A Visit To Parliament

Just got back a short time ago from  tour of Parliament. Since this is the building where the Parliament meets, the security is very high. Everyone must bring photo ID, e.g., passport or license and surrender same to security upon entry. To say that this building is immense hardly does it justice. I do not recall all the stats about the number of rooms, but at the end our guide told us we had covered 2 km and gone up a few hundred steps and had seen only  2% of the building. It was commissioned by the Communist dictator Couceascu and was 85% complete when he was deposed in 1989. There was some thought to destroy it since it was a reminder of Communist times, but it was decided to keep it as a tribute to the 40,000 people who worked on it round the clock 7 days a week for years. It was completed and now houses the Parliament and hosts conferences. As I said, the building is enormous. As a way of comparing, if you have ever been to Versailles, you know that Versailles spralls and is known for its over the top grandeur. In comparison to the Romanian Parliament, Versailles looks like a summer cottage, albeit a very elaborate one. Couceascu was responsible for massive building projects which resulted in lots of employment, but also caused the destruction of many homes where the monuments to Couceascu were to go. All people who were removed were promised new housing which meant that they were moved in with total strangers. The Romanians recall the Couceascu years with nothing but contempt. He had a policy that was especially  loathsome to them. Since he did not want Romania to owe any money to other nations, Romania exported everything and imported nothing.  The exports were very profitable for Romania, but Romanians starved and suffered greatly in other ways due to his 100% export policy. I'm fairly certain black marketeers made a killing during his years in power.
Tomorrow we go to Snagov Monastery and Sunday we go to the Black Sea.  This afternoon we are just resting a bit because we have been on the go quite a bit since our arrival and we want to pace ourselves so we can conserve our strength. We know we have a long way to go still and there is no reason to try to cram too much into too little time. Until next post.