Tour of the Balkans – Page 2

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October 14, 2014October 14, 2014

Day 8 – A visit to Cavtat and a Dinner Cruise

So far we have had eight wonderful stress free days. That is what I love most about a Bus Tour. All the planning is done for you. We just wake up in the morning, and if it is a day when we are on the move, it is just a matter of getting our bag out the Hotel room door by around 7.30am, and from then on our main task is following the Tour Directors instructions. We visit the best tourist attractions, the entry fee is included in the tour cost, and most days the lunch and/or the evening meal is also included. We get the most information possible about every town and attraction that we are visiting, we get guided tours through the towns, and we also get enough free time to discover a few things by ourselves.

The walk around the wall at Dubrovnik was something we chose to do, and it proved a great decision. Other people from our tour decided to take the gondola up the hill at Dubrovnik and see the views from that super high position. They came back with great reports as well.

During the day we selected an add on tour to a nearby town called Cavtat. A lovely little seaside town that has a half hour walk around the little beaches. The little township was the place for us to have our lunches at a restaurant of our choice.

Across the water in the distance is Dubrovnik

The day was beautiful and hot and there were several people enjoying a swim in the warm Adriatic sea. As we walked around I remembered the wonderful feeling that I felt from diving off a boat and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea at The Isle of Capri last year on our ‘Grand tour of Italy and Sicily’. Judy Teresa and I sat with our feet dangling in the sea, savouring the moment, when the decision was made that we would have a swim in the Adriatic!

Feet dangling in and being tempted to jump in

Teresa, Lisa and myself were the only ones brave enough to jump in

The water was lovely and warm and very salty

The secluded place where we swam in our bra and undies!

The swim was fantastic! We ate lunch sitting in our clothes with wet underwear underneath but it didn’t matter in the least. The experience was enough to put up with any discomfort.

That evening we went out for a dinner cruise off Dubrovnik. A few others from the tour (and us three as well) were going to go for a another swim. This time jumping off the boat. The only reason why we didn’t was the fact the there was no ladder, the boat sat high up in the water, and the crew was going to have to pull us back onto the boat! It was hard enough for me to get back up on land from the swim earlier in the day. I couldn’t imagine getting my body dragged up the side of the boat and try to look glamorous as well, so I decided against it. So did the others!

We left Dubrovnik and sailed to a very still bay and had a super meal together. It was such a treat.

Our Captain telling us about the evening, and the alcohol :-) — Our Captain telling us about the evening, and the alcohol 🙂

Eating our nibbles and celebrating the night

Another view of the wall surrounding the Old Town of Dubrovnik

What a fabulous evening, and we all slept peacefully and with such happy memories of the day.

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October 14, 2014December 4, 2014

Dubrovnik – Croatia

Dubrovnik is what George Bernard Shaw described as ‘Paradise on Earth’. I personally had never heard of the place, but having now seen it, I will never forget it. Imagine an old town with stone paved streets, houses down each side and all looking similar, and the whole place encircled with high stone walls and 16th century bastions. Then imagine a narrow path on top of the wall where you can walk around the town and look down on the roofs and streets. And then adding to the picture in your mind, put the whole place along the seafront. Can you picture it?

Dubrovnik – with the old town and wall surrounding it near the sea

Happily getting our photo taken with Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea as the backdrop

The walls run almost 2 km around the city. They are from four to six meters thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. The system of turrets and towers were intended to protect the vulnerable city. The walls of Dubrovnik have also been a popular filming site for HBO’s Game Of Thrones for the fictional city of Kings Landing.

Walking along the wall with other tourists on a beautiful sunny day

The moment we arrived at the city gates we were in awe!

Look at the people walking around the wall behind me

Fabulous buildings. Any renovations done and the colour and stone has to be exactly the same — Fabulous buildings. Any renovations done and the paint colour and stone has to be exactly the same

On of the many steps to the outer houses — One of the many steps to the outer houses

The steps with the lower foot built in so the ladies ankles couldn't be seen by gentlemen (Obviously not from this era) — The steps with the lower foot built in so the ladies ankles couldn’t be seen by gentlemen below (Obviously not from this era)

As you can gather walking around Dubrovnik was an awesome experience. What you can’t see from the photos was the even smaller streets going off in all directions and all the little shops about the place. The walk around the wall was definitely the highlight of the day though. The roof tops and the distant views were wonderful.

Now prepare yourself. There are way too many photos, but they were all so good I couldn’t take any out. If you want a better look at a photo just click on it and it will open up as a bigger photo…. it may take a while to load though…. but will be worth it 🙂

The houses behind us were ones that are part of Dubrovnik but not in the old town

Another view of the roofs of the old town

Looking across the old town from the wall

Look at the crowd! It got busier as the day went on. Can you see Robin?

Looking down into someones home. She is doing her ironing :-) — Looking down into someones home. She is doing her ironing 🙂

From a turret looking out over the harbour

A view of the people on main street in the old town

Yes I know…. way too many photos. I did say I couldn’t delete any as they are all amazing! Thank goodness we have super Cameras to record these moments for us all to enjoy over and over again.

I have a short video of Dubrovnik for you to look at! Enjoy 🙂

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October 13, 2014October 18, 2014

Mostar – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Okay… so here is a map to show you where we now, well for this blog post anyway. We started at Budapest, traveled down to Belgrade, then onto Sarajevo and now we arrive at Mostar.

The map... just for information on where we are :-) — The map… just for information on where we are 🙂

Our final destination for the day was to be Dubrovnik. We had already stopped at Jablanica, and for lunch we were to have a very special treat. Not only great food but a fantastic place to eat as well.
Facebook has a page called ‘Places to see before you die’ and I often see pictures of places and things that I think would be just amazing to visit and see with my own eyes. About six months earlier I saw a photo of a very high bridge and the surrounding town looked very old. I tagged Judy (my sister) on the photo and wrote “I wonder if we will get to see this place?” Well… Mostar was that place, and yes! This was our lunch destination. I was so excited and very happy. When you see the photos you will understand why!
The beautiful white stone bridge had stood since the Ottoman Turks had built it in 1566. In November, 1993, it was blown up during the Bosnian war, but as it was a World Heritage site, it was fully restored and finished in 2004.

At the top of the arch of the bridge two handsome and tanned men stood collecting money from tourists in the dare that if they got a sufficient amount, they would jump. The Neretva river is such that the deepest and safest place to jump was a very small area. So the excitement that the men would build before they jumped the 70 feet into the water, was part of their act and of entertaining the tourists. I think they hoped we would all pay more for another jump!

The two men seeinng funds for the jump — The two men seeking funds for the jump

Ans he safely lands and swims to the riverside — And he safely lands and swims to the riverside

The spectators/tourists on and beside the bridge

The little town itself was spectacular enough. It would still be worth the visit even without the bridge jump! A narrow stone road led to the bridge which has the largest stone arch span of 28 metres. Along each side of the road were little shops selling colourful silks, weaved fabric, copper articles, souvenirs and lace.

Yep! We are good posers :-) — Yep! We are good posers 🙂

We had so many restaurants to chose from but decided on one that overlooked the river. Eating our lunch while looking at the bridge and the amazing view the area offered was definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment. I couldn’t believe we were lucky enough to be at that very spot!

Love the pink buildings in amongst the other buildings

On a serious note though, the young girl who showed us our seats at our restaurant has lived in Mostar all her life, she was 17. I said to her that she must be delighted to live in such a pretty town. Her response was that there was no work available, only the tourist trade and she didn’t get full time work at that. She also said that it was very seasonal work and for much of the year they had no income. And she couldn’t get an opportunity to advance herself without money or education. Tugged at my heart strings I can tell you! The town also still bears the wounds from the Bosnia war and many buildings still needed repair.

A building by our bus stop. Still bearing scars from the Bosnian war!

I think this is just an old building on our walk to the bridge

I loved Mostar! I hope that you can get an idea of how amazing it is by the photos. If you click on the photo you will get a larger view. They take awhile to upload as they are very good quality, but worth it for a better picture.

Enjoy looking and feel free to leave a comment 🙂

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October 13, 2014

Jablanica – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Well Jablanica wasn’t our final destination for the day but was a great place to stop for a walk and visit through the museum.

From Wikipedia…

During the Battle of the Neretva in 1943, Jablanica was the site of a successful raid by a group of Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito. A rail bridge over the river was blown up while a train was in the middle of crossing. There is a park and monument commemorating this action at the site. The bridge section and the locomotive which can still be seen in the river gorge are the remains of a film set depicting the battle, from the 1960s.

As soon as we got off the bus we were met by Gypsy beggars. It’s very sad to see so many people that are really struggling to survive. Rubbish was never a problem in the past for this area but with society changing to using more plastic containers and bags, the gypsys have begun a trade as rubbish collectors. We didn’t see them doing this so much at Jablanica, but we did see horse drawn carts in other towns and being filled with rubbish.

Before we got back on the bus we all wandered through the local market. Fresh fruit and veges, cheeses and believe it not stalls like a families garage sale… used clothing and furniture etc., were all being sold.

Judy and Len wandering through the market — Judy and Len wandering through the markey

All too soon it was back on the bus and on the road to the next city. For those of us who had never been to Mostar before, we were in for a real treat. One amazing place I tell you!

Wait until you see the photos 🙂

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October 12, 2014

Sarajevo – A Home Hosted Dinner!

You would think that we had already had a very good overview of Sarajevo buy reading my previous Blog post, but no…. there is more! The next part of our visit was just the best! We chose to do this add on tour right at the start of the holiday purely because of the write up on the ‘Insight Vacations’ brochure… And we weren’t disappointed. It was a very memorable experience and the food was delicious!

SARO6 HOME HOSTED DINNER
A unique and rewarding in sight into the local way of life.
Small groups of 5 or 6 guests are invited into a Sarajevan
family home for a welcome drink and dinner. Savour the
warm hospitality and authentic cuisine as you hear
inspirational stories about their culture and recent
struggles. Dinner is typical of the region, usually soup,
stuffed vegetables and kebabs. Wine, beer, or fruit juice is
also included. Coffee or tea with baklava is served for
dessert.

Only 24 of us chose this experience and we all thought it was one of the best experiences we had had so far this tour. It was the easiest way to discover exactly what life was like for the average Sarajevan citizen during the four years of the Bosnian war from 1992-1996, and also what their everyday life is like now!

A very typical housing block. The building to the left is where we went for our hosted dinner.

Standing at the entrance of the housing block, waiting for our turn to use the lift. We went up to the 12th (or 13th) floor.

Now! None of us should ever moan about our living conditions or the size of our house. We New Zealanders are extremely spoilt (well the majority are anyway). We usually have separate houses with two or three bedrooms (maybe more), and with a grassed lawn area in front and behind. Some of us live in apartments or blocks of flats but they are usually still quite roomy and very comfortable. Our host family have lived in their one bedroom, very small apartment for 35 years! the couple brought up their three children there! Two boys and a girl! can you imagine two very active little boys growing up with no room to run around and play? I had four sons and I know that they need space for getting rid of energy and they also make lots of noise! The husband was working night shift as a customs officer, and the daughter who lives at home still with her two young sons, was at work also. So the mother not only cooked, was our hostess for the evening, but also looked after her two grandsons as well! What an amazing lady! She smiled the whole time and didn’t appear stressed at all! And the boys demanded her attention very often!

The lady in the blue top and glasses is our host. She has the older grandson on her knee

Nera our interpreter is busy answering our thousand questions!

You can see that we are sitting in the dining room, at the table, ready to start our dinner. What you can’t see is that the chairs are right up against the wall. The door to the left leads to a small lounge room. This is also the bedroom for the daughter and her two sons (the daughter is recently divorced and has moved back home). At the entrance is a very small hallway which has the one bedroom to the right and the bathroom to the left. The door behind our host leads to her very narrow tiny kitchen. It has the sink bench (with dishwasher….yay) one side and fridge and stove on the other. The doors open back onto the fridge and the stove! Arghhhh…. what a kitchen to work in! and for 35 years! How does she do it????? The kitchen also leads out to a very tiny deck which as she explained to us is used for drying washing and also storage! But she served us the most delicious meal!

Now doesn't this look yummy! — Now doesn’t this look yummy! The stuffed grape vine leaves and onions are very traditional food. They are both stuffed with minced meat.

During the war years our host family had young children including a baby. She told us that there was no easy access to running water and washing nappies was a major problem. Sickness was also a huge challenge. Natural remedies were often the only medicine available and that people just adjusted lives to the situation they were in. The neighbours all knew and supported each other and rallied together to help meet each others needs. They also shared in each others sorrows when family members or friends were either killed or injured in the war. They became very practical and would use any available ground for growing vegetables and mostly ate what they grew. The staple diet was rice provided by the UN, and Nera said that after four years of eating rice, she chooses to avoid rice at every occasion nowdays! The interesting thing was that as a child Nera said that war for her was a fun time. She didn’t attend school the whole four years and her game of choice was collecting the empty gun shells along with all her friends!

The stair well. It was actually quite scary!

After our fabulous meal and very informative conversation, it was time to get back to the Hotel. The exiting experience very exciting. We were 12 floors up and the lift just simply didn’t come, no matter how many times we pushed the button! So the decision was to walk down, and that is also very normal for the inhabitants of this housing building. The light is a timed light and we had to push the button at each floor because if you didn’t, the whole stair well would be in complete darkness! This happened on our first lot of stairs as we were all talking. Nera felt her way to the next switch in darkness while we stood in shock as it was so dark! And they have lived here for 35 years!!!!!

We all need to remember the living situations of others less fortunate and be so very thankful for all we have. Never take our life for granted! We are extremely blessed!

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October 11, 2014October 13, 2014

Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Now describing our time in Sarajevo is going to be very emotional for me! Talk about a city that has suffered so much destruction!

The whole city is still covered in scars and those are the visual ones. I believe the people are still learning to live with the consequences of the war, and those scars that it left are not so visual! Our local tour guide Nera was only seven when the war started and she shared many of her experiences with us. She remembered eating only pasta, rice, and American rations, no salt or sugar for 4 years.

Many many buildings stand tall with the evidence of war firmly engraved in their walls. This is just one photo.... sadly there are many more buildings that can be recorded! — Many many buildings stand tall with the evidence of war firmly engraved in their walls. This is just one photo…. sadly there are many more buildings that can be recorded!

Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River. Unfortunately it’s position in the valley made it easy for the Serb forces to surround it, and very difficult for the people to protect themselves and also to get out safely.

The Bosnian War for independence lasted from the 5th of April 1992 to the 29th of February 1996. The city’s residents endured 175 artillery shells falling each and every day! During the siege, 11,541 people lost their lives, including over 1,500 children. An additional 56,000 people were wounded, including nearly 15,000 children. How extremely sad 🙁

From our hotel window we could see the surrounding mountains and sensed a little of how vulnerable Sarajevo was.

We were quite high up so could see for quite a distance

If you look closely at the end of the building in this photo, you can see the scars from the shootings

Sarajevo is low in the valley. Thankfully though it has the river running through so it has access to water. — Sarajevo is low in the valley. Thankfully though it has the river running through so it has access to water, but only in the old town centre.

We commenced our Sarajevo discovery with a walking tour through the old city. Narrow marbled streets with little shops, cafes and restaurants, and churches of every denomination.

Some of our tour party as we wandered the little streets of the Old City

A Quote from Wikipedia…

“The city is famous for its traditional cultural and religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Judaism and Catholicism Orthodoxy, coexisting there for centuries. Due to this long and rich history of religious and cultural variety, Sarajevo was sometimes called the “Jerusalem of Europe”or “Jerusalem of the Balkans”. It was, until recently in the 20th century, the only major European city to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighborhood”.

I think this is one of the churches??? — This is the Orthodox cathedral.

And I think this is a Catholic Church — This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral

This fence surrounds the courtyard of the Mosque

A BIG book containing all the names of the Jewish people who died in the war.

Along the pavement through the city are plaques with red paint splattered on them to show the ‘rivers of blood’ that ran down the streets ! A memorial of lives lost fighting for this nation!

We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and sampled some of the local food. Little mincemeat sausages in a bread like a panini and served with a yoghurt drink. They were actually very nice.

We wandered further and then were given a Turkish coffee each to sample. It was very strong with all the coffee grindings at the bottom…. almost like sand!

We were given a tray with our little coffee pots and sugar lumps. You can see the coffee silt floating on top!

During our stay in Sarajevo we also went out to the historic site of the Sarajevo Tunnel – Known as the ‘Tunnel of life’. Wikipedia describes this tunnel far better than I can…

“The Sarajevo Tunnel was constructed between May 1992 and November 1995, during the Siege of Sarajevo in the midst of the Bosnian War. It was built by the Bosnian Army in order to link the city of Sarajevo, which was entirely cut-off by Serbian forces, with Bosnian-held territory on the other side of the Sarajevo Airport, an area controlled by the United Nations. The tunnel linked the Sarajevo neighbourhoods of Dobrinja and Butmir, allowing food, war supplies, and humanitarian aid to come into the city, and people to get out. The tunnel became a major way of bypassing the international arms embargo and providing the city defenders with weaponry”

Our tour group outside the house where the tunnel was built. Notice the gun shot damage to the house!

Close up of the map showing the tunnel position

Our local tour guide describing the movements through the tunnel

Equipment that helped transport goods through the tunnel

We walked through the part of the tunnel that is still open to the public

My niece Teresa, who was on the tour with us had just finished reading the book ‘Goodbye Sarajevo’ (by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield). Everything we saw there just meant so much more to her as the events of the war are well described in the book. I was so impressed with her knowledge that I downloaded the book on my Kindle and started reading it straight away. I have finished reading it now and highly recommend it as a ‘Must read book’. Please comment this post and let me know what you think about it once you have read it too 🙂 Of course a trip to Sarajevo completes it nicely 🙂

We also experienced a meal with a local family….. but that is another story and a great one at that! Sarajevo part two will follow 🙂

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October 10, 2014

Topola, Serbia

Okay… Wikipedia is going to be very helpful here.

While in Belgrade we went out to a place called Oplenac. We climbed a steep hill to see the amazing St George’s Church known also as Oplenac Church and Oplenac Mausoleum, it is the Mausoleum of the Serbian and Yugoslav Royal House of Karadordevic located on top of the Hill Oplenac in the city of Tolopa, Serbia. The Foundation in Oplenac is named after King Peter 1 of Yugoslavia. Our guide Milos filled us in on the history of the place. I got lost in the details! but I also got lost in the magnificance of the place. The inside was just amazing! I’m sure the photos won’t do it justice…. but I have to share the place with you somehow!

Does the strain of the climb show on our faces?

Our first view of St Georges Church. It certainly doesn't look that spectacular from the outside! — Our first view of St Georges Church. It certainly doesn’t look that spectacular from the outside!

We are all inside... and can't believe our eyes! — We are all inside… and can’t believe our eyes!

Just look at how amazing these ceiling are!

Even the floors are amazing! Works of Art!

In the lower floor were the tombs and the mosaics are just as spectacular!

And now the other :-) — And now the other 🙂

A close up of one of the mosaics downstairs

I'm still amazed by this place! — I’m still amazed by this place!

The windows and decorations above the tombs

Now after seeing this amazing place we went to visit the home of King Peter. Milos told us heaps of the history but I was lost in thought. I couldn’t get my mind of the fabulous church we had just visited! I guess I am way more stimulated by the visual rather than by listening to someone talk!

We finished off the lovely day with a superb meal together.

Celebrating the day together with a delightful evening meal.

Very happy Judy and Len :-) — Very happy Judy and Len 🙂

I love this photo of Teresa and me :-) — I love this photo of Teresa and me 🙂

So now you can see why Topola, Serbia deserved it’s own blog post! Isn’t it just amazing! I hope you are inspired to go see it for yourself one day 🙂

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October 10, 2014

Belgrade, Serbia

After a fabulous Hotel breakfast it was on the bus to travel to Belgrade. One of our longer bus trips of the tour. Nearly all day travelling!

Our first bus photo :-) — Our first bus photo 🙂

Hey smile for the camera Judy and Len :-) — Hey smile for the camera Judy and Len 🙂

Our first stop was at Palic, Serbia. We all wandered down a long walkway towards the lake . Our tour director gave us a little information on the area and then it was free time and lunch. We dined at a lovely cafe in which the host thought we would like to finish with free drinks all round. Very kind but as the bus had strict leaving times, we were very rushed to finish.

Local building at Palico... very nice! — Local building at Palic… very nice!

The park and the lovely manicured gardens :-) — The park and the lovely manicured gardens 🙂

Soon we were back on the bus travelling past many unfinished houses and many more very run down homesteads. We got the feeling that we were now in a very poor country. Much different from our tour of Italy last year. We began to wonder about the statement our tour director said when he introduced himself at Budapest. He said that the tour of the Balkans was the tour most people did after they had done all the rest of the Insight Vacations tours. He said it would be very different… but still a great tour. This is definitely very different. We almost felt it was like a third world country.

As we arrived in Belgrade (the capital of Serbia and also the largest city) we began to see the evidence of war from the Kosovo conflict. Many buildings that suffered from bombings still sitting exactly like they had just been hit. Apparently they are historic sites and cannot be pulled down and rebuilt very easily. So they remain as eyesores for all, and a constant reminder of the unrest of the past.

Honestly this is just one of very many ruined buildings just sitting untouched! They were damaged by the Nato bombing of 1999.

We travelled on to view the fortress of Kalemegdan with our local guide filling us in on the history of Serbia.

Exit to the surrounding area and lookouts

Our tour friends using the opportunity for photos

A nice photo of Judy, Len and Teresa :-) — A nice photo of Judy, Len and Teresa 🙂

We walked through the park and ended up at the outskirts of Belgrade township. Our tour guide explained the horrendous issues with money that Serbia has had over the years. Even now for NZ $1, you would get Serbia Dinar $78. Or for Euro $1, you would get Serbia Dinar $119. Serbian money had no value. In fact the values of the notes became higher and higher! We were shown some of the old currency, and then our tour director David gave us a 500 Billion bank note each. These can be brought for $3 Euro purely as a souvenir as they are no longer part of the local currency…. but they were!

A 500 Billion Dollar Bank note from the past!

The next couple of hours was free time for us to discover Belgrade on foot. Such a lovely town (apart from the damaged buildings!)

A drinking fountain where the streets meet at the shopping mall

We also visited the white marble Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, which will require at least 15 more years to complete. Even the mosiacs in the church were painted canvas strung up until the real mosiacs are finished. Only one is actually complete, but not really on show yet.

Look closely and you can see where the canvas is tied on :-) — Look closely and you can see where the canvas is tied on 🙂

While in Belgrade we went on an extra excursion to Topola. I’m going to do a separate blog post about this place. It deserves it’s own set of photos. Hopefully you have enjoyed looking at our little trip to Belgrade. Serbia is certainly an interesting country!

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October 10, 2014

Szentendre, Hungary

We lost Len!!!

Well actually Len got lost!!!

We went on a ‘add on’ tour to the little town of Szentendre. Szentendre is a riverside town in Pest county, and it has become a popular destination for tourists staying in Budapest. It is such a cute place filled with old buildings, souvenier shops and restaurants. We went on a walking tour with a very informative guide, and were then left to find a restaurant for lunch, and to meet after lunch at our bus.

A little church and the street we walked :-) — A little church and the street we walked 🙂

Yes... plenty of tourists and shopping available. — Yes… plenty of tourists and shopping available.

We think that this is where Len went wrong. The route to take was to the right. I think he went left!

We had lunch at a little restaurant down this little street (or one like this one?)

During our time in Szentendre we visited The Mikro Csodak museum. This museum contained artwork of Mikola Szjadrisztij. His artwork consists of tiny, tiny carvings which are seen with microscope lenses. Pictures above each item explain what they are and what they are made of in several languages, including English. It was fascinating looking at the carvings. Robin managed to get a photo of one through the microscope.

The set up with the art and the microscope.

What we saw when looking through the microscope.

We found a lovely restaurant down by the river. The tour director always gave us an hour to an hour and a half for lunch. Sadly the restaurants always used most of the time up in preparation and we needed to rush the eating to get back to the bus on time. At Szentendre we finished eating only five minutes before we were meant to be back at the bus. Len likes to walk slowly after eating so he left a little earlier. When we all got back to the bus, there was no Len! Oh my goodness the panic then started! Robin, Judy and Teresa went off in different directions. The decision was for the four of them to catch a taxi back to Budapest once they had found Len. Our tour guide suggested I stay on our bus so the others would fit in one taxi. As we were about to leave another Insight Vacations bus was seen to be at Szentendre and the tour director was asked if they could transport Len, Judy, teresa and Robin back to Budapest once Len was found. They had one hour to find him!

I sat on our bus waiting for a message that Len was found. Which he was, and eventually we all had a very happy but emotional reunion back in Budapest. What a worrying experience it was. Thankfully Len was okay and just a misjudgement in the walking route taken. We were all so worried it was a health issue. It was a wake up call for all of us. We all need to appreciate our loved ones and friends. Without them life just wouldn’t be the same.

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October 10, 2014October 10, 2014

The Tour Starts!

Let’s pretend this is still the 30th of August and our 17 day tour of the Balkans is just starting! Yes… I am way behind in my blog posts! It’s the 9th of October and I have been in London nearly a month! To be honest it has taken nearly all this time to sort through the photos. I have Judy’s, Robin’s and my photos on my hard drive and have been trying to pick the best of the three to put on this blog. I hope I have done okay 🙂

We met out fellow travelling buddies in the Hotel foyer and then wandered down the road a little to a lovely restaurant for our first meal together.

Nearly missed Judy from the photo, but managed to get four of our travelling buddies in the background 🙂

The first morning we were up bright and early to start our bus tour of Budapest. We started on the flat area of Pest…

Our first stop and we had a wander around

Some of the beautiful decorations on the buildings

I thought this building looked great as well :-) — I thought this building looked great as well 🙂

We then headed up to the Hilly Buda part of Budapest. The views from here were spectacular. Shame it was nearly raining as we were out and about taking our photos. I have been here before and blogged some better photos if you look in my archives. It was a beautiful sunny then (just over a year ago). It did actually start to rain just after we got our tour group photo taken. Only a few of us had rain gear!

Looking at Matthias Church, built in Romanesque style in 1015

It has stood the test of time beautifully :-) — It has stood the test of time beautifully 🙂

The wall just HAD to be sat on! The view was great but it was very high!

What Robin can do.... so can I :-) — What Robin can do…. so can I 🙂

But I didn't sit here. Fabulous wall huh! — But I didn’t sit here. Fabulous wall huh!

And just look at that Cathedral from this view :-) — And just look at that (Robin) Cathedral from this view 🙂

You can see the cloud coming in... ready to pour down upon us! — You can see the cloud coming in… ready to pour down upon us!

A photo of the fortress and Cathedral from the bottom of the hill

Just one of the many neat buildings we saw :-) — Just one of the many neat buildings we saw 🙂

And this ones roof is just beautiful :-) — And this ones roof is just beautiful, and the statue in front amazing! 🙂

That evening Teresa and I went down to the riverside as we had heard there was a memorial there from war times…. around 1945

In memory of the victims shot into the Danube!

This is just a few of the shoes left there as a reminder of the lives lost! So very sad :-( — This is just a few of the shoes left there as a reminder of the lives lost! So very sad 🙁

We finished off the day with a dinner cruise on the Danube river. The food was yummy and the views fabulous.

Well once again Budapest proved a fantastic place to visit. The photos don’t really do the place justice. I hope I never forget the wonder of seeing Budapest in person. A real treat to see 🙂

Finally I will add a photo of our tour group (thanks to Hammie)

Super people from all over the world :-) — Super people from all over the world 🙂

We travel from Budapest, Hungary and finish at Bucharest, Romania. I aim to put a blog post up for each of the 17 days of our tour, along with some of the best photos…. hopefully. Enjoy 🙂