Hey guys, since I last talked to you I have spent one more night in Ploesti and made my way to Bucharest.
On Monday, I started the day with the awesome breakfast at my hotel and then moseyed out on to the town to check out a few things. My big mission for the day was to try to find any traces of the Operation Tidal Wave bombings from 1943, but unsurprisingly the city seems to have moved on from the war over the last 75 years.
Best accommodation provided breakfast of my entire trip. They had everything you could want, and I got it included for free due to complaining about the hot tub being closed for the weekend at check in the night before 😂
Here are a few pictures from my rambling around Ploesti on Monday:
View out from the balcony of my room. Cemetery where I’d read some American flyers who were lost in Operation Tidal Wave had been laid to rest in a mass grave. I looked everywhere but couldn’t see any traces of this.But I did spot quite a few Romanian WW1 graves.Propeller grave of a Romanian pilotRecent addition to the cemetery.I went to the only refinery that was bombed in WW2 that is still operational. I asked at the reception about any possible damage or bomb craters that might still exist and they laughed and basically told me to get lost. Vega refinery today.
After the refinery, I took a ride out through the countryside to see some of the operational oil rigs that are still pumping Romanian black gold in the area around Ploesti.
When I got back to the city, I grabbed some dinner at KFC (my first KFC since the states) and then hit up the jacuzzi at my hotel and relaxed the rest of Monday night.
I thought it was interesting that they had a “Corbin Bucket”. Corbin, Kentucky is home to the world’s first KFC and they are paying homage to it all the way in Romania. The KFC here is actually way better than in the US.Nice little spa area in the basement of the hotel. This thing being closed when I arrived on Sunday led to me being upgraded to a suite and getting the breakfast buffet included at no charge. Finally got to partake in the jacuzzi. I spent part of Monday night checking out a couple of documentaries about Operation Tidal Wave in anticipation of going to the national oil museum the next morning. The only other big event from Monday night was booking my flight home from Germany – I’ll be back stateside on December 18!
On Tuesday morning, I headed over to the Romanian national oil museum, which was only a few blocks from the hotel. I was a little bit underwhelmed by it, but I did learn a few things about the oil business and saw a couple of items related to the bombing that were pretty interesting.
In the early days of oil extraction (1840s), they would send a man down the well on a rope with buckets to bring the oil up to the surface. This is a metal hat worn for that job. All of Ploesti’s pre-war refineries.Model of the Vega refinery in the WW2 era.Display about the bombing raidsA letter from a captured American airman talking about the great treatment he was receiving from his Romanian captors.
After the museum, it was time to get on the road for the short drive to Bucharest. After arriving and checking in to my hostel, I made my way over to the hospital to get my ear looked at. It had been bothering me for several days and I was afraid that it was infected. It turned out that it was.
Entering the outskirts of Bucharest. This is their version of the Arch de Triumph.Heavy traffic getting to the old town area where my hostel was located. Good advice 😂Getting my first taste of European healthcare. They wound up draining fluid out of my ear and prescribing me antibiotics and ear and nose spray. And it didn’t cost me a dime. All in all, not a bad experience.All this medicine together cost me $16. Socialized medicine does have some advantages I suppose. The hospital that took care of me.
After the hospital experience was over, I decided to walk around the old town for a bit and then once it was dark I went out to try my hand at some busking. The first place I set up was not very good, so I wound up moving to another location where things went much better and I met some other local performers.
My first spot just wasn’t doing it. So I moved to a more central location and it was really good there. I had several guests take a turn on my equipment, including this old timer – John.
John letting loose on some “Unchained Melody”And this was Simon and his friend. He’s in this spot everyday, but he didn’t mind me setting up as he was shuttin’ down his own rig. He hung around for a bit to listen to me and wound up coming up to play a few on my equipment as well. Really nice guy.
Simon with some Ed Sheeran
Another guy I met while busking, Mihai, and I decided to head over to the Mojo bar to sing a little kareoke after wrapping up the busking. We had some nice chats and it was fun to sing kareoke for the first time in a few years.
Mihai getting after it on the kareoke stage. I forgot to eat dinner on Tuesday, so a late night döner did the job.
Today, Wednesday, I made the move from the hostel to my Airbnb apartment in anticipation of Grant’s arrival this evening and worked on some laundry. The weather is cold and rainy, so I didn’t bother with too much sightseeing. One big thing I managed to do was get back to the Mojo bar and meet with the owner and secure a gig there on November 16 which is when I’ll be back to Bucharest with Bingman. So that should be a fun time. Later in the evening, I met back up with Mihai and he took me to restaurant to try some more Romanian food and it was nice to hang with him again.
Impressive building near my apartment on the other side of the old town.The spot where I busked on Tuesday, completely empty due to the bad weather today.Return to the Mojo bar. Bing and I are excited for our gig there. The place has a legit sound system and stage and 26,000 followers on Facebook. So we might just get a little exposure on that job considering we are playing on a Saturday night.Mihai, my local guide. He’s a great guy and speaks fantastic English. And he’s a good singer to boot!Creamed chickenTraditional mincemeat sausages
Right now, I’m just killing a few more minutes until it’s time to go get Grant from the airport. Looking forward to having my good buddy along for the ride! Tomorrow, we are planning to set out and do all the sightseeing things in the city that I’ve been saving for his arrival and then start slowly making our way to Belgrade on Friday to pick up Bingman there on Tuesday.
Yummy looking food and very nice people you have been meeting. I’m glad you went to hospital and had your ear treated,now to just take your meds as instructed! Tell Grant “Hello” from us and have fun sightseeing
Linda South
Yummy looking food and very nice people you have been meeting. I’m glad you went to hospital and had your ear treated,now to just take your meds as instructed! Tell Grant “Hello” from us and have fun sightseeing