Romania also has aviation events
An offer that cannot be refused – The wonderful group of pilots I am a member of, usually fly on a commercial flight to an aviation event in Romania. My friends suggested I join the upcoming trip. I would usually laugh, what can already be seen in Romania after a visit to San Ann Pan in Florida and Oshkosh in Wisconsin which are the biggest aviation events in the world.
Because of the company I decided to try a visit to the land of vampires. I joined a journey of several days in which I will visit an aviation event organized by the Romanian Aviation Organization.
Bucharest – We arrived in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, settled in a hotel and immediately afterwards went for a walk to the old quarter of the city. Stone-paved alleys, restaurants and pubs along them, ancient stone buildings in a style similar to many ancient quarters in various cities across Europe. The road to the old quarter passes through a wide road where traffic flows well. I noticed that the price per minute is listed on the side of the taxi, some at a relatively low price and some at double the price. I could not understand why there is such a difference, but for the Romanian residents the solutions.
Along the way there are designed squares with sculptures in the center. Magnificent buildings stand on the sides of the street. In the evening I got to know the Dublin restaurant, a bit far from the city center. The specialty of the restaurant was its variety of meats. Somehow the evening is over.
The event – The next day we made our way to the airport next to the city, where the airport event took place. I was pleasantly surprised, throughout the day there was a flight demonstration of different types of aircraft, from World War II aircraft to modern fighter jets. Between one flight and another there were amazing aerobatics events by brave pilots. The huge hangar that stood at the entrance to the field was full of stalls selling equipment for pilots, souvenirs, computer software and also attractions for children. In the wide area near the hangar there was a display of airplanes some of which could be climbed and seen from inside.
Huge tents full of tables and benches allowed escaping from the sun to eat something and sip a cold beer.
By evening the event was over and we returned to the hotel for a short rest before leaving for an evening out. Romanian style restaurant featuring traditional dress and chardash dances, nice, delicious food.
Refreshing the body – Of course it is impossible without spending time in the spa, Therme Bucuresti – a luxurious facility north of the city (about half an hour drive). The place offers an indoor heated pool with the possibility of swimming to an outdoor pool, pools with minerals and of course massages beds and facilities for children. A wonderfully cheap daily pastime, just remember to bring a swimsuit and slippers otherwise you will have to purchase them on the spot.
Parliament palace – The next day I visited the Romanian Government House, the Parliament palace. In 1935, Carol II, King of Romania, planned the construction of a House of Representatives on Sapphire Hill. In 1938, the evacuation work began, but the events that took place at that time and during World War II prevented the work from continuing. Nicola Ceausescu decided to renew the initiative and on June 25, 1983, construction work began, which was completed in 1997. One of the most impressive palaces in Europe, dozens of rooms paved with rugs and huge chandeliers falling from the ceiling, the amount of marble, sculptures and pictures would not embarrass the famous palaces in Europe. Tens of thousands of lamps provide lighting for rooms and corridors. A large part of the lighting was turned off in order to save electricity (expenses). The lighting is turned on when a group of tourists enters a hall and turns off the lighting as soon as the last tourist leaves the room.
At some point you reach the terrace overlooking the garden, which is followed by an avenue paved with pools and water fountains, an attempt to imitate the Champs Elysees.
Winter trip to Romania – The trip ended with a good feeling, the company convinced me to go to Romania again, this time in a winter atmosphere. I don’t know if this is my luck but in mid-January to be in Romania and get sun and temperatures kissing 20 degrees Celsius is a dream, especially I heard from my friends that during winter visit they encountered a temperature of almost 20 degrees below zero. Once again we visited the spa that is always nice to freshen up in the mineral pools and have a cocktail at the pool bar while sitting in the warm water.
We rented a car with a driver for a trip to the north, a trip to Poiana-Brasov and Sinaia. We climbed the snowy mountain by cable car to the top of the mountain. We walked a bit in the snow, after a while a wind started to blow, someone said “if you do not want to walk down the mountain you should hurry to catch the cable car before disabling it due to the rising wind.” We did not hesitate and got off the mountain.
The salt mine is an interesting surprise – Later in the trip we visited the beautiful Flash Palace and the garden at its foot, nice, too bad the palace was closed. From there we continued to Dracula’s castle near the village of Bran, at the foot of the castle there is a farmers market where you can buy all the goodies and of course eat local food. The highlight of the trip was the Salina Slanic Prahova salt mine, ticket purchase is done some distance from the mine, we boarded a minibus after a quarter of an hour drive we reached the mine gates, to my surprise the minibus entered the cave and drove for a long time deep underground and stopped before gate. On foot we entered through the gate into a short tunnel at the end of which we passed another gate and then came the surprise, we entered a huge hall carved in the rock about 70 meters high, and then it turns out that it is not one hall but 15 halls that became a tourist site after salt mining stopped. Sculptures stand along the halls and there is even a restaurant for hungry people. It is worth knowing in advance that the temperature is 12 degrees Celsius all year round and it is advisable to bring warm clothes assuming it is summer and you are wearing only a t-shirt.
Another trip to Romania, again to the annual airport event that was as successful as before. This time we contented ourselves with a visit to the spa and a walk to the Old City.
