They say it's a "grueling" 23 days ...

Here's a sample city/country visit itinerary; this one is for Romania.

Friday, February 22

7:30-7:45 PM Program briefing with Ms.Liana Popa, Executive Director of the Foundation for Pluralism,
Program Coordinator GMF- AMMF for Romania

7:45- 9:15 PM Welcome dinner at the Restaurant Siqua with
Ms. Manuela Preoteasa, Alumna EMMF 2006
Journalist, partner and editor of the on-line publications HotNews.ro and EurActiv.ro

Topic: Introduction to Romanian life and culture

Saturday, February 23

Day trip outside Bucharest to Prahova County. (Casual dress)

Before we submerge in the daily rhythms of Romanian society, we will take the AMMF Fellows on a one-day trip,
which will provide an historical and economical overview covering two hundred past years of Romania : the 19th
Century and the pre-communist early 20th Century period. The trip will also offer a look at a typical touristy area.

9:45 AM Meet in hotel lobby

9:50 AM Departure to Sinaia

12:15 AM Arrival in Sinaia

12:30 – 2:00 PM Lunch at the Restaurant Cutitu’ d’argint
Address: 2 Pelesului St.
Contact person : Ramona Alecu

2:15 PM -3:45 PM Visit the Peles Castle and walk in Peles Castle surroundings
Address: 1 Pelesului St.
Contact person : Mariana Cristescu
Phone/ Fax: +40 244 310 918

3:50 PM Departure to Bucharest

6:20 PM Arrival in Bucharest (Hotel Siqua)

6:20-7:00 PM Refreshing for dinner

7:00 PM Meet in hotel lobby

7:10 PM Departure to the Restaurant Opera
Address: 1 Dr. Lister St.
Phone : +40 21 411 63 30
(Walking distance from the hotel)

7:30- 9:00 PM Dinner with Alumni EMMF


Sunday, February 24

9:30 AM Meet in hotel lobby
The group travels by minibus.
(Please bring your passports) (Casual dress)

9:30 AM -1:15 PM Guided tour of Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania. It is located in Walachia, on the Dambovita River, a tributary of the Danube. It is Romania's chief industrial and communications center. Agricultural machinery, automotive equipment, and buses are the main manufactures. The city, founded in the late 14th century, was a military fortress and commercial center astride the trade routes to Constantinople.
It became a residence of the Walachian princes and changed its name to Bucharest. During World War I, Bucharest
was occupied by the Central Powers. After Romania's surrender to the Allies in 1944, Soviet troops entered on
Aug. 31, by which time a coalition of leftist parties had seized power. Bucharest served as headquarters of the
Cominform from 1948 to1956.
Today it is a modern city, with parks, libraries, museums, and theaters, and is the seat of the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Landmarks include the Metropolitan Church, the 17th-century St. George Church, the Radu Voda and Stavropoleos churches, and the Athenaeum, devoted to art and music. Among the city's educational institutions are the old university, the new university, an engineering college, and several academies and scientific institutes.

The Tour itinerary: Hotel Siqua – Calea Plevnei – Podul Hasdeu – Splaiul Independentei – Libertatii Bvd. - Piata
Constitutiei – The Parliament Palace - Unirii Bvd. - Patriarhia Romana – Piata Unirii – I.C. Bratianu Bvd.
– N. Balcescu Bvd. – Magheru Bvd. – Piata Romana – Piata Victoriei - Aviatorilor Ave. – Piata Charles de Gaulle
- The Triumph Arch Square – The Romanian Village Museum – Piata Presei Libere – Montreal Plaza - Kiseleff Ave.- Calea Victoriei –Regina Elisabeta Ave. – Piata Operei – The National Opera House - Eroilor Ave. – Military High Academy – Dr. Gheorghe Marinescu St. – Cotroceni Palace

11:30 -12:30 AM Guided visit of the Cotroceni Museum
Address: 1 Geniului Bvd.
Phone : + 40 21 317 31 07
Contact person : Vali Dobrescu

The Cotroceni Palace is one of the architectural jewels of the early 19th century in Romania. It was build
during the reign of Carol I and further developed half a century later. The Museum in the old wing of the
Palace holds precious artifacts and vestiges of Romanian art and culture.
The Cotroceni Palace was built as a monastery by Serban Cantacuzino in 1679-82 and served as base for the Austrian army in 1737, the Russian army in 1806, and Tudor Vladimirescu's rebels in 1821. Damaged by many fires and earthquakes over the course of its history, the original building was demolished in 1863 and the palace rebuilt in 1893-95 to provide a home for the newly wed Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie. Under Communism it served as the "Palace of the Pioneers" - the Soviet-bloc equivalent of the Scouts. A new south wing was added during restoration following the 1977 earthquake, and this is now the presidential residence. In 1984 the church was demolished. Tours first pass through the remains of the monastery, where the Cantacuzino family gravestones are kept, then through the new rooms from the 1893-95 rebuild, decorated in an eclectic variety of Western styles.

12:30 AM Departure to the Royal Palace Square

12 :45 – 1 :10 Visit the Royal Palace Square

1:15 – 2:45 PM Lunch at La Mama Restaurant
La Mama is one of the most popular restaurants in Bucharest, serving Romanian food.
The name means Mamma's and it tries to suggest that the dishes are intended to be what a Romanian mom would
cook. The food is good and the regular menu that one can find in a restaurant with Romanian cuisine.
Address: 9 Episcopiei St. (close to the Romanian Atheneum)
Phone : + 40 21 312 97 97 ;

3:00 - 5:00 PM Visit the Romanian Village Museum (Optional)
The Romanian Village Museum offers an overview of peasant houses and lifestyle in regions all over Romania.
The Museum also offers a first hand look at the structure of Romanian society as it has evolved over the centuries. The visit to the Romanian Village Museum will offer another perspective (an opposite one) on Romanian society, as seen Saturday in Sinaia. Moreover, a stroll through the Romanian Village Museum is one of the favorite weekend past times of residents of Bucharest both young and old. The Village Museum is one of the world's most interesting ethnographical parks in open air. Founded in 1936 by Dimitrie Gusti, this museum illustrates the perpetual spring of surprising originality. The house and house holding samples gathered from all regions of the country are exhibited according to ethnographical areas. The permanent exhibition of the museum, set out on a 10 hectares ground, includes dwelling houses and annex constructions (stables, barns and storehouses, summer kitchens and granaries, stalls and hen coops), gates with archways, wells, crosses and wooden and stone roadside crucifixes, old wooden churches with pointed cupolas, artisan's workshops and installations with popular industrial mechanisms, thus illustrating the achievements of the Romanian people in the fields of popular architecture and decorative art, as well as its technical-artisan's ingenuity.

3:30 – 5:00 PM Visit the National Museum of Art (Optional)
Address : 49-53 Calea Victoriei
Phone : +40 21 314 81 19
+40 21 313 30 30
Fax : +40 21 312 43 27
E-mail : national@artmuseum.ro
www.mnar.arts.ro
The National Museum of Art houses three permanent galleries and has a royal history. The European Art
Gallery, the Romanian Medieval Art Gallery and the Romanian Modern Art Gallery include artworks
exhibited in an interactive and modern manner, transforming every visit into a delightful and instructive way of spending free time. During the reign of the King Carol I the building was the royal winter residence.
The King decorated the palace according the taste of this time and he was as well preoccupied with creating a painting collection which is the today’s nucleus of the European Art Gallery.
During the reigns of King Ferdinand and Carol II, the palace was substantial changed and starting with 1948 (when the King Mihai I was obliged to sign his abdication) the decision to open a museum inside the Royal Palace was put in practice and the reception halls were attributed to the State Council.
During the events from December 1989, the building is almost 80% damaged, over 1000 art works being destroyed or harmed. Starting with 2000, the National Museum of Art has been open to the public.

6:00 PM Meet in hotel lobby

6:30 – 8:45 PM Dinner at Alumni homes


Monday, February 25
(Full day meetings)

9:30 AM Meet in hotel lobby
The group travels by minibus.

9:35 AM Departure to the Black Sea Trust Head office
Address: 50 Primaverii Bvd., Corp 6, “Casa Mic_”
Tel: +4021 314 16 28; 314 16 39
Fax: +4021 319 32 74
www.gmfus.org

Launched in 2006 by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation is long-term, multimillion dollar initiative that would provide grants to support the consolidation of democracy, regional cooperation on civil society development, and support of good governance in the Black Sea region. The Trust will provide grants to indigenous organizations — including civic groups and NGOs, local and regional governments, educational institutions, and media — in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Approximately $2 million in rolling grants will be given out each year. Individual grants would range from $1,000 to $75,000 with an average size around $15,000 or $20,000.

10:00 – 11:30 AM Meeting with Mrs. Alina Inayeh, Director, The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
Mr. Mark Cunningham, Program Officer, The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
Mrs. Anemari Nec_ulescu, Office Manager, The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation

12:00 AM – 1:30 PM Lunch at Pizza Hut Romana Square

1:45 PM Departure to the Freedom House Romania Head office
Address: 125 Ferdinand Bvd.
Tel.: +40 21 253 28 38
Fax: +40 21 253 00 63
Contact person : Ramona Diaconu, Office manager
E-mail : freedomhouse@freedomhouse.ro
www.freedomhouse.ro
Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world. Freedom is possible only in democratic political systems in which the governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, and belief, as well as respect for the rights of minorities and women, are guaranteed.Freedom ultimately depends on the actions of committed and courageous men and women. We support nonviolent civic initiatives in societies where freedom is denied or under threat and we stand in opposition to ideas and forces that challenge the right of all people to be free. Freedom House functions as a catalyst for freedom, democracy and the rule of law through its analysis, advocacy and action.
Based in Bucharest in 1990, Freedom House Romania promotes liberty, democracy values, human rights and freedom of expression and association.

2:15 – 3:45 PM Meeting with Ms. Cristina Guseth, Director Freedom House Romania
Topics: Romania – A year in European Union
Freedom of the press, the role of the media in politics and society

4:00 PM Back to the hotel

4:30 – 6:00 PM Relax and refreshing for dinner

6:00 PM Meet in hotel lobby

6:05 PM Departure for dinner (La Dolce Vita Restaurant)
Address : 44 Occidentului St.
Phone : + 40 21 310 86 94
(Please take a taxi to this destination)

6:30- 8:45 pm Dinner at La Dolce Vita Restaurant with Mr. Romeo Nicoar_, Alumnus MMF 2001
State Counselor to the Prime Minister of Romania


Tuesday, February 26

9:15 AM Meet in hotel lobby (Please bring your passports)

9:20 AM Departure to the Deputies Chamber
Address : 1 Izvor St. (Steaguri Entrance)
Contact persons : Ileana Luncan
(Walking distance from the hotel to this destination)

9:50-10:45 AM Guided tour of the Parliament Palace
Built by the former communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the Parliament Palace, otherwise know as The People’s
Palace (Casa Poporului), today houses the Romanian Parliament. This famous building, second in size only to
Pentagon, was constructed at the cost of thousands of residential houses in the darkest period before the 1989
Romanian Revolution.

11:00-12:00 AM Meeting with Ms. Alice Ratyis, Alumna EMMF, 2005
Counselor, General Secretariat of the Chamber of Deputies
Topic: Partnership with civil society – Programs financed by the Chamber of Deputies

12:30 – 2:00 PM Lunch at the Parliament Cafeteria with Alumni EMMF

2:30 – 4:30 PM Individual professional appointments according to AMMF professional interests form

2:30-4:00 PM Ms. Carrie Lee Carroll
Topic : The role of private sector in promoting institutional development
Meeting with Mr. Eduard Petrescu, Executive Director
The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation
Contact person : Ms. Doina Crangasu, Director Fundraising
doina.crangasu@principesa.ro
Currently active in 6 countries, The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation is an elite non-profit
Organization contributing to the development of civil society in Romania. The Foundation was
established in 1990 by HRH The Princess Margarita of Romania and her father HM King Michael I.
(Please take a taxi to this destination)

4:15-4:30 PM Back to the hotel (Please take a taxi to the hotel)

5:00-6:00 PM Relax and refreshing for dinner
(Casual dress for the farewell dinner)

6:00 PM Meet in hotel lobby

6:45-9:30 PM Farewell dinner with Alumni