IRON GATES GORGE
rich, meaty Hungarian goulasch, flavoured with spicy paprika grown in the fields east of the city. Beyond Budapest, the scenery changes again and the riverside villages get noticeably poorer as the river flows into Serbia. Novi Sad, a bustling university town, lies on fertile plains and is surrounded by farms and vineyards, with mountains in the distance. All tours here include the huge Petrovaradin Fortress, one of the largest fortifications in Europe, often dubbed ‘Gibraltar on the Danube’. Today, the fortress is an arts and cultural centre, and includes an art academy, various museums, cafés and artists’ studios that are open to the public. Belgrade, the capital of Serbia (and of the former
Yugoslavia), is strategically located on the southern edge of the great Carpathian Basin, at the confluence of the River Danube and River Save. It’s not a beautiful city but is full of interesting architecture. Ships’ tours include the Belgrade Fortress, once the city’s military stronghold but today surrounded by the elegant, 19th-century parkland of the
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Kalemegdan citadel – housing Orthodox churches, Turkish baths, Muslim tombs and the fascinating military museum. One of the most important natural wonders of the eastern reaches of the Danube is the Iron Gates Gorge, which takes a day to cross. The gorge forms a natural boundary between Serbia and Romania and is about 90 miles long, flanked by towering cliffs. Where the banks are inhabited at either end of the gorge, it’s like stepping back in time, with rural roads used only by horse-drawn carts, the landscape dotted with tiny cottages, and mountain trails connecting the tiny hamlets. A lot of cruises end at Rousse in Bulgaria, often with a side trip to Bucharest, the Romanian capital, to witness the world’s largest palace, part of the legacy of the dictator Ceausescu. But if you choose to travel on to Constanza, a Romanian holiday resort on the Black Sea, don’t miss a side trip on the Danube Delta, rich with birdlife, fish and mammals, to see a different face of the Danube altogether. ›› For our Black Sea special, turn to page 49
APRIL/MAY 2012 |
One of the most important natural wonders of the Danube takes a day to cross
NOVI SAD
The Petrovardin Fortress is one of the largest
fortifications in Europe
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PHOTOS: ISTOCK/EMILY PAYNE
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