Danube Cruise
Our 1,800-mile Danube cruise began in Budapest, Hungary, and took us south into the Hungarian countryside and east to Serbia, Romania, the Black Sea, and back west to Bulgaria, Croatia, past Budapest at night, the Danube bend in Hungary and into Vienna where we ended our 15-day cruise. Daily cruise shore excursions by bus enabled us to visit large eastern European cities of Budapest, Belgrade and Bucharest as well as various towns and villages. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time in Budapest because our city tour was too short to get reacquainted with this beautiful city. Our first visit there was in 1994. We hope to return soon. We enjoyed a post-cruise visit of Vienna during our May 28 ~ June 13, 2006 adventure.
Religion is an important part of the people’s lives in Eastern Europe. Roman Catholic is the primary religion in Croatia and Hungary where as Orthodox Christian is the main faith of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Of course, the Turkish 500-year occupation of this area influenced the food, music and architecture. However, the Muslim religion did not replace Christianity as the dominate faith in these countries like it did in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Local excursion guides gave us an insight of their country. All spoke adequate English. One of our disappointments with the Viking River Cruise was the lack of an onboard historian giving us an overview of history and adequate river narratives as we passed villages and interesting sights. Built in 2001, the Viking Neptune has 75 rooms with a maximum of 150 passengers. The eastern Danube cruise is relatively new in the past couple of years.
In 1873, three cities of Buda, Obuda and Pest on the banks of the Danube were merged into what became Hungary’s capital city. Buda and Obuda on the right (western) bank are on top of rolling hills that drop off steeply towards the Danube and overlook Pest.
The Budapest’s Hero’s square is one of the most visited sights of the Hungarian capital. The millennium monument was built in 1896 to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the Hungarian conquest. At the pedestal the equestrian statues commemorate Árpád and the seven chieftains of the Hungarian tribes, who settled their people in the present territory of Hungary. His descendants formed the Hungarian royal dynasty.
Originally a tropical plant from South America, paprika can now grow in cooler climates. In Europe, Hungary and Spain are the two main centers for growing paprika peppers, though these varieties have evolved into much milder forms than their tropical ancestors. Hungarian paprika is known as stronger and as richer than Spanish paprika, which is quite mild. However, through controlled breeding they are becoming more alike. To maintain the stronger taste that consumers expect, some spice companies add cayenne to heat up Hungarian paprika. However, the paprika that we purchased in Hungary was very mild and sweeter than what is sold in the U.S.
The grand structure of Central Market originally incorporated an indoor canal by which goods were delivered to the market's traders. Restored in 1994, the sheer size and grandeur of the hall is impressive. Although the canal is long gone, visitors can still marvel at the amazing variety of fresh produce, meat and flowers for sale. Housed beneath a beautifully restored Zsolnay tiled roof, the immaculately laid out market stalls charge the senses with a combination of vivid colors and intoxicating smells.
Budapest is perhaps the most beautiful city seen a night from the Danube.
Separating the two halves of the city is the Danube spanned by a half-dozen bridges—some sleek and modern, others with dramatic ornamentation. Few cities can match the impression Budapest makes when seen from the water.
Once a Celtic, and then a Roman settlement, Pecs was occupied by the Turks from 1543-1686. The 11th century cathedral was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation. After the Turks withdrew, this building was restored to its original condition.
Belgrade’s oldest site, the walled Kalemegdan Fortress, is perched on a rocky ledge overlooking the modern city of Belgrade. Belgrade or Beograd (“White City”) is strategically situated on the southern edge of the Carpathian basin, where the Sava River joins the Danube. The city at the confluence of these two waterways is one of the oldest in Europe, and has been an important intersection of the roads of Eastern and Western Europe since ancient times.
One of our best local guides, Slobodan ("Dan") Stetic was exceptionally informative about the history of the Serbs. Of interesting note, he claims that he was born in Croatia by a Croatian mother and Serbian father.
In Belgrade, advertisement posters are attached to cylindrical free-standing kiosks located in walking malls. We saw workers strip layers and layers of posters using a chain saw.
The Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade is the largest Orthodox Church Temple currently in use. The church is dedicated to Saint Sava, founder of the Serbian church and an important figure in medieval Serbia. It is built on the Vraèar plateau, on the location where his remains are thought to have been burned in 1595 by the Turks. From its location, it dominates Belgrade's cityscape, and is perhaps the most monumental building in the city. The building of the church structure is being financed exclusively by donations.
Construction of the Temple of Saint Sava building began again on August 12, 1985. The walls were erected to full height of 131 feet. The greatest achievement of the building was lifting of the 4,000 ton central dome, which was built on the ground, together with the copper plate and the cross, and later lifted onto the walls. The lifting, which took forty days, was finished on June 26, 1989. The exterior of the temple is mostly finished. The bells and windows are installed, with the facade also completed. However, work on the inner decoration still needs to be completed.
I was able to capture the image of an altar of another beautiful Orthodox church known as Saborna Church in Belgrade before a little old lady chased me away.
Across the street from Saborna Church is a restaurant with a name of "?" The church took offense at the restaurant’s original name of "The Cathedral". The Question Mark Cafe (Kafana Znak Pitanja) is the oldest cafe/bar/restaurant in the city.
The Iron Gate is a series of gorges where the Danube narrows and flows swiftly through a gap between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains. This area separates Romania and Serbia. Now that the Danube is dammed with two sets of locks, the higher water replaces the earlier rough water passage.
Decebalus, a 40-meter high statue seen while cruising the Danube, is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. The likeness commemorates the 1st century king in this area. It is located on the river's rocky bank, near the city of Orsova, Romania. The idea belonged to a Romanian businessman and historian. It took 10 years (1994-2004) for the 12 sculptors to finish it, and in the end, it cost over a million dollars.
Since the fall of Communism in 1989, Romania and Bulgaria are suffering from the lack of sufficient private and government investments. Also corruption and assimilation of the gypsies are major problems. Most buildings and roads need restoration and repair. These two countries are anxiously waiting to be accepted into the European Union so badly needed funds can begin to improve their nation. Serbia seems to be better off, but the 1990 war with Croatia and the NATO bombing of Belgrade may have impeded more advancement.
Bucharest has a population of more than two million and is Romania’s largest city. The capital city is located 40 miles from the Danube. Bucharest is believed to have been founded in the late 14th century. Many of the city’s historic buildings were destroyed over the years, mainly from the heavy bombing it suffered during World War II alongside the bulldozing of the old city by Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu in order to make room for the socialist city he envisioned. Also decades of neglect under communist rule have taken its toll on this busy city. However, one of the remaining examples of the 17th century is the Patriarchal Church.
Lucia Petrasova was one of our favorite crew members of the Viking Neptune. This pretty lady from Slovakia was a delight on our excursion bus. She was always considerate of us having a restroom break, as she called it “a pee pee break”!
Who are the Romanians? After the Romans conquered Dacia (approximately in the same area of today’s Romania) in 106 and a process of Romanization of the Dacians took place. According to this theory, the Romanized Dacians stayed on and have continuously lived in Dacia throughout the Dark Ages. Romanians are said to be their descendents.
The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest with a floor area of 350,000 sq. meters (more than 65 football fields) is one of the world's largest buildings. Its original name was the House of the People but it was renamed (in the post-Communist era) as the Palace of the Parliament. However, to this day, many Romanians retain the old name and call it Casa Poporului. The building was originally to be known as the House of the Republic (Casa Republicii) and was intended to serve as headquarters for all the major state institutions. However, the project was just nearing completion at the time of Nicolae Ceausescu's 1989 overthrow and execution. Since 1994, the building has housed various government agencies. The Palace also contains a massive array of miscellaneous conference halls, salons, etc., used for a wide variety of other purposes.
Constanta, Romania’s second largest city and seaport, has a long history of Greeks, Romans, Avars and Turks before the Romanian’s claimed it 1878.
The picturesque medieval city of Veliko Tarnovo dates back to the 12th century. This graceful town is uniquely set on the city’s four wooded hills above the Yantra River, winding its way through a gorge in the center of the town.
This fortress at Belogradshick was built in 100 – 300 AD by the Romans on the highest point of an area in the Balkan Mountains to guard the area road.
Having an ancient history, Baile Herculane is a spa town situated in a valley of the Cerna River surrounded by mountains. The numerous archaeological discoveries show that the area has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era (2 million to 10,000 years ago). Legend has it that a weary Hercules stopped in this valley to bathe and rest. Roman aristocrats turned the town into a Roman leisure center. In modern times, the spa has been visited for its natural healing properties: hot springs with sulfur, chlorine, sodium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals. Western Europeans lent this town a refined elegance.
Built in the 14th-15th centuries, the Roman Golubac castle stands on a rock bluff that must have been much higher above the river before it was flooded by the dams. The Turks held it for 260 years until 1688. There are many myths about the castle.
Novi Sad is relatively a new settlement founded on the left bank of the Danube in 1694 by the Serbs because the Habsburg rulers forbid people of Orthodox faith from residing in Petrovaradin. Human settlement in Petrovaradin on the right bank dated back to the Stone Age (about 4500 BC). Since that time, Petrovaradin was rebuilt many times and occupied by many different peoples including Romans, Celts, Ostrogoths, Gepids, Avars, Franks, Bulgarians, Byzantines, Hungarians, Ottomans and Habsburgs before the present day Serbs.
While walking around in Novi Sad looking for interesting photo opportunities, I came across an interesting gentleman and through an interpreter (his daughter), I requested to take his photo. He agreed. It turns out that his name is Stanko Popovic, general manager and editor in chief of Ribolovacki Magazin (a fishing magazine) published in Novi Sad.
Our observations of Vukovar and Dakovo, Croatia, are that the people are very proud of their country. This area was heavily damaged by the Serbians in 1991, but most people have rebuilt their homes and businesses. Our Croatian guide says that this area, known as Slavonia, is primarily agricultural and the poorest part of Croatia. All the homes were neatly kept. No trash was seen. Most had tidy small gardens in front of their home. It seems that the more moderate Communist state of Yugoslavia didn't adversely affect Croatia and Serbia as much as Russian-dominated Communism affected other eastern countries of Romania and Bulgaria, who were not part of socialistic Yugoslavia. In 1991, Yugoslavia constituents of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina started to break away. Yugoslavia doesn't exist today because Montenegro, the last remaining member of Serbia-dominated Yugoslavia, voted independence from Serbia in May 2006.
Vukovar was gravely impacted by the Yugoslav wars when the Serbian troops laid siege to it from August to November 1991 during the Croatian war of independence. It ended with the defeat of the local Croatian National Guard, the near-total destruction of Vukovar and the massacre or expulsion of its defenders and non-Serb population. The battle was a significant and symbolic loss for Croatia, which did not regain control of the town until 1998. It was an extremely costly victory for the Yugoslav army and is widely regarded as having been a crucial turning point in the overall war, the battle that broke the back of the Serbian military offensive.
Horses have been part of Dakovo tradition since 1374 when the first Arabians were given as a gift to the Bishop of the time. Established in 1506, the Dakovo Horse Farm is the oldest horse farm in Europe. Today the farm breeds Lipizzaner (or Lippizan) horses developed by the Hapsburgs in 1856 for the Imperial Court. The name “Hrvatska” was seen on a truck trailer at the farm. "Croatia" is the Latinized version of the native name of "Hrvatska".
In Dakovo's town center is this majestic red-brick, neo-Gothic cathedral consecrated in 1882 after two decades of construction. The three-nave structure is distinguished by two steeples towering to 84 meters (274 feet).
The inside walls feature colorful biblical scenes painted over 12 years by the father and son team of Alexander and Ljudevit Seitz. The striking blue ceiling is dotted with gold stars, and the floor is paved with impressive red, yellow, and black checkered tile. We were treated to an organ concert by Vilmos Leanyfalusi, who was born in Hungary in 1937. He studied organ with some noted musicians and obtained his diploma as an organist in Rome. His impressive performance of Bach’s “D-moll toccata and fugue”, the most popular and the most often played organ composition, was really enjoyed.
Kalocsa is the See of one of the four Roman Catholic archbishops in Hungary. Amongst its buildings is its cathedral. Kalocsa is one of the oldest towns in Hungary. The present Archbishopric, founded about 1125, is said to been established in the year 1000 by King Stephen the Saint. It suffered much during the 16th century from the hordes of Ottomans, who then ravaged the country. A large part of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1875.
Hungary and horses go together, well, like a horse and carriage. The first Hungarians, the Magyars, were warrior horsemen who rode from the steppes of central Asia to settle in present-day Hungary in the 9th century. Not only does horseback riding itself take on a distinct Hungarian flavor, but there are centuries of folk heritage, too. In a country with a long and complex history, folk traditions are in evidence everywhere especially in Kalocsa. We were treated to an excellent show of horsemanship.
We were again delighted by the wonderful view of Budapest at night as we cruised north on the Danube to the Danube Bend area.
The Danube Bend is where the great river changes direction as it breaks through the Borzsony and Visegrad Mountains. This is the center of Hungary’s history, the heart of the cultural life of the Hungarian Renaissance, with a history that stretches back eight centuries.
Esztergom was the capital of Hungary from the 10th century until the mid-13th century. Later it was moved to Visegrád and then to Buda. Esztergom still is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. Its cathedral, Esztergom Basilica built in the early 19th century is the largest church in Hungary.
Vienna’s state opera house was the first of the grand Ringstrasse buildings to be completed in May 1869. The emperor Franz Joseph ushered in a new age of grandeur, despite the dwindling power of the Habsburgs. The city defenses were demolished and a circular boulevard, the Ringstrasse, was built linking new cultural and political institutions. After the opera house was essentially destroyed in 1945 by an allied bomb, it was rebuilt and opened in 1955. The foyer is decorated with scenes from operas and busts of famous composers and conductors.
The Stephansdom (St. Stephen's) is in the center of the city. A church has stood on the site for over 800 years but little remains of the original 13th century Romanesque church. The rebuilding program in the 14th and 15th centuries has resulted in combining Gothic and Baroque designs. To left of the high altar is the early 15th century winged altar bearing the painted images of 72 saints. The panels open out to reveal delicate sculpture groups.
We had an excellent 2-day tour of Vienna by car (Mercedes) and foot.
Wien (what Europeans call Vienna) is celebrating Mozart’s 150th birthday.
Schonbrunn Palace was the former summer residence of the imperial family.
| Name |
Comment |
Date |
| John Manthey |
Beautiful |
Dec 24, 2007 |