Auf Wiedersehen!

We were blessed to be able to spend a day with Amy and Jeff from Macedonia, their children, and Jeff's parents, as they spent a couple of days of vacation in Budapest.

Starting early in the morning, we traipsed across the Pest side of the city showing them all the famous sights until late in the afternoon and it was nap time for the kids.

Glenn, as usual, was the tour guide and filled everyone in on the history, interesting facts and legends surrounding Magyarorszag (the country of Hungary).

While we were crossing Vaci Street, our popular pedestrian walking street, I saw this lone red car among a line of black cars.  I'm not normally particularly introspective, but I did think this was a great picture of how people sometimes feel different from those around them.    Certainly, living overseas as foreigners, sometimes we feel like we stick out like a sore thumb.  I know there was a time I enjoyed being in the limelight, but not so much now.   I do, however, love the color RED and if I have to stick out in some way from those around me, I hope I can do it with flair and extravagance like the color red!

A day or two after Jeff and Amy's family left, we boarded a plane for Lorrach, Germany for a team meeting of the couples who do member care with us in Europe.  Besides being the lead Member Care consultant for Eurasia, Glenn is also the team leader for the North team, which is comprised of the 4 couples who provide member care for most of our families in Europe (including Russia).

My airline of preference is Lufthansa, a German airline.   Besides being clean, on time, and having helpful employees, they provide free newspapers in German and English (USA Today and Financial Times) and free coffee in the terminals (and now that I am such a coffee fanatic...) and they give Milka chocolate bars as their snacks on the plane.  Can't beath those perks!   (I know, we pay for them with each ticket we buy.)

Lorrach is a quaint village down in the corner of Germany where it borders France and Switzerland.  In fact, we flew into Basel, Switzerland, walked out the France side of the airport, drove about 10 minutes in France before coming to Germany.  However, there are no borders to cross, and I didn't even see any signs that said you were entering one country or leaving another, but all of a sudden the signs changed languages so you'd know you left France and entered Germany.  About 10-15 minutes into Germany, we came to Lorrach.  

We stayed in the Meyerhof Hotel right on the walking street in the heart of the "village". 

Our 3 other team member couples had been attending a Grip-Birkman training (led by one of our own member care couples) and so they were already gathered together.  It was just a matter of Glenn and me flying in to spend a few days with them at the end of their training, so we were able to have a North team retreat for little additional expense!  Yea!

We met in the mornings and evenings, but had the afternoons free to wander around the village center.  I loved this huge clock on the wall of The Three Kings hotel.  Anyone that knows me well or has been to our house in BP knows that I have a thing for clocks!

My favorite part of the retreat was lunch.  Not the meals, but the female fellowship.  Usually, we go out to eat as a mixed group, husbands and wives, but I find that I really crave some good ol' girl talk and so Glenn let the women go for lunch together, and the men went somewhere else both days.  It was great to be able to talk about things that pertain to us as women.

  

The afternoons were free to do whatever we wanted.  Since they all had just come from 4 days of intensive training, some of them were exhausted and needed some down time, as I did.  The first afternoon I stayed in my room and rested, but the second afternoon I was up for a walk along the river with others who wanted to be outside in the heavenly sunshine!  

We usually ended up walking two by two, so I got in some more "girl talk" time, which I really needed.    These ladies provided me with some real, down-to-earth member care!

We are off again today.  Any bets on where?

Continuing travels

This week we continue our travels from the last update.  We are in Split, Croatia, one of the most beautiful coastal cities in this part of the world, in my opinion.  Of course, I've not seen very many coastal cities, but I'm not sure how anything can be more beautiful than this!

We visited with one of our families for a couple of hours to get to know them and to see how they were doing, and then headed on our way to Bosnia Herzegovina.

We arrived in Mostar to visit with Richard and Linda.  They didn't warn us how narrow their streets are in their neighborhood.  The streets are NOT one way, but they should be!!  Somehow, our trusty GPS got us to their neighborhood but we couldn't really tell which house was theirs because all we could see were closed steel doors everywhere.  The steel doors are a good indicator that if something isn't nailed down, it may walk off.  

Once Glenn parked the car in their driveway, (and believe me, turning the car into their "yard" was quite a feat in these narrow streets) we decided to take a walking tour of the city.  

Not only were Richard and Linda great hosts, but they were exceptional tour guides too!  

We got to see some bombed out buildings from the Bosnian war.  The war came as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia.  Following the secession of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, the multi-ethnic Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (inhabited by Muslim Bosniaks--44%, Orthodox Serbs--31%, and Catholic Croats--17%) passed a referendum for their own independence in February of 1992.  The Serbs, however, rejected the referendum and mobilized their forces inside the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to secure Serbian territory.  War soon broke out across the country, and was accompanied by the ethnic cleansing of the Bosniak people, especially in eastern Bosnia. 

Even with remaining signs of the war, the scenery around the city was breath-taking.  

The Neretva River is 230 kilometers long, meanders throughout Bosnia, flows through the heart of Mostar,  and snakes 22 kilometers through Croatia before it empties in the Adriatic Basin.  The rocky banks of the river are gorgeous, but I wouldn't advise going swimming in it!

Richard and Linda took us into Old Town to do some browsing in the shops.  The silver jewelry was beautiful!  Fortunately, most of it was too BIG for my tastes.

The steps in Old Town were so old that the marble was worn slick!   I wonder how many hundreds of years old those steps were???

I do believe those rocky mountains provided the stone to make the buildings, with plenty to spare.

A picture of the two of us in just about every city.  

After a great visit in Mostar, we got back in the car and found our way to the capital, Sarajevo.  This is our second visit in Sarajevo, and this time the weather was either raining or pouring!!! 

We joined Julia, Matt, and Nick for a cup of coffee underneath one of the large cafe umbrellas.  Temperature-wise it was quite nice, but the blowing rain caused us to get a little damp, and therefore a little cold.  We gave up on the rain ever ending and bought an umbrella from one of the street vendors and then ran all the way back to our hotel.  By time we got there we were soaked from head to toe.  Literally.  

As we were driving out of town the next morning, I saw some more signs of the war.  Much work has been done to repair the city, but some marks from bombs and shells still remain.

I could not believe this guy replacing a sign on a busy street with no more protection than a guy standing on the ground in case the ladder falls.    I'm definitely not in America.  This would have "law suit" all over it!

Our last stop was a few hours in Novi Sad, Serbia on our way back to Budapest to visit with one of our ladies who has recently transferred there from a neighboring country.  We got home that night about 10 pm and boy, did it feel good to sleep in my own bed.  I have to admit, after being on the road for 11 days, sleeping in 9 different beds, as I stirred the next morning, I couldn't remember where I was!

Ahhhh!  Back in Budapest.  I love visiting with our families, but once the end of the trip is in sight, I'm like a horse headed to the barn.

We spent the rest of the week getting caught up on emails, and then on Saturday Glenn and I went to the big flea market in town.  

We were at Kristof and Judit's house at 6:30 am because Kristof is a serious flea marketer and he wanted to be there when they opened at 7 am!!  (Did you know there is a 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday???)  

Kristof loves to barter and he did a great job for me but he had to work for it!  These folks think very highly of their "stuff".   They call them "antiques" and therefore charge ridiculous prices.  I found a Herend china plate for 50,000 HUF, which is about $250!   At a "flea market"!  

I did manage to get a 3" candy dish from the Kalocsai region of Hungary.  I love the bright, traditional flowers.  Evidently they do too, because even buying it at the flea market, it wasn't cheap.  The demitasse cup and saucer is from one of the top Hungarian china companies called Hollohaz.   I would have loved a piece of the world famous Herend porcelain (haven't you heard of Herend?  No?  Me neither, until I moved here) but I can't afford even the tiniest piece of anything.  I'll have to settle for Hollohaz and Zsolnay.  :-)

We head out for Germany on Wednesday but will be back by the end of the week.  Hope your week is good.  Mine will be!

Two NEW countries...

... out of the seven we will be visiting on this trip!  We started 6 days ago in western Hungary, visiting with friends, but unfortunately, I failed to take pictures of us at the thermal bath with Paul and Tena, and with Bethany and Michelle when we went out for dinner!

The next day, we headed toward Bovec, Slovenia (new country) through Austria ...  

It was time for lunch when we were driving through Wolfsberg, a tiny village in the corner of Austria, close to the Italy and Slovenia borders.   According to our GPS, there was a Pedro's Mexican restaurant in Wolfsberg.  I thought to myself, "Maybe this is the best Mexican restaurant in Europe, and I'm going to discover it for the benefit of all our friends in Europe!"  Well, evidently it was not very good because it had not succeeded.   However, while looking for Pedro's, we stumbled upon the AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE sandwich shop!  

We saw this signboard on the sidewalk on Johann Offner Strasse (Johann Offner Street) which advertised Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches!!!  So we quickly followed the ONE WAY sign that pointed  into an alley.   LO, and behold!  It was the real thing!  We talked with Jason, an American married to an Austrian and the owner of the sandwich shop, about his story and how he came to be in this little corner of the world, tucked away in a quaint village.  You may be quicker than me, but "Lighthouse" and "One Way" signs should have clued me in to the fact that Jason is a believer and this is his "raison d'être" (reason for being) in Austria!  How cool!  If you are ever in this part of Austria, you really ought to go by and try one of his cheesesteak sandwiches.  Ask him to add a hot pepper or two!  

If you have any questions about how to find his place, send him a message on Facebook.  Tell him the Borders recommended the place to you!

To get to Bovec, Slovenia, we had to go around some of the Alps, through the corner of Italy.  We were only in Italy about 30 minutes, and according to our children, we can't consider ourselves to have visited Italy unless we had eaten a meal and conversed with a local person.  We just drove through it so we couldn't count this as one of the countries we've visited.  (Not together, anyway.  I visited Italy when I was in middle school and living in Germany with my parents.)

It was a tiny town with winding roads up the hillside ...

and "bykers" everywhere.  Our son, Chris, would have loved the Italian Dragon Tail!  

The scenery was awesome, once we got on the autoroute and off the winding, hilly roads that scared me silly.

In Bovec, Slovenia, a tourist town made popular because of all the outdoor sports available, we met with one of our families during the afternoon while 2 of their girls were taking golfing lessons, and then we all went out for a celebratory birthday dinner for the dad.   I wish I'd thought to take pictures of the girls with their golf clubs!!

While we were heading out of town, I saw one of these benches with a Bible verse engraved on it next to a gas station.  I wondered if our family in Bovec knew there were some other Christians in their town, but as I found out later, THEY were the ones who'd had the benches made and placed around town!  

In fact, Central Baptist Church of Magnolia, Arkansas sends volunteer teams out each year to make the benches and "plant" them in various locations in this corner of the world.  It is such a small world!  Glenn did an internship at Central Baptist Church as Minister to Youth and Senior Adults when we were first married, back in the late 70's, and I think we know the man in the dark striped shirt from our days at Central!  What a cool ministry!  (Photo provided by one of our families.)

  

From there we traveled to Maribor, Slovenia to visit with the Bell's.  They had just returned from a trip to Germany and had such a busy schedule that day that we only had a couple of pleasant hours with them at a coffee shop known for its delicious desserts.  As the Brits would say, it was "spot on!"

We drove on down to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia to spend some time with J.P. and Angie.  As it turned out, Angie's parents were arriving at the Venice, Italy airport that evening, a 3-hour drive, so we spent a couple of hours with them, and then let them get on the road.   Before this trip, Sarajevo, Bosnia was my favorite city, but once I saw the city center of Ljubljana, it moved up to first place.  

Any city that has a beautiful river running through the center is likely to get one of my votes.

And if the city has sidewalks and cafe's all along the river, it's even more appealing.

We stayed over night in Ljubljana and enjoyed the market the next morning.

They had some very different kinds of flowers for sale!

I always enjoy outdoor fruit and vegetable markets!  I just wish I'd had a kitchen to prepare something with all the yummy produce!

I also enjoy the grocery stores in every country I visit.  Slovenia doesn't have a lot of American products, but in EVERY grocery store I visited, I found Oreos.  

The city center streets were blocked off to cars and trucks, so people walked everywhere.  WATCH OUT for those BIKES though!  They were everywhere!

We loved walking, and walking, and walking.

I was amazed by all the gorgeous flowers.  These Begonia's were the largest potted flowers I've ever seen.

And this is probably one of the most bizarre sites I've ever seen!  Pairs of shoes thrown over a rope tied between two buildings.  I asked a local man who spoke English what it symbolized, or was it a memorial, or what.  He didn't really know.  Hey, anyone from Ljubljana, can you tell me what this is all about?

We had a lovely time in Ljubljana and I hated to leave, but we needed to run on down to Zagreb, Croatia (new country) to visit with a family and then get to Rakovica, Croatia before nightfall.  Actually, the family lives in Brdovec, near Zagreb.  (Please, may I buy a vowel?)  We enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal of grilled chicken, roasted potatoes and mixed salad, and then went for dessert and coffee at one of their favorite bakeries.  

On our way to Rakovica where we took a day off, we stopped to have dinner at a rustic looking restaurant on a back road somewhere.  One of our families recommended we try the trout because they are fresh, caught from one of the nearby rivers.  We were not disappointed in the grilled trout!!

After leaving Rakovica, we traveled through rocky, mountainous terrain for 3 hours on wonderful roads that took us to Split, a coastal city in the southwestern part of Croatia.  The dry, barren, rocky soil and craggy mountains reminds me of Israel.

Lots of rocks and very unusual rock formations but very smooth highways!

Glenn has been driving us for 6 days now and I think he was really glad to get out of the car!  We arrived in Stobrec, just outside Split, in the middle of the afternoon and got to enjoy some time in the sun.

Though our room is small, it is air conditioned and it overlooks the marina in the bay.  We can see a small beach on the other side and houses rising up the hillside.   Small cafe's line the edge of the water.  The water is very clear and refreshingly cool.   I was tempted to go swimming. 

I succumbed to the temptation.    I loved every minute of it.  (We found floats in the stairwell for the guests of the building.)   :-)

After a short swim float, we walked into the main part of the town and ate at a restaurant overlooking the water.  And tonight, we're working on emails.  Well, after I finish this blog update.  

We meet with a family tomorrow, and then head on to Bosnia the next day.   

Next weeks' blog update:  Bosnia and Serbia