Bucharest | Black Girl in Bucharest

This morning I woke up to the sound of cannons going off nearby. After confirming that I was not in an arena partaking in the Hunger Games, I remembered what day it is. The cannons marked the start of the Great Union Day parade that began on a street nearby.

Great Union Day occurs yearly on December 1. It is the national holiday of Romania which commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia, which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania.

This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania, but also of the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, in 1918.

These images were taken on Friday while the Romanian military closed off a major street to practice for big event.

I know I’ve been off the grid for a while… a month… but I’ve been learning about this cool city and snapping up pics whenever possible. I will still try to do what I said last month, post more often. Soon we will be stepping out of Bucharest, and out of Romania, for some travel in neighboring countries. But for now, here’s some more Bucharest.

More Shots from Herăstrău Park

As forewarned, I live close by so expect a photo shoot here from time to time. I hope to capture pics in every season. Here’s a bit more summer for you.

Nice artwork in the park

Artwork in the park

I just love these benches.

I love the color mix

Be careful or bikers will run you down!

Shot from inside a gazebo

Pretty cool homage to the King of Pop

Bucharest City Tour – Hop On / Hop Off Bus

This is the first time I’ve utilized this quick way to tour a new city. Figured I would check it out and report back the worthiness of it. I would give it 4/5 stars. One of the stars is because it runs for 12 hours a day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Another star because one of the stops Lipscani, which in a previous post I mentioned it’s a place with shops, restaurants and bars. A pretty hopping place into the wee hours of the morn. You can take the tour bus there and hang out for a few hours. Your ticket is good for 24 hours. We went later in the day so I didn’t get to enjoy the complete tour, and capture pics, in daylight. Here are some shots I took.

Underneath My Favorite Landmark

Shot while driving by on top of the hop on/ hop off bus

Not sure what this is, but had to snap a pic.

Snagov Lake and Dracula’s Final Resting Place

Took a short trip with friends to check out the Snagov Monastery and where Vlad Tepes aka Dracula rests. Well most of him. His torso lies in the grave within the Monastery. His head was sent to Turkey right after his demise and could be anywhere. Or he could really be a vampire and the grave is empty. Hmmm… I don’t have photos of within the monastery because we had to pay to get in (which I did) and then pay $30 USD to take photos (which I didn’t). So enjoy the pics of the outside, animals on the grounds, and the beautiful lake that surrounds Snagov Island, home to the monastery.

Interesting Experience Note: Upon arrival, a gypsy older man directed us into a parking spot that we were already pulling into. Once we were out of the car he promptly requested 10 LEI ($3 USD). We had heard stories of people that were “helped” with parking and when they refused to pay they came back to their cars keyed up. No thank you. So yeah we paid. And then he proceeded to act like he was protecting our car. Maybe he was. Either way we left with the car the same way it was when we had arrived.