Constanta, Romania - This Is Going To Be A Fun One! July 11, 2015

 

Constanta, Romania - This is going to be a fun one! July 11, 2015

 

Hi all! This is going to be a fun one! I am so excited to share with you what I experienced here in Constanta.

 

I met Caty, my guide, at the terminal and headed down towards the boardwalk and the lovely art deco Casino. It was built by a German King who the people loved that ruled here many years prior to communism.
 

Originally my tour was going to be for 3 hours because Caty needed to go home and nurse her baby but Caty had a suggestion.  Would I like to go with her and have lunch in her home? Would I?? I jumped at the chance!

After seeing the boardwalk and casino we took off

to Saints Paul and Peter Cathedral.

There are holy relics there and a beautiful interior in the Byzantine style.
 

Then we went to the Museum of National History

and Archeology in the town square. 

 

There was a special exhibit dedicated to communism period in Constanta. There were documents and photos and log books and money from that period.

The museum had artifacts dating back to pre-historic times.

 

   

 The pointed end bottles were actually baby nursing bottles!

There was a display of gold ornaments and

how they were sewn on a dress.

This shows a Greek face.

 
I thought it was interesting seeing the 2 different busts - one of a Greek and one of a local (Dachia) side by side. The Greek was clean shaven. The local man had a beard and thicker hair.
 

Caty told me that the ancient glass that was displayed in the cabinets dating back to ancient Greece occupation of these parts was "recycled". I asked her how they would know that. She said with the technology that we have now, they could figure out that they took the previously blown glass, ground it down and reused it. Clever!

There were ancient tools reflecting several ages of history.

Then there were pictures of the kings that ruled this area. As Caty had told me before, the people loved the German king. He was very kind to the people.
 

Constanta has a beautiful beach area. It consists of a very long coastline and beautiful beaches where

the locals come to soak up the sun.

There are night clubs here where it is 1,000 euros just to get a table and then drinks are on top of that.

Hotel, or rather apartment rooms are rented by the night or by the week. Tenants can live there during the winter for a reason price but then the prices skyrocket during the summer/tourist season.

There is a major water amusement park here

in Constanta that is very popular.

This is the mall on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Not a single person in it! They would rather be out in the sun having fun!






Then we went to Caty's house for lunch. Caty's husband had some land that he has had since he was young and they (Caty and her husband and her husband's parents) decided to build on this land recently.

The house was the only house in this area, so far, but pretty near a Carrefore, Superstore which is somewhat comparable to a Super Walmart in the States. They lived close enough that they were connected to the Carrefour's power source for their home electrical needs. They had a well for their water. I told Caty that is how new developments looked in America. First one house went up then other ones came. Especially near a major shopping center.
 
They have a beautiful 3 bedroom 2 story house that is probably less than 2 years old!

When we arrived, I met Caty's mother and father-in-law, her sister-in-law, who also spoke English, and, of course, her 2 children - a 3 month old and a 4 year old. Both boys!

 

I had a delicious lunch consisting of a home made cold tomato soup and wrapped grape leaves. Caty said they normally use cabbage leaves. Plus bread and some very delicious watermelon for dessert.

During lunch, Caty's cute husband Teddy came home. He works for the port authorities, passport division and so he saw me come into port when I got there.

Caty's father-in-law showed me an album from when he and his wife also took an MSC cruise.

I saw Caty's wedding picture on the wall and asked if I could see her wedding pictures. What a treat that was! First of all, I love seeing ANY pictures. I'm kind of a sucker for that. But seeing Caty's wedding pictures, that was so-o-o much fun! 
 
Teddy told me that their wedding lasted about 30 hours! They set up the wedding to start at about 7:00 p.m. but he said it is pretty normal for people not to show up for about 2 hours so they had food for the people that actually did show up on time.

So, one of the traditions they have in Constanta is that a gypsy comes to the wedding and brings a chicken. Here is a friend and her daughter, it looks like, dressed like gypsies with like
a stuffed animal of a chicken that

they are bringing to the wedding.

Then you see the groomsmen join in the fun and

wear a "chicken" on his head.

Then, I think that it is after they are married that the groom gives the bride jewelry. Teddy gave Caty earrings.

Another tradition is that after the bride is married, one of the bridesmaids take the veil off of her and she fights to keep it.

Then the veil is put on the maid of honor. I think that is so sweet! Honoring the maid of honor like that!

Then the bride is given a red scarf to wear

as a symbol to show that she is now married.

Also, a tradition is to take the bride's shoe and make the groom pay to get the bride back. Teddy was funny and said he already paid for her and they could keep her. It was a joke and very funny!

Then they throw the groom and the father of the groom

up in the air.

The wedding party lasts until very, very late at night (as near as I could figure it lasted until around 4:00 in the morning), then the bride and groom get about 5 hours sleep and then meet a group of about 100 people for lunch the following day. They don't run off on a honeymoon as they do here in America.

The bride and groom are not given presents but rather gifts of money.

Actually, after visiting the mall, Caty mentioned that her dad's church, where he is the priest, is right across the street. I asked if we could go in and see if he was there.  She didn't think he would be there but what a pleasant surprise.

He was! And there was a baby baptism just ready to get started.

Thank you again to Caty and her family for giving me such a wonderful view into the lives of her family and the people who live here. I will always remember my day here in Constanta, Romania