Wallachia
The final leg of our trip was travelling straight through the southern region of Wallachia to reach the capital, Bucharest. I felt through our very brief visit that this was a city that has tried to overcome some sort of inferiority complex, particularly since WWII. It has tried to have grander buildings & boulevards & vistas than most other European cities. Its efforts have mostly come to grief or are now sadly dilapidated. The most obvious example is the Ceausescu-initiated folly of the People’s House. This white elephant helped to depose the dictator due to its enormous cost which the country simply could not afford. It’s not even particularly interesting to look at.
There is a massive plaza facing the People’s House which is now just an underused, dowdy carpark.
In our drive round some of the sites we passed the newly opened National Cathedral. Unfortunately closed when some of our group tried to visit it. They missed seeing the largest organs, biggest bells & most massive this & that, etc. in this new bombastic building. Somehow such structures built solely to impress leave me cold & bring to mind the expression of having all the charm of a flatulent hippo!
In the free afternoon we had a guided walk through the centre of Bucharest. The city had been very grand in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However certainly since WWII its fortunes have been very mixed.
A brief stroll through the centre of Bucharest
The Central Committee Building
This 1930’s building was the headquarters of the Romanian Communist Party when it became a key location of the Romanian Revolution overthrowing the Communist regime. It is famously known as the site where Nicolae Ceaușescu delivered his last speech on 21st December 1989, attempting to assert control over the crowd, which quickly turned against him, marking the beginning of the revolution that ended his regime. The following day, Ceaușescu and his wife fled the building by helicopter from the roof, an iconic moment in Romanian history. Three days later they were executed. All these events were recorded and are available to view on the internet. Because of trees & other structures now in front of the building, I couldn’t get a good picture of the whole of the front of the building.
This low monument points to the balcony in which Ceaușescu gave his last speech.
The Memorial of Rebirth is a 25-meter white marble obelisk commemorating the victims of the 1989 revolution. Nicknamed the Potato Memorial – for good reason.
The Romanian Athenaeum
This 19th century neoclassical concert hall is one of the main landmarks of the city. Recognized as a symbol of Romanian culture, the building has been inscribed in 2007 on the list of the Label of European Heritage sites.
At our group’s final meal
Robert, Fiona, Ali, Margaret, Ali, Ishrat, Claudia, Richard, Penny, our guide Alina , Ann & me