We saw an amazing Romanian folk music concert last night with virtuosic fiddling and pan piping, and a mallet instrument that looks like a cross between a dulcimer and a keyboard called a cimbalom. Also folk dancers spinning in white embroidered dresses. Very exciting.
About one third of our choir is gathered here for a "pre-trip" exploration of the city--including Aviva, Mary, and yesterday we were delighted to be reunited with Joann. Our hotel is in a huge, beautiful park by a lake graced with willows. It is well-loved by the locals--lots of biking, jogging, strolling, etc. Today we went into the city and saw a lot of the major sites--including an interesting museum about Romanian village life. Much of the older part of Bucharest was destroyed--first by an earthquake, and then mowed down by the Communist dictator Ceaucescu who built a lot of ugly, modern apartments and an outrageous palace for himself that is the world's second largest building. One of the highlights was visiting the square where much of the Romanian revolution took place when the people overthrew Communism in the 1990's.
Tomorrow afternoon we will head for the mountain resort town of Sinaia, where the whole choir (about 35 people) will gather for the first time.We will spend the next three days rehearsing and preparing for our concerts in the Unitarian villages of Transylvania.
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