Day #242 - Sofia, Bulgaria to Bucharest, Romania

Interesting statue outside Sofia central train station

Sofia Central Train Station

Thursday, November 11th

Brand new day - never been used (I contribute that to my brother - he always says that). I awoke in Sofia, Bulgaria feeling better. I ate breakfast and then walked over to the train station to get my ticket to Bucharest, Romania. Bulgaria will be mostly a pass-through country for me. I was impressed with the scenery throughout the train trip today. Alot of rolling hills and mountains even. Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria and it's largest city at 1.4 million people. Sofia is an ancient city - with ties dating back to the 7th century BC.

Something unusual happened at the train station on arrival. First off, nearly everyday, I get badgered by people asking for money or wanting me to by something. This is par for the course. It's expected. No issue. I ignore them - and they go away. Maybe they'll walk with me a few meters, but they go away. Until -- today. Wow - I'm still trying to figure out what just happened.

I got to the station and I stopped for about 5 minutes to look around and take it in. This shaggy, older guy - I'd put him mid 50's, about 5ft, 5in - 160lbs, comes over. I ignore him and walk to the window for a ticket. He follows me. The window folks tell me I must go to the international window - on the other side of the station. (I'm surprised they spoke English - very nice). This older guy says: "It's over here, follow me". I said something along the lines: "Thanks for your help, but I can manage". I walked to the international office. The guy is right there by me. They tell me at the window that I must pay a reservation fee - but in cash only. They point to the Change Station. The older guy is still there: "Come this way". I'm starting to get annoyed by this point. I don't mix words: "Thank you, but I do not need your help. I will not give you money. Please leave me alone". I changed 25 euro for Bulgarian money and went back to the ticket office. The guy grabs my bag and tries to roll it for me. I snag it away saying: "Get away from me".

I go to the desk. I have my money laid out on the counter and the ticket lady is helping me interrupt the Bulgarian currency. The older guy leans in, reaches out, and pushes some of my money toward the lady. Alright - I've had enough of this guy. I say very loudly: "Do not touch my money. Get away from me. I do not need your assistance. I don't want you here. Get away from me".

I leave the counter after securing my ticket. I had about 15 minutes before my train was set to depart. The guy tries to grab my bag again. This time - I yank it aggressively out of his hand. I walk over to get some snacks for the train ride. The guy is still right there saying: "Come on, this way to Platform #8". I get my food and head for the platform. I start to walk extremely fast. (I'm not at all scared by this situation - but I would like to ditch this guy if possible). He falls back - can't keep the pace. I look behind and find the guy literally running after me. He points to Platform #8. I say: "Yes, I can see it. I do not need you to help me". He points to the elevator and goes to push the button. I lift my bag and head for the stairs saying: "I don't use elevators". Once at the platform, there's no signs - nothing. This has been the case for the past couple days - not real great. I go over to the attendant and ask if this is the Bucharest train. Older guy is right there listening to the conversation. The guy grabs my bag again. I go to snag it and my food bag drops on the ground and all the contents spray across the concrete.

I completely stop. I do not go to pickup anything. I focus my entire gaze at this older guy. Maybe my eyes could burn holes through him. The conductor is right there. There are people all around. I yell: "Get away from me. I have not asked for your help. I do not want your help. Get away from me. Now. Now." The guy bends down and picks up the food with his hands and puts it in the bag. I can only laugh - because that's my way to let out some frustration. I board the train - the guy FOLLOWS ME ONTO THE TRAIN. He has seen my seat number when I was talking to the conductor. He walks to the seat and presents it like Vanna White (Wheel of Fortune).

I pull the same verbal move as I did outside the train car. I'm causing a major scene - everyone on the train is looking at me. Finally. FINALLY. Somebody intervened and said something to the guy in Bulgarian. He left the train and I did not see him again.

I've been thinking about this the past 3 hours. I don't get it. Maybe the guy was trying to provoke me on purpose. Then, he could sue me for assault if I retaliated. I've NEVER seen anyone in all my travels be that aggressive. He had followed me around for nearly 30 minutes. He continued to touch my bag, my money, my food, and on 1 occasssion, tried to grab me by the arm. Nobody at the station did anything - even though I was causing a major scene. I don't doubt he had a deal with the security -- "let's see if this guy does something stupid". Maybe he's like a fed bear - he's pulled this move before and somebody threw money at him to get him to leave.

I'm gonna need time to think this through. What if he stayed on the train? And tried to pick up my soda bottle and feed it to me? I don't get it. I was not an easy target for him. I clearly had the physical advantage and showed I could get around. I couldn't physically push him away (although I wanted to) - I might be in a Bulgarian prison right now. I don't know. Advice?????

LATER

It's now around 2pm on Thursday. I've been on this train to Bucharest since 9am. We're supposedly going to arrive at 6:30pm. I just talked with a friendly lady who spoke good English. I feel better that it appears this train will go all the way to Bucharest with no changes.

LATER

I'm sitting in the hotel lobby of the Rin Hotel in Bucharest, Romania around 11pm - a couple miles from the airport. On arrival, I ate a great dinner - baked chicken, vegetable salad, and soup. I needed it. I've been eating junk the past 2 days. No food on the trains - and I could only grab what the small stands had in stock. I then ran a couple miles in the fitness center. I'm wrapping up this blog and will head to bed. I have a 3:30am wake-up call. I leave for Israel on a 6am flight tomorrow morning.

Here's to the upcoming days. I've been to the Home of Golf, the Home of the Marathon --- I might as well go to the Home of Religion (or, at least I think of it that way)