my Bulgarian Lev is soon exchanged for Romanian Leu.

My journey through Romania is rather rushed. I would have preferred to take a few days and explore a bit more but instead I intend to take the quickest route to Moldova. In two days time is Independence Day in Transnistria, which is something I very much want to see.

My route is simple and direct as possible. If there are motorways available, I avoid them.

I follow the Black Sea coast north, through Constanta. Once in the Danube Delta, I head north-west towards Galați.

With the exception of Constanta there are very few signs of significant civilisation on either the coastline or the Danube delta. The roads are straight and mostly traffic free.

I use the ferry to cross the Danube to Galați, my destination for the evening. I have no idea how long the ferry was waiting to load-up. I was one of the last vehicles to board. My wait was minimal.

I crossed this very same river earlier in the year, during my Schwaben Tour. There back in Germany, it was nothing particularly spectacular except for being Europe’s second longest river. It still feels momentous to be back on the Danube.

My shortlisted hotel has rooms available, private car park and a view of the river which is immediately outside. There is however one problem, which I fail to observe. As a consequence the accommodation page on this site has been updated.

When inquiring about a room, I notice people dressed for a wedding. At this point, I should have left and found somewhere else to stay.

The wedding itself was not being hosted in the hotel, this itself wouldn’t have been so bad. The reception was on a ship moored outside the hotel. The result could have been predicated. Something to remember for the future…

It’s an early start the following morning after not a great deal amount of sleep. Today’s goal is the Transnistrian capital city of Тирасполь (Tiraspol).

I am staying just a few kilometres from the border with Moldova, which I must cross to reach Transnistria (internationally recognised as part of Moldova). There is very little traffic heading east, in the same direction that I travel.