On arrival at Belgrade we booked into a cheap hotel near Central Railway Station. We met an Australian couple, Adam and Trilby, who were using the hotel’s internet. As I could not use my laptop at this hotel Adam helped me transfer entry #4 onto the hotel’s computer, then send it through hotmail. After that we went exploring. Belgrade was a huge surprise! One fantastic city built at the junction of two major rivers. At the top of the town we found an open-air plaza that went for 2km. It was wide and lined with every kind of shop, restaurants, vendors, ice-cream stands, buskers, etc. A shopper’s paradise. April, you would love it! There were people wall to wall – thousands of them. Apparently, it is like this till 3am every morning. The atmosphere was great! Everyone was friendly. We walked from one end to the other, then crossed over into a massive park where there was a display of around two hundred enormous photographs of some of the most interesting places in the world, taken from helicopter. We spent hours enjoying these incredible, lit-up pictures. At the end of the park was the Belgrade Fortress – a gigantic structure built in the 1400’s. We explored part of it that night and the rest if it the next day. Then we pressed our way through the people-thick plaza, arriving back at our hotel at around midnight.

In the morning we went downstairs for breakfast, which was included in the hotel price. There was no one else there, even at 9am. That’s because Belgrade is a very nocturnal city. In fact most of Europe seems to have breakfast at around 10am. The waitress was obviously ex-KGB. In a stern voice she said, “you vant coffee?” “No thankyou.” “Vhat! – no coffee! Vhat you vant zen? – Tea?” “No thanks – just food.” In a louder voice she exclaimed, “fruit!” “No, not fruit – FOOD, please.” “Food! – Vhat sort of food? – you vant bread, jam?” “ Do you have eggs?” “You vant eggs? Boiled?” “Yes please, soft-boiled.” “You vant coffee?” “No thanks.” Vhat! – No coffee!”

She steamed off as if we had insulted her and returned about two minutes later with the eggs and some bread rolls and butter. As I cracked the first shell, raw egg poured out all over my bread. I called the KGB officer over and showed her the raw egg all over my plate. She said, “You vanted zem soft. I cook for two minute. Zey soft- ok! You vant coffee?” “No thanks.” She quickly disappeared never to be seen again. As an expert on cooking eggs, I would say that she never got the water to the boil. Well, I like eggs any way. As I soaked the raw egg into my bread and raised it to my mouth I couldn’t help but notice Debbie’s face. I couldn’t tell whether it was a look of horror, absolute disgust, amazement, or a mixture of all three. Anyway, she decided at that time that she had been having too many meals on this holiday – she usually has only two meals per day. So she decided to skip breakfast. I was happy with that because I got to have her eggs. She watched me eat one, then headed for the bathroom. What is it about raw eggs? Anyway I felt like Popeye all day. Raw eggs beat spinach any time!

We had a fantastic day in Belgrade, shopping, exploring the fort, climbing on tanks left over from the war and learning some of the history. In 1993 Serbia experienced the worst inflation in world history. The government had to keep printing money with bigger numbers, even up to a 500 billion Dinara note. I was able to secure a collection of original notes ranging from 5,000 to 500,000,000,000. Today AUD$1 is worth 50 Dinara. In 1993 NATO bombed Belgrade for 74 days. There is still a lot of damage, but we didn’t get time to see it all. For lunch we tried a traditional Serbian salad, with avocado, home-grown chicken, walnuts, lettuce, morello cherries and Serbian mayonnaise. What a great combination!

After an exhilarating, exhausting day we made our way to Central Railway to board the train for Thessalonica, Greece. Departure was at 9pm for a sixteen hour trip. The train was about ½ km long, however the only carriage going to Thessalonica was the first one – a sleeper. We made our way to the very end of the platform and climbed into the carriage. We were the only people going to Greece. We had the whole carriage and a guard to ourselves. We were shown to our room which had bunk beds and a basin. The train was pre-war (1^st WW) or earlier, with holes in the ceiling and wall, but it was very comfortable. Debbie asked the guard if it was air conditioned. He laughed, explaining that we were in Serbia, then he opened the window and said, “This is your air conditioning.” It was very, very hot, so I decided to run back to town and buy some more water for the trip. The guard got me to buy him a couple of bottles too, so I knew the train wouldn’t go without me. When I got back I was so saturated with sweat that I had to change clothes.

Debbie couldn’t sleep, but I had a good sleep. The scenery in the early morning as we railed through Southern Serbia, then Macedonia was breathtaking. We arrived at Thessalonica in the afternoon and hiked about a kilometre to a Hertz office where we hired a car and headed for the area called The Three Legs. We stopped for lunch along the way at a little restaurant serving home-cooked traditional Greek meals. We are now just out of a little beach village where we will stay for two nights before heading for Athens.

God bless you all,
Gary and Debbie

Greetings to our family and friends from Croatia,
In entry #3 we were in the mountains of Montenegro. We decided not to go rafting because the water level in the river was very low. Based on the news from home, we would have a much better rafting experience in Kin Kin at present. We hope that some of the water is still there when we get home. We left the high mountains and motored down the beautiful Tara Gorge to Podgorica, the capital. This city has five rivers flowing through it. From there we zig zagged up a huge mountain until we were directly above the coast. On the edge of the cliff we found the remains of an old palace, from which the views were breathtaking. There were straw beds in the ruins where homeless people sleep, and straw bays for their animals. We took some scenic photos then headed down to the coast. We drove through Budva then south to St.Stefan, a very old island-town joined to the mainland by a sand bridge. The whole area was dense with people. We tried many sobes (b&b’s), but they were all booked out. At 7pm I left Debbie in the car and walked around until I found a travel agency still opened. A lovely girl called Adrianna tried to find us a room, but the whole area was booked up. Then at last she found a Russian hotel with one room left. Adrianna said that I would never find it without her help so she took me on a fascinating journey by foot. The whole side of the mountain is like a stone jungle with old buildings built up against each other and little pathways winding every which way between them. Adrianna was a big girl, well, compared to me anyway. We took a shortcut and climbed over a wall to reach the hotel. I had to help her. That was interesting. We secured the room then scaled our way back up the mountain to her office. By this time we were both saturated (sweat). I hiked back to the car with the good news and then we found our way to the hotel by road. It was perfect - right near the beach, with a fantastic view of St.Stefan Island.

In the morning we swam right out to the shark net that cut across the bay. The water was deep and clear. When we reached the net we were surprised to find that it was only a rope with floaters. No net at all! A little unsure about the shark situation in the area we decided to head for safer waters. On our way to shore we met a young German couple, Daniel and Luise, and we instantly made friends. They had hitchhiked from Berlin and were camping near the beach. That night we took them to dinner on the outer wall of Old Budva, overlooking the sea. For the next few days they travelled with us and we had a fantastic time sharing stories, climbing, swimming, eating together, sightseeing, etc. We visited a number of towns and villages until we came to Kotor, a fjord town at the end of a huge harbour, surrounded by gigantic mountains. We found an apartment with its own jetty and diving board, so we did a lot of swimming, even half way across the harbour. Early the next morning we climbed thousands of steps to an old fort. The climb was comparable to Mt. Cooroora in Pomona, maybe a bit steeper. We did it in 30 minutes at a solid pace. When we got down it was straight into the harbour for a swim before breakfast.

That day we drove to Parast, a small village around the harbour, where we stayed in a very old house, up very lot of stairs, for two nights. We just happened to be there on the anniversary of the town’s emancipation from 500 years of Italian occupation, so we caught some celebrations, marches and shooting. From there we drove into Croatia and changed cars at Dubrovnik Airport. We really enjoyed Daniel and Luise’s company but we decided to go our own ways at that stage so that Debbie could have my full attention again, something she finds hard to get even at the best of times. However Luise had eaten tuna the night before and was feeling very ill. She was experiencing an acute immune response. She must have a tremendous immune system because her body was throwing out toxins violently from both ends. At first I thought she had taken in too much seawater while swimming in the bay, but it was definitely the fish. We found an apartment on the highway above Dubrovnic. While the owner was showing us the rooms, Luisa looked very sick. The man wanted to know what was wrong with her, but before we could explain, Luise locked herself in his bathroom and brought up what sounded like a whole school of tuna. Unfortunately we were standing right outside the bathroom window. The man freaked out and sent us packing! Fortunately we found another apartment along the road with two bedrooms and a big kitchen, and fantastic views. By this stage Luise looked a little better, but we didn’t take any chances. I secured the flat before the owner got to see her. She and Daniel veged out there all afternoon while Debbie and I explored Old Dubrovnik. The next day we drove a few hours north and dropped the couple off on the highway near Split, where they intended visiting a friend. We found a hotel in a small beach village and rested, because the year had finally caught up with me. I usually collapse for 3-4 days at the start of a holiday. This time it didn’t happen until the third week, but when it happened I couldn’t move for a whole day. I felt totally paralysed and unsure that I would ever recover. But after a couple of good sleeps I was back to normal.

On the road again, we drove to the Krka National Park and did some hiking. I also did some climbing and swimming. Then back to the coast, where we crossed a bridge to the island of Vir. It was a long drive and we didn’t know if there was anywhere to stay on the island or anything worth seeing. However it turned out to be a paradise, with beautiful stony beaches and a magnificent bay. We decided to stay three nights. We hired a jet ski and went about 5km out to sea then criss-crossed the entire bay for 30 minutes at fairly low speeds (70-80kph). Every time I got up to about 75kph, Debbie would start screaming and digging her nails into my shoulders. It was very therapeutic for her because at one stage she was able to release all her anxieties in one loud, continuous, 20 second scream. I have never heard anything like it! I think that was the time I got close to 100kph. I know she enjoyed the experience because she hugged me like never before – all the way.

On Tuesday night I had a very uncomfortable pillow and as a result I didn’t sleep too well. At one stage I woke Debbie up because there was a lady in our room. Neither of us could find her. Another time I sat up in my sleep and smashed the side of my forehead on the corner of a bed-side cupboard. Blood everywhere! Then at 7:30am my phone rang. It was Greg. I stumbled out of bed, answered it and headed for the balcony. I didn’t notice that the glass door was closed - so wham!!! Another blow to the forehead, leaving a permanent print of my forehead and nose on the glass. Just one of those nights.

On Friday morning we drove to the motorway and cruised at 150-160kph all the way to Zagreb, the capital. It took two hours. We found Central Railway and purchased our tickets to Belgrade and Thessalonika. We then found a cheap hotel and booked in for two nights. That afternoon we explored the old city and had a fantastic traditional lunch. On Saturday we drove up into the hills and explored some of the old villages of Croatia. We had a picnic lunch outside Croatia’s most beautiful castle then learned the history of the nobility and religions of Croatia back to the fifteenth century.

Today we got up real early, dropped the car off and boarded the train to Serbia. About an hour into the six hour journey the conductor asked for our tickets. When I handed them to him he said they were only reservations. Where are your tickets? Well, he couldn’t speak English but fortunately a girl in our cabin could translate (with difficulty). I explained that I had purchased the tickets at the main international ticket office in Zagreb. He said that I had only purchased reservations. We couldn’t believe it! We had to pay again. Fortunately I still had some Croatian money in my pocket. He sold me tickets to the Serbian border and said that we would have to deal with a Serbian conductor when we cross the border. Fortunately the Serbian guy was a lot more friendly, but he couldn’t speak English either, and he wanted Serbian money. After some negotiations he agreed to take Croatian Kunas. When we got to Belgrade we decided to check our tickets to Thessalonika. They too turned out to be only reservations which had cost us $90. We had to pay another $100 to get the tickets. They sure have funny systems over here. I am still confused as to whether or not we have been stung.

Tonight we stay in Belgrade, then tomorrow night we get on the train at 9pm for an all-night ride to Greece. We are having a great time and I am nearly ready to get back into some serious work. We really thank God for allowing us to see so much of the world and meet so many different people.

Love to all,
Gary and Debbie

Dear Family and Friends,

Hope you are all well. In Log #2 we were in Venice for our last night before heading for the Balkans. After a late wander through the passageways of Venice we sat on the steps in St. Marks Square and took in the beautiful classical music from a very talented quartet. We got up early the next morning and took a ferry to the main railway station. We then railed it to the port of Ancona, about 5 hours south. We boarded a ship, Svetin Stefan ll, for a 16 hour journey to the port of Bar in Montenegro. Our cabin was tiny with a double bunk bed, but we enjoyed an incredible 12 hours of sleep and left the vessel very refreshed. It’s amazing what a little rocking will do. We also fitted in a couple of great meals while on board.

Bar is a busy coastal town, with lots of traffic. We went to a supermarket and stocked up on food, then studied the map to decide which way to go. To the south-east were the beaches of Ulcinj, to the north-west lots of beach resort towns, to the north the mountains. It was very hot so the mountains sounded good. We hired a car, a tiny Chevrolet Spark, and headed north. We stopped at some markets and bought the best figs and nectrines we have ever eaten – all home grown and organic.

Nearly everyone here smokes. I went into a small store to buy some paper plates. In the few minutes I was there two separate children around 8 years old purchased cigarettes and had them opened barely before they left the store. There are no smoking laws over here so every restaurant is very cloudy. People throw their butts in the street. Beaches, parks, footpaths, streams, etc are all decorated with cigarette butts. We sure live in a great country where smoking is now considered unacceptable by the majority.

The road took us up into the hills until we reached the capital city, Podgorica. Then up into the mountains. The road was very narrow and wound up through a beautiful gorge, higher and higher until we reached the town of Kolasin, near a UNESCO World Heritage national park called Biogradska Gora. This is one of the few remaining jungles in Europe. Along the way we had seen lots of billboards advertising a spa resort at Kolasin. We decided to stay two nights in the area and, while seeking a cheap B&B, I thought we could take a quick look at this resort, the Bianca Resort & Spa. It has to be one of the most impressive health spas we have ever seen. Five star, seven stories built like a huge bee hive, it has a massive indoor pool, gym, treatment rooms, Turkish steam bath for 20 persons, Finnish saunas, solariums, etc, etc. A magnificent restaurant, ski rooms for winter, lounge areas on every floor, it is all built with granite rock and lined with white cedar. Just for the information I asked what the rates were. The receptionist offered us a room for 115 Euros per night. This seemed very cheap but it was still a bit above our budget. I gave her my card and asked if she could do an industry discount. She looked at us for about half a minute then offered us a queen room for two nights, including a full breakfast each morning, a five course dinner each night, a massage each, full use of the pool, gym, steambath and saunas and a whole heap of other small incentives for 60 euros each per night. The offer was too good to refuse. The breakfasts are unbelievable, with many national dishes, local eggs cooked fresh any way you like, abundance of fruits, vegatables, wholemeal breads, etc (am I making you hungry?). Alan, you would really love these breakfasts. The dinners are huge, offering a variety of choices in each course.

Why so cheap? The hotel was originally built in 1948. It was totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1972, then rebuilt soon after. It did well during the 1980’s but went out of business during the Yugoslav war in the 1990’s. It fell into disrepair and rotted away until 2004 when a local man bought it and attracted some Russian investors. He came up with a plan then raised the money to build what is now the best resort and spa in the country. It only opened last year, so they are willing to offer all sorts of deals to build up custom. They are advertising a lot in England so there are lots of English tourists here. The Montenegroan National Basketball team is also staying here. They are all about 6.5 to 7 feet tall. We like it so much that we have decided to stay two extra nights. That means two more free massages!

Yesterday we planned to climb the mountains in Biogradska Gora, but it rained, so we caught up on some rest in the morning and explored the base area of the park in the afternoon. We had a picnic lunch there too. We hiked half way around the lake and it started raining again. It got pretty cold too so we hightailed it back to the car. On the way down the mountain we picked up a French couple hitchhiking. They are staying in the same town in a Sote (B&B). The previous night they stayed in a tiny cabin surrounded by cows and barking dogs. The wind blew all night through gaps in the walls. They could not believe how much we are paying at the resort, because their accommodation alone is not much less. It pays to ask! They have invited us to their home next time we visit France.

We may go white water rafting tomorrow but we have heard that the water level in the river is low and it may be more like a gentle float downstream rather that the real exciting stuff. We will have to check it out. Debbie, of course, is hoping we find some bigger rapids further up the mountain. We’ll see.

We wish you good health and a great week,
Gary and Debbie

God is love. We are constantly awed by the diversity of His creation. The individuality, the freedom of choice, the beauty, the loveliness of some people. We are so thankful for the opportunity to travel and see more evidences of His great love.

We arrived in Venice on Monday afternoon. But back to Milan for a moment. We were only in Milan for one night. Debbie wanted to buy an electrical gadget to do something with her hair, curl it I think. She has one at home but we didn’t bring it. Anyway we checked in all the department stores in the city but none stocked them. We were referred to a supermarket about a kilometer out of town. After walking about three kms we found the store. The ground floor was a deli so we found some stairs at the back. Debbie didn’t think it looked right but I assured her that the gadget she was looking for would be upstairs in another section. She waited while I ascended to investigate. As I passed the tenth stair, a deafening alarm went off which made me jump down the entire ten steps in one mighty leap. It turned out that the supermarket was downstairs. They must have kept their gold upstairs. Anyway we escaped without too much trouble - just a few “sorry”s and a look of innocent embarrassment. We never got to buy the gadget.

Venice is the most amazing place we have ever been to. So much history. There are no roads or cars - just canals and boats. The whole city is built on small islands and water. Several months ago I checked the net to see if we could hire a self-drive boat in Venice. There was nothing. When we arrived I asked the hotel consierge. He explained that you need a special licence to drive a boat in Venice. He said that if tourists were allowed to hire boats the canals would be congested and dangerous. I kept pressing him to tell me if he knew anyone who owned a boat. Eventually he called a friend and arranged for me to rent a boat for two hours. The vessel was about 30 feet long, but fairly narrow. It had a nippy 4hp motor. The owner wanted to test me before letting me take his boat, so he put me at the helm and told me to head up a small canal and do a 360. Well the canal was only 20 feet wide, but somehow I managed to swing it around to the satisfaction of the owner. So we dropped him off and headed into the Grand Canal. This canal snakes right through the middle of Venice. Flanked on every side by ferries, taxi boats and gondolas, we navigated to the canal-heads, then out in the deep blue sea. It was awsome! We circumnavigated half of Venice till we arrived at the Doja’s palace and St. Mark’s Square. It looks amazing from out at sea. We got some great photos while dodging other vessels. Then we entered the Grand Canal at the other end of it and motored our way back to the owner’s jetty. On one occasion we were surrounded by three ferries and two taxi boats. It was cat and mouse. I figured that the most aggressive vessel would get right of way, so I accellerated into the thick of the action. Deafened by a ferry’s blow horn and Debbie’s scream I decided that submission might be the best course in this case, so I dropped the throttle and put the engine into reverse just in time to give the ferries a clear passage past us. Another time there were two gondolas, laden with tourists, heading toward us in a parallel formation. Should I turn to the left or the right? Our boat was so long that either way would result in a collision. Debbie closed her eyes while I prayed and advanced the throttle. Straight through the middle! No more than one millimeter on either side! I tried to shake hands with the tourists as we passed through the middle, but they didn’t seem very friendly. Maybe they had had a late night. Anyway we were going a bit too fast for formalities. The gondaliers didn’t seem too fussed. They screamed something in Italian. By their enthusiasm I could tell that they appreciated my navigational skills. Anyway, we returned the boat in one piece afted a very exciting maritime adventure. The best thing was that Debbie didn’t need that hair gadget anymore. After the boat trip her hair went naturally frizzy!

The first night in Venice Debbie went to bed while I went out to get a meal. I settled for a pizza in a small restaurant where I met two lovely young people from England - a brother and sister. We talked till 12:30am. The next night Debbie and I took them out to dinner. They are both coming to Australia next year so we will keep in touch. Today we took a ferry to Marano Island where they make all the famous Venetian glass. Then to Barano Island where they make beautiful crochet work. Tonight we listened to the classical quintets in St. Mark’s Square. We leave early in the morning to rail it to Anconna down the East coast of Italy, where we will take an all-night ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Montengnegro.

We miss you all. Special thanks to Jannie, Kupa and Joel for you encouraging emails. I would send photos but at this stage I can’t work out how to email them.
May God bless you all, Gary and Debbie

After another year of intense responsibilities, we thank God that we have been able to get away once again for a good break. We left Brisbane 31st July and flew to Sydney to change planes for Bangkok. Our Bangkok flight was to leave at 4:50pm. We arrived at Sydney International at around 3:30pm. I had some last minute calls to make re LVS business so we went to the Qantas Club to make the calls. Time got away as I tied up loose ends over the phone. Then Debbie pointed to the time - 4:20pm - so we headed for the gate.

At Sydney there are a lot of gates and when I get stressed dyslexia kicks in. We were looking for gate 36. I saw what I thought was a sign to gate 36 so we headed down a maze of corridors and escalators until at last I almost reached gate 63. Debbie was still about 150 meters behind. I checked the time - 4:35pm. I turned and headed back up the escalators and collected Debbie along the corridors. We back-traced our steps to the main concourse only to find that gate 36 was about the same distance in the opposite direction. With a pack on my back and a pull-along cabin bag I accelerated to a supersonic pace, leaving Debbie, who was still cruising at low altitude. I reached the gate to be greeted by two lovely girls who seemed to know my name. The time - 4:49pm. We are never late! We still had one minute up our sleeve. I ran back to help Debbie and everything from there on went perfectly well.

It was a great flight during which we both had a good sleep for several hours. We arrived at Bangkok at 11pm and were in our hotel by 11:30pm.
Novotel at the airport is huge. Debbie hit the sack and I went exploring. At midnight I passed the hotel restaurant and was lured in by the smell of lemongrass soup. I thought a bowl of hot soup might help me go to sleep so I asked for just a plain lemongrass broth with no noodles or meats. I noticed the waiters having a giggle as they brought out my soup. It was dynamite, laced with gunpowder or something like that! I had asked for hot soup but I didn’t mean that sort of hot. After half a bowl my lips felt like they had kissed a hot sandwich press and my throat was on fire. My face was dripping sweat and my stomach felt like I had swallowed a hot coal. Surprising though, I slept really well and have felt fantastic ever since. I have not even felt the slightest jet-lag.

Next morning we flew to Helsinki, arriving at 6pm. We stayed near the airport and we had planned to take a bus into the city for dinner. However it was very cold and we only had light summer clothes. (We travelled very light so that we were able to take our bags on board with us). So we ate at the hotel and went to bed. We got up at 5am to catch our next flight - to Milan, Italy.

We arrived there at 10am and caught a train to the city, then walked to our hotel. Over the next 24 hours we did lots of walking, eating, shopping and not much sleeping. Well Debbie had a nap, but I went to the Ferrari shop. We met some nice people at a restaurant. While I was making conversation a Sri Lank-an man kept trying to sell me a rose. I told him I didn’t want it but he just kept pushing. I told him to go away but he kept insisting that Debbie was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time and I should buy her the rose. I agreed with the first part but politely turned my back on him and continued my conversation with our new English friends. The guy then gave Debbie the rose as a personal gift from himself because she is so beautiful. Well this was a bit much. I didn’t know whether to punch him or pay him. I only had a few coins so I gave him what I had and told him to keep the rose. He took the money (approx $3) and refused to take back the rose. I suppose I should have given a few more dollars, but that’s how they work here in Europe. Lots of pressure. Everyone is trying to sell you something.

Next day we hired a car and drove right up into the Dolomite Mountains where we had pre-booked a room in an alpine village called Soprabolzano. What an amazing place! Skiing in winter, hiking in summer. We stayed there three nights. First day we hiked over 30 kms, climbing to an altitude of 2200 meters. Everything was green and beautiful. On the second day we took a cable funicular down to Bolzano where we visited the archaeological museum.

We saw the body of Otzi, the preserved ice-man who was found in the nearby mountains. He is 3300 years old. In the afternoon we went back up the funicular to attend the annual fireman’s festival. The had a fantastic symphony orchestra. The people were all so friendly - Mountain people!
That’s one place we would like to revisit some day.

Today we drove to Venice, dropped off the car and tried to walk to our hotel. After one hour of alley ways, bridges and dead ends, Debbie suggested we were lost. I wouldn’t quite put it that way, but when we reached the grand canal it seemed like a good idea to catch a water bus. I had been trying to save a few euros but it back fired. Sopping wet with sweat we found our hotel. We are overlooking a canal and a small bridge. I looked out the window to see a girl about to light up a cigarette. In a deep voice I proclaimed “Don’t smoke”. She looked all around but not up. Again I repeated the command. Baffled, she looked everywhere but in my direction. Looking as if she had been given an instruction from above she put her cigarette aside and walked off staring into the sky. Maybe one day she will tell a story about how she came to give up tobacco.

Well we are settling in for the night, ready for a big day tomorrow. We both feel great, but we are missing our wonderful family and friends. God bless you all!

Lots of love,

Gary and Debbie