Djerdap on the Danube – That’s Fun to Say

After seeing the Danube in Novi Sad and Belgrade, Molly and I decided to follow it along the Serbian-Romanian border and into Bulgaria.

We drove mostly along the Serbian side of the river in Djerdap National Park. After coming to the river at the fortifications of Golubac (for awesome pictures from a better angle, check out the google images), the narrow road hugs the river in and out of various canyons until your reach the series of gorges known as the Iron Gates (very Lord of The Rings, I know). The river narrows and becomes very deep and the dramatic gorges yield new views at every turn.

Golubac Fortress turned tunnel, off of the Danube

Remains of the Golubac Fortress

The Iron Gates

Mraconia Monastery

The face of Decebalus, an ancient Romanian hero, carved into the side of the mountain

After the gorge we crossed a bridge into Romania and followed the river through the town of Turnu Severin and then into the Romanian towns along the Danube.

Besides entering Albania, we’ve never witnessed such a distinct change immediately after crossing a border. The Romanian countryside we drove through had the look and feel of an agrarian society I previously thought had vanished from all of Europe.