Tram 32
I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post. This language program has been keeping me very busy. So while I have a lot to write about, I don't have much time to write. I have a lot to tell you about the last week and a half in Brasov, but first I'd like to backtrack a bit to Bucharest.
When I first arrived in Bucharest this summer, I was intrigued by an article that I read in "Bucharest in Your Pocket" about Tram 32. The article (which has some great pictures, if you care to check it out) described "a pointless journey on public transport in Bucharest," and it claimed that a ride on Tram 32 would reveal "Bucharest as you've never seen it." That was enough to catch my attention, so I invited my friend Elspeth from the Embassy to join me on my little adventure. On my last Saturday in the city we took a ride on Tram 32.
Tram 32 passes through Rahova, which might be described as a working class neighborhood in Bucharest. Along the main streets, it looked relatively safe, but it is not one of Bucharest's nicer areas. We rode the tram to the second to last stop and got out at Piata Rahova, where there is a large market selling everything from pomegranates to suits. Piata Rahova was full off people and activity. It was livelier than similar neighborhoods that I've seen, but the claim that it was "Bucharest as you've never seen it" made me think that maybe the guidebook's target audience doesn't mingle with ordinary Bucharest residents very often.
In addition to its busy marketplace, Rahova's claim to fame is its painted blocs. As you may have seen in some of my other Bucharest photos, most blocs in the city are a uniform cement gray. In Rahova, the blocs are painted in bright colors, an idea that the local city counselor borrowed from Tirana, Albania. Although they don't look quite as nice as the ones in Tirana, the colors actually make the blocs look somewhat more cheerful.
By far the best part of the trip, however, was the ride to Piata Rahova. Shortly after we got on the tram, a man with an accordion got on and started walking up and down the center of the cars serenading us.
Unfortunately, I took the video sideways and couldn't figure out how to rotate it. However, the video is short and definitely worth watching. You'll just have to pretend that it's upright.
When I first arrived in Bucharest this summer, I was intrigued by an article that I read in "Bucharest in Your Pocket" about Tram 32. The article (which has some great pictures, if you care to check it out) described "a pointless journey on public transport in Bucharest," and it claimed that a ride on Tram 32 would reveal "Bucharest as you've never seen it." That was enough to catch my attention, so I invited my friend Elspeth from the Embassy to join me on my little adventure. On my last Saturday in the city we took a ride on Tram 32.
Tram 32 passes through Rahova, which might be described as a working class neighborhood in Bucharest. Along the main streets, it looked relatively safe, but it is not one of Bucharest's nicer areas. We rode the tram to the second to last stop and got out at Piata Rahova, where there is a large market selling everything from pomegranates to suits. Piata Rahova was full off people and activity. It was livelier than similar neighborhoods that I've seen, but the claim that it was "Bucharest as you've never seen it" made me think that maybe the guidebook's target audience doesn't mingle with ordinary Bucharest residents very often.
In addition to its busy marketplace, Rahova's claim to fame is its painted blocs. As you may have seen in some of my other Bucharest photos, most blocs in the city are a uniform cement gray. In Rahova, the blocs are painted in bright colors, an idea that the local city counselor borrowed from Tirana, Albania. Although they don't look quite as nice as the ones in Tirana, the colors actually make the blocs look somewhat more cheerful. 
By far the best part of the trip, however, was the ride to Piata Rahova. Shortly after we got on the tram, a man with an accordion got on and started walking up and down the center of the cars serenading us.
Unfortunately, I took the video sideways and couldn't figure out how to rotate it. However, the video is short and definitely worth watching. You'll just have to pretend that it's upright.
posted by Erin Kay at 10:11 PM
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