On 40-mile waterway, leaving Constanta for the Grand Circle cruise on Danube, Europe's second longest river

Danube rises from eastern slopes of Black Forest in Germany and eventually flows into the Black Sea - 1,776 miles

First we have to go through the lock from Black Sea Canal, one of most important commercial links in Eastern Europe

Control tower over the lock - cruising toward Ruse, Bulgaria

Here you see the gate closing behind the River Adagio ship

Water rises - costs GCT $10K to sail this cruise

Just the top of the gate shows between lock and river

Now ready to begin our journey on the River Danube....

While in the lock, the Captain checked the distance between the wall of the lock and the ship - barely inches!

Several control towers line the shores - we sail between Romania on the north side and Bulgaria on the south side

We see several container ships being navigated by barges

Cities, towns, and villages, as well as forests, line the banks

Trucks line up to be transported on ferries crossing from one country to the other

Fastest way to travel from Romania to Bulgaria is by ferry across the River Danube

              Just thought this was such a nice picture!                    Someone should paint it!

Entering the first lock of the Iron Gates, a series of hydroelectric dams with 2-mile-long gorge underwater now

Closing the lock - water will rise to water line shown here

Second-stage lock that we reached at 2:30 am!!

Main part of Iron Gates system was completed 1965-1970

Looking up shaft at water line from our balcony!

Water has risen 108 feet so that we are now at top

Caves, ancient inscribed tableaus, and deep gorges

Once a raging river pounding through deep gorges until Iron Gates were built where Danube courses down from towering Carpathian mtns

In 1960's Yugoslavia and Romania cooperated on joint venture to raise level of Danube; river is now placid