Smooth Landings
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2006
1
3
14
Trip End
Sep 11, 2006
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Bucharest,
Romania
Friday, September 1, 2006
Smooth Landings
9:00pm Bucharest Time
Dear Readers:
I board the plane in Frankfurt and find myself seated in a two-seat exit row with plenty of room. My seat mate sits down and I ask him if he is a Romanian. No, he replies. Norwegian. Perhaps the blond hair should have given it away that he wasn't Romanian. I apologize and say that I had been hoping to meet my first Romanian. Not to worry, he says. You'll meet plenty of them!
I ask if he is going to Romania on a holiday. No, he replies. He lives there with his Romanian wife, who he met on holiday there many years ago
01 Marriott Grand Bucharest
. She tried to move to live with him in Norway, but the Romanians have very close-knit families, and she was too homesick. Plus, she didn't like it being dark so much in the winter. At least their daughter was born in Norway and has dual citizenship.Since he's from a more liberal European country, I tell him about the nature of my tour company and ask if he thinks we'll have any problems in Romania. He agrees that some people are a little backwards, but all are friendly, and he thinks we'll have nothing to worry about. I devour the meager rations and endeavor to doze.
After a 7.5-hour flight to Frankfurt and another 2-hour flight to Romania, I am safe and sound in a truly fabulous hotel - the Marriott Grand. Built at the same time as the nearby "People's Palace," and in the same imposing style, the government intended it to be occupied by the Ministry of Defense. When the Communist Regime collapsed in the revolution of 1989, the building sat empty for quite a while before the Marriott Hotel chain decided to purchase it. Only a little more sleep would make me happier than I am now (and I intend to get plenty of that in just a few minutes). I am eight hours ahead of Chicago time, and really feeling my lack of sleep!
02 Marriott Bar
The airport transfer goes beautifully. It takes a long time due to heavy traffic, but it gives me the opportunity to get acquainted with our guide, who will be with us for the entire tour. His English is excellent, which is a huge relief! He also assures me that we will have absolutely no problems traveling through Romania as a gay group-another huge relief! "We shall see," said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.
We've dropped one client at another hotel (since the tour doesn't officially start until tomorrow), and so it is just one other client who checks in with me. We drop our luggage in our rooms and head out to find water. A nearby 24-hour quick stop has a huge bottle of water. She tells me it costs 22. I just about pass out, as I figure that is close to $10 at 2.9 Romanian lei to the US dollar. She sees my horror and shakes her head. She gives me change for my 50 lei that adds up to 47.80, so when she said 22, she meant 2.2 - or just under $1. I think dealing with money here might be interesting, and I'll be holding up lines as I count every bit of change!
We wander back to the hotel and agree to meet later for dinner. However, I've settled into my room and no power on earth is going to be able to drag me out of here again. I feel like I've been eating all day anyway! I call and make my apologies, and beg out of dinner. Two more clients just arrived, and they are also in for the night. It looks like all are accounted for, and my only job now is to get rested for the beginning of the tour tomorrow!
Big hugs,
Dan
