by Teresa

We arrived in Bucharest, Romania about 9:30 am Romania time, yesterday morning. I woke about 5 am this morning wide awake. Oh the joys of adjusting to a 9 hour difference. There are 2.1 million people living here in the city. The city is very old and we are staying in the downtown area which is nothing like a downtown we know. There are no high rises, the newest building is the Radisson Hotel, which is where we are staying. The buildings run down - they have not recovered from all of their years of wars and communist rules. Last night we walked about a block to an outdoor type italian restaurant, which was quite good. We are back in the smoking part of the world so people were smoking all around us. The hotel is very nice and comfortable. We have already met a small LDS group (I think 3 people) from Utah. Today we are signed up to go to Transylvania to visit the castle of Vlade Dracula, Bran Castle. The story of Dracula was based on this leader who was known as the impaler. It should be interesting. It feels like we are in a smaller rural type town, instead of a big, bustling city. It should be interesting to see the countryside. Flying in the country appeared to be flat and green without a lot of housing. The roads are pour - no freeways or many laned roads. The workers at the restaurant did not seem to speak much English, although the menu we were given was in English and it is obvious they cater to tourists. The battery on the computer is running low and I am stopping here for now.