Today was spent touring Bucharest itself, and learning more about the broader country.
First, history. I knew very little of the history of the countries I’m about to visit, so I tried to learn a bit before I came, and then am learning a lot more while I’m here.
High level basics: The land of what we call Romania is very old – the first art is dated back to 10,000 BC. Romania itself came into existence in 1862, when Wallachia and Moldavia united to form it. Romania had a lot of oil, so was valuable land. In 1939, Germany agreed to guarantee and then expand their borders if Germany could control the exports, including that oil. Romania agreed. Turns out, you can’t trust Nazis – and Germany wound up giving part of Transylvania to Hungary in 1940, to get Hungary’s cooperation. So now Romania loses Transylvania and their oil. And then later, some of the ground that Romania had gained, including Moldova, was then lost to the Russians. Romania then has a coup, switches their allegiance, and joined the Allies. Over the next few years there are more power struggles, and then the Russians took control. Transylvania is ceded back to Romania in 1947. In 1964, Romania tries to declare autonomy, but they still have a communist leader: Nicolae Ceausescu. He’s charismatic but really bad with money. Like, really bad. There is a national uprising in 1989, and he’s finally ousted through the revolution (and then executed, because Romanians do not screw around. More on this later.) Romania joined NATO in 2004.
The day kicked off with me getting into a fight with the shower head so there was water everywhere, and then a very passable hotel breakfast, and then a tour.
On the tour, the first place I visited was the Bucharest National Village Museum.
The Village Museum is an open-air museum located in the King Michael I Park, highlighting traditional Romanian village life. The museum has over 200+ buildings from all over Romania, and opened in 1936.
Depending on the area they came from, the homes varied with materials and storage needs, depending if they were farmers, shepherds, fisherman, or more. The most important part of every home was of course the wine distillery.
Wood carving was a respected trade, and the more carvings on your home, the richer you were.
In addition to homes, there were a number of churches.
And a windmill!
This is a gravestone. There is a town in Romania where each person that dies gets a story in their grave. Many are poems, or funny stories. The current grave maker is getting old, and currently has no apprentices, so the tradition may end.
Side Note: This map, the area of Moldova (which is currently a separate, neutral, country) is outlined in pink. I’m showing you the eastern edge, where it abuts Ukraine. However, the area between the pink and the river in blue is actually occupied by Russians, and has been for a long time. The local assumption is that Putin’s plan was to fight from this direction too as their forces got further into Ukraine.
While touring, I also learned more about Romania and its history.
WWII
Romania initially was with Nazi Germany. The location of Romania was a strategic location for Germany, to take Russia, and again Romania had oil, which Germany needed from a functional standpoint. Romania was promised land that they believed had been previously taken from them, including the land that is now Moldova, as well as part of Transylvania, and Odessa. And it worked, until it didn’t, ending at Stalingrad.
Romania then had a coup, and King Michael II regained power (his father, who had abdicated from the throne and ran away with his mistress, had seized control from his son, King Michael II, who was only 6 at that time – his Grapa is the one who created the National Village Museum I just showed you), and under the direction of the newly reinstated King Michael, they switched sides of the war. Though they had been getting bombed by Americans (in particular, the Navy was flying out of Libya, attempting to destroy the oil fields north of Bucharest), they were then waiting for the Americans to come and defend them, since once they switched sides they started getting bombed by Germany.
The Americans did not come. Instead, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin struck their deal, and Romania fell under Russian control. Vlad’s grandfather fought in the war for the Allied partners, and I asked if he was mad that the Americans didn’t come like they had been waiting for. “No, he wasn’t mad. He was just…disappointed.”
Vlad also wanted me to know that because Romania switched sides, the war ended 6 months earlier than it would have otherwise; their oil was that critical to Germany. One might suggest that the war may have ended even sooner, had Romania never joined the Nazis in the first place, but one is relying on this guide to get her around today so she just kept that to herself.
Now, with a NATO base in Romania, I asked how everyone felt about American troops in the country. “Better late than never” was his response – and he said specifically, after Russia started their war on Ukraine, Romanians are very grateful for the presence on the international forces, and are very proud to stand with NATO and with America.
Schengen Visa, (Screw Austria!)
Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most European countries. It’s the largest free travel area in the world. Romanians don’t have it. Add this to the reason they hate Austria, I think. Because man, do they hate Austria.
Neither Bulgaria or Romania have it, though they’ve been trying. Austria has voted against Romania and Bulgaria; the Netherlands have also opposed Bulgaria. There are requirements countries need to meet to be eligible, and Romanians believe they have met all of them (as do all of the other countries voting). The Romanian opinion in that Austria’s vote was not about merit, but it was just political. They have a conservative government, and the government is playing to fears of immigrants taking their jobs. They specifically dislike North African and Syrian immigrants. I asked if it was racism, and Vlad said “they would not say that…but…” so take from that what you will. He believes Austria is scoring political points with a vocal minority in their country who oppose immigration, and also do not want to do anything that might alienate Russia. Because Austria is in bed with Russia.
Apparently Croatia recently got accepted into the Schengen Agreement, which is bullsh#t. Nothing wrong with Croatians, but it is bullsh#t. Romania is much better than Croatia. (I have not been to Croatia, so can neither confirm nor deny this)
Also, if you go to Austria, be careful. They claim to be neutral, but they do that to play both sides. They only care about themselves, and have no conscious. It is full of Russian spies. Trust no one in Austria, not even your mother. Vlad is quite pleased that I didn’t include Austria on my tour. He says I make good choices. (See? So all of you questioning this trip can stuff it. Vlads got my back!)
Anyway, it means there will be a passport check when I go to Hungary. It apparently isn’t bad for cars, but slows down imports substantially.
Nicolae Ceausescu
A little history. He became the head of state in 1967, under the Communist Party. In 1974, he became the President of the Republic. He was a very maverick leader, distancing the country initially from Russia and becoming very pro-west. He had a great relationship with Nixon, and was popular in West for first 10 years, and then went to the dark side. In particular, he didn’t get involved in a revolution in Prague, and the west thought that meant he was a new kind of leader, and they welcomed him into the fold. He began meeting leaders of state all over the world. Then, he fell in love with rules and leaders of North Korea, and came back from a trip there being “inspired.”
It is important to note that his wife, Helena, was bad influence. It was said that he ruled Romania, but she ruled her husband. This becomes important later on.
His largest megalomaniacal decision was the Parliament.
It cost $3.5 BILLION to build in todays’s dollars, and it is the biggest building in the world by volume. Built only with Romanian materials (97%, technically), it is friggin ridiculous. (There are some mahogany doors, donated from North Korea, which is the other 3%.) The finishes are marble, wood and crystal mainly. They imported silk worms, just to be able to produce their own silk. Over 100,000 people worked on the Palace.
He decided to build it on a hill; before it was built, 50,000 people lived here. 90% of the people were given new homes, whether they wanted them or not. Side note: Romania has the highest percentage of home ownership in Europe, though it is getting much harder for younger people to afford homes.
Mind you, while this is happening, Romanians are standing in food lines and don’t have electricity because the grids are failing. So it was obviously super popular.
There are 4 of these curtains in total; collectively they weigh 2 tons. They’re hung on a marble system, and cannot be removed.
Pink is considered an internationally neutral color, so they made this room specifically pink for delegates from around the world to meet on neutral ground.
This room was designed so it would echo. Ceausescu wanted it this way, so he could give speeches, and the clapping would reverberate and make it sound louder.
On paper, the parliament building can withstand two nuclear attacks. When asked if the money would be better spent on bunkers for people to survive, Ceausescu said no, because the people were not his legacy.
I’ll give him this though – the design, to notch out the door opening so you could see the chandeliers was pretty great.
Joke was on him though. He spent all this money on this ego project, but never got to enjoy it. Vlad’s opinion is if he had spent the country’s money on food for the people, instead of this palace “for the people,” he could still be in power.
Ceausescu’s Home
After the palace, we toured his home. It is still in one of the more “high end” areas of the city, with apartments costing $1m+ in the neighborhood. I had to wear booties, so as not to stain his Iranian carpets.
At some point he visited the Emperor of Japan and fell in love with peacocks. The Emperor then gifted him 6 pairs, the descendants of which are still pecking around. There are currently 14 of them wandering around.
This fountain is gold plated, because why not.
So where is he now?
On December 17, 1989 there was a protest in a western part of the country; Ceausescu was on a trip to Iran that he had to cancel, to come back. He decided to hold a large rally at what was then the Central Committee of the Communist Party Headquarters (now the area is called Revolution Square, in case you want to guess where this is going…) on December 21, where he “invited” 100,000 of his factory employees to come and hear a speech. He tried to promise them slightly higher wages, to quell the anger. He quickly lost control of the crowd, and escaped via helicopter.
His defense minister was suddenly dead. It is still unclear whether he killed himself or was murdered, but Ceausescu wanted him to shoot the crowd and he refused, and gave orders that the military was not to kill the citizens. The fighting that broke out became between the military and the Secret Police, who were still following Ceausescu orders. Over 1,000 were killed in total during the Revolution.
Ceausescu meanwhile had gotten to his home outside of the city, likely to try and grab some of their possessions with Helena, and then tried to leave. No one is sure where he was trying to go, but he and his wife tried hitchhiking. The third driver that picked them up actually took them to the military, and turned them in. He and his wife were tried in a military tribunal, found guilty, and executed on December 25th. She was believed to have so much power over him that she was equally guilty of his crimes. Pictures of his body were shown on TV to reassure everyone that he really was dead, and they were free from his rule and the fear that they had been living under.
(And Parliament finished a few months later – so he never got to see his dream become a reality)
Across the street from the Communist Party Headquarters was the Secret Police headquarters. The building was destroyed in the uprising, but they were able to save part of the exterior – they decided to keep it, to remember. They built a new building behind the facade.
Coincidentally, when we visited today, there was a protest happening.
We then visited the head Romanian Orthodox Church. Today was…I don’t know. Someone’s birthday or death day, and so there was a service happening when we were there, so I didn’t take photos of the interior. Trust me, it was beautiful (and very lux).
Vlad also made a stop for me as I had an errand.
And then Dinner! I tried some traditional foods for dinner tonight. Remember, the rule of traveling is try everything, and if you need to spit it into your napkin, be discreet. I ate next to a woman from Iran; her family moved here 5 years ago. We talked politics, and politics.
Other Miscellaneous notes from today
Nadia Comăneci is the most famous athlete from Romania. She is an Olympic gold medal winning gymnast. The Communist state invested a lot in her, and used her success as propaganda. It was a huge hit to huge hit to Ceausescu’s ego when she defected/escaped to America in 1989, months before the revolution. She now lives in Oklahoma, apparently.
The first McDonald’s in Romania opened in 1995Most people only knew it was something American, but not what it was – so they queued in line, in fur coats and high heels and their best suits waiting for it to open.
In 1977 there was big earthquake, with more than 1,000 people killed. Red circles mean the building is unstable, and if there is an earthquake, get away.
I also used Bolt for the first time today – it’s just like uber. When I got in, he started speaking. I have perfected my “te rog engleza?” Which up until now has resulted in the other person laughing at my accent and switching to English as requested. It didn’t work this time though. And that’s because he was on a phone call with an earpiece in that I couldn’t see.
And so, that’s a wrap for my day exploring Bucharest.
Goodnight, from me and Magnum PI.
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