2005 Danube River Cruise

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DAY 23, November 13, 2005 Bucharest, Romania
Uniworld version: 8:00 to 12:00 coach trip from Constanta to Bucharest with 15 minutes stop for rest rooms, near Ciulnita. 12:00: Marriott Hotel check-in. 3:00 to 6:00: tour of Bucharest, including a visit at the former palace of Nicolae Ceausescu, the second largest building in the world. 6:30: transfer from Marriot Hotel to Pescarus restaurant. 7:00 to 9:00: dinner with folklore program at Pescarus restaurant.
My Version: We get to the Marriot hotel about 11:00 and check ourselves in. . We have a big room with tub/shower, 2 beds, couch and chairs, 2 TVs, desk, etc. We look out over the city. We have soup for lunch at a place in the hotel and then go out in the rain to try and find Tylenol and the Romanian auto decal – no luck. At 3:00 we are back on the bus for our city tour. We see a museum, some Roman ruins and a church where a baptism is taking place. No pictures allowed unless you pay an extra $3.00. Back to the hotel and then out for dinner and more tour of the City. Dinner is cabbage rolls, salad, beef stroganoff and desert. The music is horrible and way, way too loud. Finally get back 9:00-ish and I get to shower. We have a wake up call for 5:30 as we are to be on the bus to go to Bran at 8:00. No time to enjoy our luxurious room.
I think Romanians are all mad! They have a huge population of gypsies. We are told to watch our money, everywhere. Gypsies originated in India. The Romanian language is latin based. Their revolution happened in 1989 (free from communism). Lots of new buildings and little shacks in the country. There are 2 faces to Romania. Some people still use horses for agriculture and transport, since the collapse of communism. There is much air pollution. Canada helped them build a nuclear power plant. This is a raw, raucous country. Priests are required to marry. They have vineyards so wine is a big export in the country. I saw shepherds in the fields with cows, herd of goats and with sheep. It’s a country in transition. This was a long, tiring day, with no real opportunities for photos.

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