(Gheorghe Leahu: Popa Nan - Original source) La multi ani, Bucuresti! Today sees 553 years since Bucharest first appeared in a written document dated 1459. 553 years.... An old lady in some ways and a young one in others, depending on your comparisons...

(Photo: Alexandru Mitache) The (once) beautiful villa, casa Solacolu, on the corner of bd. Lascar Catargiu and str. Visarion is no more... It has stood waiting for the 'coup de grace' since 2001 and managed to remain as upright as it possibly could despite...

My month in Romania came to an end far too quickly and I am back at base having emptied the last dregs of my suitcase, feeling rather forlorn. To my CDs I scrambled for some audio-therapy and found this lovely (and amusing) old folksong, Mă dusei să trec...