Bucharest : A walking tour

Inside The Russian Orthodox Church

1. Our tour guide Mikhale
Robert (New York)
 Andrew (Austrailia)

To get an overview of Bucharest and to find recommendations for things to do and see, Beth suggested participating in the Bucharest Free Walking Tour since it had the highest ranking by Trip Advisor. The walking tour also offered an excellent opportunity to learn a bit of the history of the area that is sadly lacking from both Beth’s and Rob’s knowledge.

Mikhale, the tour guide, was a university student from Bucharest and was able to offer the main points for the Canadian Idiot’s Guide to Romanian history, which largely focused on the more recent history of communism and the rebellion.  It was apparent to Rob and Beth that Western Europe’s focus on the two world wars is largely overshadowed in Eastern Europe by the more recent consequences of communism. It often became a point of conversation when talking with local citizens, not just our tour guide.  Both Patricia, our host, and Michael, our guide, offered their personal accounts of events although they were children at the time of the rebellion.

2. The Palace of Business Consortium 

3. Another Orthodox church

The two places of great interest in Bucharest are Revolution Square and University Square. These places are marked with beautiful monuments to commemorate memorable events that lead the Romanians into a revolution that resulted in the removal of the Communist party leader Nicolae Ceaușescu.  Ceaușescu is remembered by Romanians as the leader that spent the country into debt building tremendous monuments to celebrate himself and communism.  To this day, immense fountains lay dry and deteriorating from lack of funds for upkeep.  Additionally, the communists built immense buildings to represent the strength of their party.  As such, Bucharest is home to the second largest building in the world in surface area (after the Pentagon) that, due to the cost, has only two of the six plus floors completed. Today it is used as the national assembly.  To obtain the land required for this palace the communist party evicted over 40 000 citizens from their homes.  Because it was difficult finding homes to house their dogs many were let free to roam which has grown to the community of dogs present today.

5. Memorial crosses

4. Street at University Square

It was at University Square where Beth and Rob sat to watch one citizen proudly wave the Romanian flag among the ten crosses that stand in the midst of traffic. This was his way to commemorate the 1989 attacks Ceaușescu government made on protesting students and to keep their memory alive.  Attacks, he said, resulted in the loss some of his family members.

6. Revolution Square

Not far from University Square the tour lead us to Revolution Square where the controversial monument stands across the Palace of Carol I, the first Emperor of Romania.  The monument to some locals is satirically called, ‘Potato on a Stick’.  Beside the monument stands two walls of names that list the thousand or so Romanians that died during the revolution.  This is where the tanks rolled into the masses and soldiers fired on civilians as the revolt to overthrow Communism begun. Ceaușescu escaped by fleeing in a helicopter when he saw many of the tanks turn and point their weapons at the soldiers instead of the students.  Unfortunately, many lives were lost due to ‘friendly fire’. 

7. Russian Orthodox Church

Although our guide and our host were only a couple years old when they talked about the rebellion, you can see that this terrible history has left a mark on them.  Patricia remembers being on her balcony when her grandfather said to her mother, “Bring the child in.  I have to shoot now.”