See the hot spots around The Balkans In 60 Days - Stop 27 Bucharest, Romania

21-22/9/2018 and 25-27/9/2018 From Varna in Bulgaria, I would take the train, for a change, to get to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, about 6 hours away. It was a Friday when I arrived. The old town was abuzz with party goers and the night owls. Every bar and place of fun blared out the loudest, earth-shattering, and fast tempo music possible. The air was vibrating with sound waves, the old cobbled stones under my feet were shaking loose. Bucharest seemed in a hurry to max out their lives.

Romania is seldom on the front-page news often, but when it does, it will be remembered. I was a young man when I heard of that bloody day. It was a Christmas day but the people were angry, they smelled blood. They executed their then communistic leader and wife, to end communism and ushered in European-styled democracy. Over the years I have heard about gypsies, Dracula, wild brown bears. So my fertile imagination conjures up the grey image I had of Romania, not negatively but of dark thrills. But of the partying Romanian, it is not, by any stretch of my imagination.

I had one of my most cleansing moments in life in Union Square in central Bucharest. This fountain square was 1.4km long! The hot summer sun and the blue sky brought us closer to the water; so near that we could touch and be refreshed. It was clear, it needed no coloring. Water danced to the tune of music and leaped for joy. It was so alive, it wanted to be a part of the summer. I walked into a symphony of water, choreographed to perform like an orchestra. Yet, the sound of water needed no melody. It spoke to me like raindrops, cajoling me to take it easy and chill.

In the old town, old buildings that represent the Romanian past continue to catch my eyes. They looked majestic despite their age, many wearing crowns on their tops, painted in grey, flanked by grey tile roofs. On a dark and low cloudy day, they looked particularly grave and somber. Dracula started to fire up my imagination.

These old buildings make us reminisce about the unfortunate past. But the Romanians are finding their newfound love for life. I could hear them singing:

I want to break free,

God knows, God knows I want to break free,

I’ve got to break free, I want to break free, Yeah.

I want, I want, I want, I want to break freeeeeeeeeee……….

Union Square, world longest choreographed fountain system

The most famous, or infamous, building in Romania is the Palace of Parliament, the seat of the Parliament of Romania. It looks so …. BIIIIIIG. It was impressively white and like a big elephant. Is it a monstrosity or a majestic impressive man-made marvel? I struggled to find an appropriate word. The is the world’s second-largest administrative building, second only to the Pentagon in the US. Perched on an elevation, it looked even more imposing; to watch over the people, or some critics claimed, to lord over them.

Inside the Palace of Parliament — Palace of Parliament, Bucharest

I spent the last 2 days of this long trip in Bucharest. It was a wonderful place to end it. No one treated me any differently than the next person, though I look and pride myself on being different. I jostled with the crowd in a tiny crowded pizza shop for some pizza, like one of their own. I also sat down to savor the short trip to heaven with one of the best desserts on offer. I went to bed feeling satisfied.

I have been exploring 11 countries around the Balkans for close to 2 months now. I have seen the beautiful mountains and lakes, enjoyed the sun ad beaches, breathed the refreshing air of freedom. But I have also felt the negative energy. This region is the birthplace of the first world war, the ethnic and regional conflict that erupted as recently as the ’90s, and the still-simmering tension among some countries.

I have seen so much, felt so much on this trip. The emotions changed with each new location and country. This was a journey into the deepest recess of a human soul.