Bucharest, Ort River Gorge to Sibiu, WTRD 12, Saturday, Aug 20, 2016

On our way to Transylvania, Day 1 of Tour

The main boulevards this Saturday morning are quiet. Our tour group met our guide George and driver Sandu at 8:00 am, and we take a short tour of the old part of Bucharest and the exterior of the "Peoples" Palace, the Parliament. Russ and I toured the interior 2 years ago when we were here. See Worrall Travel R Blog Index, September 2013.

Old Communist Era Buildings on the outskirts of Bucharest Old Town

After that, we board our small bus, just the right size for our group of eleven, however, the seats are pretty close together so Russ and I felt squished. As we are transported northward to Transylvania, George the guide explains that Romania is on the 45 degree latitude, and climate is considered continental temperate. It is a bit too damp and cool for olive trees. Olive oil here is scarce and expensive. Wheat, corn, and sunflowers are primary crops. Vegetarians are prevalent. Most of the population is Eastern Orthodox Catholic, and there are 4 periods of fasting and every Wednesday and Friday in which the religious population does not eat meat or fish.

George explains the education system. Primary grades are 1-4, grades 5-8 is gymnasium (middle school). Education is free and compulsory through 8th grade. A Capacity Test in the basics, math, Romanian, history or geography are given to all students. Marks on this examination determine the college (high school) student will attend. Better marks, allow entrance to better higher level schools. High school is not compulsory.

Upon receiving a baccalaureate "high school diploma", students in the top 80% receive free tuition, the bottom 20% must pay tuition. If you are in the bottom 20%, and move up in rank because of improved grades, you then qualify for no tuition.

Tuition by American standards is not very expensive in Romania, but very expensive for Romanians. The average Romanian salary is approximately $460 a month. If you are a good student, University is free for your first degrees, bachelors and masters. Professional schools, like medical school, students pay $3,000 a year. Students wanting a second degree, pay tuition for secondary degrees.

George our guide regaled us with information as we drove through a pastoral country side, villages, mountains and the Olt River Gorge.

After a few pit stops including lunch and a stop at a Cozia Monestary established in 1386, 

Cozia Monastery

we arrived in Sibiu which is in the district of Transylvania around 3:30 pm. Sibiu (Hermannstadt), formerly the chief city of the Transylvanian Germans.

The Great and Lesser Squares are the landmarks of the Old Town with the many merchant houses featuring ""the sleepy eye" dormers.

See the Sleepy Eye Dormers - traditional for this area

The city now has 100,000 plus people and is surrounded by three walls (or partial walls) and a sunken walking path that appears to be the original moat, built in the 12th century, towers in the 13th century. 

The old town is very picturesque and looks very German with cobbled streets, tiled, and slate roofs. Both a Catholic and Luthren church tower over the city. There are 22,000 churches in Romania for 18,000,000 people. After the revolution in 1989, Romanians claimed back their religion with fervor from communist rule.

Moat now a walking path.

We walked around the city experiencing the last of summer,

visiting a Romanian Art Museum (Bruckenthal Museum)

and enjoying some of the cars that were arriving early from a road rally.

A Wooden Car

Our accommodations tonight is in Sibiu's famous Romans' Emperor Hotel, (Imparatul Romanilor Hotel) located in the Old Town near the main square, in a 16th century building built in traditional Transylvanian Renaissance style, a former merchant's hall transformed into hotel in the 18th century, with many famous guests: Emperor Franz Joseph II, composers Franz Liszt, Johann Strauss as well as Prince Charles and many others.

In the lavish lobby of the hotel, George and George worked out the final details of the tour's financials...who owed what. It was confusing, but the two of them nailed it down and all was good.

George and George

Tonight we joined George and Lynn from FFSac for dinner at the Crama Sibiul Vechi, the best cellar - restaurants in town, serving authentic Transylvanian fares. Russ had a spicey pork dish and I had fried pork with polenta, cream cheese and sour cream. Atmosphere and food were terrific. We strolled through the main square on our way back to the hotel dipping into some gelato bowls.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's in Sibiu, Romania.

Bucharest - Old Town and Ethnographic Outdoor Museum, WTRD 10-11

Concert Hall

Day 1 Romania, Thursday, August 18, 2016 -An Easy Walk to Old Town Bucharest.

We arrived and checked in at our hotel the Berthelot in Bucharest just a few minutes before midnight on August 17.  By the time we got settled it was nearly 1:00 pm in the morning.  The rain seemed to follow us from Iceland to Romania and we were in the midst of terrific thunder and lightning storm.  The rain was dropping so fast, it looked like the windshield of our transfer was being washed by a fire hose.  Our driver Dan was very knowledgeable and chatted all the way from the airport to the hotel about 30 minutes away.

Bert helot Hotel on right, gracious old and tattered home next door.

Our first day in Bucharest was laid back and the sun was shining.  Dan told us that there were often rain storms at night, but the days were usually quite nice.   Awakening at 9:00, we made it downstairs  for breakfast  just before the dining room closed at 10:00 am, then took a long stroll to old town admiring old turn of the century buildings, many looking like tattered nobility.

 

Some of the buildings had their original facade retained while the back of the building was glass and steel.

There are so many beautiful old buildings in the city, once known as little Paris.   Some buildings have been or are being refurbished.  Many are just deteriorating for one reason or another.  Many have graffiti drawn all over them.  One of the buildings we visited was the concert hall.  It is a lovely old building, graceful and elegant inside (top photo) and out.

We visited an art and craft,  antique market, just browsing, but enjoying the browse of all the possessions that people once held dear, and are now for sale.  It seems that younger people here are not interested in all this stuff, like contemporary young Americans

Looks like a hidden mystery screen.  Can you find the coffee grinder?

There are many high end clothing stores up and down the boulevard.  I don't know where some of the ladies were going today, but we saw many women in very high heels, short tight skirts,  long flowing formal like gowns, wedding stores, 

and shredded jeans with more skin than fabric  walking around on the city streets where we also saw beggars, old women pushing shopping carts, and men sleeping in doorways.  It is quite a study in fashion.

We ate lunch at a little pub.  Imagine our delight after spending nearly $50.00 for two dry sandwiches and sodas in Iceland, two spend $15.00 for four open faced grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, and six beef stuffed mushrooms, 1 sparkling water, and one soda.  Food is very reasonable, actually very inexpensive.

Our Friendship Force Group, with the exception of two members were all checked into the hotel and were meeting in our exchange director's room for wine and appetizers at 5:30.  After a lazy afternoon and nice happy hour, we gathered for dinner, and had several regionally specialties for dinner.  Again, lots of food for dinner about $20.00 for the two of us.

Day 2 Romania, Friday, August 19, 2016 - A visit to the Outdoor Village Enthographic Museum

In 1936, the Romanian government had the foresight to purchase property and to begin saving buildings, dismantling them piece by piece and reconstructing them in the Outdoor Village Ethnographic Museum.  Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, over 300 buildings have been reconstructed here.

Our FF Group took the metro and walked part of the way to the museum, there are 11 of us.  Here is the group midway, checking the time.

Anybody know what time it is?

Once we were on the grounds, the group split up ad moved around independently, visiting both the outsides and many interiors of these buildings with period furnishings and art work.  Buildings are residences, 

churches, 

windmills, chicken coups, corn cribs, and working buildings (grinding, grape smashing, wax making, etc.).  

Cat in the Corn Crib

Russ and I, found another geocache on the grounds.  Actually we introduced a few other folks to geocaching, and one of them spotted the cache first.  Beginner's luck!  Although she did say she found one once in Canada.

Two things I enjoyed at the museum were the woven fencing used around homes and to pen animals.

A music video was being shot while we were at the museum and we were able to photograph some of the folks participating in ethnic costumes.

After we visited the gift shop, took a few photos, ate a scoop of gelato, we returned to our hotel around 3:00. 

We relaxed, had a long happy hour with our group, and opted to fire up our water pot for cups of soup instead of venturing out for dinner.  We leave tomorrow at 8:00 am in the morning for our tour to Northern Romanian and Transylvania.  Signing off for now so that we can get busy packing or at least rearranging our gear for two weeks of ground travel.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Bucharest, Romania

From Iceland to Romania - Three breakfasts? WTRD 9 Aug 17, 2016

Three breakfasts?

We could have eaten our way to gluttony this morning as we had the opportunity to eat 3 breakfasts, and still had some krona for breakfast in our pockets.

Breakfast number 1.  

The hotel opens its breakfast room doors at 5:00, about the same time we needed to check into the airport.  Five is just too early for breakfast, and we were running late.    Even though the continental breakfast looked ok, nothing jumped out at us.  We grabbed an orange juice, chugged it down, and thought we would grab breakfast later at the airport with our krona money.

Breakfast number 2.  

Remember our bump up to first class?  Well it continued all the way to Munich because of the stopover in Iceland.  When we checked in, the ticket agent directed us to the Saga lounge.  Wow!  Don't want to sound like a country bumpkin here, but the spread in the lounge with cappuccinos and sparkling wine was too much to resist.  Really, we had no idea this is what went on these lounges...or maybe this is just Icelandair. Would love to hear your first class experiences with other airlines.  Anyway we loved the quiche, croissants, and yogurt fruit parfaits.

Obviously we didn't need to spend our krona and decided to spend it on our way back from Morocco when we returned through Iceland home.

Breakfast number 3.  No sooner had we taken off, when breakfast three was delivered, egg omelette, crunchy bacon, hash brown potatoes, more yogurt, croissants, fruit, granola, coffee, and orange juice.  I picked at the protein and thought this must be the way skinny models eat, leaving 95% of the meal on the plate....right, but they hadn't consumed 1000 calories just an hour before either.  

We gained calories with breakfast and two hours with time change when we arrived in Germany at 1:30.  Our plane does not leave until 7:50 pm so we have a long layover with nothing much to do except write about three breakfasts.  HaHa.

Oh one more thing, outside of our gate there is an enclosed glass shelter called te Camel Smoking Lounge.  A big yellow camel stands guard.  In English written on the window are the words "It's all about the journey"...That's sad, even sadder to see so many young people in the room..  What kind of journey is it to be a slave to nicotine and a high likelihood that the journey will lead to emphysema and lung cancer.  

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Transit

Outside the Camel Room