We got plenty of sleep, then got up at 7:30 and went downstairs to avail ourselves of the hotel breakfast. The cat that was there the other day was waiting around, but he clearly knew that we were not givers – he ignored us and slept on a chair instead. He was missing out – the breakfast was once again very delicious. The presence of a big jug of fresh squeezed OJ was enough to make it memorable, but I was blissed out on the eggs, mushrooms, cherry jam in yogurt, and a cappuccino. Sitting outside enjoying a slow paced breakfast after sleeping so well is one of the best parts of our trips.
Later we walked around the neighborhood looking for touristy shops that sell keychains. We walked past the wild area from last night – the clubs were closed, the dancers at home sleeping – and it was empty and peaceful.
As the weather started to turn hot we went back to our room, organized and then checked out of the hotel. There was not a farewell glass of Prosecco so we left with only our suitcase and headed to the airport.
To get there, we retraced our steps upon arrival, and headed to the fountains once again. On our way we noticed some Asian people interviewing people as they passed by. We had seen this now and then and it had us curious. Unfortunately we were not in their target profile and nobody approached us. A couple of homeless guys near the fountains called out to us, “(something something) English!”and I responded, “lo siento” for some reason, and then we were both confused.
We took a break in the shade and spent a few last minutes enjoying the fountains, and then went down the elevator that we had emerged from just two days ago. We felt that we knew Bucharest much better.
But apparently not well enough to catch the correct train. We got on the wrong one and had to backtrack after discovering our mistake. Even train veterans like us make wrong turns now and then. Once we arrived at Gara de Nord we had some time to check it out more. It was seriously old fashioned, and there were lots of people waiting around for their trains. Cats lounged on the platforms looking very comfortable in the shade.
We found an electronic ticket machine and bought our (very cheap) tickets, and then boarded the airport express train. This time we were ready for the hot and sweaty ride. The ride was quicker this time, and then we got off to head for the departures area of Bucharest airport. Once again we had to traverse a lot of steps with a suitcase, and we wondered at the poor design decisions here. There were elevators available, but not many escalators or ramps.
Since I had checked in online we simply had to drop off our luggage, but after finishing that we walked away and then realized that we weren’t issued boarding passes. Even when I’ve checked in online before we get them usually to make things simpler for security, so we went back. The same lady helped us but she was pretty pissed to have to go back in and issue the tickets. “Use your phone, use your phone!” she exclaimed.
Once through security we went to a burger restaurant to chill and have a light snack, but the staff was overwhelmed. There was some construction going on at the adjacent gate (jackhammers and everything!) so it was pretty loud and stressful. At first the staff were not friendly at all but eventually they warmed up to us and started being friendly. The burger wasn’t bad, the “standard fries” that we ordered were covered with Parmesan and garlic so I wonder what the premium fries looked like.
After that we went to the gate and just waited for boarding the short flight to Bulgaria. As we waited we talked about our visit to Romania, and our impressions. One impression I had was that the places we visited were sort of underdeveloped (like the train system), and in the process of improving infrastructure. Great architecture all over, and the people were almost always nice despite smiles being a rarity. We both commented on all the smoking – even more than Japan. Good food, good wine, and pretty delicious meat-based food. All the ingredients are there to make this a great stop – but there is still some room for improvement.
We took a bus out to our ride out of the country, a propeller driven ancient Tarom airline plane. It might have been the oldest plane I’ve ever flown in (commercially). The handful of passengers were remarkably quiet for the one hour flight, and they seemed more patient than the Romanians we’d met so far. Maybe they were all Bulgarian.
The plane circled over the city of Sofia, and as we drifted on a pattern towards the runway the course brought us right over the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky – the golden domed church that was on the top of our must-see list. Thanks to the time of day the sun lit up the domes and the city around it was lined with plenty of trees between the buildings, showing a lot more green than we are used to in a city.
It was easy entry into the country, we got our bag and then tried the ATM to get some cash – my card didn’t work but Kuniko’s did – so it was nice to have a rich independent wife to bail me out.
Luckily we had the cash because the ticket machines at the train platform didn’t take credit cards, despite the internet saying that they did. It was a bit disorganized getting through the gate and we missed the first train, but it was only 7 minutes until the next one. The train was a little more modern than the one in Romania, and ran inside a covered track, so it was hard to take in the scenery, and then it went underground and continued into the city in the dark.
Our stop was fairly close to the hotel so it was easy enough to roll our suitcase and check in. The hotel had an old leftover-Soviet feel that reminded me of our hotel in Minsk. The bell captain had a spooky scar in a large circle around his face and head, and the corners will a little dark and historic. But the real trick was finding our room. The number of the key didn’t match any of the rooms on our floor, and after we asked a nearby staff he led us behind an unmarked door in the corner, which had two numbered room doors behind it. Huh.
Our room was very nice, but the controls of the lights and air conditioner used a touchscreen device that had no text – the icons were not so clear and it took a while to figure it out. Also, the room did contain a baby crib taking up one large area, so some wires had apparently crossed. On our way out for dinner we asked the staff and they later took it out and put it in the hallway.
We were pretty hungry and it was getting late so we went to the nearby tourist area to find a bustling street with lots of cafes and restaurants. It was a little past the dinner hour so many cafes had switched to just drinks, and we also were hoping to try some local food rather than pizza or burgers. Unfortunately our requirements were a little strict so we started getting grumpy with each other. Finally in desperation we sat down at a restaurant that specialized in kebabs, pizza and sandwiches. The drinks took a long time to show up, so our mood wasn’t good. We finally got in an order and we had some club sandwiches. At least my sandwich had some Bulgarian sausage for the meat portion, and once we had a little food and some drinks we were feeling better.
After dinner we found a little market that was selling many kinds of Bulgarian yogurt – I scored some really good strawberry flavored drinkable yogurt, I love this stuff. Finally we headed on back to our hotel, and went to bed around 11 pm, with the air conditioner running – we couldn’t figure out how to adjust it!
