12 August 2011
The rain of my early foray into Romania is well and truly behind me. As I enter the outskirts of Bucharest at 19:30 the temperature remains in the high twenties.
The traffic is still thick. Mostly people trying to get out of town after work before the long weekend. Sixties style apartment blocks line the widest of boulevards as I head south towards the centre of town.
Hotels are programmed in the GPS this time just to be sure. As I ride past where they should be I do not see them. It’s hotel roulette time again. My luck has been in today so I spin the wheel.
Booking.com is my weapon of choice and comes up with the Hotel Marshal. I book for three nights using my phone. It is not far – the GPS is programmed and off I go.
The Family Truckster glides into the car park at around 20:00. Job done it can rest now until Monday.
As I am unloading the bike I am greeted by a member of staff, offering to help me with my bags. This sets the tone for the weekend. I am made feel so welcome in this boutique establishment. It is geared mostly to business travellers so is all but empty on the weekends and the room rates are adjusted accordingly.
My bags are taken to my first floor room. This is a luxury not having to carry everything up four flights of stairs.
After shedding the stench of a long riding day I make my way to the restaurant in the hotel gardens. This is most pleasant indeed.
The waiters are very attentive, finding somewhere for me to plug in my laptop. Nothing is too much trouble and Adrian shows an interest in my journey through Romania. We chat when he gets a chance, there are other diners to attend to.
After dinner I am joined by another hotel guest and we chat over drinks. Ryan is Canadian and spends half the year in Russia working as an Agrologist. He is good company.
I chat with Adrian on several other occasions during my stay. He has a real pride in his country and this is infectious. But he is like most of the people I have met during my travels in Romania. They are fiercely patriotic and with good reason.
Romania is a wonderful country.
Total miles today 301 (484km), cumulative 2,899 (4,521km).
Update: A long and eventful day. I was looking forward to having a few days off the motorcycle in Bucharest. It had been some time since I’d had consecutive nights in the same hotel on this Turkey Motorcycle tour. Tomorrow I’d sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast before taking a walk around Bucharest.
