Thread by @MylonasMakis

Trying to escape the endless heat of the Maltese Summer, we found ourselves looking for some lower temperatures in #Romania. Not your typical #Ferragosto destination but here comes a 🧵on a proper millennial-style trip in #Bucharest (1/9)

If you don't know much about the city and its past, your first conclusion would be that the city is kinda abandoned. However, the real story is fundamentally different. This is a city that saw the darkness and it's now trying to embrace the future -and that takes time (2/9)

While it's hard to ignore the neglected buildings, some of them of magnificent architectural value, it's also easy to observe the great potential of the city. Greener than many other #EU capitals, Bucharest is catching up super fast with all current trends of urban mobility (3/9)

We spent 4 days in the city and we never used any cash and thanks to @RevolutApp we didn't have to exchange any money. Apps like @boltapp work smoothly and the level of English of the local population was more than adequate -no comparison with Italy or Spain 😤 (4/9)

And Art, tons of Art. The center is literally packed with theaters and bookshops, all of them looking super active. We also visited the National Museum of Contemporary Art which is based in the infamous Causesku building of the Romanian Parliament -but with a fancy entrance (5/9)

Solidarity to #Ukraine is also quite present in the urban landscape with most of the hotels and restaurants offering discounts to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Romania is very close to the battlefield and also cares a lot about what's going on in #Moldova (6/9)

Last but not least, for the lovers of #urbanism, central Bucharest is kinda of a paradise. Just pack your camera, roam around and you will never be bored! (7/9)

Overall, I would strongly recommend a trip to Bucharest and in general in the Eastern flank of the #EU. I do believe that many people, especially from my generation, are not really familiar with the dynamics in the former communist countries of the Union. (8/9)

Such trips are even more recommended for people from the Western/Southern #Europe who still speak generously and passionately about #Communism -mostly because they were lucky enough to grow up on the other side of the Iron Curtain. (9/9)