Varna Maritime/Naval Museum

The good thing about the Maritime/Naval Museum in Varna (Bulgaria) is that even if it's closed, you can see plenty of its exhibits outside, including the lighthouse; helicopters; and rocket launcher in these pictures.

The museum is just one of many attractions located in the extensive parkland next to the beach in Varna. In reality, this parkland would need a good couple of (maybe a few) days to properly explore.

Varna Roman Bath Ruins (Public Baths of Odessos)

Through following the signposts, we found the old Roman bath ruins in Varna, but were a little surprised and disappointed to see that everything was shut up.

Just read on the Internet that a booking with the local archaeological museum has to be made to go inside the grounds of the old Roman bath ruins.  Also just read that these baths were mainly in use as the 'Public Baths of Odessos' in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD:

Just a pity that these old Roman bath ruins are not made more easily accessible to people now.

The Gagauz National Museum of History and Ethnography

After visiting Comrat, the capital of the Gagauzian semi-independent territory of south Moldova, we drove half an hour further on to visit the Gagauz National Museum of History and Ethnography in Besalma village:

Back in Comrat, our Polish tour guide had explained that the Gagauzians (Gagauz) were originally ethnic Turks who converted from Islam to Eastern Orthodox Christianity a few hundred years ago.

Inside the museum, the historical artifacts of the Gagauzian people were incredibly beautiful:

In the museum hallway, the Moldovan and Gagauzian flags were placed together side by side:

After a quick search on the internet, I've just discovered that the museum was founded in 1966 (the year of my birth) by D. Cara-Ciobanu (who devoted his life to promoting and safeguarding Gagauzian culture and folklore), and that the main purpose of the museum is to portray the history, culture, and daily life of the Gagauzian people from ancient to modern times through the work of well-known Gagauzian artists, poets, and writers.

Below, there is a shot of the small, cosy cinema inside the museum:

Must say that the Gagauzian women who showed us round the museum were very friendly and incredibly passionate about their culture and history.  Also just discovered from the internet that these guides are the children of the museum founder, D. Cara-Ciobanu.

Moldova: The Cricova Underground Wine Tunnels

After a short 9-10 mile drive north of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, we arrived at the town of Cricova to visit its famous underground wine tunnels:

Below, there is a nice shot of the Cricova 'grape' emblem:

We were told that there are about 70 miles of wine tunnels underneath Cricova, and below there are some shots of the barrels and bottles of wine there:

Of course, groups of tourists often visit the underground tunnels:

And some of Cricova's most famous kinds of wines are on display down in the tunnels:

And afterwards, usually after a wine-tasting session in a conference-type room in the tunnels, visiting guests are encouraged to buy some bottles of wine from the shop below:

Romania: Arriving in Bucharest

Here's a few sights that greeted us when we arrived in Bucharest, starting with the folk-like structure above (haven't got a clue what it is, but it looks interesting).

And then a massively steep American hotel building:

But just the ordinary, everyday buildings in this part of Bucharest city centre looked impressive:

Glad somebody pointed out this memorial cross to the 1989 Revolution so I could zoom the camera in on it:

And as usual, it was an Orthodox church that probably caught my eye most:

 

Varna (Bulgaria): Passing the Theatre

Here, we're passing the Theatre on the way to the Cathedral of the Assumption in Varna. 

The Theatre didn't seem to be very big but it looked very homely, so I wish we'd had the time to watch something there:

Comrat (Gagauzia): The Eastern Orthodox Church

Really enjoyed going inside the Orthodox church in the centre of Comrat, Gagauzia.

Unlike many Orthodox churches I've been in, tourists were perfectly free to take pictures inside here.  In the picture below, you can see that an Orthodox priest is helping a couple of men with some kind of manual work near the iconostasis:

Think that the icon/painting below may be of St. Nicholas:

Also found this Orthodox church a lot less dark than many others I've been in:

Just appreciated being able to freely take shots of the religious paintings/icons so that I can remember the place better: