Balkan2007

The taxi ride from the hotel from the airport was an interesting experience. We did of course not use any of the drivers standing inside arrivals hall trying to get passengers, instead we went to the taxi rank and took one of the official yellow cab. The driver was a small man with greying moustache and hair; he wore an untucked short-sleeved shirt; and had a persistent cough from smoking.

Finding the way to the hotel seemed to tax his abilities. Our hotel, Hotel Kogalniceanu, was a small three-star without much of a presence, but it is located in the very center of town on one of the more important streets. We had the address and the taxi was equiped with GPS so this really should not have been too hard.

Despite of this we ended up driving round and round with slight regard for the traffic rules. In the end the driver started stopping random passers-by and asking for the way. We learned some Romanian phrases that way: “Eh! Collega!”, “Aus!”.

Luckily the driver had the presence of mind to turn off the meter and we did not have to pay much more extra than G— who had arrived earlier the same day. The driver still wanted a tip though.