Balcony

Behind the curtain

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June 25th 2010
Welcome to Bucharest famous for its dark past and bleak present: brutalist architecture, glue sniffing junkies, 200,000 stray dogs and pick pockets everywhere. The main tourist attraction is the train to Istanbul/Budapest. It made sense to stop here for a night. I was not expecting much. The city’s not without its problems but the reality is nowhere near as bad as preconceptions. Although the p ... read more

Europe » Romania » Muntenia » Bucharest

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The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognitio... ... read more