[for English version scroll down below photos]
Bucuresti – la prima vedere pare fix ceea ce este , un jeg de oras subdezvoltat haotic , unde balcanismul si tigania sunt la ele acasa , reprezentand cu mandrie romanii si Romania …. dar din pacate la noi in tara este singurul oras mare de tip metropola cu undeva la 2 milioane de locuitori , cifra care tinde spre 3 daca luam si flotantii si navetistii care vin ziua in oras din zonele alaturate , iar atmosfera de oras mare pur si simplu nu poate fi reprodusa. O masa atat de mare de oameni intotdeauna atrage idei si dezvoltare si fiind centru studentesc , politic si industrial , atrage si mult capital iar automat au aparut si unele zone frumoase , ingrijite , iar din haosul urbanistic rezultat dupa revolutie a iesit un peisaj interesant , in care blocurile comuniste gri stau langa conace franceze interbelice , care la randul lor uneori stau langa superbe imobile moderne facute cu gust.
Centrul vechi , sau ce a mai ramas din el , dupa ce a zacut in santier si noroaie multi multi…multi ani , a fost intr-un final renovat , modelul de piatra cubica ales e placut la vedere si se potriveste in decor cu restul imobilelor vechi ( nu ca in peninsula din Constanta!!) , si un mare plus pentru faptul ca toata zona este aproape in intregime pietonala , fapt ce a incurajat deschiderea numeroaselor baruri , puburi si cluburi. Diversitatea localurilor si implicit a oamenilor care le frecventeaza este impresionanta , la fel ca si in Cluj mai in fiecare seara a saptamanii se va gasi un loc de mers , un club de dansat sau un eveniment pe strada de genul concert , expozitie , meeting de straini , targ etc – de participat. Trebuie neaparat sa laud unele localuri de tip gradina/ cafenea printre care superbul local Eden , ce este un paradis verde in mijlocul orasului unde pur si simplu uiti ca esti in Bucuresti , sau cafe Verona , sau cafeneaua Alandala care este o casa tipica batraneasca cu curte transformata in ceva ciudat dar frumos , localuri care pur si simplu nu le vei gasi in kitchul Constantean.
Prin oras am observat ca desi nu se mai construieste ca in anii boom-ului imobiliar , ce se construieste nou , e facut cu un interes mult mai mare dpdv arhitectural , adica mai pe romaneste nu se mai da buleala absoluta in fuga dupa bani , iar unele zone si strazi chiar arata european. Mi-a placut mult zona si turnurile noi de pe langa Casa Presei , si Piata Victoriei si mai ales zona Pipera – Aurel Vlaicu unde s-a dezvoltat un amsamblu de turnuri office remarcabil , Skytower si mallul adiacent Promenada fiind in in frunte. Chiar si primaria merita laudata la unele faze , zonele renovate , ca de exemplu strada Nicolae Golescu din spatele Ateneului arata frumos rau ,finisajele alese pentru trotuare sunt cu gust , initiative de genul reducerea benzilor auto pe calea Victoriei in favoarea pietonilor ce merg pe trotuar sunt de laudat , iar numeroasele pasaje auto si pietonale noi sau renovate au mai curatat imaginea orasului. Nici parcurile imense nu dezamagesc , am apucat sa ma plimb prin Tineretului si pe langa Mogosoaia , frumos.
Ca sa nu laud prea mult , capitala are mult de lucru pana sa devina un oras european , tigania dupa cum ziceam mai devreme este in continuare la ea acasa , imediat cum te departezi putin de centru in orice alta directie decat Nord , apar bazarurile , comercianti ambulanti pe strazi si prin pasaje ( Cum dracu sa vinzi sosete si tigari de contrabanda la gura pasajului???? ) , baietii cu parcarea te invita si azi sa parchezi noaptea , la unirii dupa 2 noaptea se umple de tot felul de dubiosi aurolaci si drogati , mostenirea comunista predominata de un gri omniprezent in majoritatea orasului este la fel de urata , iar langa megalomania lui Ceausescu de la Casa Poporului este un alt santier megalomanic hidos al bisericii ortodoxe numit “Catedrala Mantuirii Neamului”. Problema e ca daca locuiesti acolo destul timp devii dependent de haosul si nebunia orasului , si cand te intorci acasa si vezi ca ajungi cu masina oriunde in oras in maxim jumatate de ora ti se pare ciudat rau. Astept si sper sa apuc odata in viata ziua cand se va dezvolta un alt oras mare in Romania , chiar mi-ar placea sa vad un Cluj cu macar un milion de locuitori si metrou , sa aibe si romanii termen de comparatie , dar nu stiu ce sanse sunt in viata asta.
Vezi alte calatorii / other trips : Busan , 40 days in Cluj Napoca , Hunedoara Castle ; Singapore 2013 , Brasov 02.2014 , Istanbul 01.2014 , Cluj Napoca 08.2013 , Sibiu 07.2013 , San Pedro , Bucharest 2013 , Varna 2012 , Los Angeles 2012 , Budapest & Viena , Salerno , Cluj Napoca 2012 , Firenze , Brasov 02.2012 , Amsterdam , Antofagasta , Valencia , Lima , Bremen , Istanbul 2009 , Valletta , San Juan , Barcelona , Singapore 2010 , Los Angeles 2010 , Transilvania road trip , La Spezia , Bosphor by ship , Sydney , Melbourne , Auckland , San Francisco , Tauranga
Alternative tourism: Detroit , Georgia , Burning gate of Turkmenistan , North Korea , Pripyat & the alienation zone , Nouadhibou graveyard
Alte orase din cealalta jumatate / How the other half lives : Karachi , Guayaquil , Lagos
[English version]
Bucharest – at first glance the city seems to be exactly what it is , which is an underdeveloped grime chaotic city , where the Balcanik atmosphere is at home, proudly representing Romanians and Romania …. but unfortunately in our country is the only big city , a real metropolis with a population of somewhere to 2 million people, a figure which tends to 3 if we count the temporary rezidents and commuters who come to the city from neighboring areas and such a big city atmosphere can not be reproduced. Because it is such a big student center, and the industrial and political capital of the country , attracts a lot capital and incidently some really beautiful areas flourished in the city , and from the resulting urban chaos after the revolution came an interesting landscape where the gray communist blocks sit next to clasical French mansions, which in turn sit next to modern buildings made with superb taste.
The old quarter of the city , or what‘s left of it , after it sat in a muddy renovation process for many many … many years, was finally renovated , the cobblestone pattern is particularly pleasing to the eye and fits in with the decor and the remaining old buildings (not like in that in the old quarter of Constanta!!), and a great bonus is the fact that the whole area is almost entirely pedestrian, which encouraged the opening of many bars, pubs and clubs. Premises and thus diversity of people attending them is impressive, just like in Cluj almost every evening of the week you will find a nice party , a dance club or a street event like concert, exhibition, expat meeting , fair, etc. – to participate. I really need to praise some out doors garden pubs , including the superb Eden Garden , which is a green paradise in the middle of town where just forget you’re in Bucharest, or the garden of Verona Cafe , or Alandala cafe – wich is basicly and old tipical house with a small garden , transformed in a weird cafe , such beautiful places that you simply can not find in the kitch of Constanta.
I noticed that although the city no longer builds like before during the real esteate boom , the few buildings that are now beeing built have a lot more interest from an architectural standpoint, which is really a great improvement in the investor mentality , thus resulting in some really nice new areas around the city that can compete with Europe. I liked the new towers besides the Casa Presei and Victoria Square and especially around Pipera – Aurel Vlaicu where has been developed a remarkable amsambly of office towers, Skytower and adjacent promenade mall leading the way for future developments. Even the mayor deserves praise in some cases , renovated areas such as Nicholas Street Golescu behind Athenaeum looks beautiful , the materials and design chosen for sidewalks are of good quality , initiatives like reducing car lanes on Calea Victoriei in favor of pedestrians walking space on the sidewalk are praised, and many car and pedestrian passages new or renovated cleaned the image of the city. Also the city’s huge parks do not disappoint, I got to walk through the Tineretului Parc and also around Mogosoaia and I was trully impressed.
I will not praise the capital to much , because there is still a lot of work to become a European city, because as soon you leave the central area and go in any direction except North , you will find the bazaars, shaddy figures , merchants strolling on the streets and passages (How the hell to sell socks and contraband cigarettes at entrance of the passage??), the illegal parking boys still invite you to park at night for a fee ,after 2 am Unirii square filles up with all sorts of dubious people , homeless and drug addicts ; the communist architectural legacy predominantly gray is still in most of the city and now next to Ceausescu’s megalomania near the House of the People is another megalomaniac hideous construction site of the Orthodox Church called “Salvation Cathedral”. The problem is that if you live there long enough you become addicted to the chaos , fast pace and madness of the city, and when you come home and see that you get with the car anywhere in the city in less than half an hour seems odd . I am waiting and I hope to see once in my lifetime the day it when another large city will develop in Romania, I would really like to see an Cluj with a million inhabitants and a metro, so that Romanians will a reference for comparison, but I do not think there are many chances in this life.
Vezi alte calatorii / other trips : Busan , 40 days in Cluj Napoca , Hunedoara Castle ; Singapore 2013 , Brasov 02.2014 , Istanbul 01.2014 , Cluj Napoca 08.2013 , Sibiu 07.2013 , San Pedro , Bucharest 2013 , Varna 2012 , Los Angeles 2012 , Budapest & Viena , Salerno , Cluj Napoca 2012 , Firenze , Brasov 02.2012 , Amsterdam , Antofagasta , Valencia , Lima , Bremen , Istanbul 2009 , Valletta , San Juan , Barcelona , Singapore 2010 , Los Angeles 2010 , Transilvania road trip , La Spezia , Bosphor by ship , Sydney , Melbourne , Auckland , San Francisco , Tauranga
Alternative tourism: Detroit , Georgia , Burning gate of Turkmenistan , North Korea , Pripyat & the alienation zone , Nouadhibou graveyard
Alte orase din cealalta jumatate / How the other half lives : Karachi , Guayaquil , Lagos
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