Bucharest Expat » traffic

Why We Love Bucharest

Bucharest Expat — Mon, 24 May 2010 18:52:58 +0000

When I (we) first came to Bucharest it was like being in a completely different Universe. It wasn’t and isn’t your typical European city. In some ways it is even more “exotic” for lack of a better word than the remote areas of the Caribbean or far reaching Asian cities. From the mix of drastically different government systems, ways of being, old versus new, lawlessness versus authority, and “east meets west”, Bucharest, Romania captured our interest in many ways. As a foreigner living in Bucharest, or a traveler now here for the very first time, we can all agree that there are elements that we love about Bucharest, and keep us hungry for more.

Although the mane boulevard, Blvd. Unirii is lined with gaudy fountains framed by hideous communist-era buildings and the rest of the city features “ghetto-esque” blocs as far as the eye can see, there is a certain element of intrigue to the architectural style of Bucharest. Walking down the sidewalks (if you can meander your way through all the improperly parked cars) you’ll notice many architectural gems untouched by Ceasescu’s regime. Does the excitement of finding a diamond in the rough make Bucharest’s architecture that much more enjoyable? Who knows… but it is something we love.

When you first step foot in to a car here you know you’ve entered the realm of impossibility: your very own real-life video game. I don’t mean this in a “dangerous” sense but come on, let’s face it… a very small percentage of people here obey the traffic laws. Not only do they disobey the traffic laws, but the seem to spit in the face of general laws of physics. Oh… the stripes in the road? Forget about ‘em. If you’ve tried for any prolonged period of time to actually “obey” the traffic laws, or for that matter drive as you are accustomed to then you know what I mean. So what do you do when vehicles on your right hand side turn left in front of you at intersections? What do you do when someone pulls there car 90% into oncoming traffic (your lane) just to see if you slow down to let them cut you off? What do you do when someone proceeds to change lanes in an attempt to occupy the same physical space you currently occupy? Well you do absolutely nothing other than laugh and enjoy it. Imagine if you will that your car is one big virtual reality headset and your steering wheel is a video game controller! Have fun. Drive safe. You gotta love the fact the traffic laws can be whatever you make them. The golden rule? Don’t hit anyone. Period. Cause no harm. What else do we love about driving here? The Police of course! As a foreigner who “happens” to not speak Romanian when getting pulled over, the most one can do is shrug your shoulder and say “I don’t understand” when asked for your “documents”. The worst case? A bribe. Try that in your home country.

The Women in Bucharest are amazingly beautiful, especially after arriving from the US. Many foreigners come here to meet that “special someone”, of course in whatever way shape or form that may take. The women were a surprise to me when coming here for the first time. You catch yourself saying “boy I wish so-and-so” could come see this. (Apologies here to the women that are reading this, but the Romanian guys just are NOT something we love here). We secretly love (although in a way hate) to watch the zombie-like migration to the KFC’s, McDonalds’ and Starbuck’s of Bucharest. Yep, the materialistic western world is coming forth at break-neck speed!

The dance clubs here are said to rival many in the World. Alright, so now is a great time to tell you how shocked we were the first time we visited Romania, and a trip to the coast was complete with coffee shops featuring dancing girls in lingerie on little wicker podiums. Of course… why can’t they do this in the US? Must be some thing called legislating morality. Darn.

Nowhere in Europe is there any other city that features so many high end and exotic cars. From McLarens to Phantoms, and Veyrons to Murcielagos you’ll see some of the most expensive cars in the World right here in Bucharest! Never mind the fact that the black Rolls-Royce sitting next to you used to belong to some poor unsuspecting victim of overseas car theft (must be nice to find a 500k car for 100k) or that the Aston Martins in Dorobanti probably belong to someone who lives in a 35 square meter studio flat in the industrial zones… a sacrifice that many Romanian guys must make in order to flash the size of their… umm… you get the point. Hah! Where else can you see this kind of stuff! Yet another reason why we love Bucharest.

Have you ever looked deeper in to the history of Bucharest, the “why” and the progression of the way things are the way they are here? It is intriguing and full of little “rabbit holes” and insights into the psychology and mindsets of people caught between two worlds. In studying the rich history of Romania you begin to love the culture even more.

From the entertaining driving style, to the wide variety of things to do, the late night strolls in old town Lipscani, to the weekend drives to the Carpathian Mountains there are many things we love about Romania… what’s your story you would love to share with our readers?

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Transportation Strike Rumors

Bucharest Expat — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:28:04 +0000

On March 18th there will supposedly be a Metro strike in Bucharest. This has happened quite often, a memorable one being in 1999 when drivers went on strike demanding the average $113 equivalent monthly salary be doubled. This time, after listening to the “rumor mill” saying everything from their will be 10,000 cars intentionally blocking the road while the public transportation lines are blocked, to the “everybody will miss school and work”, to “we wish to create another Greece”, we’ve searched various media sources to find out the “probable” scenario for this strike: It looks like what is going to happen, is that on the 18th of March, as announced by the president of the trade unions of the Metro, 4,600 employees will strike, halting the main metro line “indefinitely”. As a result of this Bucharest Public Transportation Strike, more people will be driving their cars to and from their destinations. As is already well known around Bucharest, the traffic can be miserable at times. Most of the time. So if you drive or will be planning to drive as a result of this be SURE to give yourself ample time to get to your destinations just in case. If you can take the tram or are within walking distance you may be better off. Let’s see what happens!

Click Here for a direct link to the best article on the Bucuresti Metro Stirke

Click Here to see an article on the 1999 Strike

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Icy Roads & Crowded Metros

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:30:20 +0000

Well, it’s still snowing out there, and if you’ll take a look at the webcams on our site (click here) you can “judge” which driving routes look as though they’ll be less likely to have ice on them. Yesterday being the first day of snowfall in Bucharest, there was a time for “adjustment”. The roads were very slick… I actually followed one of the plow trucks with a “gritter” attachment, sprinkling the salt around on the roads, but the mechanism was clogged, so he was only salting the back of the truck. Wonder who’s paying for that.

Sitting in traffic was ofcourse a nightmare. an hour from Mihai Bravi to Unirii…lol. That evening I thought I would be “smart” and park the car and take the metro. Turns out everyone else in Bucharest wished to be “smart” as well, so the metro was like herding cattle and took a long time, and the roads had freed up. My solution? Stay at home. If you have to go somewhere, take your car, but search wisely for alternate routes and back roads. Don’t plan on taking the tram or the bus until you confirm they are running at proper schedule. If you are close to a metro station, pop your head down there first to gauge the crowds. Remember: riding in the Metro in close proximity to everyone puts you at risk of being pick pocketed during the holidays.

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Webcams & More At Your Fingertips!

Bucharest Expat — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:15:51 +0000

It’s always interesting to watch some webcams from around the World to see what the cities look like. Here’s a collection of live webcams from various source in and around Bucharest. Great for checking out traffic conditions.

You’ll find all these webcams by clicking on the images below, but you can also find the on the “Webcam” page on the upper toolbar of the Bucharest Expat Site.

Also of note, there is a pretty handy little traffic flow and congestion map out there.. now it’s here. Occasionally you’ll see this project on the LED billboards at Pita Unirii, expecially when there is a blockage for a political route. You’ll find this under our webcam section as well.

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Banaesa Tunnel Finished… maybe

Bucharest Expat — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:14:13 +0000

So we drove to the Banaesa Mall tonight, for the sole purpose of getting a Chocolate Cinnabon (7ron, 4ron w/out chocolate) and surprisingly enough the tunnel was complete. Wow. Only 2 years ahead of expectations. Surely doesn’t have anything to do with elections. No way. So here’s the funny part. After researching this “early opening” (targeted for before December 1st) it turns out that the media was on site when the first of the cars traveled through the new tunnel. The unveiling I suppose. They [media] then stayed around all day curious as to what effect this would have on “easing” the flow of traffic and traffic jams. The result? A whopping 3% increase in efficiency. LOL. The reasoning? Well, for starters, you still have multiple lanes merging and converging in to 2 lanes, both of which immediately encounter a series of three traffic lights. While you are trying to merge, you are also trying to figure out which lane you should choose altogether to either be “in” the tunnel or “out.”

We opted out of the tunnel this time, to head to the left passing the Phoenecia Grand Hotel. It was after our swing to the right around the new piata, then are left turn, that we realized the vehicles turning left are indeed limited to one lane, as the secondary lane is “parking”. So again on the brakes and cutting in between unwilling vehicles, all the while sending the domino effect of brake lights all the way back to Otopeini and beyond. Nice try Bucharest transportation dept. better keep the road designs to the 10 year olds… it’ll work better. I guess widening the road the old fashioned way was not enough of a show!

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Seek Alternate Route From Baneasa

Bucharest Expat — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:12:52 +0000

Just an annoyance that you’ll have if you’re coming into town. Forget about turning left into town after the Baneasa Airport. The tunnel construction (due for end of year completion) for some reason beyond the scope of reality has prohibited a left turn at that specific intersection, as well as ANY U-turn from there all the way to Charles de Gaulle. You’re looking at a nice jaunt to the next piata or round about before you can come back in the other direction. If you’re headed towards the center, you’ll probably do just fine, however if you’re heading towards Pipera, (or even staying at the Pheonecia) it will be a pain in the butt. If you plan accordingly you could take the bypass prior to Baneasa Shopping city and cut through the residential areas, which will then inevitably spit you out in Pipera.

For those of you that enjoy some humor, you may actually wish to drive by the tunnel construction during mid-day just to see some of the Romanian workers down on there hands and knees brushing away the concrete overages with tiny toothbrush sized brushes. I wonder why it takes three times longer than average for construction. huh

Don’t Worry About Driving Style

Bucharest Expat — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:48:21 +0000

When driving you’ll be sure to notice the horn-honking and headlight-flashing that goes on almost on a regular basis. This is not something to really be overly concerned with, because like motorists in other countries, Romanians feel a great sense of security and almost invincibility behind the wheel (especially if it’s a fancy wheel). No matter what they do, they probably won’t run in to you, as when you have an accident (illegal) all parties involved must take the drive to the local police station, where they will be greeted with hours of paperwork and waiting around. Nobody really wants to do that. When your going straight at an intersection and the person in the left lane is trying to drive through you to turn right, just be aware, but don’t freak out… they probably won’t hit you, just intimidate you. The horn honking? They are either having a bad day, or the traffic light you can’t see just turned green 1/1,000 of a second ago….so you should be well under way by now. If you think you’re doing something wrong while driving, forget about it…. just laugh. Ignore all the other B.S. and just get where you need to go. As long as you don’t drink and drive, crash in to something, speed through the villages, and wear your seat belt, then you’ll be just fine.

Aggressive Driving

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:58:33 +0000

Ok everyone, here is a chance to comment with your “driving stories”…

The ability for a foreigner to come to Bucharest and “get away with almost anything” while driving has virtually come and gone. New laws and traffic cams, and stricter Politia (rutiera, or road police) have drastically cut down your chances of “video game-esque” driving techniques. But that doesn’t mean that people still aren’t out there being crazy! Watch out for American plates, as they think they are super-human with Godly status enabled wherever they go. Keep a close eye out for the “new rich” in their BMW, Audi, or Mercedes, pseudo-luxury “look at me” vehicles, as their newly found, however short term wealth, obviously doesn’t include an education in the laws of physics. So what’s your story? You know you have one….

The Invincible Pedestrian

Shopaholics Take Note…

Bucharest Expat — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:54:34 +0000

If you’re like me, you always need to take a tour of the finer boutiques and check out the prices…Take a stroll down Victoriei to start, near the Hyatt and the new Radisson to spot some trendy boutique shops. There is a new mall over near the Ikea at Baneasa, probably the most American style mall around here, but it seems to be pretty deserted during the weekdays. Unless you have a dire desire to see this complex, or happen to be in the area, I would advise against going, as the traffic returning on the parkway into town is miserable. Expect an hour to go 3 kilometers. They’re in the process now of digging a new tunnel, so it creates some chaos.

Vitan mall is still the best of them all, with a little bit of everything at pretty much every price point. They have a decent food court, a Starbucks with an outdoor terrace, a media galaxy on the top floor for all your electronics needs, a great cinema, and even some after hours billiards halls upstairs. Check it out!

The real gems are the hole in the wall shops and stores… let us know what’s out there to see everyone!

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