Eurotrip 07-08: the travel journal

28 DEC 07: It started badly: I took a fine on the Olt Valley, the GPS didn’t work and we had fog almost all the way. bad day! The journey was boring. And of course I lost in the evening at poker. I’m leaving the country tomorrow.

29 DEC 07: I came out of the black hole of Europe, called Romania, and I arrived in another world: highways with 4 lanes in each direction, tunnels through the mountains. After more than 15 hours of driving through Hungary, Austria and Germany, we arrived at our destination: Feldkirch, a medieval town in Austria, surrounded by the Alps. It is predominant of old buildings, has a small and chic center and the inhabitants were quite welcoming. Unfortunately, I was only able to visit it at night.

30 DEC 07: Long live France! Around noon I entered Strasbourg in France. After 40 or so euros spent on the motorways of France, we finally arrive in Paris. First impression: a lot of cars. We are staying in Ville de Malakoff, a residential area of ​​Paris. I don’t think we stayed in the hotel for more than 10 minutes and headed to the center, eager to taste the bohemian Paris. The first stop: the Eiffel Tower and the only one unfortunately, as it was already midnight. After 2 hours of admiring/posing the tower area, we headed, without hesitation, to the hotel.

31 DEC 07: Today meant for me the fulfillment of a dream: Louvre. I can say that I came to Paris for the Louvre. Everything fascinated me here, so there is no point in making a list with things I liked. After almost 5 hours of admiring the works of art that give immeasurable value to the museum, we walked to Notre Dame. During this time I had direct contact with the Parisians. On the one hand, they are civilized, well-dressed, quite kind to a people who are said to be very nationalist (freedom-equality-fraternity) and it can be seen in their eyes and smiles that they are happy with the life they live. On the other hand, in terms of cleaning, especially on the streets, they still have work to do. I read that only 3% of the population is black, but in Paris the percentage seemed at least 30%. The public transport system is commendable. The subway arrives at the station every 2-3 minutes, the stations are so frequent that you don’t make more than 30 seconds between them. In addition, there is the RER, a kind of surface subway, buses and trams that are always airy. The food is good, but a little pricey. I tried the famous baguette, which is actually a French lunch: a baguette cut in half and stuffed with ham, tuna, chicken, cheese or salads. I also ate at a nice Chinese restaurant but also at a chic restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, it was nice from a culinary point of view.

Also today I climbed the wheel from the Place de la Concorde, from where I first saw Paris from a considerable height. Of course, we couldn’t resist the souvenir cliché with the Eiffel Tower, which you can find at prices between 0.3 EUR and 3 EUR, depending on where you get it. I also searched with great curiosity for the planetarium, of which unfortunately no one knew anything. Towards evening I attended a street theater show.

After a F5 (refresh) at the hotel we go to the Champs Elysees, it’s just New Year’s Eve, right? The biggest disappointment was the words of one of the gendarmes: No fireworks tonight: (.. There were threats of terrorist attacks or smth. That did not stop the crowd from filling the boulevard Happy New Year, Happy New Year, Happy New Year Tonight, Paris has been transformed into a tower of Babel. January 1st: I am writing these lines, with an enormous joy in my soul that I started the year well, in Paris. Tomorrow a new day awaits me.

01 JAN 08: The main objectives today were the Eiffel Tower, La Defense and the Sacre Coeur. I only waited in line for 5-6 hours just to climb the Eiffel Tower. But it was worth every minute of waiting. We reached the top in the “magic 15 minutes”: immediately after sunset. The panorama is dreamy. For the uninitiated, you can see the main attractions in Paris from here. If you look through the rear view cameras accessible to tourists you can see in detail any monument, streets, cars, even in people’s homes.

After the Eiffel Tower I took the RER to La Defense. I heard that if you arrive in Paris you should also see La Defense: the largest business area in Europe. When I left the RER station I thought that what I saw was not real. Skyscrapers that if you approached them you would not see the top, futuristic monuments, platforms with 2-3 floors, laser games, all as if imported from SF movies. After walking for a few hours among the buildings in La Defense, which btw .. every few hundred meters a new one appears, hidden behind the one in front, I got off at the subway station. Okay, you can call it a subway station, but it’s bigger than the northern train station in Bucharest, which wants to be the biggest train station in Romania.

It was already 10:30 in the evening and we were thinking of going home, but when we look at the RER map we see that on the other side is Disneyland. So I said..why not? It’s our last night in Paris what’s the point of sleeping. Of course we didn’t expect to find the park open, but something had to be open. Which is what happened. After about an hour on the RER we arrive at Disneyland where Disney Village was open. We tried the electronic games, we walked there and around and we headed back to Paris. As the subways were closed, I took a very modern bus, by the way. On this occasion I also discovered the cities around Paris, which are much cleaner than the city center. Each town had its own style. Some consisted of large, solid buildings, wide streets, and others, at the opposite pole, small buildings, glued together, narrow streets. After about 70km by bus we arrive in Paris, at Lyon Train Station. From there we cross the center on foot to reach the hotel to the south.

Whatever you say, Paris remains the city of lights. The French know how to highlight through the light and not only any architectural element they have, they know how to sell you anything as a priceless souvenir and they know how to introduce you to the Parisian atmosphere, to make you an integral part of their life.

02-03 JAN 08: After only 2 hours of sleep we have to go to Austria, Vienna. The road was long but quite OK. We stopped in a small town in France to stock up on the famous French wines, I got a pair of very fine sneakers. We passed through many mountain towns in Austria and the next day, in the morning, we arrived at the hotel in Vienna, the city of classical music, literature, ballet, where we all fell asleep. It was only around 4 in the afternoon that we managed to wake up, eat and did a tour of the city for a few hours. About Vienna, there is not much to say, the inhabitants are very good English speakers, the city is full of Romanians, the architecture is dominated by imposing buildings. What I found interesting about the streets of Vienna were the pedestrian crossings. At each crossing there was a device for the blind, where they could feel how many lanes the passage has (how long it is), where the shelter in the center of the passage is and of course there were some beeps to see where the device was and if it’s red or green. A very well thought out thing, which in our country is only half implemented and not everywhere. At the hotel after a few drinks, we fall asleep. the 2nd day, Romania is waiting for us. I understood that the roads are blocked, it is very difficult to drive. It seems that our country does not want us at home. We’ll probably have a shock when we get home. We have become accustomed to the infrastructure, services and people a few decades before us.

04 JAN 08: Here I am now in Timisoara, a city that fascinates you with its lights and architecture, a city that teaches Bucharest in many ways and which, for me, is one of the most beautiful cities in Romania, after Brasov, obviously. Iulius mall in Timisoara – all respect. Accustomed to the high prices in the West, the ones here seemed like a bargain. I sit by a (plastic) glass of champagne in a modest home and we recount our memories, as if we had been away from home for a month. Europe fascinates you, delights you, captures you; but nothing compares with your bed at home and with our warmth of soul, of the Romanians. Tired, we fall asleep on so many European roads, in order to face, tomorrow, the frosts and the snowy roads in Romania.

05 JAN 08: The road to Bucharest was Okay, the snow has melted, the roads have snowed and I get home late at night. I stay with the Eiffel Tower in my soul, with La Defense in my eyes and with Notre Dame in my memory. There are things I will probably never see again in my life, but never with the same eyes and the same enthusiasm. I am left with the thirst to return, even if only to walk, centimeter by centimeter, the endless corridors of the Louvre, even if only to feel its aroma of eternity or to tire my pupils on the thousands of shades cast in unmistakable shapes and paintings of unparalleled grandeur.

Team members: Elvira, George, Andreea, Razvan, Maria, Vali, Diana and Adrian. I’m waiting for your comments.

This was the trip of my life .. so far.