It is phenomenal where a car can take you: across known lands and to the unknown. Being a motorcyclist, I find it hard to give up the freedom of a motorcycle and let a car carry my weight around. But not if it is a car like the 2025 BMW Z4, and the destination is halfway across Europe to the east, ending in a country that does not exist… This is a photo journey that I hope you will enjoy!

Country: Moldova

Language: Romanian

Currency: Moldovan Leu

Year: 2026

Distance: ~4,500 km

Route and Map: Munich > Budapest > Cluj-Napoca > Salina Turda > Brașov > Chișinău > Tiraspol > Suceava > Košice > Kraków > Praha > Munich

Map Part 1

Map Part 2

Drive on: Right-hand side

Metric System: Distance in m and km, Mass in g and kg, liquid in ml and l, and temperature in C.

Machine: BMW Z4 M40i

I started from Munich in Germany and drove across the whole Alpine country of Austria to my first stop in the Hungarian capital city of Budapest.

Below is the Z4 with Heroes’ Square in the centre of Budapest.

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One of the most iconic places on my drive was the Hungaroring. Known as ‘Monaco without the walls’, this circuit is tight and iconic, and I was just hoping there would be an open track day to test out the amazing agility and driving experience that the Z4 can offer on a track. But the roads ahead would offer me something equally amazing! Keep reading!

The photo below shows one of many such churches throughout Romania and Eastern Europe. This one was in a village near the city of Cluj-Napoca, the second most populous city in Romania.

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Salina Turda in Romania is one of the world’s largest salt mines. If you are a fan of sci-fi and want to experience what it could be like to live 120 meters deep into the Earth’s surface due to a Fallout someday, this is one of your safest bets. This mine contains enough salt for the whole planet for more than fifty years! It has now been converted into a tourist attraction. You can go boating inside the mine too. The air is exceptionally pure, and the temperature ranges from 10-12 degrees year-round.

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Two of the most fantastic roads you can drive or ride through in this region, and possibly in Europe, are the Transfăgărășan (DN7C) and Transalpina, the second-highest and highest paved road in Romania, respectively. The Transfăgărășan road is 150 km long and offers some amazing views. But the Transalpina road is much quieter and more serene. You can also spot bears alongside the road as well. These two roads are probably the reason why the BMW Z4 was made. Man-made artistry against nature’s flawless rendition of a sunset made me transcend into a meditative state that only a few other experiences can offer. Give these two roads two days to drive around, at least.

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There would be absolutely no reason why you would go all the way to Romania and not do these two roads together. Possibly the most amount of switchbacks with good asphalt can be found here in Europe for a sports car to test out its handling capabilities.

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You start from Sebeș in Romania and head south to road 67C. Keep going south until you reach the town of Novaci. From there, you go east to the town of Râmnicu Vâlcea and then to the small village of Curtea de Argeș. From here, the Transfăgărășan road starts as you keep heading north on road 7C all the way to Cârțișoara.

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Romania is also the country of the myth of Dracula. You can find places that build on this story for tourism. The photo above shows a young Romanian dressed as in the story of Dracula to invite you to a museum and restaurant. The scenery and surroundings just add to the magic.

The photo below shows the Z4 entering the country of Moldova. This was as far east as we got, but there were a few hundred kilometres left to our final destination before we took a U-turn.

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The photo above shows the BMW Z4 driving through the world’s largest underground wine cellar near Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. With over 200 km of underground tunnels, this has to be one of the most surreal open-top experiences that only a car like the Z4 can offer. The damp, cold underground air with curious smells hits you as you coast slowly, barrel after barrel just rolling by. It holds close to 2 million wine bottles. The best part is that you can buy your own wall or spot too, with your name on it!

These photos show the city of Chisinau. The photo below shows the Gates of Chisinau. These are two 24-storey staggered buildings that resemble an open gate to the city. I have not seen anything quite like this.

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This page shows the Chisinau State Circus building from the Soviet Era that was abandoned in 2004. It is a great example of brutalist architecture. Once upon a time, it used to have almost 60 shows in one year, seating 1,900 people; now it is slowly being brought back to life with funding from the European Union. In fact, Moldova is one of the current candidates for being included in the prestigious European Union, and it will be finally decided in 2028 whether it makes it or not.

The photo above shows the interior of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ’s Nativity, which is a neoclassical Moldovan Orthodox church.

The photo below shows the Government House of Moldova with the Moldovan flag flanked by the European Union flag, signifying how important it is for Moldova to be a part of the EU.

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This is why I drove thousands of kilometres. This is the city of Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway state of Pridnestrovie. Keeping aside the complicated political scenarios and reasons leading up to the formation of this country, today it is a de facto independent semi-presidential republic with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, currency, and vehicle registration. It also has its own passport, and the currency is particularly interesting and looks like something out of a Monopoly game.

The photo above shows the House of Soviets, or the city hall, with pillars draped in the colours of the Transnistria flag. The bust of the soviet state founder, Vladimir Lenin, is on the pedestal in front of the entrance.

The photo below shows the Z4 being fueled up at a SHERIFF gas station. SHERIFF is the country’s biggest conglomerate that owns nearly all gas stations, supermarkets, TV channels, a mobile network, and the prominent local football club, FC Sheriff Tiraspol.

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Chisinau to Tiraspol is only about 80 km and can be done in an hour or so. The whole city can be visited in a day, and I came back to Moldova the same day. When you enter Tiraspol, you can see a huge area with Soviet era memorials and even a T-34 tank.

The photo below shows the presidential palace with a Lenin monument.

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Tiraspol is a unique place where time seems stuck, and it offered me an amazing insight into a place that is untouched by the fast-paced modern life. It was extremely clean, sparsely populated and had a mysterious vibe to it. People were friendly, but do not expect your phone or credit cards to work here. Everywhere, there are nuggets to just stop and watch as they transport you back in time.

The huge mural below shows the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, who was the first man to travel into outer space. It is said that some students in Tiraspol intercepted and recorded his first audio call from space!

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It was time to head back to Germany with a slightly different route. Romania cannot be avoided, so I headed back in but stopped at the Voronet monastery, which is famous for its exterior frescoes that are painted, as shown below.

The photo above shows one of the highway intersections. Throughout the trip, the highways were excellent, and the Z4 shone with super smooth and stable drive quality even where there were no curves.

The photo below shows Spiš Castle in eastern Slovakia. Spread over 45000 sq meters on a 200-meter hill, this was nothing less than a movie set.

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I also passed through Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city. A very beautiful place with amazing architecture and lots to see. The BMW Z4’s open mode is an amazing way to drive through the old streets with tall buildings on either side.

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I ended up back in Germany after a roadtrip of a lifetime. Although I have done more than 80 countries so far on the world’s best superbikes, this one has a special place in my heart because of the amazing machine that the BMW Z4 is. It not only looks beautiful, but the open top, coupled with its amazing planted driving around the bends, made it very close to experiencing a motorcycle’s freedom. This, with the amazing landscapes I drove through and finally touching the Ukrainian border at Transnistria, the country that is suspended in time.

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And now, just some more beautiful pictures from this surreal roadtrip…