Bucharest … under Ceaușescu

The 150km drive on the motorway to Bucharest was easy, but the AC was running as it reached 37.5° outside!

Surprisingly driving through the centre of the city wasn’t as bad as we thought and I took a couple of snaps.

We even managed to find a parking space right outside our apartment for free. The apartments here really have it sorted, with self-check in using a passcode and key box, complete with photos to recognise the outside and step by step instructions.

All have been light and airy and this one even had AC which was certainly welcome, as was the bottle of white wine in the fridge!

Later we ventured out for dinner, taking a recommendation from the apartment for a trattoria just a few minutes walk away and a salad fitted the bill perfectly.

We spotted a breakfast cafe just next door, so we were back in the morning to start the day.

Bucharest became the capital of the new nation of Romania in 1862, and inspired by Paris, the city was built with a mix of gothic, neoclassical and Art Deco architecture. There is still grandeur, albeit a little faded, but an earthquake in 1977 and subsequent redevelopment in the 1980’s seriously changed the city.

With just one full day here, we’ve decided to be very selective, especially since it’s going to be jolly hot again. Our first visit was to the Spring Palace, the former private residence of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his family.

Built in the 1960’s set in a small garden …

… the unassuming exterior contains 80 rooms and we saw almost half on the tour.

The guide was very droll as he pointed out that no expense had been spared, the most skilled craftsmen had used the finest materials, and all this was for just 5 people. This is shocking when at the same time his regime which only came to an end with the revolution in 1989, had caused such pain and suffering and many people in Romania were starving.

We were surprised that it was in equal parts drab and bling … did this reflect his personality … dull and petty?

We couldn’t take pics inside so these are from their website.

In contrast, our next visit was to the Cotroceni Palace, built in 1895 for the newly wed Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie and remained the royal residence until 1939.

Having seen inside Bran Castle, with rooms also decorated by Marie when she was queen, the aesthetic wasn’t surprising, favouring light and airy …

… and Art Noveau

… to balance Ferdinand’s choice of heavy wood.

Under communism, it was used by the Romanian equivalent of the youth army and is now one wing is used for Presidential functions and the rest is a museum.

Thus far, we had been using the metro, interested to see how it looked, although it is quite utilitarian with little ornamentation. Having said that, here are a couple of snaps …

… and the platform at Politehnica actually has fossils in the floor!

By now we were getting weary, and even the 15 minute walk back to the metro seemed a little daunting, so we took a cab instead, easily done since Chris had downloaded the app just in case!

Our last stop is The Palace of the Parliament, claimed to be the largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon and epitomises the megalomania that overtook Ceaușescu in the 1980’s. We didn’t go in, just snapped from a distance, quite a distance to get it all in! Today it houses the Senate and Parliament as well as museums, but much is unused.

Another cab back to the apartment for a rest and to cool down. Later, we ventured into the old town, billed as vibrant, we found beer central complete with booming music and pushy staff trying to entice you inside.

We were looking for Aubergine, which proved fairly quiet and a great choice for our last night – one Eggplant Pot and one Eggplant with Beef with crispy pita with za’atar and wine …

… although the establishment behind Chris became increasingly distracting when it started showing previews on the screen above!

We squeezed in one final stop in the morning, The Museum of Communism which gave us more insight into this period of Romanian history which lasted almost 40 years, and remains in living memory for many.

The regime certainly moved the country forward in industrial and technological achievement initially, but the the debts undertaken to achieve this eventually had to be paid back at huge cost to the people who suffered hardship and starvation through austerity measures and political repression. There were various displays and room settings to illustrate the era …

… which came to an end with the revolution in 1989, when Ceaușescu was overthrown and shot.

After that, just time for a cold drink and a bit of a review of our trip.

Of course it will all be fine we said as we set forth, and it certainly was! The driving was smooth, the people friendly and communication easy. We saw everything we hoped for and munched our way round Romania trying all the local specialities. It was also incredibly good value and the Transfagarasan Highway was definitely one of the highlights.

At the airport we were met by a brass band commemorating 26 June which is National Flag Day, and we were just in time to see the flag folded and marched out of the airport!