Yesterday we failed to get into the interior of the Parliament building. This was on our list of must sees, so we went to see if our cruise representatives could help. It so happened that one of them knew who to call and we got in at noon today. We were not disappointed, it is much more impressive from the inside. We toured the senate side of the building of 1100 rooms. The marble staircase was just the start of the 35 million cubic feet of marble found throughout the building, it is magnificent. Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist dictator with a maniacal mental state, drove the country to build this overstated palace. He worked 20,000 Romanians 24/7 for over 7 years. During the work on the staircase that we saw, he made workers tear it down completely two times because the steps did not work for his or his wife’s feet. The large carpets were woven in the building because the four ton weight was too large a task to move into the building any other way. The building itself weighs 4.1 million tons and sinks 1/4” a year.
We visited the senate conference rooms and the senate chamber. The Senate chamber was not complete when Ceausescu died, so the Romanians decided when they were finishing the room to use a green marble because he would not have liked that change. There is a ballroom where they hold receptions and where Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner were married in 1996.
The overall take away is that this is a building that leaves a bad taste in the Romanian people’s mouths, but they are trying to make the best of it without spending an abundance of money.
Our first excursion with Viking was to the Monogosoaia Palace. It was built in 1702 by Constantin Brancoveanu a wealthy land owner who eventually faced off with the sultan and he and his young sons were martyred.
Then we saw the 14th century Snagov Monestary. The frescos filled the entire church and told many biblical stories. They did not allow pictures unfortunately. Inside the church directly in front of the alter is the grave of Vlad the impaler. He is a hero/evil man that was known throughout Europe. He would not back down to the Ottomans and impaled many of them until the Sultan had him killed. He is the basis for Dracula.
Once again, we got fortunate with our meal, walking to a small italian restaurant near the hotel. We had some of the best pasta any place. The couple beside us is also going on the cruise and this was their second night in a row eating at this restaurant.
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