A short walk in Bucharest

January 16, 2019

A long layover at Bucharest allowed time for a bus ride downtown to take a look around. In the early 1980s (during the Communist era) Nicolae Ceauşescu razed the Uranis Hill neighborhood of Bucharest to build his monumental House of the People (1).

Only a few years later in 1989, as the iron-fisted dictator gave a nationally-televised speech from the balcony, there was whistling and jeering from the normally-adulatory crowd. The dictator looked dumdfounded and stopped his speech, while the camera pointed away to avoid further embarrassment (2). The overthrow of the Communist government had begun. It would be a bloody affair (3).

In a small neighborhood across the huge boulevard from the building is a monestary church, All Saints Antim, that was far enough away to avoid the bulldozers. As one enters through a fresco-laden archway, the city noise falls away. The Church building itself has intricately carved doors and colorful stained glass representations of various saints.

(1) By various accounts, the building is the largest administrative building in the world, the heaviest, and/or consumes more electricity than any other building. The building is still there, now serving as the parliament building (a).

(a) Being a bit of a white elephant, no-one was sure what to do with it for a while. 

(2) Even today, it is fascinating to watch the climactic moment of the speech. It must have been quite shocking to those in Romania watching live to hear The crowd jeering their totalitarian leader:
https://youtu.be/t6pvMFfQF50

(3) The Securitate (secret police) later fired on the crowd, while the army switched sides and supported the people. Soon, Ceaucescu and his wife were speedily tried by a military tribunal and executed.

Ceaucescu's Palace

Monastery Courtyard Entrance

Gruesome, but colorful Fresco in archway that appears to depict the Ottomans beheading a saint

Church building in courtyard

Detail of wood door

Stained Glass of St. Mark

I happened upon the Nadia Comăneci Clinic. She was the first gymnast to ever be awarded a perfect ten at the Olympics (Montréal, 1976). The clinic provides services to needy children.