Making friends
Most B&B in Romania either do not serve breakfast (so it is just 'B') or it has to be ordered extra; the one I stayed at offered no b-fast option at all. I therefore stopped at the first supermarket (it was Sunday...) I found and bought some excellent cheese, juice, fruits, bread, etc, etc - which I stuffed into my belly next to the river Bistrita. The road itself was really pretty, running right next to the river, I could have mistaken it somewhere for Upper Austria, had it not been for the horrible surface and the hanging bridges, which were quite a thrill to step onto.
A bus driver saw what I was up to at the town of Holda: I was about to cross the mountain to get to the monestary of Voronet; he warned me that the road would get worse. He was right, of course. Going uphill was quite OK, but pass went only to 1160 meters, I thought it would be worse. Right at the top, was a ghost town, formerly inhabited by miners, it was a scary sight to see what they did with nature. And the warning of the bus driver was well-placed: the downhill was a pain for both my body and for my bike; suddenly, two spokes gave way with a loud crack. I stopped to try to remove the broken spokes, when a car-driver saw me struggling, stopped, got out, helped me with a pliers and gave me the tool as a present. In the next village, I stopped to have a drink (a soft drink, that is), where I got yet another present; an elderly gentleman paid for my soda, he even got me one for the road.
The descent to Frasin was a smoother one, an older lady gave me a handful of strawberries and it was in the afternoon that I reached Frasin. Here, in a bar, they let me use the internet for free.
The town of Gura Humorului is only a small distance away, but being a larger town, I started looking for a bike shop. A young lad led me to a boutique bike shop, however, it was closed. It was then that I met two young (and very pretty) ladies, Ammi and Alexandra, both around 16. They spoke good English and made a few phone calls. Then Alexandra said her father would help me repair the bike - in about an hour. They took me to their home, offered me to drink and a cake to eat and the father started working on my bike. As he had no spokes in reserve, he disassembled his own bike and managed to fix my broken spokes. Amazing. In the meantime, Andy, Ammis boyfriend, showed up; a very impressive young man of 18. He is not only a downhill biker (who came in 2nd place at a competition in Italy), but also draws and speaks perfect English. After my bike had been repaired, we (Ammi, Alexandra, their young brothers, around 11 plus Andy) went to a local restaurant, where they had pizza and I tried yet another chorba soup and stuffed cabbage. We rounded it off with some pankaces.
It is really incredible how nice the people here are...and I do not think it is a secret that the reputation of Romania is not the best. I am very grateful for having met my young new friends today...