Dracula, Trovants, the creepy forest of Hoya Baciu and other interesting facts about Romania, Bucharest and Romanians. Bucharest unfamiliar and completely unfamiliar Who lived in Bucharest for a long time

I lived in Bucharest for about a week, and during these days I walked around almost the entire city center with a camera, and also visited the outskirts of the city in . If we talk about general impressions of the city, I didn’t like Bucharest at all; it contrasts very much with the rest of Romania, differing from it not for the better.

So, this post contains a story about Bucharest as I saw it in the fall of 2016.

02. First, a few words about the architecture of the city. Many people consider the architecture of Bucharest to be something outstanding, but I didn’t like it - perhaps it’s the poor condition of the buildings, as well as the mixture of architectural styles. In some places in the city you can see beautiful old buildings in the Art Nouveau or eclectic style:

03. But most often they are adjacent to nondescript buildings from the Ceausescu era, which is why they somehow get lost and fade. Typical buildings from Ceausescu's time look like the house in the middle of this shot - a narrow strip of open balconies in the middle of the building and the obligatory arcade or rotunda on the roof.

04. These are also very typical Romanian projects - a colonnade on the ground floor, a large number of balconies, superstructures on the roof. These projects are still nothing, but often buildings built in the 70s look tatty and shapeless.

05. Another problem in the town is the external condition of the buildings. Look, it’s quite an interesting building, but pay attention to the condition of the building - it hasn’t been cleaned or plastered since the time of Tsar Pea.

06. From the windows of my apartment I had a view of the United Nations Square - one of the central squares of Bucharest. The square is built up with quite interesting buildings - on the left is a post-war project, and the two buildings to the right are old, pre-war.

07. The same buildings from a different angle. The architecture is expressive, but very quickly becomes boring to the eye due to the abundance of non-functional details. The general feeling of the architecture of Bucharest can be compared to the taste sensations of Chinese fast food - at first it seems delicious, but already on the third day it becomes terribly boring.

08. And this is what typical residential buildings look like away from the city center. The projects are similar to the Minsk ones, with the exception of the height of the windows - in Romanian buildings the windows are very small, often no more than a meter high.

09. Perhaps most of all from the city architecture I liked some of the buildings of the interwar period - they carry the features of typical Romanian projects, but at the same time they look strict and stylish - for example, this hotel building with very beautiful rounded balconies.

10. Surprisingly, such a beautiful hotel almost in the very center of the city is now abandoned, and abandoned for a very long time - small trees even managed to grow on the balconies. I hope that in the end there will be an investor who will restore such a wonderful building.

11. And detached pre-war buildings look even more or less good - some projects are reminiscent of Lviv and Vienna.

12. Another architectural interest - in Bucharest there are many buildings reminiscent of Russian pre-revolutionary projects, but here they were built in the period 20-40. In fact, those architectural styles, as well as building codes and regulations, which disappeared in Russia (and the countries of the former USSR) in 1917-1918, continued to exist here until the 1940s.

In Bucharest, you can often find a house built in the 1930s, which will at the same time resemble a Russian pre-revolutionary one - with a huge entrance, spacious multi-room apartments and 4-meter ceilings.

13. At the same time, like other buildings in the city center, many of these houses are in poor condition. Here, for example, is the entrance to a beautiful house from the 1930s - the doors are wide open, the entrance is literally pissed, there are puddles on the floor.

14. And this is what the courtyard of the house looks like - apparently, garbage is thrown directly from the windows.

15. And the residents of this house sometimes attach some unimaginable structures to the windows. What is this? Greenhouse, seaming warehouse, chicken coop?

16. It’s a shame that such a beautiful house is in such a state...

17. Bucharest is literally a city of contrasts. Here on the left side of the frame is a very cool restored building - with restored stucco, new forged balcony grilles and wooden windows. And right there on the right are terrible ruins, from where it smells of many years of dampness and decay.

18. Or do you see a beautiful and clean alley, in which everything sparkles, there are cafe tables and people relaxing?

19. As soon as you step back literally 10 steps, you will see an abandoned building with black windows and everything covered with clumsy “tags”. Optionally, a homeless person can sleep on the porch - the juxtaposition of luxury and poverty here does not surprise anyone.

20. But such a dump could be on the corner of a house, 5 meters from which there will be an entrance to an expensive restaurant.

21. The examples of the urban environment of Bucharest clearly show how the “broken windows rule” works. For those who don’t know what this is, I’ll briefly tell you that the spitting and pollution of the environment tends to increase, as people unconsciously begin to perceive this as the norm. For example, at a stop littered with cigarette butts, even someone who would otherwise take it to the trash will throw it on the ground.

Here is a good example - there is some old electrical cabinet. The cabinet had not been painted for a long time, it was peeling and covered in dirt. Someone then pried open the doors and tried to rip off the "dangerous voltage" sign, causing the cabinet to look even more dented. And now everyone perceives the closet as a garbage dump - abandoned cigarette butts and cups begin to appear around.

22. Here’s another good example: a car drove into the decorative side of a fountain in the center of the city, breaking the barrier and leaving fragments of the bumper. Nobody cleaned up the garbage, and empty bottles and cigarette butts are already starting to appear around - everyone began to perceive this place as a garbage dump.

23. Here’s another example - an old telephone booth. First, they covered her from head to toe with advertisements, then they broke the glass. Someone threw a couple of bulls and cups, and now the booth has turned into a real garbage dump, where they literally bring bags of garbage. And nearby, crooked scribbles of “tags” began to appear on the wall.

24. What’s interesting is that people don’t litter everywhere, for example the neighborhoods in the center where order and cleanliness are maintained. In such an environment, people often try to carry a bottle or glass to the trash rather than simply throw it on the ground.

25. According to my observations, city residents are not very bothered by this situation with garbage and dirt - they simply do not notice it and perceive it as part of the city background. Even the residents of a prestigious building in the center are not embarrassed by the façade walls covered in spit and graffiti:

26. And the gateway in such a prestigious central house may look like this:

27. And in the center of Bucharest you can see quite a lot of abandoned shops, abandoned for a very long time - judging by the design, this shop has not been open almost since the time of Ceausescu:

28. So, now I need to write about something good. Bucharest has very cool playgrounds - they are often surrounded by fences (to prevent cars from parking there) and are well equipped. In some places in the city there are street parks, which are also quite good:

29. The parks have outdoor exercise equipment and free Wi-Fi - something that Minsk really lacks.

30. There are many benches on the streets where older people can relax:

32. There are also bicycle paths (though there are very few of them) and they only pass along some central streets:

33. Street trading looks like this -

34. In Bucharest, I liked the SIM card vending machines with the Internet:

35. And street book stalls, where books about Dracula side by side with books about the “great conductor” Ceausescu.

36. But in general, Bucharest is a dirty, noisy and crowded southern city that you don’t want to return to.

I continue my Voyage 100 through snowy Europe. I am already torn by excitement: I will be able to visit 100 countries before I return home or something else gets in the way. So far everything is going according to the new plan: from there I flew to Bucharest, and then to Chisinau and Transnistria. Today I’ll tell you about how we dealt with unprecedented snowfalls in the Romanian capital.

Spoiler: I liked Bucharest. This, of course, is not Prague yet, but it is no longer Sofia - something between Europe and Asia...

A dull morning at a dull Sofia airport. All flights here fit on two small monitors. The airport can hardly be called busy - two cafes plus three shops and half-empty halls:

The flight is about an hour and I’m in Bucharest. I remember when I was a child there was some kind of joke related to the name of this city, but I can’t remember. Remind me!

Bucharest, like most other European cities, was covered with the heaviest snowfalls in several years on Orthodox Christmas:

They don’t know how to deal with snow here, like in Moscow, but they learn quickly. At first, all the snow was simply moved from the center of the streets and neatly piled up:

Local Red Light Street. About her below:

It’s good that there are a lot of ATMs, otherwise you’d have to climb through a snowdrift:

The oldest church in Bucharest. An excavator is working nearby, “rising on its hind legs” and loading snow from piles into fitted trucks:

Firefighters were closely involved in cleaning the city. I saw several cars in the center at once, which were clearing snow from the roofs so that it would not fall on the heads of passers-by:

River Dambovita. According to legend, in ancient times a shepherd named Bukur came across it. He liked it and named the river “Dambovita” in honor of his wife, and he himself founded the city, which is now called Bucharest:

10.

Statue on the steps of the historical museum. They say that this is the most photographed statue in Bucharest. I also took a selfie with her. I will not show:

11.

Brave monument:

12.

In Bucharest, I tried walking around the city with an audio guide. This is an application on my phone that determines my geolocation and gives me a story through my headphones about what I see. So I know that this is the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was built in 1905 at the instigation of the Russian ambassador in Bucharest. The cost of the project cost the treasury 600,000 gold rubles:

13.

University Square. This is not only the central square of the city, but also an important symbol for the residents of Bucharest: it was here that the Romanian revolution of 1989 began and triumphantly ended, which put an end to the dictatorial regime of Ceausescu:

14.

National Theatre:

15.

Sculptural composition Caruta cu paiate. It was opened at the very end of 2010 near the National Theater of the city. The composition is dedicated to the famous Romanian playwright Ion Luca Caragiala, its 16 characters are the heroes of his plays, traveling somewhere on a huge cart:

16.

The oldest coffee shop in Bucharest:

17.

Red Street. All the main brothels used to be located here:

18.

Now there is also some left, but, as far as I understand, this is more entertainment for tourists. Although, I didn’t look here at night:

19.

Inside the establishments there are photographs of former courtesans, the most famous of whom was named Zaraza, and in her honor the Romanian singer Cristian Vasile named his famous tango: “Zaraza”. I wonder if in our country the tradition of calling capricious girls “Infections” comes from this love story?

20.

More brothel interiors:

21.

Entrance to the hotel. Very cute in my opinion. Judging by the poster, women are much more forgetful than men:

22.

The She-Wolf Monument is an exact copy of the monument in Rome, donated by Rome to Bucharest. Here it is called a traveling monument, because over the past few years it has already moved from place to place 6 times:

23.

Roman Square. At one time, when they began to dig a metro in Bucharest, Nicolae Ceausescu's wife Elena decided that the metro stations were too close to each other and the working class began to get fat because of this. She was also a healthy lifestyle specialist. As a result, she banned the construction of a metro station under Roman Square.

However, the metro builders understood that a station was still needed here, they built it secretly and closed it off from trains with a thick wall. A couple of years after the opening of the metro line, the Ceausescu realized that a station was still needed here, and then the builders admitted that they had actually already built it:

24.

In the very center there is a huge shopping center. At least it seemed like that to me, but when I tried to go inside, it turned out to be only small shops on the ground floor with a giant sign:

25.

Zero kilometer of Bucharest:

26.

There are also a huge number of posters in Bucharest. They covered all the passages and all the free spaces in the city. Moreover, pasters rarely bother and remove previous posters. They glue directly on top of the old ones. In the cold it all fluffed up, froze and became covered with a cap of snow:

27.

Even the frost doesn't stop the posters:

28.

Bicycle rental works even in winter. An hour of rental costs a little more than 100 rubles:

29.

Kissing:

30.

Saleswomen:

31.

32.

Passers-by:

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

From Bucharest I flew to Chisinau. About him tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

And yet, no matter how many wonderful places there are in Romania, all roads here lead to Bucharest. Everyone remembers the funny story when Michael Jackson greeted the Romanians with the exclamation “Hello, Budapest,” but many of us, following him, confuse the names of these cities, and do not really imagine what kind of city Bucharest is.

This wonderful city was not chosen by chance as the capital of Romania. Having studied the history of just one city, you can understand at least in general terms the history of the entire country, the entire people. To begin with, the city was chosen as the residence of the greatest of the Romanians - Vlad Basarab III (Dracula - Tepes), and served as one of the main strongholds of the defense of Wallachia from the Turks. According to legend, Bucharest was founded by a shepherd named Bucur. Another, more plausible version claims that the city was founded by Mircea the Old in the 14th century after the victory over the Turks. It was this city that was hated the most and one day it was burned to the ground by the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. After restoration, the city quickly grew and developed, and in 1698, Prince Constantin Brancoveanu moved the capital here. In 1859, Bucharest became the capital of the united Romania.

This is one of the few amazing cities that was freed from fascist invaders thanks to an internal uprising - August 23, 1944. And this is the city whose inhabitants desperately resisted and eventually overthrew the regime of Nicholas Ceausescu. When the latter destroyed the historical part of the city in order to erect his projects imposed by gigantomania, the residents of Bucharest managed to save some of the historical masterpieces. So they moved one of the ancient churches several hundred meters from the path of the so-called Romanian Champs Elysees and, thus, saved for posterity.

Bucharest enchants with its old town and delights with the majestic architecture of palaces and churches. But still, the ugly monument to tyranny - the Palace of Parliament - attracts most of all. How many thoughts and feelings visit a traveler looking at this creation of the twentieth century, from contempt to admiration for the selfless work of ordinary people, from surprise to horror, from regret to hope that this will never happen again. Erected by the tyrant, the gigantic administrative complex was designed to show the greatness of Ceausescu, and is capable of withstanding even a direct hit from a nuclear bomb (at least his bunker). Even the steps on the stairs were adjusted to the step size of his wife, Elena Ceausescu, and redone several times. Around the “palace” are the Romanian Champs Elysees, like in Paris, only larger (the habits of a giant maniac), on which members of the government were supposed to live and walk to work (apparently, the tyrant did not like being late). However, those who set their sights on greatness and have forgotten the lessons of history will be painfully disappointed: buildings now designed to instill fear and suppress with greatness can only cause a smile and bewilderment. However, millions of people come here, to one of the most controversial buildings in history, to see the stronghold and hope of the former regime with their own eyes. Today, tourists can even spend the night in the Palace of Parliament, and the administration occupies no more than 5% of its area.

Overall, Bucharest evoked positive emotions and gave moments of joy. A metropolis with an ancient history, the newest shopping centers 100 meters from the excavations of Dracula’s fortress, squares and boulevards, an intricate network of streets of the old city... you can walk in this city endlessly, and it beckons you to come back here again. And even farewell to the city turned out to be unforgettable for us: we drove past the triumphal arch (almost Parisian), waved to the Ukrainian embassy and laughed a lot, looking at the extraordinary sculpture in the form of a bright red foot near the journalists’ house. Bucurie is translated from Romanian as “joy”, which is why Bucharest is often called the “City of Joy”. And indeed it is. After my acquaintance with Bucharest, I will never confuse the City of Joy with Budapest or with any other city in the world. Goodbye Bucharest, see you again!

Five mistaken capitals that are often confused with other cities

Some of the world's cities are so beautiful and well-known that people often mistake them for the capital of the country. After all, who says that the capital should be the most beautiful and famous city in the country?

1. City of Bern and Zurich

Switzerland is a confederation of 26 cantons, most of which were fully sovereign states until 1848, when the Swiss Federal State was created. Currently, each canton has its own capital, government and constitution, and although Zurich is the largest, richest and most important city in the country, Bern is the de facto capital of Switzerland.

2. City of Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro

With its charming beach culture, fantastic carnival and picturesque nature declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's no wonder that Rio de Janeiro is often mistaken for the capital of Brazil. Well, it was actually until 1960, when Brasilia, a futuristic city built in the middle of the desert by architect Oscar Niemeyer and Brazilian urbanist Lucio Costa, took its place.

3. City of Canberra and Sydney

The city of Sydney and Melbourne had always competed to be Australia's foremost city, but in 1908 strong competition between the two cities eventually led to a compromise and the fully planned city of Canberra was to become the country's capital. Despite this, it was Melbourne (not Sydney) that acted as the capital of Australia until 1927, when the federal parliament moved to Canberra.

4. City of Ottawa and Toronto

The 21st century has witnessed a spirited rivalry between two wonderful and culturally vibrant Canadian cities. But surprisingly, the capital of Canada is Ottawa.

However, by the mid-19th century, both Toronto and Montreal (and even Quebec) served briefly as capitals of the united province of Canada. Everything changed on December 31, 1857, when, for strategic reasons, Queen Victoria chose the smaller Ottawa, a city located exactly between Toronto and Quebec, to become the country's capital. And it has remained that way ever since.

5. Wellington and Auckland

Although Wellington has been the capital of New Zealand since 1865, many people still mistake it for the beautiful city of Auckland, which is truly the country's largest and most populous area. Now, the debate about which of the two is better really just comes down to preference. At the same time, Wellington remains " coolest little capital in the world».

Other major misconceptions include: Ankara and Istanbul, Rabat and Marrakech, New Delhi and Mumbai, Pretoria and Johannesburg (or Cape Town), Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It's not really a telling example, but it's still a good example of Bucharest (the capital of Romania) and Budapest (the capital of Hungary), which people always confuse with each other.

Do you know other similar situations?