This morning marked the end of pure “Jim Time” and I started my journey to rendezvous with the other members of the Tour Group. I was awake at 0600 and spent most of the early morning reading, doing Duolingo and packing. Eileen and I were able to text a bit - that was nice. I went to breakfast in hotel restaurant at 0810 (another good buffet). Done at about 0855, I then went for a walk in my Bucharest neighborhood. There was some shade (trees and tall buildings) and this kept temps cool. However, it was already hot in the sun. I passed by an Orthodox Church that appeared to be conducting services - there were some ominous gentlemen at the door that gave me enough pause to avoid trying to enter... Back in my room by 0930, I spent an hour wrapping up my stay and checking out of the hotel. Catalin picked me up at 1030 and we drove to the airport (pretty close to the same route as last night). We had an interesting French and Romanian flag (they kind of look the same) discussion on the way. We arrived at airport by 1100 and I did my best to thank Catalin for his excellent driving. Before the trip began, I had a choice: accept route planning from the Tour Company (transfers included) or make up my own air itinerary to reach my hotel in Bulgaria. I chose the former and this involved two flights (one to Vienna and the other to Sofia). So, my first order of business in the terminal was to locate the check-in counter for Austrian Airlines. It wasn't easy... I was finally able to find a self check kiosk to print boarding passes but then had to wait in a huge line for the bag drop. This was due to the fact that Austrian shared desks with Lufthansa and Swiss Air - ugh... I ultimately got through the line by 1200 (whew; 15 minutes to spare). The desk agent had tried to convince me to check my bag but I successfully declined. Fortunately, security checks were no issue. I spent some time before boarding walking through the crowded "OTP" terminal. I noticed they had no WiFi, potable water or available seating - almost 180 out from my Amsterdam experience. I eventually found a spot on a window sill and waited until boarding began (1250). At that point, it was a free for all throughout the boarding process (no zones called). Also, I couldn't tell - did I need my passport or not? Once I got aboard (A320 window seat), I was pleased to see a petite woman sitting in the middle seat - this appeared to bode well for elbow room. Unfortunately, my neighbor changed seats with a larger guy and all the extra room was immediately gone. Needless to say, I was relieved that it was a shorter flight... We were all in our seats well in advance to the scheduled takeoff but we still departed 30 minutes late (mostly because there were two empty seats that the gate attendants wanted to fill) - SMH. At least we had Strauss playing in the background! It was strange to transition from the rather musical Romanian to the harsher Deutsch. But the crew members were as friendly as any Central Europeans I’ve met. One of the Flight Attendants had a Nina Blackwood voice (I couldn’t get that reference out of my head). During the flight, we had free internet (for messages only) but there were no charging ports so I turned off my phone. During the drink service I realized that everything cost money - I got a special bag of (Austrian?) Haribo gummies. While we were airborne, I read some more of my travel book (Bulgaria and Sofia stuff). We had a Danube overflight for the first 30 minutes - I took photo and later identified the section of the river (bridge west of Iron Gate). We must have flown due west after that because I noticed a giant lake to the north I think it was Lake Balaton in Hungary. If I'm correct, we later turned north. We were given Austrian chocolate just before arrival. I saw lots of windmills in the fields of Austria during our approach to Vienna. Also saw second lake closer to the city. Another bonus: Bratislava was visible in the distance. We landed at 1410L (one hour time change). After parking, we got an Austrian passport check on way off of aircraft. Since we landed late, I spent only about 30 minutes in the terminal. In this short period, though, I experienced long lines for the bathroom, good internet and plentiful USB power outlets. When boarding for my next flight (Embraer E95) began (1500), it was again a free for all (“all passengers may board”). This ended up being much more critical than previously because we had to get on a bus that took us far out onto the ramp. Even after the bus parked, there was no one to point anyone towards one of the jetways. As a result, people randomly chose doors and there was opposing traffic in the cabin. Fortunately, I was in an early group and found (limited) room for my carryon. Everyone was pretty efficient in the end and we took off almost on time (1530L). During the climb out, I got a nice view (although we immediately turned and it was short) of the nearby Danube and Vienna city skyline. The snapshot view of the city, the wide river and hills to the northwest - all in the late afternoon sunlight - is imprinted in my mind. Wow! There was another time change again enroute. During the drink service, I ordered an early dinner (chicken paprika wrap) and an Austrian beer (paid in Euros). Watching the Danube overflight again - this time, I had the map on my phone and realized (due to the visibility and distinctive landmarks on the Danube and Sava rivers) that we were overflying Belgrade. After that, I noticed a marked increase in the rugged terrain (much different from Walachia). The descent was uneventful and we landed in Sofia, Bulgaria at 1755L (early). I was near the front of the plane but took my time heading to baggage claim. The airport had good WiFi but seemed pretty empty. Since I was awaiting a 2000 bus from the AHI Travel team and didn’t see the point of hurrying, I got some more steps and took care of texts with the kids). However, when I finally got my bag and left the arrival area (1830), I encountered a representative of AHI who seemed frantic about my "lateness". At first, I took this as a sign that I wouldn’t have to wait the full time. But it was a bait and switch and they took the entire time to wait on other people and flights. Before the trip, I’d thought about taking taxi instead of waiting - in hindsight, that would have been better... Meanwhile, I met an older gentleman (widower from Connecticut) named Dennis who I had been on the same Austrian flight I took. We ended up talking the time away. Eventually (2000), we had nearly 20 people from our tour assembled and were escorted to a waiting bus. The drive to our hotel in downtown Sofia took about 25 minutes and our local guide (Ivan) pointed out sights along the way. There were so many pretty buildings! I met another solo traveler (Robert from Texas). We were dropped off in from of the Sofia Balkan Palace Hotel and walked to our own special hospitality area in the back of the lobby (our bags were delivered to our rooms). We were met by our tour coordinators (Nani, Vessy and Alan) and received a short orientation. With our room keys, we also got a three day itinerary. The bulk of the group seems to be Silent and Boomer Generations so this may be a lot less mobile and active than I’d hoped. But everyone - including the local guides and travel hosts - was extremely nice. On the way to my room, I skimmed the events for the following day and noticed that I needed to get up early for breakfast, Mass (with ND group) and . Everyone else headed to their rooms to go to bed early. As you might have guessed, I only stopped at the room to drop my stuff before heading out to explore (2100). The hotel is located right across the street from the ruins of the Thracian/Roman settlement of Serdica, a huge mosque, a statue of Saint Sofia and a pretty church called the Cathedral of Saint Nedelya. All of these things were well lit for the evening and very pretty. I wandered down Bul. Vitosha, a closed street with pubs and restaurants. The weather was pleasant and the area was full of young people. I stopped for a few (half) pints of Bulgarian beer and dessert of Pavlova (mint, lemon, strawberry, blueberry) at a place called the Social Cafe Bar & Kitchen - everything was good. There was much less English being spoken and I have had no exposure to Bulgarian - but some expressions, words and gestures are universal. Cyrillic characters and words are also going to be a unique challenge - not since my days visiting Japan have words been so tough to decipher. I noticed a lot of people (even young ones) were smoking in nearly every place I visited. Wrapped up my evening excursion at about 2145 and headed back to the room to get ready for a full day of food, lectures, Mass (with the Notre Dame priest who is with us), a lecture about Sofia, a city walking tour and Welcome Reception/Dinner. Before going to bed (2330), I texted with Erin and worked on my travel blog. Excited about my cruise itinerary - so much new stuff to see/do!
