Vidin

Vidin (vih-DEEN) is a small city of about 40,000 people on the River Danube near the corner where Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania meet. Romania is just across the river, and Serbia is just down the road a few miles. But the contrast with Serbia is stark.

Bulgaria is a European Union member country now, and clearly more prosperous than the last two places we have been in Serbia. Yes, there are signs of the old communist era, such as the concrete apartment buildings. But even some of these have been painted in bright colors.

The main street is a pedestrian-only mall with a large central square. The 19th century buildings are in good shape and the storefronts are mostly filled with thriving businesses that appear to be mainly targeted to residents rather than to tourists. There were only a couple of souvenir shops, and both were selling higher class stuff than the junk usually found in such places.

Our tour leader took us on a walking tour of the very nice parkway that lines the river. Coffee shops were busy with locals enjoying their Saturday morning. Tomorrow is "Children's Day" in Bulgaria (and other parts of Europe), so there were family activities being set up and lots of kids already in the park.

Along the way, we stopped into the mosque which serves a very small Muslim community. About 15% of Bulgarians are Muslims, but most live farther south, near the Turkish border. The Orthodox church was right across the street from the mosque, but we weren't offered an opportunity to see inside.

We also passed a very beautiful and fairly large synagogue which is in excellent condition. But it is now a museum and community center. We were surprised to learn that Bulgaria exported most of its Jews to Black Sea ports and on to Palestine, rather than allowing the Nazis to send them to camps.

Our destination was the Baba Vida Fortress. With the name meaning "Granny Vida," the place doesn't sound very frightening. But it was named for a Medieval princess who refused to marry and instead used her inheritance to aid and protect the people of this area.

Built in the 11th century at the location of an earlier Roman fort, Baba Vida survived an eight-month long seige by the Byzantines who failed to subdue the Bulgar tribes here. It was expanded in the 14th century and only fell to the Hungarians after a protracted battle.

But the Ottomans came along soon after and made Bulgaria a vassal state. They continued to use this fortress until the end of the 18th century. The castle is in remarkably good shape, but the historical displays are very limited. Insurance carriers would have heart attacks at the dangerous walkways and drop offs that are accidents waiting to happen!

After lunch we were herded to a modern, but small concert hall to hear a concert by members of the Sinfonietta Vidin. Supposedly, this is a full-time professional orchestra. Yet, at the same time, our travel company's foundation has been giving them money for "instruments" and other equipment.

Our fellow travelers gave the group a standing ovation, but we thought they sounded like a decent high school or amateur community orchestra. (It's a clue when all of the violins can't bow in the same direction at the same time.)

There was an hour or so after the concert that we had free time, but whether because it was Saturday afternoon or because of the Children's Day holiday, the whole city center was locked up tight. Only a few bars and coffee shops remained open. So we returned to the boat early.

In the afternoon there was a recognition for people who had gone on 20 or more trips with the company. We received a nice gift for our repeat business. Dinner was particularly good this evening, especially dessert, which had a musical theme.

Blue Danube

"Blue Danube" is a famous waltz, and when the light hits it right, the river can look a bit bluish in the distance. Up close, it's nearly a muddy as the Mississippi.

Today we are on the water for the entire day on our way to Bulgaria. As we move east, we changed overnight from "Central European Summer Time" to "Eastern European Summer Time," so we had to set our clocks ahead one hour. We'd say that we lost an hour of sleep, but since we're still not 100% past jet lag, it hardly matters. We're losing sleep every night -- especially Mary, who is struggling with the adjustment more than I.

Since we are not docked, there is no shore program today. The tour leaders have tried mightily to keep us entertained. There was a talk about "Growing Up Under Communism" this morning. The chef organized tours of the ship's galley (kitchen). And the Captain is even letting passengers sign up for visits to the wheelhouse. They also have a couple silly games going on, but we're not playing.

Marker for the site of the Roman bridge, almost 2,000 years old.

But mostly they are keeping us settled with day drinking. There was a Bloody Mary hour in the morning, followed by a beer and sausage snack on the sun deck. This afternoon there is "Tea Time," but it's in the bar where beer and wine are free. "Martini Cocktail Hour" is before dinner. We'll definitely skip karaoke night in the bar after dinner.

We did pass through a narrow cataract in the river where there were steep cliffs on both sides. It was also here that we saw the last remains of the first bridge built across the Danube by the Romans in the second century CE. 

And we saw "The Romania Mount Rushmore" (the river is the border between Romania and Serbia, and later between Romania and Bulgaria, so Romania is on one side). This is a bust of the king who defended this land from the Romans for many years before finally being defeated.

A highlight, however, was passing through "The Iron Gate." This is a huge hydroelectric dam with two sets of locks capable of handling these long river boats. Our boat was fortunate to arrive at just the right time so that we could enter the lock directly and not have to wait in line while the locks cycled for boats ahead.

The Iron Gate dam and locks were a joint project between Yugoslavia and Romania in the 1970s. There are locks on both the Serbian and Romanian sides of the river. And the twelve electric turbines are divided equally, with six providing electricity to each country.

It was fascinating to watch the Captain operate the ship's thrusters from a flying bridge to put the big boat within a couple inches of the lock wall. We passed through other locks later in the day, but the Iron Gate was definitely the biggest and deepest among them.

Because of our good timing with the locks, we arrived in Vidin, Bulgaria some two hours ahead of schedule.

Belgrade

The depressing atmosphere we observed in Novi Sad pervades Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, as well. The grey, communist-era apartments dominate the lower levels, although new glass and steel high rise office buildings (most built by Chinese or Middle-Eastern investors) capture the skyline. 

Many beautiful old buildings from the age of empire remain in various stages of disrepair.

There's a large collection of ships in port here today -- at least four other boats beside our, and several that are larger and carry more passengers. 

Tourists crowd the city center pedestrian area, and there are many shops, bars, and restaurants there. But the natives don't appear to be enjoying these goods and services.

Our city tour spent most of its time visiting Tito's villa, museum, and tomb. There's still a longing for the "good old days" under the communist dictator, even though the guides give lip service to the virtues of democracy and capitalism for the benefit of the American tourists. 

There was an acknowledgement that Yugoslavia was only held together by Tito's strong hand, and that dividing factors had simmered beneath the surface for a long time before his death.

Our guide had little time for churches, other than to point them out as we walked by. But the tour moved so slowly that we had time to run into the Orthodox cathedral very briefly, although there was a baptismal ceremony in progress. As they say, everything that looks like gold in here really is! 

We set out with a group of fellow travelers for a hike to the old Belgrade fortress. But when the rain came, we bailed out and returned to the boat. Our afternoon bike reservation was likewise rained out. But we did get a chance, before dinner, to walk along the River Sava on the beautiful new promenade that is being built by a Middle Eastern investment company.

After dinner, the evening concluded with a Serbian folk dance troop who put on a very energetic show.

Novi Sad

We were still in Croatia when we went to sleep, but awoke this morning docked in Novi Sad, Serbia. It's much more of a different culture than any other place we've been on this trip. The name translates literally as "new garden," but I think that the "Sad" part of the name is more appropriate because we rarely see anyone smile here. Every face reflects Slavic stoicism.

Part of this may be the political situation. We had a morning lecture from a sociologist who tried to explain why Serbia is not part of the European Union. The short answer is that they have a corrupt, undemocratic government that leans toward Russia, while (if this speaker is correct) the majority of the people would prefer a Western democracy.

Apartment building from before WW II.

However, the fact was hardly mentioned that Serbia attacked its neighbors 30 years ago and committed numerous atrocities, and that those neighbors may not yet be ready to let bygones be bygones. In fact, the speaker told us that many Serbs consider that more than 70 of their top politicians and generals were convicted of war crimes as evidence that the E.U. is picking on them unfairly!

Our walking tour with a local guide was overly long and not very exciting. She kept saying how beautiful the city is -- and some things here really are. But even many of the restored 17th century buildings could use some paint, and the Soviet-style buildings left over from before the fall of the Berlin Wall are downright depressing to look at.

The main Roman Catholic Church in the city center.

We had lunch at a restaurant in town, and the food was very good, even if the waiters acted like they hated their jobs. Also, there are some very pleasant parks and a few nice, tree-lined streets. Serbs tend to be tall, slender and generally good looking people. Obesity does not seem to be nearly the problem it is in the U.S., despite a Serbian diet that is heavy on meat and potatoes.

There have been high points in Serbian history, but most of them came prior to World War II: Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia but applied to a technical university here and became a patron of the school later in life, even though they rejected his application for admission. Albert Einstein lived and worked here, and his wife is a native of this city, but he left before completing his theories. Some of Serbia's best known poets are from here, as are a few politicians who were well-known in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Market square.

There's also a very nice bike trail along the river the runs for many miles, and we got to ride part of it by checking out a couple of the boat's e-bikes. These were a new experience for us, but it was a very pleasant ride on a nice bike trail along the Danube.

The clock on the white tower at the fort is right twice a day.

Before the bike ride, however, we took a hike up to the Petrovaradin Fortress. This fort sits on a hill high above the Danube, across the river from Novi Sad. It was built by the Hapsburgs to keep the Ottomans from reaching Belgrade. It didn't exactly work, as the Ottomans went around it and got all the way to Vienna. But the fort itself was never taken.

View from the fort.

Dinner on the boat was not very good this evening. We've had some excellent meals, but tonight's was an exception. Dessert was a great cheesecake, however.

Vukovar

Our boat docked this morning at Vukovar, Croatia. On the opposite side of the river is Serbia. This was a key battleground in the Yugoslavian civil war where the Serbian army first crossed the river to attack Croatia.

War memorial in a park near the Danube River

At great cost, a small, poorly armed brigade of 1,800 fighters held off an army of 30,000 for 87 days, giving the rest of Croatia crucial time to gather arms and train soldiers for the larger war. About 90 percent of the buildings in this city were heavily damaged or totally destroyed. As refugees fled and casualties mounted, this city of roughly 45,000 before the war is now a town of about 22,000.

An unrepaired building remains in the center of the restore town.

In the morning we had a lesson on Slavic languages. Although Croats and Serbs speak close dialects of the same language -- and can readily understand one another orally -- Croatian uses the Latin alphabet whereas Serbian is written in Cyrillic, similar to Russian.

The city continues to seek a developer who will restore this hotel.

We then took a tour of the center city of Vukovar, seeing both unrepaired and fully restored buildings. A number of buildings still have visible bullet holes, and some mortar craters are preserved in the streets.

A stork nests on a restored home.

But a sign that war is in the past is that the storks have returned to nesting on the chimneys of some of the restored homes.

Many buildings have been restored to their 18th century grandeur.

Then we were bused to a small village outside of town for a home-hosted meal. Our hostess was a woman in our age range who was an excellent cook, but with limited English. So the company had hired a young university student to join us as a translator. He was quite good and we enjoyed a lively conversation along with an excellent meal.

The water tower was struck by more than 600 shells.

On the way back, we visited the Vukovar water tower. The tower became a symbol of the resistance because as long as the Croatian flag flew at the top, Croatians knew that the city had not yet fallen. But the Serbian forces fired on it continually. One young Croatian hero climbed the tower each night to raise a new flag. The tower remains, no longer holding water, but still flying the Croatian flag.

The grave of heroes are well attended.

Finally, we visited a cemetery where nearly 1,000 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave after the war. More than 900 white crosses mark that spot. Most of the bodies have been identified and reburied nearby in graves marked "HRVATSKI BRANITELJ" -- Defender of Croatia. But more graves are set aside for the 200 or so yet to be identified, as well as for survivors of the 1,800 who will have the option to be buried here at the ends of their lives.

Nearly 1,000 crosses mark the location of the mass grave.

The circumstances of the civil war and its aftermath are incredibly complex. Of the 1,800 fighters who defended Vukovar, nearly 600 were actually of Serbian descent, while thousand of ethnic Croatians continue to live in Serbia. And still today, more than 30 years later, schools in Vukovar continue to be segregated, with Serb and Croat students attending separate classes.

Budapest redux

Nine years ago we were here on our own, traveling by train rather than by river. So we skipped today's "optional tour" of the Jewish Quarter of Budapest. However, for reasons we don't quite remember, the Great Synagogue was closed when we were here. So we walked there from the boat and took the tour.

This synagogue is the largest in Europe and the second-largest in the world. It seats more than 3,000. Built in the 1850s, it was intended to impress the Christian neighbors while minimizing the differences between Christians and Jews. Thus, it is one of the few synagogues anywhere with a pipe organ and pulpits (two). Used by the Nazis as a stable for horses, it was not fully restored until after the end of Communism.

The tour was quite good, and the synagogue itself is an architectural wonder, even beyond the story of the ghetto and the Nazi deportation of thousands of Hungarian Jews. The tour guide was quite candid about both the complicity of many Hungarians with the Nazis, as well as about the heroes who are counted as "The Righteous Among the Nations" for helping many to escape.

Budapest is known for its baths (a legacy of Ottoman occupation) but rather than pay for the spa, some locals simply find a place where one of the hot springs drains into the Danube.

Back on the boat we had a "controversial topic" talk by a retired university political science professor who had nothing whatsoever good to say about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Her description of how Orban has corrupted democracy in this country, and the resulting impact on the people, sounded frighteningly familiar. It was definitely a cautionary tale!

At lunch we enjoyed "Langos," a traditional local fried flatbread topped with garlic butter, sour cream, and onions. It's sort of a Hungarian pizza, and quite tasty. For dessert, a poppy seed cake that was quite different from any we've had before.

In the afternoon we walked (slowly, at geriatric pace) to the Great Market Hall, which is only about 1,000 yards from our boat. The hall was built in the 1890s according to a design by Gustave Eiffel, who was busy in France at the time, finishing up a tower. But it uses the same sort of wrought-iron structure.

We had been here on our previous trip to Budapest, so we didn't need to stay long. Most of the stalls on the main floor are priced for tourists, so we bought our paprika from the Aldi in the basement, where the locals shop. It was a big purchase: $1.64 U.S.

Our boat finally left port for the first time late this afternoon. First we sailed up river, then turned and went slowly back, with a narration about what we were passing on the way. It would have been a great orientation on the first night, but we got it on the way out of town, instead. We'll sail down-river, through Hungary, and on to Vukovar, Croatia through the night.

On the River

Late afternoon on Friday we made our way to the airport for an overnight flight to Amsterdam, and a connecting flight to Budapest. Upon arrival, we transferred to the Grand Circle Cruise Lines long boat, the MS River Adagio for a cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea.

River cruises are big business in this city, with boats swarming the river and moving hundreds of tourists in both directions. Grand Circle is a partner company with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) with whom we have traveled many times. We were pleased that they showed their appreciation for our repeat business with a room upgrade, a bottle of wine, chocolates, and flowers!

Orientation was a bit sketchy, as we arrived after the beginning of the lecture and suffered information overload. Dinner followed, with too much food and bottomless wine glasses. Jet lagged, we crashed immediately after dinner but were awake way too early in the morning.

Sunday was the first full day, and the boat remained docked on the river in Budapest. We had a bit of breakfast confusion because just as we were getting ready to go to the dining room, a man brought a tray to our room with coffee, juice, and Danish. We didn't realize we had ordered it.

The 120 or so passengers are divided into four groups, each with a tour director. Our leader is Cristian from Romania, who is the "senior" tour director of the four. He has 16 years of experience with the company and clearly knows what he's doing. Each group met with their leader this morning, then the groups boarded four separate buses for a city tour with a local guide. Our group's local guide was very good, but she apologized that she only spoke five languages.

After a large lunch of excellent goulash, we were back on buses once again for a trip to Buda's Castle Hill. We probably trend a bit below the median age for travelers on this cruise, so many paid to ride a funicular to the top of the hill. Others, like us, climbed the 190+ stairs. It really wasn't a bad hike.

The view at the top was excellent. We had already visited the Mattias Church which dominates the hill when we were here in 2017, so we didn't pay to go inside again. But we enjoyed the exterior, as well as walking residential streets near the hilltop in this affluent area.

Back on the boat, it was the Captain's Welcome Drink and introduction of the crew -- probably 50 or so, from cabin attendants to chefs and waiters to engineers and managers. Of course we won't remember the names.

The Captain's Welcome Dinner was rather over the top, with five or six courses and endless alcohol. They say they want us to "eat like kings and drink like pirates." They're working hard to make it come true.

Most passengers rolled themselves directly to their cabins and to bed immediately after dinner. A few went to the lounge for music and dancing. We elected to take a walk along the river and across the Liberty Bridge, which is near where we docked.

The lights were very pretty and the boat traffic was abundant. But we didn't stay out long. Jet lag is still a factor.