Category: Bucharest

In the heart of the city’s Old Town is this church which was built in 1724 under the supervision of Ioannikios Stratonikeas. There was an attached inn, which has since been demolished and the church itself has been damaged many times by earthquakes. The church was forcibly closed between 1890 and 1940, but was then reconsecrated in 1940 on the Feast of St. Nicholas.

The entrance to the monastery are from the early part of the twentieth century and it feels quite mystical walking in through these doors.

I wasn’t going to take any internal photographs as the monasteries don’t seem to usually want this, but they’ve perhaps given up here as numerous other visitors were and they didn’t stop anyone. Given that, I thought I’d take a few photos to remind myself of the grand interior. I like these colourful wall paintings and I’ve never quite understood why there was a move away from these in the Protestant and Catholic churches during and after the period of the reformation. This monastery felt the most touristy of the ones that we visited and it felt like it might be quite challenging to try and pray peacefully here given the pedestrian traffic that was coming through, including a number of tour groups.

There’s also an external area where numerous gravestones and old wall paintings are on display. These wall paintings are mostly from monasteries destroyed elsewhere in the city during the appalling maladministration of Nicolae Ceaușescu.

This precinct and lapidarium involved a major restoration and it’s constructed on the former inn which was demolished at the end of the nineteenth century. It’s certainly worth coming to see for any visitor in Bucharest and there are some printed histories inside which give further information about the monastery.

It’s no secret that I like bookshops and books, although to the point that I try to avoid buying any more books to protect myself from the mass purchases that I’ve accidentally made in previous years. Collecting something smaller such as postcards or stamps might have made more sense, but there we go, there’s something exciting about books.

I think it’s fair to note that this is something quite special in terms of interiors.

I wouldn’t mind a front room like this. I wonder if my civil engineer friend Liam could do me something like this in my little flat.

Beautiful. The building was constructed in the early twentieth century as the headquarters of the Chrissoveloni Bank, but it fell into disrepair by the beginning of the twenty-first century. This magical transformation has made the building one of the more notable tourists sites in the city and it was evidently popular when we visited with many people taking photos. I’m not sure how many were buying books, but it’s been trading for several years so they’re clearly doing enough trade.

There’s a cafe on the top floor, but Bev was busy charging into the male toilet breaking all Romanian protocol. Steve and I didn’t say anything of course, we don’t get involved other than apologising to the local staff for her charging about.

It seemed only polite to stay for a latte and it gave Thim and Susanna chance to catch up with our little group. The coffee was reasonably priced and tasted rather pleasant and we ended up staying for an hour when we verged into the subject of politics. I, of course, had something to say about that, but that’s not really relevant for this blog.

Excuse the long delay between posts, I’ve been somewhat distracted this week with another project. Since I’d better get this Bucharest trip written up, I’m going to do a little binge posting today. My two loyal blog readers will be beside themselves with excitement. This rather quaint church was founded by Mihai Cantacuzino in 1705, although it was reworked between 1850 and 1852 which was necessary given the damage caused by previous earthquakes in 1802 and 1838. The new church was built in stone near to the site of a previous seventeenth century wooden church and the inn and bell tower located in front of the building were unfortunately demolished in 1903 when they wanted to widen the street.

Photography in these churches isn’t allowed which is disappointing from a perspective of being able to remember some interior features, it’s understandable in such a small venue which is actively used for prayer. I do wonder what happens to all the photos that people take in churches as mine end up on this blog, but I suspect a substantial number of the photos taken are never looked at again. It’s like watching some tourists take a photo of every single artwork in a gallery, it would be easier to do a bulk download of the images on the gallery’s web-site. Anyway, I digress.

Back to the church, the smell of incense was intense, with the interior being dark and quite cosy. The devotees were seeking solace and comfort from a relic (I say relic, it’s actually St. Cyprian’s arm, so not some minor piece of religious heritage) and I’m not sure that much has changed here in the last 200 years or so.

Looking back in history, the feeding the pigeons at Trafalgar Square was great for kids but really something of a bad idea. There are though quite a few feeding adherents in Bucharest and that coincided at a time when Bev was standing there. She gave verbal guarantees to Steve and I that she wasn’t responsible for the scrum of pigeons that was on the pavement. Reading up on the history of the church also is a reminder of just how many earthquakes have hit the city over the last two centuries and caused considerable damage.

We set off on day three to tick off numerous points of interest in the city centre and the first was the Holocaust Memorial. I then remembered that I had visited this before, so I will simply point towards my older post from February 2020. Incidentally, the accessibility ramp here is terrible, it’s a trip hazard and requires some dexterity for those in wheelchairs. Anyway, I digress. With regards to my earlier post, the plan for a Holocaust Memorial seems to have been abandoned, or perhaps just delayed, which seems a shame.

Hmmm, this isn’t going to win many awards for photography, but it’s the interior of the memorial. It’s a beautiful memorial and in a prominent location, worth a visit for anyone coming to the city.

Earlier on during the day, I sent the group a list of five food venues that we could visit in the evening and Bev was the keenest on this one, so we all agreed to visit for an Italian meal for the evening. The venue is positively reviewed on-line and seems popular with tourists and locals. Incidentally in terms of timing, this was all actually a few days ago, but, as usual with these things, I’ve got behind writing everything up. I’m now back in the UK and I’ll catch up soon enough.

It doesn’t take long to establish what sort of theming the restaurant is going for. This reminds me of when we visited a restaurant in Visegrad and Gordon managed to have an argument with the kitchen, with them sending a different and much smaller steak back when he mentioned it was undercooked. He still tells that story now with a mix of pride and anger. Mostly anger actually.

There was a friendly welcome at the door although we were asked if we wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section, which felt quite a throwback. And here’s the menu.

The beer was the Azuga Nefiltrata Weissbier from Ursus, which was better than I expected, a credible wheat beer which had a slightly artificial edge, but there was a decent flavour and notes of banana.

Steve, Bev and I all decided we’d have to head straight for the main courses without delay, although Susanna and Thim then ordered a starter. Fortunately, the restaurant were very aware of the situation and mentioned they’d get the main courses out straight away for everyone as they had finished their starter. They actually served our meals whilst Susanna and Thim were still on their starter, but that compromise worked for me. Bev grumbled that she didn’t get free Parmesan, but she ended up being relatively complimentary about her meal.

The diavola pizza which met my expectations in terms of taste, temperature and presentation. It was also reasonably priced and suitably filling. The atmosphere in the restaurant was laid-back and not too loud, with the service being attentive and polite.

Some of the paper money on display near the entrance.

And a collection of old phones which is a reminder of how technology has changed in a relatively short period. All told, this was a well-run restaurant and the menu was extensive with pasta, pizza, steak and seafood dishes to choose from. Bev muttered about the service and how she wasn’t going to leave a tip, but she relented when everyone else did. No-one said anything of course as we’re too polite….. With that, it was time to pop for a beer.