Bucharest Boca, did they say Giveitarest? Nope Bubs. We pack up our bags on the boat and take a 2 hour ride to the city. River cruise will wrap up the last couple of days on land. Great new highways...ah Capitalist new way. A couple of hour drive to the city...
Bucharest is the capital, cultural, industrial and financial center of Romania. Boca checks out the interesting mix of classical, communist-era and modern architecture.
About 1.8 million folks live here- a decrease in population from 2002. And still a very prosperous city....big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues and a load of shopping opportunities.
here's to the modern....
lots of renovation going on ....Bucharest has the nickname of "Little Paris"....
and yet many old buildings stand in decrepit disrepair....when the commies pulled out most of the property reverted back to the former owners....some not found yet...the unemployment rate is 2.1% (lower than the national of 5.8%).
museums...
another war monument....Pleep loves the dripping blood theme. Bucharest suffered heavy damage during WWII due to Allied bombings....then the royal coup which brought Romania into the Allied camp.
Nice try Bubs.
After the establishment of communism in Romania and during Ceausescus leadership, much of the historic part of the city was demolished and replaced by a "socialist realism" style development or as Boca refers to it- commie cubes or commie condos. Does Calea mean camel in Romanian? Me thinks Bubs is looking like the Camel Camel these days.
Boy fun with his new buds from South Africa...
Bubs was not "getting" some of the art? Pleep wanted to know why the statue's penis was shiny and gold???
Ok, time for a brewski and Romanian grub.
Hey, this Rooooooman beer is gooooood.
A beautiful monestary....96.1% of the population is Romanian Orthodox.
Boca is in bliss...another church and more icons....
How's that for Jesus watching over us...
a great spot to contemplate....
Nuns live here now....of course Boca had to check out their digs and meet the gals. Bubs prayed that Boca didn't come back with a black hat or babushka.
A major part of Bucharest's architecture is made up of buildings constructed during the Commie era...replacing historical architecture with high density apartment blocks. But the biggest home was built in the historic section- demolishing many buildings (and moving 40,000 folks to poorly constructed commie flats) to construct one of the largest buildings in the world, the Palace of the Parliament....known as the second largest building in the world- right after the US Pentagon. Get your passport out Boca, we're going in. My passport? I thought this was a private tour...it is.
Yup here it is...quite the concrete monster the tiny tyrant built for himself. Nah Boca, just your typical gargantuan Stalinist symbol and the most concrete legacy of ex dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Now also a tourist attraction...check out the 3.7 million square feet. He also included the United Nations Blvd (formerly named the Victory of Socialism Blvd)- one yard wider than Paris' famous Champs Elysees. Up yours France. Ol' Nicolae was all about one up manship. They say 40% of Romania's GDP went to constructing the building. They were forced to give up things like food, water and heat in order to gain "their" palace...alrighty then.
Wow...yeah the peoples palace, alright...it took 700 architects to build the project. In the 1980's 20,000 men worked 3 shifts for 24 hrs a day. Some say it took a million Romanians to complete the work (carving doors, sculpting giant crystal chandeliers etc.). The building contains 1,100 rooms....yes the Parliament and Constitutional Court are housed here too.
built in 5 years???? Yes, the little Cesar built himself a real Cesar's palace. The place or should I say the palace is a magnet for glamorous events and celebrity photo-ops. Boca stood on the balcony where Micheal Jackson addressed the large crowd outside by saying to them "Hello Budapest!". Way to be a cultural ambassador Mikey. Even George Bush and Vlad Putin have checked out the digs
Quite the luxurious carbon footprint...it is celebrated and booed in equal measure. If you can ignore the history of how this building was constructed as a commie symbol in one of the poorest countries in Europe, you might be able to appreciate sheer scale of the production task. You have to see it.
We check into what was supposed to be the guest house for the People's Palace...now housing a JW Marriott.
Now privately owned, renovated and properly maintained. A local Romanian biz guy owns it and rents it to Marriott...hmmmm what a little capitalism can do to spiff up the place....
Ok Bubs, you take the steps I'll be grabbing that elevator....
Where's that damn monkey!
And view out the window....more government offices? Yes Boca, military HQ....are they watching me in my pj's Bub??
Bucharest is the capital, cultural, industrial and financial center of Romania. Boca checks out the interesting mix of classical, communist-era and modern architecture.
About 1.8 million folks live here- a decrease in population from 2002. And still a very prosperous city....big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues and a load of shopping opportunities.
here's to the modern....
and yet many old buildings stand in decrepit disrepair....when the commies pulled out most of the property reverted back to the former owners....some not found yet...the unemployment rate is 2.1% (lower than the national of 5.8%).
museums...
another war monument....Pleep loves the dripping blood theme. Bucharest suffered heavy damage during WWII due to Allied bombings....then the royal coup which brought Romania into the Allied camp.
Nice try Bubs.
After the establishment of communism in Romania and during Ceausescus leadership, much of the historic part of the city was demolished and replaced by a "socialist realism" style development or as Boca refers to it- commie cubes or commie condos. Does Calea mean camel in Romanian? Me thinks Bubs is looking like the Camel Camel these days.
Boy fun with his new buds from South Africa...
Bubs was not "getting" some of the art? Pleep wanted to know why the statue's penis was shiny and gold???
Ok, time for a brewski and Romanian grub.
Hey, this Rooooooman beer is gooooood.
A beautiful monestary....96.1% of the population is Romanian Orthodox.
a great spot to contemplate....
A major part of Bucharest's architecture is made up of buildings constructed during the Commie era...replacing historical architecture with high density apartment blocks. But the biggest home was built in the historic section- demolishing many buildings (and moving 40,000 folks to poorly constructed commie flats) to construct one of the largest buildings in the world, the Palace of the Parliament....known as the second largest building in the world- right after the US Pentagon. Get your passport out Boca, we're going in. My passport? I thought this was a private tour...it is.
Yup here it is...quite the concrete monster the tiny tyrant built for himself. Nah Boca, just your typical gargantuan Stalinist symbol and the most concrete legacy of ex dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Now also a tourist attraction...check out the 3.7 million square feet. He also included the United Nations Blvd (formerly named the Victory of Socialism Blvd)- one yard wider than Paris' famous Champs Elysees. Up yours France. Ol' Nicolae was all about one up manship. They say 40% of Romania's GDP went to constructing the building. They were forced to give up things like food, water and heat in order to gain "their" palace...alrighty then.
Wow...yeah the peoples palace, alright...it took 700 architects to build the project. In the 1980's 20,000 men worked 3 shifts for 24 hrs a day. Some say it took a million Romanians to complete the work (carving doors, sculpting giant crystal chandeliers etc.). The building contains 1,100 rooms....yes the Parliament and Constitutional Court are housed here too.
built in 5 years???? Yes, the little Cesar built himself a real Cesar's palace. The place or should I say the palace is a magnet for glamorous events and celebrity photo-ops. Boca stood on the balcony where Micheal Jackson addressed the large crowd outside by saying to them "Hello Budapest!". Way to be a cultural ambassador Mikey. Even George Bush and Vlad Putin have checked out the digs
How in the heck did they afford to build this while a commie country? oh yeah, now I get it. At the time of Ceausescus's 1989 overthrow and execution (got the wife too, 1 bullet for him and 10 for her) the building was complete and with supreme irony he never had the chance to occupy the monstrosity he created. With no chance to move in and fill with furniture...many of the rooms remain empty to this day. Many refer to the casa as the House of Ceausescu. Tauck (yes pun intended for fellow Tauktorians) about over the top luxury he would have lived in- a stark contrast to the squalor and poverty endured by many people living in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Quite the luxurious carbon footprint...it is celebrated and booed in equal measure. If you can ignore the history of how this building was constructed as a commie symbol in one of the poorest countries in Europe, you might be able to appreciate sheer scale of the production task. You have to see it.
We will be back tomorrow night for a private dinner in one of the many, many, ballrooms...and for a closer look...
YUP BIG IS BIG
We check into what was supposed to be the guest house for the People's Palace...now housing a JW Marriott.
Now privately owned, renovated and properly maintained. A local Romanian biz guy owns it and rents it to Marriott...hmmmm what a little capitalism can do to spiff up the place....
Ok Bubs, you take the steps I'll be grabbing that elevator....
Where's that damn monkey!
And view out the window....more government offices? Yes Boca, military HQ....are they watching me in my pj's Bub??
