A stormy day in Bucharest - Sunday 26th August

It was a gloomy old morning with heavy run and thunder storms by 10 o’clock so the Sunday morning read in the park plan had to be given a miss this week.
I splashed my way up to Aviotorilor Metro shortly before 11 with the plan now being a day indoors at some of the museums. It’s down the M2 line to Piata Unirii 2 today in search of the ruins of Vlad’s Bucharest palace at Curtea Veche and then the History Museum.
My small tourist map proves completely inaccurate (are you listening “City Spots”) and I circle the site via various side roads in the pouring rain.
A surprising amount of the site is above ground which is rather different from what I expected given that the site was completely unknown until the 1950’s.
The palace was originally built in the 14th Century and expanded and remodeled through to the end of the 18th Century when it was abandoned.
The basements give a sense of the scale of the palace that was built over four floors.

A fine bust of Vlad sits outside the front of the palace.

The one column that is substantially complete sits in what was the throne room.
View from the Princely apartment across the throne room to the other remaining accommodation of the palace on the top floor.
Waiting room adjoining the throne room showing the window recesses.

Unfortunately when I’m done it’s still raining heavily and so I retrace my rather roundabout route to try to make my way around to the History Museum. The plan is to walk down Lipscani which is highly thought of in all the guide books, but I fail to spot a street sign or the street. Eventually after wandering the wrong way around several blocks I arrive on Lipscani to realise why I hadn’t recognised it earlier as the whole street has been dug up for repairs. What a disappointment and dreadful mess!
Anyway having got my bearings I’m soon at the History Museum to get out of the rain for a few hours.
Have I mentioned “Camera Tax” at all? Well here I got TWO Camera taxes. 20RON for the Communist History exhibition and a whopping 70RON for the Roman Exhibition. It is very tempting to not pay given past experience but once again I decide it must be worth it if they think they can charge so much.
The Communist exhibition is quite interesting covering the post-war period to the fall of Ceausescu. Displays range from Communist era “Diplomas of Honour” for agricultural workers for farm produce through to some of the signs of Ceausescu’s excess. Not worth the 20RON though.

The Roman exhibition is quite something though with some interesting original statuary and grave stones, but a quite spectacular copy of the whole of Trajan’s column.
The copy of the column base gives a great indication of the scale of the work, while the other friezes show the story of Trajan’s two campaigns against the Dacians.
Given the amount and quality of material 70RON starts to seem reasonable, although given that you are then photographing A COPY maybe not! There is an interesting model of what the column and surrounding area may have looked like based on the archaeological evidence.

There is also a remarkable collection of gold and bronze work dating from pre-Roman times up to the modern era. There are some particularly well preserved Dacian arm bands and other early jewellery. Unfortunately this is a no photo’s allowed zone. Similarly the Philatelic Exhibition has the same rules which would be understandable if the stamps were actually on display but in fact they are all locked away in cabinets! Even the displays of early post office carriages and the driver’s uniforms can’t be photographed.

So an interesting time but I have to say that a sign outside saying “Tourists not welcome here” wouldn’t have been out of place. I would certainly say leave your camera at home as I have come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth the money when the dreaded “Camera Tax” crops up.

At least the good news as I leave is that it’s just a drizzle and I make my way back to the Metro at Piata Universitatii to head home. My feet are well and truly soaked from the morning and when I pop out later for a coffee with some colleagues my trainers still haven’t dried out enough to put them back on again!
Coffee is followed by some refreshment at The White Hart where by chance the ManUre game against the Spuds is showing on Eurosport 2. Unfortunately despite this being an “English pub” and the clientele watching the football the barmaid keeps changing the channel for the lottery, the weather forecast, or maybe she was just looking for some interesting ads about new shoes – who knows? Also given the (comparatively) expensive beer I don’t think I’ll be rushing back here despite the fact it is literally just around the corner from home!

So home to blog before bedtime, nose back to the grindstone tomorrow.

KEEP SMILING!

Sighisoara - Saturday 25th August

It’s been a difficult week with a mixture of bad news and good with the visit of a colleague from the Corporate Office in London who I know from my first foray into the Aviva world. The travel planning has been difficult with finding sensible running times an issue and the on-line system being unavailable since Thursday.
So today's plan was to give my Romglish another outing and try to catch the 7:08 train to Sighisoara in Transylvania (if it’s running, a 5 hour journey).
Well it was a great start as taxis were available at Piata Dorobantilor even at 6:30 and my Romglish saw me through all the way to the train without me even having to repeat anything. Today I even have a first class seat, albeit a very lumpy old seat in an ageing compartment train.

Sighisoara is a Saxon town similar in many ways to Brasov, but much more compact being situated on a small (and easily defendable) hill. The citadel and old town is however almost exactly as it was in medieval times and this has earned it World Heritage Site status. There is also the added attraction of it being the birthplace of Vlad Tepes (The Impaler) who is also sometimes known as Dracula (don’t you just wish you could add a sound effect to a document sometimes!).
Sighisoara station seems to be in the latter stages of a major refurbishment and in a bit of a mess right now but having checked that the trains back to Bucharest are running it’s a fairly short walk to the old town.

There’s a 1930’s Romanian Orthodox Cathedral by the river but with a wedding in progress I didn’t go in, and from here the old town looms above you on the hill.
I cross the road and head straight up the steps in front of me to climb to the town – I really should have followed the road winding gently around the hill. What should an ageing fat bloke expect at mid-day in bright sunshine in the middle of a very hot summer abroad!

Exhausted and over-heated (maybe there’s a reason these steps aren’t on the tourist map!) I find myself behind the Shoemakers tower.

I follow the narrow road around the edge of the hill where there is a great view out across the town outside the citadel.

The Monastery Church which is very plain (if not plain ugly!) also has a wedding in progress and so I am quickly on to the towns most spectacular sight, the Clock Tower.

Vlad’s birthplace is the orangey building on the right and now houses a rather dark and dingy restaurant.

The clock itself looks magnificent having been extensively restored in the 17th Century following a fire.

The town itself is very busy with a street market and the main square has a stage set up and several temporary bars with their own outdoor seating – it looks like a music festival just ended or about to start as there was nothing going on during the day. Unfortunately it ruins the square as a photo opportunity but given the weather conditions (and mine) the lure of the lager is too great – particularly with no return train until 6pm.
After a very healthy lunch of Ursus and Bagel chips it’s time for some souvenirs from the market and then to the three museums, unfortunately thay are all rather small and not particularly interesting although you can buy one ticket to all three and there is no dreaded “camera tax”.

The medieval arms and armour museum is the pick of the three although there is nothing here you won’t see elsewhere, while the torture museum is the most unusual if rather macabre.

I was slightly baffled as to how they thought a gallows was an instrument of torture though until I saw the implements for the rest of the “hanging, drawing and quartering” process! The history museum is focused on the development of arts and crafts in Transylvania.

I walked down through the gateway beneath the Clock Tower via the public toilet where 1 leu gets you in to the loo (sorry couldn’t resist!), and from the lower town you can certainly see how this tower dominates the skyline, and how every available place is built on under the protection of the walls and the towers.

Back up again via the Tinsmiths Tower is one of the more unusual sights, a covered 17th Century wooden staircase leading up to the Hill to the south known as The Scholars Staircase as it leads to The School on the Hill which is next to The Church on the Hill.

This church is simple but quite impressive both inside and out.

From here it’s back down the outside of the hill past the other towers that remain including the rope makers and the tailors. There were originally 14 but only 9 remain and they are of varying conditions.

So back to the station and a lovely 5 hour ride to Bucharest, it was still very hot so it was essential to collect some water and coke on the way. The train runs to time and my Romglish gets another run out as an elderly chap got quite excitable despite having told him I didn’t speak Romanian when I told him I was from Wales (in Romanian). I have no idea what he was on about but just assumed he was a well informed football fan who doesn’t like Bulgarians! Back at Gara Du Nord just after 11 it’s straight out the “side” exit to get a taxi at the proper local rate to get home feeling like I could sleep for a week.

Indira Lopchan

Indira was a valued colleague and friend during my time in India in 2004.
The news on Thursday of her tragic death following the birth of her daughter was a terrible shock.
I can hear her giggling now about the “plant growing” competition she organised in the office and at how my plant was the only one to produce flowers (looking remarkably like “post it notes”), as I desperately tried to win. Just one of many happy memories I have of working with her.

I’m sure that everyone at Aviva India loved Indira for her energy, sense of fun and her beautiful smile – I certainly did.
God bless you Indira and I wish the family you leave behind all the luck in the world.

Around Bucharest – Sunday 19th August

This morning was a bit of a slow start with my legs still decidedly stiff from Saturday’s excursion.
The main objective was to find somewhere pleasant to sit and read in one of the parks so I set off for Herastrau Park and the nearest entrance from Place Charles de Gaulle, passing his statue at the entrance here.

Again this part of the park is very well maintained and laid out and was a great spot to settle down for an hour with a book (still “Tales from the Raj”).
From here I returned to Place Charles de Gaulle and the Aviatorilor Metro station to take the M2 line to Universitatii. The ticket I bought last weekend works at the second attempt and the Metro train while the same design as previously (on the M3/M1) seems much newer and probably the cleanest Metro train I’ve ever experienced.

Piata Universitatii is dominated by the National Theatre and from here I head down past the University with its books sellers and the statue of Michailu Voevodu (who appears to have been a late 15th century general about whom I can find out nothing at all!) along Queen Elizabeth Street.

Down a side street is the Biserica Studentilor St Nicolae an interesting “onion-domed” Russian Orthodox church which dates from 1909.

After the Cercul Militar National(National Military Centre) I arrive at my target destination, the Cismigiu Garden for another sit down and a read!

The Lake is quite nice here and the gardens aren’t bad, but nowhere near as well maintained as Herastrau. Still it was a pleasant place to sit for an hour with the strains of Blue Danube wafting their way through the park from the bandstand.

From here I exited at the other side of the park and walked up to Piata G Enescu and onto Calea Victoriei to make my way back towards home via the George Enescu Museum at the Cantacuzino Palace.

Only 4RON to get in and no “Camera Tax” there is a collection of interesting musical memorabilia organised chronologically and the music room has some interesting stained glass windows and an elaborate painted roof.

From here it was lunch at a familiar burger emporium and home via the supermarket and a quick “freshen up” with a purveyor of muscle relaxant before taking the now very familiar route through Piata Victoriei and along Strada Paris to let my poor complaining feet take a break at home before setting off in the evening to catch some football at Whispers(Liverpool robbed by a dodgy refereeing decision) and on to Angel's for some dinner.

So another day done and blogged and although my feet aren’t too happy about it I do now have a reasonable grasp on my immediate surroundings and how long it takes to get around Bucharest.

Saturday 18th August – A day trip to Brasov in Transylvania

Brasov developed as a medieval market town for Saxon (hiss-boo) traders that due to its success and wealth necessarily became fortified. About time for a Welsh invasion then!
So the plan said an early start to Gara Du Nord to try and buy a ticket to Brasov using my virtually non-existent Romanian to catch the 8:30 to Brasov – I was acutely aware that some of my colleagues at work thought it was just as likely I’d find myself on the way to Bulgaria.
Trying to book a taxi at 7 a.m. soon proved pointless and so I set off at a brisk pace at 7:20 on the assumption that I may have to walk all the way but fortunately came across a taxi at Piata Dorobantilor for the 10 minute trip to the station.
The ticket purchase went reasonably smoothly the only piece of Romanian I failed with at the first attempt being in how I pronounced “return” (I need to work on my “s” when it needs to be a “sh”). Unfortunately I was also too late to get a first class ticket, but at least that meant 30RONs less being spent.
The train was modern and clean and I found myself upstairs in a double-decker carriage, however it was very full with a small number of people standing (although I’m sure no-one actually stood all the way to Brasov – 2 ½ hours).

The train arrived on schedule at 10:55 it being a very bright sunny day in the mountains in South Eastern Transylvania.
Bus number 4 got me straight into the centre of “Old” Brasov dropping me in the bus station just around the corner from Piata Sfatului.
The old merchant houses (now banks, shops, and restaurants) here are very grand and in
one corner stands an Orthodox Cathedral accessed through a brightly decorated alleyway.

Unfortunately it was very busy due to a wedding being in progress so my attention moved quickly to the Casa Sfatului which sits in the centre of the square and houses the museum.

So in I go for 6RON before I get “Camera Tax” for 20RON, I do promise to pay on my way out if there’s anything worth photographing but I think my “Romglish” let me down!
My advice for visitors – put your camera away and save yourself 20RON!
There’s some moderately interesting information on the development of Brasov and the growth of the various merchants guilds, although there does seem to be an obsession with wooden chests.

Overlooking the square is the old Citadel
while on the other side the Black Church looms large.

The Black Church is so-called as its exterior was once covered with soot as a result of the town being put to the torch by an Austrian army in 1689. It is however one of the ugliest churches I have ever come across despite some interesting statuary

and a very imposing clock tower.

Still it must be good inside mustn’t it especially at 6RON to enter but no “Camera Tax” as no photography is allowed it’s so good they are going to make you buy postcards!
Well there is some interesting artwork on some of the pews and a quite ornate altar inside but I couldn’t help thinking that there was no “Camera Tax” to avoid the volume of complaints that would ensue.

Anyway moving on out of the town centre took me past another of the defences, the White Tower, and

then I “re-entered” the old town through the Schei Gate.

Along a narrow side street and part way up Mount Tampa is the best preserved of the town’s defensive bastions – the bastion of the Weaver’s Guild.
The entrance from the town and into the bastion courtyard is understandably narrow and runs beneath the fortifications.

The galleries inside are a great sight although the state of ill-repair means it is not possible to walk around them.

Within the bastion is the Museum of the Barsa Land Fortifications, once again 6RON plus “Camera Tax” of 20RON.
Unfortunately the museum houses a few very sad exhibits but quite an interesting model of medieval Brasov.

So back down the lane and then along looking for the cable car up Mount Tampa which conveniently carries a reminder for the local residents about where they live.

The views from Mount Tampa are magnificent and a cable car return costs just 8RON – and NO “Camera Tax” (hoo-bleedin’-ray).
The Old Town and its defensive wall
Casa Sfatului
The Black Church
The New (1960's) Industrial Town

Following my descent I started my way back towards the station along Strada T.Brediceanu which runs along the foot of Mount Tampa just outside the Town Wall which is being extensively renovated, probably to help keep the vampires out (YES, finally slipped the reference in!)

In front of the magnificent Prefecture building is a memorial to the 1989 revolution.
and from here it was a brief walk around the local outdoor fruit and veg market and onto the number 4 bus back to the railway station.

Interestingly I was asked for bus information in Romanian while waiting (I was not much help) and at the station I was asked the time in Romanian – fortunately my blank look this time led to the question being repeated in English!
Coincidentally we were both looking at the departure board for the next “Fast” train to Bucharest so I acquired a companion on whom I could test(i.e. inflict) my Romglish. It’s also particularly pleasant of course when such companions are young and female.
The train this time was a familiar “older-style” compartment train and our party of English speakers swelled by two delightful English sisters and an American young gentleman.

A real pleasure to meet you all but I must single out our new Bucharest student friend who gave such great help to her fellow travelers – you are a real credit to your country and young people everywhere.

With everyone’s accommodation apparently sorted back at Bucharest we went our separate ways, with me having to avoid getting into the ludicrously over-priced taxis outside the station. 20RON Gara Du Nord to Piata Dorabantilor – they’re having a laugh!

And a bonus end to the day with the news of a Mighty Bluebirds victory!

KEEP SMILING