A couple of weeks ago I've decided to use the newly-introduced Bosfor Express Train between Bucharest and Istanbul.
The train travels 18 hours via Bulgaria. It's actually not a train but a group of 2 through cars: one Turkish Railways TCDD Couchette Car
and one Romanian CFR Sleeping Car.
Between Bucharest and Gorna these cars are attached to the "Romania" Train D461 Bucharest - Sofia.
Between Gorna and Dimitrovgrad there travel with a domestic train D465. And finally between Dimitrovgrad and Istanbul they are carried by the "Sofia Express" train D493 Sofia - Istanbul.
Albeit, the train terminates at Instanbul Halkali station in a wasteland. The line between Halkali and Istanbul Sirkeci has been closed for a couple of years now.
Tickets and reservations were issued by Deutsche Bahn. That might have been twice as expensive, though, I didn't have to take care in buying last-minute in Bucharest.
My route:
1. Ryanair Boeing 737-800 Berlin Schoenefeld - Bucharest
2. Bosfor Express Train D461 in a Sleeping Car
3. Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 Istanbul Atatürk- Berlin Tegel
Let's start!
1. Ryanair Boeing 737-800 Berlin Schoenefeld - Bucharest
Approaching Bucharest on Ryanair:
Welcome to Romania!
Ryanair at the tarmac at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport:
Bus Boarding by Menzies, of course, this is Ryanair after all:
Tarmac views:
Landside arrival area at Bucharest Airport (landside departure and arrivals are in different buildings):
Staying at the Radisson Bucharest:
Palace of Nicolae Ceausescu:
Some late dinning at La Pacinti (luckily, it was not a tourist trap):
Riding with the Metro Line 2 allows you a time travel to the 1980s:
