HUNGARY

Budapest:
Kurt's sister-in-law, Zsofi, is from Budapest and Scott and she were visiting for the week during Scott's spring break (he is getting his Masters at Bristol - England). We met up with them at the end of the trip and they showed us such a great time. We got to see and do things that you would never know about unless you grew up there. We stayed in one of Zsofi's mom's apartments and she cooked for us everyday - she is such a great cook!


Out on the town.

In front of the basilica.

The Reber boys.

At the caves.

BOSNIA

We went through Bosnia on our way back up north, and it was a really neat experience. Way different than the rest of the places we went. Bosnia is a less affluent country, and the scars from the war were very prevalent.

Počitelj:
This little town was a stop on the way to Mostar. It was filled with ruins and Kurt and I bought a painting from a guy in the local Mosque. We love little places like this!





Mostar:
These pictures are of the old town in Mostar, which has been relatively restored since the war. The rest of the city is absolutely littered with buildings both demolished and full of bullet holes.

This bridge is supposed to symbolize the harmony between the Christians and the Muslims in Mostar.

On the bridge

This is Saba - he was our tour guide (who found us). He was great, and it was really interesting to be able to talk to a local that made it through the war.

MONTENEGRO

Kotor:
We took a day trip down to Montenegro and went to the Kotor, located way back in a gulf. This area is amazing and the gulf keeps going back so far, making Kotor a hidden little secret. Who would have thought we would end up visiting Montenegro?

CROATIA

We spent the majority of our time with my parents in Croatia. They rented a car, and if you know my Dad you will know that we spent every spare second driving everywhere and anywhere that was worth seeing. The weather was way fickle and we even got stuck in a snow storm in the Alps, but all in all we were way lucky with the weather, and had a marvelous time!! Croatia is amazing!

Zagreb:
This is where we began in Croatia. Just spent a couple hours though while we waited for my parents to arrive.



Rovinja:
This is a little city on the coast of the peninsula Istria that we absolutely loved. I think we could have spent our whole trip bumming around and relaxing here, but we only spent a day. Kurt and I loved it so much that we even walked into the real estate office.




Pula:
Pula is just south of Rovinja, and contains a Roman Colosseum (the sixth largest in the world). We just stopped in here to see it, but unlike the one in Rome, you can roam around anywhere.


A fight to the death.

Dubrovnik:
Dubrovnik is on the very most southern tip of Croatia. In the summer it is somewhat of a tourist hot-spot (and for good reason), but while we were here, there were very few other visitors. I cannot even tell you how beautiful this cost is and how clear and blue the water is. We will definitely be making Dubrovnik a future summer vacation destination.

Overlooking Dubrovnik (and yes that is a castle that it the city is built around).


We spent two of our three nights in Dubrovnik on a island off the shore, called Koločep. This is us on the ferry out there (no cars allowed on the island).

This is us on the island. Kurt has a family friend who owns summer home on the island so we stayed there. Koločep is really really pretty, with nothing but a few houses and a hotel. Next time we are here there will be a picture of us in that water.

SLOVENIA

Otočec:
We made a quick stop at this castle (now hotel). Kurt was here when he was little during the war and got to stay here. It is so beautiful, but now way too expensive.


Lublijana:
We stayed here for a night and we all loved the city. We spent the day wandering through the streets, the market and up to the castle looking over the city. We had no idea that Slovenia was so nice.

The Dragon Bridge.

Kurt and my Mom and the castle.

This is the Reber Street, on the way up to the castle.

Bled:
This is one of the most amazing places we went to. It did snow when we got there (which is I guess unusual for March), but it actually made everything more beautiful. Kurt went to Bled when he was little, and when it is warm you can swim in the lake and paddle out to the church on the island in the background. We will definitely be back some time in the summer.

Doesn't this look like a back drop? - Unreal!



Every night we played cards with my parents. I think Kurt won every game for a week straight

GERMANY

After Austria we traveled up to Germany to visit some of the people Kurt befriended on his mission.

Lathen:
This is a tiny little town that we came to first to visit Beate Jaskulke. She fed us so much food it was ridiculous. It had about 10 main courses. And then at the end she brought out 7 homemade cakes (no joke!) She is a professional cake maker.


This is the cake she made just for us as a late wedding gift.

Münster:
We visited another one of Kurt's friends in Münster, Luckie. Luckie is an absolute riot!! - as you can see from the pictures. He is such a great host and cook!! He also rounded up some bicycles for us and we spent the evening riding around town.


He is too funny.

Unna:
Unna is a really cute little town and we got to go and visit some friends that Kurt made there.

This is the Karik family. We loved visiting with them. Susane the mother didn't speak English but Serah, Daniel and Samuel did. We got to talk to them about their trips around the world and hear of their plans for the future. They are such a wonderful family and treated us so well. It was really fun to talk to them, I felt like we had a lot in common. We had such a great time together. We can't wait to see where they end up.

This is Magdelena Flechsig. She is so great. Even though I couldn't understand a word that Kurt and she said to each other. Cutest little old lady ever.

Kassel:
We passed this city on our way to Croatia. We absolutely loved Kassel even though we only stayed for the afternoon. These pictures are of the Hercules Castle, which is on the top of a mountain.

This is how the weather was when we started. Blizzard.


In the summer the steps behind us are a huge water fountain.

This is us with our good friend Poseidon.

Here is what lies at the bottom of the mountain.

AUSTRIA

Salzburg:
We started our trip in Salzuburg and visiting Kurt's parents, who are serving a mission here. They are so lucky to be in such an amazing and beautiful city. It was so great to see them and spend some time seeing what great things doing.

Up in the Alps.

The Reber chocolate Factory. Maybe some Inheritance is headed our way.

In the old city.

Vienna:
We ended here, and oh my heck!!! There is so much to see and do in Vienna. We only got a couple days there but we will for sure be back for some additional exploring and site seeing.
Hiking up to the tallest tower of Stephansdom.

Schoenbrunn Palace.

Up in the Prader (the giant ferris wheel that overlooks the city).