A few last things about Romania before I move on. There is universal healthcare but you only get it for free if you are employed. However, there are exceptions for retired people and people that are unable to work. There is a pension system for everyone and higher education is free for those that can maintain decent grades. Romanians are very proud of the Roman Heritage. Their language is romantic. However, if you did any kind of DNA testing, it would turn out that most Romanians are Slavic.

Once aboard, the ship, we crossed over to Bulgaria. Our first tour of Bulgaria was to Veliko Tarnovo and to Arbanasi. Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative center of the province. It is the historical and cultural capital of Bulgaria. Here we visited a very old, small orthodox, church, a home from the Ottoman period and had lunch. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside the church which is unfortunate because it had an incredible number of murals. Here are the pictures from around the church, in the village, in the house and in the restaurant.

Bulgaria has a similar history to Romania in that they were conquered by just about everybody. The difference was after the fall of the Soviet Union, the politicians mismanaged things so badly that a lot of the industry was destroyed. Bulgarian communities lost as much as 50% of their population to other countries as people searched for a better way of life.

Our last stop for the day was the village of Arbanasi which has a fortress. Here are some pictures.