Wednesday morning I headed to the airport for my long flight home. As the travel direction was westward, the 10 hour time difference was recaptured during the 16 hour trip, so I arrived in the afternoon on the same day I departed in the morning. My flight again passed through Istanbul, Turkey. Even though I had gone through security in Bucharest, they had additional security at the gate in Istanbul for the US bound flight. Carry on luggage was opened up and searched, and we were all patted down. I don’t know if all US bound flights do this, or if this is just a Turkish thing. Luckily on my long flight home, I was on the aisle by a wide point in the back and I was able to frequently stand and stretch my legs. Unfortunately I didn’t sleep much, and ended up watching 4 movies. By the time we landed my rear end was sore from sitting on a not-great seat for so long (and it stayed sore a couple of days).
Upon reflection, I had a great time visiting România. I was traveling a full two weeks. I owe great appreciation to Maddy who was my chauffeur, tour guide, and translator — particularly as it was later diagnosed she had a herniated disk in her back. I got to experience the local culture and food in a variety of areas in many cases away from where the typical tourists go. I got to see a lot of diversity, from the big city, to the seaside resorts, to the mountains and smaller towns; from warm spring sunshine to an alpine snow storm; from wading in the Black Sea to walking in the snow on the top of a mountain; and multiple beautiful castles, and other historic features. It is really a very beautiful country, and much more agrarian than I realized. Things I wasn’t expecting included lots of free roaming dogs, people riding wagons and horses along the roads, modern shopping malls indistinguishable from those in the US. I was also surprised when people spoke bits of English to me (even before they heard me speak), so I must have really stuck out as an American. I would definitely consider returning to see more of this beautiful country.
