Bucharest - Capital of Romania

Bucharest is only an hour's bus ride from the Danube River at Oltenita, and cruises such as the Viking River Cruises' Eastern European Odyssey from Bucharest to Nuremberg often visit the city. To those of us who lived in the late 20th century, Bucharest is best-known for its tyrant dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was overthrown and executed in 1989.

Bucharest was founded in the 14th century, and the city once was filled with elegant boulevards that looked much like Paris. Ceausescu tore down many of these French-style buildings and replaced them with ugly utilitarian Communist structures.

Today, Bucharest is rebuilding its remaining old town area and working hard to capture tourism dollars. If you have a day in Bucharest, be sure to visit Ceausescu's humongous Parliament Palace. Other interesting sites include the Village Museum, an outdoor museum featuring traditional Romanian structures. These Bucharest photos were taken on a day trip prior to our cruise on the Viking Neptune.