Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
At the beginning of the 20th century animals were living in the parks of București. It was like having multiple micro-zoological gardens. Then in 1955 the 5,8 hectares large central zoo at the city quarter Băneasa (sector 1) was founded. Today it is educating visitors by showing them many local and exotic animals.
Continue reading “Grădina zoologică”
If I could only recommend one restaurant at București it would definitely be the Hanu’ lui Manuc. They call themselves the oldest inn of Europe and that might be true. It is an old caravanserai used by the merchants and visitors of the market on the vast square today called Piața Unirii. ,
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Zoological gardens often reflect the state of a civilization. Only if society is advanced enough and economic stability has been reached also the animals have a good life. I’ve seen many not-so-good zoos around the world and the zoo of Constanța positions in the mid-tier. Around a lake many small areas filled with animals, the Microrezervație, line up.
Continue reading “Microrezervație”
If you want to visit the Black Sea from București, then Constanța (in earlier days Tomis) is your port of choice. A comfortable train runs multiple times each day from the Gara de Nord to the shore. It was founded by Greeks in the 7th century BCE. Roman emperor Constantine the Great named the city after his sister Constantiana.
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Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Turkey surround the Black Sea. For the Romanians it is the Marea Neagră, for the Turkish the Karadeniz – all meaning the same. It is suspected that the name refers to earlier ideas of connecting colors to the cardinal direction: green = east, white = west, red = south and black = north. That also explains why the red sea received its name.
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The most important transportation hub of București is located in the north of the city: the Gara de Nord. From its 13 tracks trains are going to all parts of the country and if you plan a trip to the Black Sea or to Transylvania this is your starting point. And even if you don’t want to travel by train it is worth to get here and watch the colorful trains coming and going, to observe people getting on and off. Standing at the tracks is like travelling back in time; some decades earlier German railway station looked the same.
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Visiting the national history museum (Muzeul Național de Istorie a României) of București is a bittersweet experience. It is located inside a fantastic, ancient building (the former postal services palace) in the city center (Calea Victoriei) – opposite to the amazing building of CEC Bank. It hosts the Romanian crown juwels and a copy of the Trajan’s column at Roma.
Continue reading “Istorie a României”
The largest lake of București is the mill lake in the northwest of the city (referred to as sector six), about six kilometers from the city center. It is in fact an artificial lake created from the water of river Dâmbovița. The lake ensures a constant water flow of the river through the city and prevents floods – but for the people it is mostly a recreational area.
Continue reading “Lacul Morii”
The national history museum (Muzeul Național de Istorie Naturală) of București was already founded in 1834. In 1933 it was named after its director Grigore Antipa by king Carol II. It is a mix of ancient coins, stones, fossils, minerals and artworks connected to natural history of Romania.
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The national village museum (Muzeul Național al Satului) of București is an open-air museum founded in 1936. It is named after one of the three founders, Dimitrie Gusti, a professor, and minister of education. On 100,000 m2 you can see more than 250 authentic houses and farms from the different regions of Romania. It is interesting to see the different styles of the buildings which you can discover from the outside and inside.
Continue reading “Life at the village”