Sunday, October 31, 2010

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

(10/1/10 – 11/2/10). To be clear, Bucharest was never considered to be a place we might desire to live. However, timing and location conspired to make it a destination for a month’s visit, since it was still too early to head back to Thailand as intended because of Monsoon Season, and the remainder of our 90-day Visa to the EU (or, more accurately, the Schengen States) was insufficient. To clarify, although Romania is now a new member of the EU, it is not yet a part of the Schengen Agreement countries (allowing borderless freedom of movement among them) which (surprisingly) also still does not include the UK. Likewise, neither the UK nor Romania have yet adopted the Euro s their Currency, which was another ‘plus’ for our visit since the US Dollar has held its value against Romania’s Ron, unlike the British Pound.

Romania, and Bucharest especially, has recovered significantly over the past two decades since the revolution that freed the people from the dark years under the rule of former dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. But, the economy still has a long way to go to before it reaches the standards of the westernized European countries. But, in stark contrast to the morose and depressed population we saw last year in nearby Budapest, we found the Romanians here generally to be open, friendly and helpful. Furthermore, for a country that has long been considered one of the poorest in eastern Europe, there appeared to be relatively few numbers of street people or other open evidence of poverty in the Capital. Similarly, at least on the exterior, the physical appearance of the City in terms of its architecture and design, is quite beautiful though we did notice that many of the lovely old European-style buildings have regrettably been allowed to decay on the interior.

Positive impressions aside, Bucharest is not really a place that holds a great deal of interest for a long term visit. Probably 2-3 days is really all I’d recommend to others thinking of coming, and then perhaps another week to travel the country if you had the time and means. So our Stay of slightly longer than a month was no doubt unnecessary and far too long, but as stated initially it served our purpose of a layover.Of course, we saw all the ‘top’ tourist sights, such as Ceauşescu’s monstrous (and wasteful) Palace of Parliament, the National Village Museum (consisting of a large outdoor area within one of the City Parks upon which sit a couple hundred actual old rural homes and farmhouses that were transported to the Capital for preservation), the obligatory Arch of Triumph, the National Palace and Art Museum, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant (containing an electic and interesting collection of Peasant artwork, clothing, and other traditional artificacts), the historic Center, and a dozen or so very nice Orthodox and Byzantine Churches. We also had an opportunity to experience some culture, by attending a classical music performance by the highly regarded George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra at Bucharest's Romanian Atheneum.

Of course, no visit to Bucharest would be complete without a visit to the nearby region of Transylivania. Enduring the long 3-hour train ride, we stopped first in Sinaia to see the spectacularly designed and furnished Peles Castle, which absolutely lived up to its reputation as being a sight not to be missed and one of the finest Castles in all of Europe. Then, we headed further on the next train to the highly regarded medieval-flavored Town of Brasov. Aside from its quaint village feel, and delightful town square, Brasnov is home to the largest gothic church in Romania, known as the Black Church because it was charred to a dark color during the Great Fire of 1689.

As for dining, like Bucharest generally, nothing very impressive to highlight. But, we did eat at a few nice restaurants that serve traditional East European stick-to-the-ribs food, not much different than we had in Budapest. Wines, too, are just basic drinkable table wine, and nothing that is going to win any international tasting awards.

All-in-all, our month in Bucharest was pleasant but not memorable, and it would be highly unlikely we would go out of our way to return again.

UP NEXT:
On the other hand, we are looking forward to a return to Chiang Mai, Thailand!


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