We’ve got white caps on the Danube today. Everyone is seasick. Kidding. Well, I overheard one lady say she was seasick. Not sure how. Being on a river boat is like sailing on glass. I think she might be confusing seasickness with some sketchy goulash.

Viking’s Demanding Hike

Early this morning, Ken went on what Viking advertised as a “demanding” hike – to see Golubac Fortress and some extremely old rocks. Ken was motivated. He showed up in shorts and hiking shoes – ready to storm the castle and get a workout. Everyone seemed genuinely shocked he was wearing shorts (for the record, save for about a week in February, Ken wears shorts year-round). Ken quickly learned that he and Viking have radically different interpretations of the word, “demanding”. According to Ken, the hike was more of a leisurely stroll punctuated by the occasional cobblestone – roughly the equivalent of walking uphill to the mailbox.

Sidebar: The Pants Debate

Ken and I have a decades-long debate about what you call these two articles of clothing. He says they are short pants (left) and long pants (right). I say they are shorts and pants. Shorts are shorts and pants are pants. They don’t need modifiers.

That said, I know the UK (and Australia?) call the article of clothing on the right trousers, not pants. I know this because I made the mistake of asking for pants at a store in Scotland, and the store clerk directed me to something that was decidedly not pants in my mind.

So, for the sake of argument, we are debating American English here.

FRUSTRATION: I cannot get my fancy poll to insert/embed here. So the poll question is – are these shorts and pants or short pants and long pants?

The correct answer is, of course, shorts and pants.

Meanwhile, Back on Board

I was going to tour Golubac Fortress with the herd while Ken hiked, but once I saw the herd assembling, I decided to stay on board and enjoy some quiet time. I’ll read the fortress Cliffnotes later.

Later: As it turns out, Golubac Fortress isn’t just a castle (which is what I thought), but a full-blown 14th-century fortified town. It has ten towers, which seems like an awful lot of towers. I’m imagining the architect repeatedly leaping up from the drafting table and shouting, “WE NEED MORE TOWERS!” Over the centuries, Golubac Fortress has been fought over by Serbs, Hungarians, and Ottomans – essentially every group that ever looked at the Danube and said, “This river seems important, and I would like to control it.”

Ken got an action shot of our ship sailing past wherever it was he was hiking (the hikers rejoined the ship later).

Scenic Sailing

This afternoon, we are doing what Viking calls “scenic sailing”. We sat on our balcony (under a few blankets) and watched the world go by for a while. Extraordinary natural scenery along this section of the Danube. This is the part of river cruising Ken enjoyed most – chilling on our balcony taking in all of the nature.

Sailed by the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. I thought it was a statue of Treebeard from Lord of the Rings (I mean, look at him.) Not Treebeard. It is Decebalus – the last king of the ancient kingdom of Dacia (Romania). Also thought the statue was ancient. Not ancient. It was commissioned by a Romanian billionaire in 1994. It lost some of its panache for me after I learned that.

This afternoon, we passed through a series of extremely tight locks on the Danube River. Seeing engineering on this scale, and in action, felt both awe-inspiring and slightly terrifying. Being lowered into those massive chambers felt intensely claustrophobic. The ship had exactly zero wiggle room between its hull and the walls, which made leaning out on the balcony to take photos – as I did – feel downright adventurous. Props to the captain, who guided us through the locks without producing a single alarming scraping noise.

Serbian Dinner Night

After we successfully navigated the river locks, it was time for a traditional Serbian feast for dinner tonight. I had maybe the best soup I have ever eaten – oyster mushroom (which I forgot to take a picture of). I asked the chef for the recipe – hopefully, he will remember this request later. Also had this incredible Serbian pear liquor that I drank more of than I care to admit. I need to figure out exactly what we were drinking because some of this needs to come home with me.

Tomorrow: Vidin, Bulgaria. 🇧🇬

Travel date: October 19, 2025