Bucharest, Romania

So, I am sure most of you are wondering- why the heck did they decide to go to Romania? Well, we were looking for a place nearby to travel outside of the Shengen passport zone during Nathan's break from school (as an American, you can legally only stay within this zone 90 out of 180 days with a passport) in order for me to stay in Germany while Nathan completes school. So, we were thinking of heading to Ireland, but this seemed the more unconventional and more affordable. So, we did some research and decided Romania would be an adventure (many Westerners have never made it to this region- mainly because it was not even a possibility until recent decades). We flew into Bucharest (the capital city) and enjoyed a few crazy days of city life before heading to the small mountain town of Brasov, where we will be staying the bulk of the trip. Bucharest gets mixed reviews, but I think everyone could agree that this place has something special to offer- it is super funky!

(Above: a super cool map of hand drawn Bucharest we found on a corner; Below: A Romanian military building with a fountain and restaurant in front)

Eastern Europe is healing from recent Soviet communism and Bucharest still has open wounds. When writing about other cities, it is easy to explain the beauty of the architecture and the culture-which can be appreciated at face value. I do not think you can truly appreciate what is going on in Bucharest unless you understand a bit of the history of the area. I am reminded of this every time we go to Eastern Europe, and it is refreshing because the political and cultural changes were so recent- the history is so tangible. Simply stated, the last century has been very hard on this beautiful city- known in the 19th century as "Little Paris". This area was in a state of conflict (civil war, world war and communist takeover) until 1989 when the Romanian people rebelled and the overthrew the Communist regime. So, for the last 27 years they have been coming to terms with their new found freedom and slowly rebuilding.

(Above right: a picture of what most of the apartment buildings look like; Left: a water feature at the park)

The apartment we stayed at in Bucharest is owned by a very interesting young Romanian woman who graduated from Harvard law school and practiced as a corporate lawyer in New York City for 10 years before recently moving back home. This was really fascinating to us because her generation of Romanians was the first to grow up in a capitalist economic system. Without a lot of direction from experienced elders about "what to be" or how to thrive, it is apparent that some became "lost" and some overcame the odds to become very successful.

(Above: All pictures from various location around the park where we stayed)

After a day of traveling, we walked around the Cismigiu park and headed to the University area (where the rebellion in December 1989 took place) to enjoy our first evening. This is one of the most populated and nicest areas of the city- with bakeries, pubs, book stores and restaurants- it was fun to watch the young multicultural crowd walking around enjoying their daily lives among the graffiti covered monuments and giant Pepsi-Cola billboards. We stumbled on a seafood restaurant with a nice sidewalk patio and enjoyed a strange (and cheap!) dinner of salmon, pork cutlet, french fries and mixed greens. The food was nothing special, but the server spoke broken English and was nice- and we were just happy to safely eat our cheap dinner outside in the summer-like weather.

(Above:We decided on the salmon and pork cutlet instead of ordering the tongue, heart, brains or mixed organs on this menu.)

The next morning we woke up to the sound of the wild dogs fighting in the park and birds chirping in the green trees outside our window. We ate a breakfast of Turkish pasties from local vendors at the market in the park, explored the book stores, and walked north on Calea Victoria( a long street with ancient churches, pristine museums and beautiful monuments). Parts of this street (and most of this city) are really bizarre- there are large war torn apartment buildings (complete with bullet holes) with expensive designer and high end jewelry stores on the street level. There are lavish hotels next to graffiti covered smelly allies. There are wild dogs laying on sidewalks and nicely dressed young women pushing around strollers. There are gypsies begging with babies in their arms and boutiques on every corner. As a westerner, you cannot help but to be shocked by the poverty, materialism, over-compensation and contradiction of this place. It is so shocking- it is hard to believe it is a reality.

(Above: a nice wild dog at the park; Below: Views around Old Town)

In the evening, we walked to the old town, where they have successfully refurbished the area north of the river. Here, below interesting ancient buildings, hoohak bars, nightclubs and small cafes with Coca-Cola advertisements line the cobblestone streets. We sat and enjoyed some beers at a local street-side pub while watching the parade of tourists and the homeless dogs.

                                 (Above: a beautiful building with a lot of history- where the symphony and philharmonic now perform)

Honestly, most of our stay consisted of walking around, soaking it all up and then heading back to our lovely apartment facing the park to process and talk it all over. The next morning we caught a train to the mountains where more adventures are waiting! Here we plan to explore Brasov, hike and relax, and eventually plan to head to the hippie beach town Vama Veche at Black Sea Coast before flying back from Bucharest. So stayed tuned for more Romanian stories-I have a feeling there will be more shocking stuff to share......