Snagov Monastery, Mogoșoaia Palace & Palace of Parliament, Bucharest, Romania

Aug 5

We had two tours set up for today.

We boarded the bus for the Mogoșoaia Palace it was just a short drive out of Bucharest. Set amongst elegant gardens, this history museum and art gallery was once home to Romanian nobles.

The Marriott as we drove away

views from the window

by the Arc de Triomphe again

arrival at the Mogoșoaia Palace

Prince George Bibesco

Princess Martha

the gardens

the former kitchen now houses an art gallery

there were many cats there and this one looked like Samurai

Next, we drove to the village of Snagov and the Snagov Forest which is a protected area of oak, hornbeam, and lime trees and a picturesque lake. On the bus ride since there really wasn’t much, he could tell us that we hadn’t already heard at this point he zeroed in on telling us more about Vlad and the Dracula myth that Bram Stoker wrote about in his famous book. He even took on the accent. At some point he said I need to stop talking like that as it found its way into his normal speech. He was a humorous and great guide. In fact, all our guides in Romania were very good and all had a great sense of humor.

We crossed the bridge to reach the island, and a small plane flew low overhead, and we were crop-dusted. Many in the group were having a fit about that. (there was some mist that fell on us, and I suspect we will live)

The Snagov Monastery has been on the island for almost 700 years. During its time it has been a place of refuge, escape, and imprisonment. One of the most notorious historic figures associated with it is the Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, immortalized in literature as Dracula is said to be buried inside the ornately decorated sanctuary. Whether Vlad is buried there or not, it was an interesting visit in a beautiful setting.

arrival at the Monastery entrance

we got crop dusted walking on the bridge to the monastery

views from the bridge

the monastery

Vlad the Impaler's grave

what's up with the huge egg?

walking back to the bus

Both stops were closed and opened just for the Viking Tour. (though I thought I saw an independent tour at the museum. (perhaps from Viking or that it was opened for a limited time?)

We had less than an hour for lunch and we had noticed a Shawarma place across the street from the hotel and knew that would be fast. It was quite good.

it was quite good

The JW Marriott from the Shawarma place

Our afternoon tour was of the Palace of Parliament. Intended to be the headquarters of Romania’s government and built by the country’s communist dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu, the palace is second in size only to the Pentagon and is known as “The People’s Palace.” Many of the people see it as a huge waste of their money and a symbol of greed and inequality.

About one-fifth of the city was bulldozed to build the so-called House of the People, the surrounding buildings, and the grand avenue the leads into the distance from the palace, deliberately made wider and longer than the Champs-Élysee. Forty thousand residents were forcibly rehoused. Some buildings were uprooted and rebuilt in different locations; others remained and now stand at strange angles to the new buildings.

Beginning in 1984, it took more than 20,000 workers and 700 architects seven years to build this colossal structure; however, Ceaușescu did not live to see its completion, as he was executed on Christmas Day in 1989.

We got to see a handful of the more than 300 rooms (about 1/5^th of it). It is by guided tour only and we had to bring our passports. We had 2 guides (one for each branch of government) and both were very informative and answered questions including how many people feel about it. We saw opulent rooms some the size of half a football field. Much like the opulence in Russia while the peasants went without. (no wonder there was a revolt)

We learned how this former Eastern bloc country overcame an oppressive regime to become a member state of the European Union. Today, the building houses the country's parliament and associated offices – though much of it stands unused.