One Day in Bucharest

After flying more hours, with more layovers and more miles than planned, I finally arrived at the Rembrandt Hotel in the historic district of Bucharest.  The last time I was here, the skies were gray and the streets were snowy.  It was nice to see sunny skies and outdoor cafes stretching along the brick streets. 

The Rembrandt Hotel is very small.  In fact, it is so small that only one person and one suitcase can fit in the elevator;  that meant three trips just to get my bags to my room.   My duffle bag, packed with 50 pounds of English books and language games, does not have wheels.  The street is closed off to cars, so my poor driver had to carry it all the way down the street  (read:  nice tip for him).  Here’s a snapshot of the hotel and outdoor café.

Me, Adriana, Raluca 

I had a lovely dinner with Adriana Tontsch, founder and president of ARSBH (Asociatia Romana Spina Bifida si Hidrocefalie) and Raluca Liculescu (works in the ARSBH office in Bucharest).  We walked to a nearby “beer garden”.  We talked a lot about their work, which is primarily providing shunts for children with hydrocephalus (which often accompanies spina bifida).  They also provide education to the community, organize parent support groups, and try to persuade doctors to refer these children to neurosurgeons for treatment.   Even in the medical community, there exists a pervasive thinking that these children are not worth saving, and they often get no surgical intervention whatsoever (like our dear little Andrei). 

Entertainment at the Beer Garden

Sunday morning, we started out early for Snagov Monastery.   The monastery was founded in the 14^th century on a small island in the middle of a lake.  It is still used as a monastery today, but only four monks live there.  It seems completely incongruous, but this is one of the sites where Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula) tortured and killed criminals and prisoners of war.  I almost lost my breakfast listening to our tour guide describe how victims were “impaled”.

Church at Snagov Monastery, with Adriana Tontsch

The Orthodox Church at the monastery was simply beautiful.  Every square inch inside was painted with saints’ portraits and religious scenes.   (Sorry, but I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside).  In front of the altar is the honorific tomb of Vlad the Impaler.   In recent times, when archaeologists dug up the tomb they found a nobleman’s rich clothing, but horse bones rather than human bones.   It is thought that he is buried somewhere else on the island since he requested he buried at the monastery, but that the exact location was kept secret to protect it from vandalism, and the location in the church is a decoy.

Painted egg at the Monastery

There are animals at the monastery that the monks care for.  One large, particularly aggressive turkey followed us everywhere.   I think he just wanted to be in all the pictures we took.

 

After a relaxing coffee break, our next stop was the Parliament Palace.  The Communist Dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, began its construction as his Presidential Palace, but he was overthrown (and killed) before it was completed.  It is the second largest building in the world (the largest is the Pentagon).  I can only imagine the size of the ego that would bulldoze 1/6 of Bucharest, displacing thousands of people, to have such a monstrosity built.   Some people say he was mad with power, and I could easily believe it. 

Inside Parliament Palace, just one of 1,100 rooms

Location of Nadia Comenici's wedding reception

The palace is one mammoth marbe and crystal room after another (1,100 of them).  For the engineers among us, it contains one million cubic meters of marble, 550,000 tons of cement, 700,000 tons of steel, and 3,500 tons of crystal.   The main ballroom (where Nadia Comenici held her wedding reception) is large enough to land a helicopter.

With tour guide, Diana, outside Parliament Palace

 A large, marble balcony overlooks the center of Bucharest.  Ceausescu intended this as his stage for public addresses.  He never stepped out on it.   Only one person has ever made a public speech from this spot.  Who was it?  Would you believe ... Michael Jackson.  He made an appearance here during a concert in Bucharest.

I left Bucharest Sunday evening for the four-hour drive to Barlad.  This is where the real reason for my trip, helping Global Volunteers care for the disabled abandoned/orphaned children, will begin.