Do you ever get tired of seeing people’s travel photos where everything looks perfect? The ones where the women all have perfect makeup and handbags that match their shoes? Everyone is smiling for the camera but casually posed as if they always stand that way. The light is magical, never back-lit or over-exposed, shining on upturned, carefree faces. Some castle or monument or purple mountain majesty is so clearly etched against the sky it seems unreal. You will not find any photos like that in this post about our crazy road trip from Switzerland to Romania.
One day, 1000 kilometers, multiple countries.
No shower.
Sleeping in our car.
A goat rodeo getting a vignette to enter Hungary.
Teeth un-brushed.
And the heat. The obscene oppressive muggy shoot-me-now heat.
Our entire DIY road trip from Switzerland to Romania and back via Ukraine and Slovakia was absolutely incredible, except for the first day. If you take any travel advice from this one blog post, it’s that you should absolutely visit Romania. You should maybe not drive 1000 kilometers across Europe in one day to get there though.
Switzerland to Romania Road Trip Map
The blue line roughly follows the first half of our 11-day road trip itinerary from Switzerland to Romania.
Not all travel destinations are created equal, and the same definitely goes for road trips. After completing a 3,600 km road trip to Spain in the spring – a road trip that was wickedly fun and briefly satisfied our need for adventure – we were ready for another by the time fall rolled around.
When a couple of Romanian friends invited us to meet up with them in Cartisoara, Romania where they were visiting family, we enthusiastically packed our camping gear for an open-ended road trip. Somehow I had a feeling I would like it so much there that I wouldn’t want to leave.
Little did we know what was in store for us on that first day. The 16-hour drive from our front door to Corvin Castle, the first big attraction we planned to visit in Romania, went something like this.
Driving Across Austria
The first few hours of our drive started out pretty fun, as is always the case with road trips.
Wide-eyed and well rested, the 4400 km to drive our entire Switzerland to Romania loop trip sounded like a walk in the park. I was crazy excited that we were actually headed to Romania after years of wanting to visit.
It still didn’t quite feel real that we could just drive there.
The joys of living in Europe!
Crossing into Austria, we appreciated the superb motorway with little traffic, enjoying the same type of forested mountain terrain that we’d left behind in Switzerland.
As we neared Vienna’s flat lowlands, the cool mountain air grew steadily warmer until the heat was unbearable.
With our dog Touille in the car, we finally had to resort to turning on the air conditioning.
For the next few hours – and much of the next day – the incessant, irregular stutter–chug of the loose fan in our VW followed us like a pesky younger sibling. Even cranking the music couldn’t drown out the noise.
Well after the sun had set on our first day of driving, we decided it was high time we found a place to camp for the night. On our trip to Madrid, we’d spontaneously camped at a deserted Spanish castle on a mountain in wine country. It was unreal.
We would have no such luck on this night.
Still in Austria, we navigated to two separate campgrounds on Lake Neusiedl. Not only were both closed, but they were fully fenced, impregnable like San Quentin, with prominent signs warning against dogs on the premises.
Our options shot, we dejectedly drove back to the freeway through the sweltering night, our car ripe with the earthy smell of marshy detritus, the clack of insects as loud as any jungle.
The Chaos of Hungary’s Border Crossing
Deciding to push on to another campground in Hungary, we neared the border, eager to get some sleep. Completely baffled at the sudden stream of brightly lit computerized bill boards warning us we needed a vignette before entering the country, my first thought was that we already had a vignette – our Swiss motorway vignette!
Unaware that many European countries have a vignette system to charge fees for driving on their roads, we had no idea that Hungary is unique in using an electronic, or e-vignette system. Our Swiss vignette would not work, and since we hadn’t bought a Hungarian vignette online in advance, our next obstacle was figuring out how to buy one so we could cross the border and get some sleep.
Should be no problem, right?
Peeling off on a gas station exit, we waited in traffic backed out to the freeway before eeking our way in close enough to run in and ask about the vignette.
Following the attendant’s directions, we drove to the next service station just up the freeway.
In hindsight, their system seems simple enough, though time-consuming and inefficient to buy it in person.
Chalk it up to the exhaustion or heat, but that night, things simply didn’t compute when we pulled into the next station. Cars were haphazardly parked absolutely everywhere and people queued in long lines at various outdoor booths. Pandemonium filled the lot.
Feeling woefully out of our element, we fell into line behind a herd of other folks and watched to see what others were doing. Unfortunately, the booths were operating as a currency exchange as well, so not everyone had the same business needs as ours, making the scene more confusing.
By the time we reached the window, we still didn’t know what to expect. Holding all ten fingers up to the ticket gal, we tried to indicate we wanted the shortest duration vignette, hoping they wouldn’t require cash in Hungarian currency.
We had none.
Grateful they accepted our credit card, we paid 2,975 Hungarian forint (about $10) for a 10-day pass. We only needed a one-day pass, but it wasn’t an option.
We filled out a slip with our names, contact info, and vehicle description, along with our license plate number. After receiving a paper slip in return, we put it in the car and finally left the carnival behind.
Later we would see their radar cameras along the roadways constantly scanning vehicle plates, electronically identifying motorists who hadn’t bought a vignette. Fines would be issued to violators.
Though the system sounds pretty high-tech, having to buy the vignette in person was truly a goat rodeo.
Travel Tip: Save yourself the hassle folks. Buy the vignette online!
Travel Fail: Wild Camping in Hungary
Bleary eyed, we headed straight toward the nearest cheery little green tent icon on our phone’s map app.
Navigating through the town of Mosonmagyaróvár toward the Leitha River, we started to have second thoughts. The heebie jeebies crept in as we passed housing compounds surrounded by high stone walls, themselves topped with barbed wire. Many were marred with graffiti, wreathed in Hungarian writing we could only assume were not uplifting messages of hope.
As we bumped along a narrow, potholed road, Trav swung the car one final right. Suddenly the river lay awash in our headlights down a steep embankment.
According to our map app, our “campground” was just ahead – right in the middle of the river.
Getting out to scout out the area, we could hear some party-goers at the river’s edge, but that was it. Absent were the unending sea of tents, camping cars, bikes, high fences, gated entry, and no-dog signs we’d come to expect at European campgrounds. There was nothing but the quiet murmur of the river, the insufferable heat, and the occasional shrill laughter of our neighbors.
Too tired to keep looking for the campground, we pulled the car up a dirt track along the river that looked deserted, kicked back the seats, and crashed.
Or at least we tried.
As soon as we turned off the engine, the refreshing jets of the AC died too, leaving us almost immediately drenched in sweat. Gripped by the unshakable sensation we weren’t in a very safe place, we opened the windows only a crack. Not enough to let in even a breath of air, we lowered them bit by bit until they were all the way down.
Seeing a light bouncing toward us where we were parked in the bushes, I froze and shushed our dog, Touille.
A bicycler rode past, his face actually slack-jawed in disbelief as he peered at our car mostly hidden in the shadows. He’d probably never seen folks asleep in a car with Swiss plates on his bike trail, so I can understand his surprise. To be fair though, we’d never slept in our car on a bike trail in Hungary before, so somehow that makes us even.
Sometime during the night, Travis finally just opened his car door to let in some air.
As the heat eased off in the early morning hours, a light breeze picked up, allowing us to get at least a few hours of restless sleep.
Pedal to the Metal Across Hungary
Awake before the sun, I finally gave up on sleep altogether and took the wheel. Driving back through the little town of Mosonmagyaróvár, I realized it was adorable!
The graffitied walls were hiding little houses with tidy yards, cascading flowers hanging from planter boxes, and pretty curtains framing windows. Locals pedaled along for their morning errands on delightfully old-fashioned bicycles, waving at friends they passed on the street. Like so many things, the town we’d seen as a bit scary in the dark of night was bright and friendly in the cheerful light of day.
Back on Hungary’s world-class M1 motorway, we sped toward Romania.
For hours, the terrain was flat, flat, and flat. I was so excited when we passed an exit sign that I took a photo. For a few seconds anyway, it provided a welcome distraction from the monotony.
It was even hotter, flatter, and drier than driving across central Washington. No curves in the freeway. No traffic to provide us with license-plate games. No houses. Not a living thing in sight.
Just a straight, hot, flat highway baked into the ground as far as the eye could see.
Our border crossing into Romania perhaps didn’t immediately provide relief from the heat or open grassland, but it was still exciting.
Hello, Romania!
Friendly border officials checked not only our passports but Touille’s pet passport as well, curiously peering at her in the back seat before waving us through.
I couldn’t help but admire our new passport stamp: proof we’d finally arrived.
Arad, Romania feels like home.
Just the other side of the border, we drove through the little town of Arad, Romania.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the simple homes, uneven streets, and above-ground electrical wiring looped casually over street lights.
I really can’t explain it, but I felt like I’d come home in a way.
Throughout the rest of our time in Romania, the sense wouldn’t let up. It was the same feeling I had while living in Costa Rica and traveling through Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Perhaps it was nothing more than a sense of familiarity because of the modest surroundings, surroundings more similar to how we were both raised than the luxury and wealth clearly evident in Switzerland.
Either way, I just felt comfortable.
Păuliș War Memorial
In need of a brief rest, we pulled over at a huge monument with carefully landscaped hedges. Curious about its peculiar location in the middle of parched country fields, we found little information at the site other than its name: Păuliș War Memorial.
We would later find out that the monument was built in 1974.
It’s a war memorial honoring Romanian solders who died defending the region in 1944 against Hungarian troops allied with Nazi Germany.
The two massive wings of the memorial symbolize the courage and victory of the Romanian soldiers who died defending the region in 1944.
Sticky from the heat, wearing yesterday’s clothes, teeth grimy and hair an absolute wreck, I stood on the blistering asphalt at the memorial. I almost wished we’d just gotten a hotel so I’d look more presentable for one of “those” travel photos.
Instead, we got back on the road, laughing about our trip so far and how much we’d be willing to pay for a shower.
A lot!
We would’ve paid a lot for a shower.
Still, we were excited. The day was bright and new. Our entire trip lay before us, a blank slate for new adventures. We were excited, grimy teeth and all.
Before us lay a country with a long and complex history, a beautiful romance language, and stunning landscapes – a country about which we knew almost nothing. We couldn’t wait to explore Romania. I felt as if we’d just barely scratched the surface of a dented old penny and shining just beneath the hot, dusty exterior, we would find a steady stream of unexpected surprises and exciting discoveries.
Despite the constant oppressive heat, the Hungarian vignette goat rodeo escapade, and a miserable night in our car that left us seriously questioning why we always choose to travel without planning, it was all worth it.
We were in for 10 days of castles, camping in a haunted forest, exploring an ancient salt mine, and so many other memorable experiences.
Our road trip from Switzerland to Romania was certainly off to a eventful start!
Check out some of our favorite things to do in Romania!
- Descending into the Turda Salt Mine
- Photo Highlights of Peles Castle
- Driving the Transfagarasan, Romania’s Raddest Road
- Castelul Corvinilor, Castle of the Raven
- Camping in the Hoia Baciu Haunted Forest
