Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Bucharest

  • Bucharest – Holocaust Memorial

    Bucharest – Holocaust Memorial

    There were something like 350,000 Jews in Romania before the outbreak of the Second World War, today it’s something like 3,500. A large number of Romanian Jews who survived the war went to live in Israel, with Romanians forming their second largest population. Anyway, all of this meant that the Jewish population was somewhat forgotten about and there was no memorial to those who lost their lives during the Second World War. It was only in recent years that the Romanian Government accepted that some of the country’s own people were complicit in what happened to the Jews during the Second World War.

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    This Holocaust Memorial building was completed in 2009, at a cost then of around £5 million. It’s quite a brutalist design, although that stark look is what the designers were looking for.

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    These are grave stones from Odessa Cemetery which were part of a consignment of 24 railroad cars being sold as construction material. Some of these stones were salvaged by the Romanian Federation of Jewish Communities and were kept safe. There was another display of grave stones saved from the Bucharest Jewish Cemetery, but the glass in front of them was so dirty that it neither possible to see them clearly, nor take a photo. That probably needs fixing, as the memorial was otherwise beautifully maintained with the exception of one small piece of graffiti on a sign.

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    This symbolises the Roma wheel, a community who also faced the hate of the Nazis.

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    These stones represent those who lost their lives after being taken by rail to concentration camps.

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    And the Jewish symbol. It’s a rather different memorial and there’s a limited amount of information for visitors to read to understand what happened during the Second World War. However, the memorial is a bold statement that those who died won’t be forgotten. After many years of delay, the Government announced in the last few weeks that the city is going to get a Holocaust Museum, which is expected to open in around 2024 and will be at the Banloc-Goodrich building in Bucharest.

  • Bucharest – La 100 de Beri

    Bucharest – La 100 de Beri

    My favourite pub of last year was the Hop and Vine in Hull, something I’ve bored people about many times. There are many things that pubs should do, but the finest ones offer something extra, which is in my view engagement beyond the norm.

    My first impressions were neutral as there were no customers or staff members visible, so I wondered whether I’d walked into a pub that was closed. However, this changed soon enough, a staff member came over and seemed friendly and helpful.

    This is my first drink, which was an imperial stout, a brave choice and that was noted by the barman. But, it was the only dark option on draught, and I’m fine with a little strength in the afternoon. It’s the Never Over BA beer from Hop Hooligans, who I can only describe as Romania’s Tiny Rebel. I’m running out of time to try more beers from this brewery, so I’ll just have to come back to Romania, I’m prepared to do that in my quest for beer perfection. As a beer, this was top notch, a richness of flavour, chocolate, coffee and perhaps even a bit of vanilla in there.

    That screen at the back has a stream from Untappd and I stupidly tagged the wrong beer, but not before the brewery themselves had liked my review. So, since it was the correct brewery and nearly the right beer, I left it. If anyone is bored and clicks on the above image, my check-in is visible in the bottom-left of the screen.

    A couple of pages from the beer list, which was extensive and had some interesting options from Poland that I recognised.

    My second choice, not quite as rich a flavour as I hoped for, but the peanut butter was still evident and it had a smooth taste. The barman told me that this brewery produces Belgian style beers, but I’m confused as to how that works with dark beers. I’ll ask Nathan, he’ll likely know…. Back to the drink, the barman wouldn’t let me drink it for a few minutes, he wanted it to come down to the right temperature and something about it being unfiltered, unpasturised and naturally carbonated. Nathan will probably know about that as well.

    The barman showed me these after I had ordered the above, something quite tempting, I mean, barrel aged and peated? Marvellous!

    Anyway, my main memory of this visit would be the member of bar staff, who enthused about beer and made clear his thoughts about many aspects of beer and culture. I think I agreed with nearly everything that he said, which was rather lovely, but it’s clear that he was a character who absolutely loved beer and that is quite marvellous. His mantra of quality over quantity is entirely right in my view, it’s far better to get a third of something excellent than a pint of something average, even if they’re the same price.

    I can say with some certainty that any British person coming here wanting to drink pints of Fosters won’t necessarily be given a vast of respect, but I’d say that the barman wouldn’t sneer, he just knows quality and excellence in beer. Actually, he might sneer, but in a way. Generic lagers are becoming tiresome and I’m always disappointed when venues that should know better keep prioritising them.

    I intended to spend no more than 30 minutes in this pub as I wanted to visit a couple of others, but I managed to accidentally spend over two hours here. And it didn’t seem that long at all. It’s going to take something special for this not to win my pub of 2020 award, but the year is yet young….. But, this is definitely a recommended location, it dripped character, soul and authenticity and that isn’t common enough.

  • Bucharest – McDonald’s

    Bucharest – McDonald’s

    After a fine coffee experience and before a fine pub experience, I thought I’d ensure that I had a story for Dylan and Leon in case they asked what Romanian McDonald’s is like. And, also, I haven’t tried McDonald’s Spicy Chicken McNuggets and as I don’t go to McDonald’s in the UK, I have to try these things overseas.

    OK, so it might be generic, but they were lovely, although two of them were a bit over-cooked. The Hot Devil sauce, with Tabasco, had a pleasant kick to it as well, so this proved to be a satisfactory afternoon snack….. There’s not much I can add about the Fanta and fries, they were like everywhere else. Price-wise incidentally, it’s not much cheaper than in the UK.

  • Bucharest – Origo

    Bucharest – Origo

    I nearly didn’t go to this coffee shop as it’s incredibly well reviewed and most of the comments are that it’s impossible to get a seat because it’s so popular. But, I thought I’d have one go as it seems to be one of the most on-trend coffee shops in Bucharest and I’m trying to get a better understanding of coffee.

    When I entered I saw that there was one table free, but I made a little mistake by trying to order at the counter. The staff member gave what I considered the perfect response that he could take the order there, but that there was table service if I wanted to make sure that I could get a table.

    It’s not usual to get water brought out before the coffee, but this is a positive touch. The staff member was engaging and spoke perfect English, telling me that I had a choice of three different beans. This is something that’s been happening in a few locations in Bucharest that I’m not used to, but I suspect that it’ll become more common with the next generation of coffee shops. The staff member explained that there were three different beans, I could choose between Burundi, Brazil or Colombia, and she gave an explanation of what the taste was for all of these. The Burundi bean was rich and chocolatey, the Brazilian bean was nutty with a taste of grapes, whilst the Colombian bean was the most complex in terms of the taste, with floral, caramel and strawberry flavours.

    I went for the last option, the Colombian bean, as I like complex flavours, but I was entirely sceptical that a cup of coffee could produce all of these tastes. Incidentally, I usually like my coffee in the same way that I like beer, rich with a strong and deep chocolately flavour. Indeed, that’s also how I like my food, but that’s a different matter. I didn’t go for the Brazilian bean solely as the complexity of the Colombian bean seemed something more unique.

    And then the coffee arrived. It was as near to coffee perfection as I can imagine getting, I couldn’t get the caramel taste, but there were floral notes, strawberry flavours and quite subtle aftertastes. The coffee didn’t seem that rich, but it was smooth and those flavours were astoundingly good. The coffee was ridiculously priced for Romania at nearly £4, but for this experience, it was definitely worth it.

    I normally don’t like signs like this, but I haven’t been taking my laptop out this week anyway. But, in the case of this coffee shop I can understand why they’ve made this decision as it’s a small location and it’s all about the coffee experience, rather than being a cafe where people can get work done on their computer.

    The payment process was smooth and professional, just like everything else had been. As an experience, this was impeccable and although this would be difficult to replicate as part of a chain, I wish that some would at least try. I never really visit chain coffee shops (well, bar JD Wetherspoons for their unlimited coffee) but I’ve tried Costa coffee (usually when it’s free from Vodafone Rewards) and it’s routinely bloody awful.

  • Bucharest – Ceauşescu Mansion (Photos)

    Bucharest – Ceauşescu Mansion (Photos)

    I wrote about my visit to the Ceauşescu Mansion here, but below are some more of the photos I took…..

  • Bucharest – Ceauşescu Mansion

    Bucharest – Ceauşescu Mansion

    For my final full day in Bucharest, I went on a tour of what was the private residence of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu, which was also lived in for a time by their children, Nicu, Zoia, and Valentin. The house, also known as the Spring Palace, was built in the mid 1960s and Ceauşescu had the property expanded in the early 1970s.

    The outside of the house, which is an upmarket part of Bucharest, an area at the time where only communist officials could live.

    The welcome at the entrance was very friendly from the staff, I had pre-booked a place on the tour and was pleased to find that this was all carefully noted. Protective bags are required over shoes to protect the carpets and even Ceauşescu didn’t wear shoes around the house. The tour I was on had four people on it, myself and a family of three, so it didn’t feel busy or congested.

    Ceauşescu’s private office. The decoration is, well, a bit kitsch throughout the building, with the house being littered with presents from foreign dignitaries. In the room above there were plates given by HM Queen Elizabeth II, although more bizarre was the tour guide talking about the personal gift of a dog from David Steel. Frankly, the back story to this, where Steel was a personal guest of Ceauşescu at a time when his activities were already causing international concern shames the Liberal politician and it’s quite right that this story is related to visitors to the property.

    Luminous lights and the bottom is a bell which Ceauşescu could press if he wanted anything. The tour guide said that two of the staff who used to work for the dictator are still at the house today, but are now managers.

    The private dining area used by the dictator. The tour was long and went through many rooms, including the apartments of the three children.

    After Ceauşescu was executed on 25 December 1989, this house was raided by members of the public and some items were lost. All of the TVs in the property were stolen, other than this one. It was a very expensive colour TV when new, a ridiculous acquisition as the dictator got it six years before Romanian TV broadcast in colour. Fortunately, on the looting front, the army managed to protect the property as it was initially thought that the country’s next President might like to live there.

    This was the safe of Elena Ceaușescu, which was opened by the National Bank after she died, to prevent looters breaking into it. It had expensive jewels and possessions stored in it. This was the end of the tour in the older part of the house and it’s probably what most people at the time expected Ceaușescu to be living in, a comfortable, but modest house. He had made great play about how everyone was equal, but the tour then went to Ceaușescu’s little extension.

    Nicolae’s private bathroom.

    Elena’s private clothing room, she also had a large collection of shoes. The people of Romania it is said didn’t expect this level of opulence and it’s hard to find anyone who has anything positive to say about Elena at all. The young tour guide was professional and careful with his words, but even he was struggling to be polite about Elena.

    Nicolae’s little shower area.

    Bearing in mind that Romania was in economic crisis, it was clearly important that Nicolae had somewhere nice to sit inside the property to cope with the trauma his people were going through.

    And Nicolae’s private swimming pool. As the nation crumbled, Nicolae demanded that two men spent two years creating the mosaics on the walls.

    This was a marvellous tour, although expensive by Romanian standards, as it cost £11 for the one-hour guided tour. I thought that this was an excellently managed site and the guide was engaging and spoke fluent English. There is another tour, which goes around the underground cellars of the property, which had miles of tunnels to other parts of the city, but that was around £50 and seemed a little expensive. Maybe another time I’ll go on that though, as this was a fascinating property.

  • Bucharest – The Urbanist

    Bucharest – The Urbanist

    This is the sort of location that isn’t necessarily designed for me, although also slightly is. It’s an on-trend clothing shop along with a bar and coffee shop, although I’m not sure which one generates the most profit. I suspect the bar, but it’s an interesting and quirky destination. The element that is designed for me is that they sell craft beer, so on that basis alone, I thought I’d have a little visit.

    Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Black IPA from Perfektum that I wanted, but the helpful staff member suggested the Zaganu Bruna instead. Indeed, that’s the only dark beer that they had, but I like Zaganu as I visited their bar a couple of days ago.

    I’m not sure jars are the ideal drinking vessel, but it adds to the theatre and so I didn’t disapprove. The beer was excellent, a taste of caramel and a pleasant aftertaste. Reassuringly competent…. The beer was about £3, perhaps a little expensive for Romania, but this was a city centre location which is clearly the place to be seen for many, so not an unreasonable cost.

    The clothing element of the store, all neatly presented. I liked this place, relaxing and comfortable, with a large outside terrace as well which would be handy in the summer months for people watching. I think it has more of a vibrancy in the evenings, but the daytime ambience was certainly sufficiently welcoming for me. It reminded me a little of when I visited Toms Shoes in Athens….

  • Bucharest – Grave of Nicolae Ceaușescu

    Bucharest – Grave of Nicolae Ceaușescu

    It’s a bit of a walk from the city centre to go to Ghencea Cemetery, which is absolutely not where Nicolae Ceaușescu would have expected to be buried. After he was executed on 25 December 1989, his body, along with his wife Elena, was buried here and they were given different plots around 10 metres apart. It was deliberately a pauper’s burial, they weren’t going to get the state burial that they had anticipated.

    I struggled for a short while to find the grave, as I was using an older description of where they were located and it transpired that in 2010 the two former political leaders were exhumed to check that it was actually their bodies buried in the graves. Apparently the security guards at the entrance to the cemetery will walk you to the grave if you ask, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable asking someone where their former dictator was buried. Anyway, for anyone who wants to visit, it’s easy to find now, go to the central chapel, turn left and it’s there.

    The new joint grave is a much grander affair than the others, although for anyone walking in the cemetery, it doesn’t particularly stand out and there are many more substantial tombs nearby. Some people come and visit this grave to honour Ceaușescu, but I think it’s fair to say that I didn’t do much honouring. Incidentally, after the bodies were exhumed, it was confirmed that it was the couple, with Nicolae still in the thick black coat that he was shot in.

  • Bucharest – National Village Museum (19th Century House from Piatra Soimului)

    Bucharest – National Village Museum (19th Century House from Piatra Soimului)

    This house was constructed in the late nineteenth century in Piatra Şoimului, a town in the northern part of Romania. It couldn’t have been there that long as it was moved to this museum in 1936. Quite a large property, there’s a guest room to the left of the main entrance hall, a pantry behind it and the main room to the right. The little bumps on the roof are to let smoke out of the attic.

  • Bucharest – National Village Museum (Hovel)

    Bucharest – National Village Museum (Hovel)

    I like the word hovel and I should use it more, but in this case that’s what the museum have called this eighteenth century building from northern Romania. It was used as a temporary home by a farmer tending his sheep and looking after his land.

    It has two rooms inside, a small entrance hall on the left and everything else in the room on the right. The entrance hall has planks of wood on the floor, the everything else room has a gravel and compacted earth floor. Very luxurious.