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Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Zaganu

I hadn’t realised until Google told me, but I’ve visited this venue before in February 2020. It took me a couple of minutes to remember that visit, but I recalled that last time it was much quieter and the upstairs was closed off. The venue has a good reputation judging from the on-line reviews and it’s owned by the brewer Zaganu. It’s also open plan and feels modern and on-trend, as is visible from this photo that I took from upstairs.

I mentioned last time that I was just a little surprised to receive table service, and that’s still a little unusual for Bucharest (although by no means unique). Whatever works for them, but I just wanted to get a drink at the bar and pay, but we were offered a choice of seating upstairs and downstairs with table service. We went upstairs and weren’t entirely sure of the ordering process as there didn’t seem to be staff about, so we headed back down to order at the bar. The service was polite, but this bar visiting process of ours did seem to interrupt their ordering flow and I’m not sure they were entirely surprised and delighted by our group. However, the staff were friendly and were trying their best to assist, and we did prevent other members of our group making the same mistake when they entered. Also, I liked their lights which were constructed from beer bottles.

I only had one beer here, the Hefeweizen which is brewed by Zaganu and this was a decent wheat beer, slightly chewy and with a pleasant aftertaste. I don’t see much of this brewery’s beers in other locations and the last time I had a beer by them was in February 2020 when I had previously visited here. The brewer seems to have a solid reputation and I noticed after the visit that they’re listed on Untappd.

I was intrigued about the food options for later in the week, but when I went to look at the menu they took it away (I’m sure by mistake), but here are some of the special offers they have.

I’m an advocate of high seating, but some of the tables here felt mismatched in terms of the chairs that were located by them. For Bev, she was struggling to see over the table. The atmosphere in the venue was convivial and inviting, with only limited empty tables available.

However, it made it easier to take photos down the table.

Anyway, I enjoyed my repeat visit here, with the service being friendly and the venue being clean. It’s fair to say that I did get a bit muddled up with the ordering process on this occasion, but they worked around our accidental breach of protocol. There was a decent choice of beer on draft and in bottles, with a range of different styles being offered. The prices were reasonable for the location and I’d happily recommend a visit here to others.

November 15, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Martin Luther and Jean Calvin Sculpture

This sculpture in Sala Palatului Park seemed intriguing, it was put here on 4 May 2022 to commemorate the lives of Martin Luther and Jean Calvin. This made me ponder the history of Protestantism in Romania and it does seem to have made something of an impact in the country during the sixteenth century. This has all become a little redundant as the Orthodox Church rules pretty much supreme here, but one of the reasons of the sculpture being here is that it marks the tolerance of all religious beliefs. Although, the whole switch to the Orthodox Church is interesting here, pretty much starting during the 1866 Constitution of Romania which made it the country’s prominent religion. That constitution was not particularly tolerant, as it prevented non-Christians from becoming citizens, although at the time this predominantly impacted the Jewish community.

The Martin Luther (1483-1546) side.

And the Jean Calvin (1509-1564) side.

November 15, 2023
Bucharest – Fabrica de Bere Buna (Zaganu)

[I wrote the below in February 2020, when I last visited Bucharest. On my recent visit to the city, I decided to include this on our list of pubs to visit and it seems to just be known as Zaganu now, the name of the brewer. November 2023]

If I was in the UK, then I’d be worried about any location which puts the words “craft beer” on their frontage, as beer lovers will find excellent drinking establishments without such embellishments. However, this is Romania and the craft beer scene is a little behind the curve, although this bar most certainly isn’t. It’s beautifully on-trend and I hope in a few years that Bucharest will be teeming with bars like this.

The two blackboards at the bar, with the draught versions on the left and the bottles on the right. There are several beers from Zaganu and they are the operators of this bar and their brewery is around 100 kilometres to the north of Bucharest. They started their brewing operation in 2013, so very much pioneers in this field in Romania. The number of breweries in Bucharest is though growing and this bar features several beers from these businesses as well.

The bottled beer list.

The bar is modern in its decor and there’s a contemporary feel to the establishment, it’s all nicely done. There is an upstairs area for when it’s busier, although it wasn’t open when I visited.

I thought about going for the beer flight, but I was in a mood for a dark beer (although it might be easier for me to note when I’m not in the mood for a dark beer) and there was only one draught option for that.That was the Russian Imperial Stout and it was a little strong for what I wanted, but I’m all for making sacrifices in my quest for the perfect beer. It tasted fine, a richness of flavour although lacking a little in aftertaste, but it was at the appropriate chilled temperature and was a refreshing beer. There was a chocolatey flavour to it which I liked, it was certainly an above average beer.

I thought I’d have a little snack as well, this is the Mexican hot dog, which was surprisingly not as messy to eat as it might appear. Freshly made, all very nice.

There was table service offered, which surprised me slightly as I’m used to going to the bar, but the staff member was always friendly and helpful. Most of the customers when I was in the bar spoke English (although they all seemed to be from other European countries and were using English as a communication tool rather than it being their native language) so this is clearly a popular location with visitors. The prices were a little high perhaps by a local standard, as my beer and hot dog was just under £7, but compared to the UK that’s very reasonable.

Warsaw has seen a craft beer revolution over the last few years, with CNN saying they were one of the best cities in the world for it, and I hope that Bucharest will be following over the next few years. Hopefully this street will be packed with craft beer bars before I know it….

November 15, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Gallery of European Art

I visited this museum in February 2020 and wrote some of it up then, but I’ll come back to the artworks here later on (and repair some of the missing images in the oldest posts). In the meantime, a quick summary so that I can make progress on catching up the backlog of this blog. Susanna, Steve, Bev and I entered the gallery and showed our tickets we had obtained earlier on. Susanna had to wait for Thim to return as he had their tickets, which led to a highly suspicious security guard seemingly determined to think that Susanna was trying to get in for free. Susanna was guarded carefully for ten minutes by this security guard before Thim arrived, although I understand that when the ticket was produced the exchange become rather less frosty. Anyway, moving on.

There are world class artworks at the museum, although it isn’t as rich in quality and diversity of paintings as some other national museums. It also wasn’t particularly busy, but everything was well managed and orderly. I did think that the temperature in the galleries was a little hot, but I often think that. As another of my random asides, the photo above is of a staircase that it made me quite dizzy even looking over.

The collection of artworks was initially formed from the paintings owned by King Carol I (1839-1914) and they have been carefully adding items over recent decades. In terms of their most treasured pieces, they mention artworks by El Greco, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Auguste Rodin, Pieter Paul Rubens and Rodin.

Back to the staircase, I bravely looked over anyway.

It is rather beautiful…… It’s certainly worth a visit (the gallery I mean, not just the staircase) for anyone interested in European artworks and it’ll likely take an hour or two to walk around the collections.

As I mentioned, I’ll come back to surprise and delight my two loyal blog readers with my comments about some of the individual artworks, but for the moment I’ll limit myself to this post. After our visit, Steve and I decided to walk back, with the others spending a little longer at the gallery. Steve and I had planning to do on what pubs we needed to ensure we visited before the end of the week, we couldn’t spend all day looking at art.

November 15, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Tree Eating Fence

I feel that the title of the post has rather summed this up. I just rather liked the whole arrangement.

November 15, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Trofic

After a busy morning of meandering around a museum, the group decided that it was time for a light lunch. Our first location wasn’t doing food but had beer, which would have suited me, but they recommended that we visit Trofic. I say ‘we’, but Steve and I were looking at churches and we got sent a location of where the others had run off to such was their immediate demand for sustenance (we had forgotten the name of the place that we had been recommended). After some shuffling about the chairs after we arrived and Bev scaring off the neighbouring table, we were good to go.

A selection of the cakes is visible beneath the counter.

Susanna and Bev, both of whom said their food met their requirements. Bev was so excited by the whole arrangement that she needed a cheesecake as well as her main course which we all thought was rather greedy, but none of us said anything of course.

I was still recovering from the morning unlimited buffet at the Ibis Styles, so I just went for a coffee. I’m trying not to drink caffeine any more, although I had an espresso as this two hour time shift from Romania is a bit exhausting. It was rich and did do the trick of making me feel a little more awake during the afternoon. I think caffeine is fine in small measures and only occasionally, or at least, I hope it is.

The service in the cafe was friendly and they managed to split the bill on request, something that is done really well in some places and rather more clunkily in others. As an aside, some dictionaries tell me that isn’t a word, some tell me it is, but I’m going with ‘clunkily’ as I like it and I doubt that either of my two loyal blog readers much care. It’s not a large venue, but the space is well utilised and the service was efficient. It’s suitably on trend, although they didn’t stretch to having a beer menu, but it was a decent recommendation to have been given. This is particularly suitable for a light lunch or coffee stop, with the pricing being reasonable as well.

November 15, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Kretzulescu Church

This rather beautiful Orthodox church dates back to the 1720s, although it was modified in a neo-classical style between 1859 and 1860. It was decided to restore it back to something more like its original design between 1933 and 1936 and that meant making its brickwork become visible again.

It’s located in a central area of Bucharest, next to the National Gallery of Art.

Some of the external painting. These external paintings are original, although there are also internal paintings from the 1859 to 1860 restoration but these have lost their vibrant colours.

It’s certainly impressive from the exterior. I did go in, but there are signs saying no photographs so I abided by that rule. The church has been through a lot over the last century, there have been earthquakes that damaged it in 1940 and 1977, then there was further damage during the 1989 revolution.

These small Orthodox churches feel steeped in historic charm with the smell of incense and the artworks add character and mystique to the dark surroundings. I find the whole set-up of the iconostasis which separates the nave from the sanctuary to make the church so different to the Protestant openness between the nave and the chancel. It’s not for me to say which is the most appropriate form for a church, but it does change the dynamic of the building quite substantially.

Anyway, that beautiful little interlude over, Steve and I had to go and find the others who had charged off to find lunch.

November 14, 2023
Bucharest – National Museum of Art (Smig Church Altarpiece)

[I originally posted this in February 2020 when I first visited the Museum of Art, but I’m updating this slightly as it’s interesting to me that Bev also pointed this particular artwork to me. I’ve also discovered that the altar at this church, which is still in Șmig, was updated in 1908 and that’s how the older one has ended up at the museum. As another aside, I’ve learned that Calvary that I mention below is derived from the Latin meaning skull. November 2023]

This altarpiece dates to around 1510 and is from Şmig Church. The main central image is of the Virgin and Child and on the bottom left is St. George and the Dragon. On the right of the main sculpture is Saint Margaret and King Stephen beneath her.

The resurrection.

The road to Calvary, which is where Jesus was crucified.

November 14, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 2 : Museum of Art

As is usual for me in museums and galleries, I took around 200 photos on my way around. I have visited this museum before in February 2020 and there are plenty of posts about it already (I know that there are missing photos in the earlier posts, I’m steadily linking them back in, although the images are at http://pictures.julianwhite.uk/). I’ll be adding some more, but firstly, just a quick summary of events.

There are three floors to the museum, although the second floor is relatively small. The second floor is also where Bev decided to have an argument with one of the helpful staff, but I just walked a fair distance behind in case the staff member thought I knew her. The museum opened in 1953 with the building having previously been used as the official residence of the Monarch. It was set on fire in 1989 during the overthrow of the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, but was later repaired and reopened to the public. There are substantial collections of medieval art, much of which comes from the monasteries that Ceaușescu closed down around Romania.

Bev and Steve discussing the exhibits. I spent a long time in this museum last time I visited, with Susanna this time clearly looking to break my record as I’m sure she would have stayed all day. However, she could see Steve sitting down looking at his phone, and Bev was getting slightly temperamental, so Susanna selflessly offered to leave after a visit of just a few hours.

It is a marvellous museum and the entrance price is cheap as well. When I get chance, I’ll be posting more of my fascinating posts about artworks that I liked, but realistically know nothing about. Not that I let that stop me…… Anyway, I can’t say that it was particularly busy which seemed a shame for a national institution, but it is November and perhaps people have other things on their minds. The on-line reviews for the museum are very positive and the staff member at the reception desk was helpful and welcoming. Oh, and I will fix the missing images on the older blog posts at some stage. This bloody blog has proved a challenge to keep going, but I can’t let my two loyal readers down.

November 14, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 1 : No Room Taproom

I think it would be fair to say that this proved to be a memorable bar visit and all for the right reasons. It became apparent very soon why the venue has the name that it does and it relates to the reality that it has nearly no space inside to sit. However, the welcome was immediate, engaging and warm, so the atmosphere was inviting. Fortunately, we also had the social butterfly Susanna who was merrily chatting to the local couple who were sitting on the only two stools in the venue. There’s also a window ledge to sit on and there’s a small amount of outdoor seating as well.

The beer selection, which was well presented and ridiculously large given how small the venue was. It was all quirky and I liked that.

This is the Dystopian Future pastry stout, a beautiful beer which had vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon and was rich and decadent. I was enthusing about this beer to the owner and he mentioned that the brewer had just come in.

I then bored the brewer by telling him how good his beer was. To be fair, he was probably rather pleased with that situation. The owner of the bar runs Maktoob Brewing, so I made sure I had a couple of his beers. Both were very credible, the Postcard from Iguaza IPA and the Azulejos NEIPA, he certainly knows what he’s doing.

We were then told that it was something of a spooky expedition to visit the venue’s toilet. And it was certainly one of the most intriguing visits that I’ve had, with another customer leading the way to show us where to go as it was far from obvious and involved walking down the street and down into a cellar. It’s not how these things normally work, but there we go.

Steve was merrily videoing the whole arrangement.

And it reminded me of the trek to the toilets at JD Wetherspoon….

But with a bit more jeopardy.

This was a marvellous end to a rather exciting first evening, the start of the exploration of craft beer in Bucharest as that’s really what the whole group is here for. There were some lovely customers, the service was impeccable and the selection of beers was outstanding for the size of the venue. This one is definitely worth popping in to visit for anyone in Bucharest who wants to try some locally made craft beer.

November 14, 2023