Third Set of Photos

After our garden walk in the morning, we went to the Memorial to Tito who was president of Yugoslavia after WW II.  Yugoslavia actually means South Slavics and was many combined nations that we were now visiting.  These countries were behind the Iron Curtain after WW II and our tour guide said about the situation "the Russian bastards forgot to leave and life under them was no better, and in some cases, even worse."

Tito was the best of the communist leaders that we studied on our trip.  He didn't lean too far to the east or west and stayed on the fence as much as possible to use that position to gain from both fronts.  He did use the available labor and resources to rebuild the country and was better to his people than most.  After his death the whole scenario fell apart, the individual former countries went to war and the geography I learned in school went kaput and now there are all these small countries again trying to make a go of it.

We traveled through 8 countries that had 8 languages and 8 currencies.  Our Serbian program director said what she envies most about the U.S. is our common language, common currency and we are ALL Americans.  On the football fields we may be Semnioles or Gators but that doesn't define our allegiance to our country.

A look at St. Sava's Cathedral from the gardens.

Ted's contribution to our photo contest, take a picture of a lady in a red dress.

 
Flowers in the Tito gardens.  Very nice landscaping throughout the place.

Tito's grave.  His third wife is buried next to him.  She died not too long ago.

Kara's up next with a local standing at a fountain.  Did you notice the pretty girl and handsome young man Kara and Ted got compared to our waiter I got?

We traveled down into town and visited St. Sava's Cathedral the largest Orthodox cathedral in the world.  It is just concrete inside, no altars or anything yet beyond the main altar.

We moved on to Vukovar, Croatia that was 90% destroyed by a war with Serbia in the early 90s.  I was amazed at how much had been rebuilt.  You probably have seen people buying large containers of water but did you ever see someone buying 5 gallons of milk?  We called it the electronic cow!

Bullet holes that remain in many homes.

Inside the monastery chapel within the Fortress.

A crucifix made from elements of war.

 
The town square in the neighborhood of the Fortress.

Our hostesses for lunch. 

The Danube from their back yard.  The trees to the left and that ground was not there before the war.  I don't know exactly what happened to create the peninsula but it has only been there for about 20 years.

A little light humor from the neighbor next door.

A modern church built to replace the demolished church and the locals hate it.  You can't tell from this perspective but the tower is shaped like a swan's neck and the body of the church is humped like a swans back.  It really doesn't blend in with the architecture of this centuries old town. \

Some damage is not being repaired as a reminder of the war.  This is the water tower on the river banks and probably very visible to Serbia across the river.

Here is a house that has been repaired next to one that still has shelling damage that has not been repaired.

Another unrepaired house.

The biggest contrast.  The house on the right has been restored but the house next to it still has the pockmarks of shellings. 

This house in the commercial district appeared on the cover of National Georgraphic.  The owner places the flowers there each year and said he doesnot intend to repair it,  he wants it there as a reminder.

Second Set of Photos

We spent a day on the river going through Iron Gates I and II to reach Belgrade, Serbia.  The narrow part of the Danube through lovely gorges was so peaceful and relaxing.

 

We visited Kalemegdan garden and castle the next day in Belgrade.  The Natural History Museum is located there and their current show is Dinosaurs.  This city was an important east-west trade route between western Europe and the Middle East.  To this day, that makes it a "bump in the road to everywhere" and can cause major problems for it.  They are now emerging from many years of repressive rule.

A Big Bertha on display at the fort.

Cannon balls embedded in the fort wall.

Lovely view of the Sava and Danube Rivers confluence.

Keith's contribution to our competition - getting a local to wear your name tag.

More communism architecture - grey, concrete apartment buildings.  They were not allowed to paint them.

 More apartments to live in when the government confiscated your property.

It is about all we saw in family living options.

Keith offered to "hug a statue" for our competition.  This photo was the hit of all the slideshows!!

First Post of Photos

Ted took this photo through our window as it passed us on the river.  I think we were in Constanza, Romania getting ready to go on a tour.  I won't say what he said about them.

 

Here are a few photos Ted took in Constanza.  I missed the tour so only know it is a resort town on the Black Sea.  The notes indicate this is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul including frescoes of God the Father, Jesus and the Blessed Virgin.  The red roof building is the Natural History Museum and is close to the ruins dating back centuries.

The beach looked nice and the director pointed out a failed communist undertaking, a restaurant to sit over the water.  It never was completed and the shell remains to this day.

Our next stop was Ruse, Bulgaria.  We took a tour to Veliko Tarnova and Arbanassi.  Veliko Tarnova was the capital of Bulgaria from 1186 until 1394. 

We drove on to Arbanassi which was a highly protective fortress where wealthy people chose to live in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Its 80 houses, 5 churches and 2 monasteries reflect a unique fortress like architectural style.

We visited the Church of Archangels Michael and Gabriel where we were treated to four men singing in what I would describe as Gregorian chant.  The church was very plain outside but was completely covered with frescoes inside.  Ted found himself a seat.

In town we visited a house from the Ottoman era.  It was very Turkish in its furnishings but very comfortable for its time.  They had warmth in the winter, a good cooking area and a hole in the floor for when they were under siege!

We had lunch where a chicken stew was served.  It was very good and they shared the recipe for it.  I liked it and will try to make it.  We were in a ship's contest where we had to take photos of 20 specific things and one of our team members had to be in it too.  Some were posed and others we took standing in the area of a person who was unaware that they were the photo subject!  Here our waiter is wearing Ted's ball cap which was one of our 20 photos needed

We continued sailing to Viden, Bulgaria where we visited Baba Vida, a medieval fortress of two walls and four towers.  This is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria and its main port on the Danube River.  The modern looking bridge was built but the government never got around to building a road to it on the Romanian side and it sat unused for a year.

I will end with this Day 6 and pick up Day 7 in another blog.

Feeling the Air Rage Events

It is interesting that there have been a few air rage incidents about reclining seats just as we were squashed by KLM into a similar situation.  Poor Ted actually sits with his knees on either side of the seat in front of him and when they lean back he can hardly put his tray down flat to receive his food.  The attendant will usually tell them they have to sit up because the person behind them cannot eat.  

The answer is for the airlines to stop adding rows of seats shrinking personal space and limit the recline amount.  When you have 36 inches of room and the seat in front of you takes six by reclining, it is a definite problem.

My personal problem is getting from the second seat to the aisle without holding onto the reclined seat and disturbing the reclined person.  Since you cannot stand up straight it is necessary to brace yourself using that seat back.  When they turn around I just smile at them. 

We did try to buy exit row seats, extra legroom seats, etc. but none were available.  KLM 747s have been the worse in our travels and I will not use them again.  As an Inner Circle member at Grand Circle we now have input into our air itinerary.  We would prefer flying to the northeast for a first leg, then do the second leg from there but not on KLM!

Our 2:15 am wake up call at the Prague hotel came at 2:50 for a 3:15 departure.  Good thing I woke up about 2:00 on my own.  We met two other travelers downstairs, settled our account, were given coffee, a sandwich, apple, orange, water and cookies since there was no breakfast.  I tried to check in on line and it said I couldn't.  That day I tried before we left the hotel and it said I couldn't.   At the airport I tried again because Karen and Lou both were able to but it spit out a sheet saying I couldn't.   Since we were there 45 minutes before the counter was even open, I was first in line.  

I gave the clerk our itinerary and reservation code, our passports and the piece of paper the machine had spit it.  She never asked questions, never explained, just checked us in and sent our luggage through.  Whatever!

Security was no problem.  We are well versed in the ziplock bag, jewelry and belts, etc.  Also, Europe wants ALL electronics (I-Pad, Kindle, phones, cameras, etc.) in the bin. I had them in their own bag in my  huge purse so I could take them out easily.  After security in Prague you have to do it again in Amsterdam.  My hip always sets off the machine so I am used to the pat down each and every time.

Our flights were uneventful and we slept some, read, watched TV and movies, listened to music and including a two hour layover in Amsterdam arrived home safely some 12 hours later.  Our passports were checked as we left the plane (new), down the hall we had to put pur passports in a machine, confirm the info and look into the camera to receive a printed paper complete with photo (new).  This was presented to Immigration that compared all the info and stamped the paper, not the passport.  We  waited quite awhile for baggage which we took through Customs quickly and finally hooked up with Terry for our ride home.  Our passports are our fourth ones and new this year.  Now we have 9 stamps already!

I did three loads of laundry, ate a salad and tried to stay awake watching our recorded shows but by 8:00 I was falling asleep and went to bed.  A 7 hour time difference and a long travel day wears you out. 

I will do the photo blogs next.  Here are two photos sent by our program director.  The first is our Home Hosted Visit in Vucavar, Croatia and the second is our whole group at St. Sava's Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia.