Home to Timisoara (beloved Timisoara)

Getting to Bucharest was an adventure too. The train was leaving in three minutes, but I easily booked my ticket. Melissa also asked for a train to Bucharest.

"You’re going to miss it!"
"No I won’t. Just give me the ticket"
"But you have no time. It leaves in one minute"
"Well, if you sold me the ticket I could make it!"

So the lady laughed and sold her a ticket. We ran to the train as it started to pull away. Melissa hopped on first and then I threw my bags up. The train was leaving and I still wasn’t on it! I was being slightly dragged along as I scrambled up. Yeah! We made it!

We were supposed to arrive at 21:22 and there was a train to Timisoara at 22:00. I know this for a fact. I’ve even taken this train before. I went up to buy the tickets and the lady (the evil lady who always gives me problems in Bucharest) informed me that there was no train. I pointed out the television screen where it clearly said "Bucharest-Belgrade 22:00" and she said that the train didn’t exist. I informed her that I had taken that very train before and that it did indeed exist. He said we could take the 23:30 train instead. I told her that we had a meeting the next morning that we had to make (this is true, I had to get my stuff from my old apartment) and she said that I could buy a ticket for the 23:30 train and talk to the conductor of the 22:00. "Oh, so there is a train at 22:00?" I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm. The man standing in line behind us talked to the lady and I heard the word "innondation" (or something similar). Turns out there’s flooding in southern Banat and the trains to Belgrade are delayed indefinitely. Well, why didn’t she tell me that earlier? We went to McDonald’s and ate copious amounts of grease to make us feel better.

For the first time since we started travelling, Melissa and I got a 6-berth couchette. We had hoped that we wouldn’t have to share but soon enough, three men came in. One was one of the fattest men I’ve ever seen in Romania. They were loud and smoking but luckily, they smoked outside (with the door open though, so we could still smell it). Then it came time to make the beds.

They were very chivalrous. They told Melissa to get out of the bed and they made it for her, even tucking her in! They tried to make the bed above mine and I heard a sickening crack and realised the bed was stuck halfway between being open and closed. They pushed and pulled and I had visions of it collapsing and falling on me and killing me. What a way to die! Luckily, they got it straightened out and quickly made the bed. Then it was my turn to be tucked in. The men got changed (in front of us!) and we turned out the lights.

I woke up to see the very large man’s butt, clothed in greying men’s briefs, hanging off the bed, not even covered by the blanket. Melissa told me that the guy across from her was wearing a see-through undershirt that left nothing to the imagination.

The next morning, the men tried talking to us. Turns out the man across from her is a local politician. I had no idea why he was travelling "coach" but we enjoyed talking to him! Like everyone else, he wanted to know what part of Canada we were from and how much money Canadians make. Because of the flooding, our train was late but we arrived in Timisoara safe, sound and relatively well rested.