Confusion reigns! We are now sailing between Serbia and Romania. That shouldn’t be an issue, right? Wrong! Probably 90% of the passengers use their phones or smart watches to tell the time, this is not normally an issue. However when sailing between two countries on different time zones, this does become an issue. Depending on which country has the stronger cell system will determine what time your device shows! Unless tamed, the clock will bounce between time zones.
Regardless of the first world problems thrown at us, we still managed to getup in time for breakfast.We did NOT manage to get up for our passage through one of the largest locks on the Danube, this occurred at 5AM.
We will not be docking until 1PM. The scenery has changed overnight from flat country side either side of us to gorges. The are is generally known as the Iron Gates and can be read about here
Pictures below
Along the way we passed Mraconia Church and Monastery;
Above, the Monastery is to the left, the Church in the centre and the Convent (being renovated to the right). Some of the Monk’s cells are let out for tourist accomodation, and the Monks act as local Guides
We passed a large stone tablet on the Serbian shore, this was in tribute to a Roman ruler who managed to construct a bridge across the Danube 2000 years ago.
The final point of interest along this stretch is a sculpture constructed between 1994-2004 in honour of Decebalus, the last ruler of Dacia around 2000 years ago. It is about 43m (140ft) high and 25m(82ft) wide.
We have bow docked at the Serbian town of Donji Milanovac. As Serbia is the only country on our trip that is not in the EU we have to undergo Customs and Immigration, and carry our passports with us.
After lunch we stepped out on to Serbian soil to be met by an elephant/mammoth!
The only logic I can think of behind this is the fact we were heading off to an archaeological site that fated back to 9000BC.
We took a 20 minute coach ride to Lepenski Vir. This is a location on the banks of the Danube where, in the 1960’s archaeologists discovered the remains of a settlement dating back 11,000 years.
As we got off the coach I noticed a number of people looking at something on the ground It turned out to be a group of mini butterflies. their wing span was around 1 inch
At the entrance were two cottages built about 300 years ago, the modern dwellings!
We then walked along to the main centre which was housed in a very warm glass building. We watched a short video outlining the findings from the ’60s. In the centre there is a depiction of what was discovered. It was not in the original location, due to flooding of the Danube when they created a dam, but all of the artefacts and their positioning were the original articles.
The carvings of the humans are the first known carvings of this sort. The mouth is believed to represent a sturgeon, which was the main source of food for the village. Each house is shaped like a slice of pie, and each one is exactly 1/6th of a circle. It is believed that the shape is derived by the shadow cast by a large rock formation on the Romanian side of the Danube, below.
Outside were two reconstructions of what the archaeologists believed the houses would be like
After the trip we headed off to a new town, Golubac, where the boat had sailed to in our absence. The town is home to a 13th century fort.
Here endeth another day!