Back to Bucharest, Romania

We spent two weeks roaming Romania in 2015 and looked forward to revisiting this fascinating place. On that trip, we were in Bucharest only briefly and were not terribly impressed. This time, we hired a private guide through Tours by Locals to learn more about Ceausescu  Romania's corrupt and ruthless dictator, and Anne especially wanted to find out why Bucharest was known as the Little Paris of the East. 

Last time we visited in 2015, the city seemed overrun with Communist architecture, but on this tour, we got to see her grand boulevards and elegant architecture including the stunning Romanian Athenaeum. The Athenaeum is a concert hall, and if we ever return, we vowed to see a performance here.

We drove down Bucharest's copycat Champs Elysees, a broad boulevard lined with gorgeous Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, many of them now turned into banks. Then, we walked these lovely streets that Ceausescu had targeted for demolition--to be replaced with his hideous concrete Communist-style monstrosities. Many, like this cafe with its elegant atrium, had a definite Paris vibe, and we felt grateful they survived.

One building especially caught Anne's attention, Victoria Store formerly called the Bucharest Galeries Lafayette after the famous Parisian Galeries Lafayette. Honestly, the guy shows up everywhere we go! 

Bucharest definitely has an ambience we totally missed on our first visit here.

For a dose of reality, our next stop was Revolutionary Square. From the balcony below the flag, Ceausescu gave his last speech before the people revolted. Our guide showed us a video of his last address, and as protests get louder, you can see his expression change as he realizes what is happening. Our guide also showed us pictures of Ceausescu escaping by helicopter. However, he was later arrested and he and his wife were shot by a firing squad on Christmas Day five days after the uprising. 

To better understand why Ceausescu was so despised, we visited the only one of his forty mansions open to the public (and this one only opened very recently).

Our guide had a dry sense of humor and clearly found the excess of his former dictator's lifestyle obscene. Especially, during a time when this same leader preached that the people needed to make more sacrifices, even though they were already starving with no running water and struggling to survive.

We were not permitted to take photos inside the home, but needless to say, these two lived like royalty in this 40-room pleasure palace with separate apartments for themselves and their three children. The whole place drips with opulence from the Italian marble to the Murano chandeliers and other treasures from all over the world. Accumulated during a time when the people were unable to buy any goods from the west and were forced to purchase only shoddy Communist goods.

Mrs. C. had a huge dressing room lined with Chanel dresses and matching shoes. The mansion also features a sauna, spa with massage room, make-up room, and a movie theater in the basement. Our favorite room, the stunning indoor swimming pool, was entirely covered with colorful mosaic tiles. 

This was our last night of our Viking "cruise," and we went out in decadent style at the 5-star JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel.