In Bucharest, stray dogs can bite to death. Interesting facts about Romania Bucharest interesting facts

I liked Bucharest. This, of course, is not yet Prague, but it is no longer Sofia - something between Europe and Asia. In this episode of the vlog: the airport, attractions, city center, video selfies, snow removal, brothels, courtesans and the oldest pub in Bucharest.

Below the cut is a separate post for those who are more accustomed to reading text and looking at photos...

My first Bucharest

A dull morning at a dull Sofia airport. All flights here fit on two small monitors. The airport can hardly be called busy - two cafes plus three shops and half-empty halls:

The flight is about an hour and I’m in Bucharest. I remember when I was a child there was some kind of joke related to the name of this city, but I can’t remember. Remind me!

Bucharest, like most other cities in Europe, was hit by the strongest storms in several weeks during Orthodox Christmas. recent years snowfalls:

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They don’t know how to deal with snow here, like in Moscow, but they learn quickly. At first, all the snow was simply moved from the center of the streets and carefully piled into piles:

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Local Red Light Street. About her below:

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It’s good that there are a lot of ATMs, otherwise you’d have to climb through a snowdrift:

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The oldest church in Bucharest. An excavator is working nearby, “rising on its hind legs” and loading snow from piles into fitted trucks:

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Firefighters were closely involved in cleaning the city. I saw several cars in the center at once, which were clearing snow from the roofs so that it would not fall on the heads of passers-by:

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River Dambovita. According to legend, in ancient times a shepherd named Bukur came across it. He liked it and named the river “Dambovita” in honor of his wife, and he himself founded the city, which is now called Bucharest:

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Statue on the steps historical museum. They say that this is the most photographed statue in Bucharest. I also took a selfie with her. I will not show:

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Brave monument:

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In Bucharest, I tried walking around the city with an audio guide. This is an application on my phone that determines my geolocation and gives me a story through my headphones about what I see. So I know what it is Orthodox Church Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was built in 1905 at the suggestion of the Russian ambassador in Bucharest. The cost of the project cost the treasury 600,000 gold rubles:

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University Square. This is not only the central square of the city, but also an important symbol for the residents of Bucharest: it was here that the Romanian revolution of 1989 began and triumphantly ended, which put an end to the dictatorial regime of Ceausescu:

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National Theatre:

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Sculptural composition Caruta cu paiate. It was opened at the very end of 2010 near the National Theater of the city. The composition is dedicated to the famous Romanian playwright Ion Luca Caragiala, its 16 characters are the heroes of his plays, riding somewhere on a huge cart:

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The oldest coffee shop in Bucharest:

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Red Street. All the main brothels used to be concentrated here:

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Now there is also some left, but, as far as I understand, this is more entertainment for tourists. Although, I didn’t look here at night:

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Inside the establishments there are photographs of former courtesans, the most famous of whom was named Zaraza, and in her honor the Romanian singer Cristian Vasile named his famous tango: “Zaraza”. I wonder if in our country the tradition of calling capricious girls “Infections” comes from this love story?

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More brothel interiors:

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Entrance to the hotel. Very cute in my opinion. Judging by the poster, women are much more forgetful than men:

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The She-Wolf Monument is an exact copy of the monument in Rome, donated by Rome to Bucharest. Here it is called a traveling monument, because over the past few years it has already moved from place to place 6 times:

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Roman Square. At one time, when they began to dig a metro in Bucharest, Nicolae Ceausescu's wife Elena decided that the metro stations were too close to each other and the working class began to get fat because of this. She was also a healthy lifestyle specialist. As a result, she banned the construction of a metro station under Roman Square.

However, the metro builders understood that a station was still needed here, they built it secretly and closed it off from trains with a thick wall. A couple of years after the opening of the metro line, the Ceausescu realized that a station was still needed here, and then the builders admitted that they had actually already built it:

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In the very center stands a huge shopping mall. At least it seemed like that to me, but when I tried to go inside, it turned out to be only small shops on the ground floor with a giant sign:

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Zero kilometer of Bucharest:

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There are also a huge number of posters in Bucharest. They covered all the passages and all the free spaces in the city. Moreover, pasters rarely bother and remove previous posters. They glue directly on top of the old ones. In the cold it all fluffed up, froze and became covered with a cap of snow:

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Even the frost doesn't stop the posters:

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Bicycle rental works even in winter. An hour of rental costs a little more than 100 rubles:

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Kissing:

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Saleswomen:

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Passers-by:

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From Bucharest I flew to Chisinau. About him tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

What do we know about Romania? This is one of the most little-known countries in Europe. We are familiar with the Romanian wall, Romanian gloves, Cotnari wine, Ceausescu and Dracula from Transylvania. But probably many of you still know that the capital of Romania is Bucharest. Today we will go for a walk around the city, because in the last post I told you very little about it.

In the Middle Ages, Bucharest was founded by the shepherd-hunter-Prince Bucur, although in ancient times Small Dacian villages could be found in the local forests. In 1459, the chronicles made the first mention of Bucharest, in the same year the city became the residence of the Vlach prince Vlad the Impaler (that’s Dracula). The capital was moved here only in 1698 by Konstantin Brynkovyanin. The city is located in the south of the country, almost on the border with Bulgaria. The name of the city Bucharest is translated from Romanian as “City of Joy”.

The population of Bucharest is almost 2 million people, it is the 6th most populous city in Europe. Bucharest accounts for 20% of Romania's GDP, and unemployment here is only 5%. Bucharest has 186,000 registered companies and the city's economy is quite powerful.

With its extravagant architecture and vibrant cultural life, Bucharest was called "Eastern Paris" or "Little Paris". Victory Avenue (Calea Victoriei) is compared to Champs Elysees, and the Arc de Triomphe in these cities are very similar. In the Middle Ages, it was near this street that the most fashionable and expensive boyar houses were built. Now on Victory Avenue there are some of the city's attractions and interesting buildings: the Museum of Art, Revolution Square, the Intercontinental Hotel, the Palace of Economy and other interesting buildings.

The Palace of Justice (Curtea de Apel București) reminded me of the Hotel de Ville in Paris.

Due to numerous wars in the Balkans, including World War II, Bucharest was heavily damaged and often suffered from fires. During the reign of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, much of the historical part of the city was destroyed, including ancient churches, but majestic administrative buildings were built. In addition, in 1977 there was a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.4, which claimed 1,500 lives and destroyed many ancient buildings. Therefore, do not be surprised when in the city you see many abandoned, unkempt, dilapidated buildings. Some of them are decorated with graffiti.

The main attraction of Bucharest is the Parliament building, which Ceausescu decided to build. This is the largest, most expensive and heaviest administrative building in the world, the construction cost of which was € 3 billion. Size of the palace: 240 × 270 m. The height of the building is 86 m (12 floors), and it goes another 92 m underground. There are 1100 in the palace rooms. About 1 million m³ of marble, 3,500 tons of crystal, 7,000 tons of steel and bronze, 900 thousand m³ of wood, 220 thousand m² of woolen carpets, 5,500 tons of cement, 20,000 tons of sand were spent on construction. 700 architects and designers worked on the construction.

During the revolution, dictator Ceausescu was overthrown and killed. After these events, the city, and the country, could not repay the gigantic loans and debts for a long time, but after the 2000s, the country’s economy began to emerge from the crisis, and in the city we can see significant changes: restoration historical districts, development of transport, increasing the passenger turnover of the airport several times.

By the way, about transport. The Bucharest metro consists of 4 lines. The day pass here is one of the cheapest in Europe; its cost is € 1.80. The entrance to the metro looks shabby, sad, gray, but the trains are brand new: Bombardier and CAF (the Spanish company that makes trains for Renfe).

The city has a developed tram and bus network. The buses are brand new Mercedes, but the trams are old.

Few people know, but Bucharest is the center nightlife not only the Balkans, but throughout of Eastern Europe. There are great parties here, and on weekends the bars and clubs are packed. The Dutch, Belgians, and English love to come to Bucharest because it’s fun, the prices are low, and the local girls are very beautiful and well-groomed. Low-cost airlines fly here from many European cities, so you can fly to Bucharest from England for only 5 Euros.

Some information about the clubs. The Player Club is known for its summer parties. Clubs Bamboo, Le Gaga occupy the top best clubs peace with electronic music. Fratelli, GAIA Boutique Club are boutique clubs. Another famous club is BOA (Beat Of Angels), The ONE LOFT

Photo from http://www.bambooclub.ro/

In the very center of Bucharest in the area pedestrian street Strada Lipscani (the street is named after German city Leipzig) has most of the bars where you can drink and dance. Right next door you will find pubs, dryers, brothels, snack bars and other entertainment establishments. Moreover, there is even a Hard Rock Cafe in Bucharest.

The buildings in Bucharest are very diverse: Gothic, French Baroque, eclectic, neo-romantic.

But what stands out most are the huge gray buildings built during the communist era from 1947 to 1989. The houses are scary, shabby, impractical. But, fortunately, modern buildings made of glass and metal are already appearing in the city.

In our view, Romania is a backward, poor country from which people leave to work in Western Europe. But, nevertheless, there are 16 public universities in Bucharest, where more than 300 thousand students study!

In the city center you constantly come across restored monasteries, churches, and ancient buildings.

Our walk continues, there will be a little text. In Romania, you can periodically find reminders that Romania is a descendant of the Roman Empire, even a sculpture of Romulus can be found.

All sorts of trinkets are sold on the streets.

Fruit stalls are already a useful thing; cherries cost € 2.5.

As I already said, in Bucharest the buildings are the most different eras and types are mixed together. Here you have a communist house and a modern glass box, and the cherry on top is the billboards that are simply placed in the middle of the street.

Romanians are very fond of big black cars and especially German Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi jeeps. The numbers must also be clear.

The courtyards do not look very attractive and are full of cars.

Dull houses and parking on the sidewalks. In general, in Bucharest, people calmly drive in oncoming traffic, turn at a red traffic light, and they are ready to crush a person crossing a pedestrian crossing.

Houses along the Dambovitsa River. There is a lot of greenery and graffiti around.

There are Gothic houses with stretch marks on half the facade.

It seemed to me that fast food is the most common food here: kebabs, gyros, pizzas, grilled dishes, the food is simple, but filling and inexpensive. For a couple of Euros you can gorge yourself on local kebab.

To summarize, I would like to say that it is not worth going to Romania for Bucharest alone. If you have been to central Europe, the architecture will not amaze you, the broken roads and poor service will not please you. But if you have already climbed all over Europe, you want to see the Balkans, the Carpathians, eat inexpensively and visit a couple of castles, then Romania is suitable for your next trip. Fortunately, it’s safe here, quite fun, and from this year you can come here with Schengen visas and European residence permits.))

From the best guides!

Romania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, is slowly getting back on its feet after the 1989 revolution.

Romania is a Romanesque island among the Slavic states; Thus, Romanian is the only Balkan language that comes from Latin.

The arrival of the long-awaited spring is celebrated beautifully and always cheerfully in Romania. There is a tradition here of giving martisors - small dolls made independently from red and white threads, they symbolize the victory of heat over cold. It is customary to wear such dolls on clothes throughout the first month of March, and then solemnly hang them on trees, mentally wishing for wishes to come true.

President Nicolae Ceausescu's rule was based on a grotesque cult of his personality. “The Fount of Wisdom”, “the first thinker on this Earth” or “giant of the New Age” - these are the titles with which the Romanian ruler loved to call himself and demanded the same from his people. However, only his megalomania and the party building, which pleased historical Center Bucharest. After coming to power in 1965, Ciesescu established a totalitarian regime with the help of the Securitate, a Gestapo-like organization that brutally persecuted all dissidents. However, which broke out in 1980 economic crisis shook the dictator's position. Hunger and power shortages turned the people's anger against him. Ceausescu reacted in his own way: state broadcasting broadcast a weather forecast at any time of the year, which constantly announced an air temperature of about +20°C, so as not to heat too much even in the harshest winters. If the deception failed, the heating lines were simply cut off at night. The dictator's policy resulted, first of all, in the international isolation of Romania, as well as colossal violations of human rights. During the 1989 revolution, Chasescu was overthrown and, after a closed trial, executed. A sociological survey was recently conducted which showed that now more than 84% of Romanians regret the death of the dictator, and 41% of respondents would vote for him in the next elections if he were alive!

Oskar Schindler, an internationally recognized hero, has been immortalized in history for his great achievements. His figure is presented in history as one of the most noble, although the unknown Romanian lawyer Traian Popovich saved many more lives. He was born in the small town of Suceava, which became Romanian territory after the First World War, and during the Second World War this land was controlled Austria . The thought that thousands of innocent people would be killed haunted him, and, risking his life, he convinced the military commander of Romania (who supported the Nazis) Jon Antonescu that Jewish workers were badly needed in his city. The plan worked, senior management gave the go-ahead.

Romania has its own mud volcanoes, in the eastern part of the country, near the town of Buzu, dwarf volcanoes erupt from the ground and mud, which some consider healing. Sometimes mud emissions are also accompanied by oil and water flows.

The capital of Romania, Bucharest, has long been famous for its cultural heritage and luxury attractions. That is why the city is often called the “Little Paris of the East”.

Romanians descend primarily from the Dacian people, who settled in Romania around 2 thousand years BC. Romanians owe their Romanesque roots to the long-term Roman occupation.

A new law was issued in Romania, which caused indignation in the ranks of Romanian magicians and clairvoyants, as they do not want to pay taxes to the state on the income from their craft. The law also affects those who are involved in the occult, predictors of the future, who, for some reason, were unable to foresee the impending innovations. New laws came into force on January 1, 2011, and now services provided by sorcerers and seers are considered official income. Soothsayers and witches, believing that such innovations would bankrupt them, even tried to bring damage to the government.

At one time, “number one” in the list of the best tennis players in the world was a Romanian, Ilie Nastase.

The discoverer of insulin was probably the Romanian professor of physiology Nicolae Paulescu, and not the Canadians Banting and Best, as is commonly believed.

The fountain pen was invented by the Romanian student Poenaru during his studies in Paris.

A cave in northwestern Romania has become an anthropological treasure, preserving human history. A discovery made in 2002 showed that people lived on this land even earlier than expected; the age of the found remains is more than 40,000 years (!!!). The bones exhibit features of early and later hominid species. This discovery was a real success; it allows us to slightly lift the veil of secrecy about where the first people appeared. For example, the lower jaw found in the cave belongs to Neanderthals. Although scientists are not entirely sure of family ties modern man and Neanderthal, some of the bones discovered indicate that representatives of these two different groups found each other in this cave.

Since 1991, Romania has been a presidential republic. The highest executive power is vested in the President, and the legislative body is the National Assembly.

The most popular sport in Romania is football. Throughout its history, the national team has qualified for the finals of the World Championship 7 times. Their greatest achievement was the quarterfinals of the 1994 tournament. The Romanian club Steaua in 1986 became the first winner of the Champions League (European Cup) in Eastern Europe.

There are many bears in Romania. Some tourists even buy very expensive tours, where a guide takes a group through the forest and shows how local clubfoot live in wildlife. Love for this animal is reflected in many aspects - there is even a holiday dedicated to bears, and it is very similar to the famous American Groundhog Day. Before emerging from hibernation, the bear briefly leaves the den to water procedures. And his behavior suggests whether winter will continue or whether spring will come soon.

The first European city to introduce electric street lighting was the Romanian city of Timisoara. It was in Timisoara that trams were born, which were initially pulled by horses.

Transylvania is the birthplace of the legendary Count Dracula. The prototype of the character from Bram Stoker's novel, who became the hero of many films about vampires, was the count who lived here in the Middle Ages. Prince Vlad Dracula and his son Vlad the Impaler were born here, who in the 15th century killed their enemies by impaling them on wooden stakes. They say that those killed on these stakes were placed along the road that leads from Snagov (near Bucharest) to Tirgovishte.

The colorful outfits of the Semigorsk Saxons belong to the classic German national costumes. One of the “trademarks” is the richly embroidered upper part of the apron.

The first actor invited to play the role of Tarzan in a Hollywood film was Romanian. Johnny Weissmuller, who first played the role of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1932, was born near Timisoara in Romania.

Romanian Nadia Comaneci is a rhythmic gymnast who was the first in the world to receive a score of 10 points for her performance. She won this top score at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

In North-west historical region Moldova has many balneological resorts. The most famous of them is called Slanic-Moldova, it was founded in 1877.

The Romanian language is very similar to Moldavian. The Romanian language is very strange. It sounds approximately like Spanish, it seems to go back more to Italian, while, yes - there will be yes, shop - shop, shawarma - shawarma, potatoes - potatoes, sour cream - smantana and so on. Children in Romanian will be copies.

Romania is famous for its scientists. For example, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, Gheorghe Marinescu, was the first in the world to see nerve cells under a microscope. This was a big breakthrough in the history of mankind!

Voronet Monastery, located in Romania, is considered the Romanian counterpart Sistine Chapel due to the paintings decorating it inside and outside.

The Carpathians still remain a little-studied area; however, it is an ideal place for walks and excursions. The barns of local peasants are often used to accommodate tourists.

There are very few beautiful girls in Romania. If a Romanian woman is beautiful, her fate is practically predetermined: a rich husband, an even richer lover, yachts, money, a career and everything that goes with it.

The narrowest street in Europe, about a meter wide, is located in Romania, in the city of Brasov. The width of this street is a little more than 100 centimeters.

There is a funny cemetery in Romania. On each cross there are funny pictures with verses, which show the main character traits of the deceased.

Strong alcohol is sold in Romania in ordinary stalls and small shops. At the same time, the supermarket may not have an alcohol section at all.

The architectural expression of the Ceausescu regime in Bucharest is the impressive Palace of the Republic, which served as the dictator's residence. In order to make way for the construction of this huge palace with hundreds of luxuriously furnished rooms, entire neighborhoods were demolished. Construction was carried out in a strictly nationalistic spirit: only Romanians could participate in construction work and create works of art to decorate the palace. Ceausescu did not forget to provide himself with protection in case of war: a huge bunker was built under the palace, which would serve the head of state as a safe refuge in the event of an atomic bomb explosion.

Red, yellow and blue are the main colors of the national flag. The color red is believed to represent the blood of the people who fought for their country; yellow – the grain that people eat; blue color - blue sky.

In the 17th century, Bucharest was the capital of the Danube principality of Wallachia, and since 1861 it has been the capital of Romania.

Trovants remain a big mystery for scientists. After rain, these stones located in Romania begin to grow like mushrooms. In 2 - 3 rainy months they can add several hundred kilograms to their weight.

Romanians rarely fly by plane within the country; the main flow of residents travel by rail.

The Romanian national sport is called "oina" and is similar to rounders or the game of baseball.

The second largest glacier in Europe is located in Romania. It's called Scarisoara.

The Palace of the Republic in Bucharest is the second largest administrative building in the world, second only in size to the Pentagon.

The founder of the musical group "Enigma" is from Romania. Romania is also one of the trendsetters in pop music in Europe.

The communist government limited the size of living space, introducing 12 m² per person as the norm. The population of Bucharest still suffers from a lack of housing.

There are a lot of gypsies here, but not the kind that residents of Russia are used to meeting in their homeland. Romanian gypsies, although they wear bright clothes, sell all sorts of things on the beaches, sometimes steal, but never touch tourists. The word “police” is sacred to them, and they are very afraid of it.

Bucharest produces one fifth of all industrial goods in Romania.

One of scary places in the world - a forest in the center of Transylvania, locals say that it is a portal for the arrival of spirits or aliens.

The largest Gothic church in the world is located in Romania, in Brasov. It was built over almost a hundred years at the turn of the 14th - 15th centuries.

Until 1878, Constanta belonged to Bulgaria , but then the Berlin Congress recognized Romania as an independent state. Together with the Dobrogea region, Constanta became part of the new kingdom.

Transylvania was first mentioned in a medieval Latin document dating from 1075 and called "Ultra Silvam". "Ultra" means "behind" or "on the far side" and "Silvam" means "tree" or "forest".

In the Romanian town of Pečica there is an unusual road sign– “drunk pedestrian”, the sign warns drivers that local residents drunks wander around at night.

The Carpathians, one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe, have long been a natural border between
by different states. Of the five countries on whose territory the Carpathians are located, only in Slovakia and Romania they represent a significant part of the landscape, and in Ukraine , V Poland And Hungary they are nothing more than border mountains. Between these countries, the Carpathians stretch in the shape of a crescent from northwest to southeast.

A good dozen Danube tributaries originate in the Carpathians.

The basis of most Romanian dishes is lamb.

Romanian money is of interest - the famous lei, which are made in a special way. This paper money is quite difficult to crumple, almost impossible to tear, it can be washed in an automatic machine and nothing will happen to it. This is the material inventors came up with for money! Lei are printed on special paper, each bill contains a transparent window, which is depicted in the form of an eagle holding a cross in its teeth. When banknotes go out of circulation, they are recycled into special plastic pellets, which are then turned into the basis for modern, lightweight and beautiful waste bins.

Romania's entry into the First World War brought Kaiser Wilhelm into a state of panic: the Central Powers were practically defeated on both fronts and captured by British and Russian troops. When Romanian troops entered the war, they opened a new line of defense along the Transylvanian border. But they were few in number and soon began to suffer greater and greater losses. In addition, Russia plunged into revolution and could no longer provide support. Romania had to surrender, with total losses of about 300,000 soldiers. The coastal territories fell under the control of Austria and Hungary until the end of the war. True, after its end, the borders were restored and even expanded by the annexation of the notorious Transylvania.

I lived in Bucharest for about a week, and during these days I walked around almost the entire city center with a camera, and also visited the outskirts of the city in . If we talk about general impressions of the city, I didn’t like Bucharest at all; it contrasts very much with the rest of Romania, differing from it not for the better.

So, this post contains a story about Bucharest as I saw it in the fall of 2016.

02. First, a few words about the architecture of the city. Many people consider the architecture of Bucharest to be something outstanding, but I didn’t like it - perhaps it’s the poor condition of the buildings, as well as the mixture of architectural styles. In some places in the city you can see beautiful old buildings in the Art Nouveau or eclectic style:

03. But most often they are adjacent to nondescript buildings from the Ceausescu era, which is why they somehow get lost and fade. Typical buildings from Ceausescu's time look like the house in the middle of this shot - a narrow strip of open balconies in the middle of the building and the obligatory arcade or rotunda on the roof.

04. Here are also very characteristic Romanian projects - a colonnade on the ground floor, a large number of balconies, roof extensions. These projects are still nothing, but often buildings built in the 70s look tatty and shapeless.

05. Another problem in the town is the external condition of the buildings. Look, that's enough interesting building, but pay attention to the condition of the building - it has not been cleaned or plastered since the time of Tsar Pea.

06. From the windows of my apartment I had a view of United Nations Square - one of central squares Bucharest. The square is built up with quite interesting buildings - on the left is a post-war project, and the two buildings to the right are old, pre-war.

07. The same buildings from a different angle. The architecture is expressive, but very quickly becomes boring to the eye due to the abundance of non-functional details. The general feeling of the architecture of Bucharest can be compared to the taste sensations of Chinese fast food - at first it seems delicious, but already on the third day it becomes terribly boring.

08. And this is what typical residential buildings look like away from the city center. The projects are similar to the Minsk ones, with the exception of the height of the windows - in Romanian buildings the windows are very small, often no more than a meter high.

09. Perhaps most of all from the city architecture I liked some of the buildings of the interwar period - they carry the features of typical Romanian projects, but at the same time they look strict and stylish - for example, this hotel building with very beautiful rounded balconies.

10. Surprisingly, such a beautiful hotel Almost in the very center of the city it is now abandoned, and abandoned for a very long time - small trees have even managed to grow on the balconies. I hope that in the end there will be an investor who will restore such a wonderful building.

11. And detached pre-war buildings look even more or less good - some projects are reminiscent of Lviv and Vienna.

12. Another architectural interest - in Bucharest there are many buildings reminiscent of Russian pre-revolutionary projects, but here they were built in the period 20-40. In fact, those architectural styles, as well as building codes and regulations, which in Russia (and countries former USSR) disappeared in 1917-1918, but continued to exist here until the 1940s.

In Bucharest, you can often find a house built in the 1930s, which will at the same time resemble a Russian pre-revolutionary one - with a huge entrance, spacious multi-room apartments and 4-meter ceilings.

13. At the same time, like other buildings in the city center, many of these houses are in poor condition. Here, for example, is the entrance to a beautiful house from the 1930s - the doors are wide open, the entrance is literally pissed, there are puddles on the floor.

14. And this is what the courtyard of the house looks like - apparently, garbage is thrown directly from the windows.

15. And the residents of this house sometimes attach some unimaginable structures to the windows. What is this? Greenhouse, seaming warehouse, chicken coop?

16. It’s a shame that such a beautiful house is in such a state...

17. Bucharest is literally a city of contrasts. Here on the left side of the frame is a very cool restored building - with restored stucco, new forged balcony grilles and wooden windows. And right there on the right are terrible ruins, from where it smells of many years of dampness and decay.

18. Or do you see a beautiful and clean alley, in which everything sparkles, there are cafe tables and people relaxing?

19. As soon as you step back literally 10 steps, you will see an abandoned building with black windows and everything covered with clumsy “tags”. Optionally, a homeless person can sleep on the porch - the juxtaposition of luxury and poverty here does not surprise anyone.

20. But such a dump could be on the corner of a house, 5 meters from which there will be an entrance to an expensive restaurant.

21. The examples of the urban environment of Bucharest clearly show how the “broken windows rule” works. For those who don’t know what this is, I’ll briefly tell you that the spitting and pollution of the environment tends to increase, as people unconsciously begin to perceive this as the norm. For example, at a stop littered with cigarette butts, even someone who would otherwise take it to the trash will throw it on the ground.

Here is a good example - there is some old electrical cabinet. The cabinet had not been painted for a long time, it was peeling and covered in dirt. Then someone broke open the doors and tried to tear off the "dangerous voltage" sign, causing the cabinet to look even more dented. And now everyone perceives the closet as a garbage dump - abandoned cigarette butts and cups begin to appear around.

22. Here’s another good example: a car drove into the decorative side of a fountain in the city center, breaking the barrier and leaving fragments of the bumper. Nobody cleaned up the garbage, and empty bottles and cigarette butts are already starting to appear around - everyone began to perceive this place as a garbage dump.

23. Here’s another example - an old telephone booth. First, they covered her from head to toe with advertisements, then they broke the glass. Someone threw a couple of bulls and cups, and now the booth has turned into a real garbage dump, where they literally bring bags of garbage. And nearby, crooked scribbles of “tags” began to appear on the wall.

24. What’s interesting is that people don’t litter everywhere, for example the neighborhoods in the center where order and cleanliness are maintained. In such an environment, people often try to carry a bottle or glass to the trash rather than simply throw it on the ground.

25. According to my observations, city residents are not very bothered by this situation with garbage and dirt - they simply do not notice it and perceive it as part of the city background. Even the residents of a prestigious building in the center are not embarrassed by the façade walls covered in spit and graffiti:

26. And the gateway in such a prestigious central house may look like this:

27. And in the center of Bucharest you can see quite a lot of abandoned shops, abandoned for a very long time - judging by the design, this shop has not been open almost since the time of Ceausescu:

28. So, now I need to write about something good. Bucharest has very cool playgrounds - they are often surrounded by fences (to prevent cars from parking there) and are well equipped. In some places in the city there are street parks, which are also quite good:

29. The parks have outdoor exercise equipment and free Wi-Fi - something that Minsk really lacks.

30. There are many benches on the streets where older people can relax:

32. There are also bicycle paths (though there are very few of them) and they only pass along some central streets:

33. Street trading looks like this -

34. In Bucharest, I liked the SIM card vending machines with the Internet:

35. And street book stalls, where books about Dracula side by side with books about the “great conductor” Ceausescu.

36. But in general, Bucharest is dirty, noisy and crowded Southern City, which you don’t want to return to.