Weekend in Bucharest

Parliament House; the biggest waste of space in the world, courtesy of Ceausescu

Me in the train station at Bucharest, ready to get back to Tutova

Taking a little break after touring the Museum of Romanian Art
(Muzeul National de Arte al Romaniei). My feet hurt!

A beautiful church in Bucharest; behind it is an enclosed courtyard, which was one of the quietest, most peaceful places we experienced in the city

Remind you of anything--in, say, France? It's called the Arcul de Triumf in Romania

If anyone books you a room at the Hotel Capitol in Bucharest, say thanks but no thanks. I had no idea that I needed to request an air-conditioned hotel. I assumed all hotels in Bucharest were air-conditioned, as did our coordinator here, Mihaela. It is not air-conditioned, and it was hot on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately the temperature cooled down in the evening, but if you have to keep a window or patio door open in Bucharest, you'd better be a sound sleeper. I'm not. The street noise and the wedding next door that went on until 5:00 a.m. kept me awake. As did the fear of bed bugs. This is the first time I wished I hadn't read trip advisor reviews. A woman thought she got bed bugs there, so naturally I was paranoid. I don't think I did, but every time I think about it I get the sudden urge to scratch my leg.

Also, if you want to shop in Bucharest, you need to be there on a weekday. The shops close early on Saturday if they open at all, which is very different from what Americans expect. I was disappointed that I couldn't get into the shops that sold art, not that I could have afforded it anyway. Bucharest is pricey.

We did a lot of walking and a lot of museum touring. Saturday we walked through the Lipscani district, taking pictures of beautiful buildings and churches. We visited Vlad's Court, which is being excavated. There wasn't much to see. It looked like a big cellar. But there was a cool statue of Vlad that sent shivers down my spine. He may not have drank blood, but he sure looks capable of it. Later that afternoon we went to Museum of Romanian Art. The museum is huge; by the time we got to contemporary art on the third floor, my feet hurt and I was exhausted and ready to eat dinner. But it was a beautiful museum, and the paintings and sculpture were truly amazing. Sunday we went first to the Village Museum (Muzeul Satului), which contains period homes from all over Romania. Most of the homes were purposefully small; close quarters provided warmth. It made me think about how spoiled I am with my four bedroom home, my air conditioning and central heat. This is a must-see museum because you can't see the whole country in one trip; here you have homes from villages across the country all in one location. Later we walked over a mile to see the Museum of the Romanian Peasant (Muzeul Taranului Roman), which showcased how they really lived--their clothing, tools, machines, wagons, furniture, art work, and bibles. Their faith was the central tenet of their lives, and it shows in everything they did. The icons and the painted eggs are truly beautiful. The embroidery was exquisite as well.

We tried to tour the Parliament House on Sunday afternoon, but the lines were extremely long and you had to go through security. I just didn't want to risk it with my backpack on my back. So we took pictures of the exterior, made our way back to Lipscani, had lunch, and headed back to the train station. It was good to get away for the weekend, and I feel like we covered a lot of ground in Bucharest, but it was a relief to board the train in Bucharest and to see Mihaela waiting for us at the station in Barlad when the train pulled in at 10:00.