The following is a guest post by Karl Barth, who recently returned from his first international trip to Romania! If you have a travel story you want to share on Go Backpacking, please read our submission guidelines.
Sinaia is a resort town nestled in the Carpathian mountain range of Prahova county near central Romania.
I had the wonderful opportunity to travel by car along the twisty roads following the Carpathian ridge to get to Sinaia. The mountain and valley scenery is serene and picturesque with an almost “Sound of Music” type feel to it. We drove up a long road with lots of hairpin turns working our way up the Bucegi Mountains towards Hotel Cota 1400. A ski resort hotel near the top of one of the peaks. Since we were there during the summer it wasn’t packed with skiers, but there were a number of hikers and sightseers present.
We made our way up some stairs to another parking lot and out of the woods strolls a giant Carpathian Brown bear! Apparently he was hungry for some raw chicken that someone left out to feed the wild dogs that are present everywhere in Romania. I felt this was a photo opportunity not to be missed, although in hindsight, that may not have been the smartest thing I have ever done.
Here are the photos from my bear encounter in the Carpathian Mountains…
Brown bear strolling out of the woods.
Brown bear noshing on some of the dog’s chicken, and fortunately not noshing on me.
This is how close I dared to get to the brown bear.
At the base of Hotel Cota 1400 is a gondola that can be taken to the top of the mountain which offers amazing vistas of the town of Sinaia as well as more views of the southern Carpathian mountains. The gondola ride was about $10/person.
The start of the gondola ride from Hotel Cota 1400.
Sheep herder near the top of the mountain.
The view from the top of the mountain, looking west towards the Carpathians.
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About the Author: Karl is a physicist and avid photographer who only recently decided to set out and explore the world with his camera. Catch more of his adventures at http://www.facebook.com/kbarth
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Categories: Features, Photos, Romania
Post tags: blogsherpa, photographhy, romania, wildlife
5 Comments
Very cool, glad you didn’t end up bear poo.
LOL!!!!! Thanks! Me too. :-)
Wow, great pics!!!
I had imagined all bears in Romania wear fancy vests and top hats and ride around on little bicycles. Thanks for clearing that up for me Karl. Great pics!
LOL! Thanks, glad I could set you straight. It might give you the final Jeopardy answer someday!