In February Ray Jones described a cruise along the Danube from Budapest to the Black Sea., Having recently emerged from communism and civil war, this area is now a tourist destination.
Eventually entering Belgrade in Serbia, a visit to the hill-top Kalmegedan fortress in Belgrade featured a museum of old tanks, and a war memorial marking a victory over the Turks in 1459! Soon after departure the ship lost power in the 60 mile long Iron Gorges in Romania. There, close to the newly built waterside monastery of Mraconia was an image of King Decebalus of Dacia, carved large in the rock face: defeated by Trajan he committed suicide and his head was displayed in Rome: The gorge was tamed in the 1960s with two large dams, including one of the world's largest locks with a drop of 60m.
In Romania, the Bucharest Peoples Palace, facing down the Boulevard of Socialist Victory, was evidence of Ceascescu's catastrophic of destruction of this old city once known atthe Paris of the East Further downstream, a long coach journey brought us to the Black Sea at Constanta – a large commercial port and resort where the ornate 1901 Casino dominates the Esplanade.
Returning via Bulgaria much evidence remained of an agrarian economy relying on horse power, and some interesting folk crafts and dancing .In Croatia,the most memorable stop was Vukovar, destroyed by Serbian armour in the war of 1991-95, and now being rebuilt. A shell-torn water tower remains as a dramatic memorial to the attack.
Among the varied riverside wildlife were rare Dalmatian Pelicans, Bee-eaters, White and Back Storks, and many Herons.
The horsemen of the Hungarian plains demonstrated their skills with an amazing display of traditional horsemanship, before the final stop in Budapest. The Chain Bridge designed by British engineer William Clarke, and modelled on Marlow Bridge which he also built, was destroyed by the Nazis but, like the exuberant neo-baroque Parliament House, was fully restored in the post-war period.
A 14 day journey of 1,700 miles through five countries – a highly recommended holiday.