It's the truth! Scout's honor!!

We arrived in Sighisoara, Romania almost an hour late. Hungarian and Romanian trains apparently don't adhere to the same on time policies as most European trains.

Tis was our first time having a couchette (bed) on an overnight train and for me, mixed reviews. It was nice to have a semi bed situation but you know it didn't all run smoothly....

We boarded a train that had originated in Vienna. People got on the train there and went to sleep. We come along hours later and the people in our car had locked the door. Pretty standard apparently... The conductor for each car has a passkey and is supposed to let you in. Our conductor was no where to be found. We knocked politely, knocked more insistently and resorted to pounding before someone inside unlocked the door. Along with us, there was another couple joining us in trying to get in. They decided to try to get another room when they saw the situation inside. Two people were asleep in the car, one of whom was in one of our beds. The conductor should be available to help with such issues but remember, he is no where to be found. We try to decide what we are going to do when the guy in our bed wakes up. He will be known as "cranky Austrian guy" from here on. Cranky Austrian guy tell us how to put down the other bed. We inform him he needs to move because he's in our bed. He goes into a tirade about how easy it is to put the bed together and it doesn't matter if we are in bed 43 or44 , there is no difference (um, really? No difference? Then why the heck is he in our bed if there is no difference????) ... On and on until he finally gets out of bed and begins tossing our backpack off the lower bunk so he can put the bed down. Let me just mention that this is all taking place In space that is 2 ft x 4 ft and there are three of us occupying this space along with backpacks and camera bags.... And it's DARK. We finally get it worked out and I drag out my silk sleeping bag, climb in my bunk.... And the conductor shows up with our sheets. Thanks.

In the morning I wake up to someone standing right next to my bunk and who should it be but Cranky Austrian guy.... And he is a BOYSCOUT!!!! I'm not making this up friends! He is a full grown, 250 lb man in an Austrian BOYSCOUT uniform. He smiles and says good morning in the nicest boyscout way. (talk abut a change in attitude) I have no words...He sat for 20 minutes until his stop, put his knapsack on his back, said goodbye and went on his way.

Tom and I got up and an hour later our only remaining roommate woke up and said good morning. He joined us and we introduced ourselves. His name is Maurius... Seems to be a good Romanian name! He is 18, and seemed to be a very well spoken young man. For the next two hours the three of us enjoyed conversation on a a great variety of topics. He seemed very enthusiastic about sharing with us all aspects of his life, and Romanian life in general. Some things we learned are 1. the minimum average income in Romania is equal to about $250.00 per month, and most people make the minimum. This is why many Romanians go to other countries to work. 2. The church is a huge force here and has its fingers in many pies from candle sales to forest management (which effects people's access to firewood for the winter). Maurius compared it to the mob. We enjoyed his company very much and laughed when Tom told him he had seen two horse drawn hayracks in the first 10 minutes that he was awake. Mauris' response? "only that many?"

After we got off the train Tom wanted to get a taxi but I felt like the directions were simple and we could find the place. As we began to walk I started thinking how easy the last time was when we took a taxi. "so Tom, how much do you think a taxi would cost?" we walked to the taxi stand and the driver said"5". Now, remember we are changing to an entire new currency and weren't entirely sure how much that would be but we felt ok about taking the ride because we had secured a firm price. When we were in the cab I confirmed we would be paying in Lei and I pulled out my cheat sheet that I use to check money conversions. 5 lei? I told Tom that would be about $2.50. Score! We paid the driver and it wasn't until we were situated in our room and had a few free minutes that we realized I had miscalculated the taxi fare. I had looked at the 10 lei equivalent . We had actually paid about $1.37, tip included!!!