Calea Victoriei Bucuresti

There are many interesting places in Bucharest that worths to visit.
I present you Calea Victoriei (Victory Avenue), the major avenue in the center of Bucharest.

Atheneul Roman (Romanian Athenaeum) with the statue of Eminescu, the famous Romanian poet


Biblioteca Centrala Universitara
The Library of University of Bucharest, restored after burning down during the 1989 Revolution





Galeria de Arta
Entrance to the Royal Palace - which held the Art Gallery


The 1989 Revolution Monument on the Revolution Square








Teatrul Odeon
Odeon Theatre


Old and new: Novotel Building








Hotel Capitol, Palatul Telefoanelor (Palace of Telephones) and Casa Capsa (Capsa House)


Covered street with small coffee houses











CEC -
CEC Building








Bucharest Financial Plaza




If you would like to see more pictures about Bucharest, you may have a look at my highlighted blogs:

Mighty Bucharest
Bucharest

Mighty Bucharest - Nagyszerű Bukarest

If you want to see something unusual, unexpected, funny or weird simply have a walk in Bucharest...and you find treasures. Ha valami szokatlant, váratlant, vicceset vagy furcsát szeretnél látni, egyszerűen menj el sétálni Bukarestben... és kincseket találsz.

... funny street plates, that makes you feel at home,
...vicces utcanevek, amik láttán otthonosan érzed magad,

"The street where I kissed Mimi - Az utca ahol megpusziltam Mimit"

... an old airplane landed in the middle of a roundabout,

... egy régi repülőgép, ami a körfogalom közepén szállt le,

"Happy landing - Boldog leszállás"

... an ingenious way to keep visitors out of the Communist Hero's Mausoleum in Carol Park,
... a látogatók távoltartásának egy leleményes módja, a Kommunista Hősök Emlékművénél, a Carol Parkban,
"No entry - Bemenni tilos"


... pubs with suggestive names,
... sokatmondó kocsmanevek,

"Fără şpagă = No bribe - Megvesztegetés nélkül"




... and the statue of the famouse Romanian writer, Ion Luca Caragiale, having the body of a former Lenin statue, and the head of the writer.
... és a híres román író, Ion Luca Caragiale szobra, aminek a teste egy régi Lenin szoboré, a feje az íróé.

"I.L. Caragiale"



...yes, all these, any many others, could happen only here, as in Romania everything is possible...

... igen, ezek és még sok más, csakis itt történhetnek meg, hiszen Romániában minden lehetséges...

NATO Summit 2008, Bucharest, Romania

I am not going to write about the 2008 NATO Summit, for further information here you have the links below...

http://www.summitbucharest.ro/en/1.html
http://www.summitbucharest.ro/ro/1.html
http://www.summitbucharest.ro/fr/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bucharest_Summit

... but I would like to present my view of the place where the meetings are held.
Bucharest, the Romanian capital city is the host of 2008 NATO Summit - April 1-3, 2008.
The biggest NATO Summit ever is organized in the biggest building in Europe: The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest.

The House of Parliament - view from Carol Park. Even from this distance it looks huge.







From this angle it doesn't look so scary... but it is at least 1 km far from this fountain.









The Palace of Parliament, the biggest building in Europe.







As you get closer it becomes bigger and bigger.

Bucharest / Bucureşti

Bucureşti... is the Romanian capital city.

I had loads of prejudice when I was told to go there for evaluating the final exam papers. I had some bad memories about Bucharest, as I was there only once, in the darkest period of the communist era and all my fresh information I got from the news and TV. Therefore I was anxious to see how it is in reality.

The Royal Palace

I have to tell you, after getting down from the train at the Gara de Nord, my first reaction was... wow... Am I Gara de Nord, in Bucharest, in Romania? Or I am dreaming? Is this that notorious train station? It was... but it was beautiful, welcoming, neat and clean... As every main train station should be anywhere in the world!

Gara de Nord

Leaving the building the next shock was not as pleasant, as it was extremely hot outside... as usually in Bucharest during the summer. I had to pour the water what was left in the bottle on my neck and head to survive while we were going to the car. It was around 42 C (108 F), but there were hotter days this summer.

The traffic is always busy, with traffic jams during the day, making a nightmare to travel by car or by up-ground public transport in the hot summer days, the underground is cooler, but also busy.

In a traffic jam

Later in the evening all is going back to normal and it is a pleasure to drive on the wide boulevards around the city. Bucharest is amazing by night, all the streets and the most important buildings have beautiful lighting.

The Atheneu

I had the chance to see during my short visit lot of interesting and beautiful places in Bucharest as our host took us for a walk every day. Yes, for a WALK, as we walked nearly all the way, more than 15 km a day! We walked all around the center, and thus I had the occasion to see a lot, not only the main boulevards with rows of block of flats, but also some pretty little streets with beautiful old houses that succeed to survive the destruction of the old Bucharest during Ceauşescu's rule.

The University Square

Lipscani, the old commercial district

Covered street

Caru cu bere

Cismigiu Park

Cismigiu Park

I visited the Palace of Parliament, former House of the People, one of Ceauşescu's megalomaniac ideas. The building and the surrounding buildings are situated on an immense area, where 30000 houses were demolished (old and new as well) to make place for this "house". It is the biggest building in Europe and the third in the world. It is massive and scaring... as you approach it is as mountain, it grows and grows and when you are near it, you can't see the top, having 86 m up-ground.

See this link for details. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament

The House of Parliament

Colorful fountains

It worth to see and appreciate the quantity of work and materials used to build it, and if you see through the pompous decoration and immense dimensions of the halls and rooms, you will see all the suffering, struggle, sweat and sacrifice that the Romanian people endured for decades to complete such a monster.

Candles

Considering all, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted about Bucharest, as in the past 17 years a lot of work and money were invested in to transform in a European capital city. Usually the news presents the rear side of Bucharest, with bumpy roads and poor outskirt neighbourhoods, but all the city is in a process of changing in better, and you can see the results of this: newly paved boulevards, old monument buildings under restoration, new office buildings, new public transport vehicles, new commercial areas... Of course all need money and loads of suspicion are around corrupt businesses and blackmail, but... the city is developing, changing in better, better for the country and for its inhabitants, as well as for its image, and this is important.

New bank building

Calea Mosilor

Bucureşti... is a European capital city!