Storyline: Vidin to Ruse Bulgaria via Romania by train Jul – Aug, 2017
Bucharest was our last stop in Romania. And it was the only city we weren’t impressed with. Based on history, this was somewhat expected, yet the contrast shocked us. And so, it is not on our “need to revisit” list, unless our roads require crossing it. Back home some asked us where had we stayed, because they didn’t believe our experience of how dirty the city was. We stayed in the highly recommended University area. But after chatting a bit, our friends admitted that yes, no one cleans the streets. Add the 44°C dry, dusty air, many stray dogs, and you can imagine the rest.
Aug 5
No other European city we’ve seen in years of travel displays such a chilling gap between despair and hope. We walked from the Gara de Nord to our apartment in the University area. We were told by many not to. But the first impression one gets walking out from a train station tells a story. We walked though filthy smelly streets and both thought – let’s just forget this city and go to Sofia.
The next two days walking through the nicer parts of the city to the megalomaniac dictatorship’s buildings and the expensive boulevards did nothing to change our first impressions, although of course the city isn’t universally unpleasant.
The thick, hot, dusty air, the smell of urine, the dog poo, the pigeon droppings and the pigeons themselves,
the downed electrical wires lying cross sidewalks (could we get electrocuted?), the garbage scattered everywhere, the beggars, the dust and building debris,
the chaotic driving (you risk your life crossing even on a green light – cars literally brush by you),
the crumbling buildings with gaping, glassless windows (right in the centre) in which people live, the heat radiating from the concrete (over 40°C in the shade), the constant dripping over your head from the air conditioners’ condensate, made the walks almost unbearable. Some of these factors would change if we were to go at a different time, but many would not.
One other obstacle for those who like to walk wherever they go was the parking situation. There appear to be many more cars on the road than there are parking spaces. Many, many more. This situation is again not unusual for old cities in countries we have visited. But where some cities have managed to address the demand for parking, either by finding a way to add spaces or perhaps by limiting the number of vehicles in the centre, Bucharest has not.
Cars here are parked wherever the driver can find space at the side of the road, which often means the sidewalks. And this is not limited to one or two cars on a block. The whole block gets filled with parked cars. So for walkers, that leaves the roadways. And we’ve already noted the lack of respect that drivers have for pedestrians. Let’s just say that walking anywhere other than on major streets with wide sidewalks or in the pedestrian zones was, er, uncomfortable.
The apartment we rented was a diamond in the rough. We were not quite comfortable entering the building because of the condition of the facade, but once we were in, we were in awe of this lovely place. One could easily spend week or a month here. It had a kitchenette, dining and living area, large bathtub, and roomy bedroom, clothes washer and air conditioning. Plenty of cabinets and space for our luggage. Most of the buildings where real people live in this part of Europe look like this. The old facades are a vestige of communist architecture appearing graffiti-covered and poorly maintained, and you’ll find them all over eastern Europe. But the neighborhood is safe and just a short distance from the University subway and the old town.
During communism, all buildings were government owned. Infrastructure, heating, water, etc. were taken care of. After everything fell apart, so did the central heating and overall maintenance beyond one’s own unit. There is no good ownership and management system like the condominium and co-op models seen in Canada and elsewhere. People with money renovate their apartments, but no one owns the common elements, like stairs, elevators, etc. and they are falling apart.
We are just a block away from the old town and the pedestrian area with many restaurants and shops. From there we walked all the way to Filaret bus station, just to find out that no one pre-sells tickets for the bus we intended to take across the Danube to Ruse, Bulgaria.
We don’t think they pre-sell tickets for any bus but due to the language barrier we may be wrong. But we didn’t see anyone buying tickets for anywhere. There was a timetable though, scribbled on a piece of paper, that the clerk pointed to. We decided we’d leave the city on our originally planned date and take the 10am bus, then moved on to exploring the city.
We walked to the notorious Ceausescu palace, now parliament building. This thing is unbelievably massive!
Shining white in the distance, but on closer observation with decaying facades, as everywhere else. Then we strolled on the nicely shaded, and much cleaner than elsewhere, Boulevard Unirii, intended to be the communist version of the Champs Elysees.
So many uber-expensive bridal stores! Who shops there? Not the masses for sure.
We stumbled (or rather escaped for a time from the oppressive heat and scorching sun) into a refreshing find – wine store and bistro. Just don’t ask about prices. We did, and they start from $30 CAD up to a few thousands.
We did try some (inexpensive house) wine and shared a nice dish as a meze for the wine.
Later we ran into the prettiest bookshop we’ve seen, with a nice bistro on the top floor. This is actually the best bookstore we’ve ever visited. It apparently holds over 10 000 books. It is beautifully restored building and we find the name of it so well selected. Spent some time walking around and had coffee and crème brule in the café on the top floor.
We love the old town with pedestrian areas and many restaurants with patios. It looked like it was recently paved yet there already were many broken pavers. We explored a few restaurants.
Hanu lui Manuc (Inn of Manuc) is a must for a hot summer day. It has an interesting history: it was built in 1808 as a carriage inn, restored a few times throughout the years and is currently operating as a restaurant with many indoor and outdoor spaces.
It provides refreshing shade and cool for hot summer evenings.
We were not impressed by The Beer Hall, although it’s been highly recommended. It probably became a tourist attraction with all the consequences of that. We found the beer in other places better, and the atmosphere nicer. But if you are up for the noise, the smoke and the crowds, paired with 130 years of history, you can probably find a thing or two. You can find more on our food experiences in the previous post.
One unfinished thing we hope we’ll never be able to finish if we visit Bucharest again. We wanted to observe the entrances of the “underground city”. This is where many otherwise homeless live, literally underground, in sewers and tunnels. They have their own “king” who protects the children and keeps order. It is way too hot to attempt such a venture. We do hope this underground city disappears one day, although such exist in many big cities around the world.
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