After our Dracula interlude, our tour continues towards Bucharest. But you don't just get there. Then you first have to cross a mountain. The Fagaras. If I'm right, that's part of the Carpathians. There is a short way and a nice way. That choice is not difficult. It will be the beautiful.
And this is not just any pretty road. Connoisseurs have proclaimed it the most beautiful road in Europe. Of course we won't let that pass us by.
This road - the Transfagarasan, 90 km long, and labeled "the road to the clouds" - was once built on the initiative of Nicolas Ceausescu, the communist ruler. The last communist leader before the populace fought themselves free and stormed his palace in a revolutionary uproar and summarily killed him, in December 1989.
Many stories circulate about Ceausescu. For example, about how he came to power. A power struggle had broken out at the top of the communist party in Romania. A few strong leaders held each other tight, preventing the battle from coming to an end.
In the end, Ceaucescu was put forward as a compromise candidate and accepted by all the belligerents, because he had no education, and everyone was convinced that he was too stupid to become dangerous to anyone.