My feet had suffered for walking for so long in wet socks and boots. The top of my toes had small scabs on them where they had begun to bleed. Putting plasters on them to stop them rubbing required consideration as to how I should go about it. I joined a couple of toes together with the same plaster, but gave a separate plaster to others. A bit messy but I only had eight kilometres to walk this morning to the train station and a few more when I arrived at Timişoara.
Fortunately the dog that bothered me last night was not around this morning as I tentatively walked by, the stones I had collected should I have to defend myself were wasted, so I was soon on my way up the busy main road to Caransebeş. TripAdvisor had a lack of sights to recommend for the town, but I was happy to sip a coffee with a slice of cake, visit the cathedral, its interior glowing with gold around Jesus, Mary, and the saints, enjoy the grass squares and buy a burger (of sorts) for lunch.
On buying a ticket with the help of Google Translate I asked which platform the train would arrive at. "Two" I was told, but the platforms were not labelled. As the one nearest the station building had grass growing out of it and a stationary engine, I assumed it was the next one across. I was a bit confused when a train pulled into the station half an hour before mine was due. None was scheduled at that time. On closer inspection the paper stuck to the carriages said Budapest, where my train was going. Passengers gathered on the platform to have a smoke while the train sat in the station confirmed it was indeed my train. Despite being an international express the train was not that fast, taking over three hours to cover the hundred kilometres to Timişoara. As the train strolled towards the city I looked out of the window at the flat farmland we were now passing, part of the huge Pannonian Plain that extends across Hungary, northern Serbia and parts of Romania. Pockets of poppies brightened the trackside. They seemed to be building a new line beside the existing track, with new stations. Hopefully the trains on the new railway will be faster.
Timişoara is a big city, I walked from the "Nord" station through an arc of parkland that follows the Bega River south of the centre. A large, white marble sculpture dominates one part of the park, a monument to the unknown soldier, with a facade of Second World War soldiers. The inscription added recently reads "Glory to the Romanian soldier, heir to the traditions of ancient history who fought heroically against Bolshevism and fascism for the freedom and independence of the homeland", while historically inaccurate I suspect it captures what many would like to feel. At tables people played chess or cards. Riverside bars looked tempting, glasses of blonde beer and white wine refracting the sun, turning them to points of golden light. A few people were rowing skiffs on the water by the University, although to me they needed to take their oars further back to get a good strong pull.
As I walked into the hotel I noticed my boots had a glittery appearance from the mica picked up from the trail yesterday. I have booked two tours tomorrow, but the forecast is for rain.
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