13861

Romania: Romania Road Trip: Day 3

Today our van had a day off and we explored the Romania's capital, Bucharest. The city is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River and has an approximate population of 2 million people.

Some interesting information and facts about the city:

• The legends say that the city has been named after a shepherd called Bucur, in love with a young lady called Dâmboviţa. Yes, just like the river that crosses the city.
• The Palace of Parliament is the second largest administrative building in the world, right after the Pentagon. It is also the most expensive and the heaviest building in the world.
• Calea Victoriei was the first road built in Bucharest and initially called The Wooden Road, because it was paved with tree trunks and planks.
• The Bucharestians passion for cinema started way back in 1896. That’s when the first cinematographic projection took place. 
• More than 10,000 people are bitten by stray-dogs in Bucharest every year.
• It is among the top 15 cities in the world with the fastest internet connection with an average download speed of 95.18 Mbps.

Sources:

• https://interestingtimes.ro/10-interesting-facts-about-bucharest/
• https://estimator.faector.nl/article/2016-01-25-8-remarkable-facts-about-bucharest

Previous days of our road trip: Day 2 and Day 1.

Our day started with visiting the Cișmigiu Gardens.  They form the oldest and, at 16 hectares, the largest park in city's central area.

The park was built in 1847 around an artificial lake.

Rok, Tuši and Miha in the park

 

Capitol Summer Theater was built at the beginning of the 20th century according to the plans of the architect Nicolae Nenciulescu and it is now a dilapidated space near the Cercul Militar Național (Palace of the National Military Circle), built in 1911 by architect Dimitrie Maimarolu.

  

Miha, Rok, Nada and me moved on and checked the Piața Revoluției - Revolution Square
Left photo: Monumentul lui Iuliu Maniu din București - Monument dedicated to Iuliu Maniu who served as the Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933. He was opposed to communism and so he was imprisoned in 1947 when the communists came to power. He died in 1953 in Sighet prison.
Centre photo: Nada, Rok, Miha and Tuši
Right photo: Memorialul Renaşterii (Memorial of Rebirth), that commemorates the struggles and victims of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which overthrew Communism. The memorial complex was inaugurated in August 2005 in Revolution Square, where Romania's Communist-era dictator, Nicolae Ceauşescu, was publicly overthrown in December 1989.

Frontal view to Biblioteca Centrală Universitară - Central University Library, that was founded in 1895 on land bought by King Carol I of Romania and therefore we also have its statue infront of the building.

Ateneul Român - Romanian Athenaeum, a concert hall, was opened in 1888. On December 29, 1919, the Atheneum was the site of the conference of leading Romanians who voted to ratify the unification of Bessarabia, Transylvania, and Bukovina with the Romanian Old Kingdom to constitute Greater Romania.

 

Time to drink a beer in the centre of the city

House close to the museum dedicated to Theodor Aman

Palatul Primaverii - The “Ceauşescu Mansion” was for a quarter of a century (1965-1989) the private residence of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu and of their children, Nicu, Zoia, and Valentin. Homepage.

Cheap beer in front of the market is always a good idea

View over Lacul Herăstrău (Herăstrău Lake) to Casa Presei Libere (House of the Free Press).

Cimitirul Eroii Sovietici - Soviet War Memorial & Cemetery - The graves of a few hundred soldiers of the Soviet Union, killed in the brief period of fighting that preceded the Red Army's march into Bucharest in 1944 are found beside a typically Soviet statue of a brave soldier carrying the red flag towards a bright socialist future.

Another break in the park Parcul Unirii

Palatul Parlamentului - Palace of the Parliament is the seat of the Parliament of Romania and the second-largest administrative building in the world. In terms of weight, the Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing in at around 4,098,500,000 kg. The building was constructed almost entirely of materials of Romanian origin. The only exceptions are the doors of Nicolae Bălcescu Hall. These were received by Ceaușescu as a gift from his friend Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire. It can be seen from the moon and it is bigger than Cheops’ Pyramid.

 

At the end of the day we visited Yakasha Festival in park Parcul Izvor, where we listened to some gipsy music.

GeoCaches found:
- Capitol outdoor cinema, GC5K1VA
- Bucharest's Bridges #2 - Podul Mogosoaiei, GC2YB6P
- It all started here, GC170MD
- Ateneul Roman, GC4R4ER
- Theodor Aman, GC4R4DG
- La multi ani Primavara!, GC5Q97M
- 5 Cutii pentru Generatia 2000, GC53AB1
- [MR] Casa Poporului, GC5FPEX