Bucharest, at last!!!

My luggage came off the ramp. Not first, mind you, but it WAS there. Then I went through customs. I walked out to where people were waiting, waving signs, and shouting to loved ones. I had counted on being met by Dan, Cristina’s husband. I read all the signs but didn’t see my name. I walked the gauntlet, looking at each person’s eyes and did not see anyone who answered to the description I remembered. A man about 40 with dark hair in a tan tee shirt holding a sign with my name on it. That should have been easy. No one answered that description. No one answered to that name. No one looked like they were looking for someone. A few taxi drivers were there and asked if I need a ride. I didn’t think I could afford a taxi to Gura Humorului. I asked every man who was over 25 if he was Dan to no avail.

One man I accosted asked me where I was going and other details. He spoke English and that was good. He was a Brit working for Timpkin in Bucharest, wouldn’t you know? We talked about Romania today. He gave me some pointers about life here and we talked about his son whom he was waiting for. Apparently, his luggage was lost in the shuffle. There hadn’t been enough time in Amsterdam for it to make it to his flight and so he was filling out the paperwork to get it delivered the following day. I noticed that the Arrivals board ran all through the night. Interesting that there should be flights at such ridiculous hours. I don’t think there are that many in Detroit.

In the course of our conversation, I told him about my Fulbright and where I was going. Thank heavens for trains. I had a backup. There is always a plan, it is just not always evident. I had considered getting a Eurailpass to make this all work and had printed off the schedule. Don’t know why but what a serendipitous bit of luck that I should have done that. I rummaged around to find it and discovered that there was a 3:30 train to Gura Humorului. I could still make it and the man and his son said they would be happy to take me to the station. It seemed like the best idea. It was 2am and there didn’t seem to be a solution. And so we were off to the train station.

It was an interesting trip through Bucharest. I had never been there before and I found it looked very much like Vilnius in some respects. The train station was very near the centre of town, I think. He and his son helped me inside only to find that the station was closed and there were no trains due in until 6am. The ticket counter was closed until 4:30. If I had had fewer bags it would be one thing, but I had four bags that didn’t carry very well. I have not mastered the art of hanging them one on another and dragging the whole chain around behind me. I had one velcroed to the top of another, but the remaining two pieces had no way to attach to each other. I was left with shuffling all three pieces, one at a time, a few feet, dragging the last piece, and then repeating the process. If I were an onlooker, I would have found the entire process amusing. I decided to stay because I could not see doing this for any long stretch. I was beginning to wonder how I would get to on the train if I ever got that far.

I found a chair in the waiting room, positioned my bags and sat down. I would have to wait for an hour until the ticket counter opened. That was when I realized that I was tired. I had been awake for almost 24 hours. I looked at the luggage and rearranged it so that my feet were on the computer bag, my head was on the soft bag with my clothes in it and then I stretched my arm over the bag with my winter clothes and closed my eyes. I didn’t sleep well, but I did rest my eyes.

There were all sorts of people in the waiting room. There was a family of several children, several women with gigantic bags to my left. They were chattering away all night long. They seemed to be having a great time with each other. A little, old lady walked very carefully to across the room and out into the station area. She had a plastic bag, and a huge bottle of water to juggle with her besides the cane that kept her upright. There were quite a few of us waiting for one train or another. Most of them were older, rather than younger.

I waited. And waited. All of a sudden an official man in an official uniform started to shoo everyone out of the waiting room. This was disconcerting. Where was I to go? I found that the ticket booth was open now and so I went in to buy a ticket to Gura Humorului. Of course, I don’t speak the language. I asked at one window and was sent to another. On the third try, I hit paydirt. I could take the train for only 225 lei. This seemed extravagant. Also, the lady would only accept cash and I had only 200 lei. There was no where to exchange money at this hour so I turned away and thought I would sit in the train station until I could change more money. When I got back to the door to the station there was another official gentleman who would not let me pass. He lept pointing to a sign that I could not read. He had tickets in his hand, but I had no idea what they were for. There are all sorts of rules about the train station. Apparently, you can not enter without a ticket. It now costs 5 lei to enter. I was not about to pay that amount. I tried to explain that I had just been there. That I just wanted to sit down to think what to do. I was exhausted. Nothing worked. He was not going to let me pass. Keep in mind that I still have all of the baggage with me. Finally, I pantomimed that I simply wanted to turn around and leave. He finally let me through and I made my way around and back through the hall.

There was nowhere to go, nowhere to sit down. I was now a bit frustrated. I walked outside into the night and headed for the McDonald’s that was half in - half out of the station. Before I could get there, another gentleman with an official looking, laminated pass hanging around his neck came up to me and wanted to help. I didn’t really want help with the bags, I wanted help getting to Gura Humorului and so I was reluctant. He said his friend spoke English and could help. What did I have to lose? OK, probably a lot, but I was getting desperate.