Feeling Blessed: Day 11 - Danube to Black Sea Canal and Constanta

6-8 Saturday

from the OAT itinerary:

Day 11:

Early this morning, sail into the Danube-Black Sea Canal, a 40-mile engineering marvel begun in 1949, but not fully completed until 1987. You'll pass through the canal's lock system and cruise by the inland port towns of Murfatlar and Medgidia.

Following lunch, enjoy a guided tour of Constanta, a Romanian Black Sea port that is the country's oldest continually inhabited city. Dating back more than 2,500 years, Constanta boasts a wealth of fascinating architecture and history. Myth holds that Jason and the Argonauts stopped here after recovering the legendary Golden Fleece. Explore the beguiling city center, the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, the mosaic-paved Roman Edifice of Tomis, the Art Nouveau Constanta Casino, and other highlights of this beloved city.

Tonight, celebrate your Danube River and Black Sea cruise at the Captain's Farewell Dinner.

* * * * *

When we woke up this morning and opened the curtains, there was a strange view. We were in a lock.

We were entering the Danube-Black Sea Canal. It was lovely. The shore was very close and I loved watching. Lots of sheep with shepherds and cows of course. We heard many cuckoos calling.

Breakfast offering: Eggs Benedikt!

James enjoyed his iPhone app. It helps better to understand the way we are going. Fun!

The sounds and look of a train going by.

Another lock!

And then we are in Constanta. The end of our river cruise. Docked!

After lunch at 1:30 pm we board our color-coded buses for a city tour. This is the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul from the bus. Later we also see it inside.

The old casino looking awful on the outside but Monica says its well-preserved inside and there are plans to restore it.

Suddenly ... a drenching downpour. Oh well. Thankfully it didn't last long. And it was warm.

Constanta Cathedral inside. Looked like that there was a special service going to start soon. A baptism? Again, it is so difficult to show the grandeur in just a photo. The video gives a little better idea ... I hope.

VIDEO! (0:55)

Not far away a mosque. We people could live peacefully next to each other. We could.

We went to see the old roman mosaics.

But the museum across from it was the best.

We got 20 minutes free time to go a story higher. Oh what treasure.

I love these figures (even if these are copies because the originals are in Bucharest).

Look at these figures. The label says: Hamangia idols from Cernavodā necropolis (5000-4500 B. C.)

Found on Wikipedia: Also known as the Thinker of Hamangia and Ganditorul, the Thinker of Cernavoda is a sculpture of a sitting human figure resting his head on his hands in what appears to be a contemplative gesture. This and a companion figurine of a sitting woman were made by one or more artists of the late Neolithic Hamangia culture, which occupied much of what is now Romania and Bulgaria between 5250 and 4500 BCE.

The Hamangian settlement at Cernavoda, where the figurines were found in 1956, contained a large necropolis, or cemetery. The Thinker is 4.5 in. tall and 2.9 in. across at the shoulders. It is made of terracotta, a ceramic made of clay, and is unglazed. Unlike many sculptures from the same period, the Thinker and the Sitting Woman contain no ornamentation or engravings; instead, their surfaces are smooth. They are also among the few prehistoric art objects that do not appear to relate to either fertility or hunting.

Had to take this photo for our grandsons. Woolly mammoth tusks (Mammuthus primigenius) discovered at Poarta Albā. That is not far from here. I looked it up on Wikipedia. Caleb especially would love to see this. He made me search the internet with him for Woolly Mammoth very recently.

James and I could have spent much more time in the museum. But ... as we always say ... it is what it is.

Monica was surprised when she talked about this statue of the Roman Poet Ovid and James knew about him because he studied his poetry in latin class way back when.