Constanța II (3/29-30/2026)

Sunday, March 29, 2026 (continued)

Wow, the Constanța on Foot shore excursion is pretty extensive, as we continue through Piața Ovidiu/Ovid Square after seeing City Hall and the statue of Ovid:

Art Nouveau canopy at a restaurant

Sinagoga Mare/Great Synagogue (1910-1914,
by Anghel Păunescu in Moorish Revival style)

Casa de Piatră/Stone House (1882-1884,
in Eclectic style with Victorian and Venetian
Gothic elements) was the home of
Amédée Alléon, a French nobleman of
Sephardic Jewish heritage who was a
naturalist and ornithologist; he supposedly
studied bird migration from the balconies

The second largest bird migration flyway in Europe is along the western coast of the Black Sea, including Constanța.

A beautifully restored building at
Bulevardul Tomis 16 is said to have
belonged to Bulgarians to illustrate that
Constanța is considered a model of interethnic,
multicultural, and interconfessional dialogue

Geamia Hunchiar/Hünkar Mosque
(1867-1868) was built using stones from a
destroyed defensive wall or gate of the town
and is still active, although the imam does not
climb the damaged minaret for the calls to
prayer - a loudspeaker is used

I give up! I cannot verify that the building
on the left was also at one time a brothel,
which was convenient for officials working 
at the former town hall, seen on the right

Vechea Primăria/Old Town Hall (1896, by
Ion Socolescu in the Neo-Romanian style) is now
the Muzeul de Artă Populară/Museum of Folk Art

Like a Dollar Store, yet 1 Leu is worth about 25₵

There seem to be 26 of these statues of
Lupa Capitolina in Romania, many more
than the eight in Italy; however, it is
appropriate for this statue to be in Constanța,
which was formerly the Roman city of Tomis

Arc în Timp/Arc in Time (1998,
by Wilhelm Demeter on the occasion
of the 2250th anniversary of the
Roman Tomis Fortress

Our view from the Viking Rinda

For dinner: Romanian Ciorbǎ de Perişoare/spicy soup
with meatballs and vegetables

Romanian Saramura de Pui/brined chicken with
bell peppers and grilled polenta

Romanian Alba ca Zapada/"Snow White,"
a lemon cream cake with whipped cream

Monday, March 30, 2026

We were on our own today in Constanța, but museums and such were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It was another drizzly gray day.

Southern Girl (2024, by Dmitri)

Kent's new specialty is spotting snails...
Another Helix lucorum/Turkish Snail

Biserica Greacă Schimbarea la Față/Greek Orthodox
Church of the Transfiguration (1862-1867, by
Ioannis Teoharidi in classic Greek style)

Church of the Transfiguration interior

Fragments of Roman ruins in front of the
Edificiul Roman cu Mozaic/Roman Mosaic Building (1967)

Stopped in a small market for beverages

Fresh loaves of bread

Looks like any convenience mart

They had just instituted a Bottle Reverse
Vending Machine to return your deposit
on plastic bottles, which has been very
successful in Romania, a country that
ranked last in recycling in 2021

Roman Catholic Bazilica Sfântul Anton
de Padova/St Anthony of Padua Basilica
(1938, by Romano de Simon in Bolognese
Romanesque style)

St Anthony of Padua Basilica interior

Resembles an Orthodox icon...
depicts Vladimir Ghika, a Romanian who
converted to Catholicism and became a priest;
he established the first free hospital in the
country, but was arrested and died in
1954 under the Communist regime

Muzeul de Sculptură Ion Jalea/Ion Jalea
Sculpture Museum (est 1968, building 1919-1920,
by Victor Stephănescu in Neo-Romanian style
as the residence of the county governor) with
a stone relief Oameni cu tauri/People with Bulls

Arcașul/The Archer (1961, by Ion Jalea) (KSS)

On the Casino Promenade, Pescarii/Fishermen
(1959, by Corneliu Virgiliu Medrea)

It was pouring rain by the time we reached the Viking
shuttle bus at Mural Wanda, as seen through the bus window

Stateroom 125 in Viking Rinda

Another view in the stateroom

Stateroom bathroom

On the Viking Rinda, a depiction of Rinda,
the Norse goddess of the frozen earth,
who is harsh beautiful, and headstrong

Lunch: Creamy Artichoke Soup with pecans

Vegetarian Burger with sweet potato fries and cole slaw

Apricot Tart

By 12:15 the Viking Rinda had departed from Constanța
and we left the port behind as we sailed south for about
four miles on the Black Sea before turning into the
Canalul Dunăre - Marea Neagră/Danube - Black Sea
Canal (1949-1953, resumed 1976-1984)

The canal project began during the Stalin-era and used forced labor of political prisoners. It was known as the "Death Canal" due to harsh conditions and high mortality rates.

The canal is 64.4 km/40 miles in length.

We passed under the Podul Nou Agigea/New Agigea Bridge
(2015) is a cable-stayed road bridge, the largest in Romania

Ecluza Agigea/Agigea Lock raises boats
2.5-5 m/8-16' depending on tides

It is raining again as we pass under Podul Vechi Agigea/
Agigea Old Bridge (1982-1982)

The sides of the Danube - Black Sea Canal look
ready to handle any water depth fluctuations

At 18:00 the Viking Rinda begins to turn left onto the Danube River

Dinner: Transylvanian Ciorbǎ Ardeleneasca/
Sour soup with chicken and corn broth

Talpa cu Ghiveci/Poêléd (method of pot roasting)
Torbay sole on a traditional vegetable stew

Torta Garash/Bulgarian chocolate cake

Next: Pleven, Bulgaria.