E3: Romania Part 1

The E3 trail in Romania is brand new! It was first published last year and in 2017 I was the third person ever to hike it. The "Siebenbürgischer Karpatenverein", which is the hiking organisation realising this trail, was incredibly helpful. The sent my the gpx track for this trail plus information on resupply and accommodation. I even talked to them on the phone several times and we were in email contact. I crossed into Romania at the big international border station of Artand - Oradea. The crossing itself was fast and the officer just glanced at my passport - probably because I was going out of Schengen. The other direction would have been different ....


Then it was a long hot walk along a busy highway into Oradea, but luckily there was a bike trail next to it. The official trail crosses further North at Letavertes but involves 60 km of road walking to Oradea.
Oradea gave me a first impression of Romania. The city used to be beautiful - but is just crumbling away now. Wonderfully restored houses are next to ruins and construction work is going on everywhere. Close to Oradea there are several spa towns where I enjoyed the thermal baths together with throngs of people before setting off hiking for good.

Again it was freaking hot and I encountered the first problem: Where to get water! Unlike Hungary there were no public water fountains and up in the North the E3 trail traverses mainly agricultural land. I saw many cars with foreign licence plates and decided to ask at a house for water. I chose one with a British car in front of it because I assumed the inhabitants would speak English. Romanian country houses are fenced in and you cannot look through the fence. Therefore I knocked and opened the door. A Romanian family was staring at me. When I explained my problem I was showered with friendliness. Instead of tap water they gave me bottled water. Plus a piece of cake and many well wishes after I had told them my hiking story. Romania is poor but its people are friendly!

The first days in Romania were rather unspectacular. I was walking through pastures and fields with no waymarking whatsoever. In Vadu Crisului things changed: This dramatic river gorge is very popular with tourists and hikers. Therefore there was waymarking and even information panels!
The Karst landscape continued until Padis where I had to do my first resupply on the trail. Padis is not a real village but more of a conglomeration of bungalows and camping area plus a tiny litte store where I bought the last Milka chocolate bars, some old bread and an awful sausage. There was not much other choice ....

Walking out of Padis I encountered two Hungarian girls who were here on a holiday - and spoke perfect English. I was so happy to be able to have a normal conversation again until I realised that the two were on a mission: They were both fundamental Christians and tried to engage my into a religious conversation. I politely took leave but was showered with Christian pamphlets ...

Vartop was another tourist trap with astonishing extremes: Brand new hotels were already abandoned and up for sale. The modern buildings were a stark contrast to the fact that there was no waste water system ... But once I had ascended up to the karst plateau I was overwhelmed with fantastic views and one of the best campsites of the entire trip.
Next morning the views from the crest were just incredible and culminated in the 1,849 metres peak of Curcubata Mare and its radio tower. Despite the early hour a big group of Romanians were already up there because unfortunately you can get there on a dirt road by jeep ...