July 23, 2021 ** Crossing the international border between Romania and Bulgaria via the Giurgiu Friendship Bridge over the Danube River.
The Danube Bridge (also known as the Friendship Bridge) is a steel truss bridge over the Danube River connecting the Bulgarian bank to the south with the Romanian bank to the north and the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu respectively. It is one of only two bridges connecting Romania and Bulgaria, the other one being the New Europe Bridge between the cities of Vidin and Calafat.
Opened on June 20, 1954 and designed by Soviet engineers, the bridge is 2,223 m (7,295 ft) long and was, at the time, the only bridge over the Danube shared by Bulgaria and Romania, with other traffic being served by ferries and land routes. Decorations were designed by Bulgarian architect Georgi Ovcharov. The bridge has two decks - a two lane motorway (on top) and a railway (below).
Sidewalks for pedestrians are also included (I saw several backpackers making the long walk).
The central part of the bridge (85 m) is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage. The maintenance of the mobile part is Romania's responsibility and is periodically checked. The bridge was constructed in two and a half years with the aid of the Soviet Union.
The Soviets named it the "Friendship Bridge", but, since the fall of the communist regimes in both countries, the bridge got the more functional name of "Danube Bridge".
Border control stations are present on the bridge, due to its serving as a border crossing between the two countries. Since January 2007 there is no more customs control and the passport/identity card control is done "on one desk" either by the Bulgarian or the Romanian border police, being an "internal border" within the European Union. Border control will be completely removed when (if?) Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen Agreement.
Since neither Bulgaria or Romania are part of the Euro economic zone, there are also several money exhchange booths on both sides of the river to exchange Romania lei for Bulgarian lev.
Bulgaria is my 159th country to visit. Trip note: I took a day trip and shared the costs with 3 other travelers from Bucharest to the ancient Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo - using the excellent services of Mr. Tripp in Bucharest. [ Ссылка ]
