Huh? Let me explain. What you see here is a lovely downpour going on outside my office window. Here in Bucharest, just about everyone was looking forward to this kind of storm yesterday. This past July was one of the hottest (and driest) ever with temperatures regularly hitting 100 F or more. Dozens of heat-related deaths were reported here in Romania as well as in neighboring countries like Hungary. Needless to say with this heat and all the recent travel, July was a stinky month as far as running miles go with only 50 total.Anyway, while the temperature on the street was 100 F on Monday afternoon, this rain on Wednesday dropped the high temperature for the day down to the 60's!! I took advantage of the cool weather on Thursday morning for a couple of miles in a soggy Titan Park. Temperatures are going to go back up as the week goes on, but maybe it will stay out of the triple digits.
3 comments:
Ah, the rain. I actually got cold last night!
It felt great! We slept with open doors.
Buna ziua Steve!
Dang, I just recently came across your blog and am sorry I've been missing the good times in Romania. I'm really late to your party but I've finally read all your past blogs and am caught up. Very entertaining and it makes me so homesick for the "wonderful" city of Bucharest.
I did a journalism internship in Bucharest during the summer of '02 and remember well those sweltering July days and trying to run around Herastrau Park without melting. I did most of my running there (and I know EXACTLY what you mean about people staring at you like you just dropped down from Mars. And I wasn't even wearing any high-tech looking apparel either) I would usually pack it in on the quieter east side not far after crossing that dilapidated railroad bridge and take a nap along the edge of the lake, followed by a nice bottle of apa rece with baked corn on the cob. Ahhhh, those were the carefree summer days...
I lived in a block near Piata Muncii and would also run down to the Parliament Building sometimes and try not to breathe too hard when I got near the Dumbovita.
Sorry about going on but whenever I get the chance to talk about Bucharest I go for it. I don't know why I fell in love with the place but I really do miss it. Despite the dogs and the sidewalk-filled cars and the depressingly littered streets and dingy communist apartment blocks everywhere I really enjoyed living there. If someone gave me the choice to go back and visit Paris or Bucharest I'm pretty sure I would pick Bucharest (as long as I could take train trips into Transylvania once in a while of course). Have you gotten up to Brasov or Sighisoara yet?
Anyway, it's great to read your posts and at least I'll be able to visit the place again via your posts for your last few weeks.
If you're taking requests, do a few more laps around Herastrau when you get the chance and don't spare the details! (I always carried a little spray thing of mace with me in case of any serious dog trouble but never had to use it.)
keep up the good work and good running,
la revedere
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