Romania! Who would have ever thought that we would be flying across the ocean for a vacation in ROMANIA!?
And here we were...two months after sending off Alex on his mission, while he was still at the MTC actually, we boarded the plane to Paris straight from Raleigh.
In Paris we had a long connection, a bit on purpose--we could go to a very nice Air France lounge, rest, eat and even shower! It makes travel so much more pleasant. Our flights were uneventful which is always fantastic! No delays, nothing crazy, especially because we travelled with carry on suitcases only.
And finally--arrived to Bucharest!
That evening we took a taxi to the apartment close to the city center where we were staying for two nights. We were quickly reminded about all things European from A/C units in the living room to small bathrooms and unique apartment set ups. We had a late dinner at a restaurant nearby and then purchased a few snacks and water at a convenience store across the street. We all managed to sleep some with the help of the melatonin, woken up by some construction happening in the apartment near us!
The following day we had a nice flexible sightseeing day planned all the way till dinner time. Bucharest was a little underwhelming compared to other European capitals. It is not huge but it's also not saturated with historic buildings. We tried to absorb the atmosphere of the city, despite the heat!
We went to the National Museum of Romanian History that gave us a better understanding of the culture here.
We visited one part of the museum related to old toys. So many toys reminded me of old Soviet todays and no surprise there--Romania used to be a communist country and we have a lot of cultural similarities in that respect with Ukraine.
Our apartment was walking distance from the center of the city. After the museum, we walked around all the way to Old Town.
But first we walked to the LARGEST government building in the world! This is the Palace of the Parliament, a neoclassical grand building, built between 1984 and 1997 (commissioned by the infamous tyrant president Ceausescu).
We did not go inside.
So back to the Old Town...oh yeah... so remember the reason why we went to Romania? Because Katya served her mission here! We wanted to get a glimpse of where and how she spent a year and a half here.
Mark came along albeit reluctantly...and we all love him even more for supporting Katya.
For lunch we met up with two sister missionaries that were currently in Bucharest. Katya knew one of them and the other one was new. Always so awesome to meet and feed missionaries!
Our day got even more exciting after we took a taxi to see the Fowlers--Katya's mission leaders. This truly was one of the highlights of this trip! They invited us first to their really nice apartment--the place where Katya, as a missionary, went many times for get togethers and activities. And we even took pictures where all the missionaries take pictures!
Then we all went out to dinner to an authentic but fancy Romanian restaurant.
Took a few pictures at this beautiful place.
I send this picture to hotels when I email them asking for a possibility of an upgrade (so they see that we are legit and well groomed-hahaaaa).
The Fowlers love pictures!
We had a blast! The Fowlers are simply amazing! They played a huge part in Katya's life and will forever be part of her life history.
They are barely older than us, with two kids living with them in Romania. It's been quite a journey for them but they are absolutely rocking it! The missionaries love them! Sister Fowler especially has been a rock for Katya throughout her difficult times on a mission.
After our fabulous dinner, we drove to the center of Bucharest for a fountains show! Sounds pretty cool, eh? It was incredible! Entertaining, amazing and so fun! It lasted a while too! A real concert in the dark with music from various eras, and fountains set to music and lights. Pretty awesome!
That's how our first day in Romania finished, full to the brim with exploring and meeting people. A successful first day!
To be continued...
Lyana
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