Mixed feelings in Bucharest

Last weekend we went to Bucharest for a very short trip to attend a family wedding. I noticed that every time I arrive in Bucharest during the day light and see all the miserable apartment buildings on Stefan cel Mare/Mihai Bravu boulevards I arrive at my parents’ really depressed. I cannot deny that there have been changes, that some places have been improved, that new shopping areas keep popping up like mushrooms, but, in the same time, lots of those ugly apartment buildings become even uglier, with wall pieces falling off. Their time to get some repair will probably come but not soon enough.
Of course, the general aggressive traffic behaviour in Bucharest does contribute a lot to these feelings of disgust and sadness. However, once I get over the initial shock it gets better 🙂 Of course, then I get to interact with people and get depressed again 🙁 Lots of them seem to be angry, aggressive, rude or just disinterested. There are some exceptions but they are so rare that I get quite impressed when somebody behaves differently.
Going back to Bucharest is always such a mixed bag for me: I am happy to see my family and friends and to revisit places that I know so well and where I spent my first 25 years of life; in the same time I am sad to see how lots of buildings (and people) are decomposing and realize that this ugliness might be there for a long time.