Bucharest, Romania

I decided to squeeze in one last chaotic weekend trip! This time, Tori and I headed to Romania! We flew out of Luton on Friday night, which is never fun, Luton is my least favourite London airport, but to make matters worse, our flight was delayed. We were already meant to land in Bucharest quite late, but with the delays/time change, we landed around 2:30 am. We took a Bolt from the airport to our hostel, which was super easy, and we checked in and headed to bed. 

We stayed at T5 Social Hostel, which I would 100% recommend if you ever find yourself in Bucharest. It is super nice, clean, social and friendly. They have daily events where Romanian locals join in, and they have a stunning garden/bar area. The beds are also exceptionally comfy!

We slept in a little on Saturday morning as we were exhausted. When we got up, we got ready and walked down the street to a little corner shop. We got some fresh cherries and some bottles of water. I couldn't believe the prices! It costs the equivalent of 70 pence for a 1.5 L bottle of water and £1 for a bag of delicious cherries. We had planned to go hiking, so we got a Bolt to the Bucharest North Train Station, which was also very cheap. We couldn't resist stopping for some delicious-looking pastries. We then tried to figure out how to buy a train ticket but had trouble with train times and availability. I tried researching online ahead of time, but the timetable led me astray. The next possible train for us to take to get to Busteni wasn't until 12:57 pm. We had a few moments of stress and weren't sure what to do. We found a lovely lady that helped us book a return trip, and then we went and sat at So! Coffee and chatted and drank coffee and ate pastries until our train time. On the train, we met the most lovely American lady and talked with her for a 1-hour, 40-minute journey.

When we arrived in Busteni, we were in awe. It is an adorable little mountain town that gave me Austria/Switzerland vibes. We grabbed some hiking snacks and set off for the mountains with minimal plans. We hiked a portion of the Jeppi Mici trail in the Bucegi Mountains in the national park. We began our hike at 3 pm, and the whole thing took us about 4 hours total. There were barely any other people heading up at that time of day, but we ran into a few people later on our way down. It was one of the most stunning hikes I have ever been on. We saw lots of flowers and waterfalls; it was so peaceful. It was quite a challenging hike with a high elevation gain; we climbed straight up and down. I felt so accomplished at the end. We had many good conversations, enjoyed the wonderful views, and enjoyed our time in nature. We filled our bottles with fresh, crisp water from a waterfall and even saw snow! Coming down was tough; by then, my knees and hips were aching from the climbing and the steep angles. We didn't take rest breaks because we were so short on time after the issues we had with the trains. We reached the bottom and found the cutest restaurant, called Restaurant Pizzeria Alicia, for dinner. The people were so friendly, the food was fantastic, and the prices were phenomenal.... £1.72 for a beer. Pizza seems to be very popular in Romania, and it looks delicious. Tori and I shared a pizza and a traditional Romanian dish that I forget the name of. It had tasty pork and sausages in oil, polenta, and salad! After the wonderful dinner, we returned to the train station and returned to our hostel in Bucharest. We hung out in the garden area, chatted with people, had a drink, and then went to bed.

We grabbed some delicious pastries on Sunday morning and headed to the meeting point for our 3-hour walking tour. It was fantastic. We visited the beautiful Church of St. George, a Romanian Orthodox church. We got to witness part of the Sunday service, which typically runs for 3-4 hours each week; there is nowhere to sit, so people stand the whole time. I learned that body parts are scattered throughout the churches in Romania, and many are on display; for example, there is a full hand on display in this church. The majority of people in Romania are very religious. We wandered through Old Town and learned that it is known for being haunted, specifically in a spot where there used to be a prison and the prisoners were burned. We saw a Saint Anthony Church, which is known as a real-life Tinder. People go there to pray to St. Anton for love. Our guide warned us that you must be specific as a lady once prayed her two daughters would find love, and they fell in love with the same man. In Bucharest, the Old Town is known for wild drinking, drugs and partying. We saw the National Bank of Romania. Our guide told us an interesting story about the unusual bank robbery in 1959 in which the burglars were caught and arrested and then made to reenact their crime for a film in which they played themselves robbing the bank. After the movie was made, the criminals were killed. We learned about traditional food and drinks, and our guide informed us that "In Romanian, meat is a vegetable," and then we saw the parliament buildings. The building is amazing; the Palace of Parliament is a mirrored building, meaning what is seen above ground is mirrored underneath, making it the heaviest building in the world and the second-largest administrative building in the world. It is a beautiful grand building, but it doesn't provide good memories for the people in Romania. In the past, their dictator took out a loan to build the building, which caused the people to live in poverty under food and electricity rations during the communist era. The walking tour was great; there was an interesting mix of people within our group, our guide was amazing, and I learned so much about Romanian this weekend. I knew virtually nothing before. 

After the tour, we returned to Hanul' lui Manuc's for lunch. It is Bucharest's oldest operating hotel building and has a lovely garden. Our goal was to try as many traditional Romanian foods as possible before we had to leave. We shared Mămăligă Cu Smăntănă, which is polenta with sour cream and cheese (an element which is similar to feta and made with sheep's milk); it was delicious. We also had Mici, sausages made with ground meat and spices and no sausage casings. They are typically served with mustard and beer and are very tasty. 

After lunch, we got the most delicious ice cream and walked to the Romanian Athenaeum, a gorgeous performing arts theatre. It cost 10 lei (£1.70) to enter, and was stunning inside. Tori spun and danced in the middle, and we sat in the theatre listening to a man tune the organ for a bit. After, we headed to Herăstrău Park and spontaneously hopped on a little boat tour around the lake; it cost £5 total for two tickets for a nice, relaxing 25-minute ride. 

Finally, we headed to Caru' cu bere for dinner. It is a very old, beautiful, historic building. It had stained glass and looked like a church inside. I highly recommend this restaurant, but you need to make a reservation for dinner because it gets really busy. We shared Sarmale, Romanian cabbage rolls that were the best I have ever tasted. We also got an assortment of Romanian pickles, which included sauerkraut and pickled red bell pepper; The pickles were delicious; I'm talking proper sour, salty, garlicky pickle, none of this sweet crap like in the UK. We shared the traditional Romanian doughnuts for dessert, which were gigantic and delicious. We returned to our hostel, grabbed our things and headed for the airport. 

It was a fast, exhausting trip, but it was so good. I learned so much about Romania; before this weekend, I knew nothing. The language was interesting; it had some French and Italian influence, which I didn't expect. People were also friendlier than I expected and mostly laughed at us when we couldn't understand what they were saying. According to our tour guide, Bucharest is quite a safe place. She feels safe going out in Old Town with her friends at night as a woman. Hiking in the mountains was a highlight; it was an incredible experience, the food was delicious, and the people were really friendly. One day I would love to go back and visit Transylvania!