On a map, you can see these two countries as north and south neighbors. On a map you can see links between the two countries. But apparently, it’s not like crossing from Canada to the U.S. or vise versa. And on a shittier note, the season is not high enough with more transportation. No one I guess visits their neighboring country unless it is hot.
With that being said, getting from Varna to Constanta seemed to be an impossible task in the start of April. No buses run at all on this route. The two cities are so close to each other but yea a single border makes life so difficult. Hitchhiking was my next option but after much research, that route also seems to be deserted. I have yet to hitchhike, and hitchhiking is my last option by choice, but I almost considered this. Realistically, this should not be my first experience. I can sense it would be a bad one.
Alternative option aside from staying one more night in Varna, was to take the train back torwards Veliko Tarnovo and catch a connecting train to the town of Ruse, a city on the Danube across from Romania. On the way there, I realized that although there were more comforting options at this border, I still was left with very few options. While it was possible to cross it on foot, there was some construction on the bridge so this was not possible. Outside of the train station was a cabbie who just pulled up. I asked him the cost for the trip to the border and here he told me it was not possible to go by foot. Here I also forgot that you take a cab across the border due to the two nations being part of the EU.
To cut travel costs, I negotiated 45 Lev to the train station on the Romanian side to catch the last and possibly the only train to Bucharest from Giurgiu. After 30 minutes across the bridge and getting my stamp, we arrived at the station only to realize it was nearly abandoned. No ticket agents, ATM, and only a few officials who seemed to work in the area. It seemed as this area was industrial leaving no hope to go anywhere. Thanks to my judgement, I asked the cabbie to stay a minute to scope out the place considering the environment we were at.
Instead, I hired him for a continued journey onto Bucharest. The journey altogether cost me 45 Lev + 145 Leu, just about $50. If there was a train, the trip would have cost me 25 – 30 USD. But considering the circumstances plus having no desire to hitchhike (in the rain), I did what I had to do with good judgment. Beats being stranded. All because a road and border is somewhat deserted, what could have been a two hour journey along the coastline, turned into a long 10 hour trip with two slow trains and a cab ride (plus metro in Bucharest). Thankfully, my couchsurfing hosts awaited my arrival, welcomed me into their home, and had a delicious home cooked Romanian meal and couch for me. Oh, and I watched Star Wars Episode 7 again with them on a nice TV + surround sound. Hello România. 🙂
