Our arrival into downtown Bucharest on a beautiful, sunny (24ºC) Friday afternoon was as easy as the online descriptions had stated: an express bus from the airport’s arrivals gate to our stop, Piața Romana, then a 10-minute walk to the apartment we would call ‘home’ for the following two weeks. Once unpacked, it was time to explore the neighbourhood, enjoy a snack and beer at Gradina Verona (we’d be going back many times), and get a few staples from the nearby 24-hour grocery store – a ritual we’ve adopted for all landing days. However, future beer and wine sipping, underneath a garden canopy, would have to wait a few days as the afternoon’s warming sun was quickly chased off by cold dark-grey clouds. The heavy soon rain arrived and lasted all weekend. We made the best of it and stayed indoor to write our Istanbul blog posts, edit some photos and catch up on Netflix programs.
On Sunday afternoon, under grey skies, we welcomed our first “guest” of the journey: Sarah M. arrived for a short side-trip from her own longer France journey. Sarah had just settled in and we had barely time to exchange travel stories when we all had to leave for our dinner date with Dave’s long-time friend and current Bucharest resident, Guy, and his partner, Clark, to a nearby gastro-cocktail bar, Salon Golescu. It was so wonderful to catch up with our friends!
By Monday morning, the clouds had cleared and the sun had returned, just in time for a city tour with Urban Adventures – Markets & Mahallas. We met up with our guide, Livia, and were joined by two American couples, living in Germany on a working contract for the military. As we all walked through Bucharest neighbourhoods, Livia pointed to the different architecture styles and highlighted certain buildings and areas affected by Ceaucescu’s urban development plan, notably parochial Orthodox, Armenian and Jewish communities. It seems we had just begun our walk when we stopped at a neighbourhood café for snacks and beer – a special note here: it is 10AM and we’re offered a ‘peasant platter’ – deli meats, cheese, seasonal vegetables – and alcohol. Definitely signs of a great tour! 
We continued the tour with a tram ride to Obor Market – fruits, vegetables, fish and meat (and a lot more) – where we sampled more local cheeses and deli meats, drank freshly pressed grape juice (destined to be fermented into wine), and traditional Pălincă (Romanian brandy). We finished our tour of the market with delicious mici, served with bread and mustard, and, of course, more beer! The tour was over and we said goodbye to our lovely guide, Livia, and wished the American couples safe return to Frankfurt. We were all tired (and slightly drunk), but we decided to stay at the market, take advantage of all the fresh produce, and do some impromptu grocery shopping.
We started our next day by walking to the Old Town, Bucharest’s historical area that has become a vibrant neighbourhood for restaurants, cafes, pubs and nightclubs. Another long day of walking and sightseeing, and it has definitely taken a toll on Dave, who had been fighting a cold for a few days. He is still ‘under the weather’ two weeks on unfortunately. To get some rest, the following day, Sarah and I were on our own. The good weather has returned, so why not head for parks; first, the south-end to the Bellu Orthodox Cemetery and Tineretului Park. After lunch, we jumped on the subway and headed north to the Herastrau Park – a large urban park surrounding Herastrau lake, where we visited the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum.
Later in the week, we said goodbye to Sarah. It was time to slowdown the pace, as we were both feeling the exhaustion of travel and Dave was still fighting his cold. Also, with another week to spend exploring the city and the country, we were able to slow things down. A highlight of the week was our dinner with Guy and Clark at their home on Friday evening. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal, drink wine, and to catch up with friends – thank you Guy and Clark for the wonderful evening!
The rest of our sojourn in Bucharest was highlighted with long walks through lovely neighbourhoods, restful stops in the many “gradinas” (garden cafes), and a visit to the impressive Choral Temple synagogue. Of course, our visit to Romania wouldn’t be complete without a day trip out of Bucharest.
On Tuesday, October 17, we took the 2 ½ hour train ride to Brașov. Taking the long walk from the train station to the old town – to stretch our legs – we visited the Black Church, walked the alley surrounding the old city wall and climbed to the watch towers to get panoramic views of the city. After all that walking, it was time to return to the train station and head back to Bucharest. We had planned to visit more of Romania, especially Transylvania and Danube Delta regions, during this leg of our journey. However, the need to recharge our travel batteries (and to rid ourselves of Dave’s nasty cold) was more important. Romania, we’ll just have to return to see more of your beauty!
2 thoughts on “Bucharest, Romania October 6 – 20, 2017”
I was wondering if Sarah had come to visit! I am adding so many more countries to my travel wish list thanks to your blog ❤
Look at me with my raincoat, under that beautiful blue sky! The sunny weather was just the icing on the cake of my visit with Gilles and Dave, which was a pleasure, as always.
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