I love waters, whether they are seas and oceans or just lakes, rivers, and small ponds. I wanted to have a house on the shore of a river, a lake, or a sea. I am left with this pleasure and nostalgia because it was one of my unfulfilled wishes.
I live in a big city, bigger than I imagined. I knew that Bucharest has more than two million inhabitants but I recently learned from the TV news that during the week there are more than three million inhabitants because 700,000 thousand come to work in the city every day. That explains why there's such a big traffic jam! So many cars... but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to go back to the water and a walk I took along one of the rivers that cross the city.
The main river that crosses the city is called Dambovita. Originally it was a small river but because it provided water for the city, it was modified, passed through treatment plants, and several dams were built.
This walking place is very far from my house. I had to take the car to a service shop in this area and because the car stayed for repairs, I had to walk home. I took a walk along the river bank without having wanted to.
Even though I didn't want to and hadn't planned to, I enjoyed it. It's a part of town full of vegetation and with few walkers, most use the car in this place.
When I talk about a lot of vegetation I'm referring to a strange occurrence here. The neighborhood is called Vacaresti. The name comes from a monastery built in the 1700s, one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles of the city, which was demolished in 1986 by order of the communist dictator Ceausescu.
The truth is that after the communists took power in Romania, i.e. after the countries of Eastern Europe were left in the Soviet (Russian) zone of influence after the Second World War, this monastery was turned into a prison. Most of the country's former rulers, intellectuals, and businessmen were imprisoned here. This transformation of the monastery into a prison has brought much damage to the historical buildings.
The reason why the monastery was demolished was that the communist dictator wanted to build a large lake on the site. In fact, the lake was the pretext to allow its demolition. So in 1986, it was demolished and the architects of the time tried to save the frescoes on the walls of the monastery. They partly succeeded and now pieces of the walls are in various museums and other monasteries.
After the demolition, a huge lake started to be built, right across the street from where I walk now. A big pit was dug and the banks were landscaped, i.e. concreted.
Things don't happen the way some people, be they powerful dictators in a totalitarian society, want them to. In 1989 the communist regime was overthrown and the dictator was shot. That was before the work on the lake was completed. These works were abandoned and in the almost thirty years since then, a natural delta has formed in the former lake, full of water, vegetation and small animals, and water birds.
I didn't have time to go and photograph this delta and that's why I use a photo from a website dedicated to promoting and visiting this place. I hope it's ok that I took the photo from them, I think I'm also doing a little promotion, you have the link here: Romanian Friend
Vacaresti Natural Park: the Newest Urban Delta
Unfortunately, in Romania, everything goes very slowly. This delta, this victory of nature against the city, is still not developed and protected as it should be.
This was a deviation from the subject of the walk, I return to the Dambovita river and enjoy the walk along the pavement that borders it. Unfortunately, the river layout, with concrete banks, is not very successful. It looks more like a canal.
All major cities have rivers running through them. The Seine in Paris, the Tiber in Rome, the Danube in Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade... How unlucky for Bucharest, which is less than 50 km from the Danube! If Bucharest was a city on the Danube I would be a much happier man.
What I mean is that in all these cities the rivers are an attraction, they are arranged in such a way that they become a symbol of the city. Dambovita in Bucharest is far from being such a thing. There have been many projects to develop them but nothing has happened yet.
For the time being, the inhabitants of these blocks, the Asmita Gardens, enjoy a great view and the water flowing near them. I left the place for this pleasant walk, by the water and in the cool shade of the trees. The city full of concrete and cars was nearby.
My car breaks down quite often, it's quite old. Every time I have to take it in for repair I also get this ride along the river.
