Walking around Bucharest part 1

Walking around Bucharest part 1 : Unarte, Calea Victoriei, Cărturești 

The National University of Arts, București 

The next day, at 10.00 AM I meet with my two quest friends in front of my dorm where we start our day of urban exploration in Bucharest. The first destination we are walking towards is The National University of Arts, the uni I am a student at. We pass through the “campus” situated on Griviței street where are the buildings of the Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design with its departments such as Textile Design, Ceramics, Fashion, Metalwork, Graphic Design, Restoration and so on.

The painting studio from the Faculty of Fine Arts 

The following stop is in the other large main building of the university which hosts the Faculty of Fine Arts where departments like Painting, Graphic, Photo-video carry out their activity. Here, we are going to the second floor where there are the painting studios among which is also found the one I am a part of.

I want to show and present to my friends the painting studio of my faculty because while I was in Saarbrucken I was often telling them about that our “ateliers” are quite different than the one we used to share in Germany regarding to the way in which the students are creating, the configuration of the space and the overall aspect of the studio.

Now they can understand more my point of view. I show them around the studio, explain the fact that there are 10 students coming from the first and second year of Master working in the atelier and invite them to my little corner where I usually exercise my creativity. Unfortunately, because the winter vacation is just around the corner, there is nobody currently working in the studio which makes the atelier a bit cold, without any interesting activity or movements. 

Strolling on Calea Victoriei, one of the principal boulevards of București 

When the studio tour is finished, we get out and head towards the city center by walking on one of the main boulevards of the Romanian capital: Calea Victoriei. As we stroll on the street, I point to my friends some of the most significant institutions and monuments that we encounter such as

1. The National Museum of Art – which used to be the royal residence of the Kings of Romania 

2. The Athenaeum,

3. The Statue of Carol 1, the first King of Romania 

4. The Renaissance Memorial (all of them being located in the Revolution Square).

   The last one mentioned stands out the most and I explain to my quests that the monument was built in to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Revolution when the communist regime fell down, the leaders of it being killed.

Valea Regilor 

Going forward we pass by lots of luxury stores and hotels until we reach the entrance of Valea Regilor, a pedestrian passage way between Calea Victoriei and Lipscani – the historical city center of Bucharest. The passage way is very impressive and photogenic being covered with colored glass and having many cafes with terraces where people can enjoy a drink, a meal or relax by smoking some sisha. Because is morning the area is not so populated and we don’t stay here too much but continue our exploration inside the old city center.

Centru vechi din București: strada Lipscani 

The historical center of the Romanian capital is a large area located between Universității Square and Unirii Square that includes many unique streets, small and large squares, historical monuments, statues, palaces, churches, inns among which the most known one is a street called “Lipscani”, famous for the intensive trade was made here back in the days.

What makes these pedestrian streets so special and attractive is probably the architecture of the buildings - the majority of them being built in the 19th century by following modern styles like neoclassicism and neo-baroque – which are now animated by the many restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, outdoor terraces, various shops, libraries that are very welcoming to all of the tourists.

The "Cărturești" library: the old can be beautifully restored

Apart for seeing the facet of the historical city center, the reason why I bring my friends here has to do with a library named “Cărturești” which is maybe one of my favorite place in Bucharest. Thus, walking on Lipscani street at number 55 we discover the tall, white and fresh façade of the monument building dating back to the 19thcentury.

The interior of Cărturești is very wide spread on six floors and now due to the Christmas holidays is beautifully decorated with massive ornaments hanging from the top of the roof.

A very white and elegant construction 

What makes me to like the library so much is the clean, well-organized space of everything and the attention to details, the interior having a very elegant appearance with clean white walls and pillars, wooden floors, spiral staircases, a roof made of glass through which the natural light enters and elevators – so the 19th century construction is not trapped in time, but alive through contemporary innovation.

The perfect place for last Christmas shopping 

Cărturești is not only about books, but also about music, crafts, gifts, film, tea, the library having, besides the book shelters, a multimedia space in the basement, a contemporary art gallery, a bistro on the last floor and little spots where people can sit and browse pages of a book that they are not yet sure whether to buy it or not.

We spend a lot of time in here looking especially after small Christmas gifts among the plenty we could choose beginning with flavorful teas and coffees, little Christmas tree decorations, chocolate snacks, too cute designed sketchbooks, art supplies, accessories, souvenirs, games, tote bags, mugs and finishing with albums or books written in Romanian or English.

The art gallery inside Cărturești: what a good concept! 

We are passing through each floor and on the 5th floor we also have the opportunity to see an art exhibition belonging to a Romanian contemporary artist, Dumitru Gorzo and titled “Lucrări cu coadă, urmează cu vârf”.

The artworks are not necessarily on my taste, but I think Cărturești is doing a very good job by organizing a space dedicated to the exposure and support of the Romanian art. This is a fact that gives the place an even higher cultural addition. The small gallery fits perfectly in the comprehensive capacity of the library. From up here we are not only admiring the displayed paintings, but also the entire spectacular view of the book store.

Do we buy something from here in the end?

I end up buying a small gift for a friend of mine consisting in a bag of chocolate orange tea which smells heavenly amazing. My fellows end up purchasing things that I am not actually allowed to look at. Maybe after one hour of looking around the fascinated Cărturești we decide to leave and continue our adventure throughout Bucharest.

Cărturești: recommended or not? Else where you can discover the library 

The conclusion is that Cărturești should be for sure included on people’s list of places to visit in the Romanian capital because the location is totally worth it considering its history, placement, development, products that have to offer and atmosphere. You should know that this is not the only location where you can find the library, actually there are a couple of Cărturești in Bucharest which are placed in malls such as Veranda, Park Lake, Verona, Afi or other spots. However, throughout Romania the library can be discovered in cities like Ploiești, Cluj Napoca, Brașov, Timișoara, Constanța, Sibiu, Arad. 

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