Having dumped our bags we headed off for a quick explore. By now it was gone 1630 and the tourist info office was closed, so we just wandered around and found a few things Ian had already researched.
The Romanian Athenaeum Concert Hall
Statue of King Carol I, first king and founder of the Romania Dynasty in front of the Central University Library. Under his reign (1866-1914) the country gained independence from the Ottoman Empire.
This is officially called the Memorial of Rebirth but is commonly referred to as "the potato on a stick" . It honours the victims of the 1989 revolution when communism was overthrown. I was too lazy to walk around it which was a mistake as I subsequently discovered that on the far side there are several statues representing the shadows of the people who wanted freedom and democracy. The rounded, nest-like structure the pyramid skewers is meant to represent the martyrs’ sacrifices.
This statue is of former Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu and depicts a broken man with an unbreakable spirit. He served several terms in the 1920-30s and was considered a great and honest liberal democrat. Sadly under Communism he spent his final years in a bleak prison where he froze to death and his body was thrown into an unmarked, mass grave.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (founding father of the Republic of Turkey) but no idea why he's being commemorated here.
We came across this alleyway full of umbrellas.
Originally built to link the National Bank of Romania with the main Calea Victoriei, this restaurant/shopping arcade rather reminded me of London's Leadenhall Market
Probably the nearest I'll get to taking someone in traditional dress.
We then wandered through the old town but apart from bars and restaurants there was very little to photograph and clearly many of the quaint and picturesque buildings & streets described in our guide book had been modernised since it was written. Also I hadn't yet got the measure of the locals so was unsure how my camera would be greeted.
By now we were flagging a bit and decided to try and find the Palace of Parliament. Not my image, obviously, as it's an aerial shot).
You would think a building so huge would be easy to find, but not at ground level! We asked numerous people who were keen to help but sent us in varying directions. Eventually we followed one chap's directions (turn left in 100metres, he said, whilst simultaneously pointing right) And sure enough we found it, although with the setting sun behind it was incredibly hard to photograph.
Built by Nicolae Ceausescu, it is the heaviest building in the world (and the second largest after the Pentagon).
It is an immense structure that took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build, and cost billions. It has 12 storeys, 1,100 rooms, a 328 ft-long lobby, and four underground levels including an enormous nuclear bunker. Started in 1984, the dictator intended it to be the headquarters of his Communist Government, but it was still unfinished when he was executed in 1989. Today it houses the seat of Romania’s Parliament and is an international conference centre. Widely viewed as a personification of Ceausescu's obsession with grandiose things and actions, the construction entailed the demolition of a quarter of Bucharest’s historic centre, including 26 churches, and the relocation of 40,000 inhabitants from their 19th-century homes to new developments on the outskirts. Built and furnished exclusively from Romanian materials, the building reflects the work of the country’s best artisans.
By now we were pretty tired and so made the 30 min walk back to our hotel with the intention of eating in their small restaurant. But when we got there it was completely empty and we didn't fancy being the only exhibits so we set off out again. We stopped for a beer at one of the many street side bars, all playing loud music and watched the world go by. By the time we'd finished the beers we were rather full and didn't particularly fancy much to eat, so Ian settled for a take-away pizza and we headed for bed.