Romania: Port Giurgiu to Bucharest

August 2010

It was at the Romanian port of Giurgiu that I finally parted ways with the Danube River (see Danube Cruise on side bar to see my 13 day cruise).  The Danube would wander its lazy way into the Danube Delta wildlife preserve  and divide before it finally entered the Black Sea through Romania and the Ukraine.  I, and my fellow travelers, would board a bus to move inland to the capital Bucharest in the region of Wallachia.  The port was filled with cranes and barges to move industrial materials along the river.  We passed through small towns with lovely churches and an occasional minaret as well as fields of grains and sunflowers.  There were street side markets and city malls and even a large Marriott as we entered the city.

My photos for this post were mostly taken from a bus window as we moved through the countryside and city---so please bear with the reflections of dirty glass.  I should also have liked to remove the ever present power lines strung along the streets.  But then it would be a place that doesn't really exist.  I will show Bucharest as I saw it.

It was Vlad III, Dracula, Prince of Wallachia, who decided to move his court to this small, but fortified, settlement, which later became the capital of Wallachia and then of all Romania.  There is much history between then and now.  Wallachia  was finally subdued by the Turks who maintained control until it became an independent nation in 1859.  Transylvania was not added to Romania until the end of World War I  when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated.  The Romanian language is Latin based, and, although the people connect with  the Orthodox church, they also feel ties to the people of Western Europe.

Emerging in the mid 1800s, Bucharest turned its eye on Paris as it entered its "Belle Epoque."  Soon Bucharest was known as the "Petit Paris" with its boulevards,  cafes, fashionable houses, concert halls, and neo-classical buildings.  According to our guide, Bucharest was the first European city to install gas street lamps.  It was a fashionable, exotic city, filled with rumors and spies, as World War I began.

The arts flourished.  George Enescu, a famous Romanian violinist and composer, who was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory at age 7, lived and wrote in Bucharest, the USA, and Paris, finally settling in Paris when WWII began.  His music often reflected his Romanian roots.  Although Romania actually grew as a result of the WWI  peace treaty, it struggled in the "between war period" and sided with the Nazis in WWII.  The Allies heavily bombed the oil fields of Romania to prevent their oil from being used by the Nazis.  However, near the end of the war, Romania was negotiating with the Allies, but was put under Soviet control at the Conference of Yalta.

Communist leaders in Romania were brutal.  The Romanians at first felt hope as Nicolae Ceauescu took control in 1965, only to find themselves trapped in an increasingly oppressive dictatorship.  Since Ceausescu  was overthrown in 1989, the country has struggled, but now belongs to the EU and NATO, and a hopeful, young generation is working to create a better future.  We stayed at the modern and elegant Raddison Blu hotel with internet that actually worked.  Our last reception as a group was in a room that Madonna had turned into her gym when she stayed there for a Bucharest concert.  Times have changed.

I did think of Paris when I was there.  It wasn't just the Arc de Triomphe on Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, parks, and buildings, but also the narrow, winding streets with charming shops and cafes.   At La Mama, we sat outside and enjoyed  delicious Romanian specialties on a hot evening before wandering back to our hotel for a tasty gelato.   I liked Bucharest.

The next posts will focus on Ceauescu and his "People's Palace" and Transylvania and the Dracula Legend, so I did not include those photos in this post.
Click link below for slideshow:
Bucharest
Music:  George Enescu, Romanian  Rhapsody #1 
More Information: http://www.romaniatourism.com/bucharest.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest