This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 On our last full day of the cruise, we found ourselves in an area of Hungary called the Southern Transdanubia to visit Pécs, the 5th largest city in Hungary, but second only to Budapest in the number of visits. The city actually dates back…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 This morning we visited Novi Sad, a truly multicultural city in Serbia. While most of the places we have visited during this trip had significant Ottoman impact through occupation of up to 500 years, no such thing happened here as the Ottoman Turk advance…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 Today, we visited the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. It had also been the capital of Yugoslavia. In fact, Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having been conquered and rebuilt 40 times during its rather tumultuous history. We spent our time focusing…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 Today was largely a cruising day. In the middle of the night and very early in the morning, we passed through 2 locks. Having through that experience before and after a night of dancing and wild abandon, we chose to sleep in. Later in…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 Today, we went into Bulgaria to visit the ancient capital, Veliko Tarnovo, and a small village named Arbanasi know for the frescoes in their Nativity Church. It’s interesting that while Romania and Bulgaria had similar histories (e.g., former Roman territory, challenges in bring together…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 After the longest sailing day on the Danube, we arrived in the regal town of Viden, located in northwestern Bulgaria. This area has been continuously inhabited since the time of the Romans because of it’s strategic positioning in a bend in the Danube across…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 Today we went to Bran Castle, the supposed home of Dracula. This is the second castle on the site, built in the late 14th century (an earlier wood castle was built in the 13th century by the Teutonic Knights). The castle is a national…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 This morning we took a walk around Brasov. To me, this city showcased the best in preservation of it’s medieval past and innovation for the future (they have already migrated their bus system to total electricity). It is a very clean city with much…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 While we wished we had more time to explore Bucharest, it was time to head to Transylvania (one of the three provinces that make up Romania) and the Carpathian Mountains. As the three, oftentimes warring, provinces in the region wanted to combine in what…
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This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023 Leaving Paris, we started the next phase our trip — Eastern and Central Europe. This would be the challenging part — trying to understand and sort out the complex, and often violent history of the Balkans. On its surface, it was difficult for me…
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