Bucharest, Romania

We decided to head up to Europe to visit Bucharest, Romania. When I was a kid I was fascinated by the 'Iron Curtain' and with Bucharest as the example, wanted to spend some time understanding how it has changed since the 'curtain' came down.

Romania became part of what was called the Iron Curtain after World War II. There was an imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas- West and East- and efforts by the Soviet Union via the Warsaw Pact to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West: 

   

   The Iron Curtain is depicted as a black line in the above map. The Warsaw Pact countries on one side of the Iron Curtain appear shaded red; NATO members on the other shaded blue.

Romania wasn't prosperous during this time at all. Most monies were funneled back into the Soviet coffers. And under Dictator Ceausescu's rule from the 1960s, the population's living standard dropped to just bearable limits.  Ceausescu was a megalomaniac and made every effort to control his country's isolation from the rest of Europe and even from the "sister" communist countries. When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 and he tried to flee his country, he was found and executed on Christmas Day, 1989.

In the relatively short time since the fall, Bucharest, the capital, has adopted a very open and lively European flair, just like any other of the EU countries. 

              

  It has been described as 'little Paris' or 'Paris of the East'. The city is relatively small with only 2 million, so you don't feel  the density and crowds you see in Paris. Still, you can't help but notice the patisserie shops and coffee shops on the major streets and the wide boulevards and walkways.

We arrived with spring in full bloom and it was absolutely delightful to see budding flowers and the smell of spring. 

             

 Being in desert weather for the past month, it was a wonderful change.