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.

27th of June 2025 - Osijek and Vukovar

Today our ship docked in Croatia which has made a remarkable recovery from the brutal civil Croatian War of Independence from 1991 to 1995, commonly called the Homeland War In Croatia.  It has been bizarre to visit places that were often in the news in the UK around thirty years ago.

Our tour started with a drive through the streets of Osijek which is the cultural heart of Croatia’s Slavonia region.  This region is the breadbasket of Croatia with many crops including sunflowers and corn.  I was surprised to hear that canola was also grown here as I thought that  this was only grown in North America.

We then went up to The Vineyard of the Hill on the hillside overlooking overlooking the town of Karanac.

After visiting the vineyards we drove down into Karanac to visit the Baranjska Kuća museum which holds a number of historic farm buildings of the area.  A number of these buildings could be entered and we were told about life and crafts in times gone by.  

A very convivial lunch followed at the Baranjska Kuća family restaurant adjoining the museum.

After lunch we went to Vukovar which has been rebuilt after the bitter Homeland War.  We visited the Vukovar City Museum housed in the Baroque Eltz Manor which is an 18th century palace.

Outside the Eltz Manor on the banks of the river was the old water tower.  This was shot at very many times during the Homeland War.

Our last stop was at the more modern Vukovar Water Tower which is a symbol of Croatian unity that was established to manage the memorial site of the Homeland War.  It has also become a cultural and historical monument of modern Croatian national identity by preserving the memory of the sacrifice made during this war.