Romania > Flight to Bucharest

At the end of the morning, I take the train from Sassenheim station to Schiphol with Raymond and Marco for a holiday to Romania. We were originally scheduled to fly out tomorrow. However, a week ago we were informed by KLM that our original flight had been cancelled. We were rebooked onto a flight on Saturday evening. That seemed much too late to us. We had the flight changed to Friday afternoon and booked an extra hotel night in Bucharest.At Schiphol, we have to go to the check-in desk to get our boarding passes. Something seems to be going on. The staff inform us that several counters are not working and that it’s best to join line six. It’s clearly busy at the airport. The school holidays have started. After waiting for about half an hour, we proceed with the correct documents to the hand luggage check. We don’t need to go through passport control, since Romania has been part of the Schengen area since early 2025. That leaves us with enough time to grab a coffee.As boarding begins, an announcement is made that the flight is fully booked. We already suspected as much, since it wasn’t possible to reserve seats together. Around 1:30 PM, flight KL 1375 takes off from Schiphol, heading for Bucharest. On both sides of me are Romanian passengers. I immediately get tips about places we should visit. When I show the route we have planned, I’m told we’re going to see some beautiful things. “Watch out for the bears on the Transfagarasan Highway,” I’m warned. I had already heard that a motorcyclist was dragged off by a bear last week. Stay in the car. The bears can be very aggressive.About two and a half hours later, the descent begins for landing in Romania. We’re only traveling with hand luggage. It may not be ideal for a week-long trip, but the extra costs for checked baggage were so high that it’s actually cheaper to buy some extra clothes in Romania for the week.It’s quite a walk to the arrivals hall. We report to the rental car desk. A little later, we’re driven by shuttle to the car park. A Volkswagen Taigo is ready and waiting for us—our transportation for the coming week. From the airport, it’s about a half-hour drive to the hotel in central Bucharest.

Romania - Our first beer in Bucharest

The traffic isn't too bad for a Friday afternoon rush hour. We park the car underneath the hotel—in a concrete basement. At the Ibis Styles hotel, we have two adjacent rooms on the fourth floor.It’s past 7:30 PM by now. We look for a nice restaurant near the hotel and end up at the Bellini Garden restaurant. Even in the evening, the temperature is pleasant enough to sit outside comfortably. Around us are mostly local Romanians. As we sip our Ursus beer, we wait for our food. We don’t mind that it takes a bit longer. Once the food is served, it tastes great.On the way back to the hotel, we notice how quiet the streets are. Despite it being Friday evening, it feels deserted. That’s probably because of the neighborhood we’re staying in—many of the houses look dilapidated. Back at the hotel, we have a final drink to end our first day.