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.