Archives and Outings

Hello all, B here: So today I made it over to the archives and got registered. One might think, especially since I have done this before, this should not be such a momentous feat. But then one would underestimate Bucharest's capacity for obfuscation. Instead of taking the metro there, which in fact would have been a simple matter, I decided to walk instead, as it would be good exercise, would make my 10-ride metro pass go further, and help me learn a bit more of the city. Well, after walking down our street to the right a ways, you come to a very large intersection where several of Bucharest's main traffic arteries meet: Piata Victoriei (this is the plaza where our metro stop is located). I knew the street I wanted, Calea Victoriei, was one of the radii coming off the center, however in true Bucharest style, there were no street signs to be seen, so I had to pick the one I thought might be Calea Victoriei. After thirty minutes, I finally saw a sign and realized I had picked the wrong road. I thought I might be able to take an intersecting street running perpindicular to the two, but again I was wrong, and ended up walking all the way to the main train station Gara de Nord, not a nice neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination. Finally I did get my bearings and found Calea Victoriei, but not before passing through some rather dodgy areas. By the time I finally got to the archives, they were only going to be open for another thirty minutes, just long enough to jump through the usual bureaucratic hoops. It was a little tense in the beginning though, because despite my university sending a letter announcing my arrival in advance, and having in hand a letter from the director of the archives himself, the archivists claimed they had no idea I was coming and at first weren't going to let me register, but I was gently persistent and finally got set up. We'll see how things go on Monday.

Walking back (and yes, this time I did figure out the right way back without problems), I went up the length of Calea Victoriei, passing some beautiful museums. When I got home I felt exhausted and a little gross from inhaling so much car exhaust, but S. was incredibly sweet and made some hot tea for me. After a quick dinner, we went to an English-style pub (or so it was styled, it didn't seem very English to me) called Edgar's, to meet a colleague of mine from University of Illinois, Diana. We had met at a couple conferences, and she is here on one of the same grants I have. Conversation ranged everywhere, from research to the dangers of winding staircases. S. and I had a great time hanging out with her, and really look forward to the next outing. All in all, a pretty good day!