Prince Charles on Thursday spent almost two hours at the Village Museum in Bucharest City, where he talked with crafts people to learn about their trade secrets, toured old homes and a church from Dragomiresti and also danced the hora to the accompaniment of musicians from Oltenia. Around 10:00hrrs, EEST, the Prince of Wales was welcomed in the entrance way to the Village Museum by museum director Paula Popoiu and senior official with the Culture Ministry Irina Cajal. "Your Highness, you know this," Popoiu told the prince meaning the custom of welcoming guests with bread and salt as they got closer to the welcome plate.
Prince Charles said he knows but the bread there was unlike the breads he has seen elsewhere in the country that are cleaned of ash. Prince Charles's first stop was at an old home close to the entranceway, where he was welcomed in the guest room. After leaving the house, Prince Charles stopped at the stand of a potter, confessing that he once used to paint plates himself and asking Popoiu it the plates are made on the potter's wheel.
On his way to the Old Church from Dragomiresti, one of the museum's main attractions, Prince Charles halted to look at a restauration site and a small photo exhibition of the Monumentum Association, which is conducting a programme in support of roof tile makers and which operates also in the province of Transylvania, a place where that Prince Charles has gone on private visits many times.
The prince stopped opposite the Dragomiresti Church at a stand of three craftswomen, whom she asked about the craft of egg paining. One of the three craftswomen, hailing from the northern province of Bucovina, told the prince that she has been painting eggs for 45 years in her native Bucovina.
While exiting the church, the Prince of Wales was welcomed by a throng of foreign tourist who were taking pictures of the area opposite the small fence of the church. The prince talked to the tourists, some of whom came from Canada and the UK. He was curious to learn about how long they will be staying in Romania and whether or not they have already visited Transylvania. A musical show for the prince staged by a folklore ensemble became the most picturesque after Prince Charles joined dancers and the hosts in a round dance.
Another stop was a house where on display were textile works made under projects of the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation. The tourists were not the only ones delighted to have talked to the prince; a group of children, whom the prince asked about the small objects in their hands, were also excited. "We have talked to Charles!" they were shouting enthusiastically from the yard of a home.
On his way to the last place of the visit, the prince watched a wood roof tile maker in action, a short music concert staged by children and discovered the interior of a bordei, a type of half-dugout shelter.
The prince's last guide was Ivan Patzaichin, founder of the Mile 23 Association, which takes acre of protecting the Danube Delata and promoting local crafts. In the place where a household from the Danube Delta Jurilovca settlement was recreated, Patzaichin shared his regret that the prince's visit does not include the Danube Delta. Prince Charles told him that he would have liked to, but he was worried about weather. Patzaichin presented the prince with an autographed oar and a postage stamp issue of legendary Romanian athletes, with the prince asking the retired rower to show where he is on the stamps.
The Prince of Wales ended his tour of the Village Museum by signing the guestbook and receiving presents from the museum's director, including a glass painting and a book about Dobrogea. Accompanying Prince Charles at the Village Museum were UK ambassador to Romania Paul Brummell and executive director of the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation Aura Woodward.
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