Bucharest: City of Stories
The capital city of Romania is like a tale which raises up on a cloud of enigma. And just as you don’t judge a book from its cover, one should not judge this place from the first appearance. The excitement of unknown which comes with entering the town intensifies, as exploring Bucharest is like paging through different, sometimes very contrasting tales.
It is these singular antithesis that first strike the eye and remain longest upon remembrance. The tale of this city is wrapped up in mystery and city’s visitors are served with landscapes which puzzle and raise many questions, yet always intrigue and engage. This city’s architecture is an eclectic mix of different stories, some of them gothic, some romantic, other dull and concrete, whilst still arousing curiosity.
The town was initially built by Vlad the Impaler known as Dracula. And since 1459, it has kept expanding. You can visit his residence, Old Princely Court – Curtea Veche, which since 1972 has been an open-air museum. For those who wish to be accommodated within the legend, just across the road there is the oldest Bucharest hotel– Manuc’s Inn, which impresses with its beautiful medieval courtyard.
There could be more to see if not for the fact that 20 percent of the old town of Romanian capital was demolished by another concrete (rather than blood)-thirsty tyrant. Just 3 minutes away from Dracula’s residence, there is the largest building in Europe created for the communistic dictator Nicolae Ceausescu-Palace of the Parliament. This surrealistically monstrous construction proudly overlooks Bulevard Unirii-Romanian Champs Elysees. The visitor is struck with the contrast between the communistic concrete and the picturesque Little Paris of the East, as some call Bucharest. A stroll along the streets and alleys will lead you through a town which fully deserves this name. You shall observe how it transforms and enchants the visitors with its boulevards brimming with French Secession and 19th century classical architecture. It has its own Arc du Triumph, Romanian Anthenaeum and striking Royal Palace. Only a little walk down Calea Victoriei will lead you to those attractions, and many more as it is the oldest and the most vivid street, full of cafes, restaurants, atmospheric bookshops, designer boutiques and the most fashionable Bucharest hotels.
Nothing in Bucharest is an exception to this rule of contrarieties. Its brickwork tells different tales, all enchanting and thrilling. Everyone should climb the hill of Filarete some summer evening to contemplate this beautiful tale of antithesis lying low in the valley behind.
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