Bucharest ‘wonderful’

My wife, Debbie, and I were in Romania in November ’07 visiting the Bucharest Stock Exchange. We stayed at the Casa Capsa (Calea Victoriei nr. 36, Bucharest; phone 4021 313 40 38, www.capsa.ro) and it was wonderful — of older vintage but not in need of repair. We visited with some oilmen staying there.

We found the rates reasonable, paying (according to our credit card statement) $810 for perhaps six nights. (The website shows rates from €135 single to €490 apartment, with a double at €200 [about $295], including breakfast and 9% VAT. — Editor) The hotel has an attached chocolate shop that is just a deadly way to start and end your day.

Bucharest is a wonderful city to visit — a mini-Paris. Be sure to walk the whole length of Embassy Row.

We generally walked about five to six miles, then would break for tea and a sweet before hitting the pavement again. We also learned to use their subway (which was filthy but worked), popping up and walking to the places we wanted to visit. The city buses were fun to ride too! Lots of folks spoke enough English there for us to get by.

At a bar in one part of town, the manager approached us after we had used their restroom facility and advised us to leave the area before dark as she herself had been attacked. We followed her advice.

(There are two schools of thought: dress like the locals and blend in or. . . . At my height of 6'2" and my wife’s of 5'11", we do not blend in, so I wore my bright red felt hat and my bright orange Crocs walking shoes plus wool socks, all of which screamed ‘We are tourists; don’t hurt us.’ In seasons other than winter I wear a straw cowboy hat; when folks find out I’m from Dallas, Texas, they tend to sport a big grin — and it’s catching!)

We also rode the train out of the city to visit some castle a half-day jaunt out. The trains in Romania were clean and well run, but the stations were filthy. Debbie claimed a Bucuresti bathroom rivaled one in China in 1986 for being dirty. Also, the tracks in the country were filthy from trash discarded from the trains. Still, the trains were clean and on time.

Frankly, we were thrilled with the Romanian leu; the prices were great. We used Debbie’s ATM card and paid cash a lot. Our meal of chicken for me and fish for Debbie at the Caru’ cu Bere restaurant, in the heart of the city, cost $25, according to our credit card bill. We ate all over town and the food was always good to excellent.

There is plenty to see and do for a week in Bucharest, and the prices are worth going for. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Their economy is coming on strong, so see it while you can.

BOB BAGLEY

Dallas, TX