Away to live: We begin in Bucharest

Early-morning view from our Bucharest apartment

It's my turn to touch the land of ancestors, and so we set our sights on Romania. This is a beautiful country, about the size of Oregon, and October is the perfect month to see the colorful fall foliage I've been craving. During our trip, one of our guides tells us: Some who travel are tourists, trying to see as much as they can in a short time without stopping to inhale. Others (us?) are travelers, who want to stop, listen and understand what they see. I may not agree that I am not "just another tourist," but I take his words to heart and vow to be a traveler.

The Roman Athenaeum in Bucharest

The lobby of the Roman Athenaeum in Bucharest

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is in the southern part of the country. I've tried to learn a few phrases in advance of our trip, but the words escape me. Romanian is a Latin-based language, unlike the Slavic languages of the countries that surround it. But the cadence is very different from French or Spanish or Italian. It's easy on the ears, but not so simple for me to replicate.

'The Monumental Ensemble The Wheelbarrow' at
Ion Luca Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest

Church of the Stavropoleos Monastery in Bucharest

The city is lively, especially so during our first days here when the weather is warm and the last celebrations of summer are taking place. It's as if everyone knows that it's the last warm weekend of the year; prepare to bundle up for the next few months.

Bucharest lights up for "In a New Light" celebration.

We're lucky to be here for the last night of Bucharest's "In a New Light" celebration where buildings and statues are lit up in spectacles designed by artists from around the world. It seems the whole city is strolling along Calea Victoriei enjoying the show.

We cheer on runners in the Budapest Marathon.

We take a walking tour the morning after we arrive, which gives us a list of things we want to do during the rest of our stay here. As well, we receive a fascinating history lesson ranging from royalty (Romania imported its first king from Germany), religion (there are hundreds of churches here), the city's "Little Paris of the East" era, and the reign of Nicolae Ceaușescu.

Graffiti on a building in Bucharest

When Communism and the Soviet Bloc fell in 1989, the dictator was arrested and ultimately executed, but only after thousands of people were killed. We meet several people during our weeks here who worry that many younger Romanians with no memory of the Ceaușescu era are becoming cavalier about the possibility of rising rightwing fascism in their country. It's a familiar sentiment.

A mural on a building in Bucharest

Sarmale (stuffed cabbage) is served with polenta and hot peppers at Copac in Bucharest.

And now, let's turn to food. Romanian cuisine is hardy, usually meat-based (some say pork is the national vegetable), and the portions served in restaurants are huge and inexpensive. My favorite dish here is stuffed cabbage (sarmale). Meals are typically served with polenta, rather than fries, and the pickles are absolutely delicious. I won't complain about the sweets either.

We finally find pastrami at In House Pastrami in Bucharest, and we eat here twice.

The National Village Museum in Bucharest

Romania has a deep peasant and folkloric culture, and it's on display even in the large city of Bucharest. One day we walk to the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum, an open-air park that contains more than 300 houses and other structures from the 17th through 20th centuries.

The National Village Museum in Bucharest

On another afternoon we are nearly the only visitors at the The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, a charming museum that could benefit from some English signage.

Bowls on display at the Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest

Some notable things I learned in Bucharest: It's the only city to be bombed by three countries during World War II. A major earthquake is likely in the next 10 years, but the city isn't prepared, according to our guide and trained geologist, Adrian. Although Dracula is a fictional character, vampires are an important part of Romanian folklore, and some churches advocate the use of silver spikes on corpses of questionable character.

Overall, the city is affordable and easy to navigate. The museums and other sites offer generous discounts for pensioners. I am continually raising my camera to document the façades of Byzantine churches tucked among Art Deco mansions, Romanian Revival landmarks, Communist-era concrete blocks, and contemporary glass and steel towers. Bucharest truly is an eclectic city.