June 7th, 2010 Bucharest and Brasov, Romania

 Brasov, Romania

3AM People came in several times during the night but thanks to my device and good luck, nothing had happened.

6AM I got to Bucharest, it first looked like a dump.  Two nice Romanian girls helped me buy a round trip bus ticket (2.6 RONs)  to the Parliament, which was initially the only thing I wanted to go to.  I got there at 8AM but it does not open until 10.

  Downtown Bucharest

Second Largest Building in the World

9AM I found downtown and then some pedestrian streets.  I used 14 RONs for a walnut shake and a brief internet session that ended around 10.

10:15AM When I got to the Parliament, the earlier tour has alreadys started.  So I had to wait until 11.

11:45AM I finished most of the tour before I realized I had to get back for the 12:19PM train to Brasov.  Wwhen I got to the corner, I asked for the metro and a guy led me downstairs to the metro.  We realized that the ticket that I had was for bus only.  He helped me to the bus station and offered me some Romanian donuts.

12:25PM I got to the station late but I am not sure anymore, since the next train is at 1PM even though it was not listed on the internet, which worked fine by me.

 Outdoor Exhibition in Brasov

1PM My train to Brasov left.  It was a nicer train, like the one I rode from Munich to Vienna, with air conditioning and electricity.  At 4:30PM, I arrived at Brasov and waited around 30 minutes for Gabby to pick me up.  Gabby and Chip took me around Brasov, which is a very nice, quiet and sleepy town.  The pedestrian roads is slightly older than these of other towns.  The black church is emblematic of this town, which is surrounded by fortress walls.

 Black Church

7PM Gabby and Chip took me to their lovely home.  Gabby’s father grow many vegetables, including rasberries.  They have a dog and a cat.  We had dinner, which a chicken stew and they sent me to the train station around 9PM.

 Chip, Gabby and I

10PM Before I left, I bought a Romanian Cevapi for 7.5 RONs and Chip chipped in 0.5 RONs.  They were very nice to send me off on the train after 20 minutes of waiting, for the train was late.  Once I got onto the train, I was stupid enough to try to get into the nicer trains in the front, which Chip told me did not go to Budapest and would later split to go elsewhere in Romania.  The ticket attendant called in his boss, who asked for tariff.  I walked to the front of the train and all the way back before settling on the floor near the very end of the train, next to the bathroom.

12PM A girl going to the restroom was kind enough to rescue me to go to her room so I could escape the customs at Romania would find me later.