BUCHAREST TO ISTANBUL

THE LAST LEG OF OUR ORIENT EXPRESS JOURNEY

Departing: 12:13

Arriving: 08:00  

(probably not)

A leisurely morning and then off to Gara da Nord by taxi at 11:00.  The 3 KM run was covered in about 20 minutes with a lot of swerving and hard braking and bullyng through traffic. The total cost on the meter was 7.95 LEI. So, I did good when I negotiated the 10 LEI ride in from the train station.

We quickly found our track and had a few minutes to kill. I tried to find something to take away for lunch but the main choice was a Big Mac or the KFC. I went for the Big Mac and instantly regretted either choice.

The train pulled up early and the attendant quickly and efficiently escorted us to cabin 51 53. It is like all the others, just a little older style and no bathroom.  There are 2 bathrooms at the end of the train for the 15 people on board. That is much better than the 2nd class where there is one hole in the floor for about 40.

 

This is a small train with only five or six cars and no dining car.  We have come prepared with wine, water, fruit and a Big Mac.  The capitalist conductor says he has water, beer, wine and sandwichs of his own that he will sell on board. More about him later.

 Research has said to "forget it,just fly" or "approach it as an adventure" for this segment. We are going for adventure.

The other passengers, British, Australian, German and a couple of unknown origin and us Americans stood in the corridor commenting on how retro this all was.

But do not worry.  It had safety equipment at one time.

there was a little hammer in that black case on all the other trains.

It is hard to take photos from the train as the right-of-way is overgrown and the only trimming is done by the train ripping off foliage as we pass.  Bulgaria appears to be poorer than Romania but that is just an assumption made while passing on a slow moving train.

 all the corn fields were cut with harvesters. afterwards people with horse drawn wagons would come and pick up all the little bits of corn left on the ground.

We stopped to accomplish the “Border Control” formalities.  For leaving  Romania and, after crossing the Danuabe, for entering Bulgaria. Both were done painlessly.

looks just like the last guy

 We seemed to stop at every station in Romania and Bulgaria.  I am sure you will recognize the names.

 that was just an engine sitting there, but no one would cross until the lady came out with her little paddle.

 we were met at every station by a uniformed agent. as we came to a stop they would hussle inside and then come back out give us the all clear.

 We motored on. Sometimes stopping for long periods of time.  There was a lot of engine changes. There is one at every border, but in Bulgaria I think there were four or five over night. By the time we arrived in Istanbul we had only 3 cars left and 2 of  those started in Bucharest.

 we seem to be missing an engine

 a good old Skoda engine

these cars are cast offs from western europe. not sure what "reconstruction" was done.

We motored on into the night having dinner and a little sleep.

 Remember that great conductor from Bucharest?  He seemed so promising. After we crossed into Bulgaria, he changed clothes and pretty much went away. He took over a cabin and even the Bulgaria border control had a hard time getting him to come out.  As for his sales, they were a flop, because he did not have change. A few  people just over paid. I, on the other hand, refused to pay and he came up with change. The Turkish conductor remained dressed and professional the whole trip.

We motored on into the night. On board were Dutch, British, German, and Australian. I liked the Dutch as she kept annoying the conductor with pertinant questions.

Around 3 AM we rolled into Turkey. Here we had to disembark, get a visa, and then get it stamped. Having done my research I was aware of this procedure and it went smoothly. We got off the train and headed way to the left to the visa office. A quick payment of 15 euros each and we were ready to go stand in another line.

At passport control, there was this great sign telling you to go get a visa. I am sure it is very clear to you too.

That being the last of the formalities, we all climbed back on board and settled down for a nice restful night....yea right.

Good Morning Turkey!!!

The arrival into Istanbul was along the water. Lots of boats and beautiful parks on the water, but they were hard to photograph. We rolled into the station right on time.....1.5 hours late.  The question is, the train does this every day, why not change the schedule?

But wait, this is the end of the...

....but not the end of today's journey.  We are in Europe and today ends a continent away in Asia....

and that is over there.

So, we are off to catch a ferry to Uskudar, Turkey in Asia.

And here we are at the end of "our" Orient Express trip in Uskudar....

........but stay tuned.  That is the end of the train but there are more adventures coming tomorrow right here on the Poor Mans Orient Express!!!!!
12 noon, 24 September, 2011