It's getting rare to catch me out at night. I remember my teens and young adulthood when most nights were spent in the city. I live in a city and when I say I party in the city I would like it to be understood that this means in the middle of the city, in the central area where most cinemas, theatres, cafes, and terraces are located.
Now that so many years have passed by, I understand from my own experience that we humans change our habits and preferences with age. What was very much in our youth, i.e. spending leisure time, especially at night, in the city, changes radically in old age, when we prefer the warmth, quiet, and safety of our home.
This doesn't exclude a night out, usually to watch a show. Especially in summer, when the coolness of the night makes any outing more pleasant.
In winter it's different. It's more difficult for people like me. Because of the cold. Winter in the city isn't so nice...
The center of the center in Bucharest is the University Square. That's where kilometre zero is. From there distances to all destinations are measured.
Snow and ice patches make the journey difficult and risky. On the sidewalks, the snow still has some of its white color but at the edge, it is almost black, because of the pollution made by cars.
In the university square, there are three iconic buildings of the city, one of which is my favorite.
Former Intercontinental Hotel, now Grand Hotel Bucharest
The Intercontinental Hotel was built in 1970, in the communist era of Romania.
It was for a long time the second tallest building in the city, with a height of 90 meters.
It can be seen that it is twice as tall as the nearby buildings. The height of the building, almost a hundred meters, is not impressive at all, but there are no tall buildings in Bucharest. Romania's capital is in an active and dangerous seismic zone, with strong earthquakes of over 7 Richter degrees, which happens every 40-50 years. The most recent earthquake was in 1977... so we are now waiting, with fear, for the next one to happen!
I have only been to this hotel once when I attended a friend's wedding.
It was a late January night, a cold and damp night because of the fog.
The passers-by, sparse and dressed in heavy, thick clothes, look sad and pressed. The cold, blue color cast on the hotel seems to make the cold even colder!
Next to the Grand Hotel Bucharest is the city's second iconic building, this time cultural. A building with a much warmer image, because of its size and warm colors.
National Theatre Bucharest
Built in 1973. Perhaps the most modern building was built during the communist era. The country's leader, the communist dictator, was not satisfied. He didn't like the architecture, especially the hat-like roof, and ordered the original appearance to be changed.
The entire facade of the building has been masked with walls. I don't have photos from that time...
After the fall of communism, the theatre building was rebuilt. In 2012 the walls were removed and other elements added. What you see now is the shape of the original project.
This is my favorite building, both in form and content. It houses one of the best theatres in Romania.
Because I talked about theatre...
As I said above, I rarely go out at night unless I have to go to a show. And this time it was the same. I went to a charity show, for the benefit of children of a village near Bucharest. The children recited poems and performed songs...
The performance of these children was impressive and their shyness, curiosity, and excitement were moving.
The money raised from these performances is donated to the village school, for renovation works and to buy teaching and cultural materials for the children.
At the end of the show the night was even more night, the cold even colder, the fog even foggier!
We did the route in reverse. From the auditorium to the subway station.
It seems strange that there are more people on the street now, but there is an explanation. Many passers-by came out of the children's performance, just like us.
The hotel and the National Theatre, plus the statuary group in front of the theatre, called the straw doll wagon!
People were scattered everywhere. Lost souls through the cold winter night!
When we arrived at University Square, that is when we got out of the metro station, the first thing we saw was the imposing hotel building.
When I came back, the last thing I saw was the same building. A building that we have known for over fifty years since it was "born". Just like the National Theatre building.
