Our life on board

The library

Our river boat is the MS River Adagio. It is owned by Grand Circle Cruise Line. Built in 2002, it is 410 feet long and 38 feet wide.  It weighs 1654 tons. It has 82 cabins and can go 9.7 mph upstream and 13.4 mph downstream.

Executive chef

   

In the dining room

    

Our room ( beds pull down over the couches)

The bar

Final notes on Romania

●population about 22.5 million
●average salary $500-600/month
●10% unemployment
●10% of the population are gypsies (known as Romanies)  By the way, did you know that gypsies originated in India?
●its government is a democratic republic
●its name and language are direct "descendents" of the Roman influence between the first and third centuries A.D.
●it has the only Romance - based language in Eastern Europe
●literacy rate is 98
● religion is about 87% Greek Orthodox

The harbor at Constanta,  an early Roman port and still an important strategic military location on the Black Sea

Roman ruins from 200 A.D. at Port of Constanta

"Dracula ' s" Castle

Bran Castle is known as the infamous location of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula".  

It was the headquarters of the son of Prince Vlad Dracul who became known as Vlad the Impaler in his bloody rampages against the Ottoman Turks.

 It is now the #1 tourist attraction in Transylvania.

Entrance to the castle 

Entrance hall

Glimpses of Transylvania

Peles Castle was built in 1914 for the first German- origin king who imitated the style of his Bavarian homeland. It has 160 rooms and is now one of Romania ' s most important and beautiful museums.

Our neighbor and fellow traveler, Joni, enjoyed the castle grounds.

Transylvania: the Bavaria of Romania

We have spent the last 3 days in the Transylvania region of Romania.  Traveling through the lush Carpathian Mountains in beautiful weather has been a treat.  There are stunning flowers blooming, and lovely ski areas abound.  We have been staying in Sinaia known as the  "Pearl of the Carpathians" ,  a favored destination of royalty for decades.

Mel and I have remarked several times that the area reminds us of Germany ' s Bavaria.  That is partly because of the geography and partly because of the architecture.  

Many of the buildings have a distinct Bavarian style. That is probably due to the fact that since 1881 Romania has had a German- origin monarch.

 Although the king is now only a figurehead,  he and his ancestors have made a distinct mark on the area.

Today we board our river boat for the next part of our journey on the Danube River.