TGIF or is it ?

TGIF or is it maybe in a week from now?

So today I learned a few things about Romania.  Well, Bucharest anyway! It ain’t NYC. 

The most important thing on our minds today was to know what BMW could do with Carol’s bike.

It rained all day, we took it slow in the morning, giving Romeo time to get to work, for BMW to look at Carol’s bike and then for them to call us. So we called BMW at 11.30 AM and asked for Romeo.  No Answer! So we called ADAC in Germany and were transferred to ADAC Greece and they told us to wait a bit, they will call the BMW dealership in Romania and ask what is going on.

Outside I see the pouring rain, everything is soaking wet. It rained since last night already.

Finally at 4.30 PM Romeo calls and tells us we need a new wiring harness, a new alternator and a new regulator; (and a new battery, but he did not say that). Our bill will be about 2000 Euros and the work will take between 7 and 10 days. Could we please fax him a copy of the registration? Well, the answer to a fax was simple. NO!

We told him we can come over and he can make a copy at his office, to which he said, a photo of the registration via email would be OK, too. Whatever is best for us?

OK, Taxi would be best, because it’s only 10 minutes away and then I KNOW he has what he needs and we can see the bike, talk some more and see what else he can do to expedite our repair.

We tried calling 5 Taxi companies, we even asked the front desk at the hostel to help us get a taxi. No luck. Especially on rainy days, there is no taxi to be had. This is not

Uber and not NYC.

We can, however, take a picture of the registration and email the picture instead.  OK, we did that, we took a picture of the registration, attached it to an email and sent it. In the email we asked that he acknowledge the receipt and to please send us a written copy of his verbal repair estimate in return.

We know that ADAC asked him to send them a written estimate too, but when we heard from ADAC again, Romeo had not done any of this. 

Romeo, when he called with the estimate, also told me that he could do nothing to my bike. My bike still leans over way too much, always on the brink of falling over. Would I please pick up my bike tomorrow, they cannot store my bike in the BMW shop. What can I say? I know my bike leans over too much but they don’t have a solution (welding on a piece?) to fix it. I told Romeo I will be there in the morning to pick up my bike. 

The rest of the day we just hung out. The pouring rain gave us time to write notes, take inventory and think about other possible ways to spend the next 10 days in Romania.

We did not want to just vegetate at the Hostel Taxi, even though it’s an OK place to hang out.

So I asked the young man at the front desk of the hostel if he knows of a car rental place, or could he drive us to the nearby airport to get a rental car.

He said yes to all of the above but also mentioned that he has an acquaintance who leases out cars. With a few calls from his phone he arranged a 10 day lease for a Skoda diesel car, a bit aged but in good repair. His friend would bring it to the Taxi Hostel first thing Sunday morning. Is that OK?  Great, fine with me. We hired a car for the next 10 days, starting Sunday.

For today, Friday that is all we can do, tomorrow we’ll take the next step.