1st of July 2025 - Ruse

Bulgaria’s foremost Danube port, Ruse is sometimes called “Little Vienna” for its elegant 19th-century mansions and public buildings.  We were meant to arrive in the morning however this was delayed until midday because of low water levels in the Danube.  Our captain wanted to negotiate a particular stretch of the Danube in daylight rather than overnight as planned.

I had planned to go a full day excursion today but this would have meant more coach travel than planned because the ship was moored in Nicopol instead of Ruse; also we are in the middle of a heat wave.  Instead I spent the morning just relaxing onboard and enjoyed cruising down the Danube to Ruse.

In the afternoon I did a short walking tour of Ruse.  We visited Freedom Square which takes its name from the Freedom Monument.

30th of June 2025 - Vidin

The port of Vidin, on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria, is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia.

Vidin has a fertile hinterland renowned for its wines.  Our first visit of the day was to the Dos Alamos Winery. This estate makes excellent use of the local terroir where plenty of sunshine bathes their hillside vineyards producing high quality grapes.

We sampled one white, one rosé and two red wines with accompanying charcuterie in the candlelit cellar.  The quality of the wines was excellent.

The second red wine was served by pipette from a newly broached barrel by the owner of the winery.

We returned to Vidin to visit the Baba Vida fortress.

Our guide Alex was keen to show us some of the pre-communist architecture of Vidin as well as the synagogue and mosque.

29th of June 2025 - Cruising the Iron Gates

This morning I decided to put the sightseeing on hold and relax on board ship enjoying the cruise from Belgrade to Milanovac.  It is just too hot to contemplate climbing up to a medieval hill fortress.

In the afternoon we cruised the breathtaking Iron Gates which is an 83 mile (134 kilometre) stretch of scenic gorges that were cut through the Carpathian and Balkan mountains over many eons by the Danube River.  These spectacular gorges act as a natural border between Serbia and Romania.

The rock sculpture of Decebalus is a colossal carving of the face of Decebalus (AD 87–106), the last king of Dacia, who fought against the Roman emperors Domitian and Trajan to preserve the independence of his country corresponding to present day Romania.  It was made between 1994 and 2004 on a rocky outcrop at the Iron Gates.  This sculpture is the tallest rock relief in Europe at 180 feet (55 metres) in height and 82 feet (25 metres) in width.

The Iron Gates locks are a pair of massive lock systems on the Danube River which straddle the border between Serbia and Romania.  They were constructed as part of two hydroelectric dam projects, Iron Gate I and Iron Gate II, to generate power and make navigation safer through this once treacherous stretch of the Danube river.  The following pictures were taken going through the Iron Gate I  locks.

We went through the Iron Gate II lock overnight.

28th of June 2025 – Belgrade

Today we entered Serbia to visit Belgrade which is one of Europe’s oldest cities.  I was surprised at how modern and lively the city was with modern shopping centres and the street lined with cafés.  Our guide Izabela made no mention of the Croatian War of Independence.

Our coach took us through tree lined streets to the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace and through the palace’s spacious grounds.  Serbia’s royal family, which is related to most of Europe’s royalty, has a strictly honorary position in modern day democratic Serbia however Crown Prince Alexander and his family still live in this palaces.  Izabela showed us some of the public rooms of the palace followed by the adjacent chapel.

 

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian born engineer and inventor known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.  There was a bust of Tesla in the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace library.

We then visited Belgrade Fortress.  Ancient Romans built the first fortress here the successive conquerors and defenders (Slavs, Byzantines, Ottomans and Habsburgs) continued to build and destroy fortifications on this site for another 1,500 years.

From the grounds of Belgrade Fortress there is a view of the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers on which modern Belgrade stands.

Before dinner we were treated to some local folk dancing in the ship's lounge.