Friday, August 10
I managed to find a nice little tennis club about 3.5 miles from the apartment in an area we had not yet explored. Our host had recommended a club near the Spring Palace but since no one there ever answered the phone I was on my own. I looked at it as an opportunity to try out the local bus system and to see some new parts of the city.
To use the bus you first have to buy a pass and then you have to put some money on it. I had some trouble finding a place to purchase the card. In frustration I went down to the Metro station but the woman in the ticket booth said, “Metro, no bus”. I think that was all the English she knew but it was enough to tell me to look elsewhere. I eventually found a ticket booth near the bus stop. Again the woman spoke almost no English but after a short discourse I walked away with a pass loaded with two rides. It’s not that we’re ugly Americans but we’ve been in so many countries where so many different languages are spoken that it’s impossible for us to keep up. Can you imagine trying to learn Polish in just two weeks after you just spent a month in The Czech Republic? Fortunately we’re rather creative and most people speak enough English that we’ve managed to get by quite well.
The bus drivers in this city are almost as crazy as the rest of the drivers (probably worse than Rome and rivaling New Jersey) but I managed to get to the club with an hour to spare. The manager was very upset but was unable to tell me why. Finally he phoned his boss and we had a nice chat. They thought that I would be upset because I had to wait an hour for my coach to arrive. I explained that I had no idea how long it would take me to get there, preferred to be early rather than late, and was not at all upset. I don’t think they really believed me and insisted that I take a bottle of water while I waited. I know that Romanians are always late so maybe this was new territory for them.
The manager, who said he spoke no more than 50 words of English, and I had a nice chat for about 45 minutes. Between my Italian (Romanian and Italian are both Romance languages and are fairly similar) and his English we somehow managed to cover a lot of ground including his divorce, his education, our travels, The World Trade Center bombings, different tennis surfaces and pickpocketing. We only resorted to Google translate once. It must have been an amusing sight.
Finally my coach arrived and it was my turn to play. It had been over six weeks since I held a racket and I had no idea what to expect. For once I was pleasantly surprised. My timing, footwork and ball control were all very good and I was hitting the ball with a lot of power. Even my volleys seemed to work. Two days on and six weeks off – maybe I finally found a routine that works for me. It was a very hot day and I stopped to suck wind a few times but other than that it was a very pleasant experience. I hope to go back at least one more time.
Coming home I just missed the bus so I decided to walk. For over an hour I was at the mercy of the rush hour drivers but somehow managed to make it home alive. Walking can be a very dangerous activity in this city.
It was a costly day. The bus tickets (including the cost of the pass) totaled $1.07 and the tennis court and coach together cost a whopping $17.85. I guess we’ll have to economize on dinner.😉
Distance walked: 5.4 miles
Saturday, August 11
Time for another museum! Today we went to the home of one of Romania’s favorite sons: George Enescu. Enescu, born in 1881, was a music prodigy. His primary instrument was the violin but he was also a respected pianist, composer and conductor. At the tender age of seven he became the youngest ever to attend the Vienna Conservatory. He continued his studies in Paris.
Initially Enescu was known as a gifted violinist. He started composing at the age of five and throughout his life wrote pieces that featured the violin. During his time in Vienna and Paris he was intimately associated with many famous musicians including Faure, Brahms and Massenet. In 1923 he made his US debut by conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra and The New York Philharmonic. He also had a number of violin students, the most famous of which was Yuhudi Menuhin.
(Enescu’s First Violin)
In 1937 Enescu married Maria Rosetti. Maria was also known as the Princess Cantacuzino because of her previous marriage to Mihail Cantacuzino. The Enescus lived in a palace located on Caela Victoriei which Maria inherited from her late husband’s father. That house in is now the museum.
The museum has a small but very nice collection of memorabilia chronicling his life. There were pictures from his time in school in Vienna and Paris, correspondence from other famous musicians and several original scores. The collection includes several of his pianos and his very first violin. There was a grand salon with a pair of pianos that is now used for chamber music performances.
The Cantacuzino Palace is a magnificent building in the French style. Unfortunately, it is in poor repair and a few rooms are open to the public. The house was used during the Soviet occupation as the Institute of Romanian Soviet Studies. After George’s death in 1955 Maria donated the house to the State as a museum. There is also a smaller three room house in the garden where the couple lived from 1945-46. That house is also in poor condition and is not open to the public.
(The Cantacuzino Palace / George Enescu Museum)
For lunch we headed over to a cafe we read about online. It’s called Dianei 4, which is also it’s address. The restaurant has a reputation for excellent coffee drinks. Deborah tried to order a Quesadilla but was told, “No”. It turns out that that we could only order from the Brunch menu until 3:30 pm. Instead we opted for two orders of Steak and Eggs which came with complementary coffee drinks. Deborah ordered a cold Chocolate Latte and I ordered an EggNog latte.
(Chocolate and EggNog Coffees)
There was a lot of food. The plate contained two scrambled eggs, four pieces of marinated and grilled beef, a tossed green salad with balsamic dressing, fried potato wedges, home made seeded bread and some sort of dipping sauce (we have no idea what it was – it was like thousand island dressing with mustard). Everything was delicious and we really liked the coffee drinks. At $18.00 it was a bit pricey for these parts but we thought it was a good value.
(Steak and Eggs)
Distance walked: 4.9 miles