Day 2 Bucharest

Thursday, August 21, 2014
Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
What we love to do is get into the mix of the city and its people, and one of the best ways we have found is to take a city bus. We hopped on a bus with our luggage for an hour ride into the city during rush hour. Bucharest fits the bill of other big cities....traffic jams, lots of construction, everyone on their iPhones etc. Most of the buildings have been re-built since WWII, but some have not, and still display the bullet holes in the cement and stucco from the war. We get to the end of the line and elect to walk the remaining mile to the Marriott in and effort to burn off the big dinner from last night. Who needs a workout room when you can carry your luggage in 80• heat uphill for a mile? We did walk by their huge Parliament building, the second biggest building in the world (only to our Pentagon), built by the late Nikolai Ceauscu. A magnificent structure above ground that is equally amazing underground with its massive parking and secret tunnels that lead to other major buildings; and, as rumor has it, all the way back to the airport in case an unplanned escape was needed. We check into the Marriott, drop our bags off, and walk back to the city (downhill this time) to catch a free walking tour. We love these "free" walking tours (the guides depend solely on tips) and usually have pretty good luck getting good guides. Today is no exception as we are lucky to get Simona who is very knowledgable and speaks perfect English. As we walk through town she explains everything from how Dracula got his name to how the revolution started. The day has flown by and we have walked several miles, so we head back to the hotel for a quick nap before going to our welcome dinner. At dinner we are able to meet several of our fellow cruisers and we love hearing about their past and future adventures. Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour of the city (I know what you're thinking, they just walked the city), but sometimes..... correction....... most times, we have to do things multiple times before it sinks in. It's not easy getting old.
Other Entries

Photos & Videos

Comments

Ellen
2014-08-25

You are such a great writer! We are enjoying being transported!

winebuff
2014-08-26

Your enforced physical workout would be too much for me. Happy that you youngsters still have the energy for that!

Enjoying these reports.

Lynne & Keith

2025-02-09

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank