European Trip - First Seven Days

Today, Sunday 18,  is the first day that I have been able to access any Google site, everybody on the boat has had the same problem.  I wonder if it is blocked in Romania, Serbia and Croatia,

I am publishing this while I can, I'll check it for errors and attach some photos later.

Sunday May 11

We were picked up at 12:30 pm to drive to Tullamarine, arriving about 2 ½ hours before departure, so we went into the lounge for a light lunch before boarding the flight to Singapore, where we arrived at 9:30 and strolled around Changi Airport before boarding our flight to Munich.

The Munich flight departed at 11:10 and as we had been served dinner on the Singapore flight, as soon as the seat belt sign was switched off, we made up our bed, turned on the “Do not disturb” sign and settled down to sleep and didn’t hear the crew serve dinner to the other passengers.

Monday May 12

After a good sleep, at around 3:00 am Munich time we were served breakfast and landed at Munich at 5:05 about 30 minutes early, leaving us four hours before our flight to Bucharest departed but as the inward flight was delayed we were 30 minutes late.  However when we landed at Bucharest we had made up the time.

By the time we walked to the luggage carousel our bags had arrived but what has been our experience over the past years there was some damage to our cases.  We purchased new cases for this trip and one of the wheels on Ann’s case was damaged and won’t turn.

Passing through immigration and customs we found a representative from the tour waiting and were escorted to the coach which was to take us the on the 1 ½ hour trip to the Bulgarian side of the Danube to board our boat.  Two problems, one couple hadn't exited the terminal and after waiting an hour we left without them.  The other problem was the Bulgarian customs and immigration system had collapsed and there was a four kilometre “tail back” of traffic waiting to cross the border.  We eventually cleared the check point and crossed the “Friendship Bridge” to Bulgaria and travelled to the boat.  Checking our watch we found that from the time we left our house to the time we boarded the boat, 35 hours had elapsed which probably explained why we were so tired.

Tuesday May 12

Before breakfast the boat moved to the Romanian side of the river and after breakfast we boarded buses for the 1 ½ hour trip back to Bucharest.

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 70 kilometres north of the Danube.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459.  It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), Communist-era and modern but many of the building are in need of repair.  In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris", although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and above all Ceausescu’s program of systematization but many survived.  However Ceaușescu used the excuse of earthquake damage to demolish over 100 churches but there wasn’t another building in Romania that was demolished after the earthquake.

The current government is providing 50% of cost of building a new Orthodox Cathedral costing 400 million euros which many think is to compensate the Church for its losses during the Communist rule.

Our first stop was at the Open Air Museum which contains some fifty houses, building and churches dating back to the 1700s.  These had been collected from the various Regions in Romania and reassembled at the village providing examples of the many styles of building over the centuries.

We were then taken to a restaurant for lunch which could be an antique shop as the walls were lined with painting, clocks and shelves and tables covered with antiques silverware and glasses.  The tables were set with silver cutlery and old glassware and all the other items were very old.  A most impressive site when the tables were set for 160 people.  Our meal was served in silver bowls and plates; everyone was very impressed with the style and the speed in which everyone was served.

Palace of Parliament

From the restaurant we travelled to Ceaușescu’s Civic Centre, now known as the Palace of Parliament.  This building is the world’s largest civilian administrative building and second to the Pentagon as an administrative building.  Construction of the 1000 room building commenced in 1984 and the actual structure was completed at the time of the revolution in 1989 which saw the overthrow of the Communist government.  The new government was unsure if it should be completed but as all the carpets, curtains, timber work, marble columns and flooring together with the hundreds of crystal chandeliers, some weighing 5 tonnes, had been completed and were in storage, the decision was made to complete the building which was done by 1994.

Over the years we have visited many palaces and this building would be the equal to any we have seen with up to16m. high ceilings and many of the rooms over 1000m².  It is amazing to consider that this was built in the 20thC. by a communist government and that they could find the craftsmen to prepare the marble columns and floors, carve the panels for the doors and other panels and make the huge carpets. All the materials used in the construction were sourced and made in Romania It is estimated that 10,000 workers were employed on site and up to 1,000,000 off site.

We then returned to the boat which sailed shortly after we boarded, next stop Vidin, Bulgaria.

As well as the main dining room which serves wonderful meals, there is another restaurant at the rear of the boat which seats 20 people and every passenger has the opportunity to dine there once during this cruise.

Tonight it was our turn and when viewing the six course menu which included two mains and three desserts we decided we would just have two courses.  Wrong!! Apart from the main course, we were expected to eat it all.  However the serves were tiny which was just as well because when the desserts arrived we had the three choices on the one plate.  The only downside of the evening was that we had a three course lunch so we have warned other passengers to only have a small lunch if they are dining in the restaurant.

Wednesday May 14

Vidin, Bulgaria

Returning to our room after breakfast we were greeted by a dog on our bed made from folded towels, crafted by our housekeeper, very clever.

It was 2:00 pm when we arrived at Vidin which is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as the seat of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since 870).

Vidin emerged at the place of an old Celtic settlement known as Dunonia. The name itself meant "fortified hill" with the typically Celtic dun found frequently in Celtic place names. The settlement evolved into a Roman fortified town called Bononia. When later on, in the 4th-5th century, Slavs settled in the area, they called the town Badin or Bdin, where the modern name apparently comes from.

Vidin's main landmark, the Baba Vida fortress, was built in ancient Roman times. Between 971 and 976 the town was the centre of Samuil's possessions while his brothers ruled to the south. In 1003 Vidin was seized by Basil II after an eight-month siege because of the betrayal of the local bishop.

After receiving passport clearance we boarded buses to travel to Belogradshik in the Stara Planina Mountains where a fortress built using the natural rock formation.  Construction of the fortress commenced during the Roman Era in the third century and its present construction was completed by the Turks in the nineteenth century.

Returning to the town we visited the Baba Vida fortress which is the best preserved stone fortress in Bulgaria, built in the 10^th and 14^th centuries and then later rebuilt by the Turks.  We arrived back at the boat just in time for dinner and afterwards were entertained by young people from the town performing traditional folk dances.

Thursday May 15

Today is a day of sailing without any town visits and around 9:30 we entered the largest lock on the Danube, a two level lock which lifted us up 60m. to enter the part of the river known as the Iron Gates, a gorge stretching 134 km and is the narrowest section of the Danube.  This gorge is between the Carpathian Mountains and the foothills of the Balkan Mountains.

Decebalus

Shortly after sailing into the gorge, there is a Roman marble plaque on the Serbian side, commemorating the conquest of Dacia in the first century by the Emperor Trajan.  About twenty minutes later, on the Romanian side, we saw a large rock carving depicting Decebalus, Trajan’s Dacian opponent.  Also on the Romanian side there is a small church dedicated to St Nichola.

The rest of the day was spent sailing past small towns and villages and the occasional camper on the river bank which I don't think would be very comfortable as we were told it has been raining for several days.

St Nichola Church

Frisday May 16

Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers; its name translates to White city. 

One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbian King Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and it frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. 

Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia (in various forms of governments) from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006.

For the previous three days, it has been raining and today is no different.  Over the last two days in Serbia they have received more rain than the four months average, with the result many rivers are in flood and some houses are under water.  The worst floods in living memory and the amount of debris and trees floating down the Danube is incredible.  A group of upright trees which floated past our cabin window looked like a small island.

Bombed Building

Leaving the boat we boarded the bus and drove through the city, where there are several buildings that haven’t been repaired following the NATO bombings but most of the city has been rebuilt.  Our first stop was at St Sava’s Temple, dedicated to the first archbishop of Serbia.  The church is being built over an earlier church and the exterior is nearly complete but inside it is still a raw structure with a temporary altar on a carpeted area.  Like all Orthodox churches, there aren't any seats and the interior will accommodate 8000 worshippers comfortably, 10,000 if squeezed in.

We then walked around the city centre for a while before driving up to the Kalemegdan Fortress which overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers.  The original structure dates back to the first century and it has been continually expanded, destroyed rebuilt and modified.  Its strategic position allowed the occupiers to control traffic along the Danube.

After lunch those that wanted to walk around the city were provided with a shuttle bus but as it was cold and still raining we elected to stay on board.  In the evening after dinner we were entertained by a troupe of young dancers who performed dances from all the different regions in Serbia, a most entertaining and athletic performance.

Following the performance a passenger suggested that we may like to contribute some money to be used for flood relief in Serbia.  The equivalent of $US 2000 was collected on the night and next day.

Saturday May 17
Novi Sad, Serbia

The city was founded in 1694, when Serb merchants formed a colony across the Danube from the Petrovaradin fortress, a Habsburg strategic military post. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an important trading and manufacturing centre, as well as a centre of Serbian culture of that period, earning the nickname Serbian Athens. The city was heavily devastated in the 1848 Revolution, but it was subsequently restored. Today, Novi Sad is an industrial and financial centre of the Serbian economy, as well as a major cultural centre, having recovered from the devastating NATO bombing during the Kosovo War of 1999.

We started a little earlier this morning with a walking tour of Novi Sad, beginning at the Danube Park and then strolling, through the old town centre, passing Bishop’s Court the home of the Orthodox patriarch and St George’s Orthodox Cathedral.  Further on we arrived at the city square with the City Hall on one side and a very large R.C. church on the other side.  It was interesting that the old part of the city and the churches were untouched by the bombing.

We then boarded a bus and were taken to the 18th-century Austrian-Hungarian Petrovaradin Fortress.  There has been a fortress on this site for many hundreds of years before the existing structure was constructed and in the 1600s a 200,000 strong Ottoman army laid siege to the fortress which was successfully defended by 70,000 troops.  Being on the higher ground the defenders inflicted heavy casualties on the Turks with their cannons, killing their commander and forcing their withdrawal.  The Turks built a mausoleum for their commander in Belgrade and it still stands in on of the city parks.

Returning to the boat we had to hand in our passports to obtain clearance from the Serbian Police and were then able to sail for Croatia.

Vukovar, Croatia
The Amacerto docked at Ilok, where we went ashore and boarded the waiting buses, some to go on a winery tour and the others, including ourselves, on a tour of Vucovar and the memorial cemetery.
Our guide announced that we were departing on a winery tour and we told him we were going to Vukovar which caused a slight delay while he left the bus and found the guide who was to accompany us.

Our first stop was to a farm storage building used to house some 200 wounded people and medical personnel from the Vukovar hospital, who were subsequently taken out and murdered and buried in a mass grave. The building has been converted into a memorial with photos of the victims around the walls.

From the farm we drove to the Memorial Cemetery were the Defenders of Vukovar are buried together with many hundreds of citizens murdered by the Serbians.  A memorial with an eternal flame is near the graves.  We noticed a large area of graves without headstones, we were told that these are un-inhabited and are reserved for people buried in yet to be discovered mass graves.

Driving into the town a water tower damaged by shell fire, dominated the skyline.  This originally supplied the water for the town and had a restaurant on the top with the Croatian flag above.  Every time the Serbs shelled the tower and destroyed the flag, the defenders climbed to the top and erected another flag.  The tower has been left as a symbol of their resistance.


This city was heavily damaged during the Croatian War of Independence. Approximately 2,000 self-organised defenders (the army of Croatia was still in an embryonic stage at that time) defended the city for 87 days against approximately 36,000 JNA troops supplemented with 110 vehicles and tanks and dozens of planes. The city suffered heavy damage during the siege and was eventually overrun. It is estimated that 2,000 defenders of Vukovar and civilians were killed, 800 went missing and 22,000 civilians were forced into exile.

The damage to Vukovar during the siege has been called the worst in Europe since World War II, drawing comparisons with the World War II–era Stalingrad.  A museum dedicated to the siege was opened in the basement of a now rebuilt hospital that had been damaged during the battle. On 27 September 2007 the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted two former Yugoslav Army officers and acquitted a third of involvement in the hospital massacre.

As a result of the conflict, a deep ethnic divide exists between the Croat and Serb populations.

Sunday May 18
We entered Hungary and tied up at the town of Mohács this morning and we were advised that we had to be at reception at 6:30 for a passport check but it was after 7:00 before this happened. 

As everyone had to be up early they all went into breakfast at the same time, instead of the usual practice where people arrived over a one and a half hour period, the result was the staff were run off their feet.

Mohács is a town in Baranya county, Hungary on the right bank of the Danube.  Two famous battles took place here:  Battle of Mohács, 1526  and Battle of Mohács, 1687.  These battles represented the beginning and end, respectively, of the Ottoman domination of Hungary.

In Roman times there was a camp on the banks of the Danube near Mohács and in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, Mohács was part of the historical Baranya County, and during Ottoman rule it was the administrative seat of the Sanjak of Mohács, an Ottoman administrative unit. After the Habsburgs took the area from the Ottomans, Mohács was included in the restored Baranya County.

After breakfast we boarded buses to travel to Pécs which is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county.  Pécs is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs.

The city Sopianae was founded by Romans at the beginning of the 2nd century, in an area peopled by Celts and Pannoni tribes. By the 4th century it became the capital of Valeria province and a significant early Christian center. The early Christian necropolis is from this era which became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2000.

Its episcopate was founded in 1009 by Steven I, and the first university in Hungary was founded in Pécs in 1367 by Louis I the Great. (The largest university still resides in Pécs with about 34,000 students).  Pécs was formed into one of the cultural and arts centre of the country by bishop Janus Pannonius, the great, Hungarian, humanist poet.  Pécs has a rich heritage from the age of a 150 year long Ottoman occupation, like the mosque of Pasha Qasim the Victorious on Széchenyi square.

Arriving in Pécs we walked through a park past St. Peter’s Basilica, the main Catholic Cathedral in the city, before entering the excavations of the the underground Christian burial chambers dating back to the 4th century.  On the ceiling of one were frescos of St Peter and St Paul.

Pasha Qasim Mosque

Walking from the burial chambers to the city square we passed the mosque of Pasha Qasim which is closed for restoration, and a large decorated column commemorating the end of the “Black Death Plague”.
At the edge of the square is large, 20 feet high, model a horse.  This was originally sculptured in clay by Leonardo Da Vinci but before it was caste the city was attacked and the 85 tonnes of bronze collected had to be used to make weapons.  The attackers destroyed the clay model by firing arrows into it.  Some years ago researchers found, in a library, all Leonardo’s drawing and notes which has assisted in the reproduction of a full size replica of the horse.

Returning to the boat through fertile farm land and very prosperous looking farms we arrived back at the boat shortly after 1:30 and immediately set sail for Budapest where we will leave the boat at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Where did the week go?