Last Updated on November 24, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Subtitle: It’s all Greg’s fault
Subtitle: I should have prepared better for carsickness
Subtitle: There had to have been an easier way to get from Point A to Point B
How many subtitles can I create for this day?
If you look at Google maps for this day’s travel, you would see that it will take about 5 1/4 hours driving.
Unfortunately, I didn’t check out our itinerary ahead of time. The written tour itinerary provided by the Compass agency also never told us how many hours of driving we should expect each day. That piece of information is critical. We don’t generally investigate these kinds of things when we are on a private tour – we like to relax and let the driver/guide just do his thing, and hope for the best. I like that wonderful feeling of “Ahhhhhh” that comes with never having seen something before. That attitude has served us well in the past, but not with Iulian. He introduces us to sights, and doesn’t tell us the impact of choosing them. You expect a guide to say, “We have an optional visit to XX, but if we do, we’ll not have time for YY” or “You can visit XX and stay 2 hours, but if we do, we’ll be arriving at YY very late in the day.”
No, we received no such guidance, so of course when offered the optional hike to see Citadel Neamt, we chose it. It meant we didn’t get to have lunch at a highly rated beautiful location by a lake, didn’t see Bicaz Gorge at its best light, would have lunch late, and would be very late in arriving to our hotel in Sighisoara.
I’m here to tell you that this day is perhaps better done differently. However, if you are not prone to carsickness you might just enjoy it tremendously.
So, why is it Greg’s fault?
Greg loves to see forts. As a tour guide for Fort Adams in Newport RI, “the most complex fortification in the Western Hemisphere” as he leads off his tour, he loves to see other countries’ forts from different eras. He loves to compare them with his own, to study their technology. Iulian, our guide, realized early on that forts are a priority, and had slipped in a couple of extra stops for us, which made Greg very happy.
Citadel Neamt
We arrived at Citadel Neamt and Iulian announced, “Would you like to see the fort?”
Well, certainly, “Yes!” Greg responded.
Citadel Neamt is an important Romania 14th century, medieval, fortress on the top of a hill. I’d like to call it a “mountain”. We quickly learned that we would have to climb to the top of that mountain (hill) to get there. According to Google maps, the hike is 800 meters or 17 minutes, and 100 meters UP. I’m sure it took me more than 25 minutes. I don’t like walking UP, which is kind of a bummer. (Note: for trips when I know I’ll be doing a lot of climbing, like the temples in Southeast Asia, I’ll try to exercise and get fit for it.) I didn’t prepare myself well for Eastern Europe.
The hike up was on a road, so it was not difficult, it was just up. I’m sure that handicapped people would be permitted to drive up the road, but not the average tourist, and I’m afraid in this case, we were just average.
Once to the top, we were naturally rewarded with wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.
The fortress itself was impressive, and the life-size figures and weaponry were fascinating. We were not sorry at all for having chosen the Citadel.
Greg literally drooled at the sight of the museum displays; he dreams of having such vivid displays at Fort Adams, but as yet there is only one guard figure
Now, we were ready for lunch. We were quite a distance at this point from the planned lakeside restaurant, so we just kept our eyes pealed for an hour, that is, until we went through Pietra Neamt. I yelled and chose it: Allegri!
The restaurant was an excellent choice. I had chicken schnizel and Greg chose Pasta Fasule soup.
Next Stop – Bicaz Gorge
Back into the car we headed south, to Bicaz Gorge. Bicaz Gorge is best seen at mid-day, since sun can’t get in at any other time. We missed the prime photo hours since we spent so much time at the fort.
The technique at Bicaz is to have a driver who will let you off at the beginning of the gorge, let you walk the distance, then pick you up at the end. Tour-bus-fulls of people walked the windy narrow gorge with us. It was a lovely break for me, letting me stretch my legs, giving my stomach a rest from the windy driving.
Once Iulian picked us up on the other end, it would be another three hours drive before we arrived in Sighisoara, our home for the next two nights. I and my carsick stomach were exhausted when we arrived.
Two shorter days vs two nights at one hotel
During a later email exchange with Andrei of Compass Travel, Andrei told me that most people more appreciate being able to stay two nights in Sighisoara, and pay the price for the long day to get there. He felt that there really isn’t much of interest to stop for between Bicaz and Sighisoara. I can highly recommend that if you are interested in this itinerary you carefully consider how much driving you want to do in one day. I, myself, would have been happy to have stopped somewhere along the way, and picked up the adventure the next day.
Lessons Learned – Motion sickness
The Patch
My most important lesson learned from this day, and from the Romania trip as a whole, is that I should have worn a Transderm-Scop Patch (scopolamine) to prevent the car sickness. I can’t tolerate Dramimine – it puts me right to sleep. I generally do wear the little pressure-point bracelets (Seabands) but they didn’t help me a bit on this trip. (I wonder if the bands themselves had lost their elasticity a bit, and actually weren’t applying the needed pressure. I just don’t know.)
You have to consider how many days you need coverage. The Transderm-Scop Patch has risks – you wear it too long and you go through actual withdrawal when you stop. (I know of this happening to a fellow traveler who wore it about 12 days and on her return to the US went into withdrawal and had such symptoms she ended up in the emergency room!) Previously, I have worn the patch for only 2 days, on a boat in the Galapagos. I found it to be very helpful. So, for this trip to Romania, I would have started my first patch on Day 4 – leaving Cluj Napoca on the way to Maramures, and continued with it through this day, Day 8 for a total of 2 patches over 5 days.
Investigate first
The second lesson I learned is to map out the trip ahead of time – find out how many hours Google thinks it will take. Google may be wrong, but at least there will be a basis of comparison day to day. I can also zoom in on Google and see if there are switchbacks and curvy mountain roads. This is the second trip in which I have been burned trusting the guides or agency personnel. The first time was Laos. This time for Romania I specifically asked for guidance about the roads, and was told that this was nothing like Laos and that I should have no difficulties. Well I can say that in Romania the roads were well paved, but they were just as windy!
Interesting Links
Here’s the link to my full review of Compass Travel of Romania
The next step in our Romania Itinerary
Day 8 – Sighisoara – a medieval walled city in Transylvania
Check out my key Romania article
Romania Travel Blog – Itinerary, Planning and Diabetic Travel Tips
