Oct 3 - Sailing All Day

Today we were in transit from Belgrade to Bulgaria. In the process, we passed some interesting scenery.  Most of our sailing has been at night, partly because the scenery in the lower part of the Danube is pretty dull compared to the upper reaches with hills and castles all over the place. Today, we saw a ruined castle and sailed through a couple narrow gorges known as the Iron Gates, followed by a double lock, also known as the Iron Gates. Unfortunately, it is unseasonably cold, and I never did quite get my attire warm and wind-proof enough to be able to enjoy our time up on deck looking at the view. It was a good day to catch up on this blog and take a nap instead.

Castle

Dawn on the Danube

Iron Gates

Our four program directors presented a discussion of Life Under Communism that was a highlight of the day. Each of them talked about their personal experiences in Communist society. Two were Romanian, one was a Hungarian originally living in Romania, and the last was a Serbian who missed most of it due to her youth. The most shocking story was that the Romanian government decided that each family only deserved very limited rations each month – 2 lbs of flour, 2 lbs of meat, less than a pound of butter, and similarly restricted portions of everything else. The Hungarian/Romanians decided to leave when that was implemented, but it took 3 years for them to get out of the country, and they were only allowed to take their clothing.

Another family of 5 survived primarily because of the generosity of their neighbors sharing their limited allotments. Another point that was made was that none of these countries CHOSE to become communist, that they had each had democratic systems in place before the war. However, once Russian troops entered their space during the war, Russian influence afterwards was not a huge surprise. They also alluded to the challenges of changing their mindset after 50 years of oppression. 

All in all, they pointed out that their countries had never wanted to be communist and that despite the struggles since they regained their freedom, they are all optimistic about the future. Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania have all joined NATO and the European Union, and Serbia has applied for the EU and is just beginning the process.