Scruffy Bucharest!
Trip Start
Unknown
1
71
181
Trip End
Ongoing
Bucharest, Romania
Saturday, April 28, 2012
BUCHAREST
In the morning we left the Turda Gorge and started our long drive to Bucharest.
The scenery got even more beautiful as we drove into and over the the Carpathian Mountains. We passed Alpine type villages and snow capped peaks. Honestly, this part of Romania is beautiful and was a real surprise. The only problem is that they are so bloody lazy. There is litter every where, even in the streams. It is a real shame.
The last 100 kilometres or so towards Bucharest, the land scape changes to the land being very flat and was similar to how it was when we first entered the country.
We arrived at our campsite at around 5pm after a long drive. It wasn't necessarily a long drive mileage wise. They just don't have many motorways or dual carriage ways.
Our campsite was situated about 10 kilometres from the City centre but the taxi fares were very cheap, only about £4 or £5.
Betsy, Ryan, Jase and myself decided to have a night out in the 'Old Town' which I suspect wasn't actually the 'Old town' at all. It had just been made to appear that way. There was a lot of work going on such as roads being paved to give the appearance of being an 'Old Town'. Certainly the place was full of bars and there are at least 10 Irish bars, most of which have under there names, the year that they were established. The oldest was 2009!!
We went to a few of the Pubs and had a really good laugh. The night life appeared to be pretty vibrant.
The next day a few of us made our way into Bucharest via taxi's.
Our trip was not without incident as our taxi got cut up by a Dacia 4 x 4 which then collided with us! Its wasn't much of a collision but our taxi definitely came off worse with a dented wing. The 4 x 4 didn't have a scratch!
The location of the 'prang' was on the traffic island that has the Bucharest version of the 'Arc De Triomphe' on it. So it was a good photo opportunity.
Bucharest has been modelled to some degree on Paris, with massive tree lined boulevards and a French style of architecture.
However, the city officials haven't a clue about how to exploit what they have in the name of tourism! The minister of tourism should be sacked! There are no apparent tourist offices. No sight seeing tours around the city - the best that can offer is a 4 hour walking tour! Also, most of the signs are in Romanian! No English, French or German translation!
The infrastructure is poor. There are potential risks everywhere with open man hole covers, holes in pavements and other safety hazards.
Even the grass on the pavements outside the Parliament building, which according to Whikpedia is the world's largest civilian building, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building, is uncut and scruffy.
We had a bit of a wander around but it was not very awe inspiring!
In the evening we went for a meal at a fabulous restaurant called Hanul Lui Manuc on the Strada Franceza. I had the Piri Chicken Count Dracula which was delicious.
The highlight of the evening was Chris arriving in his Count Dracula outfit which went down a storm with everyone!
Well Romania is now crossed off the list and my views on the place are mixed. It's scenery is a mixture of beautiful and awful. The flat bits at our entry and exit points are scruffy and dirty. The mountains in the middle are beautiful and scenic with lots of Alpine type villages.
The men appear lazy and leave all the work to the woman who appear to be working their socks off, even the elderly woman. You often saw them tending crops and working in the fields.
Most of the men seem to be caught in a fashion time warp. The fashion is tracksuits, shell suits or leather jackets!
As already mentioned they (whoever they are) haven't got a clue about tourism.
Police and security guards give the impression that the organisations they represent are affiliated to the Gestapo!
Garden Gnomes are a feature of most peoples gardens and are sold everywhere!!
In the country, horse and cart seem to be the most popular form of transport. They even have registration plates on the carts!!!
So a mixed bag really. Time to move on, Bulgaria next!!
Comments
Don't forget 'where there's pain there's a claim'
Contact Injury Lawyers 4 U (Bucharest Ltd)
Thank you! You just saved me from booking a trip to Bucharest over Memorial Day weekend.