Saturday we had our luggage packed and picked up from our
room at 7am. Breakfast at the hotel
(included) and then we boarded a bus and drove about an hour and a half from
Bucharest to the town of Constanta. Here we toured churches and archeological
sights, including an incredible Roman mosaic floor uncovered in the last few
years. We walked through the town to the
shore of the Black Sea and the sight of a casino that has sat empty and
deteriorating for many years, being
passed from one bureaucratic organization to another for the purpose of
renovation, each of these agencies ultimately failing to make any progress and
often becoming mired in controversial and/or illegal dealings before the
"project" is passed on to another agency.
Casino Black Sea in the Background
Ancient Caduceus
We then re-boarded our bus and traveled a short (15 minutes)
distance to the seaside resort of Mamaia on the outskirts of Constanta. We had
a lovely buffet lunch at the IAKI resort in Mamaia followed by a couple of
hours on the beach at the Black Sea. The arrangements by Tauck seem to be first
class! All meals are quite good and include beer or wine. At the beach two hotel
rooms were reserved for our group for the purpose of changing into swimsuits. Lounge
chairs, umbrellas and a drink were covered by Tauck. The skies cleared a bit and we actually got
our feet wet in the black sea and spent time getting to know our fellow
travelers. When it got a bit breezy we returned to the hotel lobby to await our
bus transportation to our river boat.
On the way to the beach
Getting our Feet Wet in the Black Sea
At last we arrived on our beautiful ship, Ms Treasures. She is a lovely vessel. There are only about 80 passengers on a ship with a capacity for over 100 and plenty
of room in the main lounge area and dining room for all the passengers at one
time. This is quite different from the
ocean cruises where it would be impossible for all the passengers to fit into
any one venue at the same time. Rather than everyone crowding into the lobby
and waiting in lines, we were seated in the lounge where we had liquid
refreshment and were entertained by a talented
pianist while we waited to sign in, then they brought us to the reception desk
just a few at a time to complete a very quick sign-in and turn in our
passports. All beverages (including
"adult beverages") are included on Tauck...even the mini-bar in the
room is restocked as needed--no extra charges, however local laws forbid
alcohol being in our mini-bars. Quite a
difference from constantly bringing out your room key card to charge drinks!
And, the Internet is included so I can keep this blog updated more often. Unpacking
and organizing took a while, (those great magnetic items that worked so well on
the ocean cruise do not work on this boat...apparently we do not have metal walls here, but the shoe
organizer fits inside the closet door and works for all those small items we
can't live without!) We managed to make it into the dining room for dinner
before it closed (I think we were the last passengers into the dining room). The service and food are outstanding!
Our room is a bit smaller than we are used to on ocean
cruises, but it is lovely and the entire wall on the outside is a sliding
door--it's called a French Balcony--there is really nowhere to go as the room
goes to the edge of the boat, but we can open the window for fresh air, or just
to look out. When we are docked next to another river boat there might be only
12-18 inches between our windows and theirs! In our room after dinner we
noticed we were stationary next to a concrete wall only a few inches away, and
then we realized we were being elevated...apparently we had entered our first
lock.
On Sunday morning we slept in a little and didn't make it to
the dining room for a full breakfast, but never fear, we did not miss the meal
entirely as there is a second, smaller dining area called the Bistro where they
serve continental breakfast until 10am. We are becoming quite fond of
croissants and capuccino! We had our morning briefing to advise us of the
happenings for the day and a presentation about the ecological and health crisis in Ruse, Bulgaria in the
1980's due to air pollution from a chlorine factory and the successful efforts
made by local women to close the factory.
After a buffet lunch in the dining room we arrived at Ruse, Bulgaria
(7th country for us). We took a bus ("coach")
a short distance into the town and then took a walking tour which included a
small museum and a church as well as the usual town square, etc. This seems to
be a relatively small town, and not much has been done since the end of the
communist era (and probably during) to restore what were once beautiful
buildings. We stopped at a local restaurant for a taste of a local pastry which was "filled"
with cheese and eggs. Seemed sort of
like a flakier version of quiche, and it was served with a local sparkling wine
(sweet).
A Display of small gifts exchanged and then hung on trees
during a Bulgarian holiday in March
I think she was cold so they put her next to the heater
The four girls around this fountain were being showered by seahorses
Banitsa Eastern Orthodox Church
We returned to the ship for a the Captain's champagne
reception and dinner, enjoying meeting more of our co-passengers. So far we have met people from the UK,
Australia, Canada, Florida, New York, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Washington, and Tennessee (probably more I am forgetting). Close to half the
passengers are from the West Coast of the U.S., and most passengers are from
the U.S. On one of the bus tours we briefly met two more couples from
Oregon--one of whom is from Bend!
Monday we got up in time for breakfast in the dining
room. It was a lovely buffet of fruits,
cheeses, pastries, cereals, bacon and sausages, etc., supplemented with fresh
eggs/omelets, pancakes, french toast or waffles cooked to order. After
breakfast we had our morning briefing and an interesting talk about ancient
religions of the world. Life is hard when you're sipping a Mimosa while sailing
along the Danube with Bulgaria on your port side and Romania on your starboard
while listening to short, interesting,
and educational lectures...
We'll probably skip lunch today (horrors!!!) and will arrive
in Vidin, Bulgaria this afternoon.
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