The Cracked Violin

It completely  dominates the little green corner called Coltea Park, located in the very heart of Bucharest city .

Coltea Park is near the busy University Square metro station, the Coltea Hospital (oldest in the city), and the Ministry of Agriculture building. It is a very relaxing little place which stands in contrast to the hectic atmosphere around it.

The little green spot  has some benches, a stage for artistic performances, and... a cracked huge bronze violin ( I'm a bit confused as to the difference between violin, viola, fiddle. I'll have to check this up).

Anyway, I stayed at a nearby hotel, and so everyday , on my way to the metro station I stopped to contemplate the violin. Upon return at the end of the day,  I stopped again to have a look at it. It fascinated me; the size of it, the idea behind it - which is : 'the sound of music is so powerful that it  can break even hard matter'' . 

The giant cracked violin representing the spiritual power of music as against the fragility of tough matter (bronze),  was created by a romanian artist after a draft of the  sculptress  Domenica Reggazoni (the daughter of an italian violinmaker).

Attached to its piedestal is a bronze plaque with the inscription "violino spaccato" (broken violin) The violin was erected in 2009 , and since then classic musical concerts are held in this park every summer weekend. I attended such a concert and it was ,of course, a delight to the senses.

evening concert at the Coltea park

The Village Museum

Wow, what a place! So peaceful, colorful and interesting! On a clear, beautiful day one could spend some very happy hours here; there's a lot to see, learn.. and capture with the camera.

The Village Museum ('Muzeul Satului') of Bucharest, is an open-air museum with some over 300 small peasant households from all over Romania. It borders the superb Park Herestrau with its lovely Lake Herestrau located in the northern, elegant part of the city.

park and lake Herestrau

entrance to the museum

The place is organized like a real village with original houses and shaded paths . The houses (wooden /mud/thatched roof houses ) have various patterns of fences, gates, benches and windows mostly made of quality wood. Some of the houses were open to visitors and one could see furniture,rugs and traditional decorative items dating back to 18th and 19th centuries.

Like in any other village one will find here churches, windmills, water-wells, barns, sheds . I also came upon a boat , an inn, and some domestic animals(the cats and hens are adorable).

Maramuresh church

water well

windmill

This Village Museum is a Must -see when in Bucharest. The place is a delight to the senses and it it is for everybody: child and adult. It introduces the visitor to Romania's rural life and architecture in a fascinating way.

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my ' inserted' head on folkdancer's body

GARA DE NORD

I've just returned from a visit to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, and wish to share some of its sites and pictures with you. I'll start with a far- from glamorous spot - the good, old train station 'Gara de Nord' (a replica of Paris' Gare Du Nord).

Gara de Nord (Northern Railway Station ) is Bucharest's main railway station and the largest in Romania. It was built in 1872 (!), and it serves both domestic and international lines.

The station is connected to the city by several bus/ trolley lines and a Metro station; it is also connected to the airport by express bus 780 and by train.

main entrance to the station

Adjacent to the station building - a small plaza dominated by a statue in memory of railway heroes; across the main entrance, there's a tiny park where gypsies find refuge among their rags.

heroes' monument dominating the station plaza


green little park, gypsies and rags

Within the building, there are offices (police office, left luggage office, public relations office, ticket offices), ATMs, information desk, fast -food eateries (Mc Donald's, KFC, and others), mini-markets, booths selling newspapers/phone cards/tobacco.

long hall with offices

hall with eateries, selling booths, cafes

The station has 14 tracks and 8 platforms; some 200 trains per day leave / arrive here.

train platform area

'Gara de Nord' has a rather bad reputation which I think is exaggerated. The station is clean and appears to be quite safe. Like in any crowded place, one has to beware of pickpockets and dubious people. As simple as that. The same applies to its immediate surroundings.The taxi drivers are a bit of a problem, but if you ignore them they let go of you.

I couldn't resist the high rate offered by a money change office outside the station, and... it went ok. I got my money and nothing bad happened to me. Thank God.