The road from Bran to Bucharest wound up and down mountain passes, with snow still on the north-facing slopes. We passed through some pretty and prosperous-looking villages, with mountaineering and ski shops lining the streets. The piste-maps, resorts and lift systems looked pretty decent- a month earlier and we’d have stopped and spent a day on the slopes. It was almost like being in the Alps, but the towering mountains and forests seemed much more dark, dramatic and domineering. Toto, we’re not in Tignes anymore.  

We were feeling rather jaded by the time we arrived in Bucharest. Turns out driving for miles, setting up camp, cooking, doing route-march tours around all the local sights and then rinsing and repeating is pretty knackering. Fun but exhausting.

Camping Belvedere is set in parkland on the outskirts of the Bulgarian capital- like Thorpe Park, but not quite as naice. However, there’s a lake, a beach and… amplified Romanian rock music. Well you can’t have it all! The weather was glorious, so we just collapsed in our camp chairs, popped in our air pods and enjoyed the sunshine. Mr G even got his shorts and walking sandals out for the first time this year! There’ll be time to explore another day. 

Quick campsite comment:

We stayed at Belvedere Camping, Bucharest. It’s a campsite set on a complex with a park, fishing lake, beach, water-sports lake and tennis courts. 

The good bits: A great location, just 15 minutes and 8 Euros in an Uber to Bucharest. Very green and pretty so close to the city. The showers were clean, there was plenty of hot water and electric hook-ups. There was free WiFi, which wafted in and out randomly. It was very cheap, 12 Euros all in, including electricity.

The bad bits: The beach and bar were all closed and there were no laundry facilities, which we really need at this stage! However, the worst thing was the relentless music from a nearby restaurant, which started at lunchtime and continued ‘til 11pm. You know things are bad when you’ve heard a song so frequently that you start to hum along to a Romanian hit.