Bucharest

I am exhausted! Night buses are tiring, but sometimes essential. Hey ho, on we go.

Romania consists of three regions, Moldavia in the East, Wallachia in the South and Translvania in the North. The Carpathian mountains dominate the centre forming an arch across the country. Bucharest is in Wallachia.

Our host is Polo. He meets us outside the apartment. We are right on the edge of the old town. The ground floor is a restaurant and bar (handy). Our apartment is on the top floor with amazing views over the glorious buildings. The National bank of Romania is directly opposite. Wow! It is quite stunning. The apartment is big and bright. So often these old building can be a bit gloomy, this one is certainly not. The sun is streaming in and it is spacious and clean. 

The old town is a maze of little cobbled streets with restaurants, cafes and bars. A great place to wander, or sit with a drink and people watch. I just wish they wouldn't badger you to `come in to my bar etc`. It feel like running the gauntlet all the time. Annoying. End result is you just keep walking! Its also a bit expensive, especially wine.

We found a nice little restaurant/bar on the edge of the old town and University Square. No one hassling us there. We met a great guy (Derek) from Petershead (Scotland) who was visiting for a poker tournament. We sat watching the antics of some guys in the building opposite who had dropped some keys from the 3rd floor balcony, that had landed on a ledge. When they finally flicked them off the ledge by use of strapped together mop handles, we all cheered and clapped. Simple pleasures.

The weather is lovely, 22 degrees and sunny. I feel sure it won't last but we are enjoying it while we can. People are sitting out in the cafes, its lovely. People watching - the local police get around on Segways.

Romanian food - meat and lots of it! Our host jokingly told us the most important vegetable in Romania is meat! Famous dishes are tripe soup (I have yet to try it, but I promise I will). Mici/Mititei (translates as small ones) are seasoned minced meat formed into sausage shapes similar to Koftas or even burgers. Sausages of all types. Dips for bread, there is even a fishy one similar to taramasalata. Polenta is used a lot, especially flavoured with cheese. Sarmale - stuffed cabbage leaves, reminisent of stuffed vine leaves in Turkey and Greece. And for dessert - Papanasi, a donut stuffed with sweet soft cheese, covered in fruit compote and napped in sour cream. (My arteries are furring up writing this! I haven't been brave enough to face this yet, it looks too sweet for me.) Romanian drink - coffee, beer, wonderful wine and Palinka. Proceed with care - Palinka is a fruit Brandy from the Carpathian region, it can be as much as 70° if homemade. One, two, three, FLOOR!

After a visit to a really good Tourist Information office on Boulevard Carole 1. We have good maps, and loads of useful information and advise. This is probably the best Tourist information centre we have found on our travels. Good job Bucharest!

There are two free walking tours on offer. I do recommend these type of tours, you get so much information and see things you might otherwise miss. 

`Old town legends and stories`. Hosted by Anna. An easy 2.5 hours stroll around the old town.

Starting at Manuc`s Inn. Built by a wealthy Armenian trader in the 19th century, who saw the need for a place for traders to store their wares, rest their horses and rest themselves. Its a huge square building with a big courtyard in the middle. In its day it would be full of horses, carts etc, but now its a wonderful Romanian restaurant. The entrance archway has a wooden, cobbled floor. Its the oldest cobbled area in the city.

St Antons church. St Anton is usually associated with finding lost things. Here you pray to St Anton to find the something you don't have. Story goes that if you need a partner (love interest), you must pray here every week for 9 weeks, then on the last week your true love will be revealed. Ahhh. On a serious note, it is the oldest religious building in the city.

Stavropoleos monastery. This is such a decorative beautiful little building. There is not a square inch that is not adorned with paintings and carvings. In the courtyard are ancient grave stones that were bought here from other churches that have long since vanished under the sprawl of the city. It is an active convent with only a couple of nuns in residence. 

Romanian history museum. This is just one of many super impressive buildings in the city. Its good to just find a quiet spot in the hussle and bustle and look up! Sometimes walking in the city, you are so intent on watching where you are going you forget to look around you. A lot of these buildings would benefit from cleaning but they are still very impressive. Lots of influence in the architecture from Geneva here.

CEC Palace. The headquarters of CEC bank. Stunning architecture with a huge glass dome. Apparently equally lovely inside but we didn't get the chance to see.

Macca Villacros. Virtually on our doorstep. A horseshoe shaped covered street (alleyway) with a hotel in the middle. Now it is mainly cafe's and Hookah bars. But once was the gold and jewellery centre. 

University Square. A large open space with statues of Ion Heliade Radulescu, Michael the brave, Gheorghe Lazar and Spiru Haret. The university itself is a huge impressive building.

The hospital. Pink horizontal striped building. Very lovely.

Romulas and Remus. In Piata Rome square, this statue was a gift in 1906 to symbolise Romanians latin origins.

Monarchy versus Communism - hosted by Stephania. Starts at the concert hall. The Romanian Athenaeum (concert hall) is a spectacular building again in the French style. For lovers of classical music this is the place to be. However, we are here to talk politics! Not my favourite subject, but I am here to learn. 

Nicolae Ceausescu. Communist leader 1965-89. He met his end by firing squad, along with his wife, after a 90 minute hearing in front of a military court where even the `defence` spoke against him. In his time in power he instigated the construction of the huge parliament building, also known as the Peoples Palace. His time as leader is considered the most repressive in Eastern Europe. His secret police (Securitate) were responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in the world. Ceausescu restricted media and press. Economic mismanagement led to spiralling debts in 1970`s. The result for the people was poverty, rationing and the queues of people hoping to get a little food or fuel. People would queue for hours, patiently hoping there would be something left when they got to the front. Unrest in Timisoara to the West of Bucharest, led to a direct order from Ceausescu to the military police to open fire on protesters causing many deaths and injuries. News that Ceausescu was responsible for this was the cause of civil unrest and riots. Civilians were given guns to `seek out and kill the terrorists`, but no one knew who the terrorists were, so many innocent people were killed. This became known as the Romanian Revolution. The military changed sides and Ceausescu tried to escape by helicopter from the roof of the Communist Party Headquarters. Fearing the helicopter would be shot down, he landed on the outskirts of the city and tried to escape by car and on foot. He hitchhiked twice and commandeered five seperate vehicles. To no avail, he was caught by the military and brought back into the city. A very quick trial at which there was only one possible outcome - death by firing squad. There is a famous image of the moment they died, they look far from the prominent important people they were. They look like an elderly couple dressed in slightly scruffy clothes falling to their deaths. Sadly I can't download this picture, but suggest you google it. The demise of a nepotistic man. Buried in an ordinary cemetary, no ceremony. He never got to make a speach from the huge balcony of the Parliament Building. Michael Jackson famously walked out on the balcony some years later to address a huge crowd of thousands of fans and said `HELLO BUDAPEST,!` How cringingly embarrassing! 

King Carol 1 of Romania and his sucessors. I will leave writing about him until we get to Brasov for reasons which will become clear. Please read on.

I have a new love, historical politics!

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