Depart Vancouver Friday at 6:30pm
Arrive in London on Saturday morning at 11:40am
Layover in London until 3:30pm
Arrive into Frankfurt at 6:05pm
Depart Frankfurt at 8:40pm
Arrive into Bucharest at 11:55pm.
Despite that time changes that did help us out a little, if you add up the travel time, it was still 20 hours of straight travel - through the middle of the night.
The first flight was great, despite us being delayed for an hour. We had dinner in the YVR airport and then off we went. We only had carry on luggage, and despite the check in agents best attempts to nab us for non compliance, we all came in under weight on a dimensions. We even were able to get our suture removal kit through security which I was shocked at. Long tweezers and scissors - no problem. They were more concerned with liquids the whole way through. We had to go through security in each city, and even though London and Frankfurt were more strict with how our liquids were packed, we had no issues with the suture removal kit.
Air Canada has a good in flight electronics system that kept us all pretty entertained, we didn't get much sleep but a few hours for sure which helped. We went back and forth on whether to bring the car seat or not and in the end decided to bring it. I'm glad we did as despite the fact that its a pain to lug around, on the plane its a godsend. Fiona happily gets clipped in and then just stayed put on every flight. It gave her a good view of the tv and was perfect for sleeping and freed us up from having her laying across us.
We were late to board the plane which was bad news on such a big plane with only carry on. We ended up with bags at our feet - so that was a good lesson for us for future. I had a pain in the butt (literally) behind me who kicked me the whole flight, and across the aisle were an elderly couple that honestly bickered the whole flight - I wish I could remember some of the fights as they were quite entertaining...near the end of the flight Dave a young boy who puked all over the place, but besides that it was uneventful. I love being able to watch whatever movies I want to, and so watched the Age of Adeline, Marvels Iron Man and part of Barney's Version which is a funny Canadian film with Paul Giamatti which I hope I can finish on the way back.
We got to London and had a pretty quick layover there due to our delayed flight out of Vancouver. We had time for a coffee and then off we went. We all slept on this flight which was much needed and made us all feel much better. This flight was with Lufthansa, and they have nothing on their planes...so glad that sleep came easily.
Frankfurt have buses that take you from the plane to the terminal and back which is a drag and means you need to get off and on quickly - which is hard with young kids and luggage and a car seat. The layover here was a couple hours but passed quickly. We had overpriced lunch at an Italian Restaurant and then it was nearly time to board.
Now what trip would be complete without a little drama?? Mine occurred here. I would say that by this point I was more than a little tired, and I decided to continue charging my phone while we were at the gate before boarding. Of course once boarding began, we didn't want to be late getting on so the phone was out of mind - actually I'd say it was out of mind by the time I got back to my seat from plugging it in. Anyways, it donned on me once we were halfway to Bucharest. What a pain! Let me tell you - I have had no luck so far getting any assistance with retrieving it either. I can't believe the horrible customer service. The lady in Lost and Found at the Bucharest airport was horrible, and then I called Lost and Found at Frankfurt airport and they were also not helpful. Nobody is able to do anything for people anymore apparently. So I'm bummed that it has not been found, but "c'est la vie"! I will survive without it but am hoping it turns up in a day or two.
Once we arrived in Bucharest, we made our way through passport control and then headed out to get a cab. The advice we had been given was to be sure to take a ticket from the yellow taxi dispenser and wait for that taxi to come. This is the sanctioned taxi service and it costs less. Anyways, everyone decided that was not a worthwhile endeavour and that just getting in a yellow taxi would be fine. We got going split over two taxis and then the haggling began. I knew right away we were being had. I knew that the only taxi drivers who haggle are the expensive ones! So we paid about 3 times as much as we should to get to our Hostel, still only $30 so not the end of the world, but when Robert arrived into Bucharest the next morning (he was delayed and missed his connection out of Vienna and had to spend the night) he took the ticket as he was told and only paid $10 for his cab. So lessons learned.
Bucharest is a lovely city. As we drove to our hostel, it appeared clean, and well kept with bike lanes and beautiful parks. It was not at all what I had expected. I guess in my mind I thought it would be less well kept and less lovely. It truly defied my expectations in an amazing way. We were so excited to explore the next day.
Our hostel: Crazy Duck Hostel, is clean and well maintained and is within walking distance to the old town. We are in a room with 2 single beds and a set of bunks and a private bath. It's perfect for us and we honestly couldn't be happier with it.
Getting to bed was tough initially. Even though you're tired, your body is mixed up and doesn't want to sleep. Fiona was a mess and couldn't get to sleep at all...she just laid their chatting and playing and keeping me awake for hours. She finally got to sleep around 3 or 4am and the day finally came to an end.
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