The Apuseni National Park,

is located in the Apuseni Mountains (also Apuseni, Apuseni, Transylvanian Western Carpathians, Transylvanian Western Mountains or just Western Mountains, Romanian Munții Apuseni) is a mountain formation in the west of Romania. It reaches peak heights of 1100 to 1800 m and forms the northern section of the Western Romanian Carpathians; the latter are sometimes misleadingly called Romanian Western Carpathians. The mountain range has an almost circular ground plan of 130 to 150 km in diameter and is bordered by the rivers Mureș (Hungarian Maros), Someș and Barcău. The mountains consist mainly of limestone; therefore, there are numerous caves and gorges. The highest peak (Cucurbăta Mare, also Vârful Bihor in the Bihor Mountains) is centrally located and reaches a height of 1,849 m.

Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apuseni-Gebirge

 

The hike

Pascal found the hiking trail (the track) through the Apuseni National Park in one of the many outdoor portals. Since it is not easy to get hiking maps of the Apuseni National Park in printed form on paper, electronic maps were the best choice. This also helped us to save some weight. Meanwhile there are maps available, but we did not buy them.

{gpxtrackmap}rumaenien_2018/apuseni_track_soll.gpx,preset=overview{/gpxtrackmap}

 

 

Day 1

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
24,1	10:25	7:50	1378	146

In the beginning we passed through small villages, but these villages dissolved more and more into individual farmsteads. The landscape is really very beautiful. Somehow a mixture of Black Forest and foothills of the Alps. In any case very beautiful. Unfortunately the path begins to climb quite steeply at some point. Besides, it is a real stone desert. You have to be very careful where you walk. It goes always further up. Sometime the trees become less and a little later the view wanders undisturbed over the widths of the Apuseni National Park. On a ridge we decide to stop and end the day. We set up the tent and settle in. Then it is time to open and drink my one can of beer, which I have been carrying all day. It tastes damn good. But it also makes you tired. With a view of a beautiful sunset over the mountains of the Apuseni National Park the first hiking day comes to an end. I just want to brush my teeth and then just sleep. Passi cooks himself something to eat. I am not hungry, which is just fine. I go to bed without dinner. The wind is damn cold and I'm pretty cold up here on the ridge. The sun has set and night is coming.

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Day 2

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
22,1	11:08	6:30	1015	1067

The first night outdoors I usually do not sleep well. Although there was really nothing except the wind and the noise of a few airplanes (very high above us) that would have made any noise. It is really the silence that strikes me here.

As the sun rises and it gets warmer we get out of the tent. The sunrise on the other side of the ridge is beautiful. Anyway, it is incredibly impressive up here. In the evening we had a beautiful sunset in the west and now, just walking around the tent, we can watch a beautiful sunrise. The view is once again beautiful! I also notice that there are no farms, stables or other barns in the valley. Here is just nature. There is not a soul far and wide.

After the tent is dry, we get our stuff together and set off. Our first goal for today is a weather station that we can see from far away. We soon reach the high point with the weather station. Then we go downhill. We do not want to spend the night in the valley. The last night on the ridge was too beautiful not to repeat this. But it is still quite a long way to the next summit. Again the path is more a scree track than a hiking trail. A thunderstorm that is brewing in the distance makes us hurry. And the path gets steeper and steeper and worse. When we reach the summit cross in the evening I am really quite exhausted. The heavy luggage with the tent and the provisions on the back is exhausting. We also have to take water with us, because there is water only in the valley, not on the summit. We set up the tent. Passi cooks, I load the GPS device with the solar panel, brush my teeth and go into the tent. I am not hungry. I am cold, I am tired and just want to get into my sleeping bag.

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Day 3

{gpxtrackmap}rumaenien_2018/apuseni_tag3.gpx,preset=etappen{/gpxtrackmap}

Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
12,6	6:29	3:11	269	606

We had not taken enough water with us yesterday. I realize this problem now quite clearly in the night. Thirst can be a really bad thing. I woke up very often and lay awake for a long time because I was incredibly thirsty. My lips became cracked and again and again I notice how I lick my lips with my tongue. I probably just imagined it, but somehow I had the feeling that my heart had to beat much harder to pump the thick blood through my body. Anyway... In the morning, when the sun rises, I am quite tired. We pack the tent, put it into the backpack and start walking.

The way leads over many kilometres across the plateau where we camped tonight. There are numerous hiking trails here. Only the signposting is not very good. But thanks to a GPS device we stay on the right way and find again the markings that show the way. We climb downhill. At a creek we unpack the water filter and drink as much of the cool water as we can. We use the filter because there are numerous pastures around us. A bit of caution is certainly a good idea (I am writing this part of the report on March 18, 2020, when the Corana crisis is just beginning to get out of hand!) Our little break is interrupted by loud thundering. All around us there are numerous thunderstorms. Luckily, some time later we reach a few small huts where we can spend the night. We actually wanted to walk a few more kilometers today. But it does not look like a dry night in a tent and the huts are too tempting. So we ask the farmer next door if we can stay overnight. We hang up our wet clothes in a shed to dry. There is also a shower (with cold water) and after a cosy snack from the provisions the thunderstorm has given way to a nice land rain.

We consider how we want to continue our hike. Nearby there are several grottos and caves, through which we prefer to walk without luggage.

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Day 4

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
25,5	9:03	6:23	643	622

The sun was already high in the sky when we crawled out of our beds. Today we want to make a day trip to the Radesi cave. Our big backpacks stayed in the hut. We only take food, drinks, GPS and a headlamp with us. The Radesi cave was really very big and very high. Very impressive what nature can create. After we crossed the cave, the river that runs through the cave flows into a deep canyon. Unfortunately, this canyon becomes increasingly narrow and the possibilities to get through the canyon with dry feet become less and less. At first it was a very romantic hike through a beautiful gorge. But at some point we had no choice but to continue barefoot. Or to get the hiking boots completely wet, which was not an option! Luckily there were not many sharp stones, but the surfaces were covered with algae and were as smooth as glass. At some point I end up in the water. Pretty hard. My drinking bottle gets a huge bump, but fortunately nothing more happens. Okay, the shoes are soaked... A little later we find a hardly visible, steep and narrow path that seems to lead out of the canyon. Because of the rain many places there were like covered with soft soap.

When we leave the gorge it is still raining. Nevertheless we decide to make a bigger round and walk to Padis. The shoes are completely wet anyway, the rain clothes are in the dry hut and we are already completely wet anyway. This morning there was no sign of rain for miles around. The weather seems to change quickly here. Every afternoon there is a thunderstorm. So far there has not been an afternoon without thunderstorms. In Padis we buy food and drink and then walk to the hut. The hostess of the hut has already started the boiler. Fresh plum cake is also available. We look again at the map and plan our next stages.

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Day 5

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
14,7	8:41	4:21	473	636

 

Die vergangene nacht war ziemlich aufregend. Die Tiere auf der Weide waren unruhig. Irgendetwas muss da draußen unterwegs gewesen sein. Aber was kann das mitten in Transilvanien schon sein? Vielleicht ein Wolf?

Wieder einmal steht die Sonne schon weit oben am Himmel, bis wir aus den Betten kommen. Wir laufen zu einem nur wenige Kilometer entfernten Campingplatz. Dort bauen wir das Zelt auf, lassen das tägliche Gewitter vorrüber ziehen und nutzen die Zeit zum Essen und Trinken. Am Campingplatz gibt es leckeren Langos mit viel Knoblauch- Bei einem Urlaub in Transilvanien kann Knoblauch ganz bestimmt nicht falsch sein. Gut gestärkt brechen wir zu unserer Tageswanderung auf. Ohne Gepäck kommen wir wirklich sehr schnell voran. Wir sind nochmal ein paar Stunden unterwegs. Es gibt viele interessante Eindrücke zu erleben. Leider erwischt und bald noch einmal ein Gewitter. Diesmal stehen wir ein unter, bis sich das Gewitter beruhigt hat. Gegen 18 Uhr sind wir zurück am Campingplatz. Wir trinken zwei Bier und gehen anschließend noch zum kleinen Imbiss. Langos geht schließlich immer. Dann verbringen wir viel Zeit damit zu klären wo wir die nächsten Tage wandern wollen. Wir müssen wohl ein paar Kompromisse eingehen was die Wanderstrecke und die Verbindung zum Bus angeht. Wir sind ganz gut vorangekommen und können uns nun überlegen, ob wir noch eine richtig große zusätzliche Tour einlegen, oder eher ein ruhiges Programm machen wollen. Nun ja da müssen wir noch ein bisschen drüber schlafen. Es gibt eben nicht überall eine Stadt von der aus man mit dem Bus wieder Richtung Cluj kommt. Für morgen steht das Programm jedenfalls fest und dann sehen wir weiter.

 

The past night was quite exciting. The animals in the pasture were restless. Something must have been going on out there. But what could it be in the middle of Transylvania? A wolf, perhaps?

Once again the sun is high in the sky until we get out of bed. We walk to a camping site only a few kilometres away. There we set up the tent, let the daily thunderstorm pass by and use the time to eat and drink. At the camping site there are delicious Langos with a lot of garlic - garlic can't be wrong for a holiday in Transylvania. Well strengthened we start our day hike. Without luggage we make really fast progress. We are on the road for another few hours. There are many interesting impressions to experience. Unfortunately we soon were caught by a thunderstorm again. This time we are under a shelter until the thunderstorm calms down. Around 18 o'clock we are back at the camping site. We drink two beers and afterwards we go to a small snack. Langos always tastes very well! Then we spend a lot of time to clarify where we want to hike the next days. We have to make some compromises concerning the hiking route and the connection to the bus. We have made good progress and can now decide whether we want to make a really big additional tour or a more quiet program. Well, we'll have to sleep on it a bit. There is not everywhere a city from which you can get back to Cluj by bus. Anyway, the program for tomorrow is fixed and then we'll see how to continue.

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Day 6

{gpxtrackmap}rumaenien_2018/apuseni_tag6.gpx,preset=etappen{/gpxtrackmap}

Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
16,5	9:49	4:47	792	711

The campsite tonight was the campsite of a thousand fires. Everywhere people had made small or large campfires. The smoke was close above the valley and could not escape at all. At some point the whole place disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke. The children shone their flashlights into the dark night sky as if they were swords from laser beams. At the other end of the campground people were singing loudly to the guitar until deep into the night. Well noticed: Music from a stereo system was nowhere to be heard! Not like as home, where everyone tries to drown the other one out with canned music. At some point I fell asleep. It was the first night on a camping site. A campsite in Romania has something of a "festival feeling". Only the garbage is limited.

The sun was already high in the sky again when we crawled out of the tent. We use the sun to charge the GPS device. It's important that it works. We have to wait a while before we can leave anyway. The tent is completely wet. Dew from outside, condensation from inside. I don't want to lug the tent around Romania so wet. We make ourselves comfortable and watch the animals walking and grazing across the campsite. Yesterday there were two flocks of sheep which were driven over the campground, today a pig is walking comfortably over the campground and eats grass. Later a dozen cows are on the way between the tents and graze. Unfortunately they also leave their traces. And now I wouldn't be surprised anymore why my tent smells like a cow. But luckily the cows have eaten and shit somewhere else. Time goes by and the tent dries up bit by bit. It is already really noon, until we get going. Well. We don't want to go far today anyway. We walk about two kilometers away from the campground and then turn off to visit a cave. We hide our backpacks behind a tree. We do not want to carry the backpacks through the cave. Without luggage we walk on. To the cave it is another few kilometres. Then we stand at the entrance. And we continue into the cave and through the cave. It is absolutely impressive how huge this cave is! The ceiling is probably 20 meters high or even higher. We walk inside the cave for at least a kilometer. It takes almost an hour and a half to cross the cave. It is sometimes very exhausting to search for the way from stone to stone. There is no footbridge or anything else here. Who does not dare to, stay outside! At some point the stream branches off in the cave. Here one does not get further without special equipment. The path leads steeply up over a scree slope. We take this path and slowly come out of the cold darkness back to the light. Above us are a hundred meters of rock. We now climb further up outside the cave. There are many people on the way.
When we had put our backpacks down I marked the exact position with the GPS device. So now I simply calculate a route to the spot and soon we are back where the backpacks are waiting for us. Now we continue walking heavily loaded. In this area we have really seen a lot now and want to go further south. Our destination for today is Vartop. A small community where winter sports and mountain biking are very important. But for us it is only a destination where we are looking for an overnight stay. The way there is partly very steep again. And in some places it is very very muddy. On the way we meet another hiker with whom we walk a part of the way together and talk. Then our way branches off to Vartop. It goes again steeply upwards. Finally we reach the village. The camping site is very small. 20 x 20 meters. There is no shower, toilet or something to eat far and wide. So we look for another place to stay for the night. We find it in the Villa Vicy. Next door is a restaurant. We unpack our things, take a shower and go for dinner. I've been very reluctant to eat the last few days. But somehow it pinches me, and I really want to have a proper meal tonight. We're gonna have a really good time. There is a big portion of soup and bread. Then polenta with cheese and fried egg. For dessert there is a big portion of sweets. And a schnapps and a few beers!
Pretty full we walk the few meters back to the pension. On the way there is already a strong lightning in the sky. Then, shortly after we are in the room, a strong thunderstorm starts! Puh, we are glad not to sleep in the tent tonight. That would have been really unpleasant. The tent can stand it, I know that. But it will be clammy. Now it is time for bed. I am really tired. I hope I can sleep after eating so much!

 

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Day 7

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
30,0	12:16	7:33	1062	1407

For the next days continuous rain is announced. We think for a long time about how we should continue our tour. Unfortunately we will have to say goodbye to the idea of the big round. Instead of that we think about an alternative. Now it's time for us to get going. We have our stuff ready and then we're off. The way leads us out of the village towards the ski lift. We leave the lift to the left and walk up the mountain. At first it is not very steep uphill, but little by little it gets exhausting. My back gives me a lot of trouble. No problems with my spine, but I have two parts of my heavy backpack that are now really chafed. This is not good and sometimes it hurts quite a lot. This morning we walk to Bihor Peak. This is the highest mountain in Apuseni National Park. When we start walking in Vartop the sun is still shining. But already dark clouds are coming up. From the height you have a view over large parts of the national park. There you can see a thunderstorm from far away. We were still about half an hour to an hour away from Bihor Peak, when suddenly thick clouds came over the ridge we were walking on. Within a short time everything disappears in the clouds and the visibility goes back to zero. Fortunately the path is easy to see, there are no problems. But the view is zero. It gets cold and starts to rain. Quickly put on a warm rain jacket and pack the rucksack too. The wind drives again and again large cloud fragments over the ridge. Finally we reach Bihor Peak. There is a big transmitter station here. The building is pretty run down. But we are here for the view and not for the buildings. Due to the rain the air has cleared a bit and we can actually enjoy the view. Unfortunately it is still cloudy but the view is still great. A 360 degree panorama of the best!! Then we walk on. Our destination for today is Ariseni. The weather forecast predicts rain for the next days. These are not good conditions for camping. So we plan to spend the next days in Ariseni and think about how we can bring our hike to a good end. It is still planned to visit the Salina Turda. But that just doesn't really fit the frame. Well. We will see. Now we first have to get to Ariseni. That's where we'll have problems with the electronic maps for the first time today. Because where there should be a road, there isn't one. And where there shouldn't be a path, we're walking. There's something wrong. And paths that end in nowhere are just stupid! So we turn around and walk back to the point where everything still fits. There we choose an alternative route. Unfortunately this one leads over many boring kilometers on a gravel road down into the valley. The road was probably repaired at some point to install the wind turbines here on the mountain. But otherwise the gravel road is just boring. For hours it goes slowly downhill. On the other hand it is also nice when it is not so steep.
Sometime we reach Ariseni. The small community stretches very long. We look for a pension. Quickly we find it. For 100 rons a night, we want to sit out the rain here. We just need to get some cash first. That'll be the task of tomorrow. But first there's a hot shower and then we want to have a proper dinner again. Only it's not so easy. According to the GPS device there are two restaurants. One is closed and the other does not exist. Instead of that a strong thunderstorm is coming up. We decide to get something to eat and beer at the mini market. Quickly we walk home. It is raining a little bit. One minute later the rain really starts. We were lucky!
We sit on the roofed balcony and have dinner. That's one way to bear it. We plan for tomorrow and go to bed early. We are tired in any case. It's still raining cats and dogs outside. It will probably stay that way for the next days.

 

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Day 8

{gpxtrackmap}rumaenien_2018/apuseni_tag8.gpx,preset=etappen{/gpxtrackmap}

Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
19,6	7:47	6:11	489	501

At 5 o'clock the alarm clock rings. It's still pitch-black outside. Passi and I want to take the bus a village nearby, to withdraw cash. But before we leave we find out that there will probably be no ATM there either. Actually we would have to go back to Vartop. There is a bus connection, or maybe not. That's pretty stupid. Besides, it would take the whole day to get cash. That's actually stupid too. I think it might be better to find another place to stay where we can pay by card. We definitely need money for the bus. Credit cards are completely impossible there. Tonight it will cost us 100 Ron for the night. We have 200 ron. That leaves us 100 Ron for the bus. Will that be enough?
I'm getting a bit fed up with this subject. I don't really want to turn every penny three times around here. So I don't like the idea of finding another place to stay and then pay by card. I'd rather have some money in a bag. I get up, get dressed and walk to the mini market of yesterday. Maybe the saleswoman can say more about the ATM in Vartop. But unfortunately the shop doesn't open until 9 o'clock. So I walk back to our pension. Pascal is still sleeping. We have to find a way to solve the problem. It's just before 8. I'll knock on the landlords' door and ask for Cipri. He speaks English and I ask him again about the ATM in Vartop. I already knew that it was in the Hotel Four Seasons. The hotel is open in contrast. And a bus leaves here in about half an hour to Vartop. Then this is the plan: go to Vartop, get money and then back to Ariseni. Cipri shows us the way to the bus stop. The bus is delayed, but we are not in a hurry anyway. The bus takes us to Vartop in about a quarter of an hour. We find the hotel quickly. First there is a problem with the vending machine. I think there's a problem with the software. The touchscreen buttons are located at different position during a query. Depending on the selected language. That's funny. Luckily it works out that each of us can get 200 Ron out of the ATM. He won't give away more than that. At least it's better than nothing. Then we have solved this problem! Thank God! Now we're on our way back. We don't want to walk along the road. The GPS device will find a way off the traffic. That's great! We're going to walk. A little later we get company. Four dogs join our small group. At first it is quite nice, but we just can't get rid of the four companions. This will surely bring us trouble when we are on the road together with the four dogs. So we have to make them understand that there is no room here, Pascal explains. But that is not so easy. Little by little, we get rid of the companions. It hurts us, but how else can we go on with four dogs? The last part to Ariseni we walk alone again. There we pass the mini market. In the meantime it is shortly after 12 o'clock. It is simply time to take a break. I am very tired and just don't want to do anything more this afternoon. We get some beer at the Mini Markt and make ourselves comfortable in front of the market, eat and drink something. That will be the end of the day. The announced continuous rain has not come. But in the meantime it is cool and very cloudy. It will probably not take long until the rain. I drink something and think about a nap. We sit still some time under the roof of the mini market and drink one or the other beer. But sometime in the evening we take our legs in our hands and stagger the few hundred meters home. Passi still wants to do some laundry. I just want to sleep for now. When I wake up again Passi has already finished the dinner. Oh, that is great! We sit on the balcony of the house again and have a cosy dinner. Then there is one more beer for me, a few more for Passi and afterwards it is my turn to do the laundry. It is 10 pm when I go to bed too.
Concerning the weather, actually they announced bad weather for today. But the bottom line is that today was actually the best day since we are on the road in the Apuseni National Park. No thunderstorm and no rain. Honestly said we both are annoyed quite a bit. Because now we have looked for an accommodation and could sleep, actually, again one night in the tent. Well. Now it is just like that. Tomorrow it should rain again the whole day long...

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Day 9

{gpxtrackmap}rumaenien_2018/apuseni_tag9.gpx,preset=etappen{/gpxtrackmap}

Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
26,1	7:53	6:14	771	839

 

It's 8:30 when we get up. We want to go for a little hike today. The weather looks quite good. The sky is quite cloudy, but that doesn't mean anything anymore. We pack up some provisions and set out on our way.
We want to visit a small museum village near Ariseni. It is 6 kilometres to the village. The way is good to walk. Unfortunately the first kilometer goes along a road, but then we turn left into the nature. In the meantime we got two companions. Two dogs have decided that we are now on the way together. The two new ones in the team don't leave our side. The museum village is quite small, but it is really beautiful. I had to think of my mother when I saw the museum garden and how much she loves such beautiful gardens. Unfortunately she can't make her garden as beautiful anymore. We went through the village quite fast, because it is simply small. But very nice anyway. Then we walk on to a waterfall which is very close by. In the whole time the two dogs don't leave our side. At the waterfall we take a rest. After all we have been walking for a while. When we have rested a bit we think about how to go on. There is a path that runs a bit above us. For that we would have to walk a little bit cross country up the mountain. That is not hard. Then we are again on a comfortable way towards Ariseni. It is about noon when we arrive back in Ariseni. On the way we decided that we want to continue walking to Garda today. As nice as our accomodation is, but slowly the ceiling is falling on our heads. We have lunch, pay for the overnight stay and then pack our stuff. One of the two dogs has been lying under the stairs all day long and is just waiting to have more adventures with us. When we leave, he runs quietly and well-behavedly beside us again. The whole afternoon he is with us without leaving us aside.
The way to Grada is again equipped with decent meters of altitude. First we walk up an asphalt road as if we were walking on the roof of a house. Then fortunately it became flatter again. The descent was also steep again. And finally we had a few more kilometers of asphalt road ahead of us until we arrived in Garda. In all this time our companion did not leave our side. In Garda we first looked around after an overnight stay. In the first pension everything is occupied. Then we look further. The important thing is that I can pay by card. Because only then the cash is enough for us. This subject really gets on my nerves a bit. But we'll manage. We'll find a guesthouse where we can stay for 15 euros a night. Card payment is possible. So everything is great. Meanwhile our dog waits in front of the entrance until we come out again. Passi and I first make a side trip to the mini market and then sit down in front of the market to drink a Bierle. Afterwards we go to a restaurant for dinner. After dinner we walk to the pension. Meanwhile our companion has disappeared. Maybe we will meet again tomorrow. Tomorrow we want to hike again. But slowly our time in the Apuseni National Park is coming to an end...
 

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Day 10

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Height profile

Distance (km)	Total time (h)	Hiking-time (h)	Increase (m)	Descent (m)
19,4	6:53	4:37	736	647

 

In der Nacht habe ich nicht so gut geschlafen. Jedenfalls bin ich mehrfach aufgewacht, weil die Hunde ums Haus oft und laut gekläfft haben. Vielleicht auch weil unser Begleiter uns gesucht hat und ins Grundstück rein wollte? Ich habe mir irgendwann Stöpsel ins Ohr gesteckt und konnte dann schlafen. Um halb neun stehe ich auf und putze erst mal meine Zähne. Heute wollen wir nochmal eine Wanderung unternehmen. Allerdings eine ohne schweres Gepäck. Trotzdem werden es ganz ordentlich Kilometer werden. Aber alles der Reihe nach...

 

I didn't sleep too well that night. In any case, I woke up several times because the dogs around the house barked often and loudly. Maybe also because our companion was looking for us and wanted to enter the property? At some point I put some plugs in my ear and then I could sleep. At half past eight I get up and brush my teeth. Today we want to go for another hike. But one without heavy luggage. Nevertheless it will be quite a few kilometres. But one thing at a time...

We're starting. I still have the hope that "Number 3" is still roaming around somewhere and that the three of us are on the road again today. But unfortunately we don't find our four-legged companion today. First we walk along the road for a few minutes. Quickly our way turns to the right and we climb up the mountain. Without the heavy backpacks this is really no big problem. Then we reach again a small museum village. There are a lot of souvenirs. The cave we want to go to is not far away. The last few hundred meters are lined with stalls selling little things to eat and drink. Many elderly people sell self made things there to supplement their small pension. To get into the cave you have to pay entrance fee. There are many tourists here. The descent to the cave is well developed. The cave itself is of course very interesting again. An ice cave! The cold of the winter is almost trapped there and makes sure that even in summer hardly anything of the ice melts. It goes over footbridges a few meters through the cave and that's it. A pity. Because we would have liked to go even further into the cave. Okay. No, not really. It was way too cold! In front of the cave we meet a young German motorcyclist who is on his way to Turkey. He wants to be on the road for another two months. Oh my god!!! It makes me thinking of my cycling tours! We talk and tell him about other caves we have visited. Then he drives on and we make our way back to Garda. We find again a good route, which we walk and at the end it becomes very nice again. A canyon through which the road we are walking leads. In the late afternoon we are again at another cave. We look at it as well. Also here it costs entrance fee and the ways run over footbridges. No adventurous paths over stick and stone. But still interesting. Half an hour later we are in Garda. We sit down in front of a small market and have a Bierle first. While we are sitting there the motorcyclist passes by again by chance. He makes a stop to buy food. We eat together. There is no beer for him, because he wants to drive on to Sibiu. We have finished work. Tomorrow we will go to Turda and then on to Cluj. Hm, the days went by so fast! It's incredible. We reach our pension at 6 pm. I'll pay for the room and then we'll have dinner. Tomorrow we have to get up early to get the bus that takes us to Turda. But today we let the time in the Apuseni National Park end comfortably! It was really great here!

 

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