Ruse and Bucharest; The end of the cruise but not of our travels!

 

The Palace of the Parliament is the world's largest civilian building!

We were at day 24 of our cruise, this would be our last full day on the boat. We were on the included excursion into the town of Ruse, Bulgaria. After walking with the tour, we explored the old town on our own, eventually returning to the boat for lunch and then spent the rest of the day relaxing. We were feeling the effects of three weeks of cruising and just decided to take it easy.

In "Ruse"!

Ruse itself is a nice enough town with large public squares and pedestrian-friendly avenues.

That evening our boat made it's final cruise to the port town of Giurgiu, Romania. From here we would be bused into Bucharest for our final day of the standard tour.

The next morning we had our luggage collected for our drive to Bucharest. We departed the Lofn and were bused to the town; about an hours ride.

Bucharest is quite a large city. It still exudes a bit of a Soviet vibe in a lot of the architecture, including the Parliament Building, said to be the largest civilian building in the world with over 3,000 rooms. There is also a canal passing through town which gives it an interesting twist. I think though, that I was a bit tired of passing through Eastern European cities as I wasn't really struck by anything here. 

Bucharest's canal.

We had a lunch here.

We did get to visit a large park in town which holds examples of various historical houses and such.

We spent the night at a very nice hotel that Viking had set up for us. We had a meal with some of the folks we had traveled with and called it a night. The next day, we would be flying to Istanbul!

Goodbye Bucharest and Romania!

Pictures of Ruse and Bucharest.

Golubac Fortress, the Iron gates and on to Vidin and the Belogradchik Rocks; Sailing down the Danube.

Approaching the Iron Gate

After Belgrade, we had a day of sailing down the Danube with a short stop at Golubac Fortress. This is an interesting riverside fort which dates back to Roman times. Up until recent years, a highway actually passed right through the old fort but that has recently been diverted and now tourists are free to walk through much of it. 

Golubac Fortress

Besides the fortress itself, there are several archeological digs set up examining Ottoman and Roman sites also located here. 

Looking back on our boat at Golubac

After Golubac, we boarded and started to sail down the Kazan stretch of the river, a dramatic stretch of river as it passes through Carpathian Mountain Gorges. 

The Iron Gate, a gap in the Carpathian Mountains.

This stretch included a fairly recent sculpture the Dacian King Decebalus, a ruler who opposed the Romans and is considered a hero in Romanian history. We also passed Trajan's Tablet, A stone carved and set to mark the construction of a Roman Military road during the reign of Trajan.

Behind Shelly is a rock sculpture of Dacian King Decebalus.

Trajan's Tablet was laid to mark the construction of a Roman road,

The stretch of river before us used to be considered wild and dangerous but in modern times has been tamed by the largest lock system on the Danube!

In a lock at the end of the Kazan stretch.

After spending the night cruising, we woke up in Vidin, Bulgaria. Vidin is a typical river town in eastern Europe. One thing that struck me was that here, like many other towns in Croatia, Serbia and Romania, was the primitive electrical infrastructure! It was something I'd expect in say, Nepal, but not in Europe!

Wiring found in Vidin, Bulgaria.

From Vidin we boarded a bus and traveled to Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress. The fort was interesting enough, although most forts were beginning to look alike to me, but the real highlight was visiting the Rocks! They are actually pretty spectacular looking and the views from them are wonderful.

At the Fortress of Belogradchik. The Belogradchik Rocks in the background.

A great view from the Rocks!

It occurred to me that after three weeks of cruising on rivers, this was the most expansive view I had taken in! It was actually kind of refreshing after so many castles, forts and cathedrals! We returned to Vidin and reboarded the boat to sail to our final port at Ruse, Bulgaria!

In Vidin.

Click on the link below for more pictures:

Golubac Fortress and the Iron Gates.

Croatia and Serbia

 

The Orthodox Cathedral in Belgrade.

Our next port was in Vukavor, Croatia. We traveled by bus to Osijek to visit a church where we enjoyed a nice recital given by a local girl.

This part of Croatia was subjected to a lot of damage during the war with Serbia in the 90s, and some damaged building are evident to this day. One such building in Osijek was left in it's damaged state as a memorial.

This building was left as it was at the end of the war to serve as a memorial.

After the church we were divided into smaller groups and visited a local home where we had a snack and drink and talk with a local who talked about life in Croatia. That evening we were treated to a demonstration of traditional music by local musicians. 

The next day we reached Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. We had an interesting walking tour through the town including a short visit to a large fortress, the Kalemegdan Fortress.  We visited a brand new Eastern Orthodox Cathedral that was amazing!  Our guide was very good, an energetic older lady with lots of energy! After lunch, I went back to the fortress to check out the large historical armor, (tank) display on the grounds. 

This cathedral is new construction!

Part of the Tank display at the Kalemgdan.

Besides the tanks, the Fortress also has some wonderful views of the city! That evening we were back on the boat as it sailed on down the Danube.

A view from the Kalemgdan.

Pictures from Croatia and Serbia

Budapest, Puszta and Paprika.

 

Budapest's Hungarian Parliament Building.

When you arrive in Budapest on the River, the Parliament Building is one of the first things you see. It's quite striking, and even more so when you view it at night!

The city actually comprises of two older towns on opposite sides of the Danube. The "Buda" side has a lot of historic buildings while the "Pest" side is more modern. We first toured the Buda side, visiting the Cathedral and Battlements, and enjoying the views. In the afternoon we walked around the "Pest" side, not so picturesque but with more modern amenities. 

Cathedral on the "Buda" side.

 view from the "Buda" side.

The next day was a free day as some of our fellow passengers were disembarking, Budapest is the end of the short cruise. We visited a huge market place and bought some paprika, dolls for the granddaughters and a cork purse for Shelly. Later we visited a haunting memorial for the victims of the Holocaust that was on the river walk.  

The Holocaust Memorial on the river bank. 

That night we were treated to a view of the city at night as our ship departed town.

Nighttime on the Danube.

The next day we awoke a little further downriver and disembarked to visit a church at Kalocsa which included an impressive organ program. Now I don't usually get excited about organ programs but this one was pretty impressive! 

After Kalocsa we visited the stables at Puszta and were treated to a horsemanship demonstration which was pretty cool. We then boarded our ship and left Hungary.

At the show in Puszta.

Pictures from Hungary