Leaving Romania on a very happy high!

Last Thursday, my hangover and I made our way from Brasov to Bucharest. I was feeling like death warmed over on the journey and so was very thankful that the weather was awful as then I could have a snooze on the train and not feel guilty that I was missing anything! Originally I was meant to be meeting my lovely friend Helene in Bucharest, but she was unable to make it and so I ummed and ahhed for a while over whether or not to book a hotel and have the luxurious stay I was expecting, but be on my own, or to book a hostel and hope to meet some nice people albeit in less opulent surroundings. I went for option 2 and my goodness did I make the right decision!! I was a little sceptical of this at first when I entered my hostel room to have Alex, an older Russian guy say to me 'so you chose to be in a room of men.' The feeling that I'd made the wrong choice then escalated when Adrian on reception asked to have a quick word with me in such a surreptitious way my mind was reeling! I should say at this point, I had selected the mixed dorm option, not the male dorm, for those who are in any doubt... 😳 Anyway, Adrian wanted to warn me that I may require earplugs due to the rather loud snorer in the room! 

With these warnings ringing in my ears, but also with Kristoff from Brasov's recommendation for the hostel still fresh in my memory I decided to go and brave the common area as I could hear voices that sounded reassuringly normal! Well, all I can say is, what a fabulous hostel to have chosen. Straight off I met Chris, Pablo and Noor and we were soon joined by Will, Martin, Anton, Layla and it turned into a hostel party (sans alcohol for me given the hangover) and with others joining us as they either arrived at the hostel or got back from the day's sightseeing!

Alex, the Russian guy who had been taking a nap (giving us a sneak preview of what to expect that night) also joined us with the opening line of 'you all come in here once I start snoring' so that also became a big joke between us all! Thankfully my British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association earplugs performed their job beautifully that night and I got a really good night's sleep.

The following day I'd decided to do the free walking tour, as had Martin and Will and we followed Martin's excellent directions to the meeting point, despite his concerns that you should never put a German in charge! (his words not mine!). Yet again, the walking tour was fantastic, (I cannot recommend free walking tours enough) and started at Piata Unirii (all Romanian cities have one!) which was edged by mosaic lined structures that looked like they should be filled with water although apparently they never are...

The square is at the side of part of the boulevard that runs from the Palace of the Parliament (or House of the People as it was known in Communist times), is 950m longer than the Champs Elysee and they flattened 7 sq km of buildings and rerouted a river in order to develop it. Fortunately these churches in the background survived (more in detail later).

From there we went to the Stavropoleus Church in the Old Town which was beautiful...

Saw a state of Vlad Tepes (the Impaler) and learned a little more about how he earned the name. Despite the gore it is an interesting story and his actions mean that he's often viewed as a positive character as although he was a harsh ruler, he was believed to have been fair. I recommend you check it out, Wikipedia's a good start (did I really just say that?).

The CEC Bank was particularly beautiful with the Fench influences. Bucharest is known as Little Paris and you can see Parisian influences around the city. The blue lamp posts outside the building were actually imported from there.

We finished at University Square where we were given some of the history of the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu in which demonstrations at the square had played an important part. The stories made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you hear how many 'officially' died there and under what circumstances. Again, an interesting read if you have time. Again, Wikipedia will give the overview.

During the tour, I'd had a good chat with Linda from Belfast, and separately Martin, Will and I had made friends with Gui and so after the obligatory group photo (which is always good to have to remember people by)...

The four of us went to La Mama for lunch, where we all had the Romanian specialty of Sarmale (cabbage leaves stuffed with a mix of pork/beef/veal mince and slow cooked in a herbie tomato sauce) with polenta.

It was yummy!

After filling our tummies and taking a detour back to the hostel, Will, Gui and I initiated Martin into the world of Uber and we headed up to the village museum. This is where they have houses from the different areas of Romania and was fascinating.

It's just unfortunate that with the traffic on the way and it closing at 5pm, we only had 40 minutes at the museum as you could have spent hours there! However, we did make two discoveries in that time. The first is that Gui is the Selfie King as demonstrated by this photo:

And the second is that the house we thought was haunted as it seemed to be making noises, was actually home to goats! Much less exciting...

The exit from the museum was close to Bucharest's Arc De Triomphe

And so from there we Ubered it back to town for food at the Caru' cu Bere, or beer wagon; the inside of which was stunning... 

And where I had soup followed by papanasi (pronounced papanash, which at the hostel in Brasov we'd decided sounded like a term of endearment 'my little papanash!').

They're deep fried doughnuts filled with soft cheese and sour cherry sauce and unbelievably this was a half portion - I'd shared with Martin! We were then entertained by Will who had been selected to join in the traditional Romanian dancing display before heading back to the hostel for that evening's mini hostel party which was a slightly muted affair compared to the previous evening!

The following day, after saying goodbye to the residents who were moving on, I had a relaxing day mooching round the city either seeing some of the sights from the walking tour in more detail, or visiting new places. I started with the churches from the picture above...

The Palace of the Parliament

This is the most expensive administrative building in the world, it costs €6m in upkeep costs annually, is the heaviest administrative building and is nicknamed the 'Iceberg' as it goes underground further than it rises above ground. 

The boulevard leading from the Palace of the Parliament

Tucano Coffee - as this is the last place on my trip I was going to find a branch, and where it was about time for a snack so I had a piece of Jamaican coffee cake (I hope you're appreciating all these cake photos Jim!).

The memorial to those who died during the communist overthrow demonstrations outside the polytechnic building

The Naural History Museum

Carturesti Carousel bookshop (how beautiful inside!)

Before discovering the most amazing material shop. Those who have followed me from the beginning will know that dressmaking is a passion of mine so I was literally in heaven in this shop! This is just one side, the other was just as full. I really wanted to being some material home but sense reigned and I made do with getting ideas for new projects and their URL, thereby hoping they ship overseas!

After this, I went on a search for a postbox for Mum's postcard (trust me it was a mission!) before heading back to the hostel where I met some new people and had more great conversations!

And so this ended my stay in Romania, as yesterday I crossed the border into Bulgaria, the 36th country I have visited.

I have absolutely loved Romania. It's been the most amazing country with so many wonderful surprises and I cannot recommend it highly enough for a visit. I've also been fortunate to meet some fantastic people, both Romanian and from my hostels/walking tours and I feel incredibly lucky to have made some wonderful new friends. 

I now have three weeks in Bulgaria and look forward to bringing you more tales of my explorations from here - which hopefully will be enhanced by me not understanding the Cyrillic alphabet rather than diminished by it!!