This gallery contains 20 photos.
Today was a big day. We left the hotel early, to get down to the little tourist pier, to catch a boat (or better: two boats, as the group was split up into two boats) for our tour into the … Continue reading
We made it into Tulcea in the late afternoon. After a bit of time to settle in, we left the hotel for a walk around town and up a little hill behind town to Monumentul Eroilorm (Independence Monument) and a great view over town and into the Danube Delta.
It’s been in 2014, when I had done a trip through Eastern Europe, covering Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. That trip had been very enjoyable – and while covering loads of ground, it had become obvious, that there was more to be discovered in the region. By chance I now did stumble across a new trip, starting in Bucharest and making it overland to Kiev, covering the Danube delta, the key pieces of Moldova (incl. the breakaway territory of Transnistria) and key bits of Ukraine (Odessa, Kiev and Chernobyl) – I ended up being game and booked the trip.
So – now I was back to Bucharest … four years after my last visit. I got in in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours walking around town. Compared to my last visit not too much had changed. Clearly some renovation work had been conducted, some was still ongoing – but otherwise nothing major new.
I made it back to the hotel in time for the welcome meeting and a first group dinner.
We were leaving Bucharest already on Tuesday (after a bit of a taxi situation for some in the group, giving our tour leader’s heart rate a bit of push) making our way to Tulcea, the gateway to the Danube delta, below some photographic evidence from that trip.
Around Midday we made our way to the train station to catch a train to make our way across the Friendship Bridge – spanning the Danube river – from Romania into Bulgaria.
This morning we enjoyed a city walking tour; our guide provided good insights into way of life during Communist times and did show some of the hidden treasures … including one of the churches, that has been moved to make place for the Palace of Parliament.
We made it to Bukarest in the late morning. A quick lunch had to do, as we were scheduled for a guided tour through the Palace of Parliament at 13:15.
The building – often referred to as the second largest on the planet (after the Pentagon) – goes back to the 1980s and greatly depicts the megalomania of Romania’s dictator Ceausescu. In the building process a whole city quarter had been torn down, several churches and other buildings were moved to new locations. Originally only Romanian materials and products were used in the creation of the building … today this still holds true to a big extend, however some non-Romanian products got added (e.g. air conditioning units).
Today the building houses the Romanian parliament and the senate, as well as other administration. The building also serves as conference center and many of the big halls can (as our guide pointed out multiple times) actually be rented for any sort of function.
We had an early start the next morning, leaving Brasov to make our way to Bukarest.
We made it back to Brasov in the evening; in time to head out and visit the local Oktoberfest for some beers, sausages and other treats.
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Our final stop for the day was in Bran – for Bran Castle – also known as Dracula Castle … and one of the drivers for people to come here. The castle itself goes back to the 14th century, built … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
This Sunday saw us heading out for castles and citadels. We started early in the morning, first making it to Peleș Castle. Built only in the late 19th / early 20th century in German Renaissance style, this castle was the … Continue reading