Still in the air as the new day began - got almost zero sleep during the flight. At about 0430, the flight attendants turned on the lights again and started serving breakfast (some sort of pastry, like a cross between a Danish and mince pie, and juice). Soon after this, we started our overflight of the British Isles - the weather wasn’t great but I saw city lights for Manchester. I watched some more movies and killed time as best I could until we started our approach. On the way across the coast of the Netherlands, I got to see lots of canals and windmills (mostly the electricity generating kind). Our landing was just after 0700, meaning that the crew had made up almost all of the 90 minutes we’d been delayed in New York. The weather was pleasant and this made deplaning at the gate a lot less sweaty than I’d expected. Some people were practically pushing to get off the aircraft (I guess they had short layovers) and I had to get out of the way to avoid being trampled. The gate numbers didn’t make a lot of sense to me and there were no displays with departure information. As a result, I walked in one direction for a while before I figured out where I needed to go for my next flight. Eventually, though, I figured out where to go and came upon a Customs checkpoint on the way. There wasn’t any line and my passport check took less than a minute - the transition through the Schengen Area was much easier than I’d expected! By 0800, I had reached my gate and confirmed everything I needed for the next leg. Unfortunately, the Delta App was really no help in the overall process. During the next hour, I walked around to get steps (later, I figured out that all of my steps had been counted towards August 7). Feeling good about the exercise (it also kept me from feeling like I’d been away for nearly 20 hours), I sat down to do some reading and Duolingo. I was lucky I’d been able to get a seat because the gate area filled up quickly. There was very little air conditioning and I felt quite hot. Like yesterday, our boarding time came and went without an announcement. When we were finally told to get on the aircraft (a KLM Boeing 737), there was little in the way of loud announcements. During this time, my fatigue showed its head when I sat in the wrong seat (which was also broken). Fortunately, the nice young man who wanted to sit there was quite understanding... Once everyone was onboard (0945, 10 minutes late), everyone started talking really loudly and ignored the crew’s instructions. More time passed before I heard something clear enough to understand we were delayed for at least another 20 minutes. During this window, I decided to spring for the AT&T International Plan (up to that point, I’d been using WiFi). It wasn't a good piece of news to find out that the daily price had gone up since my last trip. Throughout this period, the Delta App still wasn’t updating and my bag was still listed as being on my earlier KLM flight - I began to grow concerned. Fortunately, I still had my other bags... We finally took off at 1025. I was stuck in the middle seat of the cattle car and couldn’t see much on the ground. Enroute, I read my travel books and tried to plan for activities in Bucharest. We had several drink (soda and water) and food (cheese sandwich) services on the nearly three hour flight and I kept hydrated. The weather improved and I was able to spot a little of the Eastern European terrain from the air - most of it was flat. Another comment about this flight: here were no amenities (movies, power outlets or internet). This left little to do but to doze intermittently. I might actually have fallen asleep but my two seat neighbors were quite restless. As we approached our destination, the flight ended with lots of S Turns (“hand flying” to lose altitude). We landed about 30 minutes late and I turned on my cell phone to find several messages on WhatsAp from my car service. Vlad (the manager) had been messaging me during the lead up to my departure and now handed me off to the actual driver. I messaged with the latter until I was able to get off the plane, walk to the baggage claim and retrieve my bag. When I came out to the street (1420), a man (about my age) named Catalin was there to meet me. We walked to a nearby parking garage and got on the Bucharest “Beltway” as we drove east. Even with this shortcut, we later encountered a lot of surface street traffic. Silver lining: this gave us time to plan for out next day’s excursion to the mountains. Catalin was an interesting guy and we shared a few important things in common. We arrived at the hotel (Holiday Inn Bucharest - Times) by 1500. Catalin told me that he would be my driver for an excursion tomorrow so we coordinated a meet up time. While checking into the hotel, I got a lot of help from the desk clerk trainee (Edward) in navigating and logistics around the city. Feeling quite exhausted, I headed to my room (IHG hotel reward night and I got a special upgrade). I was tempted to take a nap but, instead, I got cleaned up after nearly 28 hours on the road... After packing a bag for an excursion into the City Center, I contacted my daughters (checking in on safe arrival). Next, I walked to a nearby bus stop so I could ride the for #104 bus to Lipscani (Old Town). At 1620, I got a round trip ticket that ended up costing only $1.32 USD (!) and headed west towards the center of Bucharest. I was off the bus at about 1645 and walked around in the Piata Unirii, admiring the pretty fountains. After crossing several busy streets (headed towards the north), I arrived at Curtea Veche Church (Old Princely Court Church, AKA St. Anthony’s Orthodox, the oldest church in Bucharest). Visitors were allowed inside and I marveled at the iconic artwork and beautiful vaulting. Meanwhile, other visitors performed Christian rituals that were unfamiliar to me. After building up a high level of awe, however, I walked west on cobblestoned Str. Franceza, passing more pretty churches (St. Dimitry and Stavropoleos) along the way. Everywhere I went, I noticed that there were a LOT of smokers... Before long (1705), I arrived at Caru cu Bere (a restaurant in my guidebook). Once seated, I ordered several local dishes and drinks: Classic Romanian skinless sausages "Mici" with mustard & chips; Ursus Premium Lager; selection of Romanian pickles; Bran plum palinka. I sat outdoors and, even though it got progressively warmer, I stayed at my table until 1805. After that, I wandered the same neighborhood (west and south). Eventually, I found myself in a maze of the shops, pubs and restaurants of the Old Town. If I wasn’t already full, I would have stopped for some some gelato or tried more beer at each location. As it was, I was considering heading back to the hotel when I suddenly noticed that a nearby business called the Hanu’ Lui Manuc Restaurant was advertising a demonstration of traditional Romanian dancing and music at 2000. Upon entering, I mentioned my interest to the hostess and she sat me at the front table (“special reserved seating”). For about an hour, I sipped Kozel Dark Beer and listened to recordings of some amazing Romanian music (seemed to be a mix of Greek, Flamenco and Irish) very dance worthy). I later ordered some Papanași (Romanian Donuts made with cottage cheese, flour, egg and blueberries). At that point, I got some great advice about Romanism cuisine and beverages from my server (Marius), who clearly liked working in the 208 year old establishment. In fact, he set up a great pairing of a Romanian white wine (from the Aurelia Visinescu Winery) with my donuts. As my food/drink arrived, the cultural performance started. The dancers were excellent and performed a few sets to boisterous applause. After that, though, they all mingled with the audience. Before the night was over, even I was drafted for a dance and the lovely young lady who’d invited me made me feel like I knew what I was doing - twirls and everything. Fortunately, there isn’t any photo evidence. After I settled back at my table, I thought I was done for the night but then the OTHER female dancer invited me to join her onstage. By the end of our “performance”, she had ME twirling. As I mentioned, the music was very catchy and upbeat. I was relieved, however, that the next act was some non-lyrical musicians. At 2025, I said goodbye to Marius and made my way back towards the bus station for #104. Ran into a pantomime performer (“Vlad Tepes”?). Stopped again to watch the (now lighted) fountains - very nice. Even after successfully getting on the bus, I miscounted my stops on the way back to my hotel. End result, there was some extra walking involved. Arrived in my room by 2100 and spent the next hour cleaning up, blogging and reading. Finally ready for bed at 2230. I’ve been awake almost 36 hours but definitely maximized my first day in Romania. Feeling really good about the things I saw and did - hoping tomorrow lives up to the hype too!
