SWEET TRANSYLVANIAN TRAVERSE
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The two open air petrol pumps were located near the town square, and were unattended, which fitted, because they didn't look capable of pumping anything anyway. But we had no choice, we had just gone onto reserve, so we put the BMW up on the centre stand and settled in for the wait. We figured we were on the right track when a couple more vehicles joined the queue behind us.
Two hours later, we met our first English speaking Romanian. A young guy in his mid twenties said there hadn't been petrol at the station for three days, and cars were queuing up behind us, thinking we had some insider information. Alas, Mike thought maybe tomorrow 4 o'clock. So our new friend directed us to Ineu's flashiest hotel, and invited us to a BBQ at his mates place, Christian.
Christian had a striking resemblance to a well known MTV presenter, and sported stars and stripes boxer shorts, he was the spitting image of Ray Cokes, and had a taste for beer and 'palenca' ( potent cherry distillate). His hospitality was enormous, and he led us down to the river behind his apartment block, for an open fire and a few drinks. Mike showed me how to select a good wet and sappy stick for the BBQ. We peeled off the bark and fashioned a sharp point on which we speared a fist sized chunk of pork fat. Roasting it in the naked flame, it started dripping hot fat, which was dabbed onto long white loaves. Eventually the lump was reduced to a charred, crispy piece of crackling, and was sliced onto the fat soaked bread with fresh spring onions to make a tasty sandwich. BBQ, Romanian style.
