Baltic to the Aegean Sea
Cruise
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In 2006 Polaris cruised over 3,000 miles from Travemunde, Germany
on the Baltic Sea, up the Rhine, then down the Danube to the Black Sea and
through the Bosporus to Istanbul.
From there we cruised through the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea where we
finally laid the boat up in Marmaris,
Turkey. This
year’s cruise was different from any other that we have done. Few “sportboats”
ever attempt the journey down the Danube.
Consequently, there is very little planning information available… and what is
available is mostly obsolete or wrong. Because the current is so strong,
this is basically a one way trip down stream, so local upstream information is
non-existent. We were however continuously discouraged by people we met about
out chances of making it down to the Black Sea
because of low water… but their information was based on hearsay. One thing for
certain… this was going to clearly be an adventure into the unknown. Foolishly,
we were prepared to go down the Danube
River without charts.
Germany
The first stretch of the trip passed thru the canals
of northern Germany
which are long and straight… mostly tree lined banks which limit any chance to
view the countryside. Most towns and cities are bypassed, making the passage
rather boring. After a week we reached the Rhine
which was still in flood stage with a 2 to 4 knot current against us. Only
pedestrians with crutches on the bank were unable to pass us as we barely make
headway. Day by day the current eased and we learned to take the river bends on
the inside to minimize the current. The lower Rhine is heavily industrialized
and not very scenic until Cologne.
From there the situation changed dramatically with numerous castles, mountainous
terrain, vineyards and quaint villages on the banks. About a week was required
to work our way up the Rhine with the grand
finally at St Goar where the current reached 6 knots for about a mile stretch
of river.
We were now entering the southern part of Germany, Bavaria,
which is quite scenic with medieval towns like Wurzburg,
Bamberg and Nuremberg to explore. Upon reaching the Main
River, the current slowed
to a couple knots against us as we now began a passage thru 86 locks… the first
half up and then down. The locks were especially difficult going up and often
terrifying. Some had rises of over 100 feet with nothing to secure the boat to
except a single vertical stack of fixed bollards. Initially we were concerned
about prop wash from the barges that we shared the locks… soon we discovered
the terror of the “fast fill” when we were the only boat in the lock. The
experience was much like trying to hang on in a white water rapids with a 15
ton boat. Several times we thought we would break loose and be spun around in
the lock with the boat smashed to pieces. There was no mercy shown for the
lonely “sportboat”.
Just past Nurnberg on the Main River is the
continental divide at 1332 feet above sea level… it would be a downhill ride
from here. This canal finally linking the Rhine and Danube or in reality, the
Black and Mediterranean Seas with the Baltic and North Seas
was only completed in the early ‘90s. Traffic on this German engineering wonder
of the world was expected to increase exponentially year by year… instead there
was little increase in traffic. This was probably a result of the unexpected
collapse of the Eastern Bloc communist countries who simply abandoned the
industrial sites on the Danube as their
economies collapsed. One thing was clear however… on the Rhine
the barges looked like new and were carrying high value cargos like autos and
containers. On the Danube, the barges were
increasingly decrepit as we went downstream and their cargo is typically low
value such as sand and coal. This may change dramatically in the next few years
as these countries develop with the European Union and their economies
reignite.
This was also the point on our trip where we
discovered from a Belgian couple that chart books of the Danube
actually exist…. Written in either German or French. Never the less these books
helped tremendously and avoided what would have been a catastrophe if we had
proceeded down the Danube without them. With a
little more research, we able to purchase them from Freytag and Berndt in Vienna, www.freytagberndt.at.
Danube
We reached the Danube just above Regensburg, Germany.
Barge traffic as well as cruise ship traffic decreased from this point on. The
rivers in Germany
are well marked and navigation was relatively simple, however obtaining diesel
fuel soon became a critical issue. German environmental laws have all but wiped
out the fuel docks, plus sportboat traffic is very light so there are very
limited places to fuel up. To add to the tension, no one seemed to know where
the next fuel stop would be. Hauling jerry cans would become the primary method
of refueling.
Obtaining propane was even more difficult. The first
problem is that each country has a different valve connection. The second and more
serious is that new laws forbid the filling of bottles that are not of that
countries origin. We finagled a refill in Germany
and Austria but that was the
end of the propane until we reached Istanbul
where we had to change tanks and splice fittings. What is most surprising is
the lack of safety in the way propane is handled in most countries. It is a
primary source of heating and cooking in many places. So the locals cobble up
plastic hoses and fittings to use the propane. Small propane retail stores are
found in residential sections…. Bombs waiting to go off. Meanwhile, it is
impossible and “forbidden” to fill a non-local propane tank.
The first stretch of the Danube
was unnerving… the current was between 3 and 4 knots in our favor which
resulted in our speed over ground of about 10 knots. The problem was that the
water in the narrow and winding channel was down to seven feet in places. From
touching bottom a few times, we could feel that we were dealing with gravel and
rock. We slowed the boat down to about five knots to avoid a disaster.
Frankfort, Passau, Regensburg, Vienna and Budapest were major stops
along the way… all incredibly beautiful old cities. But our favorite was Linz, Austria
where they were holding the World Street Music Festival. Musicians and
performers from every corner of the globe gathered here on every street corner
to show their stuff. We couldn’t help but reflect that Pompano, Florida was having a
medieval festival while this medieval city was celebrating present day life
just as it has for a thousand years.
After Budapest,
Hungary the
cruise started a downhill slide… customs and immigration paperwork, no marinas,
no places to dock, dreary communist era towns, and mile after mile of
emptiness. Barges and cruise ships were even few and far between. The skippers
of these ships must have felt the isolation as well, because they would come
out on their bridge and wave as we passed… quite different than being treated
like road kill on the Rhine.
If you look on the map, you will notice that there
are very few towns on the Danube below Budapest…
the river becomes a wilderness area. We saw something similar to this on the
southern Baltic coast last year. It appears that the communists tried to
prevent access to the river by the locals to prevent escape. We were told that
people were not even allowed to own maps so that they could not escape.
Cruising the Danube River
through the former Eastern Bloc countries was an eye opening experience.
Passing from Austria thru Slovakia, Hungary,
Serbia, Croatia, Romania,
and Bulgaria
was like seeing the economic light switch being turned off. Rod Heikell’s
cruising book about the Danube written in 1991
comments on the massive pollution of both the river and the air. We saw none of
that… what we did see was mile after mile of abandoned industrial sites and
factories.
One of our concerns when planning this trip was the
possible nasty reception that we might receive as Americans in these former
communist countries… especially in Serbia
where we rather recently blew up their bridges across the Danube.
But we were treated like ROCK STARS! The hospitality was incredibly wonderful.
A couple of times, we felt that we were being detained by a customs official
because they had never seen an American boat before and just wanted to talk to
us. We also began to realize that these people who had so little compared to
us, were the most friendly and giving of any that we met on the trip. With the
exception of Serbia,
these countries are now a part of the European Union, and you can see their
economies and infrastructure beginning to take off.
Serbia
One of the most memorable
experiences was passing thru Serbia...
this was the country that I dreaded the most. The laws are that you must check
into the country as you enter their waters and check out as you leave. Since
these people seldom see a sportboat, there are no facilities to check in or
out. In fact it is very difficult to even find out where customs is located,
because they are not usually on the water and are not marked by signs on the
river. We spotted an old tanker barge marked "Agents". Then we
spotted someone at the apparently abandoned facility and although we could not
communicate verbally, we got the message that customs was behind this facility.
The customs building seemed to be a military facility… it was not hard to
imagine that it was used to imprison, torture and execute Croatians a few years
ago. Not a good place for an American to enter. Once inside, only one person
spoke English, the "Agent". It soon became clear that first we were
not going anywhere until the forms with customs, police and immigration were
completed. Second no one was able or willing to communicate except in Serbian.
This left the "Agent" who apologized but said that we would have to
pay $75 to pass down the Danube... to us this
was extortion but we did not have much leverage. Reluctantly we paid and were
escorted by the customs, police and immigration officers, aka Larry, Moe and
Curly, back down to the boat. It was only as we were ready to cast off that our
passports were returned to us... and then only after we were forced to pay an
additional $15 to tie up to the barge.
It is interesting to note
what a typical official's office looks like in these Eastern Bloc countries.
Usually there was a bed, desk and television but no computer. The officer was
typically lying down and watching TV when we entered... often a cartoon program
or some sort of local soap opera. The forms for customs, immigration and police
are filled out in three separate offices and possibly different buildings.
Often they did not seem to know the other or how they work. The forms were
filled out in multiple copies using old carbon paper. The official would often
then copy the information over again in his own personal notebook probably to
protect his job if something went wrong. Typically this process both in and out
of the country could take an hour or more. In all cases however these officials
were very courteous. In several cases, we had the impression that this was one
of the most important things the official had ever done... since no one could
ever recall an American boat coming down the Danube.
For obvious reasons, we
were not looking forward to exiting Serbia. However we started the
whole process again, but this time there was no "Agent". As we were
ready to depart, I asked the customs officer where I could get gasoline for the
dinghy. He told me to hop in his car and we drove off. Was I going on my last
ride? Instead, he took me to the gas station, filled the tank, paid for the
gas, and drove me back. When I asked how much I owed him, he said that it was a
present from Serbia!
In gratitude I went to the boat to get a bottle of wine to give to him... but
was immediately accosted by some guy yelling in Serbian apparently that we
needed to pay him dockage to tie up to the quay. Very undiplomatically we
explained in sign language how we felt and cast off.
Romania
The last fuel that we had
obtained was in Budapest
and we were very concerned that we would run out. A barge captain said that we
could get fuel in a little town called Orsovo. However when we reached the fuel
dock, we were told that they would not sell us fuel, because it was too much
paperwork for the relatively small amount of fuel that we needed. Without a lot
of options we proceeded to the only dock in town which was located in a
sheltered bay off the Danube. We were invited
to tie along a local tour boat and immediately made friends with the crew on
board. We spent several days there... talking in very strained English about
their lives and ours. They fixed dinner for us and of course we did some
serious drinking of their homemade plum brandy. One of the crew, actually a
vocational school teacher who managed the boat, had a car. It was an ancient Dacia, but he made about
five trips with jerry cans to haul fuel to the boat. To them we looked like
Onassis on a mega yacht... the whole thing was sort of mind boggling to them
and reinforced the idea that America
was paved in gold. To us the lesson that we learned was that these people who
had very little by our standards, were willing to share what they had with us.
In addition whereas the typical German response when we had a problem was
"impossible", these people had learned to improvise and do whatever
was required to solve a problem.
Our next experience in
Orsovo was the town market. Farmers bring their produce here to sell, often by
wagon or even walking. When we asked what the hours were of the market, they
laughed and said that it never closes. The farmers just sleep under the
concrete stall tables until their produce is either sold or rots... the latter
being the more likely scenario. For a few dollars, we could purchase more
fruits and vegetables than we could possibly eat. We also decided to visit the
Iron Gates Lock and Dam by hiring a local tour driver. Once there, we
discovered that they were closed for tours, but somehow the driver convinced
the dam administrators to open the facility and provide a special tour for the
Americans on a boat. The dam is 4220 feet across, 230 feet high and was opened
around 1970. Before that, this stretch of the Danube
was the most dangerous of the river and often impassible.
We asked the crew from the
Orsovo tour boat what they thought of the dam... their comments were not
favorable. The Romanian government had made many promises about compensation
and free electricity... none of which were fulfilled. Many farms and homes were
submerged as the dam filled. They told us stories about farmers who refused to
believe that the water would rise and submerge their homes. People would remain
in their homes until the water was knee deep and had to be carried away.
Our tour boat friends told
us another chilling story… Orsovo is at the end of the rail line and as
previously noted, in a bay off the Danube.
People trying to escape Romania
would take the train to Orsovo and jump into what they thought was the Danube River
and swim to the lights on the other side. Unfortunately they were crossing the
bay and not the river… which would lead to their capture on the other side.
Discussing life under communism was heart wrenching… basically people were
treated as prisoners by the state. They were under surveillance every moment
and needed permission for everything. For example, if you wanted to buy a TV,
you went to the local communist committee and explained why you needed a TV. If
they approved, they gave you an approval form which you took to the store and
then waited for a TV to arrive.
When we were within 60 miles of the Black
Sea, the river became almost impassible. We had traveled over 2500
miles and it now seemed that the trip would end in the wilderness of Romania.
There were no longer any mile markers on the shore, almost no channel markers,
the channel was shoaled over, and there was no one around. To add to the
problem, the chart books that faithfully served us were no longer accurate.
Ultimately we ran aground on a sand bar with a 2 to 3 knot current pinning us
down. Things looked rather bleak since we were on our own. Eventually the
reversing prop and the 88 HP Yanmar came to the rescue, and after a hour or so
we were able to turn up into the current and free ourselves.
Our nerves at this point were shot. We pulled into
Cernavoda, the connecting point for the Danube-Black
Sea Canal,
aka the Canal of Death. Ahead of us was about 180 miles
of the Danube Delta to the Black Sea or we
could take the canal short cut of about 50 miles. At first the customs officer
wanted to charge us about $25 per hour to tie the dock, but soon softened while
we considered the options. At this point we did not realize that we should have
taken a bypass which avoided this un-navigatable section of the Danube. Next a river barge captain came down to the dock
and talked to us. He said that the Delta was a very unsafe place and that we
would need to watch for thieves 24 hours a day. We had heard stories like this
before but somehow, it was becoming more believable. So we opted for the Canal of Death.... where over 100,000 slave
laborers toiled and died in the '50s and '70s under the tyrant Ceausescu to dig
this short cut.
Black Sea
Six hours and about
$180 lighter we were in Constanta on the Black Sea. This is a major port and not setup for
sportboats, however the port captain and his staff were incredibly friendly and
helpful. The first project was to arrange to step the mast... they directed us
to the cranes used to unload ships. Polaris looked like a little rubber duck
tied next to one of these monsters. The crane operator did not speak English
but it was soon apparent that he was a master operator. The bad news was that
the cranes were very old and in poor operating condition. Never the less, he choose
the best one on the dock and we started to work.... the crane clutch slipped
and the mast started and stopped in huge jolts. We quickly had visions of the
mast being dropped straight thru the hull… again we survived the experience.
The charge for the crane and the operator was about $50 per hour. Finally the
mast was up and we were a sailboat again. The cost to settle our nerves after
the last few days was a quart of gin... which we were finally able to obtain
again. Ahh... life is good.
We were directed to a new
marina a few miles away at Efnrie. We had arrived just in time for their first
regatta ever. Two days before we were looking at carts being pulled by horses
and now we were looking at a display of Maseratis for sale at the
regatta. As usual we got in with a bad group, this time members of the Romanian
Olympic Committee who forced us to drink free scotch with them all night long!
To do what we could to ease diplomatic relations, we complied. Several days
were spent in this resort town and new marina before moving on to Varna, Bulgaria.
One conclusion from visiting these towns is that their economies are booming.
In Varna, real
estate offices are on every corner. We spoke with a real estate agent who he
said that there had been a land boom for the last few years with much of the
coast bought up. However from the water, the coastline looked desolate to us.
It was obvious that economic prosperity was flourishing.... with the help of
the European Union no doubt. Never the less they are for the most part dreary
communist concrete towns where their ancient histories have been almost
obliterated.
Istanbul
One more harbor and
we entered the Bosporus, the gateway to Istanbul…
a mixture of Byzantine and Ottoman history and culture. The Ottomans were for
the most part tolerant of the Christian culture and they have lived side by
side. Remnants of the Roman Empire are still
found everywhere. Like any large city, you can describe it in many ways…
ancient or cosmopolitan. The first striking contrast that we noticed was
women's dress. In the Romanian and Bulgarian resort towns, girls were often
topless on the beach... in Turkey,
many women are almost totally covered from head to toe regardless of the 90
degree plus heat. Istanbul
is a gateway, a clash of cultures, East meeting West, Christian meeting
Muslin.... civilizations have met and conquered each other here for at least
7000 years. Today it is the largest city in Europe
with an estimated 15 million people. For almost twenty years Turkey has attempted to join the European
Union... but today that dream seems to be slipping away as Turkey has drawn a line in the sand
not to submit completely to European laws and customs.
It is hard to fathom the
impact of the events that occurred here that affect our lives today. Most
importantly, Roman Emperor Constantine decided here around 325 AD that the
western world would be Christians. Constantine
split the Roman Empire in two and founded the eastern half, the Byzantine
Empire, which survived until 1453 when Mohamet the Conqueror, founder of the Ottoman Empire, finally overran the Byzantines.
One of the more unusual
walking excursions that we took in Istanbul
was an accidental visit to the Suleymaniye Mosque, one of the largest and most
beautiful in the city. We were walking from the Roman aqueducts to the Grand
Bazaar and came upon the mosque from the back side. As we began to exit the
front gate, the guard sort of motioned us to ask if we would like to look
inside. Partly out of courtesy, we agreed to go inside. As we began to leave
and thank the guard, he asked if we would like to see the tomb of Mohamet the
Conqueror... knowing a little about history, our eyes lit up. We kept asking
"Mohamet the Conqueror from 1453?" and the guard nodded. He opened a
few locks on the cemetery gates and we were soon in the graveyard, another door
unlocked and we were inside the massive mausoleum. Standing there in front of
us was three wooden coffins... the one in the center he said was Mohamet. Was
this really Mohamet's coffin?... we will probably never know but it was never
the less quite an exciting experience.
Ottoman places are truly
magnificent structures from the outside, however compared to Western European palaces
the Ottoman's palaces are rather plain inside. The reasons we were told are two
fold. First, the Muslim religion frowns on opulence and secondly the Ottomans
were shunned by the Western countries, so they were not exposed to western art.
Even the Sultan's harem quarters were a bit of a surprise. The apartments were
rather small and stark. We learned that the Sultan's mother was usually in
charge of the harem and that she decided who rose up the ladder to
"favorite" and ultimately one of his four wives. The harem were
educated and groomed for upper society. After a few years, if it was apparent
that a woman was not going up the ladder, she was given to an officer or
someone in the upper crust of society while a replacement was found.
Initially, Istanbul was the cruise
destination. However, Atakoy Marina, a huge modern and upscale yacht harbor on
the out skirts of the city was too expensive to leave the boat on the hard for
the winter. Repair facilities also did not seem to be what we expected. And finally,
we were told that Istanbul
can be subjected to freezing weather during the winter. After talking with
other cruisers, it appeared that the better choice for laying up was Marmaris, Turkey…
another 511 miles down the road.
The Dardanelles
The
first major stop about halfway thru the Dardanelles, aka the Hellespont
in ancient times, is Canakkale a choke point in the strait. Docking in this
small resort town where most of the action takes place at the ferry dock is a
bit deceiving. Actually, about 2500 years ago, the Persians built a bridge near
here and tried unsuccessfully to conqueror Greece. Alexander the Great crossed
here about 2300 years ago to conqueror Asia all the way to India. More recently, the WW I
Battle of Gallipoli was fought here and resulted in over 100,000 men dying as
the British tried unsuccessfully to gain access to the Black
Sea. Ironically, the Ottomans won the battle and lost the war,
since they had sided with the Germans… the only Western European country
friendly with them. The end of WW I marked the fall of the Ottoman Empire and
the founding of Turkey
under Ataturk as a secular, non religious affiliated, country.
In
ancient times, the entrance to the Hellespont was Troy and a very strategic trading city. Troy dates back 5000 years
and has nine ancient cities layered on top of each other. About 1300 BC, the
Spartans attacked and destroyed Troy.
According to
Homer's Iliad, Achilles, Odysseus and friends attacked Troy to rescue their king's wife Helen who
was kidnapped by the Trojans. Achilles, who was invincible except for his heal,
was shot in the heal and died here. Today the Dardanelles
are not exactly a back water… in fact today it is the busiest shipping route in
the world.
The Aegean Sea
The
Aegean Sea is the cradle of Western Civilization which began as the Greeks
evolved and settled the islands and southern coast of what is now today Turkey around
1200 BC. The ideas of democracy, medicine, history and the Christian religion
as we know them all originated here. The first major stop in the Aegean was Dikili, actually a small fishing village and
farm town. From here however it is possible to visit Pergamum… founded by one of Alexander the
Great’s generals. It was a center of learning and culture in the ancient world.
In particular, Galan, the father of Western medicine taught here and wrote
medical textbooks that were used in Europe
right up to the Renaissance. The town of Dikili
itself was fascinating as well because it gave us a chance to experience how
people live in Turkey
today away from the influx of tourists. Farm produce is still brought in by
horse and wagon. We were the only sportboat in the harbor of fishing trawlers.
The
next major stop was Ephesus… billed as the best
preserved ancient city in the Eastern Mediterranean.
More importantly the Apostles John and Paul lived here and it is believed to
have been the final home of Mary, mother of Jesus. This town has recently
excavated Roman homes that look like they were lived in just yesterday… the
mosaic tile walls and floors hint at a level of luxury comparable to that of
today. Ephesus was also a major trading town and
a start of the Silk Road to China.
It eventually was abandoned as the harbor silted up from poor land management
like so many other places. Also at Ephesus is
the Temple of Artemis, one of the great seven wonders
of the ancient world. Today, very little remains of the temple but never the
less it is mind boggling to imagine what stood here and how important a site
that it was.
The
final stop was Marmaris, Turkey where Polaris was laid up
for the winter. From just the few stops that we made in the Aegean, it appears
to be a gunkholers’s paradise…purple and turquoise water, innumerable islands
and coves, ancient towns, ruins strewn about everywhere and history piled up
for thousands of years.
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