A special season, good weather with sunshine and pleasant temperature, a beautiful park. Everything you need for a pleasant walk. I've noticed that over the last two years walking has remained the most consistent activity.
Autumn is that special season. A sunny autumn day is unparalleled in beauty and a must-see time to go image hunting. As a city dweller, I have access to the beauty of autumn nature especially in the parks. In Bucharest, the biggest and most attractive park is called Herastrau. I have written many times about my walks in this park which, fortunately, is quite close to my home and so I get there easily.
The name Herastrau is not the official name of the park, but it is used by the inhabitants of the city. In the course of time, this park has been called "National Park, Carol II Park, I.V. Park". Stalin, Herastrau Park, and now, officially, it is called King Michael I Park. All these names were given according to political criteria and respected the form of government of the country at that time. Except for the last name, which is a tribute to the last king of Romania.
The park has a lake in the middle, or rather, the shores of the lake form a beautiful park. The lake is quite large, it has an area of 74 hectares and the length of its shores is almost 6 km. In the northern part of Bucharest there is a string of lakes, linked by the Colentina river. Here we can see the passage of Lake Herastrau to another lake, Lake Floreasca.
Every time I walk in the park I walk around the lake so I know that I have covered at least 6 km, which is confirmed by the various apps on my phone.
Where there is so much water there is also fish. Unlike most people who come to the park to exercise, run or walk, there are some who come to the park to sit still for hours. Fishermen!
Because I have a lot of photos of the fishermen I will make another post with just them.
I forgot to say, I think, that more than just for the ride, I come to this park for the photos. In a few hours, I take hundreds of photos.
I love photographing people, even if it's a bit more difficult or... maybe for that reason. Nobody likes to be photographed by a stranger, people are suspicious and don't know what you intend to do with these photos. If I ask for permission to photograph I lose spontaneity and naturalness. I don't even know what the law says. If I have legal permission to photograph anyone in a public place without their permission. That's why I try to be as discreet as possible when photographing and do it more when the subject doesn't see me.
As I did with this family, mother and grandmother, I suppose, out for a walk with the child, son, and grandchild.
Because we talked about the alley surrounding the park, this is it. A 6 km long alley with a special lane for cyclists. Unfortunately, the alley is too narrow and it is unpleasant when there are too many walkers and cyclists. I usually walk in the morning and not on weekends and then avoid the crowds.
But there are also athletes that I really like. Kids!
As I said, I have found that walking is my main recreational activity. I walk around the house, in the neighborhood, in the park next to the house, and in this Herastrau Park, which is the ultimate park. I know every part of this park but every time I walk I see something new. I took many hundreds of photos. I have enough material from which to choose the most interesting images (from my point of view) that deserve to be shared with you. That's why there will be many more posts about the main park in Bucharest.
In my many walks through Herastrau I have noticed that many of the people walking or doing sports are foreign citizens. Probably most of them work in Romania but I think there are also many tourists. Especially as there are some very popular terraces and clubs in the park. That's why I thought I could choose the #travel tag and put this place on the Pinmapple map!
HiveBloPoMo - Day 4
I mean this post is part of the challenge and my attempt to post every day in November.
