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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Guardian readers

Hairpin bends and bears on the highway: readers’ favourite European road trips

A brown bear crosses a highway with autumn foliage in the background.
Our reader spotted a bear on Romania’s Transfăgărășan Highway. Photograph: Adriana Duduleanu/Getty Images

Bear right in Romania

Jeremy Clarkson described Romania’s Transfăgărășan Highway as “one unbroken grey ribbon of motoring perfection”. The route (the second highest in Romania after the Transalpina) with its hairpin bends and climbs over the mountain was thrilling. Although we’d been told bear sightings were possible, we didn’t anticipate spotting them literally on the roadside, with one hanging over a stone wall posing for photographs, taken through the car window. Because of the harsh winters in the southern Carpathian Mountains, the section of the road to Bâlea Lake is open only for a few summer months – it proved particularly beautiful.
Helen Jackson

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