From On Board: AmaWaterways on the Eastern Danube. River Fortresses

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You could be forgiven for thinking these Balkan countries were all built around massive defensive fortresses. When the locals weren’t fighting off the constant Ottoman threat, they were in conflict with each other and their neighbours.

You’ll recall the first such castle was the hilltop fortress at Veliko Tarnovo. Then the strategic riverside emplacement at Vidin. Then another at Golubac before the massive mid-city complex at Belgrade at the junction of the Danube and Sava rivers. Buda Fortress in Hungary will no doubt be another such ancient structure.

Clearly, these rivers, the Danube in particular, were points of such value that thousands of men were expended to secure them. A string of despotic rulers fought back and forth over the centuries, systematically conquering, destroying and rebuilding these prominent strongholds. 

Golubac in Serbia (main pic above), with its ten towers, was established in the 1300s and protected the medieval village of the same name and was once the site of a Roman settlement. With temperatures in the low single digits and the air a damp and misty accompaniment, the medieval gloom was not hard to imagine. 

Alighting in Belgrade in similar weather, we toured the massive Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Sava, almost as long under construction as Barcelona’s famous cathedral. Some finishing touches are still being applied after construction began in 1935, and it will rank among the world’s largest churches.

Nikola Tesla, a man famous for his electrical inventions and for his stolen intellectual property, is remembered at a tiny museum in central Belgrade, where several of his revolutionary machines are displayed.

Fittingly, the evening concluded with tastings of Serbia’s famous Slivovitz, a potent fruit brandy certain to warm the chilliest cockles.

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Our 7-night ‘Festive Delights’ Danube River cruise winds through Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, culminating in Budapest.

For more information or to reserve an AmaWaterways river cruise and land package, contact AmaWaterways on 1800 867 126 (AU) or 0800 005 636 (NZ) or visit amawaterways.au or amawaterways.nz.

ExpeditionCruising.com’s publisher, Roderick Eime, is sailing as a guest of AmaWaterways on assignment for Luxury Travel Magazine.

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