I've come all the way up but I wouldn't want you to think I've reached heaven. Not even at the top of the mountain, as most loyal readers of travel blogs in love with mountain travel would expect. I'm already too old for that. However, I didn't lie, I reached the top, but by lift!
Before I begin the story of this climb, I must give some information about the place and the reasons.
Romania is a South-Eastern European country, a member of the European Union, being the 9th largest of the 28 member states. The capital of Romania is Bucharest, a city in the south of the country with a documented antiquity of almost 600 years. The city's population is officially almost two million.
I've been living in Bucharest for 60 years.
Romania is a country with a major seismic risk, especially for earthquakes of magnitude 6 and 7 on the Richter scale. The most active and dangerous area is Vrancea, located in the Carpathian mountains. The distance between Vrancea and Bucharest is only 140 km.
Statistically, earthquakes of magnitude 6 and above occur in Vrancea (approximately) every 10 years, earthquakes of magnitude 7 every 33 years, while those of magnitude (above) 7.5 every 80 years.
The largest earthquake in Romania was 8.2 on the Richter in 1802. The most recent big earthquake was in 1977... 7.3 on the Richter scale, an earthquake that scared me deeply (the only big earthquake I "caught"... so far!).
If I take the above statistics into account, an earthquake with a magnitude above 7 should have occurred in 2010... and it didn't, that means the next one will be above 7.5 - 8.0, probably by 2057, if I understand correctly from where the year count is.
I've talked a lot about earthquakes (I even got emotional remembering what the most recent one was like) and you may be wondering what these earthquakes have to do with the journey I want to relate to now.
As, in general, nothing happens or is said without a reason, so it is now. I wanted to explain why in Bucharest, the most seismically exposed capital in Europe, there have not been until recently, very tall buildings... no way!
With EU accession and access to advanced construction technologies, much taller buildings have appeared in the 21st century in Bucharest, designed and built to withstand (theoretically) very big earthquakes.
My journey now takes me to the tallest building in Bucharest.
To learn all about this building and to see the spectacular official photos, use the blue link above.
My frequent walks through the emblematic park in Bucharest, Herastrau Park, always brought in front of my eyes, but in the distance, the image of the biggest building in the city and in the country, the Sky Tower!
This building is 137 m high and has 37 floors. A modest height, of course, if we think of the great buildings of the world, but that's how much could be built here under the conditions of budget and protection against earthquakes, anyway it is an impressive building, both for architecture and for modern facilities, never seen in my country quite left behind...
A surprising invitation to the restaurant on the 36th floor of this tower gave me the pleasure to see everything up close and to reach the top, the highest place from where I could see the city. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so in order to get the best photos I could, I was forced to shoot with my phone and as discreetly as possible in the restaurant.
The entrance to the tower was the place to meet the people we were going to the restaurant with.
It was hard to frame the building in the photo...
We got to the 36th floor quickly, very quickly, the elevator is running at 6 meters per second! The restaurant is circular, it occupies the whole floor.
Everything looks great, the service is professional, discreet, and fast, and there are many who take care of the smooth running of the service.
Good quality food and drink. This is not an exclusive restaurant, it attempts a symbiosis of good food and drink, quality service, live music, a certain elegance, and affordability.
Prices are above average...
Prices are above average... if you want to leave without feeling hungry or thirsty, then you have to leave for about $50.
The truth is that there you feel very good and you want to extend your stay as long as possible, especially since you can listen to pleasant music. We came in during the day and caught the night there.
Prices are above average... In my opinion, the view is the most worthwhile. Being able to see the city from such a height to its edges to the horizon!
My regret is that I wasn't prepared for this chance to photograph the city from above and because I didn't have the right camera I didn't get to photograph the whole thing, the whole panorama. The circular restaurant offered views of all parts of the city.
Meanwhile, the day was winding down and the night was preparing to cover the city.
Time flies when you're having fun and having a good time! It was time to leave, left with the same regret that I couldn't take better photos but making a promise to myself to come back and fix this mistake.
The hallway through which we reached the elevator was lined with mirrors and this made a strange visual effect...
I had the strange but perfectly normal feeling that more of us left than came!
I was impressed by the attention given by the architects to beauty and art, paintings on the walls of the passageways. And that wasn't all...
... an even bigger (visual) surprise at the tower reception. I said that I entered the tower during the day, then I didn't notice anything special, but now, when leaving, when it was already dark outside, things changed!
The whole entrance wall was a big screen on which wonderful and very colorful images were projected.
With difficulty, we broke away and left the building, but outside the image of the tower changed again. The night is not like the day, is it? The tower is different.
The Sky Tower is located in the Floreasca district, in the northern part of Bucharest, near Herastrau Park. This area has developed a lot in the last 20 years, it is the most modern area, full of companies and office buildings. All the multinationals in Bucharest have headquarters here.
I can say it is the new city, a picture of what the city will look like in the future. Although I am impressed by the image of these imposing buildings, I confess that I remain in admiration for the old city, with its belle epoque architecture.
