So, as some of you may know, since last year I’ve been spending most of my time in Romania on a business project. Despite all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never been to the capital, Bucharest, until last week. Most of the locals here in Transylvania told me it wasn’t worth it, it was a dirty, polluted, ugly city. So, reluctantly, I booked myself a weekend there. I figured I would visit at least once before leaving the country. And wow, was I surprised by what I saw!

Part 1: Getting there


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Haaaa, they’ve misspelled Airport!

TAROM RO730 SBZ-OTP
ATR42-500
ETD: 6:00AM ETA: 6:55AM

Booked my tickets in the friendly, if albeit buggy, Tarom website. Smooth process, and even let me select seats during booking! The flight was going to be in the old ATR42, and not in one of their modern 737 winglets, but oh well, it’s a 55 minute flight. No special seats in first class, so I just went for good old coach!


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Sibiu, the European capital of culture in 2007, has a small but functional airport. Checked in at 5am, and went to security. No one there yet (come on, it’s early). Waited around for 15 minutes until the security agents arrived, carrying the smallest pistols in the world. The airport has a domestic departure lounge, and an international departure lounge. The international area has a duty free and a nice coffee shop. Well… the domestic area has not one, but TWO bathrooms. Take THAT FCT!


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Yeah it's a little blurry. Romanian authorities tend to frown upon picture taking. And by frown upon I mean they make you delete all your pictures and demand a "you made me do stuff" fee.

Ahh, in the distance I can see Lufthansa paid to park their CRJ9 in the spotlight, while Tarom parked in the dark. I must’ve taken this LH flight some 30 times already since 2012.


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Boarding begins, and we’re loaded into the bus for the 50 feet ride to the plane (can’t be too careful in an airport that has over 5 flights per day). 5 minutes to get everyone in the bus, and 8 seconds of wheels moving. The funny part: buses are not wheelchair friendly, so whenever there’s someone in a wheelchair, they’ll just push it straight to the plane, and it has never lost a race against the bus. I've been on jetways longer than the distance we were bussed.


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Seating is what you expect from a regional jet. A little tight, but fine for a 55 minute flight. Amazingly, they served drinks (including hot coffee, tea, and even beer), as well as a baggie with croissants. Just like United! Hehe


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It seems tight, but once you took the inflight magazine out of the pocket, there's and extra 1/16" of an inch to spread out.


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Uneventful flight, and landed on time at OTP. Short bus ride to the terminal, and on the arrivals hall we are. Here is where one needs to be prepared: if you just step outside, there’ll be “rapid taxis” parked conveniently in front of the airport. Apparently, “rapid” in Romanian means “you pay 4x as much, and get to ride in a regular taxi”. Luxurious, I know! From what I read, it’s quite common for these taxi drivers to scam tourists too. Now, OTP has a touch screen computer inside the lobby, and you select the kind of taxi you need (a regular, a regular +, a premium or a van), you see the price per Km, and once selected, you get a receipt with the taxi number. Hop on the escalator, and upstairs, in the departure area, your taxi will magically appear! I’ve paid RON25 (roughly $8) for the ride to the center. Not bad, specially considering the “rapid” taxis charge about $40, and it’s the same type of car.


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Next, the great Intercontinental Bucharest.

Arrived at the amazing Intercontinental Bucharest. With 22 floors, this was the tallest building in Romania until�.. some year. It�s pretty tall, it�s what I�m saying! I checked in at 7:50am, and amazingly they had my room ready, a huge suite in the 12th floor.


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Amenities as usual! Thanks Intercontinental, for assuming I'd be drinking alone. Mrs. Mbarreto back in Boston appreciates.

Room had a great view of the city and the historic center!

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I went to the lounge, where they had a great selection of cold cuts, breads, pastries� made me a plateful, and was happy with the selection, until a club attendant approached me and asked

�Have you decided yet?�
�Huh??� Said the master of words.
�Well sir, I�m wondering if you�d like to order anything from the menu� and points me to a menu in front of me, featuring eggs your way and several sides/toppings.

I was blown away. Not only was the lounge great, spacious, with a great selection and friendly attendants, but they had made to order omelet?? Is this really Intercontinental??? Eggs were delicious, but I didn�t get any pictures of the lounge� sorry�

Now full fed, it was time for some calorie burning in the gym, and on to exploring the city! I�ll let the pictures speak for themselves mostly.


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Underground pedestrian crossing.


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Beach in the historic district

The historic center in Bucharest is really amazing. The area was mostly spared of Ceaucescu’s wave of demolitions, so it still has most of the the old buildings in place, and mostly in good shape. It’s a tourist area, with several nice restaurants, bars, cafes, some boutique hotels (I don’t know how boutique).


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SHEEP!!!!

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The Romanian Bank, the only place Romanians could have a deposit account until 1989.

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As any other place in Romania, you’re never too far from a dog!


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Seems quiet at 2pm, but this place gets crazy at night.

I was getting hungry, so following the suggestion of some colleagues. Went looking for a Kebab (or Kebap, or doner). I was recommended 2 places: Kalifa and Dristor, and they’re in front of each other. Went to Kalifa, where I was told “1pm, closed, 1pm”. I’m not sure what he meant, since it wasn’t 1pm, but I decided to trust him that they were closed. Walked 5 feet to Dristor, and had what might have been the best Kebab I’ve ever had.


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Delicious!!!! And they even give you a moist towelette!!!

Now, time to walk this kebab off.

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Dude, your dog has a nasty growth in his neck! Also… can’t you put on some underwear?


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Military club, with a public restaurant!

Went back to the hotel, and grabbed an appetizer before heading out to dinner


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Hey, I guess I did take a picture in the lounge!

Went for dinner at �The Artist�, in the historic center. Amazingly good food, and friendly service. Had an appetizer sampler (appetizers on a spoon), and a delicious cod.

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It rained heavily, but only for a few minutes. And it was time to explore Bucharest nightlife!

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Finally, a place where my habits are welcome!


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I learned something at Trinity College. Getting drunk in Romania is a lot cheaper then in America!

The Romanian bank, at night

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Second day, decided to explore other areas of the city! I hired a private driver, and went out and about!


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Green neighborhoods.

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Ceaucescu�s house. It�s empty now, and it�s for sale. I think it�s on Craigslist.

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Green avenues

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This is the press building. In the past, the country�s only newspaper was housed there. Now there are 37 newspapers and magazines in the building.

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Triumph Arc, celebrating the victory in WWI (aka the last war with the pointy helmets). In the period between WWI and WWII, Romania had the most territory in History. By 1939, Romania's armed forces were larger then America's.


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The royal palace in the background, and a picture from December 1989.


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The former headquarters of the Communist Party. From this balcony, Ceaucescu made his last speech in December 1989. It lasted 10 minutes and was stopped when the crowd started revolting against him and the party.

The People's palace is, at the same time, an incredible building and a monstrosity. Built to reflect the greatness of Communist Romania, it's absolutely massive (the second largest building in the world). It was never used by the communists, as it wasn't finished until the early 90s. The size of the building is truly impressive.


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From this place, Michael Jackson famously said "Hello Budapest"!


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Side view

Despite all the work, it's only 50% finished. Not that it matters much: I went for a 2 hour tour, and managed to visit 4% of it. You have to pay an extra fee to take pictures inside, so I did what anyone would do: skimped on the fee, and whenever the guide wasn't looking, I snapped away! Trouble is, the guide was always looking. Here's a picture from the main balcony:


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This is the avenue directly in front of the people's palace. It was built to resemble the Champs Elisees, but ordered by Ceausescu to be 1 meter wider. Several houses and historic buildings demolished to make way for this.


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Next was the Atheneum, where the operas are performed. Beautiful building, which until a few years ago could only be visited by bribing the guards. Not anymore. I entered the building thru a side door, no signs or anything, to find a guy sitting in a plastic chair in the middle of the lobby, eating half of a watermelon with a spoon. Here's the exchange once he see's me:

- Visit?
- Yes, I'd like to visit. How much?
- Visit 10 lei
- Here you go, 10 lei
- (puts the money in his pocket) Ok, visit (goes back to enjoying his watermelon)

As you can see, there's a highly official way to get admission. Nothing shady about this! I'm sure this guy at some point takes the money from his pocket, issues a receipt and collects all taxes.


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Inside, quite a beautiful building.


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The roof

Next to the Atheneum, is the beautiful University Library.


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On the other side of the road, is the Royal Palace, where the Romanian king lived. Now it houses an art museum.


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It costs $3 to enter, and $40 to take pictures, so naturally, here's a picture from the outside I took when I thought no one was looking


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*not in the picture: me running away after being caught in the act*

Next day, I decided to go check out one of the many parks around the city. I walked to the nice Cismigiu park. It was built in the 1800s by the king to provide fresh water to the population, or so I'm told. Water didn't seemed that fresh to me, but hey, who am I to disagree!


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Nice bench! This one had hardly any pigeon poo on it.


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Little arts and crafts market going on inside


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The original "fresh" water pond


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woof


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Nothing say "class" like buying your fur coat from a street side vendor in front of the park!

It was time to head back to the hotel, and get ready to leave...


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communist-era buildings

Went to the historic district, and had a late lunch at Angus Steakhouse. Yes, and american steakhouse, so what? Steak was actually quite good, and the price was the same as any good steakhouse in the US. In front of the restaurant, were ruins of the house of the big dog himself:


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Yep, that's Vlad Dracul and his glorious mustache, being glorious.

One last drink at the lounge, and a picture of the view from the 22nd floor lounge. Yup, that's the People's palace in the distance!


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A short cab ride back to the airport, which came to 30 lei this time due to traffic (around $10). Funny enough, the driver asked me for another 10 lei since he "had to drive all the way back now". I was so stunned that I obliged, and laughed to myself. And then I cried, because I really liked those 10 lei.

Flight RO729 OTP-SBZ
ATR42-500
ETD 9:50pm
ETA: 10:45pm

OTP (Otopeni, or Henri Coada airport) is nothing to write home about, despite the fact that this is clearly what I'm doing. Domestic check-in in front of international security checkpoint, and international security check-in in front of domestic security checkpoint because why not. I asked the TA if there was a lounge airside, which he replied no, only in the international area. No luck here. Smooth and easy security, and on to the domestic area of the airport.


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A duty free (which is puzzling, since this is a domestic departure area), and an overpriced coffee shop. Free wifi. More puzzling was the fact that there was a room called "VIP Lounge", but no one inside, so I dismissed as not in use. Later in the night I saw some people there, but when I stood in front of the automatic doors, nothing happened (except for the dirty looks I got from the people in the lounge). No door bell, no nothing. Oh well, I guess I'm not VIP enough.

A short bus ride, and the 15 pax (including me) are all set to go. Tonight, on a skyteam livery bird.


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A short while later, in Sibiu I was.

I had not expected Bucharest to be such a green and beautiful city. Everywhere I went people were always smiling and friendly, which is a departure from what I was used to in other areas of the country. English was widely spoken in the hotel and restaurants/bars. Nightlife was quite lively and fun. The city is very, very safe, and walking around with my camera, I never once felt insecure. Cuisine is great, and you can't beat the prices in other European capitals!

I hope you enjoyed this short TR! A couple years ago, I never thought I'd ever visit Romania, but I'm glad I did!!

Happy travels everyone.

Great report - thanks. And a nice change to see Bucharest portrayed in a positive light. It can be grim especially in the gloom of winter, but when the summer is out the city - and people - really shine.

Some top quality restaurants (and some really awful ones too!) at good price and some quirky bars.

If you liked Bucharest, give Belgrade a go.

Thanks for the entertaining trip report.

I too have spent some good quality time at the Bucharest airport in my youth - got stranded there for 16 hours about 30 years ago due to a mechanical issue on an Air Tarom flight. It's not the most comfortable place to spend time, especially when you're not planning on staying there......

I hope the airlines fleets have improved since then - everything was falling apart when I took the trip.

Thanks CatchThePigeon. Indeed, it's not perfect, but you can see they're working hard to "fix" the city. The contrast of old (pre-communist), not so old (communist) and new is quite striking!

I'll give Belgrade a go!

Thanks BigEyedFish. There's a new terminal now at OTP, and from what I hear it's not bad. The old terminal is also renewed, and it wasn't bad, just not much to do. What I heard from the locals is that the city was completely different 20-30 years ago (and not in a good way), and that's where much of the criticism comes from.

Wow what a nice change since 1992 when I was there. It was pretty depressing and the food was awful.

My mother lived there from 1938 to 1940 and she told me it was a fantastic place to live in then.

It was compared to Paris.

Great report. I was there last year and the nightlife truly shines. I didn't see any pics from the area near the nightlife with the roundabouts and the mall w/mcdonalds. Also where are pics of the trams?

Indeed, from what I've heard the city has suffered a dramatic transformation since the early 90s. It's def worth a visit!

I believe they used to call it the "Paris of the East", and you can see why.

Thanks, it's surprising how nice the nightlife is, at least in the summer. I didn't have a chance to visit the malls, nor ride the tram. I guess I'll have to go back!