The Iron Gates

Today, at last, from this entire trip, was our first day of rest!  We had scenic cruising through the Iron Gates. The day, though, started early.  We were up at six if your phone cell was picking up the Serbian side of the river seven if it liked Romania better.  We set a wake-up call for seven but found ourselves up earlier like we have needed to do all along.  My phone was picking up Romania and Elva’s liked Serbia, so it is a good thing we had a call set even though we cancelled it on our way to get our first caffeine of the day!

There was a noticeable difference because out of the starboard side windows the road was busy with people going to work.  On the port side, they must have all been sleeping in Serbia.  About 7:30 Serbian time we approached the first of the Iron Gates.  We were early but had to take that time or would have had to wait for one of the down river boats to pass through the lock at the Iron Gate I.  I had wanted to be sure to be up in case of this happening so was glad we were.  I had staked out a table inside at the front of the ship on the AquaVit Terrace and we pretty much camped there most of the day.

First view of the Iron Gate I across the Danube.  Tito will gladly take credit for this and it did do much good for the country.

It was very cool to see how when the gate lowered we could already see the water to which level we were raised.

We can now see that we have reached lake level.

With the barrier gone we can move forward.  It took about an hour to progress all the way through.

 A very funny thing happened while we were traversing the dam.  This little guy, really a very big beetle, joined us on deck.  Judging by the standard width of a board you can tell he was big, not as big as ones in the Amazon, but big enough!

Can you tell that his feet are dragging cushion stuffing or some such along with him?  I mentioned to Dimi that someone might step on hm and that would be nasty.  By the time Dimi got free to remove it, Mr. Beetle had disappeared.  Awhile later, there he was again.  So again I told Dimi who grabbed a copy of the USA Times, a little onboard one sheet newspaper, to scoop him up.  As he was trying to get it onto the paper he said, "If it touches me I am going to scream like a girl!"  A couple of times he almost had it and then it would slide off.  Ernie came over and said he would just pick it up.  He did, and flung it away - right into the glass!  It bounced back and Dimi jumped away.  Ernie tried to pick it up again and after a couple of attempts, once again flung it.  Over the glass and right into the cement side of the dam!  We laughed so hard at the poor little bug sliding into the churning water!  Everyone applauded and congratulated Ernie.  His friend, Larry, said that he should be given a Citation of Bravery by the captain for saving the ship.  The joking continued.  And from then on Ernie became know by every one as the Beetle Hero!


The lock was interesting as I think they all are.   We entered the first one which raised us about 16 or 20 feet.  Then the gate opened and we entered the second chamber to complete the rise about another 12 feet to the Lake of the Iron Gate.  The Iron Gates refers to the 134 mile long series of four gorges separating the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains.  We would be passing along this lake most of the day and into the narrowest stretch at the Kazan Gorge.  The Serbian name means whirlpool and in the 1^st century Trajan built canals to ease the flow.  One of the carved monuments honors this feat.  These were the only calming efforts until the opening of the dam in 1972. The damming of the river Danube to become a lake, it was indeed treacherous. 

National parks are on either side of the lake to protect the environment. There are the 4 gorges, 2 canyons, 3 valleys, and over 1,000 caves here.  Many wild animals roam the coniferous forest including lynx and jackals.  The river has an abundance of sturgeon and salmon free for the taking.  And some were fishing today.  More were speeding along in their motor boats or small boats were bringing tourists for an impressive view.  Since it was Saturday this was not a surprise but perhaps many were staying lakeside at one of the small hotels during this holiday week.

What brought everyone out onto the sunny deck was the carving of Decebalus. The 141 foot high carving of the face of the Dacian ruler who fought off the Romans is indeed impressive! It casts its stony gaze onto the Danube near Orsova. I think it is a real marvel considering how long it has smirked down at the river and its people.  

By the time we reached this point we were all exchanging email addresses in order to share pictures.  It may or may not happen.  We will see.  And now lunch was ready.  We held steady at our favorite table and enjoyed a variety of treats.  I had a hot dog while others had duck or Reuben sandwiches out on deck.  Allan picked a freshly made burger again.

The afternoon was filled with more scenic cruising, another lock to take us down to the river level.  The Castle Golubac perches high above the Danube and marks the end of the Iron Gates.  It once had the river flood all the way up to its walls.  The strategic point probably allowed for not only protection from the Ottomans but also at some point for the collection of taxes on ships passing.  Boats today seemed to be going upstream filled with cargo from the countryside or mines and empty returning from the cities.

There was a demonstration of making Poppy Seed Strudel so I passed n that and enjoyed more sun and chat on the sundeck.  Violetta talked about growing up in Communist Romania but didn’t add much personal or new information.  

Elva chilled while Allan got his 10,000+ steps in with a serious stride!

 

Once again we had dinner on the Aquavit Terrace, there are now seven of us that dine together most of the time.  Allan, Mary, Elva, Me, Carol, Lee Ann, Virginia, and Dan.  Allen is glad to have a guy to talk with and they are real buddies now. Dinner was very good, and eating on the Terrace is a lot faster and quieter than in the dining room.

At 8:45 Elva, Virginia, and I joined in the Viking Explorer Society celebration.  We had a choice of drinks and then the Aqua Vit Toast.  The tradition is explained and the shots are downed followed by much gasping.  What began as an unfortunate accident became this tradition which is explained here by our dear Uncle Google.

“Peculiar to the Norwegian tradition are Linje Aquavits (such as "Løiten Linje" and "Lysholm Linje"). Linje Aquavit is named after the tradition of sending oak barrels of aquavit with ships from Norway to Australia and back again, thereby passing the equator ("linje") twice before being bottled. The constant movement, high humidity and fluctuating temperature cause the spirit to extract more flavour and contributes to accelerated maturation. 

Norwegian aquavit distillers Arcus has carried out a test where they tried to emulate the rocking of the casks aboard the "Linje" ships while the oak barrels were subjected to the weather elements as they would aboard a ship. The finished product was, according to Arcus, far from the taste that a proper linje aquavit should have. 

Therefore, to this day boats loaded with "Line Aquavit" set sail from Norway to Australia and back again before they are tapped on bottle and sold as part of the Norwegian Christmas traditions.”


Here is Dimi serving the Aqua Vit and Don and Virginia trying to enjoy it!  But theyopted out and went with the champagne or a cocktail! It was a nice party.

This was followed by a music quiz.  The Duo played the whole song and then two things were needed which may or may not have been directly related to the song.  For example one question wanted to know the name of the actress that died in 1952. Oddly, the ‘correct answer’ was Marilyn Monroe.  Being dead ten years before she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy must have made that performance very difficult!  Since there were bonus points added for dancing Virginia and I really laughed and had a great time.  We came in second for the quiz but didn’t really need another free drink!

It was nearly midnight before I turned out the light which could be a problem since we have an early tour tomorrow!