Wrapping up: the end

This has been a wonderful trip filled with fascinating  history and many opportunities to meet local people.  Each of the Balkan countries has its own language and currency which has made things even more interesting.  And every country in the region is struggling to find its unique identity and future.  The people here remind us that they have been independent for only a few decades, not centuries, something we need to keep in mind.

The John Lennon Wall was a protest symbol 

During the Communist regime protesters would risk prosecution by painting his face and song lyrics on this wall.  The police would paint over it with white paint, but the protesters would find ways to sneak in and re-paint it.

Wrapping up: part 1

This is our last day in Prague.  We fly home tomorrow.   We have only scratched the surface of what Prague has to offer tourists. In case you ever get here, I'll send a few photos of things we'd recommend seeing.

The Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than any other country in the world,  but give me chocolate any day!

The Charles Bridge, 520 meters long, completed in 15th  C

A skyline view from the bridge 

First installed in 1410, this Astronomical Clock is the third oldest in the world

Prague, part 2

Like other Eastern European countries,  the Czech Republic has had a turbulent history.
● It became the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198
●Czechoslovakia  in 1918
● Czech Socialist Republic (under Communism) in 1948
● the Czech Republic in 1993

Most of our group enjoying  lunch in Prague

We took an optional tour last night to an old barn and blacksmith ' s house that has been converted to a restaurant.   We enjoyed a typical Czech dinner and live entertainment including folk dancers in traditional costumes.

Mel's rewarded for sitting up front

Prague, the Czech Republic part 1

After a long bus ride which included a lovely stop in Bratislava,  the capital of Slovskia, for lunch, we arrived at our hotel in the outskirts of Prague.

A skyline of Prague

Prague is a large city of about 1.2 million.  Since this was a Saturday during the "High Season", it was very crowded with visitors from far and wide.

A must-see destination is Prague Castle.  The size of 7 football fields, it is the largest ancient castle in the
world.

The gate, one of the oldest parts of the castle 

Part of the castle grounds

Inside the castle grounds is the spectacular St Vitus Cathedral.   It is an amazing example of Gothic architecture and was founded in 930 A.D.

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral

Budapest part 2

The Danube dividing the Buda and Pest sides

This is one of the most stunning cities I've seen.  The architecture is amazing and the history captivating. I  hope we'll come back some day.

Our Hungarian guide, Szabi

Budapest, Hungary part 1

I now have another European city I'd like to re-visit. That makes two, with St. Petersburg. This is a large, cosmopolitan city with a diverse population. I'm glad we have 2 days here at the end of the river boat segment of our trip.  Today we leave the boat and go to Prague, Czech Republic for 4 days before flying home. The weather the past few days has been warmer with temperatures in the high 80's with some humidity.

Budapest is a city of about 2 million. It was formerly 2 cities, Buda and Pest, until unification in 1873.  The Danube divides the two parts.  Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe,  it has several World Heritage sites.
it suffered grave destruction during World War II when Russian and Romanian troops killed 38,000 civilians here in 1944.  Thousands of Jews were killed here during the war.  There is a moving monument along the bank of the Danube where they were forced to remove their clothes and shoes before being shot and falling into the river.

Part of a "shoe" monument to the Jews who were murdered along the banks of the Danube

The Romanies (gypsies ) of Eastern Europe

Gypsies make up approximately 10% of the population of Eastern Europe.   The politically correct term for them is "Romanies".  They are among the poorest of the poor and face many kinds of discrimination.  Although most people believe gypsies originated in Egypt, they actually came from India.
When we were in Serbia, a young "Roma" woman in her 20's came to talk to us about her life and aspirations.  As a college graduate with a career, she networks with Romani girls and women to help improve their future and serves as a symbol of what they can become.  These are some facts we learned from her:

●most live in settlements of poor housing outside of towns
●they traditionally have large families as men pride themselves on the number of children they have
●Roma children are discriminated against in school, so many of them drop out
●employers regularly discriminate against Romanies
●alcoholism and domestic violence are very common
●women are subservient to men
●music is an important part of every family

FAMOUS GYPSIES :
Charlie Chaplin
Pablo Picasso
Yul Brenner
and possibly Elvis Presley,  depending on the source of information

Croatia

We had only one day in this country,  but that was enough to see the devastation that war can bring.  The conflict between Croatia and its neighbor Serbia across the Danube in 1991 is obvious.  Whole sections of towns still are vacant, destroyed by grenades or bombing.

City water tower destroyed during the war 

Like Serbia, the population is shrinking as young people try to find work outside of the country where there are jobs and a more stable economy.  The birth rate is less than one child per family.  But there are signs of hope here. We met 43 year old Anita when she was our hostess for our home - hosted lunch.  She is a lab technician and her husband travels around the area working on a mine - sweeping team.

   We also visited a middle school where students sang and performed skits for us.

Anita ' kitchen 

Highlights of Serbia

This complex country was a former region of Yugoslavia.   It was ruled by the Ottoman
Turks for 500 years which is evident in its culture today.  Belgrade has been destroyed and rebuilt 44 times due to various  battles over the centuries.

Belgrade, the capital

 During World War II, Yugoslavia

was united under the strong leadership of Josip Broz Tito.  I have learned a lot about Tito in the last couple of days.  Evidently,  he was a charismatic leader who managed to get favorable attention from both the Communist and "free" world, walking a tight rope no other leader was able to do. This allowed Yugoslavia to enjoy a "velvet" Communism that many of our generation miss here.

Typical apartment building

After Tito's death in 1980, the Yugoslav confederacy broke apart with each region declaring its independence, often with bloody civil wars.  The scars of the 1990's are still open wounds in many people's minds and the physical evidence is easy to see.

Because the vast majority of people live in apartments, towns/cities have lovely green spaces

Highlights of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is about the size of Tennessee.   Its population is 7.8 million.  Like most former Communist countries in Eastern Europe, it has struggled to stabilize its economy. It is famous for its rose oil products.  Its government is a Parliamentary Democracy.

Items made from roses

Stork nest on power pole. Nests were all over this town.  See the baby behind the wires?

Small town shopping area

Canters who performed for us in The Church of the Nativity of  Christ, an Orthodox Church built in the 15th -17th centuries 

Food on board

Breakfast

Breakfast is always a huge buffet with hot and cold items, an omlett station and at least one special item that is prepared individually.  Luckily, there's a walking track on the top deck and a small gym as well.
Attire on board is casual.  But people tend to dress up a bit for the Captain's Welcome Dinner and for the Farewell Dinner.  

Usual attire on and off the boat

Welcome dinner

Our life on board

The library

Our river boat is the MS River Adagio. It is owned by Grand Circle Cruise Line. Built in 2002, it is 410 feet long and 38 feet wide.  It weighs 1654 tons. It has 82 cabins and can go 9.7 mph upstream and 13.4 mph downstream.

Executive chef

   

In the dining room

    

Our room ( beds pull down over the couches)

The bar

Final notes on Romania

●population about 22.5 million
●average salary $500-600/month
●10% unemployment
●10% of the population are gypsies (known as Romanies)  By the way, did you know that gypsies originated in India?
●its government is a democratic republic
●its name and language are direct "descendents" of the Roman influence between the first and third centuries A.D.
●it has the only Romance - based language in Eastern Europe
●literacy rate is 98
● religion is about 87% Greek Orthodox

The harbor at Constanta,  an early Roman port and still an important strategic military location on the Black Sea

Roman ruins from 200 A.D. at Port of Constanta

"Dracula ' s" Castle

Bran Castle is known as the infamous location of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula".  

It was the headquarters of the son of Prince Vlad Dracul who became known as Vlad the Impaler in his bloody rampages against the Ottoman Turks.

 It is now the #1 tourist attraction in Transylvania.

Entrance to the castle 

Entrance hall