On one side exists the road, the other some ploughed fields, and then mountians in either direction. Occassionally we pass through the odd run down looking town. Whilst EU inclusion and funding may help the rural Bulgarians improve their standard of living, it is likely to be a slow process. Many Bulgarians do not believe the move from Communism to Capitalism has been beneficial to their country, however like most countries in the region they now look toward the West for directionn and economic support, and not the East. Humourously in Bulgaria, they claim to be somewhat of a jinx.... little brother to the Ottomans, then the Nazis, then the Soviets.... all of whom collapsed. So "Watch Out EU", is what they now claim.
Cinthia sits legs outstretched, always more content on a train than a bus, or particularly an aeroplane. Listening to Harry Potter audio books whilst munching on bird seed, she must be getting close to the finish, where Harry's life comes to a brutal end when he meets a demonic creature even more powerful than himself. I assume this is how it ends, right?
We leave Bulgaria with perhaps mixed views on whether it was worthwhile coming here. Both Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo are quite nice places to spend a few days, especially if one needs a slow paced town feel for a few days. Bulgaria is also half of the cost of other East European countries, a third of Slovenia and a quarter of Netherlands and Coppenhagen, so it allows more purchasing power. We took advantage of this with a few cheap trinkets, however intend to buy a lot more in Morocco, as we get close to the end of our trip. trip budget is now likely to be suffice for a fair few cocktails on the Brazilian beaches.
This morning we had a lovely conversation with an elderly Danish couple, who must have been mid 80s. They were still travelling frequently, including having been to India 5 times (where Cinthia desparately wants to visit). The Hostel we stayed, called Hostel Mostel, was actually very social, and had a common area, and a dining area. In addition to cheap rooms (or dorms) it offered Bus station pick up, breakfast and dinner). Not sure how many places offer this around the world.
In order to maximise our time in Romania, particularly in Transylvania we (and usually when I say we I mean Cinthia) have organised a hostel for tonight and car hire for tomorrow in Bucharest. We ride the train next to a Mexican couple, and may even share a hire car to travel around Romania. Their English is better than our Spanish, hence I won't get the opportunity to brush up on my now very rusty Spanish. We have heard mainly positive things about Romania, except Bucharest, and the state of the roads. It should be nice to drive around, see the castles and the Carpatherian mountains, and endeavour to find evidence that vampires still do exist.
Romania and Bulgaria are seperated by the huge Danube river, and once we cross the borders and the river the scenery magically begins to look a little nicer.
When arriving at the station we have no map, no accomodation, other than a reference to a hostel named Friends. Wary that whilst not all Romanians are trying to fleece you of money, we do stick to the golden rule- don't get a taxi at airports or train stations. Tourist information is no help at all, without as much as a map, so we ask a local who is helpful, and tells us the directions to the hostel. Walking around Bucharest at night isn't the safest feeling, however we feel confident with safety in numbers.....you don't mess with the Mexicans!
Instead of bothering to go into the city for a late dinner, we go close,which works out well with a delicous meal. Simultaneously the restaurant is playing host to a wedding, with lots of Romanian dance music in the background.
Ordering from the menu is again difficult, with no pictures. Romanian is not however totally foreign, as like Italian, Spansih and French it is a Latin based, or Romance language. It is therefore totally different to the border country of Bulgaria, which invented the Cyrillic language alphabet, which is now used by around 12 countries, including Russia and the Ukraine.
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