My sixth little trip of the year took me over some old ground in Budapest, Bucharest and Istanbul. As such I don’t have too much to say, or too many pictures to post, but the few I did take can be found on the following link - https://picasaweb.google.com/114797827300111691155/BudapestBucharestIstanbulOctober2011
The Danube, Budapest
If I’ve only got a weekend in a place I do like going somewhere I know and like, I tend to linger when I travel so being in Budapest for the 4th time meant I didn’t have to rush around seeing sights and consulting maps – but take things at a more relaxed pace and do my own thing. I always try and do something a bit different when I go somewhere I have already been, and this time it was a trip to see the ballet at the State Opera House, any readers who know me will probably be thinking something along the lines of “WTF”, so I’ll have to confess to a bit of an ulterior motive in the shape of Natalie from New York and, to be honest, the production of Gisele wasn’t that bad – although I doubt I’ll rush to the ballet again, it was certainly an experience.
Bucharest, Arc de Triumph
Bucharest is a place I’d spent a mere six hours in back in cold, wet February 2007 and I decided that I’d give it another chance and that it would be more suited to the late summer we’ve been granted by mother nature this October. It was certainly a more pleasant experience this time round – the stray dog situation is a lot better than it was and the gyppos (I believe that’s the PC term) aren’t as omnipresent as they were almost five years ago (a lot of them are over here judging by a stroll through Bradford City Centre) so this visit was hassle free, though it doesn’t change the fact that the city itself isn’t that great and devoid of many attractions after the commies had their way with it - when a hostel carries leaflets for erotic massage you kinda guess there aren’t that many attractions they can refer you to. I did however stumble across Lake Herastrau, and it’s surrounding park (complete with bizarre Michael Jackson tribute) and I was able to while away a day wandering around there, with regular stops for beer.
Istanbul, Bosphorus views
Last, but not least was my third trip to Istanbul, which has now cemented it’s place in my “top three cities I’ve been to” list, behind Madrid and Buenos Aires. It’s such a big place with so many sights and contrasting suburbs that I could probably spend a fortnight here and not be bored. I managed to luck into a ticket for the Turkey/Germany Euro 2012 qualifier when a German guy I met in the hostel bar had to give up on his friend whose flight from Germany had been delayed, and that was a great experience with the expected fantastic atmosphere topped off by seeing a very impressive young German team in the flesh – though the least said about the karaoke bar I ended up in until 4am with a group of German fans the better! By day I explored a couple of lesser visited suburbs on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus (Kadikoy and Uskudar), and spent a very pleasant evening in Ortakoy, an up and coming arty suburb on the European side. The one disappointment of the trip was setting out with an American girl to find the cartoon museum, only to eventually find it closed for renovation, it wasn’t a total waste though – we managed to stumble upon a restaurant and had a rather pleasant long lunch for a pittance. Of course the fact my mission to find the museum failed means I’ll have to head back at some point!
Hey there!
Nice post I must admit.
It seems that you had a great time.
Personally I live in Bucharest and I`ve been living here for an year now and another year about 3 years ago. Although I am not a very big fan of my country in general and there are indeed a lot of places we should improve, I can not help but not agree with you about Bucharest.
It is true that the communist mark is ever present within the city and around the country like a plague that hasn’t gone away not even after 20 years. But Romania in general and Bucharest in particular have improved. Besides the things you mentioned regarding the stray dogs and the gyppos, Bucharest as a whole evolved a bit the last few years. Not enough mind you considering the fact the both Bucharest and Budapest were in a runt at the end of the communist era, but look at Budapest now (it seems us Romanian just lack the determination and power to make our country better). The difference is staggering between the 2 cities.
Regardless I must insist on the fact that there are a whole lot of things you can do and visit when in Bucharest. There are a lot of great museums and theatres that have great plays. If you are in the whole mall scene (personally I am not) we have a lot of those too. But the best part is the bars clubs and caffes around the down town area. If and when you return here, do a bit more exploring. You might be surprised on what you will find out. I recommend the Valley of Kings if you are into oriental culture. It is a small alley with 2 entrances one on Victoria Way one that exits in the Lipscani area of down town filled with places you can enjoy hookahs and have a great time. Also there are some great sights to see in the down town area, though most of the city has nothing to offer on the respect.
Thank you for reading this lengthily comment. Next time in Bucharest spread your wings some more!
Comment by bogdangrigore89 — October 21, 2011 @ 3:23 pm
Thanks for your comment. Bucharest was only really a short stop-over on this trip and I don’t want to pretend I tried to do everything there is to do in the city, I did visit the National Art museum which was impressive but on this visit my main focus was just to relax, and not rush around too much, which is why I spent so much time in the parks. Bucharest is definitely improving as a city judging from my first visit, I just hope that they don’t build too many shopping malls and that it does retain, and develop, more of it’s own unique character.
Comment by Asim — October 21, 2011 @ 9:51 pm