Bucharest Rest Day, July 9

Another Milestone – 3000km

We now have completed ¾ of the ride. Tomorrow we are into Bulgaria and the next rest day is on the Black Sea. We are all starting to look toward the end. I have also dropped 10 pounds, though not from a lack of calories.

This city of two million is an interesting study in a communist capitol city in transition. Many of the buildings are stately, but either in disrepair or being demolished. Our hotel overlooks the parliamentary palace, but the down town is mainly government offices and banks. There seem to be few tourists visiting, so there are few services like markets, internet, call centers or even restaurants. Last night a group of us looked for an hour for a place to eat. We settled into a park restaurant and ordered a beer, only to learn they had stopped serving food. Another hour later we found an Indian restaurant. Strange.

Today, Sebastian arranged for us to tour the National Palace, which happens to be the second largest building, after the Pentagon. It took us an hour to find a gate that we could enter, and then wait in line to purchase tickets. There seems to be little interest in making money.

The Palace was based on the French Versailles, and had opulent halls with huge chandeliers. The communist president had it built in the 1990s, which consumed a large part of budget during a time the country was going bankrupt and people starving. 20,000 craftsmen worked 24/7 for five years to complete it. At the end, in 1989, the communists were thrown out of office and the president executed after a quick trial.

The capital is a work in progress. It is full of young professionals and lots of BMWs.

Tomorrow…Bulgaria.