Day 11 - Suceava to Bucharest

I’ve never driven through Kansas, but I now have a pretty good idea of what it must look like. Eastern Romania is flat and covered with expansive fields of crops. The six and a half hour drive wasn’t terribly interesting. It was mile after mile after mile of the same flat fields.

We arrived in Bucharest and drove straight to our hotel to check in and drop off the suitcases. We then went to another part of town to drop off the rental car. We took a taxi to the old town; the driver was very chatty. He had a lot to say about politics and the horrible times under Communism, first, and then under the dictator Ceaucescu. Romanians now complain about corruption in their government, but they are very happy to be out from under the oppressive rule of past regimes. Our driver told us that Romanians love American visitors. “We waited fifty years for the Americans to be able to visit us,” he remarked earnestly.

In the old town, we did a bit of last minute gift shopping and visited a couple more churches. We had a fabulous dinner at a historic restaurant called Caru’ cu Bere (“The Beer Wagon”). I’m not usually much for loud, frantic restaurants the cater to tourists, but I have to say that if you’re ever in Bucharest, Caru’ cu Bere is an experience that you won’t want to miss. The food is excellent, the staff is hard working, and the atmosphere is sans pareil. It’s a great place for people watching.

Our server, who seemed to be by far the oldest person on the staff, didn’t speak much English. By pointing to the menu and using some of the words that we had picked up along the way, we were able to communicate with him.

After dinner, I went out to take some more of my night photos. I appreciate how low key the police are in Europe. A couple of guys from the gendarmerie passed by as I had my camera on the tripod. Not only did they not give me a hassle, they went out of their way to avoid walking into my shot, and then they had a friendly conversation with some gypsy ladies who had been selling flowers in the area. 

What a beautiful thing to see on our last night in Romania!