A classical Romanian Tale

A classical tale through Bucharest in Romania

Bucharest – the capital of Romania is a city at the juxtaposition of old , classical , with neo and contemporary. From the architecture to the people to the food, just about everything can be described in the above phrase. Of course, Romania if far more than Bucharest and the actual traditional Romania , with all its beautiful landscapes and world famous castles and Shrines. Unfortunately my trip being more of a work trip, took me to only Bucharest leaving me no time to explore other parts. Here is a bit about my experience of Bucharest. As you land you see vast fields and agricultural lands with orchards and plantations, a testimony to the fact that Bucharest Is still largely agro driven economically. In between are fairy tale like hamlets with red roof tops and chimneys with smoke billowing. Henri Coanda airport at Otopeni is one of the probably smallest international airports I’ve seen. With just one terminal and 4 baggage belts , I think I’ve probably said much. However the airport does handle a lot of traffic especially from other eastern European countries like Poland, Netherlands, Germany etc. The airport does have a small but self sufficient duty free section with pretty amazing prices and deals actually on chocolates, wines, various types of local cheese etc.

In terms of seeing around , I sat on a hop on hop off , which was very convenient as much as useful and value for money. At 25 Lei (Roughly 6 USD), the tour takes you around the city in 2 hours to see the important sights. Be sure to spot and click the parliament house, it’s the second largest government structure in the world only after the Pentagon. The tour typically ends at the King Michael I park , the largest Urban park in Europe, where you can sit by the lake and enjoy the cool breeze, birds or sip on a wine and some authentic local cuisine at one of the lakeside restaurants. The famed “Beautiful by the lake” restaurant is located here.

Where to eat ?

Lots of food stalls across the city, though restaurants are more popular amongst the locals and tourists alike. Many restaurants dishing local cuisine and from the region are scattered across the city. Try “Caru cu Bere” for authentic Romanian cuisine and wine and do not miss their famous preparation of the local dessert Papanasi

What to buy ?

Since Wine and Cheese and characteristic of Romanian cuisine and popular do be sure to pick up some at the duty free if time didn’t permit in the city. One traditional authentic Romanian wine is Palinka , a plum wine that’s really strong (60%vv). Its locally had as shots and not sipped slowly as opposed to other red or white wines. It’s a little steep when bought in small quantities at souvenir shops so you might want to consider buying it at a store wholesale. But however you purchase it , a good purchase to make. Other stuff to buy would be traditional Romanian textiles like scarves, bags , and handicrafts made of wood.