Treading water

Last day in Romania. Last destination. The Black Sea shores of Constanta. A friend told me to go there, so I decided to take him up on the advice. 

With a metro card in my pocket, I walked the few blocks up to the Obor station. I love the subway. Convenient and fast. A few minutes wait and the train arrived. A few stations later, we were at the train station. 

There are of course strict rules for taking the metro. As the signs below explains. Don't smoke, don't drop your ticket, don't clean the front windows of the subway, or Thor will strike you down!

I bought a ticket for the first train to Constanta. This would be a express train. Covering the 225 km in just over 2 hours. 

 

When we arrived, I checked the train routes back to Bucharest. I decided on the train going two hours later. Would give me enough time to dip my toes in the Black Sea. And to check out some of the city. 

I found that the street going straight from the train station would lead me right down to the shore. So I walked that way. And low and behold. The sea! The beach was almost deserted, save for a few 70-something swimsuit models soaking in the sun. 

I took my shoes off and waded into the sea. The temperature was nice. Almost made me regret I didn't bring my bathing shorts. But the waves were so high I wouldn't be able to swim anyways. But maybe done some body dipping. But at least I can say I have dipped my toes in another sea/ocean. 

 

After drying my feet in the sun and getting my shoes back on, I walked back into the little town I guess during the summer, it is packed with tourists. But now it was mostly dead. I found a small park with some leftovers from the roman era. Not much left. But what was, they put up on something best described as pedestals. I like old stuff. So I walked around and took photos of some of them. 

The park also had a giant war-statue. Like so many countries in the world.

Not much else to tell. Maybe there was more, but I only had two hours, and my watch was half-to-go-time. So I started heading back to the station. Picked up some sandwiches and a bottle of water for the trip back to Bucharest. When I got to the station, I found I had read the tables wrong. So the train left half an hour later than I thought. Oh well. At least I got a picture of the weird-painted boat outside. Was this a piece of art, or just a monument of some kind? Dunno.

I have noticed something odd when buying tickets here. I don't know if it has something to do with the time, but the return ticket is always cheaper. When I went to Brasov, the ticket was 59 Lei. The return ticket (bought in Brasov) only cost 29. And today, the ticket TO Constanta cost 82. And the return bought in Constanta, cost 72... Oh well. One of lifes mysteries, I guess.

The train arrived, and I found my seat. This was probably the best train so far. Still second class. But it seemed like it was new(ish). Great seats, aircon and even the toilet was a pleasure to use. Loved it! And that made the trip back to Bucharest even better. Didn't matter that it took the whole 2:45 the ticket said it would. I had plenty of time to eat my sammies, and to enjoy the scenery.

This has to be the narrowest platform in the world...

I decided to walk back to my apartment. The weather was nice, and this was my last chance to see the city. My flight is at 12 tomorrow, so I will only have the morning to get to the airport. But I will try to get there without taxi this time. There is a metro, of course. But I also found they have airport trains leaving all the time. Well. Not ALL the time. But pretty often. So I will use that one. Public transport for the win!

Walking back proved to give me an added bonus. I decided to tale a different route. And this led me straight into a long street that had temporaroly been closed off for traffic. Packed with people, street artists, cafes and a lot of life. I loved the vibe and the atmosphere. No traffic noise. Just people. Hanging out, laughing, talking. Loved it. Great way to end the trip. Picked up some street food, enjoyed some street art, and brought home some sweet snacks for the evening.

The trip has been great. Granted, it is impossible to see a country in just 4 days. No matter how much you travel. But my train trips have at least given me a glimpse. I have visited some historical sites. Seen a beach city. Seen some great architecture and great places. I would recommend people to come and explore. Maybe even spend more time here than I have done. See some more. Find other stuff. Maybe eat more local food. Soak it in more.

Hope I haven't scared people from taking the trains here. Believe me, it is a great experience. And they aren't as bad as I might have led you to believe. But even the bad trains are a great way to travel. You get to see a lot, and it is a cheap way of getting around. So try it out if you're in the neighbourhood.

Ragnar

Traveller, checking out of Romania