The things you see when wandering around Bucharest

I have found myself in Bucuresti more times than I care to mention. I had thought that I would get more traveling in but I am exactly where you can't get there from here. It is a seven to ten hour train ride to almost anywhere and then you take a plane. It doesn't make for weekending unfortunately. Thus all of my traveling has been in-country. There is actually much to see in this tiny little country. Every hamlet has something of interest. I have also run into some interesting sites in Bucharest on my numerous trips to attend meetings and take care of business.

It is Friday after Thanksgiving. You would think there was no room for any more food but we are starved. We find a delightful little restaurant with just the right ambiance. The tea was excellent, served with individual tea caddies. It was easy to find as it is right underneath a humongous sign advertising my camera. I am not open for advertising usually but I will say that this little camera has been excellent for me. It is advertised for over three thousand lei. That is about twelve hundred dollars! I splurged on this camera but not even close to that much.

Then it was time to head out for the day. Geademus is the book exhibition. It was fabulous, but so was getting there. I took a taxi because I wasn't sure of the directions and it seemed a good idea. Note that I took this picture from the back seat. The crucifix is heaving itself back and forth as it hangs from the rear view mirror. We are traveling relatively fast and to make it a shorter trip, the driver turns onto the trolley track. Note that we are alone on the tracks so we make great time, but I really hope he knows the schedule well. We go two blocks before he turns off onto another thoroughfare. He took us over the trolley tracks, through several truck yards complete with moving traffic, around the back of the building to the exhibition. He said it was shorter – it certainly was more interesting.

After a great morning permeated with the smell of new books, I headed back to the hotel to drop them off. I was ready for a bu ride because books are too heavy to carry. Buses are quite clean here. I bought a ticket and hopped onto the first bus. I found myself talking to a delightful lady whose husband had spent time in the Romanian Embassy. Her favorite posting had been China and so we talked for three stops about her life there and the state of affairs in Romania today. It would not have been such a memorable discussion had traffic been moving, but it was forty-five minutes to go five or six blocks. She was a dear and so the time passed ever so quickly. I hopped onto another bus and found a seat this time. Camera at the ready I snapped these next few.

The blocks go forever. Row after endless row of them. Having been in a few of them, I know that insulation is iffy at best. Cold concrete is my experience. This year I notice some enterprising apartment dwellers have covered their windows with tin foil. It is hard to tell if it is the thin foil or the heavy duty from this distance. I can think of only a few reasons for it. Maybe it deflects the cold air – although it would also deflect the sun's warming rays. Maybe it keeps the blustery wind from hurtling through the cracks in the sealant and the windows themselves. Maybe they are better than tin foil hats and they are warding off an alien invasion. If that is the case, then we are safe as I saw quite a few windows like this today.

Amidst this rush of traffic, getting around can be an issue. I know I have been late now and again as it takes so much longer to get where I am going. There are two million people in Bucuresti and one million cars. Do the math. It is a slog during business hours. It lightens up after seven, but only a little. I wonder if some of these people don't have a flat and have to keep driving because they have nowhere to go. There are many beggars on the streets here as there are all over Romania. This one is rather enterprising. I notice he has a cane and a crutch attached to the back of his bike. He has a big cushy seat for comfort, but check out the mirror. His rear view mirror is bigger than the one on my car at home! I gather he must ride a long way to get to wherever he sets up shop everyday. As I am walking to the bus stop with all of my books in tow, he passed me up crossing the street. Maybe he was afraid he would get hit.

And as a last thought, it should be a cheery thought. It is Thanksgiving this weekend and so it must be on calendars worldwide that it is Toys for Tots weekend. There was a huge parade of motorcycles heading across our path. They were stopped at the light for us to pass. Even Santa was in on the ride. Maybe he was along to be sure everyone gets home safely. I have seen how some of these things go…