Day 25: Smederevo to Dobra in Serbia/ andBerzasca in Romania

The boys' separate routes are now converging - albeit on opposite sides of the Danube.  And by Thursday evening Bob was staying B&B in the Romanian village of Berzasca.  Whilst Mark was discovering the delights of a Bates Motel establishment in the small hamlet of Dobra, Serbia on the other side of the river.

Serbian art of the Soviet style

 

His route had taken him from the metropolitan sophistication of Smederevo, via an open-cast coal-mining environment more in tune with the movie Bladerunner.  Pipes and conveyor belts criss-crossed the landscape to bring coal to the power station that digested these massive amounts of fuel.  The main road had been diverted and its replacement was the most rutted so far encountered.  All this to get to the Ottoman Fortress at the town of Ram, where across the Danube, Romania could now be seen.

Boats on the Danube outside Belgrade

Thankfully, the landscape then quickly changed and heralded the real Danube Gorge as the river enters the Serbian Carpathian Mountains.  At Golubac Castle the road actually passes through the former portcullis and thereafter the river begins to narrow.

Golubac Castle at the entrance to the Danube Gorge

Both Bob and Mark have encountered some fantastic accommodation during their 25 days on the road.  In particular, the 502 Club Hotel in Kalocsa, Hungary.  And Jurini Dvori's B&B in Knezevi Vinogradi, Croatia.  However, tonight's offering provided good food but no water to wash or shower.  And having been introduced to the family's pet pig (a sow Mark was informed would be butchered in December) he became convinced that he was said pig's next meal.  Obviously, the animal did not like freshly washed food!!!

Serbian Hayricks