Ultimate Balkans and Transylvania Travel Talk Tour: Bucharest, Day 2
Day 2: Sunday 9th October
Start: Bucharest, Romania
Finish: Bucharest, Romania
Currency: Romanian Leu
Temperature: (10-24 degrees) Sunny/overcast at times
The Inter Business Hotel was comfortable enough to sleep in, however we did have a small issue with a couple of mosquitos that harassed us all night! The shower was fine, nothing spectacular and breakfast was also fine, buffet style.
By 9am we were on the bus for the driving and walking tour of Bucharest. We drove into old town and walking tour was due to commence, however, a Marathon threw spanner in the works. Unbeknownst to our guide or driver, much of the city was closed. We managed to see the exterior of the parliament building (where two members of our group went missing – they didn’t get back on the bus before it left and Kaan forgot to do a head-count), opera house, and drove around old town several times due to road blocks from the marathon. We had several smaller walking tours through the streets, taking in monuments and buildings of significance.
After losing a second member of our group barely an hour later, I passed my phone around and created a WhatsApp group for the tour, getting everyone to add their contacts to my phone and inviting everyone as ‘Admin’, that way we had a way of communicating with one another.
Several members of our group had done their research and recommended visiting Caru’cu Bere for lunch when we were given a few hours of free time and where we ate a variety of local dishes. I ordered meatballs and garlic mashed potatoes which were delicious. Others ordered full pork knuckles, mixed meat platters or the same cabbage rolls as we had last night. The building is beautiful from the inside and the staff were helpful in aiding us with using the QR menu and paying our individual bills.
The next place we discovered in our free time was probably my favourite of the city! The Carturesti Carusel Bookshop stands multiple storeys tall with crisp white and timber spiral staircases creeping up through its centre. Floor after floor of books, teacups, tea, wine and trinkets open out before you as twinkly lights glimmer overhead.
Another excellent spot for photos was the Van Gough Café filled with artwork and decorated with yellow umbrellas hanging upside down from the ceiling. We sat in the afternoon sunshine outside and enjoyed Vienna Coffees (coffee with whipped cream).
6pm was the meeting time to catch the bus back to the hotel, so after a drink at Van Gough, it was time to make our way back to the meetup location for the bus. We settled in for our second and final night at the Inter Business, before our 8am departure tomorrow.
Tips:
The Old Town of Bucharest is full of hidden alleyways and despite COVID having hit other European cities hard, restaurants and tourism appears to be thriving.
Accommodation: Inter Business Hotel, Bucharest