Bucharest

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Bucharest is without a doubt one of the scariest places I have ever been. When I got off the train I didn't have a map, any accomodation and very little knowledge about what would be outside the train station...when I got outside my first thought was it would be a good idea to get back on a train and go somewhere else.

I jumped into a taxi and told him to take me to the cheapest hotel near the centre. This hotel proudly boasted of its one star and the fact it offered rooms with and without bathrooms, it was like everything I had though Eastern Europe held was true. The receptionist then explained I should only leave the hotel in one direction as I might get attacked by a gang who were hanging around the other exit.

Once I'd got over the initial shock Bucharest wasn't too bad. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't good but at least I learnt to live with the fact I could be attacked if I made the mistake of leaving my hotel the wrong way.

Bucharest as a city is a mixture of an ageing Paris and a crumbling Thamesmead. The people are a lot more abrupt then in Sighisoara and Brasov and it is the least tourist friendly place I've been to. I tried to visit the parts that are almost touristy so went to Revolution Square which is overlooked by the old Communist headquarters where Caeucescu was flown by helicopter to his execution after the 1989 revolution. After that I walked down the Romanian version of the Champs Elyse, except it's longer and wider and filled with fountains, which leads up to the biggest building I've ever seen, the People's Palace. The Palace is Ceaucescu's remaining legacy to the city and based and floor space is the second biggest building in the world behind the Pentagon and in terms of actual area the third biggest behind stuff like the pyramids. The Palace was made by the Romanian people with all the construction and the actual material used all coming from the country. They worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the building and even today it's still not finished.

The next day I wandered round one of the parks while I waited to see if a train to Sofia would actually appear as when I'd tried to reserve a seat at about midday I was told I couldn't as they didn't seem to know if let alone when the train would appear as it had already been delayed from Moscow about 12 hours earlier. The fear filled me that I may never actually leave Bucharest and might have to be initiated into a gang to attack poor unsuspecting tourists who left the hotel the wrong way but luckily without any warning it arrived and I could make my escape.

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