May 18

This morning when we got up, the lady who made us breakfast yesterday was locked out of the kitchen. She was crying and apologizing and running around trying to find a way into the kitchen. We told her not to worry about it, we didn't really need breakfast. After a bit she told us to not leave and took off down the street. As we were loading up the van she comes rushing back with a bag of salami and cream cheese sandwiches for all of us. She handed them out, looking earnestly into our faces in hopes of finding acceptance in our eyes. We thanked her very much and Pete tried to pay her. She very adamantly and vehemently refused the money. After we all shook her hand and the women kissed her on the cheek in the European fashion, we left. The drive went very smoothly, as did everything at the airport. It was somewhat sad, saying goodbye to our new friends who we may never see again on this earth. Andre has my email address so we can keep in touch. We all told him that he should come visit America. His English is very good. When we put Oma's bag on the conveyor, we discovered that it weighs 22.9 kilos with an allowance of 23. Talk about perfect. We made it through security without a hitch and soon boarded the plane. The flight attendants were wearing a nice tshirt and vest as we boarded. When we taxied out for take off, they both donned jackets. Once in the air, they doffed the jackets and put on red aprons. This amused me, it's like they have an outfit for each event. The landing was a bit more exciting than average. We kinda weaves and wobbled a bit after hit the ground. Nevertheless, we made it quite safely into the Prague airport. Once again, we were running late. We rushed through customs, another security checkpoint and to the gate. We piled on a bus that ferried us out to some stairs that took us up into a ramp out to the plane. This plane had decent legroom and I was able to sleep again. Arrival at the airport went smoothly, and we were picked up by a brother in a van and driven to our hotel. Serbia is much older and more run down than Slovakia. The buildings are mostly very old, with very interesting architecture. Bold colors are very popular on the houses of those who can afford to paint. Peter said that the buildings are rarely painted more than once every forty years. The businesses have an odd combination of run down looking exteriors but modern interiors and signs. The hotel is a five star best western.  It is quite the place. In order to work the lights and any electric, you must leave your key in a slot by the door. The bathroom is entirely tile and it has a huge shower. After we got our luggage into the room, we went out to eat at a really nice restaurant. Unfortunately, it smelled of smoke. Nevertheless, the food was delicious. I had this hamburger-like patty. It was pork mixed with cheese, onions and peppers. It came with a side of fried baby potatoes, salad and a fresh young onion. It was absolutely fantastic. After supper, we went to a store for water, only to discover that they don't take Euro's here. So the men walked down the street to the exchange office while the women and Opa walked back to the hotel. Then we went back to the hotel with the water, dropped it off, and met a few sister's out front of the hotel. These sisters are good friends of the Petrovic's. The one of the sisters took Oma, Opa, Barbara and Marrion in a van, while the other two took Peter, Dave and I on the bus downtown. We were warned to keep a wary eye out for pickpockets. It was a new experience. We were packed in the bus very tightly and I was a bit worried because a good pickpocket can steal your stuff without you even noticing it's gone in a crowd like that. In any event, we made it to the square without mishap and walked to meet the others. Once we were all together, we wandered through the shops. It was a very nice atmosphere. The Serbian people are all very cheery and social. There was very large crowd of people, well over a thousand, milling around in the shops. It was a very festive atmosphere. I wish we had such places in the US. It would be a great place to go of an evening. While walking around, I talked to one of the sister's who lives in Australia. It is really nice having people who can translate.  Last thing, we stopped at an ice cream place. As usual, it was fabulous. Then we walked two or three kilometer's home. Now I'm sitting at the desk skyping my dear friend Christina :D God bless you all. Until next time.