This is our last full day in Romania.  We started the morning with a visit to Muzeul Astra.  This is an outdoor museum over 250 acres that holds over 300 houses and other buildings that have been collected and relocated to this park.  All are original structures – some dating back to the early 1700s.  The most recent buildings are from just after WWI.   

The park was arranged thematically by various professions – Coopers, Blacksmiths, Woodworkers, etc.  They’ve arranged the houses into small villages that are consistent with the times to give you a sense of how people lived in Romania from the 1700s up to the early 20th century.  It was also a nice chance to get a good walk in over several hours since the rest of the day would be spent in the car.

Inside of a wooden church from the 1740s.. there was room inside for about 6-8 people.

Many of the houses from the 1700s and 1800s were organized with two rooms upstairs.  One was the bed room.

The other was the room where work got done.  If there was any space below the main floor, it housed animals and/or storage.

Almost everything was made from wood.  All joining done by wooden pegs.  If there was any metal, it might be used for hinges or latches or similar small items.

In the afternoon we loaded into the car and began the long drive back to Bucharest, up and over the mountains once again and completing our counter-clockwise trip itinerary  (the part on the map in white…)

This evening we arrived back near the airport, dropped off the rental car, and got a room at a Hilton that is walking distance from the airport.  Now we do the bit of the trip that no one envies.  Tomorrow morning we leave Bucharest, fly back to Amsterdam and then catch a final big jet flying to Atlanta.  Because of the gain in time zones, we will leave tomorrow morning and be back in our beds tomorrow evening – same day.  It’s also my birthday tomorrow and I can’t imagine a more fun way to spend it!