We spent the night travelling along the Danube which forms the boundary between Serbia and Romania.
Friday 8 July: In the morning we headed towards the "Iron Gate" which is a narrow gorge through which the Danube passes. For most of the trip so far, the scenery has consisted of flatlands with trees or pastures. Quite different to the highly populated Rhine.
As we approached the “Iron Gate”, the river became narrower and we were bounded by steep cliffs on both sides. The Danube has been dammed here, and to continue the trip we have to pass through two sequential locks.
In the first we drop 20 metres, and in the second, 14 metres. In other words the dam is 35 metres high which has effected the river upstream for 150 kilometres. At least 5 villages and 17,000 people were relocated.
Before the locks were completed in 1972, the passage was quite treacherous as the water sped up because of the narrow gorge. The locks are jointly managed by Serbia and Romania, taking turns week about to operate them – and collect the revenue.
They are so big that up to four ships can be transferred at a time. It's getting harder to upload and transmit photos as internet access on the river is getting worse as we travel further east.
Friday 8 July: In the morning we headed towards the "Iron Gate" which is a narrow gorge through which the Danube passes. For most of the trip so far, the scenery has consisted of flatlands with trees or pastures. Quite different to the highly populated Rhine.
As we approached the “Iron Gate”, the river became narrower and we were bounded by steep cliffs on both sides. The Danube has been dammed here, and to continue the trip we have to pass through two sequential locks.
In the first we drop 20 metres, and in the second, 14 metres. In other words the dam is 35 metres high which has effected the river upstream for 150 kilometres. At least 5 villages and 17,000 people were relocated.Before the locks were completed in 1972, the passage was quite treacherous as the water sped up because of the narrow gorge. The locks are jointly managed by Serbia and Romania, taking turns week about to operate them – and collect the revenue.
They are so big that up to four ships can be transferred at a time. It's getting harder to upload and transmit photos as internet access on the river is getting worse as we travel further east.
