More fountains

Today I was taking a cab down Blvd Unirii and for whatever reason, the fountains were full of colored water.

There are some beautiful things about Bucharest - not many - but because Im so close to leaving, and because somebody decided to do this just for the hell of it (I dont think today is a holiday or anything), I told my cab driver that this was one of the best things Ive seen in Bucharest

Crazy storm

The other night a huge windstorm came from out of nowhere, and the lightning was incredible. I got lucky with a few pictures. Thunder and rain never came. On the drive home, we drove UNDER a few downed power lines.

Hotel Lobby

Nice sunset

Something I did NOT expect to see (part 3)

A hedgehog...

How good is the lunch?

A few hours later...




It was THAT good...

We have all been in the same situation...

Where I used to work

This is the Academie Romana, built by those crazy communists who were later taken out into the street and shot. The building never really got finished. So we were in the part that didnt get finished...

and heres another one

optical illusion

Heres a neat optical illusion I (kind of) discovered: The right column appears to lean more to the right than the other one. In fact, they are the same picture. Most optical illusions are explained as a phenomenon of the brain, or the eyes, or the perception of color or what have you.

I make no attempt to explain this one. But I think its a brain thing.

Across the street from where I work (the front)

Yet another picture of the Peoples Palace. I hope to take a tour of it soon.

Across the street from where I work (the back)

Theres a nice old building out back from where Ive been working recently. Behind it is some old water tower or something that is growing vegetation. And right next to it - not in any of the pictures - is a German brewery, with some very nice beer that they they serve as meters - a meter-long board with mugs of beer sitting on them - maybe a dozen in all.

Nice Old Church

The vatican of Bucharest, basically. If I find out what this church is and how old it is and all of that, I will let you know. In the meantime, take my word that the church is old, well taken care of and centrally located.

What were they looking at?

Well, unfortunately, I didnt get any pictures of that whole buildup to what was going on around the People's Palace. It was a car race. Not Formula 1, but not stock cars, either. I thought I would have that weekend off, but I worked and slep and generally skipped the whole event. I was really looking forward to it, but sleep was more important.

What are they watching?

Disturbing Signs

Country folks

Got out of the city the other day and briefly met these nice people.

Dogs

They love dogs here in Romania. There are so many strays it is astounding. Strays with eartags mean that they are being cared for. Strays that dont have tags are picked up and taken away.

Every morning I can hear them howl. There are packs of them, they can be territorial, but so far Ive never seen any of them fight with each other or growl at people.

Ive had a couple of dreams about taking one home with me. But they need a serious bath first.


Luckily, Ive also seen a lot of veterinary practices around as well.

More nice things to look at

I feel bad because I could talk endlessly about the some of the ugly parts of the city. But there are some nice things as well, and they deserve their fair shake. So here goes:

A nice little river flows thru town.

There's loads of statues and monuments.

The Boulevard Unirii has fountains that go for at least a mile.

The old Bank or Stock Exchange is reflected in the windows of the new one.

Outskirts of the city

Had to take a ride out to the Brico Store, kind of like a Lowes Hardware Store, to get some stuff for work. Its in the part of town that is just off the edge of the map that you get at the hotel. That part of the city where the car dealerships and the cheap malls and, well, the Brico Stores, are at. Imagine boulevards that go on for miles that look like this, and you will understand the ride. Actually, if you look at the other picture - the nighttime one that was taken from my room - out past the soccer field you see some reactor type smokestacks. I went past those to get to the Brico Store.

Did I say soccer? Football. I meant football. Did I watch the game? Next time a game plays, I will take another picture for you.

The People's Parliament (part 4)

More stuff! Bleachers and concrete barriers and scaffolding.... The suspense must be killing you, huh?

All right, heres a clue: May 18-20.

There. Google away...

Something I did NOT expect to see (part 2)

This guy drove all the way from Connecticut to Bucharest.

The People's Parliament (part 3)

Lotsa road work. Lotsa construction. What's going on? All will be revealed soon.

Lotsa Fountains

And lotsa billboards in the background

Something I did NOT expect to see (part 1 of I hope a lot)

The guys who mow the grass at the parks are hired on a monthly rate rather than a weekly rate, if you know what I mean. Which is fine for this little guy.

He was very bright green, very saturated.

Field Trip at the Museum of Natural History

Some nice things to look at

The bottom picture is in the middle of "Aviator Plaza" (my translation) There are some words inscribed into the base, but even if I could read Romanian I wuld not risk my life in crossing the street to get ot the center. Its one of those crazy Euro-roundabouts with no signs or stoplights -- you just keep driving until youre life-threatening-detection senses tell you to stop.

I still have not driven here in the city - and so far, the only people on this job who are driving are the locals. Im not looking forward to driving here.