Visiting Bucharest

One of the most recognizable landmarks in Romania’s capital is the massive Palace of Parliament. Construction began during the communist rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu, who demolished a large section of central Bucharest to make room for the building and the grand boulevard surrounding it. The result is one of the largest administrative buildings in the world and an enormous reminder of Romania’s communist era. The boulevard leading away from the palace is lined with fountains like the one above and passes through some of the busiest parts of central Bucharest.

While roaming around Bucharest on foot, I came across plenty of buildings that looked historically important, only to find out later what many of them actually were. The building on the right is the National Bank of Romania. I generally dislike guided tours and prefer exploring cities on my own, but the downside is that I sometimes don’t figure out what I’ve photographed until later. Then again, wandering around without a schedule is also how I tend to discover the most.

These two were easier to identify while I was there. On the left is Bucharest’s National Theatre, while the University of Bucharest is on the right. This part of the city is much more representative of central Bucharest, where historic buildings, communist-era architecture, and modern development are all mixed together.

I hate to admit that all the stories of vampires and werewolves had given me a subconscious image of Romania as a permanently gloomy place. Of course I knew that wasn’t actually true, but it still felt strange to be walking around Bucharest beneath beautiful blue skies and warm weather. The city’s parks were full of people walking, relaxing, and having picnics. There were also a few artists and food vendors around, but nobody was particularly pushy, making it an easy place to slow down and enjoy the day.

These were my very first views of Old Town Bucharest and actually among the first things I saw after arriving in Romania. Needless to say, my initial impression wasn’t great. I had heard about Bucharest’s famous Old Town, so when I first walked into streets covered in graffiti and surrounded by deteriorating buildings, I wondered what the rest of the city was going to look like.

Fortunately, I soon realized I had entered through an area that was undergoing restoration. A block or two later the appearance changed dramatically. Construction crews were repairing streets and buildings, and beyond them I reached the restored sections of Old Town that I had originally expected to see.

Once I reached the main part of Old Town, my opinion changed completely. I came back here for lunch almost every day while staying in Bucharest because the prices were reasonable and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from. Every time I returned I seemed to discover something different, including the strange faces for sale in the photo above. Old Town became one of my favorite areas to simply wander around without any particular destination.

Bucharest is also filled with historic churches that can be surprisingly easy to miss between the much larger buildings surrounding them. Some are centuries old and richly decorated with religious artwork, crosses, stone tablets, and icons. Discovering these smaller historic sites while walking around the city was one of the advantages of exploring Bucharest without following a set itinerary.

Another important religious building I came across was the Choral Temple, one of Bucharest’s most important synagogues. The Jewish community of Bucharest once numbered in the tens of thousands, and the synagogue survived both World War II and the communist era. Nearby memorials commemorate victims of the Holocaust and the persecution of Romania’s Jewish population. I had never visited a synagogue before and attempted to enter the grounds, but the gate was closed, so I eventually moved on.

One thing I definitely remember about Bucharest is the traffic. During rush hour I saw intersections become completely gridlocked, including one ambulance that barely moved for several minutes because cars were blocking every direction. Bucharest is a sprawling capital with a huge number of cars on the road, and traveling above ground during the busiest parts of the day could be painfully slow.

The metro was another experience entirely. The first time I rode it, the train was probably the most crowded subway I had ever been on. When the doors opened I saw what looked like a solid wall of people and assumed some of them would get off. Instead, about ten of us standing on the platform somehow crammed ourselves inside with everyone else. It was so packed I could barely move, much less take out my camera. I later returned to the metro specifically hoping to photograph the chaos, only to find plenty of room. The train above probably had half as many people as the one from my first ride.

Outside the historic center, Bucharest changes considerably. Large apartment blocks dominate many neighborhoods, particularly those developed during the communist period. Some buildings have been renovated while others still look much as they did decades ago. That mixture gives different parts of Bucharest completely different personalities depending on where you wander.

This was the neighborhood where my hostel was located while I stayed in Bucharest. I almost described it as a quiet residential neighborhood, but that wouldn’t be completely honest considering seemingly everyone owned a dog determined to bark throughout the night. After a few nights of that, I started thinking a hotel in the middle of downtown Bucharest might actually have been quieter.

Bucharest could sometimes be a city of contrasts. An older or worn-looking exterior didn’t necessarily tell you anything about what was inside. Modern shopping centers, restaurants, stores, and renovated interiors could be found throughout the city, even when the surrounding buildings looked considerably older.

My first impressions of Bucharest weren’t particularly favorable, but the city grew on me the longer I stayed. Old Town went from looking like a disaster when I entered through an area under construction to becoming the neighborhood I returned to almost every day. Between the enormous communist-era buildings, historic churches, parks, chaotic traffic, restaurants, and neighborhoods, Bucharest ended up having far more variety than I expected. It’s not the polished European capital that everyone immediately falls in love with, but spending time exploring it on foot gave me a much better appreciation for the city.