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Published: September 7th 2023
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On Saturday we arrived in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. This added a new country to our tally. In the morning we joined the Panoramic Belgrade tour. This first took us to the Fortress which overlooks the Confluence of the Danube and the Sava rivers. Belgrade means white city and it derides its name from the Fortress which has a white tower. It has been there for centuries but the remains now are mainly from the 18th century. Most of it now is a public park.it has great views and a Military museum, also the zoo is located within the park.
After exploring many aspects there we were driven around the city to see many of the sights of this now modern place. We went then to the large Orthodox church of St Sava. This is huge and beautifully decorated. It was only completed about 10 years ago. Inside the gold tiles and exquisite icons make it an awesome sight. We then went to the main pedestrian mall where we had some free time. We spent it having a beer as all the walking made us want to sit down.
Back on the boat we rested for an hour before venturing
onto the dock for a special meeting. 5 years ago we had travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway and in our group was a young couple from Serbia, Dragana and Aleksandar. I had kept in contact and let them know when we would be in Belgrade. They, and their two children, drove from NoviSad to meet us. What a great reunion we had. Emilija, their daughter is now 13 and their son, Simeon, a very cute 3 year old. We walked to a local restaurant they had booked and had a terrific lunch together. Emilija's English was excellent and Simeon was very well behaved. They brought us a gift of Serbian wine and two fridge magnets. We managed to pay for the lunch.
Then we walked up to the main pedestrian mall and stopped in the Student Park near the University where the children had a great time in the playground . There was much reminiscing and catching up and by the time we walked back to the ship I was exhausted. But it had been a fabulous day which all of us enjoyed.
That night there was a display of Serbian folkloric dancing which was entertaining.
The next day we
arrived in in Golubac, still in Serbia. After breakfast we left for the short walk to the Golubac Fortress. This was built in Roman times and was added to and improved in the Medieval ages and is now preserved as a relic of those times. The guides were dressed in appropriate costumes. We went through what would have been a drawbridge and into the main room where there were artefacts from excavations. Then we were given free time to explore. My back was playing up so I did not visit all the towers and was soon heading back to the ship. Interesting but tiring with the cobblestones making some of the walking treacherous.
In the afternoon we sailed along the river and through what is known as the Iron Gates. These are narrow gorges, carved out by the river slicing through the Carpathian Mountains. They built a dam here in 1972 which made this stretch more navigable and less treacherous. We sat up on the sun deck and listened to the commentary as we sailed along. Quite spectacular. A huge likeness of Decebalus is carved into one of the cliffs overlooking the river near the city of Orsova.
That
night after dinner, we had a fun game called Majority Rules in the Lounge. We managed to come third with just the two of us. Good entertainment though!!
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