Spring Break - Bucharest

I arrived in Bucharest in the evening. The train station was sketchy to begin with, but I was further stressed out because Drew was unable to withdraw money from the ATMs and his American Express card was virtually useless abroad. Then I freaked out a little bit. When I was buying tickets for our next leg of the journey, a man stood right next to me instead of waiting a couple of feet behind me in line. I felt very uncomfortable, so I asked him for some space. He said okay and backed up, but he inched up beside me again. I motioned for some more room, and he didn't budge enough so I barked, "Drew," (and yes, bark is definitely the most accurate word). I can laugh about it now because Drew was only a few yards away at the ATM, but he was out of sight, and I was nervous about handling money, tickets, and luggage in the presence of that creepy guy. On the bright side, a couple of women at the train station were particularly nice and helpful.

I stayed at East Hostel. http://www.easthostel.com/ It was a very nice place, but I'm glad that I was only there for one night. Perhaps the cold, rainy weather affected my impression of Bucharest, but there wasn't a whole lot to see there. The following day, I walked along Calea Victoriei and the Dambovita and took a tour of the Parliament Palace. The Parliament Palace was huge! In fact, it's the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. I had wanted to see the Village Museum, but the weather put a wrench in those plans. By the end of day, I was damp and cold, so we took refuge at the McDonald's in the train station. No--I didn't buy anything, but I owe McDonald's for being a warm sanctuary in my time of need.

In comparison to Cairo, Bucharest was cleaner, prettier, and better-organized. People actually hosed down walls and sidewalks to get the dirt off. There were hundreds of stray dogs instead of cats, and there were plenty of trashcans too. There were also crosswalks and drivers stopped to let us cross the street. What a luxury! My favorite thing about Bucharest was the instant Nescafe machines. For just 1 Romanian lei, or $0.25, I bought a small cup of hot chocolate. Since it was a dreary day outside, I was really, really excited about them.