Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani: Traveling Down the Danube August 27, 2023

Our boat normally would relocate while we were sleeping so our river travel day in the daylight down the Danube was a nice change. The sights were beautiful and we were glad to do these particular locks during daylight hours and also to be able to see the rock sculpture of Decebalusit. At 131 Feet the rock sculpture of Decebalusit, located near the city of Orșova, is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe and it took 10 years (from 1994 to 2004) for a team of 12 sculptors to complete. It can be seen from the river at the Iron Gates, which form the border between Romania and Serbia. While impressive, to us it still seemed like a bit of a crazy way to spend over a million dollars even if you are a billionaire. The project was funded by Iosif Constantin Drăgan, the founder of the company ButanGas. So who is Decebalus? He lived from 87 – 106 AD and was the last Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two different emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Roman invasion in the reign of Domitian, securing a period of independence during which Decebalus consolidated his rule. To the Romanians, Decebalus is considered a national hero.

The area along the Danube River of the Iron Gates is beautiful and experiencing the locks close up was interesting as well. The construction of a major dam on the Danube River at the Iron Gates was a joint venture between the governments of Romania and Serbia. At the time of completion in 1972, it created the 10th largest hydroelectric power stations in the world, with the benefits being distributed to both Romania and Serbia. Passage through the locks is at no cost, paid for from the electricity that is produced. The boats are anchored to floating pillars and our boat descended about 100 feet between the two different locks.