There is a narrow gap in the Carpathians where Szeklerland meets the old principality of Moldavia, and the Romans, who valued narrow gaps, named their fort there Angustia, simply the narrow place. The little town of Bretcu sits on the site, in Covasna county, in a landscape of low forested mountains and wide hay meadows. The fort controlled the pass on the eastern frontier of the province of Dacia and was manned by auxiliary troops, and it forms part of the UNESCO listing for the Roman frontiers. What survives is mostly earthworks and traces of the walls, with a few explanatory signs.
The people in this region are mostly Szeklers, Hungarian speakers who have lived in the eastern Carpathians for many centuries, and the place names appear in two languages. Villages are neat, gardens are full of flowers, and carved wooden gates mark the entrances to farmyards. The region is known for its mineral springs, and bubbling water comes out of the ground in many places, and for its food. You should try kurtoskalacs, the chimney cake roasted over charcoal and rolled in sugar, which is a Szekler speciality, and a hearty stuffed cabbage, or sarmale. The market in Targu Secuiesc, the nearest real town, is a good place to find them.
The ride on this side of the Carpathians is a treat, if you pick your road. The main route over the Oituz pass towards Moldavia climbs through spruce forest on a well-maintained road with tight bends and medium gradients, and the summit is a little under nine hundred metres. This pass was the scene of fierce battles in the First World War, and the small war cemeteries by the road are a reminder of that. Traffic can be heavy with trucks, though the side roads are quiet and lovely.
Bretcu has fuel and shops, and Lemnia, just down the road, has a few more. Targu Secuiesc, fourteen kilometres away, is bigger and has everything. Weather can change quickly in the mountains, with mist and cold rain, even in summer, and winter brings snow. The best months are June to September, when the meadows are in flower and the forests are full of mushroom pickers.