Train ride from Transylvania to the capital, Bucharest

It's been a long time since the last train ride...was it France? Italy? The Kingdom of the Netherlands? New York to Washington, DC? I don't recall...it's one of the "disadvantages" of extensive travels. I never liked to keep track of such things but I surely remember the first taste of genuine freedom after the Revolution of 1989, the first trip by airplane, the first trip by train.

This adventurous trip to Romania brings all the positive energy of my friends and close family who are joyful of our return. The trains are no longer the old types I remember; they were changed with new ones. But the humor of the Romanians is ubiquitous. Passing through a tunnel, lights are off, one voice shouts: "Watch your bags! It's a long tunnel." I'm smiling but carefully reach out to my purse just in case; truthfully, it's so heavy, I doubt that anybody would want to take it.

As I listen to the sound of the rolling wheels speeding through miles and miles of railroad, the whistle announces its presence with the pride of a kid who has the first chance to pull the whistle of the train. Flowers of all colors are peppering the fields: pink, purple, white, yellow, blue, red - inspiration for scenes of artist Nicolae Grigorescu. Storks are flying around, I've seen so many these days; it's a good sign, there must be many babies in the area (smile). On an impulse I decided that the blog that many asked about, will be born today. So, I reached out to open my laptop. Thankfully, I have internet from a prepaid card, and my phone becomes my router.

It's the period of the pandemic hysteria - as I call it. The new law - issued by the Romanian Parliament - requires everybody to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth in the train, the station (not on the platform), in stores, etc. I'm complying with the preventive measurements especially because Europeans smoke so much. I, as a non-smoker, and former forensic expert who saw first hand the damage of cigarettes onto the human lungs, protect myself the best I can. Thankfully, smoking is forbidden by law in Romanian public places.

What did I do before the Coronavirus 19 (C19)? I was holding my breath - an exercise that served me very well during the professional years practicing shooting.

I missed seeing the beauties of Romania: the generous green fields of corn, weeds overgrowing abandoned industrial buildings, men chasing goats, occasionally, a flock of sheep. The green branches reach out onto the train as if waving "goodbye" to all the passengers. I'm pretty confident that they also act as phonic insulator to the rest of the residents in the rural area.

There are still forests around, and some roads are making their shy way through in order to reach a house or a church. People worked their field this year - a very difficult year when isolation - quarantine - made physical and social distancing even more evident to the world.

The Conductor is passing through checking the tickets; he volunteered to tell me that I could charge my laptop in the 220V plug located under the long table separating the four chairs of the seating area. I kindly thanked him admitting that I would not have guessed about it since it's not marked. He scratched his head looking at my universal adaptor and 110V Apple plug asking with an honest voice: "What is that, Miss? I haven't seen any of it since I was born". It's difficult to have a private conversation in a train except for the Vietnamese nearby who keeps on having Facetime with his family or friends, and everybody's attention is attracted like a magnet towards the "funny" language of the lone foreign passenger.

Another tunnel...this time the lights are on. No incidents but people still remember the previous incident.

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Presently in Bușteni, another ski resort after Predeal. The mountains are so sumptuous and abrupt, the silver evergreen are so beautiful...meanwhile the train filled up. We're listening to the lousy wave of "manele", and someone's Russian recording or movie polluting our peaceful ride. It's time to pull out the earplugs from my purse; thankfully, they serve me well during travels (see my travel kit posting). 

Time to write a common sense public transportation etiquette but there are so many on the internet. I care about the one stating that no loud music should be played; use ear plugs, headphones or low volume. Wear the mask if required by law! (In Romania, it is) Nobody is above the law. Phone conversations are kept to a minimum, and on low voice; signal is bad anyway on the train, so, using the phone line is better.

We're about to enter in Sinaia. I saw a fresh stream of water rolling down the mountain, and the view was cut off only by the vintage train from Galati heading to Brasov. This morning train was fast, and the weather is nice even though in Transylvania it rained every day.

My Russian neighbor is picking his nose throwing around biological mini-bombs; yuck! Another sleeper uncovered his face just to be woken up by the conductor who reminded him to wear the mask. Music keeps pounding, someone is rocking his foot to the point of the unbearable Chinese drop...

Stopover was very short. A lake nearby has ducks, and a parent shows them to his child. Then, the first logs cut make the scene too obvious to the sadness of the illegal logging in Romania. 

Sunflowers...fields of sunflowers...I would love to just walk through them and listen to their leaves whispering their story...one day I'll do that again. 

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As my new endeavors will continue, I'll keep this blog alive at the request of so many who wanted to see Dracula's country through my eyes. We just made it to Brasov as it is announced; eight (8) minutes stop over. 

Stay tuned! Stay healthy! "You can buy everything else" (Florin Calinescu, Actor, Theatre Director and Television)