[Leaving Arad for Oradea, Romania]
Left 6:15am in taxi for train station. Cabbie was 40ish, drove much more safely and took a much shorter route than the first cabbie, who could have been a teenager. There was also much less traffic! Got there in plenty of time, but waited longer than I should have to get my ticket to Oradea. First ticket agent would not accept EurailPass but pointed me to a special "international" ticket agent.
Was running late, got my ticket and thought ticket agent said go to track #6. She was wrong. #6 was the furthest track and I rushed over there but an English speaker helped me determine it was actually track #1. Crap!!-- I barely made it. First class on this train had compartments but I didn't realize seats were reserved so I got people angry with me when I sat in their seats.
Didn't know why these people were mad at me, but found a compartment with a young woman who spoke good English. I asked if it would be OK with her if I sat in her compartment and she informed me that it was reserved seating. By sheer luck my seat was in that compartment! Seats were just fine, but the compartment was tired, old and dingy, quite a contrast to the first train I took. [This was a domestic Romanian train route.]
Got to Oradea-- hailed a taxi for ride to hostel. Cabbie was unfamiliar with it, but got me quickly to address and essentially indicated I was on my own. Another cheap cab ride. Traffic and driving habits were much more civilized. Was sprinkling and would be, off and on, rest of the day.
Hostel Felix was way behind the main building near the street. There was no way for me to know that. As I was wandering around, the proprietor, who lived in a different building, happened to see me and walked me there. He was the only hostel staff but spoke no English! Spent 15 minutes trying to communicate, getting quite frustrated with each other.
Finally figured out he was showing me where to get some money exchanged to pay my bill. Money exchange was nearby [they always are in Romania] and I was good to go. He showed me the room-- clean with four spartan beds. Thank goodness no bunk beds as in Dublin! Spotless bathroom and showers. It turned out I was alone. The only other guest that day was put in another room (and thank goodness for that, since he didn't look like a pleasant sort).
Wearing my raincoat for first time, I went downtown, up and down some streets (without a map), careful to not get lost, although there were many taxis roaming the streets. Bought a gigantic and delicious gyro for $2.50 but had to eat it on the spot since it was raining and I was too far from the hostel. Was standing up, without a table or utensils, under an awning. This was quite a challenge, but I managed to drop almost nothing on the ground.
Did more sightseeing and then caught a nap back at the hostel. Got out again and walked to the train station, sightseeing all the way, but also to make sure I could do it again the next day. While still sightseeing, I started looking for a restaurant for dinner-- not easy. McDonald's was open, but I wouldn't be caught dead there!
Found a restaurant whose hostess/waitress spoke some English but had a hard time describing the items. Menu, of course, had no English translations. Finally, I just guessed at a couple items and had a very nice dinner with a beer for $10. Did some more sightseeing. It was still not dark at 9:00pm. Was relieved to find that the door to the hostel was not locked. Prepared for my exit next day.
--END 30 JUNE--
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