So much more than Dracula
A month later after my trip on Transfagarasan, we packed up and headed to Transalpina! On Friday at 6 pm, we went out of Bucharest to Horezu where I booked the accommodation that evening. The next morning, we could not hit the road without a shopping session in Horezu “mall”. But it was not any kind of shopping … The first stop was at Casa Pietraru – a special fairy tale house in a form of a pot which I immediately recognized from the pictures.
I was quickly blown away by the vases I saw there. While I was trying to decide which one to buy, a helpful man approached me and explained me the difference between Horezu ceramics, the Bulgarian one and other Chinese things which were presented in the nearby stores. I found out that Horezu ceramics is included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, whose main symbol is Horezu rooster.
It was a real lesson of history and tradition … In the end I found out that I was lucky to have this lesson by Mr. Pietraru himself, the owner of the shop that strives to keep the Romanian pottery tradition alive. In the end, I bought alovely Romanian vase for my living room. If you arrive in the area, stop and buy some of these pieces of art that will cherish your eyes and soul or that you can use as souvenirs back home.
On top, if I compare it with Transfagarasan, where rocks predominate most of the time, on Transalpina the landscape changes from the rocky mountain to the bright green of the forest as you descend. By mid Transalpina, I came across to a spectacular lake, Oasa Lake. I’ve rarely saw a more beautiful blue lake like this one. Stop for a while and indulge yourself a moment of happiness.
We were lucky to also see a traditional Romanian welcome for a German tourists group. The villagers dressed in traditional costumes on horses also dressed up welcomed the tourists and led them to the guesthouse they were about to be accommodated.
We said goodbye and we moved to the Bacon tower of Cristian. Yes, you read it well.. The Bacon Tower.
