The never-ending train ride

I'm writing this from Bucharest.  We caught the train at 7:15pm on Thursday.  We had reserved a "room" in a first class sleeping car.  We read and talked for the first few hours of our trip and then ate some sandwiches we had bought.  Just when we were feeling ready to sleep, we reached the Hungarian Border and were very briefly interviewed by the border guard who basically only checked our identification.  We then continued on to the Romanian Border where a border guard who looked about 12 years old rechecked our ID's and stamped my entry in my passport.  Then we slept.  The train seemed to crawl but we were really only about an hour late getting in to Bucharest, arriving around 11:30a.m.  There is a different time zone here so it is seven hours difference, instead of the six in Hungary.

We settled into the apartment that will be my base of operations.  We took a walk around the neighborhood after putting some laundry in - this time with success.  We went to a Turkish restaurant and had a pleasant lunch and then went to a coffee shop for a cappucino.  We found a farmer's market which delighted me.  If we're ever in one place long enough, I'll cook.  We came back to the apartment and Florin cleaned up to go out for some appointments.  I hung our laundry to dry - something I haven't done for 50 years and took a shower and a nap.  It's nice to have a few hours of solitude, a sentiment I'm sure Florin shares. 

We have to be at the airport at 6am for our flight to Timisoara, a city near the Serbian border.  We will take a minibus from the airport to our hotel in Belgrade (about 75 miles).  So, that's today.  I'll talk to you tomorrow.