High On The Hill

I wake up Sunday at about 6:30 AM and shower, shave and get dressed. There is no plug for the sink in the hotel bathroom, so I have to shave by leaving the water running.  Once I was dressed I decided to head down for breakfast.

After breakfast I head back up to the hotel room. As I was passing reception I ask the guy what time check out was and he replied 12 PM. I packed my bag and by this time it was about 10:00 AM. I thought Miss C should be awake by now, so I sent her a text saying “Good morning”. I decided to listen to some music on the laptop. I opened Itunes and I listened to ‘Use Your Illusion II’ by Guns ‘N’ Roses. I had the song ‘Don’t You Cry’ stuck in my head for some reason. The song ‘Civil War’ came on and I thought about how long it had been since I listened to it. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a pretty catchy anti-war song. I listened to some other songs… I can’t recall them all but one was ‘I Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd and then some Tom Petty songs.

It was now 11:30 AM and I hadn’t heard back from Miss C. I sent another text letting her now what time check out was and what the plan was. Miss C had the key to the apartment and I had no idea where it was anyway, so I had to wait for her. A few minutes later she responded and asked if I could stay a couple of hours longer after check out as she had to do some things with her family. I went to reception and asked and they said it was Ok. So I went back upstairs and waited. While I waited, I wrote the previous story for the blog and had 2 Stella Artois beers.

3:00 PM came by and I sent Miss C a text just asking for an update on when they will come and if it was too hard, I would book another night in the hotel. She said ‘No, I am getting dressed and I will come”. I said ok, then went downstairs, checked out and waited in the lobby for her to arrive.

After a few minutes she arrived with Mr M and we went to a small grocery store to get some supplies for the apartment as it was more difficult to get to a store from the apartment. The store really didn’t have all that much more than the smaller convenience stores I had been visiting. The whole back corner of the stores was shelves filled with alcohol. We walked around and grabbed some supplies. Mostly essentials like 6 beers and 2 packs of cigarettes, as well as non essentials some bread, water, and some packets of chips. Mr M found some packages of meatballs, seasoned chicken strips and cheesy potato bites, so we grabbed them and altogether it cost 76 Lei (about $20.00-$25.00 AUD).

After stocking up, we drove around the city taking pictures. We stopped by the Arcul De Triumf and   Casa Poporului  which is the Romanian Parliament, in order to get some clearer pictures. Miss C was telling me that Casa Poporului  is the second biggest parliament building in the world, behind the White House. It is enormous, it must have about 1000 rooms in the building. It sits atop a hill overlooking Bucharest. I’m not even going to try to estimate the size in area, but it would easily cover at least 5 city blocks. Mr M jokes that this is his ‘other’ house.

Arcul De Triumf

Casa Poporului 

There were big riots that lasted nearly a week, here in Bucharest last year as the people protested about the government and the austerity measures that it tried to introduce. There was an election for impeachment of the President too, but somehow he managed to stay in power. I think I read somewhere that there was sentiment  that the vote was rigged. Anyway, it is not my place to comment, I am just writing what I’ve heard from people or read in Romanian newspapers online.

We also took photos of various other buildings and streetscapes that I thought would give you an impression of what Bucharest is like. In some areas you marvel at what a beautiful city it is, but then you turn a corner and you feel like you should be locking your doors and closing the windows. It’s quite a stark contrast. The stray dogs that litter the outskirts of the city, are usually placid but will attack if they feel threatened. I have seen Miss C pet some of the dogs and as a dog lover I would like to do the same, but on most occasions, it’s unknown whether these dogs have been vaccinated or born into the wild, so I decide it’s best to keep my distance. I don’t really want to have to get a rabies shot.

It is after 5:00 PM and darkness comes rather quickly here and my friends have to go home. Miss C recommends I try Ciorba De Derisoare, so we go to a restaurant that sells many foods and offers take away. Miss C orders the Ciorba De Perisoare  for me, as well as some potato bake with chorizo, a goulash and Sarmale!!!! Miss C somehow seems to know what I like in terms of side options (eg. potatoes or pasta). I smile at the thought of how well she seems to know me already. It was big servings and the food would probably last me a week. We paid for the food, 40 lei (about $12.00-$15.00 AUD) and head to the apartment.

I have never seen the apartment before and as it is dark, I didn’t see much of the exterior of the building. We walk through some sort of old steel door into a hallway. The door is old and covered in ‘tags’ and various other graffiti. The hallway is very old and littered with graffiti too. I start to feel a little uneasy for the first time since I have been here. The lift comes and it is a small steel lift. I think it would fit a maximum of 4 people at the most. It’s old and rusty. The 3 of us piled in and as I had my pack we barely fit so Mr M put his fingers on the door trigger to prevent the lift doors from closing. The lift starts to ascend. Miss C jokes that she is scared, at least I hope she was joking. I said “You think you’re scared?….”.

The lift stops and we get out. I am not sure what floor we are on because I didn’t pay much attention, I was too busy thinking “What the hell have I gotten myself into”. I can see how old the building is, I would guess it was built in the 1960’s most probably. The apartment is opposite the lift and Miss C opens the door.  I walk in and I am slightly shocked, I wasn’t expecting a palace but I guess I have become too acustomed  to the levels of excess and comfort we live with in Australia . I think to myself, “This is it”. A realtor in Australia would use the terms ‘Cosy’ and ‘Practical’ to describe this apartment. It’s basically a box, maybe 5 metres by 4 metres. There is an old fridge which leans in the little foyer area just inside the front door. Just beyond that there is a small bathroom. I guess I would describe it as a ‘wet room’, but not as you would picture one. The toilet is a part of the shower floor. Beside the toilet is a basin attached to the wall and a mirror above it. On the opposite wall is a hand held shower fitting hanging on the wall. The more I think about it, it is a pretty practical use of such a small space.

Next to this is a door leading through to the main living area. This is the biggest area in the apartment and uses about 2 thirds of the space. Against the biggest wall is a wooden ‘Ikea’ flat pack entertainment unit, with some cupboards and shelves. The floor is floating floorboards. There is a decent sized widescreen plasma TV and a set top box for cable TV. Against the far wall is a backless couch which is also used as a bed. It has a low arm rest on one end which can be used to put your pillows on. Leading off this room and behind the wall of the bathroom is a small kitchenette. There are some big cupboards above and below the sink and on top of the short bench is a gas cooktop.  There are windows on the wall above the bed and in the kitchen. 

We sat down and talked awhile and I ate the Ciorba. It’s really nice, it is a sweet soup with pork meatballs floating in it. I don’t think I have eaten anything I didn’t like the taste of while I have been here. Pork seems to be the feature ingredient in most traditional Romanian dishes. Good thing I like pork . Miss C gets the TV working and we watch the end of one of the Naked Gun movies, it’s the one with OJ Simpson in it. Miss C bought me some sheets, pillows and towels, I thank her and think to myself, “I love this woman”. I ask my friends “Most apartments are like this, this size?”. They reply “Yes”. Miss C tells me that some are even smaller.

I had a thought a few years ago of a way of living that was more social and practical and ecologically sound. A mix of modern living with communal aspects. It wasn’t a hippy commune but more like a shared house with separation. This kind of reminds me of that idea. Small private spaces to sleep and do what you need to do, with communal spaces to eat and be entertained. I guess this is why most Romanians tend to go out a lot. Having said that, compared to the squats I had lived in without electricity and hot water, this was the Marriot.

It’s just after 6:00 PM and my friends have to go home and Miss C wants to see if the internet works so we can text. The apartment comes with broadband internet and we plug it in to try to get connected. In Romania internet is everywhere and a lot faster than Australia. You can access WiFi in most restaurants and bars and usually the apartments will have readily available internet access. We need a username and password it seems and Miss C doesn’t know it. “This fucking sux” I think to myself. Until now Miss C and I have been using WiFi to stay in touch as I didn’t have a SIM card. She asks if I want her to buy me one tomorrow, I say “It’s probably a good idea, but that’s not going to help us tonight”.

Miss C tells me to expect her sometime after 12:00 PM tomorrow, because she can’t message me. She shows me how to lock the door behind them and they leave. The apartment is secure enough. The front door is solid wood with a thick steel frame around the edges and the doorframe. There are 2 triple barrel deadbolt systems. Miss C looks disappointed or concerned about something as she leaves and I am not sure what it is. I eat some more food, crack a can of Ciucas and unpack my clothes and think about what Miss C might have been disappointed about. If I haven’t mentioned Ciucas before, it’s a Romanian beer made by Ursus and it’s fucking delicious. It has a kind of sweet flavour instead of a bitter flavour like most beers but is still 4.7% alcohol. Miss C recommended I try it a few days ago (It’s her favourite beer) and I have become addicted ever since. Not that I needed help to be addicted to beer.

After unpacking, I settle down on the couch just in time to watch the movie ‘Speed’. I haven’t seen it for years. I chuckle at the irony of watching an English language movie with Romanian subtitles, as normally I watch foreign language movies with English subtitles. I try to learn some more Romanian from the subtitles, but I quickly forget the words. I did learn that “Ce Faci?” (How are you?), can mean another question too (I think it was what are you doing?).  As the movie neared its conclusion and the bus with the bomb collides with a freight plane and explodes, I thought to myself… “Damn you Keanu, you may have saved the passengers, but what about that fucking parcel I was waiting on?” By this time I had become very relaxed and comfortable in the apartment. It had everything I needed and I get to continue to spend time with Miss C, what more could I possibly need.

Anyway, ‘Speed’ finished and another movie started, I think it was called ‘Revenge’ starring Kevin Costner. I started watching mainly because Madeline Stowe was in it and I have had a crush on her for years. The good thing about Romanian TV is that there are not too many ads. It was now after 11:00 PM and I had finished my last Ciucas so I decided to go to sleep.

If anyone has any comments or feedback about the blog, feel free to leave a comment. I’m interested to hear what people are liking about it, not liking about it or if you have any questions about anything. If I don’t like what you have to say, I will just ignore you.