Nice surprise

When we boarded the night train to Bucharest, we didn't expect much except breakfast – but it was quite the opposite. The night train was surprisingly comfortable with a private bathroom complete with a mini-shower. In our two-person compartment, we were able to slowly take in Transylvania, the partly snow-covered Carpathians, and Wallachia while admiring old-school steam locomotives and equally old-fashioned station masters at a travel speed of over 50 km/h, which catapulted us from Budapest to Bucharest in just 15 hours.

Everything was very pleasant and comfortable – it would have been even better with food. To our surprise, breakfast was not included in the – admittedly very low – price, and there was no onboard bistro. So we had to ration our meager supplies. Upon arriving in Bucharest, we were compensated with poor pizza at the bustling train station. Strengthened by this, we set off for our hotel in the midst of the old town, surrounded by nightclubs and hourly hotels. We did not expect much from our destination Bucharest: It was a stopover between Budapest and Istanbul. We stereotypically anticipated ruins, Bolshevik brutalist residential blocks, and soulless new buildings. There were indeed enough ruins and renovation backlogs, but very few brutalist residential blocks and very few new constructions. Much was demolished under dictator Ceaușescu, and to this day Bucharest appears like a once-thriving metropolis. In many places, it is evident that the city was once envisioned as a variation of Paris, and thus Bucharest still boasts many beautiful, even if somewhat dilapidated, facades. There seems to have been hardly any renovation offensive like those in Poland or East Germany. Therefore, Bucharest still seems charming and more alternative than the very bourgeois Budapest.

Bucharest's 'Old Town' is full of touristy restaurants and shops and brimming with life. Bucharest has more residents than Hamburg, yet occupies a smaller area than Munich. The 'Old Town' consists of remnants of old architecture that have been pieced together into a reimagined urban core. In Romania, one even speaks of the youngest old town in the world.

You certainly don't have to see Bucharest, but it was a very pleasant short stay. Highlights include the concert and event center Atheneum, the gigantic Palace of Parliament completed in 1984 - which is surprisingly aesthetically pleasing (though it’s tragic that many old buildings were demolished for it), the Macca-Villacrosse gallery passage, and – our insider tip – the Catholic monastery in the city center. For culinary delights, we recommend the “Aubergine.” Here, you’ll be satisfied with delicious food in a lovely atmosphere, especially when you haven’t been served breakfast again.