Above: Rachel and Le Huppé on the day of their departure for Bucharest.
Source: Agence Rol photo, Bibliothèque nationale de France (accessible online via Gallica).
Above: "Alfred le pingouin, 1930," i.e., Alfred the Auk, made of padded velvet and satin. Similar to the toy mascots given to Rachel Dorange and Charles Lindbergh.
Source: Poissy Musée du Jouet (Poissy, France, Toy Museum).
8. Bucharest, 1928
Rachel's Paris-Berlin-Paris ride had demonstrated what she was capable of achieving, so when, in the first week of April, 1928, she announced her intention to carry out a 3,000 kilometer trek to Bucharest the newspapers immediately took notice. The advance publicity ensured that a sizeable crowd of curious onlookers, including reporters and photographers, turned out to witness her departure on April 11. They were all waiting at the north end of the Bois de Boulogne at the appointed time, 10 a.m., but Rachel was fifteen minutes late. When she and Le Huppé appeared the crowd burst into spontaneous applause. Rachel signed autographs, shook hands and posed for photographers.
The crowd included secretaries of the Romanian embassy, Mr. Georges Valliany (representing the Romanian press) and a representative of Le Petit Journal, all of whom signed her travel diary.
Why did she choose Bucharest? Reaching that city would certainly ensure a distance record that rival amazons would not likely surpass any time soon, but Rachel had no apparent personal ties to Bucharest or any particular interest in going there. However, she may have had some guidance in choosing this destination. Rachel had an agreement with Le Petit Journal to send progress reports to the newspaper and presumably the newspaper's quid pro quo would have been to cover her expenses and to use its contacts to smooth the way for her.
Relations between France and Romania were especially good at the time. France was in the process of brokering a stabilization loan for Romania so the Romanian government could be expected to provide a suitably warm welcome for a distinguished daughter of France.
Not to be outdone, Rachel's reputed rival Marie Féraud announced on April 28 that she was going to make 1,400 kilometer ride from Paris to Rome, starting on May 3. This may have been a strategic move on Marie's part (or on the part of her sponsors). The trip to Rome would be over long before Rachel came back from Bucharest (it took only fifteen days), so Marie would be in the spotlight until Rachel regained it. And there was a definite chance that Rachel would fail to complete her own journey.
Rachel had already announced that she was only interested in covering the distance and did not intend to break any speed records. She did not think she would reach Bucharest before June 20 at least.
Before Rachel departed, she was presented with a mascot to take with her. This was a stuffed toy version of Alfred the Auk (usually misidentified as a penguin) who was the third main character in Zig and Puce, a popular comic strip about two young boys who starred in a series of improbable adventures. Alfred was given to Rachel by the newspaper Dimanche Illustré at the request of the comic strip's creater, Alain Saint-Ogan. Charles Lindbergh was also presented with a toy Alfred after his transAtlantic flight in May, 1927.
Some of the cities on Rachel's route to Bucharest and back: (1) Paris. (2) Strasbourg, France. (3) Stuttgart, Germany. (4) Munich, Germany. (5) Vienna, Austria. (6) Budapest, Hungary. (7) Belgrade, Serbia. (8) Bucharest, Romania. (9) Lviv, Ukraine. (10) Warsaw, Poland. (11) Krakow, Poland. (12) Prague, Czech Republic. (13) Nuremburg, Germany. (14) Brussels, Belgium, and then home to Paris. She did not go anywhere near Berlin (star) on this journey.