Romania: Bucharest

My flight left Naples late at night, arriving in Bucharest basically in the middle of the night. I stayed in the airport for a few hours, until the sun came up and it was a bit more reasonable to head into the city. 

I took a shuttle to the central train station, and from there walked to my hostel. It was a hostel, which I'm no longer a huge fan of, but I'd booked a private room. I was able to check in early, which was totally awesome. 

I rested for a while, then headed out to explore. The weather wasn't any fun, and didn't get any better all day. Sleet, freezing rain, snow, wind; they varied all day. 

Romania is a member of the EU, but is the poorest country in the organization. I knew Romania is part of the EU, so I expected the capital city to be slightly more modern, slightly more western. But it wasn't. I'm sure the weather didn't help my impression of the city either.

Also, I sometimes mix up Budapest and Bucharest, a common enough mistake. Not surprisingly, the people of each of these cities do not love this mistake, as the cities are nothing alike.
I noticed rather quickly there were churches tucked into small spaces on the streets. The churches weren't big and grand, but they were old, and still in use. Inside the churches I noticed small differences between the Orthodox churches I'm used to seeing in Kyiv and elsewhere, and those in Bucharest. Clearly Serbian Orthodox churches have their own ways of doing things.

There were benches along the walls, and the areas for lighting candles were outdoors, among other differences.
I came along a big sculpture, and couldn't help but wonder who the people depicted were.
I found the zero kilometer marker, in the yard area of St George's new church. It was a combination of a globe, and a compass, if that makes sense.
St George's new church was impressive. The mosaic and fresco decoration started in the covered, outside area in front of the church. I really really really wanted to take photos inside, but didn't at that point, as I wasn't sure if it was allowed.

My next destination was a synagogue. Unfortunately when I got there, it was closed. I had arrived about 15 minutes too late. Darnit.
I admit to stepping into a KFC next. Two reasons for this: I was cold, and I was hungry. I needed a place to sit down and warm up, and I needed protein. Chicken fingers are a wonderful food every now and again.
After warming up (remember that the weather was crappy,) I headed toward the city center area. Normally I would've taken a heap more photos, of anything and everything, but I got cold fast, and the weather didn't motivate me to be very touristy.

In the city center area I didn't step into many shops, and I scanned very few menus.
One of the sights mentioned on a travel app was an old bank building, I wasn't as impressed in person as I had hoped to be. There was a large glass area on the roof, but it wasn't clean, and hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long. I didn't go inside, but I bet I would've if it had been clean. Most of the time, I love big skylight buildings. At that point, it was also getting dark, so lighting wasn't any good anymore.
Across the street from the old bank building were two buildings of note: a museum and another tiny church. The inside of the church wasn't very impressive, neither was the outside. It was much more touristy, though I struggle to explain exactly how.

I decided to enter an ice cream parlor, and ended up buying a scoop of peach. I know I've mentioned the crappy weather, but that has never stopped me from eating ice cream. Plus, the cafe was quite cute, and had other choices if I hadn't wanted ice cream.
A couple blocks down, and one or two streets over I had a steak salad for dinner. It was okay, and I felt better for having eaten a proper meal.
The next day the weather was HEAPS better. Blue skies for the most part, which made all the difference in the world to my mood.
I walked a street called Calea Victoriei, one of the main streets in the city. Not in terms of vehicular traffic, but important nevertheless.
Near one end of this street, a couple blocks away I spotted a church. I am a sucker for churches. No matter how many I've seen in different places, they always catch my eye, and I'm always curious to see what is inside.

I love the variety in atmospheres, the variety in interior decorations, the variety in how different faiths are displayed.
This was St Joseph's cathedral. Big, red brick. I was the only one inside, and I enjoyed sitting for a few minutes. I was able to climb up stairs for a higher view, something I also always love.
Back on Calea Victoriei I came to the central university library. I didn't go inside, but the outside was very nice looking. Complete with a statue of a guy on a horse. Across the street from there I saw the Roman Athenaeum, which was really pretty. I think it is used as a theater now?

Other than a ticket office, I couldn't go inside. Argh. The snow that had fallen the day before made everything seem clean and bright.
On the far side of the Athenaeum was a small park area with a couple memorials. The memorial of note was an obelisk, tall and skinny. Officially called the memorial of Rebirth and Revolution. It wasn't very noteworthy to me, but maybe I haven't found all the information I should know.
My next stop was another church, with a difficult to pronounce name. Bretzulescu church. Another church with an outdoor area for lighting candles. I did take photos in here. It was also small, and the interior decor was lovely. I don't know if services are still held here, because it was definitely old.
I found Bucharest postcards nearby, in a bookstore with really nice employees. I can't remember what we talked about, just that I walked away thinking that Romanian people are awesome.

I grabbed another protein snack, then looked at my watch.
One of the travel apps I use said Parliament Palace closed to tourists at 1300, and would be closed the next day, so that day was going to be my last chance to see the world's second largest building. I speed walked as fast as I could go, hoping I would make it in time for the last tour of the day. When I got there, I discovered the app was wrong, that the building didn't close until 1600. Thank goodness. I signed myself up for the next tour, and paid the photography fee as well. Go figure, that fee was higher than the tour fee. Argh.

To be issued visitor ID for the tour, I had to turn in my passport. This made me really nervous, as I am always really nervous to let go of the single most important thing I own.
Our guide took us through just 5-10% of the building. Parliament Palace is so big that it was still a kilometer or so in just that small percentage. The rooms are huge and grandiose. There is a lot of gold gilt, and heaps of chandeliers. Apparently Ceaucescu's wife loved them. I've forgotten the number of chandeliers in the building, but it felt like they were in every room, and many hallways as well. Crystals everywhere.

Allegedly, all the materials used in the building come from Romania, but there is some doubt as to whether that is true. There are approximately 12 floors, though only 4 of them are aboveground. I don't know if the answers are completely unknown, or the government doesn't want to give out specifics for fear of some kind of security issues.
Some of the rooms are available for rent, in case you want to get married here. I don't.
Building started in 1984, continued 24 hours a day for about 5 years. The Ceaucescus lost their lives as a result of a peoples' revolution, they never lived in the building.

The Ceaucescus had originally intended for the building to house them, and provide the government with space for administration and legislation. To make space for the palace, some 30,000 homes were destroyed, and quite a few churches/synagogues/etc were destroyed or moved. The city and people lost when the Ceaucescus decided to feed their egos. 
Due to the season, there was no option for us to go out on the big balcony. During summer months that is a tour add on, you get to see quite a ways over the city. In cold, icy weather I'm guessing the Romanian government doesn't want to take the chance that a visitor/tourist will slip and fall.

The most famous person to speak on the balcony was the first foreigner on the balcony. His name was Michael Jackson, and his first sentence was 'I love Budapest!' Not surprisingly, that didn't go over well with the local population.
On the way out I was relieved to collect my passport.
From the balcony of the palace, you can see a long way down what was supposed to be called Victory Boulevard. Not too far off this boulevard I found a small monastery, called Antim. The church was small, as were the other buildings in the complex. I liked the mosaics on the front of the church, they were depictions of saints I think.

I walked back to the street I'd walked down the day before. I went back to the zero kilometer marker, and took more photos, since the sky was so much prettier.
I walked all the way up this street to the Arch of Triumph. This was a long walk, the street had plenty of traffic. On the way, I passed a house built as a replica of the rodin museum in Paris. I also passed another memorial in the middle of a traffic circle, I think it was something military.
I got to the Arc de Triumf at the perfect time in terms of lighting. The sky was changing colours, and I had fun with a camera.

I also took a look in a nearby church. The exterior was white and grand, but the interior wasn't yet finished. There was a lot of dark concrete. It will probably be nice looking when it is finished, wheneva that happens.
After walking back toward the city center, I stopped in a cafe specializing in tea. Yum, and relaxing. I found another restaurant for dinner, it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.
The next morning I woke up to another day of not so good weather. It wasn't raining, or snowing, but the skies were grey and the wind was back. Argh.

I got information from the front desk of my hostel, and tried to take a day trip to a place called Mogosoaia. To make this work I had to buy another card for public transport, apparently there are several systems in the city, and they don't work together. So annoying. This card was enough to get me to a bus stop where I should've been able to catch the last bus I needed. I stood there for over 30 minutes, watching quite a few other buses come by. I never saw the bus I wanted, so I gave up. I took a bus back toward the city center, and came up with a new plan for the day.

I went back to the tea shop from the day before, this time I had dessert in addition to my tea. Definitely better :)
I walked back to the main street I'd walked both days previously, and stopped into the Italian church. It was pretty.
I continued walking until I found the church of St Spiridon. It was lovely. Green interior with lots of colour. I would've been happy to stay in there for a while, the atmosphere was so welcoming. I chatted with a priest for a little while, I think he was curious about why I was there. The cupola was fantastic, and goes with one of my travel mottos, always look up.
I walked to University Plaza, which wasn't very exciting. I chatted with a guy in French for a while. I didn't understand everything, but I could tell he just wanted to talk. I found a church just off the platz, I think it was a student church? The outside was under construction/renovation but the interior was nice. I'm definitely a fan of all the churches I saw in Bucharest.

I went back to the hostel, and charged my phones. I should've uploaded the photos on my phone, but didn't, and came to regret that very soon.
I walked to the train station, and didn't have to wait long for a bus to the airport. Somehow, during the minute or two that I was waiting, my phone was stolen from my pocket. I realized it almost immediately, and was gutted to realize it was gone. I was upset that it was gone, and that I would have to buy another one, but I was most upset to remember I hadn't uploaded my photos. I'd lost all the photos I'd taken on that phone since arriving in Prague. Argh Argh Argh.
To sum it up, I have very mixed feelings about my visit to Bucharest. The weather wasn't great, it was downright nasty for one of the days, and my phone was stolen. At the same time, I got to see the capital of an interesting country, meet some nice people, and enjoy more churches. I'd like to go back, someday.