Monday 14th July 2008 – Brasov, Romania

It was hot last night and we slept with the windows open. The road and railway are both busy and that woke us up occasionally but otherwise we slept well. Blue sky greeted us in the morning and the temperature soon began to rise. We had decided to have a relaxing day but wanted to walk for a couple of hours before it go too hot. We walked out of the campsite and then doubled back through the field next to the campsite towards the river. Following a herd of itinerant cows, we soon came to the river and found much evidence of fires where the locals had their Sunday barbecues. Unfortunately, it was evident that many people didn't bother to take home their rubbish, simply dumping it wherever they had eaten. There were plastic bottles everywhere including the river and even hanging in trees. People have disposed of plastic bags and even those horrible plastic trays and cling film that supermarkets use for meat. I can't understand why people do it – if they go to the trouble of taking all the food and drink with them, why not carry back the much lighter rubbish?
Yesterday the campsite was busy, especially with tents and the chalets but when we returned from the walk, most had left. An Austrian couple arrived in a motorhome and we invited them over for a drink in the early evening. A very pleasant couple, Alois was a professor of geography and taught high school children whilst Ann worked in a doctors' surgery (I think). They have two very intelligent children, the younger one is a doctor and the older one had studied in England, America and Australia. They gave us some good advice on places to see in Slovakia, which was very handy as we haven't even started to plan that part of the Odyssey.
After they had left, we had some tea and had only just finished eating when the thunderstorm started. The rain continued all evening and into the night.
Photos: One of the cleaner sections of the river near Camping Darste; Goats graze on the grass next to some of the many new holiday homes being built near the campsite.