Along the Danube

Saturday we spent at the Danube. We drove down to Giurgiu, over the Danube to Ruse, then along the river downstream to Silistra, where we caught the ferry to cross back into Romania. Well, to be precise, one does go over the border into Romania about 200 meters before the ferry -- this is where the Danube makes a sharp turn northwards but the border runs roughly straight eastwards. We saw: About a dozen storks with nests and all. One kingfisher. One cuckoo, who answered back to our "cuckoo" calls. One little boy falling into the mud along the Danube shore. Lots of sheep shit. One cobblestone road that must stem from Roman times. One Turkish village complete with mosque and a pig dozing by the side of the road (they must not be very orthodox, said Doug). One ferry that had green stuff growing on it. One airplane parked in the frontyard of some Communist living blocks in Silistra - for no obvious reason. One pheasant that nearly hit our car while it swept across the street at eye level. The eery, crumbling maze of the Calarasi steel works. A day well spent.