The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
Romania:
Bucharest
Once upon a time, Bucharest (Bucaresti) was known as the "Paris of the East," and after 50 years of malaise, it seems possible that Bucharest might someday regain the title. In fact, the city looks much better than it did even a year ago--flower beds have begun to sprout here and there, and the worst of the rubble has been cleared away. Of course, all this is relative: The ambience of Bucharest is still that of the European Third World, a montage of flimsy apartment blocks, dirty streets, and sickly marble monuments that look grossly out of place.
Two years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find basic foodstuffs, let alone decent restaurants, in Bucharest. These days, restaurants, discos, bars, and pastry shops are sprouting up throughout the city. Of course, the overwhelming majority of locals are still struggling to get enough food on the table. Inflation is causing prices to skyrocket from month to month, and even foreigners should not expect to get off cheaply simply because the leu is weak. The result is a city caught in the midst of radical change--between 50 years of mismanagement under the Ceausescus and the recent, so-called "benefits" of Westernization. Love it or hate it, post-revolution Bucharest is anything but simple.
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