“Stroll through more than 500 years of history from the times of Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula to the “golden era” of communism and the ’89 Revolution and unravel the stories of old and new Bucharest”. – Walkabout Tours, Bucharest
I must confess. I’ve had a hard time grasping how I would write about Bucharest. This fascinating yet often conflicting city has left me utterly dumbfounded on how to best present it. With its tiny treasure trove of charming streets, churches and parks tucked away from huge swaths of historic neighborhoods that were depressingly torn down under Communist rule, I found Bucharest intriguing in its own right as long as I forgot what was once there. An eclectic mix of historic charm, Parisian flair juxtaposed with block after block of notoriously ugly, characterless and stark 80s-style Communist concrete apartments contributed to Bucharest’s confusing feel.
Although Bucharest pales in comparison to the beauty and magic of Prague and some of her eastern neighbors, this city of two million inhabitants has its own unique charm and character particularly if you do not spend a lot of time in the city’s unattractive and somewhat grimy remnants of Communism’s past. However, if you skip this part of town and try to view Bucharest with rose-colored glasses, you will miss a big part of what makes this city so incredibly interesting and will also not understand a big part of Communist Bucharest’s past. A full day or two in Bucharest is enough to give you a sense of the city before heading off to Romania’s beautiful, magical countryside of spectacular villages, castles and of course the mountains.
We arrived in Bucharest early evening after traveling for over 24 hours from the US. We left home on a Saturday morning and didn’t check into our hotel until half past seven on Sunday night. We instantly realized that we would not have a lot of time to explore Bucharest before setting off into the countryside. Given the long distance to get to Romania, we would only have five full days on the ground and we both preferred to spend it in the countryside.