nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com,The Danube in Budapest- a River's Lure, & Travelling to Balkan countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia.

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The Danube in Budapest -a river's Lure and travelling to Balkan countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia

The Danube - a River's lure.

A river at the heart of Europe, the queen of Europe's rivers, The Danube, is rich in history and wrapped in legends and mythos, prompting visitors from all over the world. 

Budapest Parliament at night time

So much is Danube tourism's fame that historically The Danube Tourist Commission has chosen various tourist headings in the adverts, including The Danube Moves, The Danube and Europe, The Musical Danube, Danube landscapes, Danube Delights and Royal Danube – River of kings.

Originating in Germany's mountains encircling the Black Forest (so-called due to dense and dark vegetations), the Danube makes its way through cliffs and falls. It swells down into crazy and romantic gorges to flow near grand castles, palaces, monuments, abbeys, and vineyards, bounded by the enchanting panoramas and Baroque grandeur along its banks. Hence a little wonder that a cruise on this great river is a unique and unforgettable experience.

The Danube River is the longest in the EU, the second-longest river in Europe after Russia's Volga. The Danube flows southeast starting from Germany for about 2,850 km (1,770 miles), reaching through or adjoining Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine before draining into the Black Sea. 

The Danube is part of the Trans European Inland Waterways agreement since 1992. These inland waterways are about 3500 km (2175 miles) long, connecting Western and Eastern Europe via The Rhine river and its tributary called The Main from Amsterdam to Black sea. For hundreds of years, one of Europe's most vital water- trade routes,  the Danube makes up part of the EU's The Rhine-Danube Corridor, one of the busiest freight routes.

Arts of the Danube including music, dance, poems, portraits, paintings, and storytelling 

No other river in Europe has inspired so many poets, musicians, artists, and painters to create legendry masterpieces. Art and music accompany this great river routes until the melody reaches the Danube Delta, one of the last paradises for man and nature. The Danube has always been inspirational throughout, more so in Budapest. There are countless arts, poems, memorials and songs, waltz and operas about River Danube in the Hungarian language.

Panoramic view of Danube near Romania

The German poet Friedrich Hölderlin called The Danube a stimulating, melodic river, sometimes bubbling with boorish spirits, while at other phases, dreaming tranquilly. 

Just think of the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, which is probably the most known waltz worldwide! That said, the Blue Danube waltz belongs to the romance of Danube, with no wonder that most Danube river cruises entertainment features the waltz. 

Scores of Hungarian painters were inspired by the river Danube and its surroundings, including the famous Vaszary, who produced unique and vivid portraits of the Danube Promenade and the lively Budapest. The Danube and Budapest still inspire today's artists; we can find several illustrations and images for sale about the Hungarian capital's picturesque sights. 

Romanian Vineyards enroute

Attila Jozsef is one of the most famous and beloved poets of the 20th century in Hungary, known to common-people, politicians, teachers, farmers, and artists alike. Simultaneously, the country has scores of folk songs dedicated to the beloved Danube river, a favourite amongst children and parents. 

The current tourism industry on the Danube: A river at the heart of Europe

The Danube Tourist Commission was founded in 1970 during the communist regime, at a time when no one could predict the fall of the Iron Curtain. Today, participating countries can look back over 50 years of working collectively in a remarkably unbureaucratic manner: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania represent national tourism organizations. Due to joint efforts, the Danube has emerged in recent years as one of Europe's leading tourist destinations. Awoken up interests in south-eastern Europe's countries and unhindered navigation along the river's entire length down to the Danube delta has significantly boosted its tourism. With Romania and Bulgaria ( 2007) and Serbia's (2013) accession to the European Union (EU), the Danube is a European inland waterway in every sense. It passes through an unbelievable variety of changing nature's setting, architectural treasures, and some of central Europe's most exciting and beautiful cities. The Danube also boasts one of the continent's most beautiful bicycle trails, closely parallel to the river's course. On our cruise from Bucharest to Budapest, guests had repeated opportunities to hire out bikes at most of the ports.

Memories of our Danube cruise, from Romania to Budapest, taken in May 2017

We enjoyed the Danube and other linked in Rhine river cruises in the past, stirring up to Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Melk, Bratislava, Basel, Cologne, Heidelberg and Vienna etc. With Eastern European countries added to the cruising itinerary, we booked a cruise originating in Bucharest (Romania), cruising up to Budapest with exclusive stopovers amidst a keen desire to visit the nations the communist rules and to uncover their hidden gems. We flew to the Capital city of Bucharest from London, staying there for a few nights before embarking on the cruise vessel at Giurgiu in Bulgaria.

Bucharest

In the early 20th Century, Romania was called the Little Paris of The East before being engulfed in communism. Romania endured unrest against communist regimes in 1989, resulting in the end of the communist era. Since then, there are progressive economic and cultural changes in the country, full of capitalist hopes and dreams, now being a member of NATO and the EU.

Bucharest is a river-ship destination on Danube River cruise tours in Europe, its governmental, industrial, and financial centre. We had no idea of what to expect of the city or the country. Still, Bucharest was so much more than we anticipated with remarkable friendliness, great food, and cultural exposure, including our first Dracula encounter at Bran Castle, the Dracula's Castle". Bucharest is full of ancient and modern stunning architecture, having the second largest and most expensive administrative building ever built in Europe in communist times. The officials have an enigma on their head as to what to do with this white elephant. My unsolicited bid to the guide was to turn the building into luxury flats! I have included a few pictures of Romania's folk dancers and musicians providing entertainment during our visit.

Folk dancers in Bucharest

We found Dracula related attractions and souvenirs all over Romania; it’s was a bit of fun. Further on reaching Bulgaria, we visited the University town of  Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi and Russe villages, which attracted architects, painters, and historians alike since medieval times.

Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria is famous for its Rose products industry, the invention of yoghurt and its culture, Lactobacillus Bulgaricans and Cyrillic script's introduction to the world in the 9th century. Interesting!!!

Bulgaria is one of the biggest producers of rose oil in the world. There are rose-picking rituals, events to learn about the rose distillation process, art shows and exhibitions. We came across various commercial products with the inclusion of rose oil and even rose jams!

Many Bulgarians assert that yoghurt was accidentally discovered here around 4,000 years ago when nomadic tribes travelled the land carrying the milk in animal skins, creating a ripe environment for bacteria to cause fermentation in producing yoghurt. Bulgaria claims to have introduced the yoghurt to the West and turning it into the popular, commercial product we know today. A Bulgarian scientist identified the essential bacterium Lactobacillus Bulgaricans that caused the milk to turn into yoghurt. The new demand for Bulgarian yoghurt leads to the manufacturers taking over the production at the industrial level. To this day, the state-owned company LB Bulgaricum holds its patent to countries like Japan and South Korea. Bulgarian yoghurt, virtually unknown until about 40 years ago, is now trendy.

The streets of Aranabasi considered the origin of yoghurt.

I consider a difference between a tourist and a traveller. Wherein one is there to have a vacation, the latter seeks cultural enrichment through local experiences. Cruises could be the model for both know-hows. While we drifted from country to country on the riverboat, we found plenty of opportunities to immerse in unique cultures offshores while watching grand and sweeping panoramic views on the shores in the company of our new-made friends and gourmet food and local music etc.

On the deck with our newly made friends and keeping in touch since then.

Balkans: A geopolitical Brief.

The Balkans are complicated! Even its geographic definition is disputed, with most people preferring the term "Southeast Europe" to define the area. The modern-day states which make up Southeast Europe are Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Some of these are excluded from Balkan States lists for geographic or political reasons, so Southeast Europe has become the preferred term. Balkan's cultural and religious history is even more challenging; peace and stability appear distant. To examine just a small portion of time and geography, I will focus on how Yugoslavia came to be and then not to be, having had close political relations with India in the past. Yugoslavia was born after World War 2 from remnants of the Austro–Hungarian Empire in Southeast Europe, with the union of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito from 1945 till his death in 1980 but under progressing communism. 

Tito memorial in Belgrade

The internal boundaries within Yogoslavia ( Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia) became the international boundaries with the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Then there were wars between these newly created countries to attain authorities over each other and between Christians( Croatia) and Muslims( Bosnia) and Serbians who wanted to maintain the autonomy of, above all, being their land in the first place; at least they thought so!

On the way to Serbia, Iron Gate is a natural gorge on the Danube that divides the Carpathian and Balkan mountains, making the formal division between Serbia and Romania. 

The iron Gate gorge at the borders of Romania and Serbia

The name Iron Gate is applied to this 80-mile long gorge system featuring unique rock formations and hillside with old castles' ruins. Some of the oldest human civilizations in Europe lived in this area, so the land exposes remnants of many centuries of different cultures, both clashing and living harmoniously. We waited in the wet, cold and windy weather on our decks to view the Dacian King's rock face named Decebalus, pretty impressive despite the awful weather that day!

Dacian King's rock face named Decebalus, Serbia

Belgrade's guided tour included visiting the city's famous sights, including Kalmegdan park, Terazije, The parliament, city hall, parks and squares, etc., being one of the oldest European cities. In the city, the political relations are still pretty tight between Christian Serbs and Muslim Albanians, including Kosovonians. 

Tennis-grounds where Djokovic practised in Belgrade

Our Serbia knowledge amounted to its reputation as the Bad Boys of Balkan and tennis player Novak Djokovic. There was a lot of graffiti art on the walls, with buildings still bearing the scars of war and the 1999 NATO bombardment. Serbians feel a great sense of injustice to how they were treated by the West during the Bosnian war ( 1992-95) and the Kosovo war ( 1998-99). Over 2500 Serb civilians were killed, decimating the economy, which the country is still recovering from. I found Belgrade very chic among the smart and young generation with an acute sense of fashion, enjoying visits to cafes and bars and shops alike. And a very engaging and amicable lot.

Scenes of Belgrade

Wall graffiti in Belgrade

Thinking of the Danube River, one of the first things to come to mind is probably an image of Budapest, the enormous Hungarian parliament lit up in gold hue from the setting sun. Budapest's spectacular view emerges at night with glittering palaces, monuments, buildings, churches, shopping arcades and city lights that dance on Danube waters. 

The famous Holocaust Shoe Memorial in Budapest

Night-time illuminations  in Budapest

The lighted Chain Bridge, Matthias Church, and the hillsides are among the attractions that mesmerize visitors, especially at night. All Danube River cruises will visit Budapest - it's a significant tourist and cruise hub with tons of things to do. You might call the Grand Market Hall for some souvenirs and classic Hungarian food or visit the sombre yet educational Terror Museum. A refreshing hike up Gellert Hill in Pest gives phenomenal views of the city on Buda. As Budapest is famous for natural and therapeutic hot springs, we had a spa session in the famous Szechenyi Thermal baths which was a unique experience to go thru with.

Famous thermal baths in Budapest

I have included a picture of my handwritten memoirs of this cruise along with. Thank you for browsing my blogs. Please feel free to leave your comments at the bottom of this blog in the comment section or contact me through the contact form and other social web sites marked in the form of their logos.