Around Bucharest – Sunday 2nd September

Today started with memories of India in 2004, to be specific the effects of climbing too many steps up the minaret at the Jama Masjid as this morning my thighs are “revolting” (any ex-girlfriends following this blog need not post comments) in response to the three towers I climbed yesterday.
It’s not a bright start to say the least so I ruled out the trip to the park and instead headed off for a tour of Piata Revolutiei and the Art Museum.
The Piata is home to a memorial to the dead of the 1989 revolution with this rather strange monument that sometimes attracts a rather derogatory local epithet – suffice to day that it is highly descriptive and the park beneath is popular for walking dogs,
Opposite is the Biserica Crutelscu, a Romanian orthodox church built in 1720 that has some magnificent frescoes inside and out.

Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside and it is packed with worshippers on a Sunday morning,

Also nearby is the National Art Museum which is housed in what was formerly the Royal Palace in the 19th century. Making it’s return after a welcome absence was the dreaded “camera tax”, although no flash is allowed making most of the exhibits completely unphotographable anyway due to the low lighting. This is particularly annoying as the older exhibits seem not to have been significantly restored and are uniformly rather dark. Coupled with some poor lighting this makes the exhibition rather disappointing although there are some interesting works in a good condition and showing wonderful vibrant colours. The museum itself is divided into two distinct sections, being European Art in one wing and Romanian Art in another.
The European Art offers an interesting mix of works albeit dominated by religious themes but interesting items include a gilded astronomical clock.

Most of the rooms have rather disappointingly been “museum-ised” and are very bland but the odd room displays traces of the old palace in the roof and wall panels.
The Romanian Art is only “interesting” in terms of its uniformity being entirely based on religious imagery. At least up to the point where I got bored and left it was, although my demeanour wasn’t helped by the “no photography” rule. Having said that some of the recovered wall frescoes and altar screens are quite impressive if highly derivative of so many other similar works.
So home to rest the legs before they strike a deal with my aching feet and some time to get the blog up to date. A coffee later in the afternoon with come colleagues leads to a difficult situation as the question of a “swifty” at the White Horse comes up and so we compromise by trying Dantes. At least at Dantes we can sit outside and the prices are the same as the White Horse but the service is prompt and efficient – so we have a new “local” identified!
It’s a trip to The Dubliner later for some schadenfraude as Chelski lose and then on to The Haveli for a curry. Ordering the”5 star spicy” works a treat and my primitive Hindi gets a work out too!
Finally it’s home to update the blog and get ready for another week’s hard work.

ENJOY!