Sunday, Oct 15. More Romania

Today we arise and have breakfast at 7:45AM. Marius picks us up promptly at 8:30AM. We drive for an hour and a half and come to Zarnesti, Romania, where we find “LiBearTy”, a Bear Sanctuary where a group of impassioned people got together and began rescuing bears from circuses and other performing act places. It appears that bears in these places are severely abused and kept in cages barely larger than their bodies! AND, they are punished with food, so if they don’t perform properly, they are starved!

This group has managed to acquire hundreds of hectares of land and have fenced it to protect both bear and predators of bears. The land is described as 400 football fields in size. I pay a premium entry fee because I am carrying a professional camera. I am no stranger to this practice and I always succumb to the price. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. This time is in the middle. We are cautioned to not approach the fencing (which has 6 inch square openings that will easily accommodate my camera lenses but I am cautioned to only shoot from a distance. What did I pay a premium for?

Everybody else can shoot for free with a cell phone. Maurius tries to dissuade me from paying the extra. Perhaps he knows something I don’t? Anyway, I pay it and get the tag to wear on my jacket that says I have permission. All the money goes to a good cause, right? But, at one point, where the bears seem to be gathering but we don’t know why, one bear poses for me and I reach my camera to the holes in the fence wire and shoot some fun shots. “Sir!, Sir!” I hear the guide call. “Please get away from the fence!” I have been busted. But she is 50 yards away with 50 other people around her demanding her attention. So I keep shooting. “You will be electrocuted!”, she shouts. But I can see the electric wires and I know where my equipment and I are. So all is good.

Fearing she will call some sort of security, I back off and demurely walk back into the crowd. I follow rules from them on, but at least I think I have a half dozen shots worth while for my 10 extra Euros! It is all downhill to get out and Elee’s knees are fighting her and we are the last to leave. On the way out, we are told there are wolves. And there they are right on the other side of the fencing.

The countryside is very picturesque as we continue our tour. Haystacks and sheep farms galore! One thing we have seen many times are nests at the top of poles. Maurius tells us that Romania has a lot of storks and all the nests we see are stork nests!

We drive on to the town of “Viscri”, a quaint little town where it turns out that Prince Charles (now King Charles) bought a home here and he has done an exorbitant amount of humanitarian work here! We visit and read his story and are actually impressed for our knowledge of King (Prince) Charles history never impressed us before this.

King Charles residence tour…

We drive up the road a mile and stop for an authentic lunch at an open air restaurant. We both have a Romanian Goulash dish! The food is fantastic and we make friends with the resident dalmatian dog!

We then drive on for another hour and a half and come to a Fortress on a Hill. Many steps later and a tower climbs and my camera seems to be satiated! But I tell it to hang in there as the best is yet to come! My cameras limps on exhausted legs (or is that me?) and we plod along.

We drive on and come to another old fortress city, Biserica Evanghelica, and tour there also. Maurius walks us up into the town and the sights are amazing! My camera complains that it’s memory is tired (wait, or was that me?). We are feeling our age and contemplating why we do this. But there is still too much world and not enough time!

My camera is offered a climb of 175 steps and I swear I hear laughter coming from the lens! Or is that laughter at me because it hears me decline the climb? What?? Me decline a climb for a photo op?? Unfortunately, that is the case. So, my camera hangs it’s lens in shame, I hear it mutter to Maurius that we are done. Please take us back to Brasov. A two hour ride where my camera randomly falls asleep and dozes. (Or was that me again?) As we near Brasov, Maurius strikes up a conversation and I manage to stay awake.

Once we get back to our AirBnB, we head out in search of dinner. Uncle Google leads us astray with walking instructions and we wander for a mile or two. This does in Elee’s knees and a lovely lady who speaks English brings us to a taxi stand and talks to the driver for us. 15 Romanian Leis later and we arrive at a very good restaurant! I order a Rib Eye Steak and an told I will have to settle for a T-Bone. Horrors! Elee is feeling under the weather and orders a bowl of Romanian Soup and a plate of cabbage. The food is good and I ask the waiter to order us a taxi back to our AirBnB. The ride is less that half of our 15 Lei ride and he asks for 12. Part of me wants to challenge his price and then I tell myself that 12 Lei is $3.50 USD and the battle becomes moot.

The buildings here have fantastic architecture! I have to wonder why the bricks don’t collapse in on you! But they don’t!

So it is back to our room and time to turn in! See you all tomorrow!