Day 11 of our Black Sea Cruise on the Minerva - Constanta, Romania.

Hand painted street signs in Constanta  Charming. 

No escorting duties - just ourselves to please today as the ship docked into Constanta. The Romanians seemed eager to please, with a band greeting us as the ship docked and a shuttle bus laid on with shuttle bus guides.

Once again Peter and I had decided to do our own thing. I'd half hoped it would be warm enough for us to go to the beach, but unfortunately not. So we took the shuttle bus to a point in the old town and walked back.

We have no idea why.  But we liked it. 

The old town had a few little quirks that we really liked. For instance, all the manhole covers had the city crest imprinted into the metal, and the street signs were hand painted.

Although Constanta Old Town does not have a massive amount to attract a tourist, we enjoyed a morning's meander to see what there was.

Inside a very lovely Romanian Orthodox Church,
I couldn't find it's name though?

There are a fair number of Romanian Orthodox Churches about, and we went inside a few. They are very ornately painted, every surface inside the church covered in religious fresco's. Unfortunately time and candle smoke have darkened the surfaces to a point where some of the pictures were almost black. I did manage to find one though were the colours were bright and strong. The church is really quite beautiful inside, you could spend weeks studying all the various paintings. 

The Roman Mosaic Floor in Constanta.  Now it looks a bit washed out, but imagine the colours originally.

And it was quite extensive. 

We went to have a look at the Roman mosaics, and were pleased that we did.

Looking across Constanta old town from the Minaret of the mosque. 

And the shuttle bus guide told us we could visit the mosque, where, for a small fee, we'd be permitted to go up to the top of the minaret. A first for us, so of course we took the opportunity.

So that's what a mosque looks like from a minaret!

There is a fantastic looking building on the sea front. It used to be a casino, but unfortunately it is now derelict and no one can go inside. It still looks good though.

The Casino on Constanta sea front

And there is a beach on Constanta, but TripAdvisor gave warning that it was in poor condition.  I think the Romanian's are doing something about it.

Constanta beach is covered in diggers at the moment.  Looks like they're improving it.

Constanta also has a very busy industrial port. Watching the innumerable cranes at work kept us happily entertained for some time. 

And of course, I kept looking out for unusual birds. I didn't really see any, although I decided to check on the Herring Gulls, because something about them was different. That would be because they aren't Herring Gulls, they are Yellow Legged Gulls.

Yellow Legged Gull in Constanta

So that was our day in Constanta. I quite enjoyed it really, although next time, I really do hope it's warmer and we can go to the beach. Tomorrow we're at Varna and on a tour to see the Archeological Museum and Petrified Forest. I hope it's as good as the pictures.