Joanna Lumley's Danube
Actor, presenter and national treasure Dame Joanna Lumley is back on the road, this time exploring the mighty Danube River for a three-part ITV series.
The Danube covers 1,800 miles, 10 countries and four capital cities through Central and Southeastern Europe, making it the most international river in the world. On her travels, Joanna begins in the pines of Germany’s Black Forest, before travelling through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, ending up at the Black Sea.
We’ve loved watching the series, but we were most taken by the most recent episode, showing off the majestic landscapes and fascinating communities that can be found in Romania, particularly our favourite spots of Transylvania and the Danube Delta.
Here’s what she got up to on the final leg of her journey, from the Serbian-Romanian border to the Black Sea.
Arriving in Romania
Joanna begins the Romanian leg of her journey at the Iron Gates Gorge, before marvelling at a 55-metre-high rock sculpture of Decebalus, the last king of Dacia. She then journeys from the small town of Orsova, through a dramatic gorge to Băile Herculane, a spa town nestled in the Cerna river valley.
Built in the 1880s, and once used by Emperor Franz Josef, the Imperial Austrian Neptune Baths have now fallen into disrepair. Here she meets Oana who is determined to restore the spectacular building and its ornate interiors. She is one of many young Romanians who long to see the country’s historic buildings return to their former glory, a movement that can also be found in Transylvania where dilapidated buildings and traditional crafts are undergoing revival.
Wild Transylvania
Joanna then heads into central Romania, into the heart of Transylvania. As the camera pans over rolling hills, endless forests and meadows bursting with wildflowers, Joanna simply says, ‘This country is so beautiful, it’s quite hard to explain.’
She begins by following the trails of brown bears through forests and meadows before visiting the local Libearty bear sanctuary. Here, 130 once-captive animals live in 80 acres of peaceful oak forests, which owner Cristina describes as a ‘five star all-inclusive’ lifestyle.
Royal Sites
From here, Joanna visits perhaps Transylvania’s most famous site: Bran Castle. Although best known for its connections to Count Dracula, the castle was also a favourite spot of the much-loved Queen Marie of Romania, who stayed here during her summers.
From one royal abode to another, the next stop is King Charles’ guest house and, as she wanders through open meadows with endless views of grazing pastures and forest, she quickly understands why the king fell in love with the region. Sipping a gin and tonic on the balcony, she describes it as a place of ‘sunshine and silence and sweetness.’ It’s exactly how we feel whenever we’re in these magical landscapes.
Displaced People
As Joanna continues her journey, she states, ‘the charm of Romania is that the present lives in harmony with the past’. She visits a community of gypsies, who still practice traditional witchcraft. They want to open a visitor centre, so others can understand Roma healing, magic and traditions, with the aim of educating people and helping to end discrimination against gypsies, who have endured persecution across the centuries.
Travelling to the Danube Delta, at the mouth of the Black Sea, Joanna takes a moving moment to reflect on a modern-day conflict as she looks across the river to Ukraine. She visits a centre that helps Ukrainian mothers and children, meeting two young families taking a break from their war-torn country. The contrast is stark, between a country at war and Romania, a ‘place of peace and safety.’
The Peaceful Danube Delta
The final section of Joanna’s journey along the Danube is at its mouth, the mighty Danube Delta. The vast wetlands are home to hundreds of species of birds, fish, plants and animals. The team journey by houseboat, stopping to join a fishing festival in which local Lipovan women compete to catch the most fish. This is a community descended from Russian christians who fled to the delta in the 17th and 18th centuries.
From here, Joanna travels by motorboat through the biosphere. She spots some of the largest population of pelicans outside of Africa, marvelling at their three-metre wingspan. And as the sun goes down, she takes a moment of quiet, broken only by the beating of wings or frogs jumping through the water.
Journey’s End
Joanna ends her journey at the zero mile point, marking the transition from the Danube River to the Black Sea. An 1,800 mile journey through gorges, valleys and major cities comes to an end.
The episode truly shows what Romania has to offer and we were so pleased to see Joanna Lumley fall for two of our favourite spots: Transylvania and the Danube Delta. There is so much to explore in Romania and, as we see Joanna do before the credits roll, it’s a place to take a breath, listen to nature and slow down.
If you’ve been inspired to discover Romania, learn more about our cycling journeys in Transylvania or exploring the Danube Delta by boat. You can join a scheduled group or contact us for private dates.
