Bucharest
Arriving a little after midnight, we were in need of a good night’s rest before exploring Bucharest. We met up with our group for a late breakfast. It was good to catch up with old friends and meet a couple of new ones.
A little Romanian history will be helpful to explain some of the things we’ll see this week. The country has been invaded and ruled by many different groups. Hungary ruled much of Transylvania and thus they still speak Hungarian in that region. WWII brought in a communist regime which continued until 1989 by Nicolae Ceausescu, a bit of an egomaniac, that shipped most of the Jews off during his reign and was generally not a very nice person. He was eventually killed by his own people in 1989 but the country was still run by some of the old political elite. Recently, there’s been a crack down on the corruption that was persistent throughout the country. A member of the EU, they did not adopt the euro or the open borders. They are trying to become a tourist destination, but we are still on the early side of the tourist movement.
The architecture is a mix of very beautiful, if a little rundown, old buildings mixed with the utilitarian communist style prevalent during Ceausescu’s leadership. Communists are not really known for valuing beauty, and the communist era buildings are the same here. Perhaps the most beautiful are the Orthodox churches. Most are very ornate. They come in various sizes and are still used for religious purposes more than tourist attractions.
Our welcome dinner was more old home week since we knew almost everyone on the trip. Friends from the UK to Canada to various locations around the US become a photographic family for the next week.
Tomorrow: Into the Country
A little Romanian history will be helpful to explain some of the things we’ll see this week. The country has been invaded and ruled by many different groups. Hungary ruled much of Transylvania and thus they still speak Hungarian in that region. WWII brought in a communist regime which continued until 1989 by Nicolae Ceausescu, a bit of an egomaniac, that shipped most of the Jews off during his reign and was generally not a very nice person. He was eventually killed by his own people in 1989 but the country was still run by some of the old political elite. Recently, there’s been a crack down on the corruption that was persistent throughout the country. A member of the EU, they did not adopt the euro or the open borders. They are trying to become a tourist destination, but we are still on the early side of the tourist movement.
The architecture is a mix of very beautiful, if a little rundown, old buildings mixed with the utilitarian communist style prevalent during Ceausescu’s leadership. Communists are not really known for valuing beauty, and the communist era buildings are the same here. Perhaps the most beautiful are the Orthodox churches. Most are very ornate. They come in various sizes and are still used for religious purposes more than tourist attractions.
Our welcome dinner was more old home week since we knew almost everyone on the trip. Friends from the UK to Canada to various locations around the US become a photographic family for the next week.
Tomorrow: Into the Country
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