Bucharest: The City Of Contrasts

In most big cities, you'll have a noticeable distinction between various suburbs - types of architecture, affluence, age of buildings etc. In Bucharest, you notice huge differences depending where on a specific block you are.

Here's a perfect example. I started off by walking down this beautiful street ...

... and then spotted this fascinating old building ...

... and then turned the corner into a new street and saw this ultra-modern building ...

... and then admired this famous landmark ...

... before laughing at this great example of Bucharest 'parking' ... (people really are this desperate)

... and then ending up at the most spectacular landmark of them all ... (no, I haven't detoured to Paris - see Romanian flag on top?)

... which has some really amazing details if you look more closely ...

... and there you have it, another day in Bucharest.

(Ok, my 'real' day actually consisted of another fascinating meeting with a Romanian journalist, and saw me lugging 3m long heavy floor skirting boards onto a bus between Bricostore and my wife's apartment, but this is the touristy side.)