This was my third visit to Bucharest (Bucaresti in Romanian) having visited in 2009 and 2014. It was a refreshing break for me to be back in the “West” and to see again one of my favorite places on the planet, the Balkans. Romania has a special place in our hearts because of our close friends, Claudiu and Vesna. I stayed with them on this visit. It is always great to see them as they are like family to Nadia and me. We were very close when we lived in Belgrade (2008-2014). It is also a better experience to stay with locals as you get a better understanding of life through their eyes. They live in an apartment in the suburb of Titan, which is just inside Sector 3 in Bucharest.
On Sunday, we went to lunch at Ivan Pescar, a restaurant owned by Romanian Olympic rowing champion Ivan Patzaichin. He is ethnically Russian and is from the Danube Delta region where the river empties into the Black Sea. It was a nice atmosphere on the back patio and my pike with polenta and a spicy tomato sauce was delicious. I highly recommend the restaurant!
One of my highlights of the trip was to visit the balcony of the former Central Committee of the Communist Party in the center of the city. The former dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu was booed off the stage by angry crowds in December of 1989. A few days later he and his wife were executed. This led to eventually, Romania joining the European Union and its prosperity today. We always joke that my wife Nadia shares Ceausescu’s birthday, January 26 and I share Yugoslavia’s former leader Tito’s birthday, May 25. It is coming out that it was not entirely the popular uprising from the masses that deposed of Ceausescu. Like most dictators, it was the elites around him that turned on him with probable support from the intelligence/military of the larger countries that got rid of him. The revolution was a big deal for Romanians and I saw graves and memorials all over the place, marking 1989 as a historic date. I remember 1989 well, as I was in university. In another 40 years, most people will not have lived through the events and it changes.
Bucharest is an economic powerhouse in southeastern Europe and is known for its tech industry and high GDP. I was surprised to read that the 2.2 million Bucharest metro area has overtaken other comparable cities in Europe, including Rome, Budapest, and Madrid regarding the size of its economy. My friends commented that they have seen the country move from a country of emigrant to immigrants. I noticed a lot of south Asian waiters and construction workers. As with many countries in the Balkans, Romania has a low birthrate and experienced some “brain drain” with younger professionals leaving. One of the consequences of a stronger economy is strains on the infrastructure of the city and country. Traffic is a real hassle. It took us 90 minutes to go from the airport to their apartment. Ceaușescu, like many Eastern European Socialist leaders, built huge, ugly apartment blocks. At the time, few people had cars, but now, with a high density of inhabitants and no parking available, the sidewalks and lanes of the streets are filled with parked cars. We also had traffic going to Transylvania. Typical Balkan country, great at living life to the fullest (family, friends, good times) but not so good with organization, infrastructure, and government.
I had to laugh at the Pro-TV national news broadcast that we watched. Pro-TV is one of the big networks and leans a bit to the left politically. On the show, the beloved Netty Sandu, had her traditional astrology segment. I just don’t see CNN having an astrology commentator. We also watched the Romanian version of The Voice and I noticed quite a few Moldovans on the show. Moldova is an interesting country with a big Russian population. The Romanians gave a lot of support to Ukrainian refugees and the government is concerned about Russia’s invasion of bordering country Ukraine. The Romanian government pays 10 euros per day per refugee to anyone renting to Ukrainian families.
Overall it was a delightful trip to Bucharest and all too short. It is only a 55-minute flight from Istanbul. I hope to get back again someday.
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