Phoenicia Grand Bucharest

... br>(on the Travel&Living Channel, Anthony Bourdain) made a mess in all
the viewers' heads.

Long story short: this is where the civilized West meets with the adaptive South East.

Yes, we do tolerate and house the gypsies (rroms) within our boarders!

NO, they are not Romanians!



Yes, we do have an amazing country (I can honestly say that, because I
believe that based on experiences ...

... br> "Why are we chuckling, it's not funny, Why?" We both said that while we chuckled. I think we were chuckling because of what happened. The whole fuss in the morning and thinking that we made it on-time but we didn't. It was so extreme that we just had to enjoy one last laugh before the rest of the day. Haha

The three girls came to meet us at the cafe in the airport and we used the computer to see if there was another flight for cheap. Magda was, again, stressed but calm ...

... into the building and him and his wife later fled by helicopter as the police and army murdered people in the streets. The army, probably at the order of power hungry politicians wishing to take charge for themselves (the next government was only slightly better than old Nick's), would itself join the revolution within a day. Ceausescu was captured and dragged before a court the next day. Reading the transcripts of the trial you can tell that even his defence ...

... moment. The dinner continued with fantastic meat grill and ended with Turkish pudding and Turkish coffee. We have definitely been spoiled... amazingly spoiled. Before going to bed we all wanted to visit Camelia's flat! And so... we had the last chat before going to bed in her appartment in central Bucharest. Thanks Camelia for taking care of us.. you're the nicest tax-advisor we've ever met! ;-) Good Night

... eight bus stops away. Thus far I have seen her elementary school, her high school, her university, the primary school where she now teaches, and the call center where she has her second job, all within an hour's distance of her home. I have ridden the crowded buses and walked aroudn the neighborhood park. I have seen the opera house, at least from the outside, and bought tickets to see a ballet a few nights from now. I have seen the Piazza Roma, with its statue of those famous ...

... So, we ditched that plan and just took the highway into town. The drivers were exceptionally patient with us even through the construction. Having watched Romanians drive for a bit, I was worried. Bucharest is a strange blend of western architecture and Ceausescu's architecture. Ceausescu's being the Stalinist dictator for the second half of the 20th century and was the reason for the '89 revelation. All of this I ...

... the hotel, strapped into the backpack, to the Metro (which, if I do say so with some pride, I navigated quite well) to the train station. I was early, and sat and watched people. I think I might have liked Romania a little more if I hadn't let the travel books get to me- it's a sad place to be sure. I never heard a single person laugh the entire time I was here. Economically its in bad shape and trying to get into the EU. The capitol city is falling down. But I might have found ...

... and humid, especially evident in this building. Air-con was not anticiapted during the initial planning and the humidity is already starting to have it effects. From the palace you can walk down the boulevard to Unrii Square, passing numerous small fountains in in the centre of the road, coming at last to a large cluster of fountains set about in a concentric pattern at the square. A shopping complex has formed on one side of the square. Large billboards atop ...

... the stage, but as it was raining, the square was almost deserted and we snuck up to the front row. We spent the next hour screaming along to "Torn", "Big Mistake", "Shiver", and a whole range of songs that we didn't know but pretended to anyway. We put little Australian stickers on our cheeks (we ran out eventually so Chris got an Aboriginal flag instead) and I waved a matchbox-sized flag above our heads as we bopped about with some ...

... nicht dem Erdboden gleichgemacht hatte, die Kaetzchen und Haeschen und Computerspiele, die auf den Strassen verkauft werden, die Busfahrer, die 5 Minuten hupen, bis der Blockierer Platz machten, dann halten, und ihm aufs Auto spucken, und von ihm verfolgt werden - gute Laune ueberall. Ganz im Ernst, ganz normal is das nich. Aber wer will schon normal. Rumaenien ist wirklich wert, entdeckt zu werden. Aber lasst die Wertsachen zu Haus ;) Noroc de la Bucuresti (sprich Bukurescht), Martin