Archives for “Relaxing” tag

Cişmigiu Gardens is the biggest public garden in the centre of Bucharest and which is so characteristic for the city. You cannot say Bucharest without also saying Cişmigiu. For me and for the others inhabitants of the city, Cişmigiu is a traditional meeting point, and witness to so many love affairs or personal dramas.

The park was created in 1847 and since then it was restructured many times. Now it has the appearance of a German / Austrian stylish public garden of 1800s. During a walk through its alleys I always like to see again and again its springs, wells, romantic wooden bridges, its familiar lake which becomes an ice-skating arena during winter but on which everybody can navigate on boat during summer or its stone statues of important people like Romanian writers. Also, I like to see here an important collection of different species of trees or flowers.

Soon here it will be opened the ice skating arena so, if you are in the mood for some fun, you know where to find it.

Why I love it? Because I live next to it, because every morning I wake up hearing the birds and the frogs living here, because I hope(d) my love affairs witnessed by this place will last forever, because I’ve shared my most intimate thoughts here.

…Also because the spot has a scent of the past, because it mirrors the history of Bucharest and because… it defines Bucharest.

If you’re searching for a place to chill down in a romantic and oriental atmosphere, Krishna would be the perfect choice for you.

I’m not yet sure if the place has Indian or Arab specific – the paintings on the walls are confusing. Also the music – sometimes Indian, other times Arabian. The problem here is that the music is really loud for a place designed to be something between a cafe and a teahouse. But the good part is the sensation of intimacy the spot offers you – they have separate rooms, so you won’t see other clients if you don’t want to.

At Krishna Caffe you can taste a variety of tea flavours and all type of coffees. They also offer you lots of varieties of ice cream, very good looking and tasty. But the main attractions of the place are the hookahs. You can find plenty of flavours for them and you can try also a wine-hookah or a vodka-hookah. I tried the last one and I must say I’m delighted.

Que Pasa is that kind of pub which makes me want to return. I like the music (Que Pasa is one of the very few rock pubs in town), I like the pleasant atmosphere and, more than anything, I like the sense of familiarity – it seems that everybody knows everybody – and this may be not just a presumption, but the truth (given the fact that most of the customers are regulars of the place).

I have to admit that the way the place is decorated surprised me at first: I was not accustomed with the extremely glaring green walls (a bold choice) and the red lights. But now I think they fit with the huge mirrors and quite minimalist tables and bar seats. And now they have also a projector which allows the clients to watch concerts or movies if they want to.

During the weekend evenings the place is full of people, sometimes it is difficult to find a place where to sit and enjoy your beverage. The weak point of these evening is the fact that the pub hasn’t got a good ventilation – only a few windows open. So there is smoke. But that would not be a problem if you choose the spot for a week time day/evening.

What I like the most? They have all sorts of board games: Monopoly, chess, backgammon etc. I enjoy a lot spending an evening drinking some wine and playing backgammon with some kind-of-friend met just few minutes earlier.

At the Western periphery of Bucharest, near the railroad and in a not very clean and cared of neighborhood, you can find the ruin of the biggest church built in Bucharest before 1800. The spot wasn’t turned into a landmark for tourists maybe because the last part of the road is awful and the place is wild and far from the centre.

The story of this spot is a little bit creepy – the legend says the church is cursed because the Ottoman bombings took place right before the sanctification – so the blessing of the place never happened. Now it is supposed to be haunted. The bell was thrown in Dâmboviţa (the river crossing Bucharest) and now the story says it can be heard at midnight if it is a full moon night.

Yet, I must admit I didn’t hear the bell ringing but I assume it is because I was visiting the place daytime and I left before the sun was preparing to set. Though, I don’t recommend nighttime visits being given the safety of the neighborhood at night.

Anyway, I can assure you it’s a really interesting place, worth seeing even if, like me, you’ll unsuccessfully try to spot the image of Lady’s Chiajna daughter on the right wall of this huge ruin.

Taken together, Gradina Icoanei and Parcul Ioanid are the kind of places you choose for a walk when you’re searching for a quiet and small public garden able to give you an evanescent mark of nostalgia.

Gradina Icoanei (Icon’s Garden) is a neat and charming park in an area famous for its architecture. It has been taken good care of – and it still is, so I would say this place may be viewed like a living piece of an old Bucharest, left untouched by the communist era. Nearby you will find lots of fancy restaurants (most of them with French or Mediterranean cuisine) or intimate teahouses in case you want to eat or drink something.

Even smaller than Gradina Icoanei, Parcul Ioanid (Ioanid Park, now “Ion Voicu”, but nearly nobody knows it by its recent name) is placed right in the neighborhood. Its style and architecture, besides its settlement (on a former creek named Bucurestioara) had inspired some writers to describe the moments spent here in their writings or diaries.

So, what’s so special about these places? The mood. An authentic and inspirational mood. A walk here may resurrect some wistful memories – but this is for inhabitants like me. For the others, so-called strangers, the reassuring effect of these public gardens cannot be denied. It’s the perfect place for an introspective mood – no matter who you are.