“Writing thoughts down while traveling is an odd phenomena. Only the rising settings and shifting context could give birth to them and they seem another man’s words when I read them back.” – Old Sean
Long Night Train
When I finally left Bucharest, I selected a train heading to Timișoara on the eastern boarder of Romania.
This night train theoretically would take me across the countryside. I was fortunate to have a bright moon as we went by vast sweeps of farmland, a silver-bladed river and vague, low mountain ridges.
That being said, Romanian trains are slow. Wrenchingly slow. I received a full night’s sleep in the upright and seated position, snoozing across the table from an elderly blind man and his dog.
Onward Trials
I finally arrived in Timișoara, checked into my hostel and discovered I had a problem. My company had warned me that getting across the border from Romania to Serbia was a ticklish affair. I had listened, but I was confident I was able to figure it out.
But it quickly became apparent that I was running into an expensive wall.
Getting a train to Belgrade (my next destination) looked like a nightmarish hassle. Additionally, busses refuse to attempt the crossing without a hefty 50 Euro fee, which would’ve exceeded my transit budget.
While I chewed on this, I took a long, looping walk around Timișoara.
At this point, luck smiled on me with all the concentrated radiance of a laser pointer. While walking, I ran across an American wearing his university sweater. I blinked a couple of times at the logo, recognizing a fellow alumni.
Struck again by the realization of how small a world it was, I stopped to chat with the gentleman. We had graduated from the same university, though he had graduated a year prior to me.
When I relayed my transit problem, the gentleman put me in contact with his hostel, which offered to hire a shuttle van that would tote me across the border for a mere 10 Euros.
As a thank you for his aid, I bought the American a coffee and passed along all my leftover Hungarian change. Since he was going to Budapest next, he would get far more use from it than me.
A Day Visiting Timișoara
With my next leg of the trip sorted, I went back to my hostel to contact my company and let them know I could remain on-schedule.
Fortunately for me, I was lodged in Timișoara’s Old Town Hostel, located conveniently in the city’s center. The hostel was clean, spacious, polite and blessedly quiet. With my major hurdle sorted, I used the hostel as a base while rotating lazily through Timișoara.
I quickly learned that Timișoara’s aesthetic is worth falling in love with. It’s a criminally beautiful city, especially now that peak tourism has whittled away and crowds are diminished.
There are numerous old buildings lining cobbled streets, with many of the buildings given a wealth of care and repair. There are Odd metal statues seated, unlabeled on street corners, roughly akin to ground-level gargoyles protecting pedestrians. Every corner I found, buskers played street music. Where blocks are too crowded together, the music would clash together, songs oversaturating quiet air.
Sights Around Timișoara
The first and most impressive building found while visiting Timișoara is the main church.
The Cathedrala Mitropolitana Orthodoxa is perhaps the only church in the past month that I’ve actually enjoyed looking at. (After nearly four months in Europe, I’m rarely enthusiastic about looking at churches). The Orthodox structure had a green-tiled roof, gentle, steep spires and sturdy brick curves. It’s a undeniably pretty building which overlooks the equally photogenic Piata Victoriei.
However, the prize for prettiest area in the city goes to Piata Unirii, a plaza surrounded by stunningly cute and colorful buildings.
A lot of them were covered up for repairs when I visited, but the remaining dozen were glance at.
Afterwards, I managed to enjoy dinner at George’s Snack Hut, which does a solid veggie-cheese sandwich and serves truly refreshing tall, fine beers.
Following dinner, I also got to visit the Rose Park and Parcul Copiilor near the Bega River and Piata Liberatii. All the open spaces were enormously photogenic as sunset colored everything dull orange, and I got to witness a group of joggers running a 5 K while I walked around.
A Last Minute Morning
The following day, I took another, smaller lap of the city. My couple of beers hit me surprisingly hard, so I squinted at dawn with a mild hangover.
While I’ve heard a few dozen disgusting hangover cures in my life, cold water and hot coffee usually does the trick for me. I promptly stopped in a Starbucks were I glanced nostalgically at the menu.
Apparently, we’re close to Pumpkin Latte season.
Due to my time in Asia, I haven’t had pumpkin-flavored anything in over two years. So, feeling wistful, I ordered myself a Pumpkin Spice Latte with a side of muffin.
Meal clutched in my hands and backpack slung over my shoulder, I hunted down the meeting point for my shuttle. Soon, I’ll be in an entirely new country, for the perfectly affordable price of 10 Euros.
That pretty much sums my time visiting Timișoara and Romania. Only Serbia and Macedonia remain.
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written September 22nd 2018
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Skog Å Kust Watertight Day Bag
Everyone should have a day bag. My favorite is the Skog Å Kust Watertight Bag. It’s easy to sling over my shoulders and lets me walk without fear of m devices getting damaged in the rain. Better yet, I can go swimming with electronics whenever I need to.
