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Published: August 11th 2013
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Next top, Bucharest, north of Sofia. I took the train leaving Sofia at 7pm. Very different story already...backpackers have gone, we are not anymore on the main Wien-Athens axis...this time, it's a little different. I'm in a 4 berths cabin...and the train is on it's way to Kiev...not for me yet. The train is pretty comfortable, and half empty. I'm sharing the cabin with a Russian guy...my age...who speaks...Russian!
At 1am the train stop at the border. Do not forget, Romania and Bulgaria are both members of the EU since 2007...6 years already...and it takes us...4 hours to clear the two controls! They didn't get much involved into our cabin...they took our passport...and return them to us...4 hours later...crazy isn't it! We reached Bucharest by 7.30am...should have been 2 hours earlier, but I don't mind, I'm not a big fan of arriving by train in a new city at 5.30am...and specially not in Bucharest.
Straight on, the feeling is very different from Sofia. It was Sofia the gorgeous...it's Bucharest...the looking way poorer....coming back on this later one.
I made my way walking to the Inter-Continental going through Revolution Square. The place is
next door from the km 0 of Romania....so not a bad place to spend the night. The hotel is an ugly tower...proper hotel, but nothing great to claim about.
By 10am, I was few hundred meters away for the start of a walking group tour of Bucharest. No need to book, no need to pay, you just show up...and due to the great job of Alex, you give him a tip at the end...I never reach the end, but he got his well-deserved tip. The tour is supposed to last 2 hours, to 2 hours 15 minutes...after 3 hours, we were not yet at the end. This is the combine result of putting 5 to 6 people with a little historical knowledge...a very serious interest to learn...and some extra will to discuss. You'll guess if I was part of that little group. Total group was 15 people...guess Alex had a good time too!
I just had a fast lunch of local beer and schnitzel....before reaching my next tour....3.15pm...bike tour of Bucharest. You pay 19 euros for this one, but it does include the bike....a bottle of water...and a sandwich...a beer would have done the
deal. Another great guide....and this time, only a young guy from Istanbul and myself. After 3 hours...I knew we were late again....and I would have to step in not to finish at 10pm. Note to the readers...I love explanations of a city...I love to discuss...way too much...but more than 8 hours of guided tour per day...deserve a break!
Made it to the hotel...after the sunset...call the little guys in Luxembourg.....than made my way for a night out in the Old Town, right next to my hotel. And, couldn't manage to get early back to my bed. Bucharest night life is way less classy than what I saw in Sofia...but I guess had I been 30 or so...I would have been ready to stay few more days here! Let's put it simple...it's not classy, it's sexy baby... Ok, it was Friday night, I didn't sleep early...so my Saturday morning....was spent sleeping in that good bed!
Time to explore more, than to visit the crazy House of Parliement, aka House of the People, the crazy project of Mad Ceausescu who starved his people from 1982 to 1989 to build the second largest public building in the
world behind the Pentagone. By the Revolution in 1989, only 60% was done....and they found it would be more expensive to destroy it than finishing it...Today, it's nearly done, in 2013.
I know I could write way more about this city....but I also know this is not my first, neither last entry this week. Bucharest is way less classy, way less beautiful than Sofia...but there is some kind of sexy appeal to the city. I would not dream to live here, but just the night life of the Old Town could keep anybody busy for whichever week-end.
To more point to note...why they don't have that many good looking buildings...because the get hit by a huge earthquake every 40 years...last one was in 1977...guess when is coming the next one...
Second...is Bucharest dangerous?...a local answer to this...no, all the bad people have all left Romania...I'm not kidding...the local do know they have a huge issue with the perception and the marketing of the country. To put it simply, without judgment...depending how you put the figures, the Roms are only 4 to 10% of population...not the image that most people in Europe
do have of Romania! Issues, solutions and problems...not here...sorry!
On this I could write way more, but put it simply....come here, you will be on for a good surprise, even if like me, you may not fall in love with the city!
Next stop...full way East...and finally....a serious jump back in time! Coming soon!
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ramelalagdon1991
Ramel Alagdon
Awesome
What an amazing place:)