DANUBE CRUISE IN SERBIA

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I was always wondering why would they lie about Danube being blue, and where is it blue? Do not get me wrong, I simply love Danube. In the fact we have it in Belgrade, but it is not blue. However, after going to a Danube cruise in Serbia, I found out where exactly is this river blue. Lets go to Danube cruise in Serbia.

About the Danube cruise and the hotel:

One weekend in August I went to a trip through Serbia. Hotel in Kladovo, Aquastar Danube, is the organizer of this cruise and its duration is 3 full days. Travel includes a boat ride from Belgrade to Kladovo and 2 nights accommodation, and bus ride from Kladovo back to Belgrade. Also, this includes half board in the hotel and lunch on a boat. They also organize excursions, so there were some planned for 2nd and 3rd day.

The Adventure starts every Friday from May to October, when boat Aquastar Maxim begins its ride from confluence of Sava and Danube in Belgrade to Kladovo. Duration of the boat ride is 9.5 hours, but in my personal opinion it is worth every second and every penny. During the cruise you can enjoy the sun, food, drinks, tour guides, fun facts as well as the ride itself. You can also see and take a shot of a lot of important historical and cultural sights like fortresses Ram, Golubac and Smederevo, archeological site Lepenski vir, Big and small cauldron in Djerdap gorge, also Decebal statue and Tabula Traiana.

 

 

DANUBE CRUISE DAY ONE

In the evening on the first day we arrived to the beautiful 4 stars hotel in Kladovo, Aquastar Danube, right on time for an excellent dinner! The rooms are extraordinary and the bed is looking like a huge cloud, believe me you will feel sleepy the moment you see it, not to mention even when you try it. You will not want to leave. So rest and relaxation is guaranteed. Food is also impeccable so you can enjoy national and international cuisine specialties. There is also inside and outside pool, as well as inside and outside bar where you can enjoy in the Danube view and its blue color.

 

 

DANUBE CRUISE DAY TWO

On second day you can go on excursions to visit Djerdap Hydro-electrical Power Plant and Archeological museum or Rajacke pimnice and Vratna gates. Otherwise, if you really just want to relax, I suggest a walk around Kladovo, near Danube, chilling on the city beach, enjoying SPA in hotel, or beautiful view from the bar. Since Serbia does not have a sea, we call Danube our sea, and believe me when you sea that blue color and wideness you will know what I am talking about, the feeling is like you are somewhere abroad and not in a small town in Serbia.

 

 

DANUBE CRUISE DAY THREE

On the third day after breakfast we are heading towards Belgrade by bus. We hit the road with several stops in Lepenski vir, famous archaeological site from Mesolithic and Neolithic era which was moved from its original place due to the flood. We stopped for lunch at Ethno Home Kapetan Misin Breg. After the lunch we went to another archaeological Roman site Viminacium.

 

 

I would recommend this kind of adventure to everyone, because there is so many beautiful sights to see during this 3 day trip. The travel itself is not tedious at all, because everything is very well-organized. If you need more info on the tour itself you can find them on the site, as well as all info on hotel, boat and excursions. If you are interested to find out more on the sites on Danube you can visit DanubeVirtualMuseum.

 

 

Shortly on the historical and cultural sites while on Danube cruise:

Smederevo fortress – view from Danube

well-known also by a name Smederevac, as despot Đurađ Branković celled her. It lies on a confluence of rivers Jezava and Danube, and dates from 15th century. The fortress is a shape of triangle and consists of 2 parts – Big and Little town. Little town has 6 towers and it is a castle where despot lived with his family. Big city was built a little bit later so that people could hide there from the Turks.

Afterwards, 19 more towers were built, and the fortress was surrounded by water. Fun fact is that the fortress was built in purpose of making Smederevo the new Capital, instead of Belgrade. Also, during the construction of this part, which lasted only several years, a lot of workers died from exhaustion. That is why people blame depot’s wife for that tragedy giving her a nickname Damned Irene. The fortress was one of the greatest middle ages buildings in Europe, but her aesthetics were physically broken during the WWII when the bomb blew out bigger part of the fortress and the city itself.

 

 

Ram fortress – view from Danube

is one of the oldest fortifications in Serbia, even though the year of the construction is unknown. In written history she was mentioned in 12th century for the first time and in the battle between Vizantia and Hungaria. However the first legend about how this place had been build is connected to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. It is also known that great leader Attila the Hun was also stayed for a while in this place. The base of the fortification is rectangular and it has 5 towers, and it has been reconstructed by Turks to be the strongest artillery fortification.

 

 

Golubac fortress

better known as Golubac or Golubac city has been built in middle ages. It is located at the very beginning, at the entrance in Djerdap gorge. The fortress consists of 3 parts: front, back and upper town. And the name meaning is pigeon. The best known legend about this fortress is connected to the most beautiful girl in won named Golubana. Turkish pasha was in love with her so he offered her a hand in marriage.

Unfortunately, Golubana was in love with someone else so she refused. Pasha took the girl on the rock nearby and gave her the ultimate choice. He offered her either to live but as his wife, or to stay tied to a rock until she dies. The girl did not want to repent so that rock is called BABA-BAJ which on the Turkish language means to repent. The sailors say that she was eaten by the birds and that hear sad cries even today. The second legend is connected to despot Djuradj Brankovic and his wife Byzantine princess Jelena which was held imprisoned in the tower and was feeding pigeons.

 

 

DJerdap Gorge

is the longest and biggest in Europe. It is composite and ascendant valley that consists out of 4 gorges and 4 pits. Apart from this it also has sites such as archeological site Lepenski vir, Golubac city, Traian bridge and Tabula Traiana. After the construction of hydroelectric power plant that made the level of the water rise and so the Djerdap lake was made. The gorge represents a board between Serbia and Romania so from Serbian side it is called National Park Djerdap, and from Romanian side park Iron gates.

 

Cauldron gorge is constriction in Djerdap gorge and it consists of 2 little gorges named Big and Small cauldron. There you can also see some magnificent sites such as Decebalus statue and Traian’s plaque. Decebalus was the last king of Dacia, who was defeated by Roman emperor Traian. The statue is over 40 meters tall and it is one of the biggest statues in Europe. Also it is considered to be a defender of Iron Gates. Another fun fact is that both Tabula Traiana and Lepenski vir needed to be moved due to a construction of the power plant.

 

Lepenski vir

is one of the biggest and most significant archaeological sites from Mesolithic and Neolithic eras from the Stone age. The fishing and hunting settlements there had a planned construction before 8 to 10 thousand of years ago, which archaeologists found in the 60s of last century.

 

 

Viminacium

is archaeological park which represents roman city that had over 30 thousand of residents. It dates from before new era and in which was born a large number of Roman leaders. Nevertheless, at the same spot in 2009 and 2012 they found mammoths skeletons. Now there is Mammoth park as well. Although the first remains of the city were found in the 19th century, Viminacium was opened in 2006. The site is still growing and the remains of a great cultures are being discovered in this place.

 

My greatest recommendation to everyone who still have not visited this part of Serbia – go to a Danube cruise. Or visit by bus or car, you will not repent in which every way you choose. Travel to these destination they are worth the trip. And 2 or 3 days is more than enough to see everything mentioned.

Happy travelling my dear adventurers!

photos by: Dzoli