Reflections on Bucharest, Romania

I’m not certain what our initial expectations were of Bucharest, Romania, but what we found during our visit was definitely more then expected. Bonnie and I both reacted similarly to it, both liked it a great deal and felt attractions to the place, to the people and to the lifestyle. It’s hard to define one key point/attribute causing this positive reaction — Bonnie and I have discussed this at length. We were told it was a city and country of contrast and certainly it is. However, in our discussions we agreed if given a choice of picking one place to live from amongst Munich, Bucharest and Amsterdam, we’d pick Bucharest.

“The people of Bucharest have assimilated the customs and languages of Europe, making them their own, but they have never been able to shake an attachment to the past. They miss no opportunity to express their convictions by exalting their beliefs, exaggerating their defects, discussing the rules, challenging accepted answers and exhausting themselves in making permanent assumptions. They indulge themselves with the delusion that although Bucharest may not resemble the city of their dreams, one day reality will reflect their vision and the insights and wisdoms of their hearts.

These intersection borders of history and modernity, of creativity and nostalgia, of autocracy and improvisation have forged a dense, vibrant city where interpretations is the only measure of reality. The city’s banner should be Janus, the god with tow faces: The dual realities joy and fear, jubilation of freedom and self-sufficiency, bitter of poverty and welcoming of wealth and advancement.”

The above passages are from a “Welcome to Romania” book left in our hotel room. It was only after having spent several days in Bucharest, getting to know the city and talking with some of the people, I came to recognize how true these passages read. Romania’s a young free nation only 22 years from having gained freedom from Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu’s iron fist rule. The first generation following that victory is full of promise, energy, pride and hope for the future of Romania and I would bet they will have great success.

The subjects of my photos are as eclectic as the city itself — a city of paradoxes and contrasts. Bucharest’s architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, Communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city’s elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of the “Paris of the East” or “Little Paris.” Although many buildings and districts in the historic centre were damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes and Nicolae Ceauşescu’s program of systematization, many survived. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.

Most of down-town Bucharest follows no single rule in terms of urban design. There is no obvious delimitation between styles or periods, as there is no delimitation between people. The people here live in so different conditions that the poles are two worlds apart.

Bucharest is rich in public parks, leafy avenues, and scattered lakes. The first public park, Cişmigiu, was laid out by the German landscape gardener Carl F. W. Meyer , who was called to Bucharest to create a People’s Park in the 1830s. He drained marshland, created lakes with islands, meadows with clumps of trees, and laid out drives and paths.

I’ll be posting photos to my gallery of Bucharest soon. Fighting the flu this past week has hampered my progress.

Update 9/25/2011: The Bucharest Photos have now been added to the collection found HERE.

Update: I forgot to mention there are about 2 million people in Bucharest and 1.8 million cars. There are only “legal” parking spaces for about half the cars. Ever inch of curbside is used and often cars are parked on the sidewalks as well. It sounds chaotic and it is but the place has a charm. People, including the police, take it as simply a part of everyday life. I also noticed that almost all the cars are diesels.