Bucharest

Monday 1 August 2005

Patsy "vegged" at the Yeager house while Sandy and Rebekah went into Bucharest to buy train tickets for Istanbul (Euro100). Then Sandy and Rebekah joined John for lunch at the American Embassy. It was all just like the films with a fit, smart marine manning the entry point, checking the documents (Sandy's passport) and saying "Yes sir, thank you maam". Lots of security. A walk around central Bucharest finished the day before a BBQ at the Yeager's. A very relaxing two days.

Sunday 31 July 2005

Picked up by Rebekah Yeager at Bucharest Nord station. It was great to actually know someone in the place. Rebekah drove us to her house on the outskirts of Bucharest for a relaxingly quiet time in a normal house complete with dog and children. Romania is undoubtedly the poorest of the countries yet visited with the people only just starting to recover from the years of neglect and mismanagement. The usual story of former strong men forming crime syndicates. There is also a Gypsy Mafia (1.8 million Romany in Romania)! 30 000 Old Lei or 3 New Lei to US$1. Still despite problems, Romania is moving forward - EC membership in 2007. Visited a shopping centre, very modern, a gas station and a manual car wash before taking doggy for a walk.