Wok N Roll with us...Bob and Teri Along with Atlas and Kalani

The Golubac Fortress is comprised of 10 different towers protecting three internal compounds, Golubac Fortress was a powerhouse guarding the Danube. Despite its formidable structure, it changed hands many times throughout its existence, but even war and constant attack could not destroy the thick stone walls. Golubac is first mentioned in 1335 as a fortress with Hungarian roots. There is little doubt that the town was established even earlier than that, however,it is unknown whether it was before or during the hostilities between Hungary and Serbia. The explanation for the mystery of the name is found in medieval legends, among which the most famous one tells the tale of an Ottoman town commander who fell in love with a beautiful local girl named Golubana. Having refused to enter his harem, Golubana was cruelly punished – she was chained to a rock to repent. Her defiance to the Ottoman commander led to her death.In her memory the Fortress was named Golubac, while the rock, which protrudes from the Danube to this day, was named “Baba-kaj” (Turkish for “repent”). This was a somewhat short stop for our ship but such rich history we were glad we did not miss.

Golubac Fortress

View of Golubac Fortress as We Sail Away

Belgrade, Serbia August 26, 2023

Welcome to Belgrade, Serbia. We had heard they like to party. Well at 6 am I opened our balcony door and could hear all the loud music playing. More than two hundred floating bars, clubs and restaurants known as splavovi we would later discover line the Danube here.

We began our day with a walking tour in Belgrade. It was not long into the tour when we quickly realized we had crossed into Pro Putin territory. The street vendors even sold coffee cups with Putin's face on them. Past Putin, our walking tour of the city did provide us some historical background and sights. We soon came upon Kalemegdan which the oldest part of the city. There we would walk across a vast park that encompasses Belgrade’s history from Roman times onwards. This is where we encountered the Belgrade Fortress. For centuries, the city population was concentrated only within the walls of the fortress, thus the history of the fortress, until most recent times, reflects the history of Belgrade itself. Throughout our walk to the fortress our guide shared with us many aspects of the history in Belgrade.

Belgrade is the Capital City of Serbia. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It was home to the Vinca culture which flourished from 5500 to 4000 BC. It was conquered by the Romans in the mid-2nd century. Was ruled by various kings and later was frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918 to its dissolution in 2006.

During WWII the Germans carried out several massacres of Belgrade citizens; in particular, members of the Jewish community. Belgrade became the first city in Europe to be declared by the Nazi occupation forces to be cleansed of Jews. When the war ended, Belgrade became the capital of Socialist Yugoslavia and remained so until 2003. In 2003-2006, Belgrade was the unofficial capital of the confederal union of the two states of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, Serbia became an independent state.

After much historical discussion we reached a lookout point where we could take in the vast view of the entire city before walking back through the various Putin wares being sold by vendors to get on our bus to head to our next location. Our next location was the beautiful Church of St. Salva.

The Church of St. Salva is a Serbian Orthodox church. It is said to be built upon the gave of St. Salva. It is the largest Orthodox church in Serbia, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches and it ranks among the largest churches in the world. Its interior cladding with 130,000 sq ft of gold mosaics is nearing completion. This church is incredibly impressive. While at this church we learned that most of the Orthodox churches we would visit on this trip share the same tradition of having no pews and people huddled and standing throughout the entire service. And those services can be as long as 2 hours long. That is a lot of standing.

Lunch was on the ship and later we were headed out once more to have an authentic Bohemian dinner. While the dinner was delicious and the place was fun, I had to wonder if our tour guides were enjoying the evening even more than us. You decide by watching the video.

A bit exhausted, we got back to the ship from our dinner in time to catch the Boeheim dancers that were performing on the ship.

Belgrade Fortress

View of the City of Belgrade

Street in Belgrade

Church of St. Salva

Dinner in Belgrade

Boeheim dancers

Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia August 25, 2023

In Osijek, Croatia we were treated to a short vocal concert in ‘The Church of the Glorious of Mary’(Župa Preslavnoga Imena Marijina). Within the church was displayed all the men that were lost in the Homeland War, which our understanding was a good percentage of the parish. The woman that sang to us had such an angelic voice. Outside of the church we also found it interesting how people park in this town. But their traffic signals are genius. Like I wish they were that way in the US, where they show you how much time is left before the signal is set to change.

From there our tour took us to the main square in Osijek, Croatia. Walking down the cobblestone streets that were built by the Romans we got a sense of a town that has seen a lot of struggles over the years. Throughout the town’s struggles, including over 100 wars, it would not be until 1687 that Osijek was restored to western rule and the city was inhabited by the Habsburg Empire. Between 1712 and 1715, Austrian authorities built a new fortress in the city. In addition to the eight bastions and two gates, city walls were constructed to protect the town from Ottoman threat. The ‘Homeland War’ was fought there between 1991 to 1995. The war was fought between Croatia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia along with the Serb controlled Yugoslav People’s Army. The war ended with Croatian victory with Croatia accomplishing its independence and preserving its borders.

Today, most of the walls have been removed, but the Citadel still stands, and the Old Town is still inhabited by thousands of residents. The former military buildings are occupied by the university, a high school and museums. The people there are very proud of their high school that has a memorial plaque in front of a former student that was a Nobel Prize winner.

Around 30 minutes away our group split up into groups of 10 where we were welcomed into the homes of people that lived in the town of Vukovar, Croatia. There we sipped very strong homemade Brandy, sampled Turkish coffee, homemade pastries and were given the thoughts of the local people on what life was like in Vukovar and Croatia in general. The home that we visited had several animals, most that were just pets.

We returned to the ship for lunch and then we were off to see the Croatian Countryside and visit a small winery that I believe was somewhere east of Šarengrad, Croatia. There we indulged in fresh cheese and bread and tasted four different kinds of wine.

Today was busy but filled with interesting sites and visits with the people from Croatia.

Church of the Glorious of Mary

Parking in Osijek

Traffic Signals in Osijek

Holy Trinty Square Osijek, Croatia

Nobel Prize Winner at Entrace to High School
Osijek, Croatia

Streets in Osijek, Croatia

The Memory and Scars of the War
Osijek, Croatia

Vukovar, Croatia

This guy Enjoys Vukovar, Croatia

There are visible remnants of the war in Vukovar, Croatia too

A Bit of Fun in the Croatian Countryside

Our Gracious Host at the Croatian Winery

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Kalocsa, Hungary August 24, 2023

The Assumption Cathedral in Kalosca was first built in 1050 the first church was built; it was destroyed several times over the centuries. The current church was built in the same location between 1728 and 1774. The two figures at the front of the church are of kings Stephen I and Ladislas I. While here we were treated to a beautiful Organ concert. I love the sound of a beautiful organ when it fills a church.

While in Kalosca we also got introduced to some of the Hungarian Cowboy culture at the Bakodpuszta Horse Farm. Horses and cowboys have been part of Hungarian culture since Central Asian tribes arrived on horseback in the Middle Ages. These horses were trained to lie down in tall grass to hide from battle, and saddles were made to slip off easily so riders could act quickly. Demonstrated to us were medieval horsemanship games, speed, and quick turns that were required while soldiers fought with whips or lances.

The Assumption Cathedral

Bakodpuszta Horse Farm

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Kunta Hora, Czech Republic August 20, 2023

Kutná Hora is located about 32 miles east of Prague. It has a population of about 21,000 people. The town began in the early 13th century as a silver-mining town, and from the 14th century Bohemian coins were minted there. While there we visited the Gothic Cathedral St Barbara, a World UNESCO site, whose construction began in 1388. The original design was for a much larger church, perhaps twice the size of the present building, which never evolved due to the town’s silver mines becoming less productive. Still, the Cathedral is quite impressive with its medieval frescoes and flying buttresses. Another church we visited in Kunta Hora was the Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist. The church was established by king Wenceslas II in the early 1300s and is a UNESCO site. We climbed the unique cantilever staircase where we had wonderful views of both the sanctuary and also above the church, showing the surrounding valley. Also while in Kunta Hora we visited the Sedlec Ossuary (room in which the bones of dead people are placed). The bubonic plague created a situation where there was not enough room in the local cemetery. Around 1400, a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction. Originally the bones where just stacked in the ossuary. In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed to put the bone heaps into order, yielding a somewhat disturbing project. Over 40,000 bones are in the ‘church’ and the idea that they were disassembled to create a sort of ‘artistic’ construction well we found this a bit disturbing. Still I will post a picture as you just can’t get the real idea of what this guy did without at least one picture.