Bucharest
The great city it once was
Like all nearby capitals, it was influenced by all kinds of cultures.
Two names synthesize the history of Romania. Vlad III the Emperor, the inspiration for the character of Count Dracula; and Nicolae Ceaucescu, the communist dictator shot with his wife in 1989. You can also remember Nadia Comaneci, the gymnast of 10 in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and Emil Cioran, the philosopher admired by Mr. @tripticity_. And one cannot not mention the many emigrants who today give Romania a bad name in the rest of Europe.
Bucharest means by etymology the City of Happiness. Perhaps it reminds Buenos Aires for its fame of that “other Paris” that once was until the Second World War and the establishment of communism, which transformed it in body and soul and whose contrast prevails today.
The experience in Bucharest was quite rough from the beginning. The airport was old and we were not very welcome by the Migration staff, who after stamping the corresponding stamp followed by an unheard of interrogation, did not hesitate to give us back our passports in a rude manner.
Fortunately, Uber works in the city, which gave us more peace of mind. In fact, when the driver, with very little English, explained to us that he had to take a different route, we were not alerted because the trip was monitored by the app. These are the moments when you become aware of how important it is for a tourist destination to guarantee the visitor tools for their safety and comfort, such is the case of the full validity of this type of applications.
On the way from the airport to the historic center, where our hotel was located, we could see at first glance that we were in another Europe. With poorly dressed people, with children begging on street corners without shoes, with barred windows and gardens.
We noticed what was later the conclusion of our trip: the city lost its pre-war grandeur, which led it to decadence and from which today, from our point of view, it cannot get out.
We also had a problem with the reservation of the Moxy Old Town. We had chosen it for its central location. Now, the good predisposition of the receptionist overcame the unpleasant circumstance originated in a failure of the official app of the Marriott Bonvoy chain, which incredibly threatened to leave us in the street.
After check in we headed to the large University Square, Piața Universității. It is located in front of the University of Bucharest and the skyscraper of the Intercontinental Hotel. It was the epicenter of bloody protests against residual communism after the death of Ceaucescu. In front, the Church of St. Nicholas.
Across the boulevard is Romania's kilometer zero and the New St. George Church, Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou, which burned down in the mid-19th century along with several other buildings in a gigantic city fire.
We continue in the direction of the Grand Hotel Bucharest, a good example of the communist architecture of the sixties. A curious fact: by superstition, it does not have a thirteenth floor. Next to it, as a whole, the National Theater, with the shape of a hat and striking sculptures at the entrance.
We move on to Benjamin Franklin Boulevard, on the left the Romanian Athenaeum, Ateneul Român, with its concert hall.
Going down Calea Victorei, we find the National Museum of Art, in the old Royal Palace of the nineteenth century, rebuilt in 1944. It houses the works saved from the churches demolished by Ceaucescu.
In front, the Revolution Square, Piața Revoluției, called Palace Square until 1989. In the center stands the statue of Prince Charles I, remade after communism demolished it after World War II.
In the current Internal Affairs Ministry Ceaucescu spoke before crowds of people: in 1968 when he began his government and also there he gave his final speech before one hundred thousand Romanians, after which the Revolution took place and from which he tried to flee with Elena by helicopter; he would die a couple of days later.
Also in the complex is the Monument of Iuliu Maniu, a politician who unified Romania after World War II and died imprisoned by the pro-Soviet regime. And the Renaissance Memorial, an obelisk in honor of the 1,500 dead in the 1989 Revolution. The news recall the controversy that generated its manufacture by the high cost of construction, and its shape, so much so that it is called the potato skewered, which shows the little acceptance it had in the community. For this reason, it is guarded around the clock. In fact, in 2012, it suffered a paint attack that persists to this day.
Continuing on, we reach the Kretzulescu Church, Biserica Kretzulescu, a small orthodox church from 1720.
A few blocks down, we find the Victoria Passage with the usual umbrellas and the lack of brightness that characterizes the whole city.
We continue to the Macca-Vilacrosse Passage. This is a gallery between two 19th century belle epoque buildings. At night, tobacco and hashish are smoked in narghiles.
Then the Zlătari Church, Basilica of Goldsmiths, with the relic of the right hand of St. Cirpianus, Patron Saint of Witches, Sorceresses and Necromancers of the third century, a trade he learned in Greece, Egypt and India before becoming a saint. Legend has it that he grants the miracle one asks for.
A little further on is the Stavropoleos Monastery, City of the Cross in Greek. It is a nunnery with an impressive library.
In the evening, we decided to fall in with the tourists and managed to get a table, among so many Americans eating, at the restaurant Caru' cu bere, a very traditional Romanian restaurant, in a very nice building. Everyone recommended prior reservation because it is full, but we were lucky and got a place. We ordered the stnitel de vitel, an expensive Romanian-style milanesa, while the musicians played lively songs and the tourists cheered in a hopeless hustle and bustle.
The next day, we began our walk through the Cărturești Carusel Bookstore, Calesita de la Luz. One of the most famous bookstores in the world, it is located where a bank operated until the advent of communism. The grandson of the original banker sued the state and after a twenty-four year trial, won the lawsuit and thus the ruined building was restored to him in 2007. There is a nice café on the terrace.
Then we passed by the Old Court, Curtua Veche, a 15th century palace that was the residence of Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, the Count of Wallachia, among others. It is actually a reconstruction. Next to it, St. Anthony's Church, Biserica Sfântul Anton.
Then we strolled along the Boulevard Unirii (Union) and its fountains. The heat was beginning to haunt, but we continued.
We passed the Patriarchal Cathedral, so named because it holds the tombs of several patriarchs, and then the Antim Monastery until we reached Constitution Square, site of famous concerts and the Parliament, Palatul Parlamentului.
It is the largest civil administrative building in the world. Ceaucescu wanted it to be the headquarters of the Communist Party and had it built in 1985, demolishing about seven thousand houses and several buildings. He called it the House of the People at a cost of three billion dollars. It has twelve floors, eight subways, more than thirty hectares of surface and was only finished in the nineties.
The walk was exhausting. We wanted to get to the back, where the future Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului, Cathedral of the Salvation of the People, which will house one hundred and thirty thousand faithful, is under construction. It will be the largest Orthodox cathedral in the world, according to an old project that was born to celebrate the end of the First World War and that was cancelled with communism.
The idea of walking back to the historic center was impossible considering the heat and the strong sun, so we took an Uber.
We visited the Marmorosch, hotel, giving up on having a drink there because of the lousy service and lack of air conditioning. We found it more authentic to do so at Pasaje Macca-Vilacrosse. We had a pizza almost on the way and returned early.
We found Bucharest to be the most impoverished of the capitals in the area, rudimentary and decadent, where hostility is perceived in the streets. But we rescued its colossal architecture from the communist domination and the previous belle epoque style.
