Day 2- Exploring Bucharest

 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.

Day 1- Hello Budapest!! (I mean Bucharest...)

11 March 2012

Our adventure to Romania began early Sunday morning as we departed Lugano on a bus headed towards Milan Malpensa Aiport. Our Journey was relatively uneventful as we made out way through airports and finally arrived in Bucharest. That first night we settled into our very luxurious five star hotel, the Athenee Hilton. Starving and excited we departed as a group for out dinner destination. We had a thrilling and delicious dinner at the Dracula Club as we reveled in the myth that is so often associated with Romania. 

We were led into the small restaurant and seated in the larger rooms available. Our wonderful professor had made arrangements so that the restaurant would open just for us on this Sunday night, and we had the whole place to ourselves. As we eagerly awaited our first taste of Romanian cuisine, we explored this little restaurant filled with unique little rooms, each with their own themes. We quickly discovered the "dungeon" where dining tables were set up next to impaled plastic heads. After snapping some quick pictures, we returned to our room to eat.  
 

The room we were seated in was a medium sized green room with skinned bears and dear heads staring creepily down at us from their places on the walls.   

 Our food came out slowly and sporatically, in what we were told was traditional Romanian service. However, once we received our meals everything seemed worth it in the end. Our meals were named after Dracula or Vlad Tepes lore such as Brandon's "Impaled Chicken". The appetizers were absolutely incredible. Our first bites of Romanian food were absolute successes. The various cheeses and meats and were pleasantly surprised by the polenta.As the main courses came we continued to feast of the incredible food. We hardly noticed that 4 hours had passed. 

As our full stomachs and the long journey from Lugano to Bucharest began taking its toll on us, the lights in the restaurant suddenly went out. We all knew what was coming. Dracula was about to descend, and we were bracing ourselves. Some of us attempted to use the burning impaled chicken as a light source, to no avail. 

 And then suddenly Dracula was in the room! He spoke of odd things like the full moon and blood, but we were not fooled by his polite chatter.

 

And then he struck! He took professor Cordon as his first victim, moving on to others in the area until Erica distracted him with her superior dancing skills. We were all saved, and we managed to live to see desert. 

 By the time we had finished our final course we all felt heavy as happy hippos and beyond ready to go to bed. At this point it was already midnight, and we all waddled home to the Hilton with our bellies full, our hearts happy, and with excitement for the days to come.