If you have been following us on www.funkytravel.ro or on Instagram and Facebook , you have seen that we went on a trip through Romania in an attempt to achieve a #christmasmarketchallenge. The first destination was Craiova , then Bogdan wrote about Iași , I told about the experience in Sibiu and it was the turn of the two from Bucharest . The text about Brașov is written by Emil Tatu because we got stuck in traffic between Sibiu and Brașov, and the last stop was in Constanța.
In Constanța, the Christmas market has no tree and wheel, and the carousel is the most illuminated place in the whole park
The Constanta Christmas Fair was announced by the organizers as “a fairytale place that brings the magic of the traditional Christmas Fair to the seaside city. The warm sound of Christmas carols and the cheerful tinkling of bells will echo through the alleys with bright lights. And the aroma of sweets and the cinnamon scent of mulled wine will encompass the cheerful atmosphere of December evenings.”
The description in the organizers' press release is only suitable for the carousel located at the entrance to the fair. It is the most spectacular of all the fairs we visited. The ticket price is the same as in all the places I've been through and the time allocated for a ride is the same: 10 lei for two minutes.
From what I've seen on social media, it's also the only instagrammable place. The rest is plunged into semi-darkness! Unfortunately, the fair also lacks the main piece that we have encountered in all the cities caroled by us and our friends. Don't be surprised, but there is no Christmas tree! Instead, they are installations that adorn two trees inside the park. If the organizers thought about the environment and did not want to cut down a Christmas tree and transform the trees with a Christmas design, in my view they failed.
Then entire areas appear abandoned or unfinished. The artesian fountain in the park is not lit, the theater building is only half dressed in installations. Maybe I'm being overly critical, but it really seems like the deal isn't done yet. Not to forget! We don't even have a wheel in the park by the sea.
I paid by card, quite clean, lighted boxes, prices like everywhere else
If at the Bucharest fair I criticized the little houses, the ones in Constanța really look good. They are decorated in tune with the holiday, even more with traditional specifics than in the Capital, and where we bought, we paid with the card. For example, we wanted a dessert: Dutch pancakes, 20 lei.
I don't understand since when the little one became a traditional dish at the Christmas Market. In Craiova, small ones were grilled under the most spectacular light installation, in Bucharest the smoke from the Constitution Square rose towards the Parliament Palace as if announcing the new Pope, and in Constanța, the large grill smoked the building of the Oleg Danovski National Opera and Ballet Theater .
One thing must be mentioned: while we were in the park and strolled along the alleys, the fair was very clean, with bins placed every ten meters.
Ovidiu Square, lit and cool
Without anyone urging your steps towards Piața Ovidiu, although I think that is what the authors wanted, the walk from Târgul de Crăciun should continue on Tomis boulevard towards the Old Center. But there is no sign to suggest this! A dome with lights starts from the Folk Art Museum and stops at the entrance to Ovidiu Square. Here you will find some installations that seem to be forgotten there! The landscape is even sadder like this with the installations caught in this cold painting. I think it would have found its place much better in the Christmas Market area. And even if they were installed to make the square ready for a possible New Year's Eve concert, the installations could be moved, on December 27, back to Ovidiu Square.
We did not regret doing this route. We ended the walk with a treat, at Rozmarine Tapas and Wine.
Because we were born and raised by the sea, we would have liked the city of Constanța to be the most in our descriptions. Painful as it may be, the Christmas market by the sea is not impressive, but not the last of those described in the #christmasmarketchallenge.
Thank you to all of you who followed, read and shared our articles within the #christmasmarketchallenge Romania project.
