On The Waterfall Trail

 

I am not a fan of mountain driving especially with a 36-foot fifth wheel trailing behind me. Narrow curvy, curvy roads with nothing but big ditches on each side. Of course those ditches are only there when there are no cliffs along the way that you can fall off of. I am not even going to mention the massive uphills or the mega downhills that I had to deal with. I almost felt bad for the lines of cars behind me, because of course there is no passing on these roads and I'm probably only going 25 mph. Oh well, my survival instincts are strong. Those poor cars are just going to have to deal with it.

Rock Garden

 I was planning on spending the whole winter in Minnesota. Then it got super cold. Then it snowed and snowed. I said, I give up – I'm outta here. I fired up the old camper, loaded it with food, wine and other essentials and headed out. No more ice and cold for this girl.

We Ran Out Of Water

 

We Ran Out Of Water!!!!! Many parts of the world have been experiencing drought conditions and the Danube in Europe suffered also. Captain Rado told us that we had to stop our journey 60 miles from our scheduled end point. AmaWaterways were quick to make alternative plans for us for our last day on the cruise which lead to one of the more interesting tour days of the trip.

Another City, Another Fortress

 

We cruised at night and ended up 152 miles down the river in Vidin, Bulgaria. On board our ship, there is a fitness center and a 'Wellness Host' who has exercise classes during the day. His name was Pedrag. Today, an announcement came over the loud speakers. “Hello, this is Lonely Pedrag, we will have a Morning Stretch in the lounge” It cracked me up – evidently not too many people have been joining his classes. Poor Pedrag. 

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.