Constanta, Where the River Meets the Sea

March 28, 2026

Constanta, Romania

Good-bye Viking Rinda 

Today we disembarked from the Viking Rinda and started on our land tour to Bucharest. This cruise was so interesting!  We learned a lot, and enjoyed tasting the local food and wine.  Thanks again to the Viking crew, led by Captain Peter Sevcik, for creating such a wonderful experience. 

Fun Facts

Romania

• Inventions from Romania – the first automatic espresso machine, and the modern fountain pen

• The earliest Homo sapiens fossils in Europe were found in Romania's "Cave of Bones"

• Romania has the largest brown bear population in Europe, with over 6,000 in its forests

• Danube Delta: Home to Europe's largest, best-preserved delta and over 300 bird species.

• The Merry Cemetery: Located in Săpânța: this cemetery features colorful, humorous, and poetic epitaphs about the deceased.

• Bran Castle is famously linked to Bram Stoker's Dracula. But here's the twist - there's no real connection at all.  The author never visited Romania. He just picked a picture of a Romanian castle from a book and used it to spin his timeless, world-famous vampire novel. 

• Romania has an underground theme park in a former salt mine,

Constanta

• Ancient Roots & Mythology: Founded by Greek colonists from Miletus, legend says Jason and the Argonauts visited the city after finding the Golden Fleece.

Yesterday (Saturday) we arrived in Constanta, after going through a lock that connects the Danube and the Black Sea. This is the mouth of the Danube, where it empties into the Black Sea which is a salt water sea. Because of our cumulative Viking River cruises, we have now sailed the entire navigable Danube River from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. 

Constanta is also a port for the Romanian Navy.  There were several Navy ships in port, and we were told we couldn’t take pictures of them or walk towards that side of the port because they would be engaging in naval exercises. Evidently the number of naval ships in the harbor is currently larger than usual. Interesting, and maybe a little scary.

 The Black Sea, looking away from the naval ships. 

Sea Wall Art

Our first stop was at the Cazino (casino). This used to be a high-end casino, but now it is a meeting hall and museum. (See below)

Because one of the early queens liked the seaside, the casino had been decorated with colors and art related to the sea. In her honor there is an immersive marine museum on the lower level of the casino. It was very interesting, and the best part was a display that showed how we would appear from the visual perspective of different marine animals. That was so cool!

Can you see Karen's hand in the dolphin vision above right? And her camera (dark)? Now compare this to the Dogfish vision below.

We visited another Eastern Orthodox Church, and learned something new about their churches. Usually, the churches are built so that the main entrance is oriented to the east, where the sun rises, symbolically giving members a new start each day.

Walking through the town we saw a lot of buildings being renovated, and others that had not secured the funding needed to renovate. The citizens are hoping for more improvements in the near future. Many of the renovated buildings end up with a diffferent function than they originally had. For example, another casino, closer to downtown, closed and is now a hotel. There is a rumor that in the past, when that casino was operating, there was a secret underground passage between the casino and a hotel that used to be across the street. Perhaps, our guide said so people who won a lot of money gambling would not be robbed when they left the casino.

Older building - not renovated, on the left; newer building on the right

As with many cities in the area, there is a mixture of different styles and architecture around the city, reflecting the various cultures and governments that were in power when the buildings were completed.

A fellow traveler pointed out how fancy the manhole covers were in Constanta - here is a picture:

In the afternoon we visited a winery and learned about the wine culture in Romania. The wineries are legally required to uphold certain standards regarding process, materials, and the alcohol/sugar content. For example, EU rules specify that there can be no fermentation in oak barrels. Fermentation must happen in steel barrels. Then, when the fermentation ends, the wine can be aged in oqk bqrrels, but only for specific lengths of time.

Starting at the top left and going clockwise - big french oak barrels, small oak barrels, steel barrels, clay barrels

As we were listening to the wine-maker/sommelier talk in the below ground room with the oak barrels, the lights went out! The wine maker just turned on the light on his phone, as did a couple members of our group, and we continued the tour!

We also saw a few barrels made of clay that are used to make organic wine. That wine doesn't take as long to ferment. We got the definite feeling that the winemaker was not a fan of organic wine!

When we finished the tour, we drove to a nearby restaurant for a wine-tasting. We were greeted with bread, salt, and a local liquor, a Romanian tradition.

We tasted five different types of wine, and cheeses/dried fruit to go with each. For example:

• Emmental cheese with Chardonnay

• Brie goes well with Sauvignon Blanc, and the wine pairs well with fish

• Romanian red- (Like a burgundy) goes with parmesan cheese. 

• The final regional red (a cab/merlot blend) pairs with Blue cheese. He suggested cooling the wine slightly, and giving it an hour to breathe before pouring.

Finally, we listened to a great four-piece band playing traditional Romanian Folk Music, along with some current favorites.

Dogs of Constanta

Other Wildlife

There were 100's of these snails in a garden we walked by. They are Giant African Land Snails. Interestingly, thier saliva contains unique compounds that can help heal human wounds, but they are also considered possible harmful to humans because it can transmit parasites to humans.

And finally we hope you enjoy the picture below of our participation in the No Kings protest!

Joining in the March 28 No Kings event here in Romania. Other cruisers in the picture were from Australia, Minnesota, California, and Oregon. We were glad we found a way to participate.

Our final day of this trip takes us to Bucharest, Romania's cultural capital. The bus drive from Constanta to Bucharest takes about 3 hours....becuase of rain, it took us a little longer, but we made it safely. In tomorrow's blog we will share more about Bucharest. That's all for now!