Announcer: Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope"... All: Whoo!

Announcer: where you join us as we accept the world's invitation to visit.

All: Hey!

Rosendo, voice-over: Today on "Travelscope," I follow the blue Danube through 5 Eastern European countries in search of scenic, natural, and cultural treasures.

Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by...

Different announcer: At Scenic, crafting travel experiences across the globe is just what we do.

We're dedicated to immersing travelers within the heart of a culture... such as an evening at the Palais Liechtenstein, an event included on our Europe river cruises.

Scenic--proud sponsor of "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope."

Different announcer: Delta Hotels introduces the Delta Toronto Hotel, steps away from the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre, and Toronto Entertainment District, and No-Jet-Lag jet lag prevention.

Budapest is more than a city with a thousand-year history, literally.

It's 3 cities, 16 villages, 3 islands encompassing more than 200 square miles with a population of two million people.

That's 20% of the population of Hungary.

It's a jewel on the Danube that has attracted many.

Since the days of the Romans, it's been conquered and destroyed by the likes of Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, the Habsburgs of Austria, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the Nazis, and the Soviets.

It's risen from the ashes time and time again, and its regal beauty continues to reign over the Danube.

This is impressive-- the Great Market Hall, one of 6 market halls, the largest, established in 1896 here in Budapest in honor of Hungary's millennium.

Here on the ground floor, it's a farmers market-- Hungarian specialties such as paprika and foie gras.

The second floor is souvenir shops, also lace and textiles.

I hear there's also a section where there's Hungarian fast food.

This is obviously one of the most popular stands here in the Grand Market Hall.

Now, basically, what it is is fried bread with toppings.

Now, there's 30 different varieties plus some sweet ones which are really great I'll probably have for dessert, but I'm gonna get the traditional one-- [speaks Hungarian] which is basically bread, sour cream, cheese, and garlic.

Koszonom.

Szivesen.

Koszonom.

There it is.

Budapest has 23 districts-- cheers-- and they range from the Theater District to the Government District to the Jewish District, which is the site of the former Jewish Quarter.

After the war, these buildings were left derelict and abandoned, and then in 1989 when the Soviet Empire collapsed, those buildings were still abandoned, and the Hungarian government made them available to students to use for their events, art shows, dances.

Now they've become memorialized as the Ruin Pubs of Budapest, and all throughout in this Jewish District, there'll be pubs like this which use cast-off items and everybody seems to have a--a good time.

There's all sort of events, movies, every kind of thing taking place here, so it's a great place to come when you're here in Budapest.

From metropolitan Budapest, I head into the Hungarian countryside to the village of Kalocsa for a tour of its hand-painted porcelain factory whose 18th-century designs features the local flora and for an introduction to Hungarian food, handicrafts, and dancing.

[Shouting in Hungarian] Whoo!

[Whips cracking] Rosendo: While their names are similar and Attila did conquer the historic lands of what is now in Hungary, the Hungarians are not Huns.

They're descended from the Magyars, nomadic raiders that settled in the Great Plain of Hungary and ultimately became farmers and herders, expert horsemen and archers.

"God save us from the Magyars' arrows" was a common prayers of their victims.

We see reflections of their skills in the exploits of the Puszta horse shepherds.

[Whips cracking] Man on P.A.

: And, as you can see, does not disturb the horses at all.

[Applause] And now we would like you to help us, please.

[Crack crack] Please give big hand for our so-called volunteers.

[Applause] [Bells jingling] [Applause] Rosendo, voice-over: After the day's cultural display, we toast to new Eastern European adventures... Bon appetit, sweetie.

and bid adieu to sparkling Budapest as we float down the Danube to Croatia.

I'm on the Drava River in Osijek, Croatia.

The Drava starts between Italy and Austria and runs for about 450 miles, and it empties into the Danube about 22 miles from here.

On a sightseeing tour, you can go from the historic Old Town, where the fortress is, right up into the Upper Town, and you see the Promenada and the Copacabana.

Now, along Copacabana, you'll see people walking and running and biking, and then along the Promenada, there's restaurants and cafes, and there are even restaurants down on the river, and in Osijek, especially in the summer, all life revolves along the beach over at the Copacabana or in the cafes, restaurants, and bars on the Promenada, and in Croatia, if you want a cup of coffee, you order a kava, so here on the Promenada, you can have a kava on the Drava.

Modern-day Croatia still bears the scars of the ethnic Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

War monuments, pockmarked buildings, and mine-filled forests are memorials to the past, yet today people are working towards establishing a sense of normalcy.

Lunch at a bed and breakfast offers a chance to break bread with the locals.

Hello, everybody.

Welcome to our home.

This is my parents Milko and Helena and my sister.

Before lunch, you must try something that my father produce.

It's a homemade plum brandy.

We say, you know, after two or 3 of plum brandy, you will be speaking Croatian.

[Laughter] Zivjeli.

Zivjeli.

Zivjeli.

Zivjeli.

Thank you, Joseph.

Wow.

Ha ha ha!

All right.

Milko: Very good.

One more?

No, not yet.

Later maybe.

Is paprika as popular here in Croatia...

Yes.

Yes.

as it is in Hungary?

Yeah.

We have lots of Hungarians here.

But do you use it in--in your cooking?

In everything.

We eat here, also, all hot stuff.

But this isn't hot.

No.

This is mild.

Ha ha ha!

If somebody wants some hot peppers, no problem.

How long have you lived in this, uh-- We are living in this house 13 years now.

Oh, 13 years.

Yes.

So then you made it a bed and breakfast pretty quickly.

Yes.

Yes.

Is this your-- your first time here in this part of Croatia?

Yes, first time and very interesting.

It's also very interesting to learn about the war and how difficult that was.

You know, we were all separate...

Yes?

but now, you know, we are getting together-- you know, Serbian, Croatians, uh, everybody.

We have friends who are Serbians.

My parents, they always say that my generation, we must fix things up.

You must fix things up.

Yeah.

That's good.

That's a wonderful thing.

It is.

Your generation, you must fix things up.

Yes.

That's fine.

Well, here's to that.

I have one more.

Ha ha ha!

Good.

Thank you for-- To better times.

To better times.

Yes.

Rosendo: Once again on the Danube, the river takes me to our next port of call-- coveted and colorful Serbia and its historic and hip capital Belgrade.

Walking on the walls of the ancient Belgrade fortress, it immediately becomes clear Belgrade's attractions throughout the ages-- its strategic location.

Anyone who commanded the fortress also commanded the surrounding area.

Perhaps that's why the town of Belgrade has been attacked 44 times throughout the centuries.

From here, you can also see the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

This is certainly one of your must-do attractions on your visit to Belgrade.

A fortress highlight, the Rose Church has been named one of the world's unusual locations.

Its chandeliers are made of spent ammunition.

[Man speaking Serbian] Rosendo, voice-over: Celts, Romans, Goths, Turks-- in its 2,300-year history, Belgrade has had many masters, among them Marshal Tito and his nonaligned communism.

The Millennium Tower of Zemun, one of the last vestiges of the Austro-Hungarian rulers, offers a bird's-eye view of the city and its rivers.

There are more than a hundred traditional Serbian dishes, from soups, stews, and grilled meats to stuffed vegetables, pastries, and pies, and here along the Danube, fish is a specialty.

There are more than 40 types of edible fish and 5 kinds of perch alone.

That's what I'm having for lunch today.

Along with my fish lunch, I'm having fish soup, of course, with paprika in it.

Prijatno.

Bon appetit.

Mm, that's good.

Belgrade has many neighborhoods, different styles, different atmospheres.

Skadarlija has a bohemian atmosphere.

It's the Montmartre of Belgrade, and, yeah, it's cool.

There's music.

There's restaurants.

There's cafes, and there's good coffee.

[Folk music playing] [Record scratch] [Club music playing] Serbia's many years of struggles didn't hamper the Serbians' fun-loving spirit.

Belgrade's string of riverfront clubs is a playful place to hang out, literally.

River pubs rock, but Serbian dancing can also express a folkloric flavor.

[Traditional music playing] All: ♪ Hey!

♪ Woman: Eeeee...yah!

♪ Hey, hey, hey!

Hey, hey!

♪ Rosendo: Every travel journey has its exclamation points.

On the natural side, nothing compares with sailing through the Iron Gate, Europe's most impressive river gorge.

It's a mix of up-to-300-foot cliffs, rushing water, deep valleys and canyons, and millennia of history.

For about 60 miles along the Romanian and Serbian border, the Danube carves a swath through the Carpathians and Balkan Mountains, a watery highways once used by the Romans.

Although the river's been tamed by a series of dams-- lost forever are a Roman road, an historic railway, and towns where more than 25,000 people lived-- it is not vanquished.

In spite of the manmade alterations, nature's spectacle continues to evoke expressions of joy and wonder and forever mark the memories of those fortunate enough to travel through the Iron Gate.

Bulgaria's fertile and hilly Danubian Plain is where sunflowers, wheat, corn, and the odd crop, like okra, are grown.

On the edge of the Balkan Mountains, the area is rich in cave and stone formations.

The town of Belogradchik's Roman-era fortress rises out of its famous rocks.

The Belogradchik Rocks are 35 square miles of limestone and sandstone formations that tower up to 650 feet above the town and the surrounding countryside.

A favorite pastime is attributing personalities and stories to their fanciful shapes, such as the schoolgirl and her backpack or the shepherd boy or the Madonna, a tragic tale of a beautiful nun and her handsome nobleman and their rocky relationship, which had a very hard ending.

They were all turned to stone.

In Bulgaria, a great place to sample local specialties is a mehana, which is the Bulgarian version of a taverna.

You're sure to get some feta cheese on your meal and also some yogurt, and there are stews and grilled meats.

Um, beans are very important, so prijaten apetit.

Bon appetit.

Rosendo, voice-over: Nothing complements Bulgarian food like Bulgarian wine.

35% of Bulgaria's vineyards lie within the Danubian Plain.

The Magura Winery is very near its namesake-- the 50-million-year-old Magura Cave, which is littered with prehistoric paintings.

The cave's Bat Gallery is an incubator for aging red and fermenting sparkling wines.

How old is this winery?

How many different kinds of wines do you have?

What are we tasting today?

Misket.

OK. Da.

[Sniffs] Mm.

Smells sweet, but I bet it isn't.

It's very nice.

It's not sweet at all.

Gamza.

Don't know that wine at all, but I'm looking forward to tasting that one.

Look at the color.

Ah, that's a light red wine, very tasty.

What kind of food would go well with this?

Ah, kavarma.

I had-- That's what I had at lunch today.

Fabulous.

Petite champenois.

Going to finish off with a little French-style sparkling wine.

[Pop] Perfect.

Hey, I love-- It's a sound I love to hear.

OK. Ooh, look at that.

Look at the mousse on that.

Mm, Na zdrave.

Na zdrave.

Rosendo, voice-over: Appropriately, that night, my Bulgarian adventures are celebrated with Bulgarian wine, music, and dance.

All: ♪ Oh, oh!

♪ [Applause] ♪ Ooh, ooh!

Ooh ooh!

♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ Rosendo: Built into the hillside and bisected by the winding river, Veliko Tarnovo is one of Bulgaria's oldest settlements.

Its medieval past is captured in its terraced Old Town, formidable castle, heroic monuments, and historic, cobblestone streets.

At the end of the 19th century, women from the village of Samovodene would bring their handmade wares to a market here on this street.

The market has vanished, but the tradition lives on in the many arts-and-crafts shops here along Samovodska, named after the village, as in the past, still a place where locals and visitors come to pick up their trinkets and their handmade goods.

So what do you do here?

In this shop, you came to see Bulgarian rakija... Oh, look at that.

Bulgarian wine, Uh-huh.

rose liqueur.

Rose liqueur.

Yes.

In Bulgaria, there are many roses.

You make liqueur from them.

What an idea.

Do you like, uh, to taste?

Let's try some of it.

Look how beautiful that is.

Now, what do you use this for, before or after dinner?

Before dinner.

Before dinner.

OK.

Yes.

Na zdrave.

Na zdrave.

Oh, my gosh.

Do you like it?

I do.

It's like eating a chunk out of a rose.

Oh, my gosh, that's wonderful.

[Sniffs] Ahh.

Well, na zdrave.

Na zdrave.

Rosendo, voice-over: I join my fellow travelers at the Church of Saints Michael and Gabriel, where Veliko Tarnovo's cultural history is commemorated through ecclesiastical songs that transmute an extraordinary setting into a sublime one.

[Singing in Latin] [Singing ends] Rosendo: Romania's very agricultural country, and along the road just coming from where the boat docked into Bucharest, you see a lot of fruit stands.

From one village to the next, it's just all agriculture.

This is a free, open-air market all along the road and in town.

Of course, 10% of the population of Romania lives in Bucharest.

It's a big city.

It's the capital, but this is where life is lived.

Romania is still suffering from 25 years of Nicolae Ceausescu, whose megalomaniacal rule eclipses Transylvania's Vlad Dracula for sucking the country's lifeblood.

Blocks of homes and almost $5 billion were wasted to accommodate his Palace of the Parliament-- after the Pentagon, the world's largest building-- and yet, try as he might, Bucharest still retains some of its former glory and grace, which it is striving to recapture.

During the communist era, Bucharest was transformed from being considered the Paris of the East to being characterized by Soviet apartment-block architecture.

Fortunately, there are still neighborhoods, like the Old Town, where remnants of Bucharest's former glory still exist.

[Violins and piano playing] A majority of Romanians make their living in agriculture, which is good news for food lovers.

That means you're gonna get fresh, mostly organic ingredients in your traditional dishes, and Romanian food is peasant food.

Now, here's cheeses and meats and tomatoes, cucumbers, but look at some specific traditional dishes.

Here's mici--which is barbecued, minced meat-- and then sarmale, which is stuffed cabbage, and on top of it is mamaliga, which is polenta, and this--this is smantana, sour cream, which goes over everything in Eastern Europe.

Pofta buna.

Bon appetit.

The Danube River winds its way for more than 1,700 miles through or along 10 countries.

It's Europe's second largest river, and, while hardly ever blue, it is the stuff of legends and history.

It's been my path to highlights in Central and Eastern Europe, a region with a troubled past.

Time and time again, the 5 countries that I visited have suffered wartime destruction, yet while national boundaries have ebbed and flowed, the people have maintained their identities by clinging to each other.

Faith, family, traditions, and customs are primary, and, even though they've learned that everything they cherish could vanish in a moment not of their making, the people have rebuilt their countries and their lives.

I've appreciated the opportunity to learn their history and meet people forged in the furnace of conflict who are working to create a promising future.

Until next time, this is Joseph Rosendo reminding you of the words of Mark Twain-- "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Happy traveling.

Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by... Delta Hotels introduces the Delta Toronto Hotel, steps away from the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre, and Toronto Entertainment District, and No-Jet-Lag jet lag prevention.

Different announcer: With Scenic, our river cruising experiences have been crafted with our passengers in mind-- private balconies, private butlers.

The vistas of Europe roll by.

Dining options feature fresh and regional cuisine at up to 5 venues, included on all our Europe river cruises.

Scenic--proud sponsor of "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope."

Announcer: For a DVD of today's show or any of Joseph's "Travelscope" adventures, call 888-876-3399 or order online at Travelscope.net.

You can also e-mail us at TV@Travelscope.net or write us at the address on your screen.

Rosendo: Now that we've discovered Eastern Europe's treasures together, learn more at Travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my e-magazine, blog, podcast, and on Facebook.

Stay in touch-- 888-876-3399 or TV@Travelscope.net.

Ahh.

Ahh.

Ahh.