Every Sunday morning is host to a walk through the city center. Every Sunday I walk almost the same route, with small detours but ending in the same place, an old monastery that has stood for over three hundred years in the middle of Bucharest, in the so-called old center.
You may think I'm exaggerating when I say "every Sunday" but I'm not. I accompany my wife to the religious ceremony at the Stavropoleus monastery church. If a few years ago this didn't happen every week, now, because I am rewarded with a good coffee at our favorite coffee shop next to the monastery, I don't resist anymore. My wife has conquered and brought me back to the holy...
Why photo reportage? Simple, because I will rely mostly on photos in my reporting. I love to photograph and a photo, even if it doesn't say more than a thousand words, can say more than I could write.
Victory Avenue
The journey in my city or rather the journey to my destination starts at home, of course, but it becomes relevant and, I hope, interesting, at some point. That moment, or place, is always a certain part of the avenue I love the most and think is the most beautiful in the city, Victory Avenue.
On weekends, this boulevard becomes forbidden for cars and this is an extra asset to be chosen to make a trip, commute or walk, without the disturbance and pollution produced by the thousands of vehicles that pass through there on weekdays.
Sunday mornings are magical because most of the city's inhabitants are resting at home and few, like me, go out on the streets. To see this almost deserted place is one of my pleasures as a city dweller!
Not to mention my wife's joy in looking in peace at the shop windows, and my inner peace that these shops are closed on Sundays!
I like the reflections in shop windows better. The big mirrors in which the glass of the shop windows turn into let you see what's on the opposite side and the author. Prove that it's not artificial intelligence...not even natural intelligence.
The few passers-by are resting and seeking coolness in the shade of trees and churches. I forgot to say it's very hot.
I saw an angel walking around with his wife and child but I think I'm wrong, there's no such thing. I was confused when I saw he was wearing wings!
The beautiful boulevard arrives at its first stop, in a square, perhaps the most important and historical square. Revolution Square.
Revolution Square.
This square has seen a lot. Previously it was called Palace Square, then Republic Square, depending on the form of government of the country.
I knew it as the Palace Square because this is where the former Royal Palace, now the Art Museum, is located.
In front of the royal palace stands the equestrian statue of Carol I, the first and most important king of Romania, the one "responsible" for the country's modernization, starting with the second half of the 19th century.
The most beautiful building in this square, and perhaps in Bucharest, is the Athenaeum. Something is happening here that I don't like at all. In front of the Athenaeum is the parking lot of a big hotel and I think that's not where it belongs.
In another part of the square, there is a 400-year-old church, Kretulescu church, and next to it the old headquarters of the communist Securitate on which there is a banner of the most famous festival in Romania, Untold. I see Lenny Kravitz is coming this year!
Another few hundred meters to another interesting point of this trail. The walkers have multiplied...
Victory Avenue Again
The model for city modernization was the French model, the architecture and customs of Paris were copied, and Bucharest was called "Little Paris" in the interwar period. Not anymore!
Here is the Palace of Telephones, the tallest building in Bucharest of 1930, built with American technology. At the end of World War II, the Germans tried to bomb this building but failed and destroyed the National Theater building nearby.
The Novotel Hotel built here faces the reconstructed entrance of the old theater building.
Another avenue, Elizabeth, intersects Victory Avenue. It's also an avenue with most of the buildings built at the turn of the last century. I get the same eerie feeling when I see these boulevards empty of cars... and people!
One can easily notice that many buildings are covered by scaffolding and protected because consolidation and renovation works are being carried out.
This has been going on for many years and I hope to see it completed as soon as possible so that the city can regain the beautiful image of the past.
A few more steps and I'll reach the first destination, which is my wife's favorite destination.
The phone must be turned off because it would be a tragedy if he called the church...
The service was held in the inner courtyard of the monastery.
Stavropoleous Monastery
After the religious part passes, a happy wife has to turn on the phone. We can't live without communication with others far away.
National Bank of Romania Area
Then a short walk in the central area of the old city center, around the headquarters of the National Bank of Romania, and near the Dacia Palace, where the famous Art Safary exhibitions are hosted.
I can finally see my reward. The Coffee Shop, our favorite little coffee shop!
The Coffee Shop
Waiting for the coffee (we prefer cappuccino), for the first time sitting on the chairs after many hours of walking on the streets and other hours attending the religious service, we do what we like a lot. Looking out the cafe window and watching the passers-by, mostly foreign tourists.
Because at weekends the city center is busy with foreign tourists and the people speak Italian, Spanish, and German.
I have written about this boulevard as I see it and I see it differently every trip I make in this area. I wrote because it is one of the well-known areas of the city, where all the tourists come. After all, it is full of restaurants, terraces, and cafes and is the most promoted.
I doubt that foreign tourists come to Bucharest to see what I like to see. I mean the architecture of old buildings. I think Western tourists are attracted primarily because of lower costs, lower prices, cheap booze, and beautiful girls... but dangerous!
