Oct 14 - Heading Home

And so, the journey is coming to an end. We had a leisurely breakfast and said final goodbyes to some of our fellow travelers. We had time before our 10:40 a.m. pick up, so we went for a walk on yet another glorious, sunny morning. We walked around the huge Parliament Building – the heaviest building in the world. On the far side of it, we came across the Bucharest Marathon being run. There were obviously other distances being run (10 km, 2.5 km, kids’ race) as well as a wheelchair race. It was, as my father would say, “a grand day” to be racing.

It's been an interesting almost three weeks. We were able to glimpse into like behind the Iron Curtain, and to see the very different ways that countries have coped without communist control. Bulgaria continues to struggle, while Croatia and Serbia and Romania are doing very well. We saw lovely scenery and enjoyed sailing the calm waters of the Danube. We got to hear music and watch dancing and cycle around the countryside. Scenic’s hospitality and organization are top notch, and we highly recommend them. On a low note, we weren’t able to see the Black Sea because of the low water levels, but Scenic did an extraordinary job of putting together alternate activities.

The weather the whole time we were away was fabulous - clear and warm and sunny, and blessedly, no rain. We couldn't have picked a better three-week period to visit this part of the world.

We happy to say that neither of us got sick or injured. The ship was home to more and more coughing, hacking, sniffling people as the days went by.

We should be home in Grimsby by about 9:00 p.m. tonight. We are looking forward to being in our own bed.Read more