Our Treasure, MS TREASURES

Finally we hit the High Seas....er the Danube River

Waking on the river is a special experience.  River boats float and move very comfortably; the river has a current and motion, but the ship glides without alerting us to its presence on a moving body of water.  We slept deeply and awoke refreshed. Becky provided us with our en suite breakfast;

  

We can hear water gently lapping on the sides of the ship.  We watch barges and birds as we move along the river and stop -- almost without noticing -- at Ruse (roo-say).  We crossed silently into Bulgaria (like the spies we are -- hehehe); the official border is the passage under the Bridge of Friendship, the only land passage between Romania and Bulgaria (okay, for the particular reader, the bridge is not 'land' but crossing it doesn't require navigating water.)

 

A lot of gathering and decision making and lining up....

    

Hop on the bus, Gus.  Again. Always.  

First we take a drive thru Ruse.  Charming town with a mixture of pre-revolution Stalin-design apartments and more modern buildings.



 

   



                                              

Now we head inland to see the Rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo, Bulgaria.  A UNESCO World Heritage Sight, these churches are carved out of a mountain.  They date to the 11th century, with paintings and frescos from the 14th century.  


After 100+ steps up a twisting path we arrive at the small crevice that leads to the interior.  The floor is very rough stone; the walls and ceilings all carry remnants of the artwork. The tour guide identified the spaces:  narthex, nave, altar.  It won't show in the pictures but the entrance would have been thru a hole in the side of the mountain that seemed completely inaccessible.  It reminded me of that scene in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade when Indy is working his way thru the trials and clues of the mystery as transcribed by his injured historian dad.  During one scene he's standing at the edge of a very high mountain cave with no way to cross to the other side.  That's what this church entrance looked like.


 Indiana Jones entrance

Ivanovo Entrance 

                                   

                                             

Thanks Angie for the photo

What is Black in the Black Sea?

Can a Person Swim in the Black Sea?

First! Where is the Black Sea?

Today, June 18, 2016, we are headed to Constanta located on the Black Sea. Constanta traces its history some 2,500 years.

Bus ride from Bucharest to Constanta

Legend has it that Jason landed here with the Argonauts after finding the Golden Fleece.  Fine mansions and hotels were built in the 19th century when King Carol I deduced to revive Constanta as a port and seaside resort. Constanta is the fourth largest port in Europe, ranked after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Marseille. 

A lovely town with a great history. Roman ruins discovered and carefully preserved, Marvelous beaches, nothing black about their beaches....lovely. Story of the Black Sea is the black sand (we did not see any) or that the Turks used color as directional id's and black was the color of north (more feasible).

We had lunch at a great resort, Mamaia, Hotel Iaki and walked to the beach, to get our toes in the Black Sea! YAY!!!!

From Constanta, we traveled back to Cernavoda to our riverboat the MS Treasures on the Danube River. 

Bus ride from Black Sea (Constanta) to Cernavoda (to board ship)

Cernavoda had a large nuclear power plant with two reactors, each of the CANDU type of Canadian design. The plant provides over 15% of Romania's power.

Today Becky and Beth wave hello to Tanya Kolchyk who is across the Black Sea in Crimea visiting her family.

MS TREASURES

Our ship/home til June 27

We are sooooo happy to finally be on the boat! It is precious! Only 77 guests are on board. Our room is beautiful, spacious, and well appointed. A bath tub!!! A walk in closet!!!! All drinks are free!!!! Life is wonderful.....

A King Named Carol

 A hunting we will go, Let's go find a Castle in Romania

North from Bucharest is Sinaia and Peles Castle

 Today we head toward Peles Castle via traffic and more traffic. Peles Castle, located 84 miles from Bucharest in Sinaia, Romania and nestled in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains (1873-1914.) Home of King Carol I and his wife Queen Elisabeth (1866-1914). Due to the electrical plant in the Peles Valley, Peles Castle was the first European castle entirely lit by electrical current; the castle also boasted built in vacuum cleaners and central heating.  During the 1990s a new floor was attached, and the main tower was also raised. The castle covers an area of 3200 sqm, has 160 rooms and 30 bathrooms. 

The castle shelters one of the most valuable painting collections in Europe, and a 1400-1700 century weapon collection of 4000 pieces. The castle is a true wonder, due to the sculpted wood and the stained glass windows. The whole castle was planned by King Carol I and resembled an Austrian/German hunting lodge.

Our buffet lunch of Romanian food was hosted in in The Montana Hotel in Sinaia right in the middle of this cute ski town. After lunch we took a Gondola ride to the top the Carpathian Mountains at the Sinaia Ski Resort. The views out over the forests were breath-taking. We even saw a deer as we traveled up over the forest on the Gondola.

We also stopped at a Shopping Mall and visited a grocery store that made Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods, and Larry's Market look like beginners in the upscale food markets. This store was outstanding.... 

 




We had such a fun day....we can hardly wait for tomorrow when we start our next adventure.

Connections Begin (Maybe)

Bucharest Glows

As we struggle to adjust to the time differences, we see a glorious sunrise. Good morning Bucharest! Why?, because it is 5:30am and we are up way sooner than necessary. We gotta get these sleeping hours arranged to fit the community in which we are about to participate. Independent though we are, we do need to be on time, but not 2.5 hours ahead....

 Becky gets us signed in for the next few days with Tauck and we head out across town  for the Romanian Village Museum (Muzuel Satului). This is one of Europe's oldest open air museums and exemplifies village architecture from all different regions of Romania. This village is in the center of Bucharest adding a large public park. The homes date back to the 1700's and are remarkable. It is a beautiful setting of truly lovely architecture. 

But let me tell you, it was HOT. I believe the temp was 32 degrees C which is equal to 89 degrees F. OMG!!!!! We had to sit on a bench in the shade to cool off. We could not wait to head back to the hotel on the Shuttle. 

One of the most interesting things we were told today is that our marvelous hotel the JW Marriott was once part of the Romanian government complex and was used as elegant office space and hotel for importants. 

Tonight we cross the street to the Parliament building and enjoy a private dinner. 

The Palace is huge and ornate and over-the-top and is the world's largest civilian building with an administrative function, and the second largest in the world after the Pentagon.  It has 1300 rooms, though was never completed.  It was begun in the 1970's after then dictator Ceausecu visited North Korea and saw the massive buildings dedicated to their leader and government activity.  In order to build the palace Ceausecu wiped out large portions of Bucharest to have the empty real estate for his project.  We were told the building can be seen from outer space.

Dinner was lavish and wonderful.  We began with a traditional yeast role with salt to accompany our pink prosecco.  (Don't know source of the tradition; the roll was yummy and warm.)  We began to meet fellow travelers over cocktails and dinner.  Quite a grand meal catered by JW Marriott.  During dinner a string quartet serenaded us.

Calea Victoriei (comparable to the French Champs Elysses) was paved smooth 100 years ago to assist the wealthy women walk as they we're wearing heels in those days.