MOTORHOME TRAVELLERS' DIARY ROMANIA 2

Barry and Margaret Williamson

What follows are extracts from a diary we kept during our motorhome travels in Romania during the summer of 2003. We had entered Romania from Bulgaria over the Friendship bridge, after a journey from Greece and Turkey. We left Romania to enter Hungary, west of Arad. From there we went on to tour Slovenia and Croatia before taking a ferry to Italy.

To access the first and major part of this diary (from the Friendship Bridge on the Bulgarian Border to Timisoara, via Bucharest, Brasov and Transylvania), click here.

01 SEPTEMBER 2003 RO CAMPING INTERNATIONAL, TIMISOARA

Rode Alf into the city centre, about 4 miles, and found ourselves in the familiar Austro-Hungarian Victory Square. For 20p an hour Alf was safely parked at the Hotel Timisoara, where we'd stayed with our bicycles in the summer of 89 - still recognisable despite its facelift.

We walked round, lunched at McDonald's (the only new addition to the square), visited the Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral (1946), where the many flowers, candles and memorials we'd seen on our second visit, to those killed in December 89, had largely disappeared.

Then to the Java Coffee House for 2 hrs of internet (and coffee). We checked the HSBC and had several Emails in, from: Ian & Judit (2); Barney & June (2) - off to Denmark on 10 September till mid-November, then flying to Goa on 22 December for 2 months; Keith Durham - with lots of motorhoming questions; Agata & Karsten - mit Gruss und Kuss; Paul Walsh - in hospital in Lake Macquarie after another heart attack; Martin & Clare. We replied briefly to all except the last 2, which need more thought.

Back to the camping at teatime, very peaceful (just one other, German, sharing the huge site). An evening of maps and guidebooks, planning our next moves and a mail-drop.

Back to the Hotel Timisoara on Alf and another 2 hrs of Emailing, this time at the 'Non-stop Bastion Internet' on Hektor Str, in a section of the city's 18thC fortifications, with coffee from the adjacent bar. We had new Emails from Ian and Keith, to which we replied (at length to Keith with help on European campsites). Also wrote to Barney & June (re trains in India), Paul Walsh (get well soon), and Mum (post to Keszthely on Lake Balaton, please). We looked at Amazon Books' amazing website and ordered the LP Guide to the Trans-Siberian Express train, to be sent to Keszthely (£10.39 + post). Then we lunched on sausage rolls and apple turnovers from a busy stall followed by coffee and ices at McDonalds, watched and pestered by gypsy kids.

A long walk through the Baroque square of Piata Unirii, down to the Habsburg square of Piata Libertatii, past the column topped by Romulus and Remus and the wolf (a gift from Rome) and the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral (visited yesterday) and over the bridge across the Bega Canal (which leads to Yugoslavia via the Tisza River). Further along the 'Blvd 16 Dec 1989', on the left and difficult to spot, is the 'Biserica (=church) Reformata Tokés'. A plaque on the outside wall declared (in Romanian, German, Hungarian and Russian) that 'the Revolution which led to the overthrow of the Dictator began here on 15 Dec 1989'. This Reformed Protestant Church served the local ethnic-Hungarian community, Laszlo Tokés its priest. Inside, upstairs among flats and offices, we found locked doors and photos showing a new church being built. Father Tokés spoke out publicly against 'the Dictator' after being removed from his post on 15 December and next day a noisy support group gathered at his home.

Arrests followed, by 17 Dec crowds were confronting the army and Securitate in what is now Victory Square. An order came from Bucharest to shoot the demonstrators but on 19 Dec the army joined the demo. When Ceausescu returned from a State Visit to Iran on 20 Dec, he ordered elite troops to Timisoara to crush the rebellion and followed up with the fatal address to a mass rally in Bucharest next day. On 22 Dec Mr & Mrs Dictator were taken off the Senate roof by helicopter, on 23 Dec they were arrested and tried and by Christmas Day they were executed, and we were in India missing all this action! In Timisoara, 115 died (total killed was officially 1,033 overall, most in Bucharest). It seems the Party sacrificed the Ceausescu's to a quick end to prevent them naming names in a trial, then the old gang effectively carried on ruling, some still there today.

Back to the camping to clean and cook, update the hand-written diary and prepare to move on.

A frustrating drive from the campsite to shop at the Metro Cash & Carry, 5 miles out of the city on the Belgrade road (59), which meant crossing the city centre and the canal in a maze of diversions and roadworks, dodging the trams. We finally found it and were rewarded with groceries, a can of WD40 and a new fire extinguisher to replace the Greek one which is out of date and didn't work (luckily it is one of 3). Back across the city (no ring road, no signs) till we got onto the potholed Timisoara transit route and gratefully lunched in a layby before continuing on a good road to Arad, initially improved into 2 lanes. It was much quieter when we cycled this way in 1989 on our way to Istanbul!

Sadly, Arad's campsite had disappeared under a new tennis club but luckily we saw a truck-stop motel/restaurant/TIR parking on the left about 4 miles before the city. For 100,000 lei or 3 Euros, we could stay on the large car-park behind, under the watchful eyes of a flock of geese, a coop of hens, several dogs and a night-watchman in a small ancient caravan - a worthy recipient of our penultimate packet of duty-free Marlboro from Turkey.

A pot of tea, then we Alfed into the centre of Arad and struggled to get our bearings. Bright shop fronts had appeared along Revolution Blvd and the neo-classical Town Hall (1876) looked very impressive with a white facelift, its memorial to those killed in Dec 89, a simple list of names, now devoid of flowers or candles. We searched for Scarisoara Str and eventually found it after asking 3 times (the road had changed its name to 'Constantin Brîncoveanu Str' and we recognised little after 13 years). Rain threatened, it would soon be dark, we decided to return and surprise the Fizedeans tomorrow morning.

Back at the TIR-park we had a simple meal in the truckers' restaurant and were later joined by 2 Bulgarian lorries for the night.

68 miles. £2.00

We rode Alf into Arad again and found the Fizedean home at 55 Scarisoara Str (or whatever) without difficulty (aim for the Hotel Roberto). Ringing the bell, Lucretia didn't recognise Margaret at first but soon all was remembered when she saw Barry too and we spoke in English! After hugs and kisses we were sitting in the familiar back-yard in the sunshine, struggling to converse with her & Teodor using visual aids (maps and photos), drinking coffee. They rang Dan to talk to us (they all have mobile phones now) and we found he was in Timisoara, visiting a Baptist-friend in hospital after a traffic accident yesterday. He promised to come to his parents' house mid-afternoon to meet us again.

We tried to leave then, to return later, but Lucretia & Teodor wouldn't hear of it! We looked at a bag of plums from the garden; we lunched on stew, bread and grapes and eventually a neighbour (Adrian, with fluent English) was summoned to help us explain about the motorhome and convince Teodor that we didn't need to stay in the spare bedroom. We did slip out for an hour then, to return to the lorry park to pay for another night, get a box of chocs for Lucretia and have a pot of proper tea (ie not made with mint or flowers from the garden).

Returning at 3.30 pm, we found Dan waiting, along with a pile of pancakes and jam made by his mother. We were always amazed at what she produced to eat in the old days of empty shops! Dan, remembered as a student at Timisoara University, now has his own business importing domestic lighting and floor tiles from Austria, in partnership with his friend, who is married to his wife's sister. After talking over the pancakes, Dan took us by car to his own home in the village of Sofronea (about 5 miles north on the Curtici road). Here we met wife Cristina, children Mihail (5) and Radu (3), Cristina's parents and sister, Carmen, with her 2 small boys (the youngest a really cute toddler with big brown eyes and sticky-out ears, nicknamed the gypsy boy). An extended family in action! Cristina (Economics graduate) works in the computer dept of the national bank in Arad and the boys are cared for by the 2 sets of grandparents, alternate weeks. School doesn't begin till age 7, though Mihail goes part-time to a Kindergarten.

We all had a meal of 'mamaliga', a traditional peasant dish (described by our LP Guide as 'a cornmeal porage that goes with everything). Cristina cooked it with cheese and cream and its nearest equivalent we know would be macaroni cheese. Then a tour of the amazing 2-storey open-plan house, built to their design 3 yrs ago on a large corner plot with a double-size back garden (they bought 2 plots) and fruit & veg allotment (tended by parents and in-laws). There was lots of open space, nice woodwork, fully fitted kitchen, 4 balconies. And plenty of room to park a motorhome on the wide gravel road outside.

Finally, Dan ran us back to his parents' house, to collect Alf and ride, slowly and carefully in the dark, round the potholes, back to the lorry park - but only after we'd promised Lucretia we'd return for the promise of an egg breakfast!

A strange day! Invited to Lucretia & Teodor's house, between 8 and 9 am, for an 'egg breakfast', we rode Alf once more through the Arad traffic and its hazardous trams and narrow bridge over the River Mures. Arriving at 8.50 am with a gift of marmalade, the gate was locked and the bell unanswered - had we misunderstood (plenty of scope for that)? Then Lucretia appeared, returning from the shops with a basket, apologising that Teodor wasn't up yet. He has various health problems - poor circulation, bad feet, very overweight and recently had a kidney removed - and he's only a couple of months older than Barry (66, his wife 61, married 41 years). He soon appeared to join us, though, enjoying a breakfast of boiled sausages, salami, bread & butter, toms from the garden, mint tea - but no eggs (perhaps the hens had failed to lay so she'd rushed to the shop for sausage!) A lovely sociable meal, despite the lack of interpreter.

They telephoned Pastor Ioan Cucuiat (John the Baptist), who'd been out yesterday, and he soon appeared. Pastor John, full of life and enthusiasm and affection, as we remembered him helping us distribute our stuff to the orphanages. He kept apologising for his lack of English but warmly expressed his love and delight at seeing us again. He no longer lives in the flat we knew, with Mimi and their 2 youngsters, Lydia & Daniel, but just along the same street as the Fizedeans (they at 55, he at 111). We learnt that he and Mimi are now managing a little family orphanage with 15 children at Curtici, 5 miles north of Sofronea, in a modern home built on a plot his father left him. A great man and a true Christian, now a grandfather himself. We promised to send news of him to Dennis & Julia in Sheffield, who first introduced us. He said a prayer for us before he left, very touching.

Promising to see the Fizedeans later at 'Casa Dan' = Dan's house), we eventually escaped and looked at the shops on Arad high street on the way to the lorry park. Amazing that it's now so easy to buy soap, shampoo, all the things that people wept on receiving in 1990. All you need is money, though (Lucretia still makes her own soap, old habits die hard).

We drove Rosie round the non-existent, unsignposted, 3-ton limit, chaotic Arad Ring Road, finally getting the right road to Sofronea, a few miles to the north. Villages are always bigger than they look once you sidetrack on the dirt roads but we only had to ask twice before Dan's house appeared. Everyone knew it!

Teodor & Lucretia were already there with Dan's boys, and we were able to return a little hospitality, inviting them all into our house for tea and biscuits. Mihail and Radu, joined by their 2 cousins, were intrigued by this giant toy and loved seeing themselves on TV via the digital camera. When Dan & Cristina returned from work, we all ate together in the house - soup, stuffed cabbage leaves, cherry cake - all home-grown and home-made. Later, Dan had a Baptist meeting and Cristina was visited by a girlfriend + kids, so we slipped off to bed, parked outside to the amazement of the local villagers.

After breakfast with Dan and family (eggs today, plus salami, spreads, toast and blackcurrant tea) we talked and flew kites in the garden. Barry gave his kite to Mihail to keep, since theirs, a souvenir of a holiday on the Black Sea, was no match for it. Margaret gave Cristina the sun-lounger we found in Greece but never lounge on, to encourage her to rest on the lawn occasionally. Both gifts were very well received.

Later, while Dan went into Arad on Baptist business, we had a leisurely 2-hr cycle ride, following the road north through Curtici and on to the end of the bitumen at Sin Martin. We saw more carts than cars, pulled by a horse (sometimes with a foal running alongside) or a donkey. They were mostly laden with corncobs, now being harvested in the fertile fields, the best picked out for eating and the rest for chicken-feed or grinding for cornflour and mamaliga. Geese and chickens scuttled everywhere, peasant women in headscarves stared, the usual scene, with a distant glimpse of watchtowers along the Hungarian border.

Back at Dan's house, we helped him water the garden from the bore, tasted the figs and picked grapes and tomatoes to take with us. We ate with the family (soup, pork chops, rice and salad, apples and grapes), then watched Romania beat Luxembourg at football. After the match, Barry showed a selection of digital photos on the TV, illustrating our journey from England (including the visit to Keith Durham's, a mutual friend). We talked with Dan until the early hours, covering many subjects including his faith, which is touching in its simplicity, like a child at Sunday School.

Dan had left very early for church (it's the monthly Holy Supper service in Arad; he had got the wine and now had to help get things ready), so we had a chance to talk with Cristina over breakfast (boiled sausage & bread) before she and the boys went too. Sadly, it was time for parting.

We drove without problems, 6 miles to join the transit road and another 28 miles to the Nadlac/Nagylak border. We spent our remaining £65-worth of lei on a fill of diesel and some chocolate biscuits with the change, then crossed into Hungary in about half an hour. Very straightforward - just a passport check, a look inside by the Customs man and nothing to pay. We were immediately on smoother roads with proper signposts and better carts with 2 horses!

We made lunch in a lorry park near Mako (famous for its onions, which were heaped around us) and continued to Szeged, about 35 miles from the border, where the River Maros (or Mures in Romania) meets the Tisza. The vast campsite extends along the east bank of the Tisza between the inner city bridge (rebuilt in 1948 after the Germans destroyed it) and the new bridge carrying the ring-road, no 43, from Mako. The east bank is Újszeged (New Szeged), with parks and thermal pools (indoor and outdoor), while the city centre on the west bank is a 10 minute walk across the bridge. The campsite itself has 3 huge outdoor pools - one now empty (end of season), one a hot sitting pool and one a warm swimming bath.

We settled on the river bank near the pools with a splendid view of the city across the water but had to move to the far end of the site when a disco started tuning up on the opposite bank! After a dispute with a drunken weekend-cottage resident about plugging into an unmarked private socket, resolved when the security man came, we eventually got hooked up and had a quick swim before making dinner. A firework display accompanied the music, which changed from disco to light classical.

76 miles. £10.40 inc elec & use of thermal pools.

To access the first and major part of this diary (from the Friendship Bridge on the Bulgarian Border to Timisoara, via Bucharest, Brasov and Transylvania), click here.