Bloodthirsty Creatures

---

Hello my fellow travellers!

After a bumpy ride with no entertainment on it (man, I miss the Turkish buses already) I arrived in Bucharest at 8 am this morning. As I got off the bus I found myself in a very worn and run down neighbourhood despite being so close to the centre. The park nearby seemed to be the housing facility of a lot of homeless people and the buildings all bore witness to needing some serious loving attention. Still, I guess I had expected something after my seeing Sofia.

Since I had just spent my second night in a row trying to sleep on a bus I was really tired and what followed was the worst introduction to a new country I've ever experienced. Here's a brief summary of how my first few moments in this country went, and trust me, its wasn't pretty by any stretch of the word!

It started out with a very obviously fake security guard, I mean come on, a white Reebok shirt, a pair of shorts and a yellow tag that just says security with any id on it? Surely you can do better than that! He approached me and said that the area wasn't safe due to gypsies that would kill me if I walked alone there. Yes, that is a direct quote, that's what he actually said. I'm not making it up.

Well, I tend to know a scam when I see one so I was just trying to brush him off without upsetting him. I told him I'd be okay but he was really pushing and trying to get me to take a cab. I had to fend him off repeatedly. Seriously, he was a most unpleasant individual. I knew I had been correct though when I, from a distance, observed him talking with a cab driver. Very obvious scam, do people still fall for these? Not a great start, but at least I got rid of him.

Anyway, since I was finally rid off him I headed towards the centre only to run into the next obstacle, a pack of stray dogs. All of a sudden I found myself surrounded by dogs and I know that the dogs in Bucharest are often mistreated so I was on my watch against them. One of them separated from the rest of the pack and started barking and growling at me, bearing it's fangs and even lunging after me. They managed to force me away from the route I was taking as I walked away as quickly as possible without turning my back to them.

My new route took me to the Carol Park Hotel and I went inside to regain my composure. The staff there was really nice. They let me stay and recharge my batteries and use their wifi. I stayed here for quite some time to get ready and to try and get in touch with my host whom I hadn't heard from in two days. No luck though since there were still no word from her, great, chased by wild dogs and wild security guards and no place to go and find a friendly face to help me.

After my batteries were all charged I said my goodbyes to the staff and left. I really recommend this place if you're not travelling on a budget because both the staff and the establishment is first class. I wish I could afford to stay here.

Now it was finally time to explore Bucharest after my shaky start. Once I got into the centre I was greeted by a far friendlier city though. I started out at the Palace of the Parliament which is actually the world's second largest building after Pentagon and wow, it sure is impressive! I didn't take the tour though since it seemed to be quite limited and expensive.

By now I was really hungry so I asked the staff at the parliament for a recommendation. He suggested Manuc's Inn which is one of the original inns in the old district so I went off to find it. But since I was exhausted I got turned around and couldn't find it so I ended up at a KFC instead since I was starving.

With the less than exciting meal under my belt I decided to make a renewed run for the old area since most of the things I wanted to see was located in there.

I asked at the metro station and I finally found it. Right around the corner from where I had been! And of course the inn that the staff at the parliament recommended is the first thing I find there! I decided right away to eat my evening meal there since it was a beautiful place.

Now I began to explore the old neighbourhood at a very leisure pace since I was really tired. But it was good because it is a wonderful area to walk around in and it is full of beautiful things to see, most notably (for me at least) was the old Princely Court Palace which was a palace that belonged to none other than Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula! At least the security guard and all of those stray dogs weren't the only bloodthirsty creatures I found here!

Vlad Tepes is for me the most notable persona of Romanian history and to be able to visit the remains of his palace is quite amazing! Right next to his palace is the stunning little Church of Saint Anthony. Both the exterior and the interior of this church is absolutely magnificent! This church actually belonged to the Princely Court of Vlad Tepes and it's one of the oldest churches in Bucharest.

I also visited the Church of Saint Demetrius but it was hard to see anything there because it was undergoing heavy restorations, but what I could look at was quite fascinating! What I could get a good look on however was the Savings Bank Palace which is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in Bucharest. It's easy to see why as it is truly striking!

Across from the Savings Bank Palace is the beautiful Goldsmith's Church, or if you want the full name, the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Saint's Martyrs Cyprian and Justina Goldsmith's Church. It's one of the oldest monuments in Bucharest and it was actually visited by quite a lot of worshippers when I was there.

Needing a break from visiting all the churches and monuments I sat down and drank a beer at a lovely Lebanese restaurant. Here I finally managed to get in touch with my host. It turned out that she had been in an accident on her way back from England with her new motorcycle. Fortunately she wasn't hurt but it also meant that she couldn't host me so now I didn't have a place to sleep.

There's not much to do about that, it's just how things go sometimes. Since I knew that there was an overnight train between Bucharest and Belgrade I decided to take it and cut my visit to Bucharest short. It's a real shame because I was finally starting to enjoy myself here now.

With precious little time left I continued my tour of the historic area by taking a look at the splendid National Bank of Romania. Afterwards I stumbled upon something that I certainly hadn't expected to find in Romania! What I saw was the most gorgeous hospital I've ever laid eyes on! It's called Coltea Hospital and it's the oldest hospital in Romania, dating from 1704 although rebuilt in 1888 after an earthquake. To be honest I had no idea I was looking at an hospital at first. I genuinely believed this to be a royal palace or something similar! It was founded by Mihai Cantacuzino whose statue now proudly stands in front of it.

Just in front of the hospital stands the beautiful little Coltea Church and I really suggest a visit to it because it's filled to the brim with exquisite paintings.

Checking out the area around the hospital I also visited the New Saint George´s Church which is absolutely amazing! It's interior is so rich and vivid that it's hard to fathom it. There's not a square inch that isn't covered in magnificent paintings! This is certainly one to visit while you're in Bucharest! Not only is it filled with stunning artwork but it's also the final resting place of the Wallachian Prince Constantin Brancoveanu.

From there I walked back towards the centre and on the way I passed by the Baratia Church before I visited New Church of Saint John. It's kind of hidden away between all the modern buildings and not all that easy to spot so I'm glad I found it. It's not richly decorated but it does have two remarkable frescoes.

Now I tried to visit Manuc's Inn but it hadn't opened for evening meals yet but so I decided to return after a quick visit to the beautiful Stavropoleos Church which I had previously missed. It was a good decision as it's one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen! It used to be connected to an inn and it has a small garden where there is a display of fascinating tombstones. The architecture has both European and Ottoman influences and is certainly worth the time to visit. I guess that despite my initial experiences I can actually recommend Bucharest now.

I finally finished up my tour of the old town with a lovely meal at Manuc's Inn before I went to the train station. With the combination of the rocky start of the day, my leisure pace and the sudden lack of a place to sleep I unfortunately didn't manage to see all that I wanted. Most importantly I missed the Village Museum, the Arch of Triumph and the alleged Mausoleum of Vlad Tepes.

Tomorrow I will arrive in Belgrade where I thankfully have a host ready and confirmed so I'll finally be able to get some proper sleep. Well, if nothing else it has been an exciting day. I'll give that to Bucharest, I won't forget this easily!

Until tomorrow I wish you all peace and happy travels!

---