Danube-Networkers
The inspired waterdrop - encounter with strangers
Text: Ivan Kajgana
“Splash” it made, when a nice big raindrop landed from a thunderstorm cloud over the Black Forest onto the surface of the water in a small fountain curb, layered with natural stones. Nearby he heard his sister calling: “ I arrived at the creek that will bring me from Neckar and Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. I hope we will meet soon again!” Our drop turned around and was able to read the reflection of the sign that he started in the furthest fountain of the Danube, 2888 kilometres away from the Black Sea, his journey on Earth. Breg is the name of the creek that will be united just after 48 kilometres, close to the official fountain of the Danube in the castle park of Donaueschingen, with the Brigach and from there on it will be the second longest river of Europe, meeting ten states and various people.
The drop fell, during its endless travels, in almost all areas of this planet out of the clouds and therefore it knows many different cultures and their protagonists. The quest for power and the greed for belongings is strange to it therefore it can enjoy the new adventures easy going and relaxed, according to its knowledge of the finitude of its secular stay. Next to it complains an old confirmed member of the same kind:” Now we will meet again all kind of strangers with no manners and strange views, I would rather stay on my cloud and don’t meet ones that think differently.” When they were allowed to start the wooden wheel of an old mill which was restored for tourists, it also started to have fun. Under the oldest stone bridge they were sucked in the depth and could just hear from the distance the comfortable conversation of people at the historic sausage kitchen.
In Vienna you danced in 3/4 stroke past the imperial buildings of the monarchy and got to know the typical Viennese snide that doesn’t always have to be likeable. A melancholic Slavic song reminds of the century long repression of the Slavic people by different rulers in power while passing through the excellently remodelled castle and the old part of town of Bratislava. Lively euphoric in the Csardastroke we pass Budapest even though distressed through a gathering of uniformed “volunteers” that try to make mood for a bygone ideology.
At the crossroad, from the Drau outlet on, where peoples always fought for the supremacy of cultures and religions, our two are thinking about all the people that have to give their life away for their beliefs that many didn’t even want to know about some years later. The destroyed houses of Vukovar and the blown up bridge from Novi Sad are remodelled again but the events from the latest past should always be a reminder.
Beograd, the capital being destroyed and remodelled the most, gives an impressive record for these turmoils. Through the tightness of the “Iron Door” the water drops won’t go over the cliffs but will be squeezed through the gigantic power plant turbines twice. The spirit of freedom fighters and philosophers is around the right river bank in Bulgaria at the city of Russe where Elias Canetti was born.
On the left, Romanian river bank, the outlet of the Pruth ensured the new “Republic of Moldavia” for 900 metres. One of the three outlets leads over the Ukrainian territory to the Black Sea. The two others stay in Romania. In the jumble of reeds islands and little lakes in untouched nature the two of them almost got lost. But when they went by at the lightening tower of Sulina they found the right way. The friendly people said good bye to our waterdrops that were happy to get up in the mist of the clouds again. “This get to know of others was a great experience”, the elderly said to the young raindrop- I am looking forward to the next time.
