As we are in an apartment, there is no breakfast on tap today, so we need to make do with foccacia and croissants from the patisserie one the corner - and coffee - GREAT coffee!
Bucuresti (Bucharest) is a city living in two times or maybe more. We are staying near the Jewish Quarter and the highrises around here are tired looking on the outside, and speak strongly of communist influence. Inside, however, they are spacious and comfortable if or apartment is anything to go by - small bathroom, large kitchen with stove, fridge, washing machine and all the normal accoutrements and a large bedroom complete with lounge and TV - this may have once been two rooms - oh, and a small semicircular balcony.
A few minutes walk from here and we come upon Kotor - a large shopping mall with all the known international names - we don't bother going in - seen one, seen them all. We start to see some of the splendour of Bucuresti on our walk to find the hop on - hop off bus. Canals and fountains - fountains everywhere which is a sight for hot eyes on another 34+ degree day. They spew forth - some continuously in a fine mist, others in rythymic patterns.
We try the tourist office around the corner where we are staying - supposedly open from 10 - 6 daily, except today for some reason. So we head towards the Old Town as my web research shows that the bus goes near here. Michael stops at a news-stand where the seller speaks Romanian and French and just a little English. Between them, Michael manages to buy a map and she very helpfully shows him where we are and we think where the bus leaves from. There is a flower seller nearby and he buys her a posy and makes her day! 30 Lei for the map, 30 Lei for the posy! (About $10 each). Might sell the map on ebay when I get home ;)
So off we wander again - the sun is burning hot and I scurry from shade spot to shade spot, managing to keep out of the sun for the better part. The streets are very wide - accommodating 3 + 2 lanes of traffic in each direction - 2 local and 3 through lanes. Crossing them is something that you do quickly - no jaywalking here! We continue on and I see one of the buses, mid route. Further still and we still haven't found the stop. We cross the Dâmbovița River that begins its journey high in the Fagaras Mountains - really now just a canal and spy a local fisherman and diving ducks chancing their luck!
An angry policeman has pulled up to move on a couple of Roma women who are selling home grown flowers on the sidewalk. There are lots of florist stalls, and I guess these undercut them and don't contribute to the local economy. The two women are arguing with him and he is getting very agitated. Slowly, they pack up and make to leave. We ask him if he speaks English and he is delighted to help. We are still about half a block and across the boulevard from the nearest stop for the Tourist Bus, and he willingly shows us where to go, wishing us a great visit. Like most of the Romanians we have met, he is super friendly.
Ah, a shady spot and a soon arrived bus - who could ask for more. At 25 Lei ($8) each, it's a bargain! We set off to do one lap and to get our bearings. The route is a little more than 9 kms, and it takes just over an hour to do a lap. The bus is full, and the upstairs open air deck is full before we get on - I'm just pleased that we manage to get a seat for this first trip.
We see that Bucuresti is filled not only with fountains, but also with some really impressive parks. There are gardens down the centre of the main boulevards, all in full bloom, and there are lots of buildings undergoing significant renovations. As we move out of the old city centre area, we enter a more genteel area where the buildings are grander with lots of trees. A number of up-market doctors, dentists and allied health services abound and as we near the Free Press House we also see the makings of the commercial world in a modern Bucharest - complete with a World Trade Centre and Microsoft House!
And the Arch of Triumph is modelled on the famous French one - closed for renovations at the moment. Not sure how I managed to snap a shot with no cars in the frame - this is almost as busy a stretch of road as the one in Paris! This one celebrates the victory of the Romanian soldiers in WWI.
Down past the Palace of the Parliament - the second largest civic government building in the world after the Pentagon. Built by Communist president Nicolae Ceausescu during 1984-1989, it is 84 m high, it has 12 floors and 6,000 rooms (hundreds of offices, dozens of reception and conference halls). The building was intended to house the presidency, the ministries as well as the headquarters of the communist party. The building is endowed with an antinuclear bunker with 1.5 m thick walls covered with radiation-proof panels and is connected to the main official institutions through a 20 km-labyrinth of tunnels. Much of the old city was destroyed to provide space for its construction with some 40,000 people displaced, leading to countless suicides we are told. It is jarring in its arrogance and holds no interest for us to explore.
Back to where we began, we opt to alight at the next stop along (I make a mental note that this will be the closest stop for us to get back to the apartment later today also). We are close to University Square and it is here we find the first of some very unique Orthodox churches.
The Coltea Church - the Three Holy Hierarchs was consecrated in 1702 and replaced an earlier timber church. It has weathered the hundreds of years with little impact to its external and internal frescoes - but those flagstones have been worn with the feet of the faithful - as in most of the churches we are seeing in Romania.
From here we cross into the Old Town and explore little streets, back alleys and tiny squares. The architecture through here is Romanesque and Baroque. Not quite classical, but stunning just the same. The attention given to statuary on rooftops is amazing. There are full copper roofs gleaming in the heat of the afternoon sun. I peer into a shady courtyard and smile at the City's attempts to manage people parking on
footpaths. So many of these buildings are under repair and restoration. One houses an 'antiques' and arts bric-a-brac market. Thought of buying some 'stuff' to take home, but the words of Gen still echo in my brain "you guys have so much 'stuff' - time to de-clutter again!" Cheeky daughter!!
We hear music playing as we pass by the first national Romanian Bank building and in the next square there is a musician frantically and with much fervour, belting out tunes on an instrument that looks something like a zither. He grins broadly when Michael deposits 5 Lei in his bucket and hits away with renewed energy.
Another amazing Orthodox Church - this one Stavropoleos Monastery completed in 1724 and dedicated to the Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel. It is more a convent than a monastery and we see a quite young nun bustling about her chores - dressed from head to toe in black - how hot she must be at this time of the year. We marvel again at the frescoes and at the collection of carved tombstones and pieces - we even find a couple of early coptic written pieces. They offered early travellers solace here and in the cool courtyard, we can appreciate how much other might have also enjoyed the respite. In the outside burners for remembering the dead, we light three candle to the memories of our dads and Michael's mum.
Man, its hot. Its now almost 2 in the afternoon and we need somewhere to sit and have a cold drink. There are a number of cafes on the streets, but one in particular seems to draw us. Caru' cu Bere was truly buzzing and the interior was one of stained glass opulence, but we couldn't get near inside for the tour groups - so we happily joined the 'plebs' sitting under the outside covered awning. We were lucky to spy a couple leaving, so made a dash for their table - I think we were meant to wait to be seated, but there was the quick and the thirsty today!
A waitress soon materialized and asked if we wanted a drink to start, when handing us the huge menus. Yes, "limonade please" - "with mint and honey" she asked, "mmm yes please, and sparkling water." You have no idea how refreshing this is - straight lemon juice, a handful of mint leaves and about a tablespoon of honey to which is added enough sparkling water to make it up to 1 litre. My new favourite summer drink.
We then order cooked cheese balls for me and Peasant's Pie (with cheese and yoghurt) for Michael, served with some lovely nutty brown bread and a fresh salad. 96 Lei ($32).
Lunch done and it is back on our feet.
We have walked from one side of the Old Town to the other and have managed to come out just beside the National Museum of the History of Romania (the former Postal Palace). And we find it shut on Mondays and Tuesdays - the story of our day today :(
So its back on the bus to continue the loop to our starting point. As we look out from the balcony of our apartment, we can see the Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou down below us. A service is in progress, so we don't go in but in the
frescoes painted on the outside, this more modern church highlights hell - much to Michael's amusement. And in the grounds there is a huge astrolabe with the degree representations for many of the cities we have visited!
We are hoping to catch up with Diana and Lorena who we met in France for dinner tonight and I wait by
the phone for a call.
It is proving very difficult to find some affordable accommodation in Berlin.
Not only are the World championship Athletics being held there this week, but it also coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - so now I am really determined to find something. Kind of bittersweet for me - Dad was in Berlin at the fall of the wall, and 20 years later, here are we.
Gosia from Fancy House here in Poznań is being a true friend. She has offered us our room in the apartment for another night - free, as her gift to us. Now, how lovely is that! Just goes to show the kind of people we are meeting. Thank you Gosia, we really love it here and another night is just what we need! There is still so much to see.
The weather today took a turn for the less comfortable. Yesterday was just delightful - a top of about 23°C and lovely and sunny. Today on the other hand, is lovely and sunny and 32°C! What a difference the juxtaposition of those two numbers makes! We begin the day by stubbonly refusing to believe that we can't get reasonably priced accommodation 
in Berlin - and guess what - it pays off. Well, it's still more than we really want to pay and slightly over our budget, but it is doable at least! So we have booked Berlin and hope to get there before it is dark tomorrow night.
Then it is off to the Old Town Square again to have some lunch and do that Military museum (lol). Lunch first as we don't want to miss out. We sit down at the Fenix as they at least are doing meals (quite a few of them are glorified bars) and after checking out a very international menu (it seems everything except Polish), we settle on:
Trout from the Grill (Michael) and Chicken Shoama (Maria). Both are 
served with Mcfries and grated beetroot, grated carrot and grated cabbage salad. Quick and tasty, but not one for the recipe books!
Lunch over we walk over to the Wielkopolska Military Museum housed in the back of that building that I think was once the market hall. It documents the history of the Polish military from 
the 11th century. Not my cup of tea, but Michael's cup floweth over! And I am sure that Antony would have found it interesting as well. This is a relatively new collection as the original was all but decimated in WWII and they had to seek items to replace those lost. Yep, its a bloke thing, I'm sure.
But the main aim of today was to see the Cathedral. Situated on 
Ostrów Tumski, an island in the Odra River. Today the land has been reclaimed. The first church on the site was a timber one built in the 10th century and the Cathedral as it is now seen dates back to 1241 - yes in brick, a la Roman style! When we first try to enter, there is a priest tying the doors shut, from the inside! We assume that there is a service on that he doesn't want distrubed, but it turns out that he is 
just trying to fit a new locking arm!
Once we are inside, we have to let our eyes become accustomed to the dark. There is not a single light on and with stained glass windows, there isn't too much natural light either. But as dark as it is, it's not at all gloomy. This is a very elegant building - beautifully proportioned, long and 
narrow and with a very high nave. Its much simpler than the baroque Parish Church too, being constructed primarily of red brick with the occasional alternation with a black brick.
And there are many beautiful artworks and artifacts in this church. The pick though must be polytech that adorns the high altar depicting Mary surrounded by female saints and the 'Golden Chapel' in the presbytery behind the altar which was designed as the mausoleum of the first Polish monarchs. At its base is a stunning mosaic floor while the dome high above is similar to many others we have seen in the more extravagant offerings of the baroque churches. Of more interest to me is their collection of brass grave plates that have been erected on the reverse of the columns - oh for some wax paper and a crayon - they would have made the most wonderful rubbings!
And now for something totally different. Chris and Gosia again have given us a huge tip - it's wonderful to have local knowledge that is not just restricted to the tourist
office whose employees assume you just want to see the highlights. But for us, being so long on the road, it is the places special to the locals that draws our interest just as much. About 25 kms outside of Poznań there is the Palace of Rogalin. Once the home of the ruling class, this is now one element of the Polish National Museum housing artworks and interiors. But it has been closed for renovation for the past two years.
But we have not come here to look at the Palace, stunning as it is. The biggest cluster of old oak trees in the whole of Europe is in Rogalin. Rogalin Park and its surroundings are well known because of the old oak trees – about 950 trees. The oldest ones are about 600 years old. The most well known of the trees have been named Lech (trunk circumference: 9.3 m), Czech (8.1 m) 
and Rus (6.7 m). While we only see a small percentage of the trees, they are majestic and beautiful. With their strong, straight trunks and shady arbour they are a joy to be within on a hot summer afternoon. And it even looks like the Australian Aborigines might have visited at some time! One of them has a distinct scar similar to that created in our mighty gum trees when bark was cut for canoes!
After our little promenade we stop in at the dwa pokoje z kuchnią in the grounds of the Palace for a refreshment. Coffee and sparkling mineral water with 
lemon slices and fresh spearmint go down a treat. As does the Pierogi ruskie (serwowane z kwaśną śmietaną) – Russian-style dumplings with sour cream (Michael) and Naleśniki z musem jabłkowym I cynamonem (Pancakes with apple mousse and cinnamon) for me! Needless to say, neither of us want any dinner tonight!!
On our way to Rogalin we drive out through a very rural area with a number of small villages. Then you enter the forest drive and there are lots of tracks headed into parking areas for walking tracks (we presume). And at the head of one of these tracks we see a young girl - just standing there. Didn't think all that much of it, until we see a few more - all at the head of another track. Can you believe this - the ladies of the afternoon (read night there) are out plying their trade! Can't possily imagine who would travel that far!!!! I mean, the local population might support one, but we saw seven or eight! And none of them appeared to have a vehicle - maybe they are bussed out! I'll bet that none of them made any money today.
Driving back we follow another route - I mean, why go over the same territory? Along this road there are village after village after village - no sooner are you out of 
one when you are in the next. So much so that if you missed the town names, you could be forgiven for mistakenly believing this was part of a city stretching out. And the most noticeable thing? There is not ONE street paved other than the long main road snaking between them. Not one. You can understand therefore that some members of the local community feel jaded enough to use empty fences for messages!
So tonight we are re-packing and trying to organise all the brochures and booklets we have collected lately to post home. And wrap a babushka doll for a special little girl so we can post it home to her also. I'm sure it will fascinate her at an age when they start to want to discover more and more. Next message from Berlin. We will spend much of the day travelling but hope to get to see some more of the wooden churches that this part of Poland is known for. Auf Wiedersehen.
We are staying at the Hotel Drei Kronen which is close to the City centre without being right in it. The room is very comfortable and nice and airy. The WiFi connection is fast and stable, and breakfast this morning looks very delicious. Looks delicious? Well, given that we ate so late last night, we are not very hungry! Scrambled eggs on seeded bread sounds just right, along with an orange juice and coffee.
The rain has really set in, so rather than spend half a day walking around in it, we opt to set off to Melk a little earlier than we originally planned. So, adieu Vienna. You will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Our journey through to Melk while not far takes us a good couple
of hours. Because we have decided to leave earlier due to the rain, there is no need to hurry and we choose the non-motorway route – I mean we saw the motorway when we came from Salzburg to Vienna. We travel through the back suburbs of Vienna next to a fast flowing canal. The weather is dismal – at the best, raining lightly and overcast, at worst, raining so heavily that we have trouble seeing the road markings. It is nice though to see that Vienna’s stunning architecture extends out of the city centre and in to the outer suburbs.
Past the stunning summer palace – the Shönbrunn Palace, complete with the ‘royal’ yellow paint job and a pair of royal but rather surprised lions sitting guard at the entrance to the plaza. We don’t go in today – we are a little of the impression that seen one grand palace filled with gilt and glass and china, seen them all. And we still have to see the Palace of Versailles 
with Hels! We do however later see an impressive castle high on a hill and decide we might stop and have a quick look, but despite all our attempts we can’t find the road up to it. So we turn to Kate who seems to find a route – good old Kate! Alas, the road is blocked with a sign saying the castle is closed. Ah, well.
The road we travel is through lots of small villages – most of 
them between 500 metres and 2 kilometres apart. It’s starting to feel a bit like England! And here as we have found further east, the crops of the moment are corn and sunflowers. The sunflowers are getting closer to maturity and there are more and more of them standing tall with their sunny faces following their namesake. There are lots of quirky little touches in each of the towns. Such as: 
+ the robot outside a mechanic’s workshop
+ the chemist shop displaying all the herbs used in their cures (supposedly!)
+ a local sign for an upcoming carwash – fundraising maybe?
We are now getting very close to Melk and I expect to see the magnificent Abbey around every 
corner. But no, we are coming in to the town from the back and we actually reach the car park (that we could not get in to when we came through here a couple of weeks ago) without yet seeing the Abbey. So we park the car and set off. The first view we get today of the complex from above the entry gardens. Down a stepped stairway with carved balustrading into a formal garden with sculptured hedges and fir trees. And up close it is just as stunning as from afar –
although you don’t get the full view as the complex is so huge.
We have tickets for an English guided tour at 2:55 pm. But it is only 1:45 now so we decide to have some lunch first. There is a restaurant at the Stift Melk and the menu seems OK. I am determined to have schnitzel at least once before leaving Austria so I order the Weiner Schnitzel served with parsley potatoes 
while Michael has the Austrian braised beef with roast potatoes and fried onion rings with a butter and chive sauce. While one of the local equivalents of fast food, they are surprisingly good. The Schnitzel is huge, only lightly breaded and the meat cooked to perfection. And Michael says the same of his beef.
It is nearing 2:50 when we arrive at the meeting point for the 
tour. We don’t have long to wait for our guide who collects a very large group and heads off with a “All the people for the English tour follow me” at a fast trot across the large quadrangle towards the guest wing. Once there, we are split into two groups thankfully and she remains with our group while another guide takes half of the group. And so our tour is with the lively ‘local’ guide Angela. She speaks a beautiful English with the clipped accent that denotes it is not her native tongue. Angela is knowledgeable and eagerly and enthusiastically shares what she knows. She is happy to take and answer questions in English. I tell her that she is lucky to work in such a beautiful place and she genuinely agrees. We 
move up the Imperial Staircase to the Imperial Corridor were the much loved Maria Theresia stayed here with her retinue of up to 300 people, as well as Napoleon and his army of more than 1,000! While we don’t see into any of the individual guest rooms, the high baroque decorations and the magnificent art works set along the walls of the 196 m twin arcades are truly beautiful.
The Abbey is home to a community of 30 Benedictine Monks. In fact, it has been continuously home to this order for 900 consecutive years! Presently there is a contemporary exhibition on the history of the Abbey that only survived the reforms of Emperor Joseph II in the 18th Century because of its school. To this day it houses a school for 900 pupils between the ages of 10 and 18. It is a private Catholic school – but a very affordable one at only €80 per month – gosh, that is so much less than what it cost us to school our children at St Marys in Maryborough!
Today, only half the monks live at the Abbey while the others work and 
live in 15 of the parishes that belong to the Abbey in the surrounding towns. The historic exhibition moves through the good times and the dark times of the Abbey in a very sympathetic way with rooms lit by coloured lights to represent Benedictine symbolism. It displays many of the treasures held by the Abbey community including the most exquisitely embroidered cope, stole, gloves, hat and shoes worn by the Abbot responsible for the restoration of the Abbey. But this is more than a showpiece – it is brought out every Easter for the Easter Mass. (Oh, the gloves and shoes are not worn – they were custom made and don’t fit the present Abbot!)
Our tour then takes us through the Marble Hall that 
was used for lavish royal dinners and the like. It is interesting to note the door frames and gables above the doors are made from real marble, whereas the walls have been lined with stucco marble. In the centre of the floor is a massive grate where hot air was forced into the hall for heating. Similar to the other rooms, the frescoes are just as impressive with images depicting heroes of the Classical period and angels as the balance between good and evil. One fact I found amusing was that the Classical images were representations of the Hapsburgs who liked to see themselves represented as these gods and champions – oh, woe to the Heroic Age!
Angela then leads us out of the Hall and 
onto The Balcony which connects the Marble Hall and the Library. Walking onto The Balcony one has a commanding view over Melk, as the balcony is like the prow of a ship. However, when you turn around towards the Church facade you are smitten by an amazing sight. I don’t quite know whether these edifices were erected for the glorification of ‘God’, man or just purely to intimidate. Whatever the reason the façade is quite impressive as architecture with its imposing towers reaching towards heaven and the dome purely dominates the monastic complex. Between the two towers (…no, nothing to do with Mordor or Isengard) is a monumental stat
ue depicting Christ carrying a cross flanked by two angels.
Leaving The Balcony we are ushered into The Library, which is no less impressive than the previous rooms. The bookshelves are inlaid and the collections of books have matching bindings, while peering down from its lofty ceiling – you guessed it….frescoes. This library boasts a collection of 100,000 texts, 1200 manuscripts 
from the 9th to 15th centuries and 600 manuscripts from the 16th to 18th centuries. The collection includes globes of the heavens and earth that were designed and constructed in 1690.
Here the tour ended and Angela suggested a visit to the Church would prove most interesting. However, she did point out that all the gold decoration in the Church is not solid but gold leaf. 
Mind you, only 4kg of gold leaf was needed to apply the decoration. Acting upon Angela’s recommendation we entered the church and were just taken aback by what we saw. There is just insufficient space and/or time to provide any adequate dissertation. So, our picture of the Church interior will provide some idea. One rather macabre inclusion are two sarcophaguses that contain the skeletons of martyrs from the Roman catacombs. 
As we left the Church and made our way towards the exit, we noticed a sign indicating there is a movie depicting the history of the Abbey. We settle ourselves to watch the presentation when about halfway through it an employee enters the small auditorium, advising us the show is over and the Abbey is closing! Like good little sheep we all hurriedly exit. Obviously the Abbey operates to a very tight schedule, so we make our way back to the car park and set a course for the hotel.
The Hotel Der Post is in the main street of Melk. With the size of the Abbey, we had expected that the town would be larger, but no, it is quite small. Again the room is sizeable and thankfully the beds comfortable. But no matter what I do I cannot connect to the internet connection – which is frustrating because I always book accommodation that says they have good connection – and 
here, at €8 an hour, it is not cheap either – we eventually return the access cards and get our money back! Will check email on their connection in the lobby, but the blog uploading will have to wait until we get to Brno. Yes, tomorrow we are off to the Czech Republic for a week or so.
Neither of us is hungry, so we forgo dinner. In fact, I am just 
plain tired after a few very busy and long days so at 9:30 pm I go to bed and by 9:32 I’m asleep. Michael braves the continuing rain to dash out and get a few photos of the Abbey lit at night and I am sure you will agree it is impressive to say the least!
Ah, a shady spot and a soon arrived bus - who could ask for more. At 25 Lei ($8) each, it's a bargain! We set off to do one lap and to get our bearings. The route is a little more than 9 kms, and it takes just over an hour to do a lap. The bus is full, and the upstairs open air deck is full before we get on - I'm just pleased that we manage to get a seat for this first trip. 
We see that Bucuresti is filled not only with fountains, but also with some really impressive parks. There are gardens down the centre of the main boulevards, all in full bloom, and there are lots of buildings undergoing significant renovations. As we move out of the old city centre area, we enter a more genteel area where the buildings are grander with lots of trees. A number of up-market doctors, dentists and allied health services abound and as we near the Free Press House we also see the makings of the commercial world in a modern Bucharest - complete with a World Trade Centre and Microsoft House!
Down past the Palace of the Parliament - the second largest civic government building in the world after the Pentagon. Built by Communist president Nicolae Ceausescu during 1984-1989, it is 84 m high, it has 12 floors and 6,000 rooms (hundreds of offices, dozens of reception and conference halls). The building was intended to house the presidency, the ministries as well as the headquarters of the communist party. The building is endowed with an antinuclear bunker with 1.5 m thick walls covered with radiation-proof panels and is connected to the main official institutions through a 20 km-labyrinth of tunnels. Much of the old city was destroyed to provide space for its construction with some 40,000 people displaced, leading to countless suicides we are told. It is jarring in its arrogance and holds no interest for us to explore.
The Coltea Church - the Three Holy Hierarchs was consecrated in 1702 and replaced an earlier timber church. It has weathered the hundreds of years with little impact to its external and internal frescoes - but those flagstones have been worn with the feet of the faithful - as in most of the churches we are seeing in Romania.
Another amazing Orthodox Church - this one Stavropoleos Monastery completed in 1724 and dedicated to the Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel. It is more a convent than a monastery and we see a quite young nun bustling about her chores - dressed from head to toe in black - how hot she must be at this time of the year. We marvel again at the frescoes and at the collection of carved tombstones and pieces - we even find a couple of early coptic written pieces. They offered early travellers solace here and in the cool courtyard, we can appreciate how much other might have also enjoyed the respite. In the outside burners for remembering the dead, we light three candle to the memories of our dads and Michael's mum. 
Man, its hot. Its now almost 2 in the afternoon and we need somewhere to sit and have a cold drink. There are a number of cafes on the streets, but one in particular seems to draw us. Caru' cu Bere was truly buzzing and the interior was one of stained glass opulence, but we couldn't get near inside for the tour groups - so we happily joined the 'plebs' sitting under the outside covered awning. We were lucky to spy a couple leaving, so made a dash for their table - I think we were meant to wait to be seated, but there was the quick and the thirsty today!
A waitress soon materialized and asked if we wanted a drink to start, when handing us the huge menus. Yes, "limonade please" - "with mint and honey" she asked, "mmm yes please, and sparkling water." You have no idea how refreshing this is - straight lemon juice, a handful of mint leaves and about a tablespoon of honey to which is added enough sparkling water to make it up to 1 litre. My new favourite summer drink.
We have walked from one side of the Old Town to the other and have managed to come out just beside the National Museum of the History of Romania (the former Postal Palace). And we find it shut on Mondays and Tuesdays - the story of our day today :(
So its back on the bus to continue the loop to our starting point. As we look out from the balcony of our apartment, we can see the Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou down below us. A service is in progress, so we don't go in but in the 
frescoes painted on the outside, this more modern church highlights hell - much to Michael's amusement. And in the grounds there is a huge astrolabe with the degree representations for many of the cities we have visited!
We are hoping to catch up with Diana and Lorena who we met in France for dinner tonight and I wait by
