alexandriacardinals

[This is Bucharest International Airport, located in Otopeni about 10 miles north of Bucharest city center.  The speediest and most civil airport I have ever been in!  We took a TAROM (Transport Air ROManian) flight to Amsterdam, and then a Delta flight home.]

[Now a perpetual favorite, flying over Greenland and into Northern Canada.]

[I mostly laughed my way home watching “Comedians in Cars Having Coffee.”  The Super kept poking me in the ribs because surprisingly my laughter was annoying other passengers?]

[Then over the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, from l – r:  Harriet, Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and Cedar.]

[The airport.]

[And the Twin Cities in a single shot, Minneapolis on the left, St. Paul on the right.]

That’s it, folks.  Show’s over.  Please police your immediate area upon leaving and don’t forget to thank your flight attendants and Wilbur and Orville Wright.  So, what have we learned?  That it’s better to give than to fall off a roof?  That no good deed catches the worm?  That rainy days and Mondays means it’s spring in Minnesota?  Well, yes, but also that the Danube rocks!!  Enjoyed this trip immensely, everything went about as smoothly as it could.  Prague and Budapest lived up to post trip expectations, Bucharest (and Belgrade, too) even more so.  But since they’re all cities of a couple million denizens, one can’t do them justice in a day or two.  The small city side trips give a better flavor of the individual countries.  This was not so much a cruise as overnight floating to the next land destination.

As you may recall, the family Gross went on for four extra days in Romania.  Their report:

Sibiu is a very interesting city. Just finished beer. Dinner soon. T shirt in shop says “Send more tourists. The last ones were delicious.”  ~  Bert

We had a fine time in Romania. (I’d hate to say that you missed the best part of the trip, especially since it is probably only that for me it was the most recent part of the trip, so I remember it best.) We traveled to three medieval towns with fortified churches, old squares, etc. including a visit to “Dracula’s” castle, and the real but only 100-year old castle built by their first king. Since Romania was pretty much always under someone’s thumb, they don’t really have the old castles etc but instead had towns, at least in Transylvania where there were a lot of Saxons, that were governed by councils and guilds. We visited a Roma family, had lunch in a bed and breakfast in a quaint village, stayed in an old inn in a room once reportedly occupied by Prince Charles.  The weather continued to cooperate, our 28-year-old guide spoke excellent English, drove quite sanely, and was quite knowledgeable. (He has a masters in civil engineering but prefers and makes more money doing tours.)  The mountains and countryside were lovely.

The most annoying thing was the smoking: a couple of the hotels did not have nonsmoking rooms and almost none of the restaurants. And figuring out how to shower sans shower curtain without spraying the whole room!

The flight back was long but completely, thankfully, uneventful.  I bet Bill can send some pictures when he gets to that week, but that is all I have to say. Back to work.  ~  Anne

Previously unpublished comments:

My most memorable travel moment:    I was staying at an apt. hotel not far from the City Market (maybe half mile to your left as to walked out to the promenade)…..was very tired arriving approx. 10 pm after long train ride from Prague (and struggling with walk/subway from Budapest East train station with bags).  Decided I’d better go for a walk before collapsing, and headed 1 block down to the river promenade, where I walked past your Marriott, and seeing Chain Bridge and the imposing buildings on the Buda side all lit up was a true “Holy Crap”  moment (and I’m sure you were among the throngs who had their tripods set up to get just the right shot of the car lights approaching via Chain Bridge from Buda)  ~  Basketball Dan

Cannot read your blog any more without getting hungry.  So much for Annen’s request for food pix.  ~  The Fieldhammers (lived in Slovakia for three months a few years ago)

The Super and the group have future destinations in mind.  If you don’t mind, you can vote for your favorite at 1-800-whatareyougonnadowithouthemobyobie.  The winner will win an all expenses paid trip to the end of the block:

1) Baltic;

2) Galapagos;

3) Svalbard;

4) Banff;

5) Hawaii;

6) Someplace from whence we’ll never return!

The Greeks, aided by a warm climate, had invented geometry, and they used this advanced knowledge to conquer the surrounding cultures by piercing them with the ends of isosceles triangles.  ~  Dave Barry

Up next:  Whatever?

[The Palace of the People, a/k/a, the Parliament.  There is no way to describe this place other than to say it’s worth your while to look it up.  Construction began in 1983 under the brutal dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, and was basically completed by 1989 when he was ousted and executed.  It was a monument to himself – built on the high point in Bucharest by displacing the some 30,000 people who previously lived there and basically by round-the-clock “slave” labor.  Ceausescu ultimately hoped to have a subway from the airport to the palace so visiting dignitaries wouldn’t see the miserable living conditions of his “subjects.” It’s the second largest office building in the world after the Pentagon.  More as we go along.]

[We’re in.  We obviously had to go through security, passports and all.  You could not take photos unless you paid $8.00 for that privilege and received a special badge. Surprisingly, Bill and I were the only ones from our group who paid to take photos?  BTW, The Biddies and Anne opted for a tour of downtown.]

[The opulence is striking – like a latter day Versailles.  Here a bust of our guy Cuza and a domed chandeliered ceiling . . . and we’re just starting.  The Romanians have ambivalent feelings about the place – the human and financial cost and by whom it was constructed is revolting to them; the fact that it exists and is a physical marvel, well . . . ]

[A beautiful theater, but the stage wasn’t built big enough to actually use it as a theater?]

[The tour said we would be climbing 200 stairs . . . developing those buns of steel!]

[And these were not your basic linoleum floors!]

[Here’s our guide.  She looked like a high school student, spoke better English than any of us, and had extensive knowledge of the place.  We’re going down art infested hallways here.  Samplings immediately following.]

[Apparently self-explanatory.]

[The hall, you say?]

[Another big room . . . ]

[Do not do any of these things in here . . . ]

[So, what is it?]

[Our tour guide – she’s someone who could have dropped in off the U of M campus . . . ]

[What do you think?]

[Sound proof booths?  A game show?]

[Did you figure it out?]

[Another ballroom?]

[Well, this one was a little larger than most.]

[Until now, everything you have seen in this building came from Romania.   These mahogany doors, however, were a gift from Zaire – the only non-Romania feature in the entire palace.]

[What can I add?  I believe Nadia Comaneci was married in this room, the first event held in the palace ‘for the people’ after the overthrow of Ceaucescu.]

[Still climbing stairs to what . . . another world record!  The largest curtains in the world!]

[The view, pretty much, from every landing so far.]

[Another not so tiny room, with a view . . . ]

[And this is the view from the balcony.  We had climbed 200 stairs to get to this point . . . to what our guide noted was the “ground floor!”]

[The visually over-stimulated American tourists.]

[And then we were done.  We are going to the parking lot across the street for outdoor photo ops.  Our guide noted that we had walked one and a half kilometers, climbed 200 stairs, all in an hour and half, and saw . . . three percent of the building!]

[Where we just were.  The balcony we were just on is barely visible over the greenery in front of the building.]

[And so we meet again!]

[Well, I was trying to get a picture of our guide with Kathy, but the camera somehow focused on Bert’s neck . . . not that there’s anything wrong with Bert’s neck, mind you.]

As previously noted, Anne, Reetz, and the Super went “downtown” while we toured the Palace.  There’s never enough time to do everything.  Here’s the Super’s coverage of the city, just to give you a flavor:

[Ending with a final kiss to Reetz, thank you Super!]

[But I guess we weren’t done kissing.]

[We checked into our hotel and then walked out into the neighborhood for dinner.  Right around the corner from us was the Romanian Athenaeum, the national theater, where a movie was being made.  Still on the lookout for Kim Kardashian!]

[We stumbled upon Yo Mama!  Well, close enough.  We started out sitting outside because it was a lovely setting, but then the rain came . . . ]

[We moved inside, and while the food was good, the switch in locale apparently messed up the servers and a couple of us had long waits.  So, we decided we would seek dessert elsewhere . . . ]

[Such as this . . . a designated CHOCOLATE shop halfway between the restaurant and our hotel.  Uffda!  The menu was in the form of a large coffee table book, with each dessert basically having its own glossy page!  Woo-woo!]

[Walking back to the hotel, our last night on the continent, it seemed appropriate that there was a rainbow over the Romanian National Theater!  🙂  ]

The Romans spent the next 200 years using their great engineering skill to construct ruins all over Europe.  ~  Dave Barry

Up next:  Goin’ home.

[As you’ll recall, “last night” we merely crossed the river from Rousse, Bulgaria, to Giurgiu, Romania.  We have now deplaned de boat for the last time and are on a one and a half hour bus ride to the capital city of Bucharest.  Is this a Twins minor league ball park?]

[We passed a large weekend flea market, which again begs the question . . . why fleas?]

[A statue of a guy.  OK, he’s Mihai Viteazul, or “Michael the Great,” but you’ll have to look him up to see what made him great.]

[A travel writer called these . . . ]

[‘Buildings through bus windows along the way.’  We were told what they were at the time but that was over a month ago.]

[The Mad Hatter would seem an appropriate title here.]

[OK, we’re in downtown Bucharest, with the National Library of Romania across the pond.]

[Circling Union Square’s Fountain, which we seemed to do several times.  It must be a hub to everywhere!  😉  ]

[Union Boulevard . . . the boulevards of Bucharest are why it’s called the Paris of the East (as is Budapest, I believe?).]

[The Fountain of Union Square with the Palace of the People (a/k/a/ the Parliament) in the background.  Part II is almost entirely about that Palace.]

[Tossing Reetz a bone!  🙂  ]

[The 14th century Baratia Catholic Church on Union Square.]

[Appears to be a building of some import?  I believe the Home of the Free Press, the only building in Bucharest that still has the Soviet hammer and sickle logo on its exterior.]

[There’s that fountain again.]

[“Caruta cu paiate” sculpture at the National Theatre.]

[Time for a walk.  And the Village Museum seemed like just the place to do so.  It’s an outdoor museum (obviously) that includes over 200 traditional peasant farms and houses from all over the country.  Our guide, holding 18C, just turned us loose to get lost on our own.]

[A shot for the flowering tree?]

[Plus, there was SHOPPING!  Well, we always knew where we could find Reetz then.]

[A tree that looked like it had survived many tough winters . . . not unlike our tourist group!  😉  ]

[Actually looked for some folk dance attire here, but they didn’t have size “American.”]

[The wheels on the bus go round and round . . . ]

[Who knew? While busing around we had no idea how close we were to home! “Alexandria is the capital city of the Teleorman County, Romania. It is located south-west of Bucharest, towards the Bulgarian border. The city is situated on the Vedea River. The city has 45,434 inhabitants.” (The quote and the ’32 tram to Alex’ are from Wikipedia.) And they have a professional women’s basketball team!]

[The National Museum “George Enescu”  – George was a composer and musician, but I don’t know if he ever made Billboard’s Top 20 in the States?]

[National Museum of Art (top), a cute little 18th century Orthodox Church, and National Military Museum]

[CEC Palace]

[You figure it out? This is Emperor Trajan and the She-Wolf, and it’s somewhat controversial and may be removed.  It was next to the restaurant where we noshed.]

[And we walked past the CEC Palace, and Trajan, to this huge restaurant for lunch.]

[The place was able to efficiently handle a couple bus loads of tourists, and the food was quite tasty.  Folk dance and music was again provided at no additional charge, though they were out of our sight line.  Noticed a couple name tags that I thought read ‘Onna” (current Cardinal athlete and daughter of the AGC superintendent), but on closer inspection it was “Oena.”  Must be a common Romanian name?]

[A 19th century prince who was important to the modernization of Romania.  Although I thought Alexandria may have been named after him, I was told it came from Alexander the Great.  I then discovered it was named after an Alexandru who came along just a few years before this Alexandru.  Go figure?]

[The Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral, with a free standing bell tower  (near the Prince Cuza statue) and external mosaics . . . ]

[And many internal frescoes.]

[Once, and for all, a final drive around union square and . . . the CUPCAKE Fountain.  🙂  ]

The major advantage of domestic travel is that, with a few exceptions such as Miami, most domestic locations are conveniently situated right here in the United States.  ~ Dave Barry

Up next:  Part II

On the previous day’s bus ride, we listened to these 10-year old Bulgarians.  She won the European equivalent of “America’s Got Talent,” and the twin boy piano players ain’t too shabby either:

***

[Uffda, I guess even in a Cyrillic country, S-E-X sells . . .]

[But we were now beginning our second day in Bulgaria, docking in Rousse (population over 200,000) where all we saw were these dreadful Soviet-era apartments as we . . . ]

[Bused out of town on an hour and a half trip to Veliko Tarnovo (a name that delightfully rolled off our guide’s tongue), the former capital and “City of the Tsars.”]

[And what a neat place!  Built along and up the sides of an “S” curve in the Yantra River, a place with lots of topography.  Remember as George Carlin once said, you cannot yell fire in a crowded theater but feel free to yell . . . TOPOGRAPHY!  This is a destination town where Bulgarians vacation and where students love to go to college.]

[The Super helps frame the Asenid Monument in city center.  The Asen Dynasty founded Bulgaria in the 12th century.  See, learning is good!]

[I hope this city is earthquake proof . . . or it will all come tumbling down on each other.]

[Our tea and crumpet hotel and a view from the bridge, as they say.]

[Nice hotel promenade where we enjoyed our tea and crumpets.]

[One of the two universities in the city.  This one has 18,000 students, which likely would place their basketball program in Division I.]

[Of course I had to look it up.  Established in Munich in 1260 by Duke Ludwig the Severe. How could one not love such a place?  And they make “Hell.”  🙂  Oh, and we’re on the bus again heading a couple miles further up the hill to . . . ]

[This gift shop in the village of Arbanassi, where we were gifted the following post cards along with a local perfume sample.  I have yet to try the perfume . . .]

[I opted for the double “S” spelling from these cards (and our background material) as opposed to the single “S” spelling you will find on the internet.]

[This was a museum across the street from the gift shop.  The Konstantsaliev house is among the largest of the richly decorated houses that have been preserved.  It dates from the 17th century.  At a later date Atanas Konstantsaliev purchased and restored the house, and it is known by his name to the present day.  In 1913, it was leveled by an earthquake (Editor’s note:  How did Veliko Tarnovo survive?).  After that it was again purchased and converted into a museum.  In 1958, an exhibit of artifacts from the 19th century was held in the house. (From “Bulgaria Travel”)]

[These homes were built like fortresses to fend off looters and other marauders.  Families could remain inside for long periods of time, all sleeping on that one giant bed?]

[Barred windows, well-stocked pantries, and first floors of stone (below) were the era’s equivalent to electronic security systems . . . the only thing lacking was access to social media and quality popcorn makers.]

[The Nativity Church (the above two photos) was built in the 16th century to be unobtrusive and secure with no indication anything of value was inside.  Though it was rather large inside, the rooms were small so individual groups had to wait for the previous group to exit.  Our guide was excellent but no photos were allowed inside.  Still . . . ]

[These, among many, were found on the internet (one even admitted using a cell phone to take pictures (against the rules!)).  But the place was amazing . . . like a floor-to-ceiling Sistine Chapel throughout.]

[Sitting outside waiting to go in, this was going to be a “You Provide the Caption Contest.” But Bert walked away with the prize immediately with, “In the NBA playoffs, you need a strong bench!”]

[Then it was time for lunch . . . and for the life of me I don’t recall whether we were still in Arbanassi or had gone back to Veliko Tarnovo?]

[But always drink local, a nice Cabernet blend from the Gulbanis Winery in central Bulgaria.]

[Again we were treated to folk dance and music.  I always thought the guys’ clothing looked really comfy and would have bought some if I could have found size “round.”  The gals’ attire also looked comfy but I wasn’t sure where I could wear that in Alex?]

[I thought I had discovered the original “Touchdown Jesus.”  Then I found out it wasn’t even religious.  It was on the university campus, probably in homage to the guy who discovered iridium, or something.]

[And from the 12th century we bring you Veliko Tarnovo Fortress highlighted by Tsarevets Castle at the top.  And some shots looking back into town.  We did not have time to visit these places . . . another reason to go back to Veliko Tarnovo?]

[We were then loosed in the city.  While the girls shopped, the boys did . . . what boys will do (yup, outside at the “Summer Garden”).]

[Ahhhhh, commerce!]

[I left my heart, in Veliko Tarnovo . . . and it wasn’t even a pretty day?]

[The last night on the boat, Reetz did the honor holding up the Farewell Dinner menu. Then we did the shortest port-to-port cruise in history as we crossed the Danube from the Bulgarian side to the Romanian side.  Next, a full day in Bucharest and the following day winging home.]

The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things.  ~  Jilly Cooper

Up next:  Romania, our last country.