Iron Gates

 Today is going to be a stellar day.  A fortress visit, an on ship Balkan barbecue, an afternoon at sea (can we all it that if we are just cruising down the river?) and the IRON GATES.

All That Glitters Is Gold

 

After an overnight cruise, we arrived in Belgrade Serbia. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and it's largest city. It is also one of the oldest continually occupied cities in Europe. They have found artifacts from around the sixth century B.C. That said, because of Belgrade's location, it has been fought over, conquered and architecturally destroyed many times over. Belgrade sits on the confluence of the Danube (which I have been floating down) and the Sava Rivers. Hence the name of our morning outing - “The City By Two Rivers”

An Afternoon In Novi Sad

 After a three-hour cruise we arrive in a new country, another stamp in my passport. We have landed in the Serbian town of Novi Sad. During the early twentieth century, Novi Sad was the capital of Serbian culture which earned it the name “The Athens of Serbia”. Almost every Serbian poet, novelist, publisher lived in the city at some point in their career. Nowadays, it is Serbia's second largest cultural center (after Belgrade) and is home to one of the biggest music summer festivals in Europe. I would have really liked to go to the festival but even is the timing was right, we only had an afternoon to wander the city.