Marilyn's Odyssey: (Backup) Serbia

As we continued our journey up the Danube we had to pass through the two Iron Gates which refer to the huge locks and damn system that controls the water flow and allows for ships to enter the picturesque set of gorges through which the Danube River flows separating Serbia from Romania. Built in 1971. The locks raised the level of the water in the 130 km long gorge 35 meters and 25,000 people from 17 towns had to be relocated. Quite a sacrifice for many. Travelling through the twisty gorge with lush mountains on either side dotted with the occasional small village is quite pleasurable..a few special sites awaited us as well. On one riverbank right at water level is a weathered marble Trajan’s Plaque placed in AD 101 in honour of the Roman Emporer to commemorate the construction of the Trajan road along the Danube which was quite a feat in those days. The plaque had to be moved up the bank when the locks were built. At one bend of the river is an old monastery watched over by a giant head of Deceballusus,last prince of the Dracians, a 40 meter high relief carved into the rock. Near the end of the gorge built high on the rocks just as the sun was setting we came upon the Gobubac castle which is starting to crumble but still looks quite impressive with its nine massive towers joined by a ring of walls.

We visited Belgrade,which has been the capital city of Serbia since 2006. Belgrade has been bombed many times but is very tenacious and keeps returning from the assaults. The NATO bombings during the Kosovo war in 1999 caused considerable damage some of which is still visible. As the Serbians partially blame Clinton for this they were relieved that Trump won! We visited the Kalemegdan Fortress which is situated high above the city with the original structures dating back to the end of the first century. The views of the city were outstanding. We visited St Sava’s Temple which is the largest temple of the Serbian people. Sitting high on a hill it can be seen from all over the city. The one outstanding feature of this temple is that the interior is totally unfinished so the church is not used, only visited from the outside. A stroll through the pedestrian area revealed many more lovely old buildings.

The afternoon took us on a visit to the Royal Palace.where we were personally greeted by Crown Prince Alexander and Princess Katherine . They spoke to us about there lives and what it was like in Serbia and we even got the chance to speak with them personally. It really was special and even though we toured the palace it seemed anticlimactic after that.

Our final visit in Serbia was to Novi Sad which is situated on the river and is very picturesque. This city was almost totally destroyed during the 1848 revolution so 19th century architecture dominates the city centre. It was also deviated by NATO bombardment during the Kosovo war in 1998 which left it without all three of its bridges. Our guide was 19 at the time and told us of hearing constant bombing for weeks on end. A life we cannot begin to imagine. A visit to the Petrovaradin Fortress provided beautiful views of the city but the highlight was the visit to the pedestrian part of town and to be able to stroll amongst the beautiful buildings and just soak up the atmosphere. All and all we enjoyed the people of Serbia and learned so much about what this country has been through.