Brasov to Bucharest

Summary

The author recounts a journey from Brasov to Bucharest, highlighting the contrasting scenery, their interactions with local animals, and the logistics of their European tour.

Abstract

The group traveled from Brasov to Bucharest by private car, driven by Mihaela's husband, and observed diverse landscapes, from the picturesque Fagaras Mountains to the stark, industrial outskirts of Bucharest. They chose not to visit Bucharest's city center due to an early flight to Athens. Upon arrival at Hotel Charter, they dealt with minor inconveniences and enjoyed a walk to a nearby McDonald's. The author describes feeding stray puppies and encountering other friendly strays. They indulged in local comforts like a calzone and a jacuzzi at their shared apartment. The group's travel plans were altered due to a train service disruption, necessitating a flight to Athens, which is their first since the beginning of their European tour five weeks prior. This tour has included numerous cities, some visited for just one night.

Opinions

The author finds the transition from the mountainous regions to the flat, industrial landscapes around Bucharest to be drastic and somewhat depressing.
They express a sense of wonder and enjoyment from the simple pleasures of food and relaxation after a long journey.
The author is emotionally affected by the stray animals they encounter, particularly the puppies, showing a compassionate side.
There is a hint of disappointment about not being able to take the train to Athens, possibly due to the anticipation of experiencing another mode of travel in Europe.
The author seems to appreciate budget travel, as indicated by their excitement over the apartment's jacuzzi, which is a rare luxury on their trip.
They refer to their European tour as a "whistle-stop tour," suggesting a whirlwind pace that covers a lot of ground in a short time.

Rest in Bucharest

One of the puppies we fed. Photo by Keeley Schroder

We hired a private car (with driver, Mihaela’s husband) to take us from our hotel in Brasov to our hotel close to the airport in Bucharest. We don’t plan to go to the city proper as we have an early flight to Athens tomorrow. We drove over the Fagaras Mountains (possibly part of the Carpathians) and continued to see pretty little villages and beautiful autumnal forests climbing up the mountainsides to their snow-capped peaks.

Once we were down from the mountains, the scenery changed drastically to flat lifeless land crisscrossed by power lines and other sorts of wire nets. I have no idea what they are. We passed by several cooling towers attached to what looked like an oil refinery but maybe it was a nuclear power station. People were living in old houses only metres away — quite depressing. Eventually, we reached the Hotel Charter and climbed the stairs to our second-floor rooms. I left my suitcase in the lobby. Hopefully, no one wants it tonight! Our knees were stiff from the trip so Keeley, Lorelle, and I decided to go for a walk (to Macca’s!) I had a chicken wrap and a Big Apple Sundae and a cappuccino frappe.

On our way back, Keeley spied six puppies who looked hungry so we stopped at the supermarket and bought them some dry puppy food. She wanted to take them all home. They were so cute. Two more stray dogs wanted the lemonade I had bought and one even licked my bum — it’s a wonder you didn’t hear the scream!

After that adventure, we came back to our room and I fell asleep after ten pages of my book! When I woke up, it was dark so we decided to order in. I couldn’t go past the calzone — a new taste sensation I had never seen in Australia — washed down with the 2 litres of merlot we had to drink before our flight tomorrow!

We are sharing an apartment with Lorelle and Kiryn. Stacey is back in Nantes for a few days and will join us in Athens on Friday. Our apartment has a jacuzzi — the first spa bath we’ve had this trip — what can you expect when you travel budget? Keeley and I take full advantage of it to soak our tired bodies before hitting the hay. We had planned to catch the train via Thessaloniki but there’s some issue about Greece and international borders and the train’s not running, so we have to fly to Athens tomorrow — our first flight since we flew from Paris, France to Bergen, Norway 5 weeks ago.

Since then, we’ve stayed in Paris, Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brugge, Luxembourg, Bacharach, Rothenberg, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Brasov, and Bucharest — some places only one night — I call this my whistle-stop tour of Europe.