Bulgaria to Bucharest 

As our trip down the Danube continued we stopped in Bulgaria...

First stop was a town called Vidin

This castle and fortress was right along the river

Fun to explore, but those cobblestones were slippy!

Our tour guide told us that Bulgaria tried to protest the Jewish residents during WWII.  The king, who had German roots, pretended to go along with the deportations but delayed them so people could hide the Jews in that castle, in homes, caves, basements.  Sadly, once the war was over and Soviet system took over the Jews were not welcome and emigrated to Israel.

Our guide talked about what life was like under Soviet rule and how many homes were take over by the Soviets.

The old buildings were ornate and beautiful!

On to Plevin, Bulgaria - Bulgaria is famous for rose oil used in perfume making.  I bought some to use in my lotion.

A huge battle took place near this town during the Russo-Turkish war 1877-1878 and there was a great museum explaining the battle.

Last stop on the cruise was where the Danube flows into the Black Sea in Constanta, Romania.  Beautiful pedestrian walkway and buildings along the sea!

Then on to Bucharest by bus...

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the oldest restaurant in Bucharest and had traditional dance and music entertainment.

Beautiful buildings and old friends enjoying the sunshine...

We strolled around and enjoyed the street music.

Last stop on the tour was the  Palace of the Parliament Building - started by  Nicolae Ceaușescu, the dictator executed in 1989.  It is the largest and heaviest civilian administrative building in the world

Our hotel in Bucharest was gorgeous and in a great spot to explore the city.

We were located right near this new cathedral under construction and not far from the Palace of Parliament. 

It was Orthodox Easter Monday and everything was closed...but our Viking guide in the hotel called a friend who worked at the Parliament and arranged a tour for us...we needed our passports and Romanian money - 

We stopped at the ATM in the lobby and we were all set...but we walked 10,000 steps trying to find the entrance where we were to meet the guide.  All around the building, until we finally found a guard to let us in...

The main office was large enough to accommodate tanks - and there are 15,000 chandeliers in the place!

This young man was taking us on the tour and explaining things until we met up with the guide...we were late because we could not find a way in!!!

A stunning building - so sad that an entire neighborhood of homes and businesses were demolished to build it.

Our guide, Serena, and her twin sons - we were so lucky to be able to get in to tour this marvelous building.

We passed by the cathedral on our way back to our hotel...

tired, happy, and ready to enjoy dinner in the hotel and rest up for our journey to Transylvania the next day!

Thanks for continuing on this journey with us...it was such an educational trip.  Transylvania in the next post - until then, thanks for stopping by Our New Vista!