From Istanbul to Bucharest

We flew out of Istanbul on Sunday and landed in Bucharest. Our Romanian tour guide Ion, met us at The Otopeni International Airport. We checked into our hotel and hit the streets of Bucharest. Just a few of the sites we toured. Revolution Square, University Square, the Arch of Triumph, the Mitropoly ( the highest ranking orthodox church ). Today we toured The village Museum, a park of  traditional Romanian rural houses, and crafts of the various regions of Romania. Tomorrow we will be visiting The House of Parliament (the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon). Then we will be leaving Bucharest to visit the south western part of the country. We will be traveling on the Transfagarasan ( the highest and most spectacular road in the country) originally built by the communist party in the 80's for their military vehicles. Many of the old churches in Bucharest where either destroyed or moved by Nicolae Ceausescu. While driving through Bucharest the definite difference between the communist buildings, which are cheaply built and all very common and boring looking, the older palaces, museums, and government buildings built before communist occupation are beautifully ornate. The churches that where moved are wedged back behind newer buildings or shifted and turned away from the road so that they are not a visible.