In Viseu de Sus there is something unique to see in Europe! The last narrow-gauge forest railroad in operation!
Affectionately called ‘Mocanita’ by the locals, it has been in operation since 1925 – an incredible advance at the time, as until then it was horses and raftsmen who transported the wood from the forests to the sawmill.
During the politically and economically difficult times in Romania, the railroad continued to operate and was thus preserved.
Today it is still used for timber transportation, but mainly for tourist excursions to the picturesque Valea Vaseruli (Water Valley).
After a wonderful day’s excursion, we continued over the Prislop Pass (1416 m). We were able to enjoy the solitude and go for a walk at this lofty height.
The people in Romania are so nice and hospitable! Two lovely people passing by, who pick blueberries in the woods to sell, gave us a nice portion to enrich our breakfast.
We then continued over the Ciumarna Pass (1109 m) to Sucevita, one of the most famous Moldavian monasteries. This well-preserved monastery is an impressive example of the wealth of culture and religiosity that characterizes Romania.
The monastery, which is still active today, was founded in 1595. The unexpectedly long period of peace of 11 years at that time was used to expand the monastery. The church is painted both inside and out with frescoes that are incredibly well preserved. You could spend days here studying the frescoes in detail and drawing conclusions about the underlying biblical passages.
As we are now also posting videos of our trips on Youtube, there will be a video with much better impressions of all the above, so look forward to it and check back to our Youtube channel from time to time.
By the way, here are the routes we have been driving:
