Day 28 - "Let's go back to the Black Sea for lunch," we agreed. The new intercity express trains can make the trip to Constanța in two hours and seven minutes. Well the train going did. Jay and I didn't have seats together and I sat with a young, bright local girl who eagerly spoke English with me for most of the trip. She was already well-travelled and well-heeled and just finishing junior high school.
Our train which had left at 9:29 arrived just a bit after 11:38. Jay and I used Uber to get a ride to the main tourist port area. Our driver had worked in Saskatchewan for twenty years! He returned to this city of this birth. Of course, this city is the major Romanian port on the Black Sea. However, the old town is actively setting up for tourism businesses as well.
It was a great Sunday and lots of visitors were out and about. We walked around to the famous 115-year-old Constanța Casino. It had been through five years of recent renovation, and opened just last month! The stunning building impresses even if one isn't near it for gambling.
From the sea we walked up the small incline to the old part of the city.
We slowly enjoyed the scenery of the harbor, buildings, and a big public square. I could easily get used to the view of this sea ...
We found a Lebanese restaurant and chatted while the shish taouk arrived. The weather was delightful and the day perfect in nearly every respect.
We slowly walked retracing our steps to the Marea Moschee din Constanța, or the Grande Mosque. That is where the old city proper ends. Next, we walked to the busy high-level street and got another Uber back to the train station. It all went swimmingly and we got out of the rideshare and directly into the station and onto the waiting train.
Our journey back to Bucharest was uneventful as we watched the scenery roll past our windows at up to 150 kph. It did take us about 15 minutes longer on the return as we stopped at a couple of cities along the way. As the train ended the journey right in North Station, we were only a five minute walk back to our hotel.