What we thought was just normal Bucharest weather that was too hot and humid for our Northwest sensibilities turned out to be a genuine heat wave, that hit Romania before spreading north and west to places on the Danube where we shivered only a week or two ago. Some of us went out to explore Bucharest a little on Monday afternoon, but fled back to the air-conditioned hotel after less than an hour, taking advantage of every bit of shade we could find on the way (just as everyone else on the street was doing.)
When we arrived in Amsterdam, on Tuesday afternoon, we were delighted to find Holland cool and gray. Instead of trying to do the entire trip home in one long haul, we stayed a night at Schipol before catching the flight to Seattle today.
Luckily, the final tour excursion, on Monday morning, was to Snagov Lake north of Bucharest, where, after a drive through dense, cool woods, we took a 20-minute boat ride out to a small island. There a Romanian Orthodox monk cares for a church that was recently rebuilt on its own ruins. The late dictator Ceausescu destroyed the previous church, built himself a palace , and made the island off limits to everyone. Now the government has rebuilt the church, which is reputed to be the burial place of Vlad Tepes, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler, or, yes, Vlad Dracul. Except for tourists, and a few of the faithful who come to the island for Sunday services, the monk has only his goats, his dogs and his flowers for company.
While the church is new, many of its lovely interior frescos were rescued from other old churches and brought together in this protected facility.
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