12 March 2012
Our first full day in Romania began with the best hotel breakfast I've ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes upon. After eating a wonderful omelet, fresh fruit, and some really amazing pastries the group met in the lobby to begin our city tour. Not only were we surrounded by beautiful historical buildings, but we were also apparently residing in one. The Athenee Hilton itself is a part of Romanian History. Built in 1912 and originally called the Athenee Palace hotel, the hotel was known to house spies during WWII and the cold war. It was the known meeting place for many spies and conspirators as it was a good place to spy on the Royal Palace across the street, but was eventually bought by the communist government which had all the rooms bugged.
We continued our tour right next door to the Athenaeum which we learned was opened in 1888 as a building dedicated to art and science in Romania. As we enjoyed the beautiful day our guide gave us a quick overview of Romanian History, explaining the union of the principalities of Romania: Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia.
Next we came across a statue of King Carol on a proud looking horse. King Carol is a popular figure of Romanian History as the ruler who helped Romania gain its independence as well as improving the country's economy and establishing a dynasty.
Further down the street we came across the Library of the University of Bucharest (as shown bellow).
Finally we reached the main point of Piata Revolutiei (Revolution Square): the very building where Ceaucescu gave his final speech in 1989. During his speech, the audience reacted with "boos" and cries of disagreements. Riots began and Ceaucescu attempted to escape Romania, but was captured and quickly sentenced to death for his cruel and corrupt leadership.
We continued our tour talking more about Ceaucescu and his corruption by looking next at the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world after the pentagon. In order to create this monstrosity of a building, Ceaucescu demolished most of Bucharest's historic districts including many churches, synagogues and homes. We were able to tour the inside of the People's Palace and witnessed vast amounts of riches in the form of elaborate chandeliers, tons of chrystal, bronze, steel, and wood; all exquisitely embroidered and carved.
Following our tour of the elaborate greed of the Palace of Parliament, we continued our tour through Bucharest. We visited a quaint Romanian Orthodox church, roamed the streets with shops and bars, and visited more areas of the university. Eventually our tour ended and we split off for a bit of free time before dinner.
Dinner was once again splendid. Romanian food proved for the second time to be absolutely delicious. We sat back and enjoyed the live Romanian folk band playing in the restaurant as we drank our large beers and ate amazing traditional foods.
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