Dancing & Dining in Bucharest – Romania Tour Day 0

Guitar cradled in front of his chest, the young man was living the dream. His heartthrob crooning filled the summer street where the evening passeggiata stroll around Bucharest was well underway. Behind him rose the neoclassical columns of the former National Theater, bombed in 1944 but now a swanky hotel rises from the preserved facade. In front of him a stream of people enjoyed the lavishly warm hour, including a number of elegant women who gave him long looks through designer sunglasses.

A few steps south was the Odeon Theater, reminding me of Bucharest’s belle epoque past as “Paris of the East.” Just across a playful fountain stood a bust of Kemal Ataturk, the iconic founder of modern Turkey, reminding me of Bucharest’s former position on the edge of the Ottoman Empire. To either side rose the tall windows of Austrian Secessionist architecture, the smaller panes of Communist efficiency, and the endless glass of modern European sensibilities, completing the reminder that I was in Romania, eternal crossroad of cultures.

Another minute’s walk, past the best pastry shop I know of on Earth, and a herd of salsa dancers was making the most of the warm pavement in front of the former Officer’s Palace. Built in French neoclassical style before the first world war, it’s another stage where history marched but now you can sit on the terrace with a cup of coffee. The dancers didn’t care about all that though, their delight lives entirely in the surging Romanian present.

Further down the street, outside the even more impressive bank palace, I could see a swirl of tango, but I was hungry. Dinner tomorrow would be exuberantly savory Romanian cuisine, and Mediterranean for lunch, so I considered the Indian across the street before turning to enter Hygge Social Kitchen, a nod to the Nordic lands where I spent the summer.

Choosing between the halloumi salad or pork ribs, with a pomegranate & basil lemonade in hand, I was reminded that cultural crossroads have the best of all their contributors, but truly excel when they combine them into something distinctly their own. This is Romania’s expertise. It is not just a food court, distinct representatives confined in their booths, it’s the proverbial melting pot where everything comes together in the host’s framework to form something beautiful and unique.

The sun was continuing its long slow set, the flow of people was still laughing past, and as I cradled that tall glass of refreshing goodness I realized I was living my dream just as much as the guitar player. I was not just in a beautiful and interesting country, but the next day I would meet the group for this year’s Romania Guided By Tim tour.

Life was good. And so was the halloumi salad.