May 19 2024 Belgrade Serbia

 Belgrade Serbia

May 19 2024

Today we docked in Belgrade which is the capital of Serbia.  The total population of Serbia is  7.1 million of which 2 million live in Belgrade.  So Belgrade represents close to 1/3 of all of the Serbian population.  As Serbia is not part of the Schengen area we had to take our passports with us when we left the ship to go on our city tour.  

The city of Belgrade is very old and has a lot of very quirky buildings and things about it.  One of them is that every where you look there are these ancient old trolleys clanging along on trolley tracks.  These are offset by a lot of ultra modern high rise buildings and very up scale shopping malls.  Right downtown is a very vibrant walking mall which was very crowed with people.   

The first stop of the tour was the Belgrade fortress.  It is located on top of a very large hill and has a commanding view of the Danube river.  As you walk up to the fortress there is a very large memorial which was donated to Serbia by the people of France to celebrate their friendship and cooperation during WW1.  Today it is a large park and military museum.  Out front are a bunch of early tanks and artillery pieces.   We walked up to the edge of the cliff and overlooked the city below.  It was a tremendous view.  

The second stop of the tour was the cathedral of St Sava.  It is an orthodox  cathedral so it does not have pews in side but is a standing  cathedral.  The main floor area is over 3000 square meters making it one of the largest orthodox churches in the world.  It is on the site of a church which dated back to pre-Ottoman times.  The current church was started in 1935 but work was halted because of WW2.  It was opened to the public in 2004 and was just recently finished.  All of the gold mosaics where computer designed and each tile custom made to fit.  Yes is is incredibly beautiful and a magnificent work of art however it does not have the same kind of feel of the cathedrals which took hundreds of years to build and have been loved for centuries.  

Belgrade was the birth place of Nikola Tesla and there is a museum to his honor here in Belgrade. Unfortunately we did not get to see it.  A good reason to come back.

Terry 

May 18 2024 Iron Gate to Golubac Serbia

 Iron Gate to Golubac Serbia

May 18 2024

ctio

Today was a very interesting day.  Most of the day was spent on the ship as we were sailing up the Danube through the Iron Gates. The Iron Gates is this 130 kms section of the river which is a very narrow gorge which has very steep sides.  It is the longest river gorge in all of Europe. Originally the Danube passed through the gorge as a set of rapids which were not navigable to river traffic.  To make this section of the river navigable a dam was built which raised the water level 130 feet flooding the rapids and creating a large lake. To enter the Iron Gates we entered two locks which raised the ship to the lake level.  

The morning was quite cloudy and there was a kind of lite haze over the area.  This gave the passage way kind of a surreal atmosphere.  Never the less most of the passengers were up on the sundeck with cameras at hand to catch shots of the towering cliffs, which were on both sides of the ship.  All along the passageway there were lots of marks of which were left behind by travelers.  Everyone from the early Romans in the 1st century to the Turks to the Ottomans, to present day travelers.  There were lots of speed boats carrying boat loads of tourists through the Iron Gates to get a close look at some of the caves and other makers. Tug boats pushing heavily loaded barges, and of course the river cruise ships.  

The ship's main port of call was a little village in Serbia called Golubac where there is a huge fortress.  This fortress was at the apex of where the Serbian empire met the Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The first mention of this fortress dates back to 1335 when it was already a well established fortress.  Although the fortress was never conquered it did change hands several times.  A couple of times the conquer simply purchased the fortress for 12,000 gold coins.  Each new owner added towers and more ramparts.  The fortress had fallen into terrible condition and there was even a main road which ran right through the main gates.   Then in 2016 the EU gave Serbia  six million Euros and the road was diverted and the fortress rebuilt.  I think they got a very good deal as it is in excellent condition and tells a very good story of an important fortress which played a very important role in the Balkan history for several hundred years. 

On the ship was Serbian night and all of the crew was dressed in Serbian costume.  Supper was a traditional  meal.  To start there was a toast with a shot of Serbian peach brandy.  Then there was a mushroom soup,  main course consisted of roast pork,  roast chicken and a skewer of lamb served with a yogurt dressing.  Desert consisted of a baked apple with caramel sauce, baklava and Turkish Delight and ice cream.  What a feast.

Tomorrow looks like a full day of touring through Belgrade.  

Terry         

May 17 2024 Vidin Bulgaria

Vidin Bulgaria

May 17 2024 

This morning when I got up the ship had not yet docked and we did not reach our the port of Vidin Bulgaria until 8:30 am.  It was very interesting watching our ship dock from the main dining room where we were having breakfast. Soon it was time to head off to todays tour which was off to see the Belogradchik Fortress and rocks.  On the way I grabbed a shot out of the cabin window,  I liked it as it was kind of a post industrial picture.  

On the shore was a monument to the victims of communism. It's sad state of repair is kind of a poor statement considering the terrible things which were inflicted on the Bulgaria people by the communists from 1945 through 1989.  

The bus ride up to the Belogradchik Fortress and rocks was about 90 minutes.  The road was incredibly steep and winding and as we got higher and higher the ceiling got lower and lower.  Finally we were right into the clouds which was now a very dense fog and heavy mist.  I was very disappointed as the views from this early castle were suppose to be incredible.  

The fortress was built at the very top of this mountain and consisted to three rings.  There were three gates and each one was further up the mountain.  From the first gate to second gate was only a couple of stories in elevation gain. From the second gate to the third gate was probably close to 15 stories, and from the third gate to the top of the fortress which was built into these strange rock formations another 15 stories.  Originally there were stone steps which had been carved into the rock.  Each step was about 18 inches high and bout 6 inches deep.  This was very hard to climb so modern steel steps had been added to help the tourists.  However they were set at about 75 degree angle and were more of a ladder than a set of steps.  So you can imagine the huffing and puffing which was going on from a set of cruise ship passengers, who had just stepped away from the buffet line a mere 90 minutes before. I have attached a couple of photos of the formations at the top, the gorilla's head, and the lovers. The valley below was nothing but a fog bank.

On the way back to the ship the tour stopped for a quick photo opportunity at the Baba Vidin fortress which is located right in the center of the river port of Vidin. The fortress is under restoration so you cannot go in side.  They have set up a small museum  which displays a large number of Roman grave yard heads stones which have been uncovered during the restoration work.  The Romans had a huge trading center here in Vidin from about 100 AD through the end of 300 Ad.    

Back on the ship for lunch and an afternoon to relax.  The afternoon off is a very welcome respite as we have been run off our feet.  

Terry.   

May 16 2024 Veliko Tarnovo - Arbanasi

Veliko Tarnovo - Arbanasi  Bulgari 

May 16 2024

Today was a really long day of touring.  Yesterday evening the ship had left it's berth in Romania and crossed the river to Bulgaria.  This morning we woke up in a completely different country. Looking out of our window all we could see was the side of the wharf we were tied up to.  So after breakfast I headed up stairs to look around and take a few pictures.  There wasn't a lot to see but a large expanse of river to the one side and trees to the other.  However I did get to watch another large river cruise ship come up river and dock along side of our ship.  The ship had bow and stern thrusters and it just turned sideways in the river and  matching its speed to the current just floated up to our ship ever so gently.

By 9:00 we were on the tour bus off to see our first stop was about an hour and half down the road.  We passed through a lot of small villages where we saw several very large stork nests.  On one nest was one of the storks tending the new hatchling. Storks are considered very lucky and for a village to have a nesting pair of storks exceptionally good fortune.  

The first stop was in Arbanasi and was the Church of the Nativity which was constructed in the early 1600's when the Ottomans were ruling Bulgari.  They kept Christian church construction to an absolute minimum and imposed very strict rules on how large and how tall  the church could be.  As such it was not a very impressive structure from the out side.  However inside it was totally covered with frescos depicting stories from the bible.  Unfortunately NO PHOTOS.  So you have to take my word on how beautifully decorated it was.    

At lunch we were treated to some traditions folk dancers who performed a number of different folk dances. They were accompanied by a traditional three piece band consisting of a drummer, a flute and a set of bag pipes.  The performance was very entertaining and several people from the tour got up and danced with the performers.

After lunch we drove down to the city of Veliko Tarnovo which is a hill side town.  There is a huge castle there which was built in the 1100's to protect the villagers from the Turks, Ottoman's and just about everyone else who was invading Bulgari over the next several hundred years.  Not that it helped as poor Bulgari has been invaded and  subjugated numerous times. 

We had an hour of free time so I was able to wander down one of the streets and have a rest with one of the locals before we were back on the bus back to the ship. 

We got back to the ship at 5:30 pm just in time for supper.

What a day.

Terry 

 

Bucharest Romania May 15 2024

 Bucharest Romania

May 15 2024

The first day of the tour was certainly a whirlwind.  The Grand Hotel in downtown Bucharest was certainly beautiful. Grand sweeping stair cases and marble every where, a fabulous breakfast buffet and of course the lobby filled with suitcases.  There were a total of four huge buses and of course we get on the bus which has the chronic late people on it.  Finally after leaving 15 minutes late in the morning we are on the road and still short a couple of people.  The bus gets across this huge traffic circle from the hotel and a Viking representative is running across the circle with two people in tow.  Boy did they ever get the razzberries when they got on the bus.  

The bus wound around through very heavy traffic to Nicolae Ceausescu's grand government palace. It is the largest building in the world next to the Pentagon.  Jim and I toured this palace when we rode through Bucharest back in 2008.  It is still in use today.  The tour guide said that if you were to turn on every light in the building it would use 25% as much power as all of Bucharest which is a city of over 4 million. My 25mm lens could not get the whole building in even though we were a very long way from the building.  

The tour proceeded over to this outdoor museum where building were brought in from all over the country in 1936.  It was a very interesting collection of the different traditional Romanian buildings from the early 1800 through 1900.  There were a lot of traditional artisans selling local crafts, all dressed in traditional clothing of their area.  

On to Independence Square where the 1989 revolution started which over threw the communist dictatorship.  It was here where the tanks opened fire on the citizens killing over 400.  However the government was over thrown and Ceausescu  was taken away, found guilt of manslaughter and executed within a very short time.  Of all of the oppressive communist dictatorships this was probably the most oppressive. 

After about a ninety minute bus ride we arrived at our ship the Viking Vidar.  It is a very beautiful ship and I will get a few pictures up in the next few days.  In the mean time here is a quick selfie of Agnes and myself from the safety lifeboat drill. 

What a whirlwind day.  

Terry