Balvanyos spa - photos
Page no. 1, photos: 1-6, 6 photos in total.
Traveling on south to Bixad, and then eastward into the mountains again, we then visited the spa Baile Balvanyos.
Being mid-afternoon we entered the hotel/restaurant and opted to sit outside to eat. The weather was overcast, and it began to sprinkle
so we decided to move inside.
As we approach the door in, an older man was coming out, greeted us in English and asked if he could join us for a chat,
to which we agreed. After finding seats in the dining room (very ornately decorated, even the dishware very colorful) he explained; he is a Scotsman,
currently living in Sweden, but just now traveling with a group of Hungarians from Budapest, by bus.
He had a long story of travels; had worked and
lived in Africa and met and married a Swedish lady there. Returned to Sweden but the marriage didn't last; work a long time in Budapest, speaks Hungarian
and has many Hungarian friends and returns each year to Budapest to take their bus trip with them. (Peter also speaks fluent Hungarian, so the two
conversed in that language as well.)
We had ordered dinner, I had trout and a tomato salad (with lots of slivers of onion); Peter recommended a
paprika salad which he ordered and I tasted; the paprikas were rather sweet, not at all tangy as I had expected; they had been cooked like tomatoes.
For dessert we ordered pie (crepes with blueberry filling) and I asked the waiter to add a dip of ice cream to it; this was new to him, but we got it.
Later, since our waiter then had disappeared, Peter went looking for him. A couple entered the dining room, approached me with a camera,
indicating if I would take a photo of them which I did. They thanked me in French (Merci) to which I responded Il n'est pas de qoi (you're welcome)
which surprised them and they asked if I spoke French. Unfortunately I only remember a few words and phrases from high school French so I had to say no.
After finally finding the waiter and paying the bill we left by the front door. On the step conversing were 2 men, 1 older and 1 younger.
It turned out they were Israelis, father and son, making their first trip back to Romania since 1969 so the father could show his son the town
he grew up in (the same hometown as Peter is from). Both father and son like to hike, and joined us as we walked up to see mineral water bathing pits.
There was one large open water pit surrounded by a boardwalk terrace. Further on an abandoned mofeta, which we entered with great caution,
the ceiling was falling in, made our way down into the pit, checked for gas level, and stood in the gas for a short period of time.
The father, 69, is a pediatrician; his son a physical therapist.
Then on to a second mineral water pit, this one under roof, whitish water
that you dangle your legs in which they all 3 did. It began to rain, but let up some as we walked back to our cars. I talked politics with the son,
Peter hiking with the father. Peter and the father consulted hiking trail maps before we eventually parted for our drive back to Miercurea Ciuc
for the night.
Already published 8077 photos and 61 videos. Please register for full access.
Photos of nearby places
Budos hegy (15th April 2004 - 8 photos) 1.37 km away
Puturosu (Stinking) Mountain
Videos of nearby places
Preacher's Rock - Bodoc Mountains 11.52 km away
In the Bodoc Mountains, west-southwest from the Henter peak, we find a rock formation shaped like a mushroom by erosion, called Preacher's Rock. This 2-meter high rock probably got its name from the pagan Hungarian priests, who preached here in the past.
Nobody's lake - Miercurea Ciuc 31.04 km away
The passage of time (time lapse), dusk at Nobody's Lake. Miercurea Ciuc and the Sumuleu mountain can be seen in the background.
Ski Gyimes ski slope - Lunca de Sus 45.72 km away
The Ski Gyimes ski slope is located in Lunca de Sus, right next to the main road. It is 800 m long, the level difference is 160 m. There are two lifts that takes you up to an altitude of 1060 meters above sea level.
Iron path - Harghita-Madaras 49.06 km away
Amateur filming in Harghita-Madaras, holding the camera by hand in the car, and helmet-mounted on the via ferrata. I climbed an iron path for the first time in my life on the Nyerges cliffs (Stancile Seii), I didn't have the right equipment yet. That's where I fell in love with climbing.
Copyright © 2003-2024 Trekkingklub and friends. Reproduction of any text, picture or video from this website, either in printed or electronic form, is prohibited without prior written permission. The given distances are to be understood as straight line distances, and are approximate. Website made with love
in Miercurea Ciuc.