In my last post I wrote and hopefully showed you the hidden gems in Prague – a beautiful city! The location that I actually stayed at featured in Dan Browns latest novel – “The Secrets of Secrets”. This was an amazing coincidence which made me love Prague even more! In this post I arrive in Bucharest and check into I would say one of the most fun hostels I’ve ever stayed in! Keep reading and please share this post 🙂

Bucharest, Romania

Oh my god, landing in Bucharest was so hot. Stepping out of that airport initially at 34 degrees I felt so dehydrated and so exhausted already. I had to get the 100 bus to Piata Unirii which I think is towards the centre of Bucharest. From there it was just a 4 minute walk or so to T5 Social Hostel. 

However on exiting the airport Google maps gave me directions that were further ahead than just the bus stop at exiting the airport. So for 10 minutes or so I was kind of just walking around in circles trying to find a bus stop which I had already passed. It was so frustrating. 

Anyway once I saw the 100 bus, it was just a case of tapping my contactless card on the machine and finding a seat. Bucharest on first glance in that ride to the hostel, looked like any other city. It didn’t seem very touristy to begin with. There were no great big roads with cafes and restaurants, but it was just full of large buildings and residential areas much like you’d see in a metropolitan city in the UK. 

My hostel was not in a lively area as such, it was more on a residential road with few places to eat directly on the road. However, this was quite nice in a way to get away from all the buzz and commotion of a city centre. The check in reception was actually at the bar which was easily accessible by anyone from the street. The only locked parts was the hostel itself where you’d need a code to get in. The bar was actually quite comfy. It was outdoors. There were chairs and tables as well as a tent with some bean bags to sit in. So it was quite a comfy place to have a drink and just relax. 

On approaching the bar, the bartender checked me the usual way by checking my ID etc. You also had to pay some tax as a tourist which I used my card for. This came out to about £30 which seemed a bit much for a tourist tax for 3 days but ok fine. 

I was then given a quick tour of the facilities and hostel. There would be activity nights everyday from 7-10PM at the bar and I was shown the board with the activities for each day. This ranged from bingo, karaoke, quiz nights and talent competitions. This was interesting and would be quite fun I suppose. 

I was shown the bathrooms and showers. These were outside of the room and were shared by the entire floor I guess so it would mean having to leave the room in order to shower or use the toilet and then come back in. This was good in some ways but in others it was a little inconvenient if for example you had just showered but preferred to get changed in your room rather than within the shower so as not to be walking around half naked to your room. But it’s fine, not a big deal. 

The room itself was quite basic but had pretty much everything you’d need. I was at the top of a bunk bed. What I liked about this one compared to my previous hostel was that each bed had a curtain for privacy. There was also a little light for each bed rather than a full lamp which would light up the entire room. 

I had my own locker which I used my own padlock with. The locker was large enough to store all my luggage in with a bit of room left over for other miscellaneous stuff. So all in all it was pretty comfy. There was also a sofa in the room which had comfortable carpets that you could just sit back and relax in to get a bit of a rest rather than climbing up to your bed. Once I locked up all my luggage, the first thing I needed was a drink and just a bit of a rest to be honest so I headed straight for the bar in the early afternoon.

I only went out in the evening to get some dinner when it was a bit cooler. I went to a restaurant or possibly a bar called George and Dragons. I can’t remember what I ordered but it was ok but perhaps a little less flavoursome than I would have liked. It tasted very plain. But never mind, it was nice to be in a nice restaurant with some food and a drink. I had previously met a couple of guys at the bar who were not staying at the hostel but were just grabbing a drink. On my way back to the hostel I met them again on the streets. I’m not sure if they were going home or getting something to eat too. Just said hey and explained that I just got some food.

By the time I got back to the hostel the night was already under way and if I remember correctly it was just a kind of a comedy night with stand ups. It was fine just to kick back and enjoy whoever came on.

I tried to make a few conversations back in the tent with a drink. But I’ve generally found women to be a lot more open than guys. I’m not trying to chat anyone up, it’s just a conversation to meet new people. But I’ve found guys probably take it the wrong way and be a bit more cold. 

There was one guy who I raised some initial questions to but he just came across really cold. It was only until another woman sat down, who I came to find out later her name was Joanna. When Joanna sat down the guy was much more communicative towards her so you know what I just left them to it, whatever.

Touring Bucharest

The next full day was when I did most of my touring of Bucharest. But as mentioned it was so bloody hot. 

My first stop was the stavropoleos monastery. This was a small monastery. I wasn’t aware if you could actually go inside the church as there weren’t a lot of people there, it was just me and one other lady. So most of my visit was in the small courtyard which had old pieces of walls or writings that were scattered around with some descriptions of what they were. 

There were a couple of chairs and benches which I used to sit on. It was quite peaceful actually because the monastery was pretty empty and as it was away from the roads, it was away from all the noise and you also had quite a bit of shade in the court area. It was a peaceful area.

It was still quite early in Romania and I am a morning person. What I have experienced in Romania however is that it is not a morning country at all! The first shops and even museums open about 10 in the morning which is much later than I would really hope with a day of activities planned. 

So for the morning I spent most of my time just walking around and waiting for things to open up. My next stop was the Bucharest Municipal Museum which had still not yet opened by this point.

This is quite a small museum which is pretty basic but some artefacts are interesting. The entry is less than 2 Euros so as you can imagine it is quite a basic museum. There were various artefacts describing the history of Romania and its relationship with the rest of Europe. There were interesting artefacts on coinage and even needles. 

So a basic museum but something worth visiting to pass the time. They only accept cash at the door by the way but you can buy tickets online through a QR code at reception which I did but I think I paid a bit more than the advertised price. Possibly because the website was in Romanian and I did not translate initially.

I visited the Revolution Square after this which was a little busier. This is a really historical part of Bucharest that is surrounded by Government buildings. The area itself was very nice with beautiful architecture. There was a big wall with I assume the names of soldiers that had died in the battle for liberation. It was a nice area to sit and relax and just take in all the surroundings. I did have to sit down at that point as the temperature had really risen and my sugar levels had also dropped. It was 34 degrees at that moment. I sat down in a little shaded area and had a small snack and gave my mum a call whilst I was there.

There is a nice park close by with trees and a lake – Lake Cișmigiu. This was a really lovely lake and park with natural trees and kids just running around in the play area. It was a beautiful relaxing park just to have a stroll if it wasn’t for the bloody heat! 

I ran out of water by this point in my bottle and needed to refill. However the water fountain was quite weird as it only shot water upwards so it was quite difficult to fill a bottle as you had to catch the water as it was falling back down. This was pure comedy. What should have normally taken 10 seconds to fill my bottle ended up taking 7 – 10 minutes with passers by getting a quick laugh.

I was feeling really dehydrated even at that point but I still wanted to go to the Parliament Palace. This was not a good idea in this heat. The area surrounding the Parliament Palace is predominantly concrete. There are no trees and hence no shade. And because of the size of the area, you had to walk in the sun for long distances to reach the entrance. 

This was absolutely torture which resulted in my sugar levels going consistently low. You will find that large parts of Bucharest roads are just concrete. The only aspects of nature are in parks but the majority of the streets are really just concrete. This is really bad in terms of town planning and livable space as concrete absorbs more heat. It’s what’s referred to as Concrete heat sinks or something like that. It just increases the general temperature of the environment. A bit of nature like a tree here and there like we have in the UK would regulate the climate a bit more but this is quite absent in Bucharest unfortunately.

With my low sugar levels which were not rising, the dehydration, the heat and the lack of shade it got to the point where I practically collapsed in the park whilst trying to find the Parliament Palace. 

It was a shame that no one really provided any assistance even though I was on the floor. Maybe they thought I was drunk or something but I didn’t receive any assistance from anyone which would have been really helpful. I was lying there for a few minutes and found the energy to eat another snack and drink some water. I came to the decision that I’m just going to get an uber and go back to the hostel. 

The uber was causing me a bit of frustration because the pick up point required me to walk 5 or so minutes from where I was. This was not ideal as I was in the midst of a medical emergency. However, I asked for a bit of help from a local shop owner and asked if he knew where this pick up point was and he pointed out to the location which looked kind of like an entrance to a government building. It was a short walk but it was torture. I was so tired and not well. I was relieved once I got in and the uber driver explained to me that he couldn’t call. Stupidly my other number was registered to the uber account rather than the phone that I was using.

It was a short drive back to the hostel which was a relief as I really needed the loo at this point! The taxi driver was nice but I think generally with Romanians they can come across at first as very cold and uninterested. This is how he came across initially but it’s fine, I just wanted to get back to my bed. 

I was dropped off on the street outside the hostel but I was so disorientated at this point that I didn’t actually see the hostel and felt a bit lost. But this feeling was short and I entered the code to the front door and entered the dorms. First thing after dropping off my bags was to use the loo and soon after that I just took off my top and lied down on the bed for 15 minutes. I couldn’t get any sleep but it was just resting at that point and having a break. 

I was still quite hot so I decided to have a shower. It wasn’t initially intended but I ended up having a cold shower which was absolutely amazing and did wonders just to get me back alive properly. I didn’t immediately go to bed following getting dressed but headed straight to the bar to get a mango juice this time. This was very refreshing but interestingly the mango juice costs more than a bottle of beer!

Stay tuned to see how I make friendships in holidays and why I think having a healthy mindset is so important! If you’re loving this blog please do keep sharing and help me to keep this site going! I would be so appreciative – thank you!