Just back!! Our VIKING LOFN-omenal "Passage to Eastern Europe" Cruise. 10/23 to11/2/2023 - Full trip report with tons of pix!

[Sleep7]

Back to the ship in time for lunch... loved the decorations at the front desk.🧡

 

 

[Sleep7]

In fact loved the Halloween flair all over the ship!

 

 

[Sleep7]

After lunch we walked around Nikopol a little.. very little. 

As Sam aptly said.. "It was the city that always sleeps.."

Really deserted.😐

 

 

 

 

 

They did have the famous sign though!😊

 

 

And 3 ships all moored together.. I guess none of them could get thru to Bucharest.

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Before dinner a fond farewell from the 3 Lofn Amigos.

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Our last dinner on the ship.

 

 

Only snapped the fried cheese.. totally forgot about the rest of the meal!🫣

 

 

[Sleep7]

Last Viking Daily in our cabin.😟

 

 

 

 

 

And then we sailed right across the river to Romania.

[Sleep7]

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1 - BUCHAREST

Good morning Turnu Magurele, Romania. Another beautiful day!!

 

[Sleep7]

Up early and luggage out promptly at 7:45.

 

[Sleep7]

Last glimpse of the Lofn on the way to the buses.

 

[Sleep7]

We chose the optional "Bucharest and the Palace of Parliament" tour.

 

[Sleep7]

It was a L O N G and bumpy drive to Bucharest.  There was major road work and it really slowed things down and bumped things up!

We did stop at 2 gas stations for rest stops and snacks along the way.

 

[Sleep7]

Our sweet and knowledgeable guide was very chatty and told us a lot about Romanian history during our 3 hour drive.  Once we got to Bucharest our first stop was the main attraction of the tour.. The Palace of the Parliament.

What can you say about a 3.54 million square foot building built by a megalomaniac dictator?

It's a lot of bathrooms to clean and rugs to shampoo.🤨

Here is an interesting link about the building.

https://passportsymphony.com/heaviest-building-in-the-world/

 

[Sleep7]

There was airport type security to get in and you had to show your passport.

A lot of class trips arriving going on that day too.

First stop for every tour it seemed was a picture on the grand staircase.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

I am trying but unfortunately I can't really fully convey the massive scale of the hallways and the rooms in pictures.

 

 

 

Some rooms also doubled as a catering hall!  Nadia Comaneci and Bart Connor were married here in 1996.

 

 

The current Romanian Parliament meets in this room.

 

 

[Sleep7]

After the tour was over our guide and bus picked us up out front.  We drove over to the Old Town area for a short walking tour and lunch.

Bucharest is a vibrant bustling city and I loved it! 

 

 

 

The Old Town area was leafy and lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Very reasonable prices too.. This beer was about $2 for happy hour.

 

 

Our group enjoyed a delicious al fresco lunch of soup, ground meat kebabs and potatoes and black forest cake for dessert.

 

 

[Sleep7]

Hanul Hanuk is a former inn that is now a restaurant with a lovely courtyard.

 

 

[Sleep7]

Bucharest was the first city in the world to have street lights that were illuminated by kerosene lamps.

 

[Sleep7]

Our guide also showed us this landmark restaurant called Caru cu bere.

It's built like a church but instead of worshiping a g-d it worshiped beer!

Such a cool interior.. added it onto my list of things to see and do when we come back to Bucharest in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

At around 3:30 our tour was winding down and the bus took us to the JW Marriott which was very near the Palace of Parliament.

The Viking Desk was set up and had our keys ready to go and paperwork for the next morning.

The Hotel was was a true palace in itself!

We have never stayed in such a lavish Marriott before.. I actually took video of the bathroom and sent it to our daughters. Felt like the Beverly Hillbillies in a fancy hotel for the first time!😆

Too tired to walk back to the Old Town for dinner we ate at the hotel.  They had a great assortment of restaurants.. a steakhouse, an Italian restaurant, and a sports bar.

We chose the Italian one (very delicious pizza and eggplant parm) and saw a few friends from our cruise.. we greet each other so warmly and were grateful for the opportunity to hug goodbye.

It was short night's sleep as we were up at 2:00am and in the lobby at 3:00am

for the bus transfer to the airport.  Our Air France flight to Paris was at 6:20am.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

OTP was hopping at 3:30am.  As I have said in the past.. airports are like hospitals.. busy 24 hours a day.

 

 

A small lounge on the second floor.. not too much to offer but they did have nice coffee machines a lot of yogurt. 😊

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Due to high winds at CDG our flight to Paris was delayed an hour.

 

[Sleep7]

Finally on our way!

 

 

The plane was brand new and had USB and USBC ports in the seat backs.

 

 

[Sleep7]

So our flight was pretty smooth until we got close to Paris and then it was like a carnival ride for more than an hour.  In and out of the clouds... up and down.. tried to land but was too windy.. I was jumping out of my pants.  Thankfully the pilot wasn't and bless him that he did keep making very calming announcements.  Finally we landed safely.. I truly wanted to hug him on my way off the plane.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Back on "Terra Firma." Whew!!!