Stop #20
Visiting Bucharest makes you realize what a tyrant can do to destroy what was once a beautiful city. Remanants of old mansions and nice looking buildings are hidden behind graffiti and lots of wear. Many historically significant buildings were destroyed by Caucescu and replaced with ridiculous looking Soviet concrete buildings. He tried to create his own style, which is just plain ugly.
In the 1930s and 1940s, people referred to Bucharest as “Little Paris”. Visiting there today, all you can do is wonder how anyone could think such a foolish thing! About 2 million people live in Bucharest today and the city is where most activity takes place in Romania. But you can’t help but wish that the city will have some resurgence or rebirth that will allow it to become beautiful again. We didn’t stay there long, and I don’t feel that we missed much by leaving!
