There are rivers and rivers, and they are all so beautiful…
Starting as springs, streams and creeks, growing to be small, short, wide or long. Flowing to another river, or to the sea. Blue, green, clear or muddy.
But one is the Danube. My river. That is how I like calling it.
I had read a long time ago that we all have a river of our own. One that follows us through our lives. River of our childhood or our youth, of our hometown or the place we love. Such lovely towns and villages are built on the banks of rivers. The most adorable cities are the ones that have a river running through their centers: Paris, Prague, Saint Petersbourg…
One of my dreams (I still have so many!) is to follow Danube from where it begins, in Schwarzwald (Black forest), Germany, to its delta in Romania (partially in Ukraine), where it flows into the Black Sea. It starts like a tiny silver transparent line, and becomes Europe’s second largest water power. Volga is still No 1.
It is not blue, mostly it’s green. Gray when there is a storm. White when it’s frozen. Brown in the spring. Golden in the sunsets.
It is described in poems, songs, stories… Since the dawn of time people have been living close to Danube, admiring it. Two famous waltzes were written in its honor : The Blue Danube (so well known), and Danube waves (less popular, but more beautiful, in my opinion).
It runs through 10 countries, has 7 names, passes through many towns, and 4 European capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. At its end it is as big as the sea. In its Serbian part it is the narrowest, the shallowest, the deepest and the widest: The Iron Gate of Danube. Magical place.
Danube eco-system (Danube and its tributaries) is absolutely amazing. There are 20 national parks in its basin, situated in various countries. 2,000 vascular plants, more than 5,000 animal species, out of which 180 bird species and 100 fish species! And legendary Danube sturgeons, living fossils, almost extinct. There are also Danube cormorans, and Danube pelicans. . .
And many, many other true wonders hidden along the flow of this majestic river. This is the right word to describe Danube. It is majestic.