Europe (Bucharest, Romania) April/June 2010 D17-D18

Athens, Greece has one of the great wonders of the world ie Acropolis so I was very keen to visit this city hence I had included Athens in my travel plan. Coming from Western and Central Europe and in order to get to Greece, I had to visit Eastern Europe and my journey would have to include countries such as Romania, Bulgaria & Albania. But I decided to drop Albania as I was told the public transport there was not that efficient.

From Vienna, I used my Eurolines pass and took a bus to Bucharest, Romania - a long arduos journey which took about 21 1/2 hours. I arrived in Bucharest around 5.30pm and checked into The Funky Chicken hostel (Euro$8 dorm). On my return trip from Sofia to Bucharest, I stayed in YMCA Universitaria hostel (Euro$8), a better hostel.

This bus journey gave me the opportunity to admire the country side scenery of Austria & Romania.

In Bucharest, I spent my day visiting the major tourist sites and also visited the Bucharest train station to purchase a train ticket for my trip to Sofia. But on my return journey, I took a bus from Sofia to Bucharest as I found the train ride was slow and stop in many stations along the way. I spent another 3 days in Bucharest in order to take the first available bus (using Eurolines pass) back to Vienna for my last leg of tour to Rome, Italy.

Expenses incurred in Bucharest, Romania (4 days)
Hostel (3 x Euro$8) = Euro$24
Train ticket (Bucharest>Sofia) - Euro$30
Bus - Euro$4
Food & groceries - Euro$12
Total Expenses: Euro$70
Exchange rate: Euro$1=4 Leu

Travel Highlights

1) The Triumphal Arch - built in 1935, modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

2) Botanical Garden

3) Palace of the Parliament - the world's 2nd largest parliament building

4) Strada Franceza, Bucharest's historical centre

5) Old buildings & monuments in Bucharest

" Bucharest in the old days earned the nickname as The Little Paris of the East. The city was destroyed by Ottomans and abandoned by their princes in the 17th century. The Crimean war, natural disasters, allied bombings, dictatorial rule under Nicolae Ceausescu (1965-1989) had destroyed many of their historical buildings and elite society leaving behind a sad story.

The Secret of Life: When you keep saying you are busy, then you are never free ! When you keep saying you have no time, then you will never have time ! When you keep saying that you will do it tomorrow, then your tomorrow will not come ! "