Slipping through Serbia

The Republic of Serbia is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads between Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Serbia is landlocked and borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro to the west; it also claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, is one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents.

 Serbia is on the way from Serbia to Germany. Here's an example of the migrants making their way north. They use public parks as way-stops.  

    

 One of the important local sites is the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace. The Royal Palace was built between 1924 and 1929 with the private funds of His Majesty King Alexander I(the grandfather of HRH Crown Prince Alexander). The Royal Palace was the home of King Alexander I and King Peter II (the father of Crown Prince Alexander). Today The Royal Palace is the home of Crown Prince Alexander and his family.



For me the basement rec-room was the highlight. This is the ultimate pool room.

Some of the other rooms were also very interesting.

I opt'd out of the ship's city tour and took a walk around town. I was rewarded with a 20 minute parade of motorcycles. It was great to see all the different bikes.

 

  

I made my way to the Tesla museum. The Nikola Tesla Museum is dedicated to honoring and displaying the life and work of Nikola Tesla. The museum holds more than 160,000 original documents, over 2,000 books and journals, over 1,200 historical technical exhibits, over 1,500 photographs and photo plates of original, technical objects, instruments and apparatus, and over 1,000 plans and drawings.

 One of the displays includes an amazing electrical discharge that lights up florescent lights held by the visitors.  

Later on, I walked to the town square to meet Lynne and Louise. On the way I ran into a local artist.

  He said that he loves Americans but hates the US Government. I had to agree with him.

 The pedestrian walkway was filled with sights to see.

On my walk back to the ship I spotted this sign.

             I had to stop in an check it out.

I had a beer on the back patio of this place, looked through the open window and spotted this guy cooking. We chatted for awhile as he prepared the house specialty, some sort of flat bread with creme fraiche and cheese. It looked great. A few minute later, the cook took a break on the patio and brought me one of these things on the house!. Wow, what a great cultural exchange.

 The girls went on the bus tour and shot this image. It is a building that was damaged by a NATO bomb in 1999. Their road map was not quite right and they hit this apartment building by mistake....whoops.  Sorry about that.

Roaming Romania - Part Deux- Dracula

I 'vont to suck your blooood.

Count Dracula, a fictional character in the Dracula novel, was inspired by one of the best-known figures of Romanian history, Vlad Dracula, nicknamed Vlad the Impaler, who was the ruler of Walachia at various times from 1456-1462. 

Born in 1431 in Sighisoara, he resided all his adult life in Walachia, except for periods of imprisonment at Pest and Visegrad in Hungary. Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476/77), was a member of the House of Drăculești, a branch of the House of Basarab, also known, using his patronymic, as Vlad Drăculea or Vlad Dracula. He was posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler.

His father, Vlad II Dracul, was a member of the Order of the Dragon, which was founded to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. Vlad III is revered as a folk hero in Romania and Bulgaria for his protection of the Romanians and Bulgarians both north and south of the Danube. 

As the cognomen "The Impaler" suggests, his practice of impaling his enemies is part of his historical reputation.[2] During his lifetime, his reputation for excessive cruelty spread abroad, to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by Vlad's bloody reputation.
Here's Lynne and Louise at the Snagov Monastery. About 40 kilometers north of Bucharest, on an island in the middle of Snagov Lake, lays the monastery with the same name. Built around the time of Vlad the Impaler's grandfather, the monastery has become famous as the burial place of the infamous prince of Walachia who would become the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Here's Lynne looking at Dracula's tomb.



Basarbovski Rock Monastery

The Basarbovski Rock Monastery “St. Dimitrius Basarbovski” is situated in the valley of Rusenski Lom river, near the village of Basarbovo, 10 km from the town of Ruse.



The rock monastery was established during the existence of the Second Bulgarian Empire, but for the first time its name was mentioned in the Ottoman Tax Register of 1431.

For some time during the 19th century the monastery was left uninhabited, but in 1937 the priest Hrisant of the Preobrazhenie Monastery settled here, and he set a new beginning of the existence of the religious settlement.

Here's a gal and her son, she was with the whole family to present him for Baptisim.


 The priest needs to carry water to the top for the Baptism.

 
Here's a pic of the whole family. They took the day of to celebrate.

Our tour guide describes the icons found in this old church.

On a walk around the town, I spotted one of the very few beggars on he street. I love her sense of style.

That's it for now.

Browsing Bulgaria

Located in the southeast part of the Balkans, Bulgaria has a diverse topography. The north of the country is dominated by the vast lowlands of the Danube Plain with the river Danube defining the border with neighboring Romania.


The south of the country, by contrast, is dominated by highlands and elevated plains while, in the east, the Black Sea coast attracts tourists all year round.



Our first stop in Bulgaria is Russe. Russe is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria and is located in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, Bulgaria is known for roses and there were flower markets all over the city. Here's a gal showing off here bouquet. The roses are grown for their oil.  It takes 3-6 tons of petals to produce a
litre of rose oil.  A kilo of rose oil costs $4000!!!.  Bulgarian rose oil is the preferred choice for
fine perfumery.

There are lots of pensioners hanging out in the city center. Some are being productive. Here's an old gal knitting baby booties.  Guess what we bought?

There are also a few unique characters on the square.  

The country side is filled with wild lilacs. The roads are lined with them.

One of the really unique attractions of the area is the Church in the Rock, St. Dimitrii of Basarbovo Monastery. The Basarbovo Monastery is the only active rock monastery in Bulgaria.

 The most famous inhabitant of the monastery was St. Dimitrius Besarbovski who was born in 1685 in the village of Besarbovo, and spent his entire life in the holy monastery. After his death the monk was buried in the village church, but during the war between Russia and Turkey in 1768-1774 his relics were moved to Bucharest in the church St. Konstantin and St. Elena where they have been kept to the present day.

On our second stop in Bulgaria- Vidin-  We visited the Belogradchik Fortress. The  Fortress is situated at a distance of 1.5 km from the town of Belgradchik among the renowned Belogradchik rocks.

The fortress has existed since Roman times. In 1st – 3rd century AD the Romans built roads in the new provinces of the empire on the Balkan peninsula, as well as fortresses to guard them.

The rock formations are very interesting.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped in the small town of Vidin. Here is an a abandoned Jewish Synagogue that is a landmark of the town.

 Here's our ship captain leading a small group back to the ship.

The River Princess was waiting for us after the walk.

That's it for now.....

Roaming Romainia

From Istanbul we flew to Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial center.

It is located in the southeast of the country on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.

Known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Époque buildings and a reputation for the high life (which in the 1900s earned its nickname of "Little Paris"), Bucharest, Romania's largest city and capital, is today a bustling metropolis.
























Revolution Square - Bucharest

The Revolution Square
The square gained worldwide notoriety when TV stations around the globe broadcasted Nicolae Ceausescu's final moments in power on December 21, 1989.

 It was here, at the balcony of the former Communist Party Headquarters, that Ceausescu stared in disbelief as the people gathered in the square below turned on him. He fled the angry crowd in his white helicopter, only to be captured outside of the city a few hours later.

 In the local city park, I found a few pensioners enjoying life

Here's a shot of a flower lady trying to sell a bunch of tulips.

 Here is my new best friend Gabriel.

Built by Communist Party leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, the colossal Palace of Parliament is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. It is an immense structure that took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build, and cost billions. It has 12 stories, 1,100 rooms, a 328 ft-long lobby, and four underground levels including an enormous nuclear bunker. Started in 1984, the dictator intended it to be the headquarters of his Communist Government, but it was still unfinished when he was executed in 1989. Today it houses the seat of Romania’s Parliament and is an international conference center.

That's it for now.

Can you say Çanakkale?

On our way to Troy, we stopped into Çanakkale, a little Turkish seaport town on the southern (Asian) coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point.

Guys selling the days catch.

Like Istanbul, Çanakkale has territory in both Europe and Asia. Ferries cross there to the northern (European) side of the strait. It's easy to get around town if you are not in a hurry.

The city is the nearest major town to the site of ancient Troy. The "wooden horse" from the 2004 movie Troy is exhibited on the sea-side promenade.

We stopped into a little restaurant for lunch. I had some kind of fish, yum.

Here's the guys in the kitchen.

We walked along the water front an came upon a parade for the opening of a frozen yogurt shop.

What a fun little town !