Category Archives: travel

June 23, 2025 · 5:35 am

After Bucharest — Cairo and Saqqara


Step Pyramid of Djoser; Saqqara, Egypt

After Ursula and I departed Bucharest, Romania, we headed off to a destination we hadn’t visited since 1984 — Cairo, Egypt. This would be our first stop in Egypt for continuing south to Aswan for a Nile River cruise. And upon our arrival at the Mar Chabel Hotel, while we waited for the front desk staff to find our reservations (and waited… and waited…), Ursula booked us on a tour for the next day. This tour would take us first to Saqqara, an ancient necropolis featuring the oldest known Egyptian pyramid. That would be the Pyramid of Djoser, also known as the Step Pyramid, and it dates back to the 27th century BC.

Step Pyramid of Djoser; Saqqara, Egypt

From a distance the Step Pyramid initially doesn’t look all that impressive. It’s only as you grow nearer that the full 204-foot/62-meter height begins to amaze.

Step Pyramid of Djoser; Saqqara, Egypt

The Step Pyramid contains six levels, although the lowest is not easily discerned. If you don’t look carefully, you’ll count only five. The blocks are limestone, and the pyramid was originally clad in polished limestone. As you get close enough to touch, don’t climb. That’s prohibited:

Heed the Warning — Stiff penalties apply
Forewarned is Forearmed — E£1,000 (EGP) = $19.95 (USD)!

Just south of the Step Pyramid is an impressive looking structure. This was the entrance to the Saqqara Sed Festival Complex.

Saqqara Sed Festival Complex entrance

Behind the Sed Festival façade is a modern structure protecting columns and walls from the elements:

Behind the Sed Festival façade

Along the east base of the Step Pyramid you’ll find an entrance:

Step Pyramid entrance

On Wednesday we’ll look at some more sights at Saqqara, and head off to visit a papyrus artist and a shop specializing in essential oils. Until then, a closeup view Djoser Pyramid construction:

Djoser Pyramid, Saqqara

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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June 20, 2025 · 5:35 am

Fun Food Friday — Bucharest Gem: Caru’ cu Bere


Caru’ cu Bere — Strada Stavropoleos 5, București 030081, Romania

Caru’ cu Bere is not your typical dining establishment. Indeed, there is nothing “typical” about Caru’ cu Bere on any level. This place opened as a brewery way back in 1879. Hence the name, which translates to Cart with Beer. Thus, it’s a beer hall that morphed onto a restaurant featuring some really great Romanian food. And it does not cater solely to tourists. I was immediately struck by how many Romanians head into this establishment. Especially as it’s not exactly cheap to dine here. You can find their website at this link.

Caru’ cu Bere Historic Marker

As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and quite the impression this place makes when you step inside. The place is filled with rich, carved wood:

Caru’ cu Bere

Stained glass:

Caru’ cu Bere
Caru’ cu Bere

Detailed mosiac tiled flooring, and massive exquisitely detailed vaulted ceilings:

Caru’ cu Bere

And that food! Wow! Let’s take a look at the menu:

Caru’ cu Bere menu
Caru’ cu Bere menu
Caru’ cu Bere menu

And in case you’d like a more detailed look at what Caru’ cu Bere has to offer, here is there online food and drink menus.

Of course, it’s not a beer hall without beer to haul:

Caru’ cu Bere — one of their many beer offerings

The bread looked wonderful, so we cordered some before the meal:

Caru’ cu Bere — Fresh bread

Naturally, we just had to try the bean soup in a bread bowl, and it was phenomenal:

Caru’ cu Bere — Bean soup in a bread bowl

For the main course we opted for a traditional mititei, which is a skinless sausage made from seasoned ground beef, lamb, and pork. Way to filling, and next time I’ll be tempted to try other items as the nearby tables had some really tempting offerings.

Caru’ cu Bere — mititei and fries

Next week I’ll show you our next stop on this two-month excursion — Cairo, Egypt.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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June 18, 2025 · 5:35 am

Bucharest, Romania — Protest at the Palace of Parliament


Biserica Sfântul Dumitru (Saint Demetrius Church)

On our final full day in Bucharest, Ursula wanted to head over to the Palatul Parlamentului (Palace of Parliament) for a tour of this monstrous edifice that, arguably, got Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena dates with a firing squad in 1989. Along the way we passed by Biserica Sfântul Dimitrie–Poștă (St. Demetrius–Post Church), which you can see in the photograph above. And in case you’re wondering how “Poștă” got in the name, it derives from this church’s location near the former Post Services Palace.

Large police presence as we approached the Palace of Parliament

As we approached the Palace of Parliament from the north, directly across from Parcul Izvor (Izvor Park), I noticed a very large and growing police presence, which is seldom a good sign when approaching a government building. I got more suspicious when Ursula inquired about getting a tour, which is usually not a problem. But today it was. We were told that the tours were already filled for the day. Say what? Filled? In a building some 3,930,000 square feet/365,000  m2? Uh… okay.

Palace of Parliament — turned away at the gate

Something was afoot, as Holmes would say to Watson. And that was made even more evident as more police began assembling.

Outside the Palace of Parliament

Disappointed, I took a few more shots of Izvor Park and its thick layer of snow, then we headed back to the east an old town. As we approached Bulevardul Libertății (Liberty Boulevard) we stumbled upon a fast approaching demonstration in support of far-right, pro-Putin populist presidential candidate Călin Georgescu. In other words, we had happened upon a Romanian MAGA rally of epic proportions. And they were ticked.

Călin Georgescu protestors at the Palace of Parliament

Even the Romanian Orthodox Church got in on all the fun, presumably at the behest of this fellow, Archbishop Teodosie Petrescu:

Translation: “If we do not guard our Orthodoxy, we will also destroy our nation”

Fortunately, things did not get ugly, but we didn’t spend a whole lot of time here waiting to find out if that would remain the case.

Călin Georgescu rally, Palace of Parliament, 22 February 2025
Călin Georgescu rally, Palace of Parliament, 22 February 2025

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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