A Brief Detour into Serbia For Lunch

One of the enjoyable and educational aspects of all of our bike trips is that we read about the places we’re about to see, often a day or so before getting there. Occasionally, we alter our plans somewhat based on what we read, though our ability to do so is quite limited because all of our accommodations are booked months in advance. A day or so ago, we read about a huge dam – the Iron Gate Dam – that spans the Danube, connecting Romania with Serbia. The dam, which can be driven or cycled across, is located about 10 miles from Orsova, Romania, where we spent Wednesday evening. Based on that information, we decided to modify our Thursday ride to cycle across the dam to Serbia, have lunch there, and then return to Romania. To accommodate this detour and make it to our destination town of Craiova, Romania, we had to take a train at the end of our ride today.

The Iron Gate Dam was built in 1973 to tame a portion of the Danube River that runs through a narrow gorge called the Iron Gates, with cliffs as tall as 500 meters flanking it. The currents in the Danube were so strong through the gorge that it was extremely difficult for ships to travel upstream through it. Until the Iron Gate Dam was completed, ships had to be dragged upstream by locomotive. The dam is also a huge source of hydroelectric power.

Our lunch town of Kladovo, Serbia, was delightful, and the food was excellent. It was a big change from most of the towns we’ve seen in Romania over the past few days, which have been notable for crumbling buildings (even the fairly new buildings have cracked concrete and rusting metal) and poor food.

On the way to the dam

Continuing towards the dam

Walking our bikes through a tunnel on the road

Cycling to Serbia across the Iron Gate Dam

Entering Serbia

The Iron Gate Dam, viewed from the Serbian side with Romania in the background

Kladovo, Serbia

Lunch in Kladovo

A crumbling, rusting apartment building in Romania

Craiova City Hall