Around The Middle Of The City

The freedom of movement that the relaxation of the measures against covid offered I used to walk through my city. Strange changes have taken place in my habits and I think in the habits of many of us. I am in a position to enjoy a walk in the city where I have lived for more than sixty years. A walk that seems to me as pleasant and instructive as a walk through any big city abroad.

How did I end up in this situation? Well, after a few months of lockdown, when I walked farthest to the store on the corner, the prospect of getting downtown seemed to me like a long-awaited trip.

The city center, kilometer zero, as it is also called in our country, is the part of the city most known (absolutely normal) by the inhabitants and the most sought after by tourists. It is a part of the city that appears in all tourist presentations and is presented in the most professional and attractive way. Absolutely normal, a real marketing to attract tourists.

I read many tourist guides or magazine articles about places and places before visiting them, as a minimum of preparation and accommodation for the situation I was going to face in that visit. Most of the time, at least from a photographic point of view, the presented image was much more beautiful than the reality and there was, of course, a disappointment when I arrived to visit that city.

For this reason I try to present as objectively as possible each place visited in such a way that if someone visits the same place they do not have the feeling that they have been fooled. In this way I explain the quality of my photos, taken on the run and without training, only with the desire to capture small pieces of real life.

The walk, the short walk I want to tell you about, started in the University Square in Bucharest. Bucharest is the capital of Romania, a city with approximately three million inhabitants.

I like cities with a certain antiquity, the passing of the years brings a special beauty, the old architecture has a special attraction. Unfortunately, Bucharest is a city where many historic and valuable buildings have been demolished. This happened during the communist era and greatly affected the image of the city. I can now distinguish the old and the new part of the city. I prefer, of course, the old part. The University Square and the nearby area are part of the old area, with buildings built more than a century ago.

In this University Square there is also a building built more recently, relatively recently, that is about fifty years ago but very appreciated because it is the building of the National Theater. The name of the place is given by the University, the second university in Romania after the one in Iasi, it was built in 1864.

Under normal conditions this is a very crowded part of the city but now I have gladly found a fairly free place, a pleasure to walk. And the means of transport have changed since I did not visit the city, the police have some electric vehicles. Bicycles and scooters are becoming more popular. This is good for reducing pollution but there are still far too many cars.

Two important boulevards intersect very close to the University, Elisabeta Boulevard and Calea Victoriei. Old boulevards, as well as the buildings that border them. This is a place where I like to walk and I remember especially my adolescence because there were many cinemas here and I liked to watch movies, many movies.

I think we should also write about where we live. Country, town or village. We are here from all parts of this planet and there is little chance that we can visit places far from where we live. Thus we have the opportunity to see what a certain part of this world looks like. It is an invitation but also a substitute for travel. Because no matter how much we wish, there will be places where it will be impossible to reach.