Bucharest! Breakfast with Alina!

In a Auchan store in Italy we found a really cool cooler that has a built-in refrigeration unit made to operate either from a 230V 50-Cycle European outlet or from a 12V DC car plug.  On the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik, to protect my insulin and Byetta, I had let it run all night (about 8 hours) off of Klaus' battery, and he had started up fine the next day.  I did the same in Lukovit, Bulgaria, but we slept in, so it was some 14 hours' run that depleted the battery.  Klaus was unable to start Tuesday morning.  Several hotel employees, led by bellman Nikolay, gave him a push, but he also refused to bump-start.  No juice at all.  Fortunately, the Diplomat Plaza has a garage, and the garage attendant has a battery charger, so we pushed Klaus into the garage, and about 45 minutes of charge fixed our problem.  We proceded to the border at Ruse, about 215 Km northeast of Litovik.

Happily back in Romania, and at our Bucharest home, Casa Victor on Strada Emanoil Porumbaru Nr 44, we have settled in for three nights.  We are relieved and happy.  I am using my Romanian for practice, as best I can, and have thus far received no complaints.

Now, I am headed to Reception to await the arrival of my former student, UBB alumna and Romanian skydiving champion Alina S., who hails from Oradea, but is now working in Bucharest.  I look forward to seeing her again.  She must be at work by 9:00, ao it will be a brief reunion.

Shirl is still asleep, so I will open the door quietly...