Brasow (Romania): A Quick Look Round the City Centre

After visiting Bran Castle, we had a stopover in Brasow to quickly look round the city centre.
 

 Below, there is a shot of the Jewish synagogue in Brasow:

And no matter where you were, you never lost sight of the surrounding hills:

Of course, one of the main features of Brasow was the Gothic-styled Lutheran Cathedral:

From the internet, I've just discovered that the statue below is of the Transylvanian, medieval, Lutheran scholar, Johann Honterus:

And below there is a shot of the city square:

Followed by one of the fort overlooking the city centre:

And finally, there's a shot of the Baroque-styled Catholic church:

Thus, in my frenetic wander round, I found Brasow city centre to be an interesting mixture of all kinds of things.

Varna (Bulgaria): A Small Orthodox Church

Couple of shots here of a small Orthodox church near the hotel where we stopped in Varna city centre:

Like the way that this small Orthodox church just seemed to blend in perfectly with the seaside resort of Varna.

Bucharest: The Ceausescu Parliament Palace Building

Of course, any visit to Bucharest wouldn't be complete without seeing the massive Ceausescu Parliament Palace building:

Just read that this is the largest civilian building with an administrative function in the world.

Below, you can see tourists making their way to an entrance to go on a guided tour of the Palace:

And below, there is a shot from an upper-window of the Palace, showing how Ceausescu had wanted this part of Bucharest to be something like Paris:

Our Polish guide explained that a beautiful part of Bucharest 'Old Town' (including an old monastery) was destroyed to make way for the Palace as construction began in 1980.

Below, there is a mobile shot of a theatre room inside the Palace:

Bucharest: King Carol I Statue

Loved both the building and statue here.  Just found out that the statue is of King Carol I, the monarch who had the Carol Mosque built for the Muhammadan community in Constanta in the early 20th century.

Constanta (Romania): Carol Mosque

Here we are back in Constanta, Romania, entering the grounds of the Carol Mosque.

The mosque is incredibly beautiful but only dates back to the early 20th century.

Before entering the mosque itself or going up to the top of the minaret, 'The Koran' holds pride of place in the courtyard:

Here are a group of tourists reaching the top of the minaret, going outside to see what views are on offer:

Of course, up here, we were close to the Islamic crescent:

And could see the Greek (Uniat/Eastern Rite) Catholic church not too far away, with the Black Sea sitting nicely in the background:

And the docks a bit further away:

And after a few minutes, not really liking heights, it was time to descend the steps having a quick look at the windows on the way down:

Varna (Bulgaria): The Cathedral Flower Market

And here's a shot of the flower market that lies just behind the Virgin of the Assumption (Eastern Orthodox) Cathedral in Varna.

Varna (Bulgaria): The Assumption of the Virgin Cathedral

Was well worth paying the small fee to be able to take shots inside Varna (The Assumption of the Virgin) Cathedral:

What I really like about Orthodox (or Uniat Catholic) churches/cathedrals is that the iconography is always so esoteric-looking to my Western Catholic eyes:

Had to get a shot of the iconostasis and ceiling combined together from a distance:

In particular, the lighter-coloured walls and ceiling contrasted nicely with the mainly black iconostasis and other furnishings.

And of course, the cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption:

Not really sure what the ornate object below is, but me and my wife guessed that it may be a small baptismal font (of course, we could be wrong):

Again, I was transfixed to the, for me, esoteric-looking iconography:

And some of the intricate artwork on the walls and stained glass windows:

Just read on the internet that Varna Cathedral opened in the late 19th century, and is the second largest Orthodox cathedral in Bulgaria after Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia.