This day was the last day of this tour in Romania. We didn’t have a plan to follow. All we wanted was to move in a more relaxed pace without fatigue.
I got up at 10am. Drizzle outside and a good opportunity to extend our stay in bed and perhaps to deal with the settlement of our baggage and me with the calendar.
Soon the drizzle stopped ... we got the bikes and headed to the center and especially to the square Revolutiei (Revolution). We left them close to the cafes (Galleron & Turabo) and by foot we moved to the impressive building Ateneum Roman. The square is surrounded by beautiful and imposing buildings such as Palatul Regal (King's Palace), Parliament, the Monument of the Revolution, the church Cratsulescu. While wandering, I had the opportunity to give to George some information on these buildings. We had the chance to stand across the balcony where Ceausescu spoke, when people began to shout words to him and he fled away through a helicopter which landed on the roof of the Parliament.
Next to the church Cratsulescu is a great and famous bookstore in the city. George wanted to find something to buy as souvenir. I found it a very good idea. So we visited it and eventually I just got an album and Romania maps.
Then we went by foot in front of the Sala Palatului, which is one of the biggest sites where concerts, plays, graduations take place. We moved along the avenue Victoriei, which hosts numerous neoclassical buildings, some of which have been converted into museums. It is one of the busiest shopping avenues of the capital.
At some point we arrived at the square Romana. There is the University of Bucharest. I told to George the history associated with the presence of a metal ball on the roof of the university. While walking we reached the square Universitate, through the streets Basescu & Magheru. The square is Universitate it is the zero point of the country since from there start all the kilometric measurements of various points-cities.
We continued on the road Kongalniceanu that passes in front of Circul Militar (club officers) and Prefectura (Prefecture) & Primarie (Town Hall), and we were impressed with the neo-classical character and dignity they have. There we were in the park Cismigiu. It is one of the most beautiful and manicured city parks. The sun had already made a tentative appearance; and the park started to fill up slowly - slowly, by people who wanted to wander and have an enjoyable time. For us was the place where we made a short stop to see the artificial lake...
Later we crossed the park and found ourselves in the Sala Palatului and sat in the street cafes Episkopiei to rest. Before we went back to the hotel for dinner and walked some more until it got dark. It's something I love to do when I am in Bucuresti...
At 11pm we returned to the hostel... The truth was that I had begun to be disappointed because the journey came to an end…
11.10.2010 / Return...
When we woke up happy to have seen improvements in the weather, which would make more comfortable our return. Of course we didn’t know anything about the weather condition in Greece. Our plan was to stay the night in Thessaloniki, to Achilleas and the Triada that they waited for us.
While we were preparing the luggage we had a little adventure: the battery in the remote alarm was over so I cannot isolate the alarm of the motorcycle. After a short tour we managed to replace it.
At 11am we left the hostel towards the Romanian-Bulgarian border... Border control was less than formal... a situation that reminded me of anything in the past... Crossing the bridge over the Danube towards Greece I felt sorrow... something I rarely felt as a student ... Now I felt since I left behind some very familiar... but... I promised to myself that I will see it again soon...
The crossing of Bulgaria was very comfortable, no problems. There were a few detours that lengthen our trip mileages. We didn’t have any problems with the police. At 100km after Sofia it had begun the night fall and the weather was bad. About 100km before the border, it began to rain and soon it got stronger. We had spared the rain although we had reach been so north, to the mountains ... and we found rain just before returning to Greece! And even the worst time since it was getting darker and we were tired...
In the Greek border policeman asked: “Where do you guys come in such a bad weather?”. When I answered, he answered "... bravo to your courage!"
At 9pm we reached the new house of our friends receiving their warm hospitality... We opened a bottle of white wine that had bought from Romania and we began the narrative of the journey... Perhaps one of the reasons why it deserves to travel, especially by motorcycle is for these moments that happen to find yourself with friends, open a bottle of wine and remember the places you visit...
The end
