Driving Lessons

The age of the car

Christine (sister) and Lucy (daughter) still over - so this is a bit of a holiday blog.

I am really streching my limits with the technology this week.  If all has gone acording to plan you should be able to view a five minute video of highlights from a one hour drive on the 170D road.  (I have just uploaded and tested it.  I have lost the 'widescreen' and the definition is poor if you try fullscreen). We had driven to Aiud for the day - including a trip into the mountains.  The map showed a nice, but small road through some villiages on the way there and a similar, but different, road on the way back (the 170D).  Moral of the story is to not believe everything you see on a map in Romania.

Overtaking

This had only been parked up for a
few years when someone pinched
the wheels - just like my old home
town of Slough

The smaller roads are fine.  Some are actually as good if not better than anything you could find in the UK.  Added to which the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.  Ranging from rolling hills (like the cotswolds but bigger), Mountains and Valleys (Like Wales), Mountains (Like France) etc etc.
The bigger roads are a different kettle of fish.  Much busier with lorries (and the occasional horse and cart).  Drivers overtake whenever and wherever.  We saw lots of near misses - lots.  Cars would even overtake a car that was already overtaking another one.


Speeding

Click on this to make it bigger.  You
will see a stork sitting in its nest at the
top of the pole to the right of the road.
You see lots of these in the villages.
It is encouraged and believed to be
lucky.  For younger readers; Storks
are where babies come from.

In the last few minutes before dropping the car back off at the airport I got done for speeding.  I was literaly looking for the petrol station next to Turga Mures airport when I got flagged down.  I honestly believed that I was in a 70 kph zone and was told I was doing 71 kph.  I thought that was a bit rich to be done for 1 kph over the limit.  However the policeman explained that it was a 50 kph area - so tough!  The fine was 134 RON (that's New Leu - Lay).  At first I said I would pay at Tarnaveni police station but then changed my mind. I gave the officer 2 x 100 RON notes.  He went back to his car to do the paperwork and sort out my change.  Just then the other officer got out to try and flag down a speeding van - it didn't stop.  Both policemen jumped in their car, did a hurried three point turn and then pulled up next to me.  'Quick', they said, 'follow us'.  They then sped off.  This country is brilliant.  Where else would you get done for speeding and then invited to throw caution to the wind and join in a police chase?  I am ashamed to say that my fellow passengers were not so keen.  They insisted I pull into the petrol station and then drive further to find the policecar.  I had just paid for the petrol and gone back to the my car when the police car scrunched in behind me.  I have no idea what the petrol station attendent though when an officer jumped out, seemingly for no reason, and handed 'the Englishman' a fistful of paper money and then drove off. - Maybe he sees this happening every day.

Motorcycling

A wooden builing up in the mountains
past Aiud.  Very picturesque

I had planned to buy a motorcycle out here, but funds do not permit this.  I do intend to get a maountain bike and explore some of the countryside - a poor substitite.  Just to let any motorcyclists reading this that Romania - certainly the bits I have seen - has probably the best motorcycling roads I have seen.  A tall trailie tourer would be perfect to cover the fabulous sweeping twists and the ludicrous potholed ex-tarmac.  The off road 'roads' (a la 170D) would suit this type of bike too.  I am definately coming back at some point on a bike to do a proper tour.

Holiday stuff

I have millions of photographs from the varous places we visited.  I will try and drop a few in each week rather than use them all up now.  So here is just a small selection.

A typical backstreet in Sigisoara (I've
spelt that wrong).  The most perfect
medieval town in Euorope.  It is
absolutely drop-dead georgeous

Tarnaveni market on a Wednesday
morning.  I meant to go to the Gypsy
Market, but that is just down the road.
Whoops!

Biertan - a small Saxon villiage.
Absolutely charming.  Even got
to speak some German.



Inside the fortified walls at
Biertan. - Oh that's my
daughter Lucy in the
picture


Back to Work

As I am witing this on a Monday, I went back to work at the hospital today.  It's a shame to say goodbye to family, but lovely to see the patients again.  I can't believe that I am now over half way through this 6 month placement.

Pe Curand

Paul