- These were left in the comment section from a few posts below...aparently my mom is still having trouble with the blog and lack of highspeed internet!!! Enjoy! -Jessi
So for the past two days we have been in Serbia...such a war torn country and our guide today, in the city of Belgrade, was so emotional about what happened to them through the bombings and their dictator's rule. It is still very fresh and they are struggling to be a stable country.... to be able to participate in the European Union. We saw many beautiful buildings and preserved ruins...one was an intact fort.
This part of the world has had so many from the Romans to the Huns to the Turks to the Austro -Hungarian empire to the Communists dominating them. They don't really know who they are.
Yesterday, we went to the ruins of a Roman Military Camp and city that dates back to the 1st Century AD....amazing!!! They showed us tombs, their baths and lookout towers. They are working on unearthing their amphitheater.
I continue to enjoy watching the people live their daily lives....going to their churches, outdoor markets, visitng with friends and caring for their children.
The riverboat we are on is wonderful and we have meet people from all over the US and parts of the world.
Our friend Kink is doing well and Harry is managing the wheelchair in very difficult terrains. He is thankful he is in good shape.
Much more to come!!!- August 14, 2009 6:22 AM
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Aloha all. Dang WiFi on de ship is constantly on the blink. Sorry for expectations we built to tell you stories daily on our supposed blog. Fab fun flight over here. Bucharest was our entry point in this part of the world and has tales of battle scars over centuries in its landscape and buildings. Onto Oltenita on the Danube and set sail for Silistra, Bulgaria. Bulgaria was a big surprise in its history, people, gorgeous countryside of fields of sunflowers!!!! We're talkin' like the wheat fields of Condon, Wasco, Grass Valley plain. Yeah, corn too. Donkey n wagon w/ farmer hauling produce a common thing. Old villages w/ red tiled rooves. To Varna; the seaside city on the Black Sea. Yes, we stuck our feet in the sea so we can say we did. Veliko Turnovo in the mountains. Vidin on the Danube. Belogradchik fortress in famous rocks (think Smith Rocks, OR). Serbia is a very mixed up and emotional place but the city of Belgrade is wonderful. Went to an archeological site outside of Kostolac, Serbia. 4th CENTURY dig!! Coin minted by Romans in 441 AD FOUND; one of many coins found in Roman baths site. That and other finds caught us in the throat when we ponder history in this part of the world. Lots of stuff like this. 1st century . . . 10th century, etc etc. Da Danube ain't blue. Plenty of fishermen all along the river. It's summer camping season and hundreds of campsites and cabins show families on vacation. Kink n wheelchair are a handful, as Kim can attest. Cobblestoned streets, uneven ground, rock/gravel, crossing crazy traffic (I literally raced Kink down a narrow two way street in the middle of Veliko Turnovo to a viewpoint we had passed in the bus. He gripped the arms of that wheelchair I'll tell ya. We three are having the time of our lives. I workout at 5:30am, get Kim n Kink up at 6. Then we hunker down with the winning combo of muesli and gobs of crisp bacon. I mean dis bacon is off da charts!! Ha! Other meals are great. I particularly love being up on the upper deck with my head on a swivel, binoculars in position, seeing all that my eyes can take in. Kim joins me sometimes. Kink naps. He has slowed A LOT. But, he continues best he can. We're having fun. Almost half way through the trip. Mahalo and blessings. Harry/Papa/Popz
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