Day 9, Russe, Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi, Bulgaria

Here we are, on June 11, starting our day 9 and still in Bulgaria.
Both, husband Pieter and I had gotten rather ill from an acute bronchitis and having difficulty breathing.
The long Shore excursion starting at 9:00 till 17:30 meant for both of us a tough day!
But here we go...

Driving through the city of Rousse or Ruse, Russe, you encounter all kinds of architecture.
This is a lovely building on a street corner.

Those typical Communist era Apartment Blocks as ugly as they can be...

Ruse, Bulgaria St. Petka Church by architect S. Bobchev.    
Hope for the crumbling temple "Sv. Petka" in Ruse just click on link

This St. Petka Church got built in the late 30s of last century near the only remaining gate of the old fortress city. But it was in terrible decay.
This article is from December 27, 2018 so I'm very happy to read that they will start to repair it and also got the funds through a European program!

With a little over an hour driving we pass here over the Yantra River and view this exceptional bridge built by genius Kolyu Ficheto! It is considered an achievement of Bulgarian Renaissance engineering construction and architectural art.
Would have loved to stop there for a closer look and more photos than just this from a riding bus!

Click here: Kolyu Ficheto's bridge over the Yantra River or Byala's bridge for more info.

Click here for great short video: 90 Kolyu Ficheto Bridge on Yantra River - town of Byala

the text reads: the Master Kolyu Ficheto, the most famous Renaissance master builder...

After almost two hours riding on the bus, we reach Veliko Tarnovo a fascinating medieval town, above the Yantra River. The old capital of Bulgaria!

You also see the Asen Dynasty Monument (obelisk with horses) to the right.

01 Veliko Tarnovo District, short aerial video

Veliko Tarnovo got built around Tsarevets Hill and its hilltop royal castle.

Veliko Tarnovo, royal castle...

We did have a very nice coffee break with some sweets at a hotel, before moving on.

Veliko Tarnovo with its Cathedral of the Birth of the Theotokos. 

Veliko Tarnovo Cathedral, Bulgaria. Completed in 1844 and reconstructed in 1913.

For link click: Veliko Tarnovo.

Veliko Tarnovo where we did explore Samovodska Charshia, a tradional street teeming with handicrafts.

Funny kitten sleeping on the wood carved man's arm!

Husband Pieter found the bench for resting a bit after lots of walking, all still before lunch.

Arbanasi, Tarnovo around 13:00 we walk towards our lunch address.

Hotel IZVORA 2 is right across and we entered into Restaurant IZVORA, behind the tiled roof wall with large garden.

 Arbanasi, IZVORA Restaurant, where we enjoyed a lunch that got served in rooms with sliding French doors and garden views.

In that garden, a local folklore group danced and came closer in front of the open doors around 13:45.

Click to see video: traditional dancers Arbanasi-Bulgaria at the very restaurant gardens where we had lunch + show!

Arbanasi, Nativity Church from 16th Century with incredible frescoes where we walked around 14:15

17th Century Merchants Home/Museum and 16th Century Church of the Nativity in Arbanasi Bulgaria 2016 click for very short video about this 17th Century Konstantsalieva House about how a wealthy merchant used to live.

Church of the Nativity ARBANASI in Veliko Tarnovo (click link for the best photos)

As we entered this 16th Century Church with our guide, the electricity went off so the above is my ONLY capture... Hence the link for more views!

Short Relive.cc video Bus ride from Russe to Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi.

Tarnovo, Bulgaria walk

Info with my iPhone photos is Tirnovo but on brochures etc. it is Tarnovo...

Short Relive.cc video from Arbanasi, Bulgaria walk

Very short Relive.cc video where our Viking Lif Longboat is Crossing the Danube to Romania...

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
Day 8, Bulgarian Danube and Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress | previous post
Day 7, Serbian Danube with Golubac Fortress & Djerdap Gorge to Iron Gates | previous post
Day 6, Panoramic Belgrade, Serbia | previous post
Day 5, from Vukovar to Osijek, Croatia | previous post
Day 4, Kalocsa Baroque Cathedral with Organ Music and Puszta | previous post

Day 3 Departure from Budapest on Viking Lif | previous post

Day 2 Passage to Eastern Europe - Panoramic Budapest | previous post

My 3rd Trip with Husband Pieter to Hungary with stay at Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest | previous post

The History of Bulgaria: Every Year 632-2021 | Impressive YouTube video

Day 8, Bulgarian Danube and Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress

On June 10, our Viking Cruise day 8 of PASSAGE TO EASTERN EUROPE, we went by bus into the countryside to visit Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress.
A very special visit to Bulgaria, roughly the same size as Tennessee and almost half the size of the UK.
Bulgaria is situated in the Balkan area of southeastern Europe. It borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west and Greece and Turkey both to the south.
The eastern border of 234 miles or 377 km is formed by the Black Sea.

Quite a sight for getting up close to Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress!
Even though, both of us did not climb the stairs for health reasons, they warned us for the unsafe railing as it often got removed for filming.
Pieter's heart cannot handle such a steep climb and I'm careful since my double, closed pelvic bone fracture...
But it sure was a marvel to be there!

This is close to 9:00 in the morning as we got off our Viking Lif for boarding the bus to visit Belogradchik.

Starting out from Port Vidin, Bulgaria...
And again a beautiful day!

Only half an hour out from Port Vidin, my attempt to capture this huge Stork's nest from our riding bus.
Storks breed a lot in these countries and you quite often can see their enormous nests.

In about an hour driving we were reaching Belogradchik in the Vidin Province.
Can you see the Rocks at the top left?

In fact a beautiful area and you see some large rocks here in mid picture.

One hour and 15 minutes travel time and here we are getting very close to the Belogradchik Rocks!

The bus made a stop for letting people use some restrooms in the town Belogradchik and that's where I captured this way of transport from the bus...
Bulgaria is the poorest country within the European Union and it was often painfully visible!

LOVED the formation of these dramatic clouds forming against the walls of the Fortress!

Belogradchik Rocks in German: Die Festung von Belogradtschik

The fortress of Belogradchik

Formation of the rock phenomenon "Belogradchik rocks"

A view down into the valley... Lovely countryside!

Click Belogradchik Rocks for a lot of interesting information about its history! 

Click Belogradchik Fortress Kaleto ENG for a short areal video!

Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress info from Viking

Short Relive.cc video from Bus Tour and Walk to Belogradchik, Bulgaria

Short Relive.cc video Viking Lif from Vidin to Russe, Bulgaria...
See you there for next day's program.

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:
Day 7, Serbian Danube with Golubac Fortress & Djerdap Gorge to Iron Gates | previous post
Day 6, Panoramic Belgrade, Serbia | previous post
Day 5, from Vukovar to Osijek, Croatia | previous post
Day 4, Kalocsa Baroque Cathedral with Organ Music and Puszta | previous post
Day 3 Departure from Budapest on Viking Lif | previous post

Day 2 Passage to Eastern Europe - Panoramic Budapest | previous post

My 3rd Trip with Husband Pieter to Hungary with stay at Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest | previous post

The History of Bulgaria: Every Year 632-2021 | Impressive YouTube video

Day 7, Serbian Danube with Golubac Fortress & Djerdap Gorge to Iron Gates

On June 9, our 7th day of PASSAGE TO EASTERN EUROPE aboard the Viking Lif, we were seeing some of the most spectacular sights of Serbia and into Romania!

Golubac Fortress is seen here and the mighty Danube River being about 7 km wide there!

This was around 11:19 as we were pulling out already...

This is the spot where we were, away from the shore.
You also see the red line in the River Danube, marking the border of Serbia and Romania to the north.

This photo I took just 20 minutes earlier...

To give you an idea, we were closer to the shore still on our way out from Golubac Fortress.

And again here you see the spot where we were and you also see that the Danube River there is about 7 km wide!

THE SERBIAN DANUBE click for more info and click again to discover the Danube in Serbia!

This is husband Pieter's Strava walk, only the return of it.

They left the Viking Lif around 8:30 AM for a shore excursion to Golubac Fortress.

Since I was not feeling well, I did not join him...

Pieter walked twice this 1 km distance to the Fortress as he did not climb the stairs leading up to its towers. Not with his weak heart condition.

Look at the gray area bottom for the surface level, not the surrounding, much taller rocks.

Unless the previous day spent in Serbia, where we could not enter the Saint Sava Church as it still was under construction, we were lucky here!

This is Golubac Fortress seen from above video taken in November 2015

The European Union invested in its reconstruction!

Click this link above...

Opening of the Golubac Fortress video, just click to see this marvelous video with lots of info from March 2019!

Yes, it also shows you the incredible width of the mighty River Danube on its way to the Black Sea!

Now tourists from all over the world can admire this 11 millennia old history...

On the upper deck around 11:30, I captured Pieter during our Wheelhouse Tour with lots of information by Cpt. Aleksandar about the Viking Lif and this majestic water way of Eastern Europe!

You can already see that some very SCENIC SAILING is about to start...

All done while enjoying terrific weather every day!

Photo taken at 16:30 from the upper deck as we sail along the Kazan stretch...

Indeed this would be sailing through one of Europe's most dramatic natural wonders, the picturesque stretch famously known as the Iron Gates.

Photo got taken at 16:38

These spectacular narrow gorges, a series of four, slice through the Carpathian Mountains to the north and the Balkan Mountains to the south, marvel at the towering white limestone cliffs draped with forest.

Photo got taken at 15:45 and is in Romania now with one hour time difference!

Monastery Mraconia in Romania from 1452...

Photo taken at 15:53

Now closer to this marvelous medieval Monastery Mraconia in Romania 

Looking back here, where we came from, past Monastery Mraconia now and one minute later...

The Iron Gates show clearly the Danube at its wildest!

Spectacular views of Iron Gates...

The Iron Gates were once treacherous, filled with rocks and rapids. The Serbian name for it, Djerdap, means 'whirlpool'. Passage was eased in the 1st century when the Roman emperor Trajan built canals, then again when the first Iron Gates Dam opened in 1972.

Dam construction impacted the ecology, and both Serbia and Romania have added some protection by creating national parks on either side of the Danube. With a landscape boasting thick coniferous forest, 4 spectacular gorges, 2 canyons, 3 valleys and more than 1,000 caves, the area is one of staggering biodiversity. 

Large perch and catfish can be found in abundance, along with sturgeon and salmon. On land, mammal species include lynx, bears, wolves and jackals. 

Seeing the carved face of Dacian King Decebalus, who fought the Romans and is hailed as a Romanian hero. His 141-foot or 43 m high likeness is carved into a cliff overlooking the Danube near the city of Orşova.

Some interesting facts about Serbia!

My Relive.cc video Viking Lif from Belgrade to Golubac Serbia.

Once again, the signal got completely lost at times and the straight line connects between the two areas with signal. Sorry for that, but you DO see in the end the VAST WIDTH of the RIVER DANUBE!

Golubac Fortress along Kazan stretch via Relive.cc

Thank you for your visit and comment!

Related links:

Day 6, Panoramic Belgrade, Serbia | previous post

Day 5, from Vukovar to Osijek, Croatia | previous post

Day 4, Kalocsa Baroque Cathedral with Organ Music and Puszta | previous post

Day 3 Departure from Budapest on Viking Lif | previous post

Day 2 Passage to Eastern Europe - Panoramic Budapest | previous post

My 3rd Trip with Husband Pieter to Hungary with stay at Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest | previous post