# Sergei is Dateless and looking for Love, The Travelling Vostok Part 2



## mariomart

Here is "Sergei", he is Dateless and looking for Love ;-)

In the tradition of a former travelling Vostok, "Vlad" https://www.watchuseek.com/f10/travelling-vostok-who-wants-798210.html , I've decided to send Sergei out into the world to seek adventure and new Friends :-!

Over the next week or so I will take a few snaps of Sergei enjoying a few local places here on the Western coast of Australia, and then his true adventure will begin.

I'm hoping that I can find the next suitable host on the Eastern coast of Australia and then onward over the seas to other exotic locales.

Rules, oh we must have Rules.

You can follow Sergei's adventures on a Map here https://drive.google.com/open?id=14JSwVDpmcM5SqvZT4GX6rl-OM-cPxXPB&usp=sharing

I'm going to steal the hosting requirements from another thread started by MattBrace (thanks Matt :-! )

*Hosting Requirements:

To Become a Host you must have been an active member of the forum for at least 6 months and have a minimum of 50 posts.

We ask that you ensure Sergei is passed on to the next host within 4 weeks of arrival; that you chose a trusted follow-up Host; and that you assume responsibility for ensuring that Sergei is passed along in the allotted time frame. A secure traceable method of shipping Must be used.

Please refrain from opening the case back. If repairs are necessary, contact the OP (mariomart) and arrangements will be made for repairs.

It would be nice if the Host could:

1) Add a postcard to the package. But, not a requirement. Please don't keep or lose items that are already included.

2) Take a few pics with the watch that are (preferably) somewhere of interest in your area - but a few WRUW shots will suffice if you do not have the means or time to do so.
*
 I will retain ownership of Sergei throughout his adventure. So let this journey begin, to all future Hosts please remember your responsibilities. But most of all enjoy you time with Sergei&#8230;


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## Father of five

I would love to host Sergei for a week or two maybe even take him to the Rocky Mountains, lots of great things for him to see and do in Western Canada


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## begud

Hello,

Thanks Mariomart. I have follow, at distance, some of the adventure of Vlad. 

I would be glad to host Sergei, and to bring him in some unusual Paris places.

It's quite far from Australia though. So I'm ready to wait for my turn.

Cheers.


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## stevarad

"Same as Putin's chest" 

I am laughing as idiot..

Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


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## stevarad

And count me in...

Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


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## LowIQ

Sergei would be welcome here in Brussels, might show it/him/her the Ardennes and the Alps as well....apart from Bruxelles....

PS
Fun project...!

By the way, if Sergei feels home sick he can be worn for a few days by my wife, Australian from NSW...


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## mariomart

Interest is increasing, Excellent (said in the voice of Mr Burns)

So far our eligible hosting list is as such.

1. mariomart
2. unknown as yet East coat Aussie
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium

:-!


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## haha

Count me in !
I can have Sergei visiting 3 different countries in a few steps : Czech republic, Poland and Germany. He'd also have a look at Prague of course...


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## LowIQ

Progress of Sergeis travels hopefully documented in an extra thread with lots of pics..?


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## longstride

Haha Brilliant, love the 'Passport'.


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## LowIQ

All travels put into a world map....or google earth via tracking numbers....I take it one has to send Sergei off as a registered parcel (nothing else would do I think)...?

A kml file in Google earth or just some lines connecting destinations on an oldfashioned map or or a combination...choice of the next recipient..??

Getting right into the spirit....


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## kiwi.bloke

I’ll take him around the traps in Brisbane and as well over to NZ where I could hand him on to a NZ based chap if there is a NZ based member wanting to host. Going there for 10 days, start of November. He would visit a place in NZ he’s never likely to go again with someone!


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## SuffolkGerryW

If he's in the UK after December, I'll take him round East Suffolk (might even take him to see a show, unfortunately no photos in the show but can get some outside though)


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> Progress of Sergeis travels hopefully documented in an extra thread with lots of pics..?


All documented progress will be in this thread.



LowIQ said:


> All travels put into a world map....or google earth via tracking numbers....I take it one has to send Sergei off as a registered parcel (nothing else would do I think)...?
> 
> A kml file in Google earth or just some lines connecting destinations on an oldfashioned map or or a combination...choice of the next recipient..??
> 
> Getting right into the spirit....


I have no idea of how to do it or whats best, perhaps someone would like to take up the task of starting and maintaining this, up for discussion :-!


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## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> I'll take him around the traps in Brisbane and as well over to NZ where I could hand him on to a NZ based chap if there is a NZ based member wanting to host. Going there for 10 days, start of November. He would visit a place in NZ he's never likely to go again with someone!


I'm happy for you to become Sergei's first host @kiwi.bloke however it would be best to follow the list of vetted hosts so we can keep him safely tracked on his journey. This would mean that you would be required to forward Sergei to Father of Five in Canada via tracked parcel post within 4 weeks of arrival. I can Express Post Sergei to you at the end of next week, I've estimated that the cost of sending him from Brisbane to Canada using Australia Post Standard Tracked Parcel post (the entire package currently weighs about 400g) will cost you $24.00. If you're happy with that we can get things rolling.

So far our eligible hosting list is as such.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)


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## kiwi.bloke

mariomart said:


> I'm happy for you to become Sergei's first host @kiwi.bloke however it would be best to follow the list of vetted hosts so we can keep him safely tracked on his journey. This would mean that you would be required to forward Sergei to Father of Five in Canada via tracked parcel post within 4 weeks of arrival. I can Express Post Sergei to you at the end of next week, I've estimated that the cost of sending him from Brisbane to Canada using Australia Post Standard Tracked Parcel post (the entire package currently weighs about 400g) will cost you $24.00. If you're happy with that we can get things rolling.
> 
> So far our eligible hosting list is as such.
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
> 3. Father of Five - Canada
> 4. begud - France
> 5. stevarad - Serbia
> 6. LowIQ - Belgium
> 7. haha - Czech Republic
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)


Sounds good. I can still take him to NZ on holiday and post him away from AU when I get back, Just figured an NZ based forum member may have wanted to jump onboard and give him a couple days out and about as well before he leaves the antipodes. Not likely to be back our way for a while I guess!


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## LowIQ

There is a conceptual artist whou sent a red sofa around the USA.......Kevin Clarke...

https://evanstonpubliclibrary.wordpress.com/tag/the-red-couch/

that project has then been taken over then by Horst Wackerbarth...

https://horst-wackerbarth.com/en/works/

All the above ever so slightly OT....

When I order something there is some pleasure to be found in getting a tracking number.....see the progress the parcel does make....making sure I am at home on the delivery day....I also find it interesting what journeys these parcels make...from one destination to another.....one could document Sergeis journey...

I take it the next host, right now the first host, of Sergei will be sent a tracking number...could those tracking numbers be shared here in the thread or as PM to all involved...? I could do some detailed maps then.....including Sergeis overnight stops in the parcel.... 

Anyway, when he comes to Brussels he will be treated to a First Night at the Opera and the first night party after....


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> ... I take it the next host, right now the first host, of Sergei will be sent a tracking number...could those tracking numbers be shared here in the thread or as PM to all involved...? I could do some detailed maps then.....including Sergeis overnight stops in the parcel....
> 
> Anyway, when he comes to Brussels he will be treated to a First Night at the Opera and the first night party after....


Unfortunately the tracking number details will only ever be shared between the sender, the receiver and also myself (I prefer to keep abreast of every transfer), the reason for this is that quite often the tracking number reveals the address of each party as well as their real identity, no one should need these details other than those concerned, it's to protect the hosts from possible home invasion as well as parcel interception.


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## LowIQ

I thougt about that as well....and share your sentiment.....maybe a screen shot of the tracking page after arrival and edited so sensitive data is not in...? Not as a rule, but as a possibilty for the host..?

Having said that, this springs to mind, metadata in photos...

https://photographylife.com/what-is-metadata-in-photography

And how to get rid of metadata

https://us.norton.com/internetsecur...and-other-metadata-locations-from-photos.html


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## James_

Count me in. I'll show him around Glasgow.


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> I thougt about that as well....and share your sentiment.....maybe a screen shot of the tracking page after arrival and edited so sensitive data is not in...? Not as a rule, but as a possibilty for the host..?
> 
> Having said that, this springs to mind, metadata in photos...
> 
> https://photographylife.com/what-is-metadata-in-photography
> 
> And how to get rid of metadata
> 
> https://us.norton.com/internetsecur...and-other-metadata-locations-from-photos.html


If you use the forums "Insert Image" function when posting you will find that it removes the metadata from uploaded photo's. It's a great feature, especially for peace of mind.


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## LowIQ

Didn't know that....thanks....!


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## mariomart

Meanwhile ...

Sergei caught up with "One Eye" the Australian Magpie at my front door for lunch today.

One Eye is a wild bird that lives in the trees in the bush-land across the road from me. He has been visiting me for several years, along with his family of about 10 other Magpies, whereby I give them natural treats and water.


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## LowIQ

Love Magpies....clever birds...

So Sergeis first leg seems pretty straight forward, only a bit of hostile dry interior to cross...lets see how a Russian diver is coping...coast to coast through a desert...


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## SinanjuStein

I missed the last one since i was still in the army, but i'd love to show Sergei around!


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## LowIQ

Sounds like scary territory for a Russian diver.....;-)...but they seem to be quite tough....those Vostoks....never met one, I do have to admit...so looking forward to Sergei travelling there....


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## LowIQ

Mind you, NATO headquarters in Brussels might be scary too....


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## LowIQ

I got a Vostok Parachute incoming....from here

https://www.poljot24.de/en/wostok-automatic-parachute.html









sole purpose to try to catch up or at least follow Sergeis trail.....it might spend a couple of days with me before going to Perth...down under...


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> I got a Vostok Parachute incoming....
> 
> sole purpose to try to catch up or at least follow Sergeis trail.....it might spend a couple of days with me before going to Perth...down under...


That's a fascinating concept, having staggered circulating travelling Vostoks.

We can give it a go, but he/she needs a name.

I look forward to he/she arriving.

Sergei will be leaving on his first leg in a day or two, just waiting on kiwi.bloke replying to my PM with delivery details :-!


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## LowIQ

Having thought not that long and/nor hard and the watch still not with me it will be named thus

*Vtorak* ( which seems to go well with numerical names, the second)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_given_name

So, the second, Vtorak, will follow Sergei, the first....hopefully....

I do like this thread also because of this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharing_economy

reason for me to participate...


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## mariomart

Sergei and Vtorak ... The Great Race :-!


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## LowIQ

What adventures they will have....I am kind of feeling envious already.....


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## LowIQ

Speaking for Vtorak now, you, @mariomart will be, if you agree, and I would love that, if you would be so kind, and I hope for that, keeper of the list of eligible hosts....for him....thats Vtorak...

To take pressure off you, he will come with his own travel insurance... ...well, he does not really need any, tough cookie he is....I hope...

Not sure how Sergei is travelling....in order of the list ..?


1. mariomart - West Coast Australia
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)

plus

@James in Scotland..?

and

@SinanjuStein in Israel.....?

so far...?


Vtorak I think is a wild one, he can duck and dive and weave and jump, and make up his mind as he goes....but has!! to visit all the eligible hosts....he might even decide to visit some of them twice........before coming home to Bruxelles...but home he should come....with storys to tell.....and pics here to show....

see the list from @ mariomart......

so the choice where Vtorak goes next is with his host....at any time....

will they ever meet...? and should they...? or not..? will he ever make it home..? Will Sergei find his way back home..?

Stay tuned...


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> Not sure how Sergei is travelling....in order of the list ..?


Yes, in order of the list, crisscrossing the globe :-!

Here is the current list of hosts;

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. James - Scotland
10. SinanjuStein - Israel


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## kiwi.bloke

mariomart said:


> That's a fascinating concept, having staggered circulating travelling Vostoks.
> 
> We can give it a go, but he/she needs a name.
> 
> I look forward to he/she arriving.
> 
> Sergei will be leaving on his first leg in a day or two, just waiting on kiwi.bloke replying to my PM with delivery details :-!


PM sent


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## mariomart

Well, the time has come for Sergei to pack his bag and say goodbye ....

Here he is just about to get tucked in tight ready for his flight tomorrow, and the first piece of "swag" :-!

He will be in the hands of kiwi.bloke by the end of the week


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## LowIQ

Hope Sergei does have a chance to visit Coolum beach and have a swim there....early in the morning he might even meet my brother in law in the surf... he tends to go surfing early, very early in the morning....


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## SinanjuStein

mariomart said:


> Yes, in order of the list, crisscrossing the globe :-!
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts;
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
> 3. Father of Five - Canada
> 4. begud - France
> 5. stevarad - Serbia
> 6. LowIQ - Belgium
> 7. haha - Czech Republic
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
> 9. James - Scotland
> 10. SinanjuStein - Israel


Lovely.

Just try to PM in advance if it's being sent my way...


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## begud

mariomart said:


> Well, the time has come for Sergei to pack his bag and say goodbye ....
> 
> Here he is just about to get tucked in tight ready for his flight tomorrow, and the first piece of "swag" :-!
> 
> He will be in the hands of kiwi.bloke by the end of the week
> 
> View attachment 14546937


Houhou! That's the beginning!


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## mariomart

If you want to follow Sergei's adventure on a map here is the link https://drive.google.com/open?id=14JSwVDpmcM5SqvZT4GX6rl-OM-cPxXPB&usp=sharing

:-!


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## stevarad

Nice!

Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


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## leastonh

Fantastic thread...

Please add me to the list. Will welcome him to Yorkshire, England. I hope he's rainproof!


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## LowIQ

Vtorak seems to get a late start today...no news yet, no tracking number...how he got to Munich in the first place I will never find out...but according to this he might be on his way to me today....or at least tonight...

Quote:

thank you for your order!
Please find attached the documents; you will find the original documents in the package.
The package will be on its way to you today and you will receive the automatic tracking details by DHL within today.
Best wishes and have a great day, Julian Kampmann

www.Poljot24.de

Uhrenvertrieb Julian Kampmann
Linprunstr. 47
80335 München
Germany
Tel. +49 89 / 330 797 63
Fax +49 89 / 330 797 59
email: [email protected]
www.Facebook.com/Poljot24 
www.instagram.com/poljot24/

That was at 7:24 in the morning......that email...sitting on needles now....


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## SuffolkGerryW

Fantastic - what would be a wonderful thing to happen would be for Vlad to surface (can always hope!)!


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## LowIQ

leastonh said:


> Fantastic thread...
> 
> Please add me to the list. Will welcome him to Yorkshire, England. I hope he's rainproof!


You might have to pay tax if this Brexit malarkey is not sorted out in time......might put you forward on my list....if you make it on @mariomarts...


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## mariomart

Here is the current list of hosts;

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. James - Scotland
10. SinanjuStein - Israel
11. leastonh - England - Yorkshire


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## LowIQ

Status am Mo, 14.10.2019 16:40 Uhr:
Die Sendung wurde elektronisch angekündigt. Sobald die Sendung von uns bearbeitet wurde, erhalten Sie weitere Informationen.
Nächster Schritt:
Die Sendung wird zum Paketzentrum transportiert.

The above a message on Vtorak's behalf.....his first leg might be to Scotland, No 9 in the list.....well, after Brussels...but we will see, how he feels....






stay tuned....


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## leastonh

LowIQ said:


> You might have to pay tax if this Brexit malarkey is not sorted out in time......might put you forward on my list....if you make it on @mariomarts...


Brexit is a bad word in England now :-d I'll be happy to pay some tax for helping Sergei on his way


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## LowIQ

Vtorak is going first to Scotland....I'm all up for Scottish Freedom, Braveheart and the like..in the EU....;-)..don't mind Sergei......but, well, you made it onto the list I see at #46....congrats..!


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## LowIQ

Vtorak update

Last location at 19:43 Ascheim, Germany....he got a ride with DHL.....

Makes me worried, they are not that good with their delivery here in Bruxelles....give me the regular post service anytime....

His Scottish adventures seem to be fixed....well in advance....


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## kiwi.bloke

Ok, so Sergei has arrived on the East Coast. Catching up with his Dateless cousins as I type. Getting over his jet lag. Will get him into a new suit tomorrow (Sorry but my wrist is over 8” and orange is not the new black in this neck of the woods). Will steel him up and take him out over the weekend. Stay tuned folks.


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## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> Ok, so Sergei has arrived on the East Coast. Catching up with his Dateless cousins as I type. Getting over his jet lag. Will get him into a new suit tomorrow (Sorry but my wrist is over 8" and orange is not the new black in this neck of the woods). Will steel him up and take him out over the weekend. Stay tuned folks.


Good to see him get there on time and in one piece :-!

Looking forward to see what strap choices Sergei is seen in on his adventures 

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. James - Scotland
10. SinanjuStein - Israel
11. leastonh - England - Yorkshire


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## James_

When it arrives with me I have a nice blue zulu to put on it.


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## mariomart

James_ said:


> That bezel looks much better than the original. Who changed it?
> 
> When it arrives with me I have a nice blue zulu to put on it.


That was my choice, the standard bezel on the Classic Amphibia 670 from the factory is just "Bleaughhh ....."


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## James_

mariomart said:


> That was my choice, the standard bezel on the Classic Amphibia 670 from the factory is just "Bleaughhh ....."


Agreed. I had the black dial version with the same bezel. Tried the thinner dots bezel, thicker 090 bezel and a plain bezel but none of them really worked so I sold the watch.


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## leastonh

James_ said:


> When it arrives with me I have a nice blue zulu to put on it.


Not blue and white?


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## LowIQ

Vtorak arrived safely...! 

From Munich to Ascheim to Cologne to Mechelen in Belgium with DHL. From there bPost Belgium took over....arrived 12:15 today...my first Russian....excited...I am...

And he is ticking already, date set, new strap attached....


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## LowIQ

We will go sightseeing tomorrow....in Brussels...he seems interested in street art...

PS

thought about the bezel as well...these ones should fit...but I have never changed one...seems relatively easy..?

https://am-diver.com/product-category/bezels/


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## James_

LowIQ said:


> View attachment 14554931
> 
> 
> We will go sightseeing tomorrow....in Brussels...he seems interested in street art...
> 
> PS
> 
> thought about the bezel as well...these ones should fit...but I have never changed one...seems relatively easy..?
> 
> https://am-diver.com/product-category/bezels/


The original bezel is fine on these imo. What I would do is strip the bezel of its chrome plating to reveal the brass. I have some acid to do this if you want to leave it to me? Think it would build a nice worldly patina eventually.


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## LowIQ

No brass on this one....according to the seller, https://www.poljot24.de/en/marken/vostok/wostok-automatic-parachute.html ....he does also say in the letter which came with it around 90% of the Vostok do come with brass casings....this one is stainless steel.....

I did actually think about it before as I do like the patina of my Bronze Steinhart....and I have seen some nice pics of Vostoks with the chrome plating removed.....maybe I give it a matte finish after its world tour......case and all....

PS
Thank you for the offer..!


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## James_

LowIQ said:


> No brass on this one....according to the seller, https://www.poljot24.de/en/marken/vostok/wostok-automatic-parachute.html ....he does also say in the letter which came with it around 90% of the Vostok do come with brass casings....this one is stainless steel.....
> 
> I did actually think about it before as I do like the patina of my Bronze Steinhart....and I have seen some nice pics of Vostoks with the chrome plating removed.....maybe I give it a matte finish after its world tour......case and all....
> 
> PS
> Thank you for the offer..!


I'm 99% sure the bezel is chrome plated brass.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Same here, I've got what looks to be the same watch (but older and in poorer condition) and that's definitely brass (can see where the chrome has worn off)


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## James_

Pretty weird though that it's that dial in an Amphibia case. I know there's plenty of Dirskie dials in Amphibia cases but first time I've noticed this dial in this case. The bezel might indeed be upgraded to a steel version. Online shops are doing all sorts of combinations I've noticed though.

I'm looking forward to wearing he/she/it regardless


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## LowIQ

James_ said:


> What I would do is strip the bezel of its chrome plating to reveal the brass. I have some acid to do this if you want to leave it to me? Think it would build a nice worldly patina eventually.


Cold you give me link where I could get a brass crome plated one..? I seem to find only stainless steel ones so far...but would be very interested...! Would love it in brass...

Oh, just seen now #61...ideally the body brass crome plated as well...


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## kiwi.bloke

mariomart said:


> Good to see him get there on time and in one piece :-!
> 
> Looking forward to see what strap choices Sergei is seen in on his adventures
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
> 3. Father of Five - Canada
> 4. begud - France
> 5. stevarad - Serbia
> 6. LowIQ - Belgium
> 7. haha - Czech Republic
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
> 9. James - Scotland
> 10. SinanjuStein - Israel
> 11. leastonh - England - Yorkshire


Canvas today. Tried a bunch of others as well as have the same case in the mail (7 weeks and counting since purchase) but this will do for now.


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## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> Canvas today. Tried a bunch of others as well as have the same case in the mail (7 weeks and counting since purchase) but this will do for now.


Good choice :-!


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## James_

LowIQ said:


> Cold you give me link where I could get a brass crome plated one..? I seem to find only stainless steel ones so far...but would be very interested...! Would love it in brass...
> 
> Oh, just seen now #61...ideally the body brass crome plated as well...


They are sold out on meranom. Don't know if they are available anywhere else, maybe komamdirskie.com or ebay?


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## kiwi.bloke

mariomart said:


> Good choice :-!


Changed over to a mesh bracelet for the weekend.


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## LowIQ

James_ said:


> They are sold out on meranom. Don't know if they are available anywhere else, maybe komamdirskie.com or ebay?


Thank you for the link to komandirskie.com.....found the parachute one there

https://komandirskie.com/catalog/amfibiya/amfibiya_klassika/420к/chasy_amfibiya_420307/

Quote from a google translation of the site "drive time (bezel) Stainless Steel. "

And I was already hoping I could get back to you on that offer of stripping it....would have looked great I think...


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> .........And I was already hoping I could get back to you on that offer of stripping it....would have looked great I think...


To check if it's stainless, remove it & try a magnet to it - if plated brass, there wont be any attraction, if SS, then a magnet will 'pull' to it - I'd offer to swap my old bezel, but not got any idea of how much to give to you as extra to bring the old one up to the value of yours


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## LowIQ

SuffolkGerryW said:


> I'd offer to swap my old bezel, but not got any idea of how much to give to you as extra to bring the old one up to the value of yours


Travelling bezels...? As well...?

If @James would do the stripping and attaching it to mine and if it fits, when Vtorak is with him, I would be up for it.....! Vtoraks stainless steel bezel could stay in the package till Vtorak arrives at yours...?

Background:
The wife has seen the new one (Vtorak) last night, took her black ceramic Steinhart GMT 39mm off, tried it and then I had to pry Vtorak off her...;-)....she wants one....as its her birthday this month and so far I have only booked a star restaurant and got nothing else so far......I have today ordered a second one...will make a pic of the twins....as I have already commited to send Vtorak around the world chasing Sergei I could not stop that, could I...?.....sending Vtorak off..stopping that....? No way...
The world traveller coming back with a well worn and patinated brass bezel would suit me....very much...well, I hope... ;-)


----------



## mariomart

Hey guys, I don't want to be a buzz kill, but could you please discuss all the modding stuff on the modding thread?

This thread is mostly for discussion of Sergei's world adventures, I don't want to offend anyone, just trying to keep things On Topic.

Cheers :-!


----------



## DocTone

I would be pleasured to welcome Sergej at Germany


----------



## mariomart

DocTone said:


> I would be pleasured to welcome Sergej at Germany


Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. James - Scotland
10. SinanjuStein - Israel
11. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
12. DocTone - Germany


----------



## LowIQ

mariomart said:


> This thread is mostly for discussion of Sergei's world adventures, I don't want to offend anyone, just trying to keep things On Topic.


Fair enough, I do not want to discuss it more either...

but if Vtorak gets modded in the described way by @James and @SuffolkGerryW they both have my and Vtoraks blessing......

Vtorak will leave here mid next week...


----------



## columela

Hello 
I was wondering if it is not too late for me to join the fun and offer "Sergei" a home in the south west coast of the UK. Might travel to Spain as well if the timing is right . Just let me know.
Thanks


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Fair enough, I do not want to discuss it more either...
> 
> but if Vtorak gets modded in the described way by @James and @SuffolkGerryW they both have my and Vtoraks blessing......
> 
> Vtorak will leave here mid next week...


Sent you both a pm regarding 'Vtoraks' bezel so that we can keep the thread 'clear'


----------



## mariomart

columela said:


> Hello
> I was wondering if it is not too late for me to join the fun and offer "Sergei" a home in the south west coast of the UK. Might travel to Spain as well if the timing is right . Just let me know.
> Thanks


Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. James - Scotland
10. SinanjuStein - Israel
11. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
12. DocTone - Germany
13. columela - UK


----------



## kiwi.bloke

Quiet weekend - kids cricket got rained out and there was so much good rugby on the TV this weekend so spent it around the house. Settled on a mesh strap for the next week while I show him around. Took Sergei to the Brisbane hinterland this morning. Trail run at dawn. Cracker time of the day. Not an exciting pic, but he is getting out and about. I’ll get some tourist snaps later in the week.


----------



## LowIQ

Miserable rainy Sunday yesterday in Brussels......the wife showed Vtorak around a bit....as he is a lover of street art I did some pics with him and some of that...


----------



## LowIQ

He also discovered a secret little garden underneath a concret bench at the canal...the bench in the first pic #80...well, actually the wife spotted that garden...
So all the credit for that pic goes to her.....









Busy now with making a sturdy but lightweight box for his travels...the box he came in I do not like....he deserves more....!

By the way, he is running now at +1.2 seconds per day....and that for days.......something must be wrong....I was promised plus 60 seconds or thereabouts per day....sure more gain is better..? Might be him just running in...?


----------



## Dub Rubb

So sad that Vlad went missing on his way to me. I promise to let you guys know if he ever makes it here. I will be glad to ship him to whomever has Segei so we can have travelling brothers. As you can see, I have not given up hope, but it is starting to dwindle. The thread closing was really a dagger into my heart. 

I started a traveling watch(a Tankist Komandirskie) on another forum and she has already been to 3 continents with just 4 members in as many months, and lots of great pics and good times, so please don't lose faith in the idea, it's honestly really fun when things go smoothly. 

Thanks for starting a new journey, and I really hope this one goes better. I havent decided if I want to join in since everything went south when it was about to be my turn, and I have my own watch on a journey. I just wish Sergei the best and I will be following his travels.

Sent from my LG-M322 using Tapatalk


----------



## LowIQ

Vtoraks twin just arrived, ......so I'm not short of a present for the wife now, need to find a red leather band and finish Vtorak's travelling case...


----------



## kiwi.bloke

So took Sergei out to lunch today. Ozzie fav and Queensland icon. Yatala Pies, Gold Coast. Might see some wallabies tomorrow and then think about packing for his next stop over next week. Enjoying the 31 degree temp...


----------



## LowIQ

Steak and kidney would be first on my mind, there, at Yatala........  have not had one now in a while, the wife is not that keen on offal....whilst I am...and I am mostly doing the cooking for the 2 of us....one of my passions....so some things I cook very rarely...

Meanwhile, Vtorak is safely packed, in his double hulled travelling vessel....quite low tech and recycled.....or, better said, reused....









Ideally he would use the same packaging for all his adventures....well, the long distance travelling....it can be easily repaired.....and it would be a nice reminder of his travels........

Sending him off tomorrow, to Scotland, to the man with the acid....scary...very scary...

PS

Forgot to say, Vtorak travels light, no strap or such things on him.....he depends on the charity and taste of his hosts in that respect.......he wants to blend in...


----------



## James_

I don't want the watches any more. Take me off the lists please. I'll strip Gerry's bezel and send it to the next host or back to Gerry.


----------



## LowIQ

Vtorak in limbo.....who knows what happens next... I certainly don't right now....and am actually sad.....but, it might work out...or not...or might..or...


----------



## EndeavourDK

I'm lost ...... is my IQ even lower ? I thought this thread was about Mario's Sergei which, as I understand it, is still in Australia :-s


----------



## kiwi.bloke

EndeavourDK said:


> I'm lost ...... is my IQ even lower ? I thought this thread was about Mario's Sergei which, as I understand it, is still in Australia :-s


Yup. Sergei is in Australia, NZ next week, then I'm sending him to Canada I believe.


----------



## LowIQ

EndeavourDK said:


> I'm lost ...... is my IQ even lower ? I thought this thread was about Mario's Sergei which, as I understand it, is still in Australia :-s


I want to apologize to everybody, all my fault, Vtorak will stay in his travel case till Sergei has finished his travels....and is back home................................he won't move...Vtorak that is, not a bit...

Looking forward to host Sergei in Bruxelles....! Will show him around..a bit...

PS
I intruded and should not have done so...so sorry..!


----------



## mariomart

James_ said:


> I don't want the watches any more. Take me off the lists please. I'll strip Gerry's bezel and send it to the next host or back to Gerry.


Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK


----------



## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> Yup. Sergei is in Australia, NZ next week, then I'm sending him to Canada I believe.


Looking forward to seeing Sergei in NZ :-!

Lucky fella


----------



## kiwi.bloke

Yup, about to head bush for 5 days. Just winding and setting the old boy for the week. Been a tad busy as had 3 watches arrive this week. Can’t even get to the third so it’s just sitting until I get back. Quick pic below and then I’m away (and out of touch) for a period.


----------



## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> Yup, about to head bush for 5 days. Just winding and setting the old boy for the week. Been a tad busy as had 3 watches arrive this week. Can't even get to the third so it's just sitting until I get back. Quick pic below and then I'm away (and out of touch) for a period.


Have a good trip :-!

Which airport are you landing at? I'll update Sergei's map.

Cheers (and don't forget to screw in the crown ;-) )


----------



## kiwi.bloke

It's alive! Sergei and I have returned from the Bush. Happy now in chch where we flew into and will be leaving from. Have spent some time in the deep south, having traveled down the South Island to Stewart Island for the week. Will do some sightseeing for a few days, return back to BNE and get him on his way to Canada Monday next week. Until then, Sergei on a cold wet 8 degree Christchurch morning... Contrast with Australia where it is 38-40 and bushfires rage all around - some within kms of where Sergei was only days back!









Oh and his travelling companions - the 1967 only arriving on the day I left for NZ, so was just sized this morning!


----------



## mariomart

Thanks for the update kiwi.bloke :-!

I'm looking forward to seeing any pics from NZ, it's such a beautiful country.

Sergei's map has been updated


----------



## colt

hi guys,

I know sergei already has accomodations in France, but I'd also like to sign up. You see, I also have an amphi who has no date (Nataliya ), and I would like them to meet.

I could bring the 2 lovebirds to the coast, where we would admire the rapidly departing cliffs of dover (I jest)

I'm not sure sergei's itinerary makes sense though. he would go to Serbia between Belgium and France? 

I live in Lille, FR. That's beer country, baby!
edit: also an hour's drive from both begud and LowIQ.

cheers guys

sent from the back of the food stamp line.


----------



## mariomart

colt said:


> hi guys,
> I know sergei already has accomodations in France, but I'd also like to sign up. You see, I also have an amphi who has no date (Nataliya ), and I would like them to meet.
> I could bring the 2 lovebirds to the coast, where we would admire the rapidly departing cliffs of dover (I jest)
> I'm not sure sergei's itinerary makes sense though. he would go to Serbia between Belgium and France?
> I live in Lille, FR. That's beer country, baby!
> edit: also an hour's drive from both begud and LowIQ.
> cheers guys


Hey colt,

I'm happy to add you to the list of hosts, however Sergei's journey is not structured in any way, he is simply criss-crossing the globe going from host to host in order of the hosts acceptance of participation.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
3. Father of Five - Canada
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France


----------



## colt

ah ok. that makes more sense  Have a happy monday! it's a bank holiday here 'cos you know we'd all be on strike if it wasn't! 

sent from the back of the food stamp line.


----------



## LowIQ

Lille has got a special place on one of our living room walls...









https://www.thedudecompany.com/

https://www.thedudecompany.com/photos/index.html


----------



## mariomart

I just received notice that Sergei has departed The Land Down Under and is making his way to the western Canadian province of Alberta :-!

I send a massive thanks to kiwi.bloke for being a part of Sergei's journey and taking good care of him. 

I have updated Sergei's travel map, and once he arrives he would have already travelled a minimum of 22,213 kilometres !!!!

Hopefully he will arrive at the door of Father of Five in Alberta, Canada, in good time (possibly for a proper White Christmas).

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived TBA
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France


----------



## Dub Rubb

So happy to see this thread going so well! I wish Sergei safe travels, and I find it awesome That you are tracking the distance traveled. So cool! The spirit of Vlad lives on vicariously through Sergei. 

Sent from my LG-M322 using Tapatalk


----------



## mariomart

A quick update with some Great news.

Sergei has arrived in Canada and is waiting in Customs :-!


----------



## leastonh

Nice, thanks for the update Mario.


----------



## Father of five

I am so looking forward to hosting Sergei


----------



## Father of five

Sergei is here let the fun begin


----------



## mariomart

Father of five said:


> Sergei is here let the fun begin


Excellent ....


----------



## Father of five

Sergei has been feeling sad the last few days as my work schedule has not given me much time with him.
Today I took him to work with me and on my break I took him to the Customs office to get his passport stamped and to welcome him to Canada, then we drank vodka








Yes that's the real deal back dated to the day I received him








Sergei is sitting between the n and the a








And a Canada ?? flag pin to welcome him


----------



## mariomart

Father of five said:


> Sergei has been feeling sad the last few days as my work schedule has not given me much time with him.
> Today I took him to work with me and on my break I took him to the Customs office to get his passport stamped and to welcome him to Canada, then we drank vodka
> 
> Yes that's the real deal back dated to the day I received him
> 
> Sergei is sitting between the n and the a
> 
> And a Canada ���� flag pin to welcome him


Super Awesome dedication to have Sergei's passport stamped by an actual Customs office :-! I'm sure the Customs Officers had a little chuckle welcoming fellow Commonwealth traveller Sergei into your great nation 

Looking forward to more and more and more photo's, especially of that cold white fluffy stuff that is rather alien to Sergei's home base.

Thank you for looking after him Father of Five 

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19
4. begud - France
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France


----------



## mariomart

I sure hope Sergei is enjoying a little bit of a cooler location than the burning hell here in Australia at the moment.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Hope it soon cools down for you guys over there - would send you some of the rain we've been getting here if I could!


----------



## mariomart

We haven't heard from Father of Five or Sergei in 3 weeks!!!

I sure hope everything is okay, Sergei is due to depart again hopefully within a week to begud in France.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Hopefully, just the holiday period getting in the way.


----------



## LowIQ

I'm slowly ramping it up, to host Sergei in March or so.....

We, Sergei, the wife, and me, will visit

https://parcoursstreetart.brussels/en/artistes/bonom/

among others...


----------



## Father of five

I've been under the weather for a few weeks but doing better now 
I will be posting Sergei's adventures soon 
For now here is Sergei with his new Swiss and German friends at Our Family Christmas Dinner


----------



## stevarad

Father of five said:


> I've been under the weather for a few weeks but doing better now
> I will be posting Sergei's adventures soon
> For now here is Sergei with his new Swiss and German friends at Our Family Christmas Dinner
> 
> View attachment 14757431


Sergei looks best

Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## mariomart

Father of five said:


> I've been under the weather for a few weeks but doing better now
> I will be posting Sergei's adventures soon
> For now here is Sergei with his new Swiss and German friends at Our Family Christmas Dinner


Great to hear from you and that you are on the mend :-!

Really looking forward to hearing/seeing Sergei's adventure over the holiday period (hopefully a snow pic  )


----------



## Joespeeder

Hi Guys,

I was close to getting Vlad and just checked in to see where he was..... Damn, I waited a log time and now he's missing in action. Can I get on the list for Sergei ?

Hope I'm not too far down the list. Maybe it'll work out so Sergei would show up this summer when he and I can travel more easily.

Back to watching... So to speak. lol.

Joe

Michigan


----------



## mariomart

Joespeeder said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I was close to getting Vlad and just checked in to see where he was..... Damn, I waited a log time and now he's missing in action. Can I get on the list for Sergei ?
> 
> Hope I'm not too far down the list. Maybe it'll work out so Sergei would show up this summer when he and I can travel more easily.
> 
> Back to watching... So to speak. lol.
> 
> Joe
> 
> Michigan


Sergei has departed Canada and is winging his way to France for his next host, begud 

I have updated Sergei's travel map, and once he arrives he would have already travelled a minimum of 29,611 kilometres !!!!

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived TBD
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


----------



## Father of five

Sergei's adventures in Calgary

Calgary's iconic landmark the Calgary tower

















Lunch in Chinatown the dim sum was fantastic









The Lions on the Centre Street Bridge it is said they are there to provide protection to those who cross the bridge









A view of The Bow River Valley through Calgary









Family Christmas - Mom is 83 years old this year and Dad will be 93 years old next week

























The Patriarch of the Family - We presented this watch to my father on his 50th birthday









New friends from Switzerland and Germany









Some time in the mountains - The Three Sisters in Canmore









Welcome to Banff









The Banff Springs Hotel









Cascade Mountain









A gathering with his new Russian friends before travelling to Paris









Sergei has been forwarded to Paris France to spend some time with his next host and should arrive in the next week or so
Thankyou for the privilege of hosting Sergei, He and I had a wonderful time together


----------



## mariomart

Thank you for being a great host Father of Five, and of course thank you for the wonderful update :-!


----------



## mariomart

According to tracking, Sergei has been delivered :-!

That was super fast!!!

Excitement is building


----------



## Draconian Collector

If it's not too late to be added to the list I'd like to show Sergei around the beaches of Florida


----------



## begud

Hi everyone,

Sergei has now landed in Europe. The trip has been tough with him as he arrived wounded despite the great package he came in. French postmen aren't the most cautious ones.

It was the perfect occasion to show him my newly acquired skills. As he didn't make any fuss, all went well.
I hope it will last.

It's now time to spend some fun with this guy. He will not see as much natural landscape as with Father Of five but I will show him my daily routine 

So thank you Father of Five and Mario.


----------



## mariomart

begud said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Sergei has now landed in Europe. The trip has been tough with him as he arrived wounded despite the great package he came in. French postmen aren't the most cautious ones.
> 
> It was the perfect occasion to show him my newly acquired skills. As he didn't make any fuss, all went well.
> I hope it will last.
> 
> It's now time to spend some fun with this guy. He will not see as much natural landscape as with Father Of five but I will show him my daily routine
> 
> So thank you Father of Five and Mario.


Well done on the repair :-!

It's not unusual for things like this to happen in transit, I should know as I once was an airport baggage handler who handled mail and freight deliveries lol ;-)

Enjoy the adventure.

Cheers


----------



## begud

Hello,

Sergei is visiting my understated neighborhood of Paris. Architecture is not as refined as it is in touristic area but it has its own charm.

On backstage of the first photo, you can see, in orange, rehabilitated buildings of the first automotive plant in hystory from Panhard et Levassor:
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-car-assembly-line-4072559
Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard?wprov=sfla1

To be continued...


----------



## mariomart

begud said:


> Hello,
> 
> Sergei is visiting my understated neighborhood of Paris. Architecture is not as refined as it is in touristic area but it has its own charm.
> 
> On backstage of the first photo, you can see, in orange, rehabilitated buildings of the first automotive plant in hystory from Panhard et Levassor:
> https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-car-assembly-line-4072559
> Or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard?wprov=sfla1
> 
> To be continued...


I love hearing about the important moments in history that are now hidden and absorbed by the encroachment of society and time. The future of car manufacturing was born in this place, such a very very special place.

Keep them coming :-!


----------



## begud

This afternoon was dedicated to the kids and Sergei was pleased to be part of the party.

So we went to le jardin d'acclimatation. A park with a lot of activities for children and connected to the art museum of La fondation Louis Vuitton.
But it hasn't been so glorious in the past.

http://www.minorsights.com/2016/06/france-jardin-dacclimatation-Paris.html?m=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Vuitton_Foundation?wprov=sfla1

In this park, Sergei had the chance to assist to a very popular traditional puppet show, le théâtre de guignol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guignol?wprov=sfla1

Sergei has been a great buddy during that day!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Great to see that he's fit and wandering the streets enjoying himself.


----------



## DocTone

Nice to see Sergei is arrivied in Europe now. Unsure he will landing before end of the this year in Germany - guess not really. 
Nevertheless my pleasure to follow the personal moments and views.


----------



## mariomart

I have updated Sergei's travel map, he has now travelled a minimum of 29,611 kilometres !!!!

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20
5. stevarad - Serbia
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


----------



## begud

Hello,

Here are some places Sergei and me have been together.

13th arrondissement is a part of Paris with a lot of big buildings that have been built in order to offer a affordable roof for the working class during the 60's. It hasn't a long history but it's a very active area.

With the idea to embellish those buildings, Street art is promoted and give some nice splash of colors.

https://www.blocal-travel.com/world/france/paris/street-art-in-paris-13th-district/










13th arrondissement is also the biggest Asian neighborhood of Paris. Usually, a beautiful parade is organised for the Chinese' s New Year but it has been cancelled this time because of the terrific health crisis encountered by China.


----------



## begud

Some views of remain buildings of Bercy storage areas where, for over a century, the largest wine market in the world was held. It's now a shopping center in 12 th arrondissement of Paris.









In the background, you can see the 4 towers of France's National Library that represent 4 open books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliothèque_nationale_de_France?wprov=sfla1


----------



## begud

Of course, Sergei couldn't be in Paris without seeing more traditional sites


----------



## mariomart

begud said:


> Of course, Sergei couldn't be in Paris without seeing more traditional sites


Thank you for sharing these great locations and their history :-!


----------



## LowIQ

Love the street art.....!

Glad Sergei got an introduction into street art......he might like Brussels....we will see...

PS

Some of my favourites in Paris, Miss Tic and Jeff Aerosol.....

















The Jeff Aerosols are easy to spot, the red arrow(s) his signature.....met him when he was briefly working in Brussels...him spraying a background for a outdoor film location...


----------



## mariomart

Sergei is currently winging his way from France to Serbia.

Thank you to begud for being an AWESOME host and showing a little of his world :-!

The next host, stevarad, is currently hosting another travelling watch, a Poljot called Nomad, and with any luck we may possibly get a photo of the two travellers together.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived TBA
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


----------



## stevarad

Hi guys...

Sergei is in Serbia, but stuck in Serbian customs.

They send me a letter asking for invoice for watch, online store screenshots etc.. I will send them email today, and try to explain that this was not transaction...

Usually they are kind and efficient when they have all docs or explanations, so I believe Sergei will be soon on my wrist.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Hi guys...
> 
> Sergei is in Serbia, but stuck in Serbian customs.
> 
> They send me a letter asking for invoice for watch, online store screenshots etc.. I will send them email today, and try to explain that this was not transaction...
> 
> Usually they are kind and efficient when they have all docs or explanations, so I believe Sergei will be soon on my wrist.


Would it be worthwhile to copy the start of this thread (the part where it says that the watch is a 'traveller') and include with the email - or even a link to the thread?


----------



## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Would it be worthwhile to copy the start of this thread (the part where it says that the watch is a 'traveller') and include with the email - or even a link to the thread?


Yes. I done that.

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## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Yes. I done that.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Hopefully they'll understand then.


----------



## stevarad

Well, minute ago there was change in tracking info.

Sergei is released from customs and send to post office. So, in day or two, there will be new Seregi's adventures. )))

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## mariomart




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## begud

stevarad said:


> Well, minute ago there was change in tracking info.
> 
> Sergei is released from customs and send to post office. So, in day or two, there will be new Seregi's adventures. )))
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Well done!
I was afraid, I had done something wrong.
I'm looking forward to follow Sergei' s adventures in Serbia.


----------



## stevarad

begud said:


> Well done!
> I was afraid, I had done something wrong.
> I'm looking forward to follow Sergei' s adventures in Serbia.


Nothing wrong. There are just to many sellers and buyers that are saying that something is "gift", " wedding present" etc in order to avoid custom taxes. So they are naturaly suspicious when there is no price. Once when you give them explanations or documentations they are ok...

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## stevarad

It is 22.15 PM and I just arrived home from work. This is wat I saw in room just second ago.









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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> It is 22.15 PM and I just arrived home from work. This is wat I saw in room just second ago.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Fantastic, good to see the postal service in your country is not as brain dead as the one in Australia 

Looking forward to see what you both get up to :-!

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


----------



## stevarad

And package opening...Here is Sergei looking very good, fresh and full of energy and love from the city of love...









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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> And package opening...Here is Sergei looking very good, fresh and full of energy and love from the city of love...
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


He looks ready to share the love :-!

Enjoy your time with Sergei, and I hope mother is getting better.

Cheers, Mario


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> He looks ready to share the love :-!
> 
> Enjoy your time with Sergei, and I hope mother is getting better.
> 
> Cheers, Mario


Thank you. She is getting better slowly. It would be faster only if she would listen.Grrrrr...Those mothers, never listen....

And adventures? They are beggining already..

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## stevarad

..and universes merged today in this one time historical event!

All of You...Remember this day, and tell about it to your grandchildren! (OMG) 

Two worlds, two stories, two different paths, two world travelers together!!!

Nomad and Sergei are together. They met on same place, same time and same wrist!

Who knows if it will happen ever again in human history.









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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> ..and universes merged today in this one time historical event!
> 
> All of You...Remember this day, and tell about it to your grandchildren! (OMG)
> 
> Two worlds, two stories, two different paths, two world travelers together!!!
> 
> Nomad and Sergei are together. They met on same place, same time and same wrist!
> 
> Who knows if it will happen ever again in human history.


.... and people thought it was hard to put a man on the moon ..... getting 2 world travelling watches together is WAYYYYY harder ;-)


----------



## stevarad

So, let's rock and start with adventures..









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## stevarad

Nomad decided to show Sergei center of Zrenjanin, to be his host at beggining, and to make him more comfort.









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## stevarad

He even introduced him to my little girls..









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## stevarad

Nice sunny day. Almost like spring..









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## bjjkk

Lovely family.


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## stevarad

And now time for the crossover coffee break









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## stevarad

bjjkk said:


> Lovely family.


Thanks 

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## mariomart

Wonderful, simply wonderful!

Thank you stevarad :-!


----------



## stevarad

Today, we decide to make family visit to some russian related monuments in my timme, so that Nimad and Sergei can see how brave was people frim their homeland.

This is Plank's garden. Oldest park in my town. Almost 200 years old park. Once upon a time it was jast a yard of one rich local pharmacist, but then he decided to open gates and give his yard to people, so we got our first park.

In the middle of park is monument didicated to fallen red army heroes who died il liberating Zrenjanin (then it was called Petrovgrad) in 1944. It was must see for Nomad and Sergei.
Well my little daughters knows for the story about monument and red army heroes, but some apparently doesn't know, so there are a lot of ugly graffiti over there. That is bad example of graffitis (later, you will see some positive).









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## stevarad

Love in the air...pardon...in the tree..









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## stevarad

Next there is memorial complex dedicaded to localserbian heros (member of my wife's family also was shot there by .....), shot there in WWII, but it is also place were are buried 220 red army heroes died on liberating my town.

Must see place for Nomad and Sergei.









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## stevarad

And after that, something more cheerful and colorful.

Positive examples og graffiti.

In my town there are "gangs" of street art kids who are making fantastic wall art. Maybe not famous like wall artist from Paris, but they are fantastic, wit very good choices for their art.

And people are full of respect for them, so nobody is trying to deatroy or repaint their work.

Here is Charlie Chaplin as first one....(with very serious text around him)









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## stevarad

Next time this year....

I think this is most popular show of all time in Serbia.









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## stevarad

Even actors made comment about that stteet art.

And british ambasador in Serbia was there to take photo with that graffiti.









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..and me...


----------



## stevarad

They are just great....









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## stevarad

Famous serbian/world scientiest and inventors.

Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin.

With text on paintings: "Love above all" and " Nothing without love"









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## stevarad

Some very famous serbian actors from old serbian and yugoslav movies and shows...









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## stevarad

This one, Gandhi like, is Uros Predic. Greatest serbian painter ever.

more about him here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uroš_Predić









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## stevarad

This is Vuk (Wolf) Karadzic. He made modern serbian alphabet. He was great educator, enlightener and languague reformer.

I am amazed how those street art kids ate choosing so good examples.









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## stevarad

And this one here? Probably you didn't hear for her, and only because she was woman.

She is Mileva Maric Einstein, wife of Alber Einstein. She was one of the best mathemathician of time. Science community today believes that big part of Albert Einstein work was done by her, but you know....she was woman and from some small country, in different time wnich was very harder for women to get recognition.









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## stevarad

They are just great. They can put their art almost everywhere.









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## stevarad

And after memorial and urban street pop art day, crossover story coffee break.

And I had time only to "cook" Pizza. Well, I earned the money for Pizza, so it is like I made it in my eyes..









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## mariomart

Beautiful art, beautiful family, solemn reflection of long past heroes who gave their life so that all of this could happen.

Thank you :-!


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## LowIQ

Well, that sets the bar quite high......I'm preparing myself.....!


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## begud

Waouw, fantastic pictures, with beautiful places, strong history and wonderful girls.
Thanks for that.

Sergei must be happy.
But some people might think of you as a weirdo with your 2 watches ... on the same wrist


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## begud

stevarad said:


> And after that, something more cheerful and colorful.
> 
> Positive examples og graffiti.
> 
> In my town there are "gangs" of street art kids who are making fantastic wall art. Maybe not famous like wall artist from Paris, but they are fantastic, wit very good choices for their art.
> 
> And people are full of respect for them, so nobody is trying to deatroy or repaint their work.
> 
> Here is Charlie Chaplin as first one....(with very serious text around him)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Those kids street artists have some skills and choose great personalities as example. It creates a good message for everyone.

Your explanations should be inscribed next to each painting for foreign visitors. It must be a good place to see.
I will remember that for a future travel.

Ps: I visited Belgrade 15 years ago during a 2 days working trip and was impressed by people hospitality but also by the scars of war.

You make me want to have a second eye on your country!


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## stevarad

begud said:


> Those kids street artists have some skills and choose great personalities as example. It creates a good message for everyone.
> 
> Your explanations should be inscribed next to each painting for foreign visitors. It must be a good place to see.
> I will remember that for a future travel.
> 
> Ps: I visited Belgrade 15 years ago during a 2 days working trip and was impressed by people hospitality but also by the scars of war.
> 
> You make me want to have a second eye on your country!


So come on! You are welcome and have at least one friend here!

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## stevarad

This will be last adventure of Nomad and Sergei, because Nomad finally should and could go to sunny Calofornia.

I will present you a typical family saturday activity.

So let's rock...

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## stevarad

We love to go to theater on saturday morning. Because it is time when are played beautiful kids performances.









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## stevarad

And theater is always full like this.









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## stevarad

A word or two about interesting and romantic story about my town's theatre.

Once upon a time there was a big and strong fortress in my town (it looked like that wall painting on photo down). It was almost impossible to conquer it. After long and devastating war between Turkish and Austrian empire (Big Wienna war 1683-1699, when Turkey tried to conquere Wienna, and almost suceed it), they signed peace agreement in place Sremski Karlovci (Karlovci peace). Part of that agreement was that fortress in my town must be destroyed.

And it was....

But stone from fortress was used for building nbig grain warehause. So, next hundred years, that fortres continue to live for that purpose of feedeng people.

But then, at the beginning of XIX century, something happened.

One rich guy, count from my town, fell in love in actress from Budapest.

In order to see her more often, he gave a really lot of money to build a theatre in my town. And for building theatre he used that old grain warehause. So old fortress is now living in the theatre.

He finished theatre in 1839. And theatre hall is almost identical as it was in first days.

What do we, crazy guys can do for love? Even building theatres. As a result of that love, we have this oldest theater hall in country today (which is still in use), and definitly one of the most beautiful.

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## stevarad

Family photo in thetre 









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## stevarad

After theatre, another important building for us...

We are going to museum. We meet some friends in theatre, and took them with us.



























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## stevarad

Usually we start with nature part of museum..









































































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## stevarad

We love prehistoric animals

































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## stevarad

And we love birds od all kinds.

























































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## stevarad

After that, we usually go to historical and ethnical part of museum. Everything is there. From prehistoric times to WWII.











































































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## stevarad

If you like armory, you would really enjoy here.


































































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## stevarad

But, we like more to see examples of old rooms and fashion...

For example, if you were ordinary Serbian here, 100-150 years ago, living somewhere in country, this would be your home.











































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## stevarad

Hungarian room.

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## stevarad

Example of Romanian home.

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## stevarad

This I like best. Slovakian room.

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## stevarad

If you were shepherd...



































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## stevarad

...and if you were rich and noble...

..always that difference and huge gap...


































































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## stevarad

This is some old serbian and local fashion. And how people dressed in past.

Please, look what wonders could people do with their hands, without industry and machines..











































































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## stevarad

And finally some art...


































































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## stevarad

This is my favorite art room, with three greatest serbian painters - Uros Predic, Paja Jovanovic and Stevan Aleksic.

If you are interested in painting, please find about them on wiki or google them. They are fantastic.

You were reading about Uros Predic and Mihajlo Pupin in my street art posts, and here you can see how big painter Uros Predic painted big inventor Mihajlo Pupin.


















































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## stevarad

After musem some city walking, to get to...










































































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## stevarad

...crossover story coffe time!

And pancakes with nutella...

and cotton candies...

and sugar...

and wife will kill me...


































































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## stevarad

And some more walking, by the city lake this time...










































































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## stevarad

...while feeding some ducks and pigeons.










































































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## stevarad

And walking some more. To the old tennis club. Playing here since 1890.

Long live Novak Djokovic!!










































































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## stevarad

Now time to jump in car again. We are going to see grandma (my mother), to see how she is doing, and to have some healthy, hot, homemade chicken soup.










It is so good when you are small kid, and you can watch cartoons, eating soup and .... you know...Everything in same time










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## stevarad

Well, this is something that we often do on saturdays.

Enjoying in town with family.

At same time, this is last crossover story, with Nomad and Sergei being together, because Nomad finally has to go to sunny California.

I hope that I didn't kill you with tons of photos and infos. And I hope that you enjoyed in this cross stories with both world travellers involved.


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## leastonh

Steverad, thank you so much for taking all the time to post the photos and to tell us about them.

I especially loved the theatre. It is one of the most magical places to me and you have a beautiful theatre to visit with a surprising history behind it!

What is the purpose of the item in the photos showing the furniture used by the rich (post 196)? It's the one in the first photo in that post and from the small door at the bottom I'm wondering if it is some kind of heater? The bureau made of what looks like walnut was fantastic too.

I was shocked at the quality of the clothes people made by hand. Did they really make such intricate clothing without machinery??! Wow, it was beautifully done.

The paintings were amazing and that's one gallery I'd love to visit. Stunning artwork and almost photo-realistic.

You pictures are brilliant and it is appreciated that you have clearly taken lots of time and effort to share.

Love that Sturmanskie you are wearing! ;-)


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## stevarad

Yes, it is one beautiful heater 

And they didn't have machinery for clothes. They had some tools ofcourse.

If they were lucky they had something like this:










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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> Yes, it is one beautiful heater
> 
> And they didn't have mashinery for clothes. They had some tools ofcourse.
> 
> If they were lucky they had something like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I would love a heater like that. I bet it looked fantastic when in use.

My grandmother used to have a sewing machine like that (Singer brand) with a pedal underneath for the feet to power the movement.

Thanks again for all the posts


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> Well, this is something that we often do on saturdays.
> 
> Enjoying in town with family.
> 
> At same time, this is last crossover story, with Nomad and Sergei being together, because Nomad finally has to go to sunny California.
> 
> I hope that I didn't kill you with tons of photos and infos. And I hope that you enjoyed in this cross stories with both world travellers involved.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That was EPIC!!!

I am short of words, but thank you for sharing such a wonderful day with your family.

You and your family are beautiful people, inside and out.

Cheers, Mario


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> That was EPIC!!!
> 
> I am short of words, but thank you for sharing such a wonderful day with your family.
> 
> You and your family are beautiful people, inside and out.
> 
> Cheers, Mario


Thanks!!! I am feeling good now 

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## stevarad

Happy march 8th to all women here.









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## LowIQ

@stevarad

I really like your pictures ....!

@all and @mariomart

I seem to be next on the list for a visit from Sergei, and I am not in a position to show him around in the next few weeks.....

I will be either very busy or self-isolating.......as things seem to progress these days all over..........and it's not because of hunting for loo paper...but related....

So, I would like to be either dropped from the list (a shame) or moved to the end of it (my prefered outcome)........

All the best to all of you and don't forget to wash your hands.....;-)


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## stevarad

LowIQ said:


> @stevarad
> 
> I really like your pictures ....!
> 
> @all and @mariomart
> 
> I seem to be next on the list for a visit from Sergei, and I am not in a position to show him around in the next few weeks.....
> 
> I will be either very busy or self-isolating.......as things seem to progress these days all over..........and it's not because of hunting for loo paper...but related....
> 
> So, I would like to be either dropped from the list (a shame) or moved to the end of it (my prefered outcome)........
> 
> All the best to all of you and don't forget to wash your hands.....;-)


Sh..t!!

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## stevarad

LowIQ said:


> @stevarad
> 
> I really like your pictures ....!
> 
> @all and @mariomart
> 
> I seem to be next on the list for a visit from Sergei, and I am not in a position to show him around in the next few weeks.....
> 
> I will be either very busy or self-isolating.......as things seem to progress these days all over..........and it's not because of hunting for loo paper...but related....
> 
> So, I would like to be either dropped from the list (a shame) or moved to the end of it (my prefered outcome)........
> 
> All the best to all of you and don't forget to wash your hands.....;-)


Sergei will be with me for next three weeks more. We'll see after that what is situation. Maybe to contact you than, and to find solution...?

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## LowIQ

That would be perfectly fine for me.....a 3 week delay....we probably hit peak here in 2 to 4 weeks....

And just to say I am perfectly fine and healthy....thank you for asking @stevarad in your PM....! But, I will be busy...very...


----------



## mariomart

Good to hear from you LowIQ, these are testing times for all, we will wait and see where things are when the time comes.

Keep safe and remember to buy more toilet paper ;-)

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## LowIQ

Still got 9 rolls from these guys....so no need for panic buys...

https://uk.whogivesacrap.org/pages/about-us


----------



## stevarad

Sadly (because of reason), Nomad will still be with me and Sergei. I hope there will be time and conditions for new Nomad & Sergei stories in next weeks, but as I sad in link bellow, that is not promise. It depends on...I don't konow what...

https://www.watchuseek.com/f10/meet...ng-poljot-3133-a-5047057-30.html#post51213199

Stay good, safe, and wash your hands very often. I love you all.


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## mariomart




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## stevarad

Let start with some colours. Spring is coming..









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## stevarad

Now, I thought that Nomad will be in California, and that I will have good weekend story with Sergei and family in one special place near my town ( no, i won't tell you what is it about, I hope there will be good opportunity for that in future). But Nomad is still here with Sergei, and I can't go in that place neacause crowds are not giod these days.

So, what to do with family, in saturday, to be on open air, and not in crowd, and to spread some positive emotions and mood here?

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## stevarad

We decided to find and collect some pinecons, to paint them later. So we walked for hours in part of neighborhood where we have a lot of pine trees, and not lot of people...









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## stevarad

And we started to collect pinecons. A lot off them.









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## stevarad

Of course, nowhere without this.









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## stevarad

We found ladybug.









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## stevarad

...and enjoyed in first signs of spring.









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## stevarad

Some more colorful photos.









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## stevarad

Just hanging arround..









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## stevarad

And we have found a LOT of pinecons for painting.









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## stevarad

And some training...of my nerves..









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## stevarad

At the end, I think this was a good day, and that we had some good results in the evening.

Stay safe and healthy! Love you all.









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## mariomart

Another wonderful day with your beautiful family :-!

Thank you


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## stevarad

Painting pinecons was great idea. They are entertaining themselves for second day. Instead of jumping on my head.

So I had chances to drink morning coffe ( It doesn't meen that it is morning. We started at noon time. Coffe is cold, and this is time when I succed to drink it).









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## stevarad

And again they did very nice job.









































































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## stevarad

And it was so good loking, that they thought someone will buy them. For real money!

And they were right. Someone bought it, one buy one!

They are very skilled in bargain.










































































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## stevarad

Then, I went for shoping some basic supplies.

Well, I tried, but it seems that guy Covid19 was faster.


















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## stevarad

We decided to go to park. Because no one was there. And that is good thing these days.

We enjoyed in walking, playing, and sunset.

And visited monument dedicated to fallen fighters in WWII










































































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## stevarad

And just when I was thinking that, despite all, we had wonderful day...

We had declared national state of emergency.

Challenging times...

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay tuned.

Love you all.

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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> And just when I was thinking that, despite all, we had wonderful day...
> 
> We had declared national state of emergency.
> 
> Challenging times...
> 
> Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay tuned.
> 
> Love you all.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Stay safe my friend and look after your beautiful family.

Thank you.


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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 3...

Lasto two stories was to much influeced and shaped by covid19 situation. I am affraid that it will be so in next few weeks also 

So because of lockdown and staying home policy, martial law etc, Nomad & Sergei adventures will be more like Nomad & Sergei Covid19 diary. Inside home, or in very limited area.

What to do when you are lock down in house? Well, I know what would I like to do with wife (shame on you, I was thinking on movie nights, and talking about emotions after), but what to do with kids, all day?

But, this weekend, we knew what to do.

Yesterday, it was 7th birthday of my oldest precious.

So first we had to make some cake..









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## stevarad

So, just after breakfast, we had bithday cake and birthday songs..

Just two weeks ago, we had plans for big birthday party in super fancy playing room, with lot of friends, but this is only available option today. And kids are still happy )

Magic of birthdays.









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## stevarad

And eating reaaaaally lot of cake, and than presents opening..









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## stevarad

Someone used situation, and stole the phone, and disappeared quckly and quietly as ninja.









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## stevarad

And we need to go for some supplies. Just wife and me. No kids.

Feeling wild, feeling crazy...

Going to the bookstore also, for mind supplies...Not sure if it will work after weekend, so it had to be done yesterday.









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## stevarad

Kids needs fresh air. But we are limited in area in front of house.

Still, you can find nice things there, and spent some energy in jumping and playing.









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## stevarad

After 17h, we can't be on street. Martial law.

So we continued our party inside.

Yeah, disco birthday party.









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## stevarad

It was another good day, despite all around us.

Although, worry inside me slowly transforms in fear.

But, we shall win.


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> It was another good day, despite all around us.
> 
> Although, worry inside me slowly transforms in fear.
> 
> But, we shall win.


Thank you for sharing another wonderful day.

As much as the Covid-19 pandemic is terrifying and has stretched it's cloud of doom over pretty much the entire world, it has also enabled some families to reconnect to much simpler times.

You are a good man, keep the faith 

Cheers.


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Thank you for sharing another wonderful day.
> 
> As much as the Covid-19 pandemic is terrifying and has stretched it's cloud of doom over pretty much the entire world, it has also enabled some families to reconnect to much simpler times.
> 
> You are a good man, keep the faith
> 
> Cheers.


Thank you on kind words.

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## Kotsov

What a great dad.


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## stevarad

Thanks.


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> Thank you on kind words.


I envy you.

I have 3 children, aged 23, 17 and 12.

The best I can expect out of them these days is an unexpected nipple twist and an empty wallet ;-)


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> I envy you.
> 
> I have 3 children, aged 23, 17 and 12.
> 
> The best I can expect out of them these days is an unexpected nipple twist and an empty wallet ;-)


))))

One empty wallet here also... nipples are fine thanks god.

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## stevarad

Covid 19 diary, part 4

Yesterday, they decided to be youtube stars and to make youtube clips. In oreder to make them busy with something, it is excellent.

This one was abou LOL dolls. It was funny to watch them how they develope script and story.

Tara (the oldest - celtic name and name of local mountain and river, meaning of name is double - "high tower" and "strong river"), Mirna (middle one - slavic meaning of name is "peacefull" and celltic meaning is "the one I love/kiss") make idea, and start with story, but Iskra (youngest, slavic meaning of name is "sparkle" or beginig of everything) is always there to spoile it, unintentionaly of course.


























































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## stevarad

This second one was about dinosaurs. Mirna knows EVERYTHING about EVERY dinasour. Even on potty.



















































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## stevarad

After that, some fun for me. Playing with some strap changing...


































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## stevarad

I hope that lockdown will give me some time to do something with this mess of mostly new arrivals, which I didn't have time to sort or play with.

If you do not have strong stomach, do not look at photos.










































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## stevarad

Beacuse of the lockdown, National theatre (as many other institutions) is online live streaming plays every night.

This night, it was Tchaikovsky " Nutcracker". We tried to watch ballet ON tv, but problem was because we had ballet IN FRONT of tv.










































































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## stevarad

And things are getting more complicated, unfortunately..


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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 5

It is snowing today. We didn't have snow almost at all during winter. And now, when spring has officialy come, and when we need sun to help against virus, it started to snow very strong.

Now, it will be very difficult to keep kids inside. It will be hell full of tears and screams.










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## SuffolkGerryW

Typical that you have the magnet for young children now that they cannot enjoy playing with their friends.
Keep yourselves healthy.


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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 6

Last night, thay made a costume party, in order to make fun for themselves, and to look good in front parents...


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## stevarad

An slowly, it transformed into real theatre, with story, script, roles... And applause of course.


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## stevarad

In the morning, they continue with musical festival..









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## stevarad

And later, they produced some TV programme. It was cute, they had TV news, songs, cartoons...Except moment when they started TV news with: "Today 60 people died from coronavirus"..Sh...t.









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## stevarad

We are trying very strong that they don't feel bad vibe arround because of Covid, and to preserve good mood...

I don't know for how long we could do that with success.

Situation is worst every day.

I have to go to work, I work in building with thousands people.They are home. I can bring trouble with me every day.

I think that I need to separate from my family, and I feel devastaded because of that.

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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> We are trying very strong that they don't feel bad vibe arround because of Covid, and to preserve good mood...
> 
> I don't know for how long we could do that with success.
> 
> Situation is worst every day.
> 
> I have to go to work, I work in building with thousands people.They are home. I can bring trouble with me every day.
> 
> I think that I need to separate from my family, and I feel devastaded because of that.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Thank you for sharing yet another beautiful moment with your family during these horrific times.

Your work situation seems less than ideal. My wife also works in an office with many people, but because she is 2IC she made the decision to send all non-essential people home with full pay, and most of the essential people have been given approval to work from home online, Only she and a few other essential people are still in the office but separated by good distance and all meetings are by video conference.

I wish you the best with whatever decision you decide upon.

Stay safe my friend.


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Thank you for sharing yet another beautiful moment with your family during these horrific times.
> 
> Your work situation seems less than ideal. My wife also works in an office with many people, but because she is 2IC she made the decision to send all non-essential people home with full pay, and most of the essential people have been given approval to work from home online, Only she and a few other essential people are still in the office but separated by good distance and all meetings are by video conference.
> 
> I wish you the best with whatever decision you decide upon.
> 
> Stay safe my friend.


I will try tomorrow at job to talk and to see does comany has intention to let us to work from home, or not. If answer is "not" than I will have to move from home.

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## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> I will try tomorrow at job to talk and to see does comany has intention to let us to work from home, or not. If answer is "not" than I will have to move from home.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Hopefully, they'll let you work from home - if it's computer based work, then should be no problem, I'd have thought.


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## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Hopefully, they'll let you work from home - if it's computer based work, then should be no problem, I'd have thought.


Yes, it is that type of work.And they could let me before. But they didn't. They get used on conditions where they can't make any small decission without my thinkig, expertise, blablabla...they don't sign ANYTHING before I told them it's ok....Bad consequence when you are good at your job.

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## LowIQ

Here a virtual concert for all....2 of the Cellists play in the orchestra of the Opera house my wife works for....it's closed now, and she is working from home....

The Costume Departement of the Opera works from home as well, since 3 weeks, sewing masks for distribution to cleaners and the like ....

But here the Cellos, filmed with mobile phones ......and then stuck together....enjoy...!


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## stevarad

LowIQ said:


> Here a virtual concert for all....2 of the Cellists play in the orchestra of the Opera house my wife works for....it's closed now, and she is working from home....
> 
> The Costume Departement of the Opera works from home as well, since 3 weeks, sewing masks for distribution to cleaners and the like ....
> 
> But here the Cellos, filmed with mobile phones ......and then stuck together....enjoy...!


This sounds great. Human spirit always feed me with optimism.

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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 7

Quick update:

I am still at home with family. I will have some free days from work, and after that I will see how the situation will develop - If it would be still hard and complicated I will leave, of course, if it will be better, which is my hope, I will stay home.

But, here, we have finally very nice weather. Ant total lockdown.

We have small back yard behind house, so we decided to make it in playground for kids.

And I had help in building and cleaning...










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## stevarad

So, we build trambolin, kids house, made sand corner, put a lot of toys there...And they even did their best to fill it with colors.

I am satisfied with result.










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## stevarad

So, we build trambolin, kids house, made sand corner, put a lot of toys there...And they even did their best to fill it with colors.

I am satisfied with result.










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## stevarad

I hope you all are doing well, and that you are strong and healthy.

World is so upside down this days...

Best regards from Zrenjanin, Serbia, to all of you.









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## mariomart

Great idea to use outside while weather is favourable :-!

Looks like your family had a great time.

Love to all from Downunder


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## LowIQ

Here a little clapping for all the people in the frontline during these times.....feel free to join in....


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## LowIQ

As I had some time on my hand...I did make this....Happy Easter...!









Sorry about the missing watch in the pic......


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## stevarad

...and here is with watch...don't worry ))









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## stevarad

Covid 19 fiary, part 8

Quick update:

My employer called me, and told me that, from monday I'll be working from home.

I am very happy because it means that I don't need to move from family ))))

Also, it seems that spreading of this virus is somehow slowed, all are still so cautuos, but good news anyway.

So, as from tomorrow,.I am working from home.

And this is my pinky office 










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## SuffolkGerryW

Nice office - goes with the eyes??:-d


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## stevarad

But we still have martial law, state of emergency, lockdown etc...So we are spending our time in home and in back yard.

We are playing in back yard mostly during day (oh how they love chasing bugs and digging worms, seeding flowers and greens), making chaotic workshops for kids in evening, and I must brag loud, that Tara, my preschool firstborn learned both - cyrillic and latinic alphabet, reading and writing.

And thank god, we are all good, strong and healthy.










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## stevarad

We have small back yard, but it' s like salvation in this aituation, I can't imagine how it would be in apartment on the top of skycrapper with three kids.

There we have some apple trees, peach trees, pear trees...

And they all are full of flowers these days.

Beautiful colors.










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## stevarad

It is still super risky situation, but I think that we can see light on the end of tunel.

Stay strong and healthy and enjoy in big small things.

Love to all of you.

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## leastonh

Thank you for all the photos and happy posts. I'm isolated and alone and this is just what I need to cheer me up.

Be safe and well with your family.


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## mariomart

leastonh said:


> Thank you for all the photos and happy posts. I'm isolated and alone and this is just what I need to cheer me up.
> 
> Be safe and well with your family.


Sometimes being locked up with my family can make for testing times.

My wife insisted we all "hydrate" today ...


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Sometimes being locked up with my family can make for testing times.
> 
> My wife insisted we all "hydrate" today ...
> 
> View attachment 15027407


I bet this would be one of best and most loved family photos ever. )))

You all look very happy and...hydrated


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## SuffolkGerryW

Nothing better than 'quality time' with the family, yeh?;-):-!:-d


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## SuffolkGerryW

leastonh said:


> Thank you for all the photos and happy posts. I'm isolated and alone and this is just what I need to cheer me up.
> 
> Be safe and well with your family.


Keep safe, just remember that this will all be over in a few weeks - take each day at a time


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## LowIQ

What would I give to have had the luxury to have learned the cyrilic alphabet.....at an early age...

Being fluent in a few languages is a different skill.....there I'm kind of fine....but the script is another thing...this is as far as I can go...reading wise....don't ask me to write anything in it.....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sütterlin


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## leastonh

mariomart said:


> Sometimes being locked up with my family can make for testing times.
> 
> My wife insisted we all "hydrate" today ...
> 
> View attachment 15027407


Fantastic photo. At least you'll all come out of this with great complexions hehe


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## leastonh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Keep safe, just remember that this will all be over in a few weeks - take each day at a time


Thank you, you too. That's good advice. Tough sometimes to keep in mind that it will end.


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## stevarad

If you remember my Nomad posts about christmas from january, you may remember that here, for traditional holiday use different calendar (Julian), and that is the reason why we have double of them . Time for easter is also different then for the rest of world. Orthodox christian church(es) around world, use somehow differemt formula for ester timing, which may include Julian calendar (bt not for all orthodox churcjes), but always include some astronomical I don't know what mumbo jumbo, full moon cycle, spring coming, but also and obligatory, time of Jewish Pasha, and that is the main reason of different timing beatwen eastern and western churches. In eastern orthodox christianity is belived that (because of last supper) easter must be after Pasha.

So, in Serbia we have easter today.

Happy easter to all people who celebrate today.

Happy easter to all good pople on planet.

Happy easter to all not so good people also, whit whish to find strenght to be better,

Be safe and healthy all, love world around you,

and best wishes to all, with our traditional easter greeting,

Христос воскресе.










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## stevarad

This song is best ilustration of easter spirit in my country. I am so sorry that you can not understand it.

Every strophe is how people, angels, animals, different part of nature - plants, animals, celebrate.
Music is simple and more contagious than Covid19.






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## mariomart

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate on this day :-!


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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 9

Anf this is how it was for us this weekend..

We have total 100% lockdown for holidays. Martal law. Nowhere from house to escape.

Friday and saturday we used for coloring eggs and easter decorations. Family together stuffs.










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## stevarad

We made some traditional style eggs in great respect for holiday that we have...










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## stevarad

But we also made some eggs in OUR style, and I think they rock!










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## stevarad

We had even some truly masterpieces like this one. Without help of parents.









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## stevarad

Me and wife...










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## mariomart

All very wonderful memories to cherish during a weird time in history.

All our love goes your way to you and your family.


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> All very wonderful memories to cherish during a weird time in history.
> 
> All our love goes your way to you and your family.


Thanks 

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## stevarad

This is Pukey. He is important for further development of the story...

And to talk how it is imortant to eat every food which is prepared.










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## stevarad

Because we love so much christmas tree,we decided that we will have easter tree. I think that will be our family tradition. I like idea.










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## stevarad

And in night, when they fell in sleep, we secretly prepared "carrot" presents from easter bunny, made maps for places where he will hide toys, eggs and sweets.

Wen we finished carrot plants, packaging other presents and maps, it was 03.00 AM. We were very tired.










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## stevarad

And they wake up, full of energy,and jumping in 06.30!!! OMG!!!
(Photo of the clock on wall is taken more then half hour later.)

They found carrot presents and startet to scream an laugh.

Present were full of candies, but we were lucky that easter bunny left message that first they need to eat breakfast. So lucky. And that is were Pukey jumps in the story also...










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## leastonh

Fab photos, as always. Thank you. I'm sat here laughing that you were up after 3am and the kids got up at 6:30am hehe. Brilliant  You have some great adventures with your kids. I used to hide things all over the house for my son when he was young and hide a series of paper clues in different places. It was so much fun to do and then watch him spend ages hunting for clues. Happy days.

Be safe and well


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## stevarad

For brekfast we have boiled eggs. Those colored eggs.

We played traditional game of knocking eggs, and competition of hardest egg. Winner gets broken eggs to eat them and share them.
Nomad's and Sergei's egg was among hardest.










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## stevarad

Sad story of Pukey....

This is Pukey. He doen't like world so much. He just love to sit and everyone to leave him alone.

He doesn't like to eat food vith vitamins and minerals. He even doesn't like almost any food. He doesn't like world around much either.

He is somber and grumpy very often.










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## stevarad

"You stupid people. Just leave me alone! Don't you dare to touch me and to play with me your stupid, stupid knocking games!!!", yelled the Pukey









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## stevarad

"Oh silly Pukey", sad a little girl, "how not to see you and take you, when I notice you so grreny and grumpy from miles. Come on green friend, let's play"....

"Nooooooooo, waaaaiiit, leaveee meeeee", shouted Pukey, but little girl didn't understand him because he was always making noise of vomiting.

Silly Pukey...









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## stevarad

So he was a part of massive knocking game with other eggs..

..And what do you think, what was the result of knocking game?










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## stevarad

Smiley, who eatd food, vitamins and minerals was strong. His shell was hard!

He stayed safe and happy!










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## stevarad

And grumpy little green Pukey?

Whell, he didn't eat enough good food, so his shell was weak and unhealthy.

His head was broken and hurting so much.

His tushy was in pain, flatten and crushed.

At least, thanks to flatten tushy, he could stand on table without no one's help.

And that is the end of the sad story of Pukey.

Silly Pukey.










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## stevarad

First map was hidden behind easter tree. On every spot where presents from map was hidden, was next map.

After breakfast, they found first map.

And treasure hunt begins.

Oh, what excitment.









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## stevarad

They were excellent tracers and map readers.

Finding everything on the way. Faster then I thought.









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## stevarad

Soon, their baskets were full of treasure.










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## stevarad

And tramboline?

Well we didn't used it for jumping this time, but for sweats and toys.

Even Nomad and Sergei got part of treasure.










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## stevarad

This is how we comunicate with neighbours during lockdown and rules of social distancing. Simpsons - Flanders way.

We have excellent neighbours. They got present from them also - more eggs and candies.

So they continued to play knocking game and eat even more chocolate in tramboline.










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## stevarad

Pfhhouhhh..Believe me that I am tired, and this is just half of day. Right now they are having afternoon sleep, so I have this freedom to upload.

Tomorrow is Mirna's fifth birthday, so stay tuned for more, if you are not tired with this house and family photos (I really don't have any other place for photos available these days).


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## stevarad

leastonh said:


> Fab photos, as always. Thank you. I'm sat here laughing that you were up after 3am and the kids got up at 6:30am hehe. Brilliant  You have some great adventures with your kids. I used to hide things all over the house for my son when he was young and hide a series of paper clues in different places. It was so much fun to do and then watch him spend ages hunting for clues. Happy days.
> 
> Be safe and well


Yes, that game of hiding/ finding with kids are wonderful. Thank you on your kind words.

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> Pfhhouhhh..Believe me that I am tired, and this is just half of day. Right now they are having afternoon sleep, so I have this freedom to upload.
> 
> Tomorrow is Mirna's fifth birthday, so stay tuned for more, if you are not tired with this house and family photos (I really don't have any other place for photos available these days).
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


It is appreciated that you share your photos. It's nice to see normal family life happening and other people happy. I miss seeing my son and my family.


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## Sekondtime

stevarad said:


> They were excellent tracers and map readers.
> 
> Finding everything on the way. Faster then I thought.


You should have timed them with an Agat or Slava stopwatch!


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## stevarad

Covid 19 diary, part 10

Today is Mirna's fifth birthday. This is second birthday in lockdown.

I hope that third one, in june (Iskra's birthday), wil be with virus being defeated.

So, kids helped in preparation, cake and table arranging.









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## stevarad

It is always wonder to see, how simple light of candles, and blowing them, can make such huge magic and joy in childrens eyes.

During cake and candles ceremony, we had some other members of family online present.










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## stevarad

Bigger magic is only getting presents and opening them..

And because of COVID situation, this year all are getting some presents for everyones birthday. Of course, birthday girl is getting always one present more, for her special day.










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## stevarad

And for the end of todays report, warm greetings from all of us.










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## stevarad

It's lockdown hairstyle, dont judge me 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## leastonh

Happy Birthday to your daughter.

Here's my lockdown hairstyle! I'm not in any position to judge. ;-)


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## Kotsov

leastonh said:


> Happy Birthday to your daughter.
> 
> Here's my lockdown hairstyle! I'm not in any position to judge. ;-)
> 
> View attachment 15050803


Looks fine.


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## SuffolkGerryW

leastonh said:


> Happy Birthday to your daughter.
> 
> Here's my lockdown hairstyle! I'm not in any position to judge. ;-)
> 
> View attachment 15050803


Only '4' less than mine is normally cut to:-!


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## mariomart

Happy Birthday to your daughter 

Lockdown hasn't affected me at all ......


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## leastonh

We look so normal, don't we? :-d


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## stevarad

Let's vote for Sergei's new temporary style...

Style N° 1










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## stevarad

Style N°2









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## stevarad

Style N°3










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## stevarad

Style N°4










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## stevarad

Style N°5









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## stevarad

Style N°6









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## stevarad

Voting opened...5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now...

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## thewatchadude

2-3-5, no order of preference. But please not on a leather strap--chose something waterproof.

You could also take a more transformational approach (what do we know about Sergei's happiness vis-à-vis its gender?). This one was born as a clone of Sergei, before chosing its own way:


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## leastonh

Hmm...1, 2, 5, 4, 3, 6 and not on leather


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## Kotsov

Number 4.


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## elsoldemayo

no. 1 or no. 3 (but with the orange strap instead of leather). And yes, i am making up my own options


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## SuffolkGerryW

No 6 (strange, as I don't normally like clean bezels) No 1


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## mariomart

Number 1 and 3 :-!

Looks like Sergei is enjoying dress-ups


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## stevarad

Ok, waterproof strap accepted. I don't have 20mm nato, but I have this carbon strap.

And some new bezels combo for voting.

N° 7










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## stevarad

N° 8









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## stevarad

N° 9










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## stevarad

N° 10










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## stevarad

As I can see, N° 3 is sligthly above other for now. But now we have also other options. Wining option would be this weekend Sergei's style.



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## thewatchadude

Adding 8 and 10 to my votes.


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## Kotsov

I'd be murderous after fitting this many bezels.


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## leastonh

Kotsov said:


> I'd be murderous after fitting this many bezels.


Hahah, I was thinking the same thing. My patience would have run out after number 3


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## leastonh

10, then 9 for me on the new ones listed. 10 is a good colour match and classic Vostok.


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## Kotsov

leastonh said:


> Hahah, I was thinking the same thing. My patience would have run out after number 3


 No.1 for me.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> I'd be murderous after fitting this many bezels.


But who says that they are 'properly' fitted?;-):-d
Me, I'd be the same doing the straps!


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## mariomart

In all honesty I've never been a firm believer of the need for a waterproof strap on a desk diver.

I'm not a swimmer and I don't shower or bathe with my watch on my wrist (or any other place for those weird thinkers ;-) ) , so my watches are 99.9% dry wear only.

So the way I think is if it looks good and is a practical solution then put on whatever floats your boat :-!


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## Kotsov

mariomart said:


> In all honesty I've never been a firm believer of the need for a waterproof strap on a desk diver.
> 
> I'm not a swimmer and I don't shower or bathe with my watch on my wrist (or any other place for those weird thinkers ;-) ) , so my watches are 99.9% dry wear only.
> 
> So the way I think is if it looks good and is a practical solution then put on whatever floats your boat :-!


The boat WILL need to be waterproof though.


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## thewatchadude

mariomart said:


> In all honesty I've never been a firm believer of the need for a waterproof strap on a desk diver.
> 
> I'm not a swimmer and I don't shower or bathe with my watch on my wrist (or any other place for those weird thinkers ;-) ) , so my watches are 99.9% dry wear only.
> 
> So the way I think is if it looks good and is a practical solution then put on whatever floats your boat :-!


Probably some 90% of my watches are divers. However oly a fraction actually sees water, and several of those who don't are on leather. So not an ayatollah view on this.

However in Sergei's case it's more for the symbol. The scuda dude is so iconic that I love the idea that it could see water if it wanted to--and if stevarad wanted as well.


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## stevarad

The choosen one...for this weekend.










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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> The choosen one...for this weekend.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


That will do nicely. The contrast between the black and white is great. Have a good weekend and be safe


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## Kotsov

thewatchadude said:


> Probably some 90% of my watches are divers. However oly a fraction actually sees water, and several of those who don't are on leather. So not an ayatollah view on this.
> 
> However in Sergei's case it's more for the symbol. The scuda dude is so iconic that I love the idea that it could see water if it wanted to--and if stevarad wanted as well.


OK. But might be overthinking things a bit. Even for a watch forum on lockdown...


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## thewatchadude

Kotsov said:


> OK. But might be overthinking things a bit. Even for a watch forum on lockdown...


Is there anything else to do than thinking nowadays?


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## Kotsov

thewatchadude said:


> Is there anything else to do than thinking nowadays?


Considering the next forum project?


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## leastonh

thewatchadude said:


> Is there anything else to do than thinking nowadays?


Eating! Duh


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## stevarad

leastonh said:


> Eating! Duh


Hahhhah. You made me laughing on loud. Really loud. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## stevarad

Covid diary part 11

Change is always necessary, so I builded new toy in back yard couple days ago...









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## stevarad

Btw, just look at this hugging tree..

pure love.









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## stevarad

But new slide was not in use for long, because we had 3-4 days of rain and bad weather.










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## stevarad

So, we had to plan indoor activities.

And training for princess walking is always good idea.










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## stevarad

And while we were practicing princess walking downstairs, someone upsters had found secret pandemic suuplies of sweets and candies, hidden deep in dark corner of the wardrobe.










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## begud

stevarad said:


> The choosen one...for this weekend.


Hi Steverad,

I really like how you dressed up Sergei!
It makes me want one like him in my watch box.

And it''s a pleasure to see how happy your girls look like even during the lockdown. 
Stay safe!


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## thewatchadude

Yep, big up for those parents who are able to create fantastic memories for their children during those horrible times!

I'm a big fan of your daughters' adventures, reminds me of the great times when there were children around !


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## stevarad

Thank you both on kind words!


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## stevarad

Well, you can't keep them in house for too long. Impossible task. Specially because they have very developed hunting instincts and skills...for snail hunting.

They are born hunters. Look how much they found just in front of house.










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## stevarad

And after couple of days of bad weather and rain...Eternal reminder of the allince and promise from up, that there will never be flood again.

Friends, this is no flood. There will be no flood. Soon we will see another rainbow, and walk to the other side of the rainbow where we will found our treasure of freedom and love...










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## stevarad

And of course, after rainbow, sun and fun, and some more company to play with...

Best regards to all from Serbia.

Stay safe and healthy.

This will be over soon.









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## mariomart

Fantastic pictures and story Stevan :-!

Keep the smiles coming


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## leastonh

Thank you for giving me the first smiles of today. Great photos. It made me laugh to see your daughter had found the stash of sweets. I used to do exactly the same with chocolates my mum hid at Christmas and had forgotten about it until I saw your photos. Brilliant  Sergei is looking really good with that new bezel too.

Thanks for sharing more happy photos.


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## stevarad

leastonh said:


> Thank you for giving me the first smiles of today. Great photos. It made me laugh to see your daughter had found the stash of sweets. I used to do exactly the same with chocolates my mum hid at Christmas and had forgotten about it until I saw your photos. Brilliant  Sergei is looking really good with that new bezel too.
> 
> Thanks for sharing more happy photos.


Nothing so precious and unbeatable feel, when you are a kid, and find secret cave full of sweets! Still remember that feel.

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## SuffolkGerryW

We could do with your girls coming here to hunt the snails (do they hunt slugs as well?)! As we can't seem to keep them off the seedlings at the moment - even with the help of thrushes & blackbirds.


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## stevarad

Oh, yes. Slugs also. They will even get the house for their back ))

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## stevarad

Covid19 diary, part 12

So, things are getting better. Martial law is over about 10 days ago. We still have some restrictions and rules of social distancing (what ugly words) of course, but total lockdown is over.

We are starting to enjoy out of house again. Carefully of course.

And this weekend we had one of first important socializing.

In this part of world, "godfathers", and "godfathers" families and relations are very important. Close friends which became godfathers, and their families, become something like close relatives. That connection is established on weddings (something like bestman or bestwoman) and in baptazing kids.

Those relations can last very long. For example, my wifes family has godfather relations with another family more than century. I think more than two century.

In difficult times, you can always to rely on godfather, during happy times, you always share happiness.

We have our very good friends here in Zrenjanin. My brother was best man (godfather) on wedding, then I was godfather for one kid, then he for another..etc. Our families are now in special "godfather" relations

And now, after lockdown, it was time for baptazing third kid, beautiful princess named Lenka.

Usually, this would be big celebrations, with lot of people, music, food and drinking but because of Covid, we had much better and very pleasant small amd cosy celebration.

But, let's rock...

(Oh, how I like those word, didn't use them for some time and I was missing them)









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## stevarad

First, we gatherd at their home in morning, and after some time, we went all together to church.

This small white fairy is Lenka. And that was her day for baptizing.










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## mariomart

Great news :-!

Good to see things starting to look normal again


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## stevarad

And someone took her first selfies in car on the way...

I noticed this only after, when I was choosing photos for this posts ))









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## stevarad

This is church of Introduction of Virgin Mary. One of many churches here. Builded in 1777.

Painted inside by some famouse painters here. Look how beautiful is inside, Like you entered in some wonderful color book or comic book.

Also, in church yard there is playground for kids so you can amuse them there or/and take them outside if they can't be too long inside church.










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## mariomart

Haha .... kids these days take to electronics like a duck to water


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## stevarad

Yes! Incredible ))

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## stevarad

Although you can't see them in these photos, there are Nomad and Sergei participating in the holy baptismal service.

I think this will be something very unique in their world joruney.









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## stevarad

Someone is wild even in church...Can't beat nature... 










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## stevarad

After service, we get back to their home. Kids enjoyed in trambooline and making masterpieces of playdoh










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## LowIQ

Things seem to improve slightly over here in Brussels....I might be able to take Sergei out on a little tour, the Opera house will be one of the last things to reopen, end of year my guess, but there are other things I could show him.....

So, I would be ready to roll....


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## stevarad

LowIQ said:


> Things seem to improve slightly over here in Brussels....I might be able to take Sergei out on a little tour, the Opera house will be one of the last things to reopen, end of year my guess, but there are other things I could show him.....
> 
> So, I would be ready to roll....


excellent!!

I will let you know in PM when I send it.

But I would still like to keep him here for some short time, to show 2-3 interesting places, because he was almost all time in house. I ask premission from you and Mario of course.

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## stevarad

And we enjoyed in one of the best rakia that I have ever tasted in my life, made from apricot and quince. It was homemade. Apricot rakia was made just one day before Lenka's birth in intention to use it on this occasion.

For those who doesn't know, rakia is traditional strong alcohol drink from this part of world, made from fruits. Hits very fast and strong 










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## stevarad

The delights of home cooking...Much better than any restaurant.

Home made soup, barbicue, and a LOT of creamy cakes.










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## mariomart

And lot's of happy smiling beautiful people surrounding you :-!


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## stevarad

And can you believe that after that we went for some ice cream.

I think we are hungry of everything after lockdown, just to be somewhwre out of home.

It was nice day.

Hope you enjoyed in another small - big family story.

Stay tuned for some more, before Nomad departure to California and Sergei to Belgium. That day will come 









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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Things seem to improve slightly over here in Brussels....I might be able to take Sergei out on a little tour, the Opera house will be one of the last things to reopen, end of year my guess, but there are other things I could show him.....
> 
> So, I would be ready to roll....


Sounds about right for the opera - my wife and myself are 'furloughed' for the foreseeable future (as we both work in one of our local theatres) with no signs of going back until at least October - even then, we can't see how any of the current 'safety' ideas would work except for very small 'houses' where 1 seat in 4 in a row is taken and every other row is empty & that would cost a fortune.


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## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sounds about right for the opera - my wife and myself are 'furloughed' for the foreseeable future (as we both work in one of our local theatres) with no signs of going back until at least October - even then, we can't see how any of the current 'safety' ideas would work except for very small 'houses' where 1 seat in 4 in a row is taken and every other row is empty & that would cost a fortune.


Well, they must find some solution. And they sure will. It would be catastrophic for politicians to allow destroying of theaters. Specially in the land of Shakespeare.

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## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Well, they must find some solution. And they sure will. It would be catastrophic for politicians to allow destroying of theaters. Specially in the land of Shakespeare.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Lots of events are being postponed/cancelled, can see that to fit everything in after we open again, will make a very busy time for theatre-goers (nice, means we work more!)
Even more so for our employer (local council), as we're on 100% wages & they're 'making up' the extra 20% over the government funded 80%;-) Just missing out on the 'extra' hours over contracted that we normally work (contracted is 32 hours/month - normally work 50+ a month) but with no running a car into work or paying car parking, etc. it's not too bad money-wise.


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## LowIQ

stevarad said:


> excellent!!
> 
> I will let you know in PM when I send it.
> 
> But I would still like to keep him here for some short time, to show 2-3 interesting places, because he was almost all time in house. I ask premission from you and Mario of course.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


I'm not in a hurry......

However, he probably will miss out on my homemade "Kaisersemmel"...first ones I ever made......my technique is far from perfect......2 of them I made into eggrolls yesterday...


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## LowIQ

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sounds about right for the opera - my wife and myself are 'furloughed' for the foreseeable future (as we both work in one of our local theatres) with no signs of going back until at least October - even then, we can't see how any of the current 'safety' ideas would work except for very small 'houses' where 1 seat in 4 in a row is taken and every other row is empty & that would cost a fortune.


Lucky you...I've got quite a few friends in that business in the UK, mostly freelancers, self employed, they are not getting anything....

In terms of live performances, end of this year is optimistic thinking, my guess is second half of next year...if a vaccine is available by beginning of next year....


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Lucky you...I've got quite a few friends in that business in the UK, mostly freelancers, self employed, they are not getting anything....
> 
> In terms of live performances, end of this year is optimistic thinking, my guess is second half of next year...if a vaccine is available by beginning of next year....


I know that we're lucky in the role that we have (front of house in the two venues that the council run) and we're glad that we don't work for a private theatre (they're not getting anything - too smaller contracted hours for the govt. to look at). Your friends are at the sharp end - if they aren't attached to a theatre, but do extra, gigging, lighting, roadie etc. they're up the proverbial creek. The other thing is, is the 'knock on' effect - if bands etc. aren't touring, the dedicated tour bus companies and specialist hauliers aren't working either.


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> I'm not in a hurry......
> 
> However, he probably will miss out on my homemade "Kaisersemmel"...first ones I ever made......my technique is far from perfect......2 of them I made into eggrolls yesterday...
> 
> View attachment 15136777


They look tasty! Own hens or shop bought eggs (nice colour yolks)?


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## LowIQ

These ones are from the shop....but they have the 0 in their stamp...nothing else would do...animal welfare and so on .....sometimes, but only sometimes, when the organic ones are not on the shelf I close one eye and take the free-range ones....but thats rare...

Method of production:
The first number of the egg code defines four methods of hens raising:
0 = organic egg production
1 = free-range eggs
2 = deep litter indoor housing
3 = cage farming









Before Corona we we got them from a couple which are working front of house at the Opera here.....but as the Opera closed down our supply line did as well...those ones came without a stamped shell...;-) .


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## SuffolkGerryW

Yes, we have a member of staff who keeps hens - so could get eggs from the theatre, but as you say, along came the virus, and supply stops.


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## LowIQ

I'm already preparing myself, for Sergei.....during the last couple of month quite a lot of energy went into cooking....in our household...

I normally cook on a daily basis.....but somehow it was/is different during lockdown...

So here a motivational film from 'down under'....thats Australia.....as we see it from here.....Sergei must be a bit homesick by now......mind you, if you are averse to the occasional swearword don't click this link....! You have been warned...!

So, Sergei, you know now whats awaiting you.....kind of...


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## stevarad

Nomad & Sergei Final season - last episode.

Well my friends, I think this will definetly be last together adventure of Nomad & Sergei. As postal services satrted to function (almost) normally, it is time for them to continue their world traveling. First, Nomad will go to sunny California to our friend Longstride. I will keep Sergei maybe week or two more, because I feel he needs his own adventures, as Nomad had on the beginnig...If it is ok with Mario and Lowiq.

Stay tuned in next day or two as I upload some of many photos and story about their last togehter adventure.

(it sounds almost sad when hear those words in my ears)...


I saved something very special for the end.



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## mariomart

I'm happy for Sergei to go solo as required :-!

Your time as a host has been extraordinarily entertaining, educational, humbling and enlightening, and has shown us all your beautiful family and your huge heart.

It has been a journey that none of us will forget at a time that history will never forget.

Please PM me with Sergei's tracking number and destination details when the time comes.

Thank you 

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## stevarad

I live in very flat part of the world. You can almost became flat earther here. This is agricultural area. And everyyyyyyyyyything so flat, fields and arable lands, so far as your eyes can reach.

Just look at photos.









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## stevarad

But here, there is one very special place. It is like god himself cut of piece of Amazonia, and put it in fields of wheats and corns.
It is called "Carska bara" in serbian, which would be something like "Imperial swamp" or "Imperial pond" in english.

I decided to go there on some walking through forest and boating with my gang...

But first.... Wrist check!!!!!

And let's rock!!









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## stevarad

When I said it is piece of Amazonia, it was not joke or exaggeration.

It is one of the richest places in Europe when we are talking about flora and phauna in Europe. Great number of animals - from eagles, rare fishes to wilde cats.

Imperial swamp is best known for birds - this is place with gretest number of bird spieces in Europe - today 250 of them, including some rearest. All cpieces of europian herons are here for example. Big cormorants.Eagles...

And water, trees and bushes...Real Amazonia!

This place is so important for wild life and unique that it is under protection of world Ramsar convention.

If you ever come in my hometown, this is one of places where I will take you.

If you enjoy in untouched nature, love trees or animals, love healthy life, this is place for you.

First you need to park car somewhere, and then go there by walking, through beautiful green tree-tunnel road, and then you are entering in completely different world.

Hundress of swans an geese on nearby pond welcomed us..









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## stevarad

First you will see nice picnic area as nice and gentle welcome. You can stay only here if you want.

But we decided not to be here for long. Nature is waiting. 









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## stevarad

We wanted to go on boat. It is superb experience. But it was nice sunny day, and all seats was previously booked.

So no place for us. Little kid's crying as consequence of course.

So we went in forest, walking and exploring by water. Family of jungle explorers.

We will back tomorrow for boat.










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## stevarad

As you go deeper, forest and swamp are wilder and more beautiful.









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## stevarad

green, flowers and water everywhere...










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## stevarad

Aftre several hours of being jungle explorers, we were officaly dead...

It was time to get back on picnic place for nice fruits refreshment.









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## stevarad

It is forbiden to pick flowers there. I really don't know how this flowers find way to those small hands (I really dont). When I looked back when we were going to car, flowers was in hands. I just hope it was out of the protected area. Anyway, she is so cute that I believe everything would be forgiven..










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## stevarad

After that, we went for coffe and cakes in nearby Castle Ecka. It is 200 years ald Castle builded in english style. It was residence of powerful grafs (counts) but today it is hotel and reastaurant. Beautiful one. It has huge and nice park in back yard.

During history, many famous and important figures was guests of the grafs in castle. One of the most famous is composer Franz List. He even played as 9 year wonder child on opening of castle in 1820.

If you ever come in Zrenjanin, I will take you here also.










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## stevarad

Place for relaxing..









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## stevarad

double.

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## stevarad

That was end of day one.

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## stevarad

Day two.

We had to go back to Imperial swamp. I promised kids boat. It was ugly weather in morning, but we had. You know how strong it is when you promise to kids? And how bad it can be if you don't keep your word....

Well, let's rock!










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## stevarad

One of the advantage of ugly weather is that we were only one there, and boat was just for us ))

Now relax, and enjoy in this piece of Amazonia an in explorer spirit.









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## stevarad

Greates number of bird spieces here in whole Europe. Some are very rare. And big.










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## stevarad

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## stevarad

Really wonderful feeling and experience. Please, come here, I will be very glad to be good host and take you here.









































































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## stevarad

Photo with the rangers and then we are going to the car.









































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## stevarad

Aaaaaand she did it again. But this time I am almost 99% sure it was out of protected area 









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## stevarad

After that, we went to lunch to nearby restaurant "Trophy". It is nice etno restaurant with mini zoo an kids playground.

Of course, just come, an I will take you here 










































































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## stevarad

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## stevarad

Traditional serbian domestic animal from south America


















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## stevarad

And of course, lunch...









































































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## mariomart

WOW!!! Just WOW!!!

I really felt like I was coming along on the trip with you, what a grand adventure.

And the look on your youngest daughters face the second time she picked the flowers is priceless, haha :-!

Thank you Stevan


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## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> WOW!!! Just WOW!!!
> 
> I really felt like I was coming along on the trip with you, what a grand adventure.
> 
> And the look on your youngest daughters face the second time she picked the flowers is priceless, haha :-!
> 
> Thank you Stevan
> 
> View attachment 15153931


Looks like she was being told off - but the flowers are so pretty!


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## stevarad

And this was not the end of the day. They wanted again to castle. So castle it is.

































































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## stevarad

It was very bad weather in the morning. So it was risky to go But promise is a promise. As you can see, it was nice weather later. We stayed almost up to evening.

This was beautiful two days.

This was last Nomad & Sergei adventure (I hope there will be no more some world apocalypse as reason for delay).

Hope you enjoyed as I enjoyed in storytelling.

Anyone feels sadness?

I do.



















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## leastonh

I laughed a lot when you posted the photo of your daughter with the flowers haha. 

Thank you so much for sharing all your adventures with your family and Sergei. I have enjoyed seeing some of your beautiful country with your guided tour for us to enjoy, it has been great fun and made me laugh many times.

I truly hope you and your lovely family stay safe and healthy.

Once again, sincere thanks to you for spending so much time to share your time with us.

All the best,
Lea


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## SuffolkGerryW

End of a chapter, but not of the story - you are a very hard act to follow and have set the quality very high, many thanks to you and your family for lightening the mood during this lockdown time, think that most of us who have been following your adventures feel that they have got to know and love you and your wonderful family, I know that the photos that you've posted have brightened some of the darker days for both myself and my wife, and, I hope, for the other members on here


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## stevarad

Belive me that now I feel wonderful because of these your words.

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## LowIQ

Your hospitality and documentation is a hard act to follow @stevarad.....I fear Sergei will feel it's all going downhill, when he arrives in Brussels..... ;-) 

So, dear readers, don't set your hopes to high....for the next part of Sergeis adventures....


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## stevarad

Rain and storms here several days. I think there will be no outdoor Sergei's adventures this weekend 

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> Rain and storms here several days. I think there will be no outdoor Sergei's adventures this weekend
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Wow, that's very different to the weather in the UK. It's been really warm here. Don't get an English person talking about the weather (or tea), we will never shut up ;-)


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## Kotsov

leastonh said:


> Wow, that's very different to the weather in the UK. It's been really warm here. Don't get an English person talking about the weather (or tea), we will never shut up ;-)


On the other hand it has been fantastic :-!


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## stevarad

leastonh said:


> Wow, that's very different to the weather in the UK. It's been really warm here. Don't get an English person talking about the weather (or tea), we will never shut up ;-)


Oh c'mon tell me word or two about weather 

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> Oh c'mon tell me word or two about weather
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Haha 

We have lovely, sunny weather again today with a light breeze that should keep things a little cooler. Temperatures are expected to reach highs of around 21 degrees into the afternoon here in the north of England. The pollen count is expected to be very high. Oh, and I am currently sat with a nice cup of tea whilst typing this. My kettle is never cold and chocolate biscuits always on hand.


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## SuffolkGerryW

And on the bit of the UK that sticks out on the right, we've sunny skies, very warm and I'm sat here with a cup of coffee (coffee pot is never cold), but I've just run out of Hob Nob biscuits:-x


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## leastonh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> And on the bit of the UK that sticks out on the right, we've sunny skies, very warm and I'm sat here with a cup of coffee (coffee pot is never cold), but I've just run out of Hob Nob biscuits:-x


You can hear the head scratching going on over 'Hob Nob' haha


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## SuffolkGerryW

leastonh said:


> SuffolkGerryW said:
> 
> 
> 
> And on the bit of the UK that sticks out on the right, we've sunny skies, very warm and I'm sat here with a cup of coffee (coffee pot is never cold), but I've just run out of Hob Nob biscuits
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You can hear the head scratching going on over 'Hob Nob' haha
Click to expand...

Got some custard creams left though 😉😂


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## Kotsov

Tunnocks pls


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## leastonh

Ginger Nuts


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## stevarad

I must come the UK just for these rituals.

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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> I must come the UK just for these rituals.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Forget about all those dull biscuits Stevan, come to Australia, we have TimTams :-!


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## LowIQ

Both olive trees on the terrace now in bloom...will be a bumper crop next February........last year there where almost none...but the year before I could fill a few glasses...quite a bit of work...piercing all of them and then laying them into salt.....and let them mature...but it's fun, despite the olives being 2 parts stone and one part olive flesh... ;-).....so, get your boots on Sergei, if you want to see it....bloom will be over in a week....


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## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Forget about all those dull biscuits Stevan, come to Australia, we have TimTams :-!
> 
> View attachment 15175205


Those Tim Tams don't half look like Tunnocks Caramel bars! :think:;-)b-)


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## SuffolkGerryW

leastonh said:


> Ginger Nuts


Sorry, like eating concrete (unless 'dunked', that is)


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Forget about all those dull biscuits Stevan, come to Australia, we have TimTams :-!
> 
> View attachment 15175205


I really hopee that one day I will go Down There. So much to see...

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## Kotsov

leastonh said:


> Ginger Nuts


There's a cream for that.


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## DocTone

Oh...man...
Went through the great pictures of journey and nice hospitality at Serbia ...meanwhile concerning to meet Sergei ever ... even to see is passing me within 200km through Belgium ....

Excitement travel .. as Part of Sergei’s adventure through Corvid affected areas ( hope is „infection spray- proofed“ and not only water proofed)


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## LowIQ

Sergei is nowhere near Belgium yet, if he dawdles much longer he might miss me in Belgium, or he has to come camping for a couple of weeks, into the Gironde....I'm off end of month...


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## stevarad

Yeah, still here. Making his final photos adventures.

Although weather is not our friend right now. Second week of rains and storms. Every day.

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## Kotsov

stevarad said:


> Yeah, still here. Making his final photos adventures.
> 
> Although weather is not our friend right now. Second week of rains and storms. Every day.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


The good weather was only for lockdown.


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## leastonh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sorry, like eating concrete (unless 'dunked', that is)


Agreed! They are rather nice dunked in tea


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## leastonh

LowIQ said:


> Sergei is nowhere near Belgium yet, if he dawdles much longer he might miss me in Belgium, or he has to come camping for a couple of weeks, into the Gironde....I'm off end of month...


I can't remember the order of who gets Sergei when, so this might be no use. I'd be happy to switch places or delay Sergei coming to the UK if it means you don't miss out.


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## SuffolkGerryW

leastonh said:


> I can't remember the order of who gets Sergei when, so this might be no use. I'd be happy to switch places or delay Sergei coming to the UK if it means you don't miss out.


Not sure if this is the latest 'list':think:


mariomart said:


> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19
> 3. Father of Five - Canada
> 4. begud - France
> 5. stevarad - Serbia
> 6. LowIQ - Belgium
> 7. haha - Czech Republic
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK (will become eligible after December 2019)
> 9. SinanjuStein - Israel
> 10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
> 11. DocTone - Germany
> 12. columela - UK


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## leastonh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Not sure if this is the latest 'list':think:


I looked back over a few pages and couldn't find it hehe. Thanks. Well, the offer stands anyway. I'm happy to be moved around the list to accommodate anyone else who will struggle with their position


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## SuffolkGerryW

Nope got it wrong, there's at least this one that's more up to date (from page 22) - looks like Sergei will be bouncing in and out of the UK for a bit! :-!:-d;-)



mariomart said:


> Good to hear from you LowIQ, these are testing times for all, we will wait and see where things are when the time comes.
> 
> Keep safe and remember to buy more toilet paper ;-)
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
> 3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
> 4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
> 5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
> 6. LowIQ - Belgium
> 7. haha - Czech Republic
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
> 9. SinanjuStein - Israel
> 10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
> 11. DocTone - Germany
> 12. columela - UK
> 13. colt - France
> 14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA
> 
> View attachment 14940855


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## LowIQ

Glad about the update.....to the Czech Republic it will go from Brussels........I thought it was Suffolk....


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Glad about the update.....to the Czech Republic it will go from Brussels........I thought it was Suffolk....


No, I think that Sergei will enjoy some Staropramen Black before he comes here;-) (Though last time I was over there, I liked the 'Ferdinand' brews, but was in the area near the brewery, rather than in Prague)


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## LowIQ

Bars are open here again....Delirium Tremens available....ideally consumed al fresco these early days of relaxing lockdown.....if thats not tempting.....


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## LowIQ

Anyway, beer is not my favourite drink, but I do have a soft spot for these guys (good beers they have as well, and they are always trying to make some new and different brews, worth going to ther tastings) :

https://www.beerproject.be/en/

Whatever is left over after the brewing (malt and all that stuff) is going into this, just in my neighbourhood....and they really pick it up by e-bike with a trailer behind...the the trailer behind the bike also elec powered....to grow mushrooms.....then later on some of the stuff is going into a fish farm in the same buildings ( https://www.abattoir.be/en ) and the water ends up in the roof top farms....circular something they call it.... ;-)






This vertical farm is newish there, I have not seen it yet..

https://www.abattoir.be/en/news/time-vote-urban-harvest


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## SuffolkGerryW

Must admit to preferring 'Palm' or 'Duval', myself;-):-! (can get Duval here, but not Palm:--()


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## LowIQ

You might be in paradise here then with Belgiums around 500 different artisanal beers.....

Nice little city, Bruges, https://www.historium.be/en/duvelorium


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## haha

I'm afraid Sergei is going to become an alcoholic after staying a few weeks in Belgium and Czech republic. He'll sure enjoy some of our local beers (Svijany, Rohozec) and some of my homemade fruit wine, especially if he comes while the wife and kids are gone for the holidays :-d


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## LowIQ

That's a worry, might have to take him for rehab to the Atlantic coast, borders are open towards France from here, car and roof tent ready, and I'm going anyway, bit of sea air, salt, sand and surf, pine forests,.... waterproof he is I do believe, rehab before I send him off again.....might that help...?






@mariomarts input would be needed...to make decisions....

Would this be a suitable environment..?


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> You might be in paradise here then with Belgiums around 500 different artisanal beers.....
> 
> Nice little city, Bruges, https://www.historium.be/en/duvelorium


Used to be a regular visitor to Zeebrugge when the ferries used to run from Felixstowe, (which was when I developed the taste for Palm) made for some great days out for our two sons


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## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> I'm afraid Sergei is going to become an alcoholic after staying a few weeks in Belgium and Czech republic. He'll sure enjoy some of our local beers (Svijany, Rohozec) and some of my homemade fruit wine, especially if he comes while the wife and kids are gone for the holidays


Just get over the Belgian and Czech, to 'hit' the Suffolk ales (Adnams and Greene King are our two biggest breweries, plus lots of smaller, artisan brewers)


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## stevarad

Quick update:
I am making tones of photos these days in order to hurry up things and publish new an final stories...
So after that and very soon Sergei will continue journey. 

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## stevarad

Well friends,

Nomad started his journey to California.

But not before this.

I had to take him out of package for this one occasion, so I waited for this before sending.
It is Iskra's third birthday!

It wouldn't be fair not to participate in her birthday, because he was there for Tara's and Mirna's birthdays.

So, Nomad & Sergei had one last socializing together.

First, we had small family gathering inside house.










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## mariomart

Fantastic memories to share, Thank You Stevan :-!

The cake looks very yummy


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## stevarad

I asked them...No I ordered them not to eat cake before official cutting the cake, with my fierce and powerful voice. I was scary and dangerous, telling them about consequences!

They listened.










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## stevarad

Nomad & Sergei started magic of candles and light..









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## stevarad

Tara, oldest one, is seven years. So, in september, she is starting with school.

And that means pre-school vaccination.

So, after party, we went to ambulance. Nomad and Sergei was there, to support and figh the fear.









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## stevarad

Day after was one of rare sunny days, so we made outdoor birthday party for friends, in front of house. Also good because of still existing Covid19 risks.










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## stevarad

And again..

Do not touch the cake, or there will be consequences!!!

Of course they listened again. Good children.









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## mariomart

I'm starting to think that your entire set of home rules revolves all around cake  lol


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> I'm starting to think that your entire set of home rules revolves all around cake  lol


We like cakes )))

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## stevarad

And now... go for it...









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## stevarad

It was nice party.

But after that, Nomad had to get back to package.

This is officaly last photo of Srrgei and Nomad being together. I amde it in post office, while waiting in line to send Nomad to sunny California.









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## stevarad

Buy, buy Nomad. I wish you great adventures and nice time in California. I never have been there, I hope I will, but just in case, have a fun for me too.

So, from now, I will post some Sergei's solo adventures..

Stay tuned, I have lot of them.

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> We like cakes )))
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


We noticed


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## leastonh

Thank you for the latest photos. It looks like the birthday celebrations were a great success. So much cake!


----------



## stevarad

We have a lot of rain in past month. Just 4-5 days of sun (which I used for making Sergei stories mostly), and the rest is rain, rain and rain...just when we need sun more than ever because of virus, we have probably coldest june in last 20 years.

Just look at the Mirna's drawing about rain.









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## stevarad

But, where is the rain, there are frogs.

We spent couple of days in developing love to frogs. It was important to me, to kearn them to not afraid of animals, to love them, and numerous frogs were available for our "love anals" scholl.

All of three developed fantastic frog catching skills. They were fearing of them earlier, but now they thimk they are best and most funny animals on world.

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> We have a lot of rain in past month. Just 4-5 days of sun (which I used for making Sergei stories mostly), and the rest is rain, rain and rain...just when we need sun more than ever because of virus, we have probably coldest june in last 20 years.
> 
> Just look at the Mirna's drawing about rain.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


I can honestly say, that's a better drawing than anything I could do!


----------



## stevarad

One of very important lessons was how to be gentle to those small jumping creatures. At first, it was problematic to hold excitment, but very fast they learned how to be gentle and not injure them accidentaly.









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## stevarad

And they became serious frog lovers.

It was from " Please daddy, can we take this little frogs home with us?" to " Uaaaarghhharaahhhhh I want those frogs to take homeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!"

"I neeeeeeeed theeeeem aaarghaaraah, you are worst daddy, aaarrrghhrrah"

At the end, it was very sorrow "good night little frogs..."










__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


































































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## stevarad

Frog and vostok frogman....


























































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## stevarad

Day after, they were so excited because they found snake skin (not dangerous one, we don't have dangerous spieces here), to give it to me as present and "sorry" because of yesterday "worst daddy". You can think about my surprise when I get back home from work 

Ok, I got beautiful flower also 









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## stevarad

And where are frogs, there are storks!

Near my hometown, there is village Taraš.

Very old village, it is mentioned in old documents even 900 years ago, but it's famouse for something else.

It is full of storks!!!! It is recognized as official Europian stork village. There are abot 50+ same pairs of storks who are keep coming back at same nests (storks are very monogamous and devouted). Although number is critical in last few years, because of hunting and pouching them somewhere on their route, above middle east.

Look at lamppost and streets of village. Storks even has their "house" numbers there...









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## stevarad

Local tourism and everything in this village is about storks. They have huge festival dedicated to storks.

But there are also other spieces of birds for birdwatching lovers.

Although, we didn't saw them that day. But we saw a lot of sheeps. And storks.










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## mariomart

Your birds are nearly as beautiful as the Australian Bin Chicken :-!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> We have a lot of rain in past month. Just 4-5 days of sun (which I used for making Sergei stories mostly), and the rest is rain, rain and rain...just when we need sun more than ever because of virus, we have probably coldest june in last 20 years.
> 
> Just look at the Mirna's drawing about rain.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


At least everyone is smiling!;-):-!


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## SuffolkGerryW

Frogs and toads are great little folks, love to see them in the garden


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Your birds are nearly as beautiful as the Australian Bin Chicken :-!
> 
> View attachment 15244113


Wow. They woul be so happy to se that bird. We will watch movie definetly.

Do you have them in your neighborhood?

Do you pay for trash services or just fedd the birds?

I can see how they could be effective solution for some city problems and communal services.

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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> Wow. They woul be so happy to se that bird. We will watch movie definetly.
> 
> Do you have them in your neighborhood?
> 
> Do you pay for trash services or just fedd the birds?
> 
> I can see how they could be effective solution for some city problems and communal services.
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


It's well worth watching. Made me laugh 

Thanks for posting the vid mariomart, it was really funny. I've never heard David Attenborough make so many funny comments in a documentary. What a strange bird though. I love the name, so typically Australian to just say it as it is. I mean that in the nicest possible way


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## thewatchadude

leastonh said:


> It's well worth watching. Made me laugh
> 
> Thanks for posting the vid mariomart, it was really funny. I've never heard David Attenborough make so many funny comments in a documentary. What a strange bird though. I love the name, so typically Australian to just say it as it is. I mean that in the nicest possible way


Nothing more true than this. That video is the best proof of it!


----------



## thewatchadude

Double.


----------



## LowIQ

Hy guys, I'm off for camping the next few weeks, Sergei might have to change his travel itiniary.....Iz'm back at the latest at beginning of August.....


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Hy guys, I'm off for camping the next few weeks, Sergei might have to change his travel itiniary.....Iz'm back at the latest at beginning of August.....


Enjoy, hopefully the weather will be kind to you


----------



## stevarad

Ok,

I had brief consultation with Mario.

We will wait for LowIQ and august. Sending from here to Belgium would take 2-3 weeks anyway because of slower international postal services, so waiting august wouldn't be so much of delay, because I will send him earlier anyway.

Stay tuned today...


----------



## stevarad

After visiting stork village, we went to nearby river Tisa, for nice afternoon/evening chilling and enjoying in sun.

Tisa is big and beautiful river, running through Hungary and Serbia, just few km from my hometown and finishing it's way in big and mighty Danube river.

We really enjoyed there, and instead for quick juice and coffee, we stayed there whole evening, even for dinner.


----------



## stevarad

Really beautiful place for chilling and family time.

If you ever come to this part of world, I will take you there as my guest...


















































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Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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## stevarad

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## stevarad

There is something uber romantic about sunset and boats ..


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## stevarad

And the end of the perfect day...










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## mariomart

Beautiful.

Thank you Stevan


----------



## stevarad

There is some problem in new desktop version of forum, or I don't know to use it well.

Some of previous posts or photos are missing. Could be maybe something about migration issues?

They are still all there in tapatalk version of forum, so use it if you want "full story".


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> After visiting stork village, we went to nearby river Tisa, for nice afternoon/evening chilling and enjoying in sun.
> 
> Tisa is big and beautiful river, running through Hungary and Serbia, just few km from my hometown and finishing it's way in big and mighty Danube river.
> 
> We really enjoyed there, and instead for quick juice and coffee, we stayed there whole evening, even for dinner.


Was there cake???
Why has some of the photos come up with 'sensitive image not suitable for under 18s'????


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## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> There is some problem in new desktop version of forum, or I don't know to use it well.
> 
> Some of previous posts or photos are missing. Could be maybe something about migration issues?
> 
> They are still all there in tapatalk version of forum, so use it if you want "full story".


I had some of them come up as above (sensitive content, not suitable for under 18s) had to click on them to show 'em


----------



## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> I had some of them come up as above (sensitive content, not suitable for under 18s) had to click on them to show 'em


Yes, I saw there. I don't know why...AI messed something 

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## mariomart

I'm not seeing any such warnings on my PC.


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## LowIQ




----------



## Kotsov

Given the ridiculous over sensitivity to just about everything perhaps we are now in the territory of watch ****.

Let’s be honest we knew this all along


----------



## Kotsov

P0rn ffs


----------



## thewatchadude

The days of humanity are counted. AI has just demonstrated they can be as stupid as us, so ready to replace...


----------



## stevarad

Serbia doesn't have sea coast. If we want to go to the sea, we have to go abroad - usually Greece, Bulgaria, Montengro or Croatia.

But because of Covid19 situation, this year we will not risk with travell to another countries.

So, no sea coast this year 

But, lucky for us, there are some local alternatives.

In my hometown, we have so called " sand lakes" - three small lakes, created artificially, by extracting sand for the needs of construction industry. By time, sand holes filled with very clear water, and became local lakes and place for summer activities - swimming, diving, geting drunk...

This is one of those small lakes, which will be our sea this year.


































































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## stevarad

Hey, I want to be viral also, not just your watch (and jumping in the focus)...










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## stevarad

It wasn't day for swimming, temp. about 25C and we thought we will just walk on sand, but you couln't keep them from jumping in water..

































































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## stevarad

As you can see, water is very clear, because sand is fantastic natural filter.






























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## stevarad

We lake cakes, but we also love sunsets, very, very much....




















































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## stevarad

You know/remember that feeling when your small kids thing that you are strongest, smartest, makes you feel like king of the world?






































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## mariomart

Bob Talos would be proud


----------



## stevarad

And....

..the end of another perfect day.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Glad to see that you're enjoying the weather
Lovely sunsets photos & great to see that modern children still like paddling about in water & playing in the sand


----------



## Kamburov

Kotsov said:


> P0rn ffs


Somehow I would understand it for Nomad, with its see through caseback, showing shamelessly it's intimate parts. As for Sergei, a watch quite closed up and sealed as any puritan, I really can't make sense of it.


----------



## AaParker

stevarad said:


> And....
> 
> ..the end of another perfect day.


Everyone looks like they had a marvelous time! And I'll bet, somewhere along the line, there was cake because I believe, fully, that you inhabit some sort of Shangri-La full of happiness and cakes and lovely sunsets!


----------



## stevarad

AaParker said:


> Everyone looks like they had a marvelous time! And I'll bet, somewhere along the line, there was cake because I believe, fully, that you inhabit some sort of Shangri-La full of happiness and cakes and lovely sunsets!


In this really crazy, and sometimes (or often) truly mad/sad/unhappy/injustice world, I believe that you must create your own small world in order to keep mind and life in order and meaningful, and to see that life has a lot of small, but at same time, really big things that can bring happiness and create normality back again.

We can afford, and find some time for cakes, water, sunsets, good music and dancing, singing, theaters, cinema, good books, nice people...inexpensive and very reachable things, which makes life much better, healthier and with lot more smiles.


----------



## stevarad

AaParker said:


> Everyone looks like they had a marvelous time! And I'll bet, somewhere along the line, there was cake because I believe, fully, that you inhabit some sort of Shangri-La full of happiness and cakes and lovely sunsets!


...oh, and beer, not to forget that..maybe a little more time for beer....


----------



## stevarad

I don't know for you, but Covid19 hit me hard financialy. I work several jobs (one main and full time, and several part time as expert/consultant), and I lost some important contracts because of this crisis. It meens I lost money 

So, I was in Belgrade in attempt ro recover some contracts and lost jobs.

Belgrade is capital of Serbia. It is big city - 2.5 millions of people, and has lots of wonders. I would need days in order to present just most important of them.

I had busy schedule, but also I took oportunity to make some photos on my walking route.

So, some photos of Belgrade, and let's rock...


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## stevarad

Center of the center...Main street and main sqare, which is dominated by monument to prince Michael (was positive guy), national museum and national theatre buildings.









































































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## stevarad

If you ask me, this is one of my favotire buildings in Belgrade. Old hotel "Moscow". Sergei is feeling good here, naturaly.



















































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## stevarad

This is St. Sava temple, dedicated to our biggest national saint and founder of autochthonous church. (this guy with sabre isn't st Sava, it's Black George (Karadjordje), leader of first serbian rebellion against Ottoman empire)

Today it is biggest ortodox temple in Serbia and Balkan, as st. Sophia in Istanbul you can't put under this category...

































































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## stevarad

City hall, which is also called "old castle" because it was residence of serbian royal dynasties.

Today, terrace of this building is traditionaly used for welcoming and celebrating international succes of our sport teams


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## stevarad

Serbian parlaiment and central post office buildings. We had elections, so there is some small rally there.

































































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## stevarad

Student's Cultural Center. Legendary institution for everything about art, specially for R'N'R concerts.























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## stevarad

Some unsorted "just walking by" photos...

































































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## mariomart

Awesome photo journey Stevan, thank you.

I love seeing the history and culture reflected in the buildings and monuments, each one with their own story to tell in a particular moment in time.


----------



## stevarad

Day was succesful, signed one contract, and going home after that to play with kids, and to spent some money, yeeaaahhhh...

Crossing the bridge across Danube river, which is one of two big rivers running through Belgrade (Danube & Sava)...


















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## mariomart

Congratulations on a successful hunt


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Congratulations on a successful hunt


Thanks. I like cakes, sunsets, but I like money also 



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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> Thanks. I like cakes, sunsets, but I like money also
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


 I like all those things as well, but the last time I got paid was over 10 years ago, lol


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> I like all those things as well, but the last time I got paid was over 10 years ago, lol


And what is your secret, teach me master....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> And what is your secret, teach me master....
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


A beautiful and successful wife with a modest income helps. I've had way too many health issues since 2005 (technically I died for several minutes after suffering from Severe Acute Pancreatitis complications which led to heart failure) so I've had to "retire" early, but without any income. So I do all the housework and cooking and also the "Kid Taxi" and that makes my wife happy.


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> A beautiful and successful wife with a modest income helps. I've had way too many health issues since 2005 (technically I died for several minutes after suffering from Severe Acute Pancreatitis complications which led to heart failure) so I've had to "retire" early, but without any income. So I do all the housework and cooking and also the "Kid Taxi" and that makes my wife happy.


I don't envy you for pancreatitis, but I envy you for your family jobs.

Did you seen any lights? something, anything?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> I don't envy you for pancreatitis, but I envy you for your family jobs.
> 
> Did you seen any lights? something, anything?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nothing angelical or hellish .... but I think I could make out the vague entry portal .... to Meranom's shop .....


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Nothing angelical or hellish .... but I think I could make out the vague entry portal .... to Meranom's shop .....


More than enough 

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## stevarad

All of this photos which I upload are about one month+ old. I made them a lot in order to have them enough for more stories.

We all thought back than that Covid19 is almost over. It looked like that. Lockdown was over. There was still some caution, but everything looked so normal again. Even masks was rare to see.
So, that is the reason why photos looks like good old days.

But in last two weeks, like in so many other places, we had sudden and serious surge in covid19 cases. That virus is really tough one.

We don't have lockdown (our fragile economy wouldn't survive it), but we are avoiding huge indoor crowds, and we are all ninjas again when we are among other people on open.

I hope all of you are well and healthy..

Oh, and you can see new Sergei outfit for last month...
























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## stevarad

But let's rock...

First, some unsorted photos of few casual days/evenings in Zrenjanin...(traveling outside or far is not on menu these days).

If you followed our stories, you know that theatre is part of our family routine (Almost as cakes).

Because of situation, plays are on open now. Not bad feeling at all.


































































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## stevarad

And kids had opportunity to make paralel alternative theatre also

















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## stevarad

...and then half of hour round and around and around....












































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## stevarad

And even in the center of the center of city, on our way to coffe and pancakes, we have found some beautiful birds...

































































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## stevarad

coffe, popcorns, pancakes, flowers and sunset..












































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## stevarad

After that, final place for that day...

As you probably know by now, this building is our city hall. Old building. And on back of the building, there is this nice "fairy tale" gate, which leads to small park -"city garden" in back yard of city hall.
You also may be remember from pre-covid stories that this is the place where they accidentaly, during laying some heating pipes (see that dark part on road) they found 10000 years old artefacts and remains of human settlements in october 2019.
























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## stevarad

This is one of our favorite places in city.

Green lungs in center of city, peaceful and safe place for kids to run and play, excellent place for realy good & cheap coffe, juice and ice cream in beautiful 200 years old sorrounding.

































































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## stevarad

Can you imagine, we are enjoying and playing here for years, and never knowing that just few meter under this grass, was hiding 10000 years old human culture.

































































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## stevarad

Many years ago, Zrenjanin had a fortress. Which became part of our theatre building now (remember the romantic story?)

On this wall in city garden, you can see what was look of the fortress.
















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## stevarad

City garden is also place for a lot of art & creative events.

One of our favorite is thursday night - free cinema and cartoons for kids (and parents)!!

Excellent feeling to watch movies in this place, while drink coffe/juices/beer and eating ice creams and popcorns.

































































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## stevarad

..some unsorted photos...


































































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## stevarad

Mistery of the fallen bicycle....still unsolved. It bothers me even today.

Any solution of the mistery?






























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## stevarad

I am protesting in Gandhi style, and I will not move anywhere, no way, until dad doesn't fulfill my wishes.

"Oh, no, no way girl, you will come here, right away"























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## stevarad

What do you think, who won?

Of course I won, and that I wanted from very start that she eats cotton candies before lunch.

I always win.

Just look at her face. She learned her lesson..






































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## stevarad

Enough for today...

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## elsoldemayo

Great updates, thanks again for sharing.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Great photos, hopefully the children will only have good memories of how well you and your family got through all of this


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## SuffolkGerryW

Mind you, I'll always remember the day my eldest son tried 'throwing a tantrum' in the middle of town (he would've been about 2) - I picked him up and tucked him under my arm, and walked over to my wife, with him kicking and screaming, strangely enough, he didn't try that again! (He's the one that I bought an amphibia for earlier this year, (now 32!) and, I feel, a credit to society, always ready to help others)


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## mariomart

Thanks again for a fantastic snapshot of life in your beautiful part of the world.


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## AaParker

stevarad said:


> Enough for today...
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Seeing the world with Sergei! 🌍 🇷🇸 Always thoroughly enjoyable! 🌞 Thank you so much for sharing, stevarad!


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## longstride

mariomart said:


> Thanks again for a fantastic snapshot of life in your beautiful part of the world.


Yes Mario I agree Stevan lives in a beautiful part of the world.


----------



## stevarad

longstride said:


> Yes Mario I agree Stevan lives in a beautiful part of the world.


Yes, it is, but I think I could change for a couple of months in California )))))))


----------



## longstride

stevarad said:


> Yes, it is, but I think I could change for a couple of months in California )))))))


Living in Los Angeles California is certainly interesting and can be exciting but there is no old world rustic charm like in your town. You have to work harder at getting beyond the strip malls and chain stores to find something unique and interesting in Los Angeles.










....although there are exceptions- Hahaha.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## stevarad

longstride said:


> Living in Los Angeles California is certainly interesting and can be exciting but there is no old world rustic charm like in your town. You have to work harder at getting beyond the strip malls and chain stores to find something unique and interesting in Los Angeles.
> 
> View attachment 15359406
> 
> 
> ....although there are exceptions- Hahaha.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


For example, I would like that rustic donut, while I am on some rustic LA beach, and drinking some cold rustic drink...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Is the child's opera house still in the city? Must be some historical buildings in there somewhere, even though the history only goes back for something like 300 years?


----------



## longstride

SGW - there is not a lot of protection for historic buildings in LA although there are a few gems that I will have to visit. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SuffolkGerryW

longstride said:


> SGW - there is not a lot of protection for historic buildings in LA although there are a few gems that I will have to visit.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Pity that the city council (or whoever is in charge of planning) doesn't 'care' for the historical buildings, as they will 'tell the story' of the city in the future.
Must admit that I'm looking at a few places to visit when it's my turn to host - one that has a legend/myth that if a carving is removed from the building, then the ogre will return to claim the land it's built on, and another village in which the buildings are almost untouched since the collapse of the wool trade back in the 18th century - usually now used in filming historical scenes.


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## stevarad

For this, probably last photo story from Serbia, I will take you to one very nice place near Zrenjanin.

It is Luiza's farm. Beautiful place for family/frends afternoon time, lunch, dinner...

Also, very good place for city kids to see domestic animals and sense some rural spirit.

If you ever come to this part of world, this is one of places where you will be my guest.

Enough..Let's rock.









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## stevarad

Last few km to Luiza's farm are like some magical green tunnel. Just look that green magic.

































































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## stevarad

And we are there.
















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## stevarad

There is a lot of open space. Which is very good if you want just to let kids to run and to have few minutes for peacful coffe or beer...

































































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## stevarad

Some scary things there also...Old style scarecrow..Or maybe Blair which..
















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## stevarad

There is also very nice traditionaly ethno style reastaurant with home made specialities.






































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## stevarad

A lot of flowers and plants. I couldn't resist to make some photos with Sergei and flowers...




















































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## stevarad

Of course, kids were most interested in chatting with animals..

































































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## stevarad

There are alot of interesting animals there. Just look at this fat, hairy sheep..



















































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## stevarad

Ouuuppssss..It is not a sheep.

It is pig. An old autochthonous species of pig, which almost disappeared just few decades ago.

It is "mangulica" pig, which lived in Hungary and northern Serbia. It is known that meat and fat (yes, fat!) from this animal are good and very healthy.

Wait...Pork with healthy fats, healthy meat?!! Yes. But it was almost vanished speice of pig. And it needs to be feed in old fashion style, not in industrial way, if you want healthy food and good fats.





































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## stevarad

" That Vostok looks yummy...Give me a bite."

"Yea? Well, maybe you look yummy to!!"

"Ok...Proceed.."























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## stevarad

"Do you have sammwich? I like to eat sammwich. No? just watch? Bahhh..."






























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## stevarad

I think, when I was streching out hand, that they all expected food, and not shiny watch. As they get used to be fed by guests, I can see how they were disappointed, or even angry, like that goose.

































































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## stevarad

Warning: Do not look at these photos if you are vegan or vegeterian!

As I said, they have ecxellet home made food in their restaurant. Prepared in old fashion style.

Just look at this goulash. Yummy.































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## stevarad

Warning: Do not look at this photos if you are alcoholic!

@joecool , my friend, I was thinking about you when I was making these photos and when I drank that beer. Beautiful, tasty, gold beer, which perfectly maches with taste of goulash.

Pure hedonism.


































































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## stevarad

Warning: Do not look at these photos if you have diabetis or no sugar diet of any kind!

And after good lunch and beer, time for desert.

Traditional cake from this part of world- strudel with poppy seeds. One of my all time favorites.






























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## stevarad

Warning: Do not look at these photos if you are vegan or vegeterian, again!

In their secret cave, you can smell, taste choose and buy some of their tasty home products.

Oh, what a smell of bacon! If you could just feel that beautiful smokey smell!

I left some serious amount of money there 






































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## stevarad

Ok, this one is suitable for vegans also.

Nice plant and fruit home products which you can buy there. Everything made in old fashioned style, like decades ago.
















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## stevarad

At the end, my senses were so satisfied, and I was so happy, that I was like:

"Ice cream!!! Ice cream for all kids - mine, yours, every kid who is here, c'mon!!!"

Oh, and kids were happy. All of them.






































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## stevarad

Near farm, there is some small, wild lake/pond. We finished that day, walking around there in sunset (you know that we like sunsets) and then running from mosquitos like having spirit of Usain Bolt.

End of another good day...

Stay good and healthy all of you. Love from Serbia to all of you!






























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## mariomart

You, your family and your country are simply beautiful, thank you  💖


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> You, your family and your country are simply beautiful, thank you


Thank you, my friend!

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## AaParker

stevarad said:


> Near farm, there is some small, wild lake/pond. We finished that day, walking around there in sunset (you know that we like sunsets) and then running from mosquitos like having spirit of Usain Bolt.
> 
> End of another good day...
> 
> Stay good and healthy all of you. Love from Serbia to all of you!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Thank you, Stevarad, for sharing these adventures. More sunsets, beer and cake (CAKE) and travels with your wonderful family in a beautiful country are always a welcome sight!


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## SuffolkGerryW

Fantastic photos (as ever) - gives a 'real feel' to where you are! 
I think that your country's tourist board could employ you as an ambassador!


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## stevarad

It's mostly just my town and nearby area 

@AaParker @SuffolkGerryW 
Thank you my friends, I feel very good when I see reactions like yours.

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## mariomart

A quick update, @stevarad has been attempting to contact @LowIQ (the next host on the list) so that Sergei can continue his journey around the world, however there has been no response.

LowIQ did indicate he was going on a vacation until early August, so we have decided to wait until 14th August and if no reply is forthcoming we will skip ahead to the next host on the list, @haha in the Czech Republic, as long as they are available to receive Sergei, with a possibility of going to LowIQ later on.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
6. LowIQ - Belgium
7. haha - Czech Republic
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## haha

I'm available to welcome Sergei in Czech republic.
It would be a good transition for him to visit a more "western" Slavic culture. I can also teach him some french before he continues his trip to Belgium 😊


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## mariomart

haha said:


> I'm available to welcome Sergei in Czech republic.
> It would be a good transition for him to visit a more "western" Slavic culture. I can also teach him some french before he continues his trip to Belgium ?


Cheers @haha  expect to be contacted by @stevarad end of the week.

@stevarad if you haven't done so already could you possibly have Sergei's passport stamped at a Postal office (or Customs lol) and pop in a Postcard if you can, please 

Thanks to all


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> I'm available to welcome Sergei in Czech republic.
> It would be a good transition for him to visit a more "western" Slavic culture. I can also teach him some french before he continues his trip to Belgium 😊


Not sure if lowiq speaks French Flemish or Dutch Flemish  hopefully he's having a great vacation


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## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Not sure if lowiq speaks French Flemish or Dutch Flemish  hopefully he's having a great vacation


Flemish: dutch
Walloon: french
If I remember correctly, he wrote about going to France for the holidays, and that made me think he was Walloon, but that may have been a little too quick conclusion...


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## SuffolkGerryW

Have a good friend whose ancestry is Belgian - speaks both (but never called the French version Walloon, just 'French Flemish'), but brought up in East end of London, but grew up spending time with her grandparents - she has great fun when visiting Belgium - as I used to when visiting Holland, funny how few people expect the English to be able to speak other languages


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## LowIQ

3 official languages the Belgians have, Dutch, French and German.









Languages of Belgium - Wikipedia







en.m.wikipedia.org





In Brussels (at least, if not everywhere) I would put English into that list....

Back now from a green (think Covid) zone (Medoc, France) to a red zone (Brussels).

We stayed a bit longer on the Atlantic coast as planed...wish I would still be there camping...


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## LowIQ

But I'm here again now....wearing a mask when leaving the house.....


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## LowIQ

Whilst before...roof tent....pine forest....waves.....for a bit more than a month....


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## LowIQ

By the way, I am not Belgian, my wife is since a few month, think Brexit, but she is also British and Australian...passportwise...she can handle 3 passports, I only one....she refers to herself as Australian.....


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## LowIQ

Did need no mask here










but did need a mask in the shops at the camp site...one does need some supplies every now and then...


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## LowIQ

So, Sergei, if you dare, come to Bruxelles....

You better hurry, I might be off soon again....


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Whilst before...roof tent....pine forest....waves.....for a bit more than a month....
> 
> View attachment 15418047


Roof tent? I take it that it's one that attaches to the 'load bars' of a cars roof? Always thought that most vehicles have a 'limit' of 75kg on those?
Glad that you enjoyed your break - looks a fantastic place!


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## LowIQ

Dynamic load you are talking....whilst the car is moving.....54 kg our roof tent...

Static load is a different thing...a cars roof has to be able to withstand the weight of the vehicle whilst upside down....so me and her and the tent, there is some leeway...sometimes even our part time dog (~5kg) curls up at our toes....no damage to the glass roof of the car so far......


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## SuffolkGerryW

Looks like a handy style of tent - we're used to crawling around the ground with ours!


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## LowIQ

Being on the ground has its advantages in the early morning hours, when one feels the need for a p ......

Apart from that the roof tent is king...


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Being on the ground has its advantages in the early morning hours, when one feels the need for a p ......
> 
> Apart from that the roof tent is king...


Yes, can see that it could be a problem - unless there's a platform you can stand on at the entrance (so long as it's dark, of course!)?   
Just thought - your avatar, it's a '9 men morris board' isn't it? Never learnt to play that game, though got it on the back of a draughts (checkers) board.


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## LowIQ

Well worth learning that game....painted it on top of one of my (customized) aluminium camping boxes....stones are from the beach....










PS
It's a 'solved game'






Solved game - Wikipedia







en.m.wikipedia.org


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## mariomart

With the uncertainty of @LowIQ recent availability to receive Sergei I asked @stevarad to organise delivery to @haha this week.

I will swap the host positions so that LowIQ receives Sergei after haha has had his turn.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed TBA
6. haha - Czech Republic
7. LowIQ - Belgium
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Well worth learning that game....painted it on top of one of my (customized) aluminium camping boxes....stones are from the beach....
> 
> View attachment 15418833
> 
> 
> PS
> It's a 'solved game'
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Solved game - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> en.m.wikipedia.org


We may well have to try that - my wife and sons can give me a 'battle royale' on the draughts board - to the point that it now depends on what colour we start with (I learnt draughts from a great uncle, who was a P.O.W. in WW1 in Turkey & didn't give 'quarter', even to a 4 year old!)


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## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> We may well have to try that - my wife and sons can give me a 'battle royale' on the draughts board - to the point that it now depends on what colour we start with (I learnt draughts from a great uncle, who was a P.O.W. in WW1 in Turkey & didn't give 'quarter', even to a 4 year old!)


Do you know the slightly similar game using grids of dots drawn on paper? You take turns drawing a line and it's the one with the most boxes wins.

Another stuck in a tent on a wet day game...


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## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Do you know the slightly similar game using grids of dots drawn on paper? You take turns drawing a line and it's the one with the most boxes wins.
> 
> Another stuck in a tent on a wet day game...


Remember years ago, playing 'draw the well dry' card games for days on end in a tent - British summer for you!!!   
Usually the wife & myself play draughts when on a cruise and at sea for the day, so not much else to do (except consume alcohol (we don't drink much) or eat!)


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## LowIQ

Among other things we do like games....so here a previous incarnation of our camping kitchen set up (all our cooking gear is in those 3 boxes)....the stove would sit on the box in the center....the inbetweenybits between the boxes have gone now...the rest is still in the car.....including the ball throwing thingy for our part time dog.....he loves to play as well...










As to the great-uncle in #634, I can only say 'well done!'.........I'm similar.....so I would say great uncle indeed !


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Among other things we do like games....so here a previous incarnation of our camping kitchen set up (all our cooking gear is in those 3 boxes)....the stove would sit on the box in the center....the inbetweenybits between the boxes have gone now...the rest is still in the car.....including the ball throwing thingy for our part time dog.....he loves to play as well...
> 
> View attachment 15419825
> 
> 
> As to the great-uncle in #634, I can only say 'well done!'.........I'm similar.....so I would say great uncle indeed !


Must admit that we taught our sons the same, don't play if you can't accept losing - the worst game we ever got into was monopoly - ended up having to create our own 'bank notes', (a £1000 - to continue the game, as the bank ran out of money) was a game where very few 'sets' were owned by one player and very 'even', but no-one would give up - lasted months!


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## mariomart

It seems that Sergei has departed the land of cakes, Serbia, and he is winging his way over to the Czech Republic 

I want to thank @stevarad . You have been an extraordinary host. You have shown us your life through the lens, through one of the most horrendous and life altering events in recent history. You brought light into our homes and helped us all beat back the shadows of the darkness surrounding us. You made cake eating almost an Olympic event. You introduced us to your beautiful and vibrant family. You opened your doors and invited us in. You introduced the people, places, history and sights of Serbia in a way that would merit you an award from your tourism sector. Thank you ?

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. haha - Czech Republic - arrived TBA
7. LowIQ - Belgium
8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
9. SinanjuStein - Israel
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## AaParker

mariomart said:


> It seems that Sergei has departed the land of cakes, Serbia, and he is winging his way over to the Czech Republic
> 
> I want to thank @stevarad . You have been an extraordinary host. You have shown us your life through the lens, through one of the most horrendous and life altering events in recent history. You brought light into our homes and helped us all beat back the shadows of the darkness surrounding us. You made cake eating almost an Olympic event. You introduced us to your beautiful and vibrant family. You opened your doors and invited us in. You introduced the people, places, history and sights of Serbia in a way that would merit you an award from your tourism sector. Thank you ?
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
> 3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
> 4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
> 5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
> 6. haha - Czech Republic - arrived TBA
> 7. LowIQ - Belgium
> 8. SuffolkGerryW - UK
> 9. SinanjuStein - Israel
> 10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
> 11. DocTone - Germany
> 12. columela - UK
> 13. colt - France
> 14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


Very well said, mariomart! I can only add my thanks to stevarad for being a phenomenal host and for sharing with all of us. Thank you!


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## Ascalon

I've been around these forums for quite some time now, but mostly for reference and research. 

I shall have to up my post count and then declare an open invitation to Sergei to come to the land of saints and scholars, old Eire (Ireland). 

Sergei will sojourn with his comrades, a Vostok Partner and a Poljot 3133 Blue Angels Navitimer.


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## capitalEU

Wow what a nice journey!
Is there a photo of Sergei's passport full of stamps?


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## stevarad

Thank you on kind words.

Yes, Sergei is on way to one of the most beautiful places on earth, place with extraordinary nice architecture, beer and people - Czech Republic, same as Nomad before him went to USA.

This started as my wish to be part of interesting Sergei and Nomad watch journey, and to present my city and country in some nice view (at least nicer and more real then political news about it in past).

But it became so much more. It started as I planned, I tried to show some nice places and way of living in my town...But then, COVID started. Bad news, Seek people. Dead people. Lockdown. Worry for family. Worry for yourself, then on moments pure fear in beginning of this. WE all shared this.We all had something so much more in common, not just watches. I felt same feelings in all of you, no matter what part of planet is your home.
Than, living behind walls. We (my wife and myself) tried to made living easier for kids, to make something nice, funny, interesting and educative everyday. To fill it with love everyday. To remember those days mostly by love, and not by fear.

You were my welcome guests in home and family almost every week. If my little stories helped you, I am so happy, you don't know how my smile is big because of that.

It was so much more then just being host for the watch who is making travelogue about his country. Life made it to be full diary in some challenging time. Life made it to be real life. And I let you all to be part of my life.

It started normally.
Than we had shock.
Than we had worry.
Than we had fear.
Than we had life behind walls.
And ways to make light in that life - smiles, nice memories, cakes )
And developing communication with you, as window through to world.
We struggle against virus, some of us got it, but won at the end.. (never wanted to wrote about that, didn't want to spread fear, there is "uber feared" situation in world).
And many nice thing happened also - we found our new dream house (which we will buy very quickly I hope, both wife and me are excite and delighted with it), Tara started to go to school (first day of first grade), Iskra in the kindergarten, Mirna is fantastic in her group..

But, one of most important things, and this is relevant for both stories - Sergi and Nomad, I think that, during sharing this extraordinary experiences, I made some new friends...

So,

@mariomart @joecool @SuffolkGerryW @leastonh @AaParker @thewatchadude @elsoldemayo @Kotsov @haha @MattBrace @EndeavourDK @SunnyOrange @Father of five @longstride @bogray57 @Kamburov @columela @24h @utva56 @LowIQ @begud @mullac2001 - all other who participated in these stories...

you are my friends..


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## mariomart

Thanks again @stevarad ?

That is a lot of history and memories that Sergei has been witness to, lets hope his continuing journey sees this virus take a beating and life start to return to some sort of normality.

Fun fact for Sergei's travel so far, upon his arrival in Prague he would have travelled a minimum of 31,773 km (19,742 miles) since departing the land down-under almost 11 months ago.

Looking forward to taking a peek into the world surrounding @haha


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## SuffolkGerryW

I feel honoured that you class me as a friend Stevan - you gave us all hope and cheer with your photos of your family overcoming 'lockdown', proving that no matter what the world throws at people, they will overcome and come out stronger - for that, I thank you.
You never know, we may meet at some point (and you may then regret calling me a friend - hopefully not though!)


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## stevarad

capitalEU said:


> Wow what a nice journey!
> Is there a photo of Sergei's passport full of stamps?


I didn't take photo of passport  so I can't post it.


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## stevarad

Well, I have photos, made in last 2-3 weeks for another story.

This time it is really last story. Last one last story ))

So, as situation started to improve slightly, we decided to have some vacation.

First, as seacost is not available to us this year (we woul have to go abroad, which is very difficult these days), we enjoyed in our local small sand lakes.

Usually we were going in the morning, when just few people is there. Less risks and much more clear water (I don't like when crowd makes sand & muddy water in the shallows).

And it was beautiful.












































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## SuffolkGerryW

Looks great, hope that the weather stays good for you today  
Don't get sunburn though!


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## stevarad

In afternoon, when people get from work, crowd can be huge. Usually we would run home then, or find some space with less crowd.

But anyway, our sand lakes wasn't so bad alternative for the sea cost in these circumstances.

We really enjoyed there a lot.

































































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## stevarad

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










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## stevarad

Because water is very clear, woth enough natural resources, eleven member family of swans decided that sand lakes will be their home.

They get used to human presence, they even like to parade in front of us, so swimming with swans is one of our local attraction.

How very little you need to feel wonderful and cinected with nature. Just few nice birds.

































































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## SuffolkGerryW

See what you mean about crowds, think that we'd head home with about half the crowd that you put up with!
Looking like the children enjoyed themselves though, and that's the main thing


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## stevarad

And of course...sunset 










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## stevarad

We also decided to go for a few days in one very nice and new hotel/spa, with lot of pools, which is located on Fruska gora mountain, near Novi Sad, city where I work.

But first mighty Danube (2nd longest river in Europe), runing through Novi Sad...

(On the other side you can see on some photos Petrovaradin fortress which you can remember from Nomad's adventures, and behinde is nice and green Fruska gora mountain)


































































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## stevarad

On that place, there is a monument to fallen and killed in WWII, dedicated to victims of one of most scary crimes from those dark days (like pure horror of throwing thousands of people under danube ice during winter of 1942.)

You can also see one of bridges destroyed at the end of WWII (N....is destroyed it when they saw they are losing).






































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## stevarad

But let's continuse with nice stories.

Poooooooooools...

Hotel was beautiful, pools fantastic, so we stayed couple of days longer then we planned

We were so excited, and wanted to go in wateras soon as possible, that I forgot to take off Sergei from wirst.
And I realise after hour of swimming that he is still 9n my wirst.

But he is amphibia and nothing bad happened with it!!!!

So he head good photo session in water.






























































































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## stevarad

When you swim in those panoramic pools you almost feel like earth is flat, and that you are on the edge of the world...

































































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## leastonh

stevarad said:


> You were my welcome guests in home and family almost every week. If my little stories helped you, I am so happy, you don't know how my smile is big because of that.
> 
> It was so much more then just being host for the watch who is making travelogue about his country. Life made it to be full diary in some challenging time. Life made it to be real life. And I let you all to be part of my life.


I haven't been around the forum much the last couple of weeks and have missed a lot of posts 

Hand on heart, your posts really helped me over the last few months. To see people living as close to a normal life as we can have right now and sharing your home and your family with us was a privilege. You helped keep me grounded during the long times I have been on my own, often going for long periods with no human contact at all.

I can't thank you enough for all the time you've shared with us. It wasn't just the photos, but also your words which cheered me up and reminded me that there is still life and happiness out there.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.


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## stevarad

It was very nice and pleasent six day vacation (we planned only four).

Tara improwed her swimming and diving skills, Mirna learned to swim like small fish and Iskra...well she is still anjoying in her's orange swimming rubber muscles 

































































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## stevarad

leastonh said:


> I haven't been around the forum much the last couple of weeks and have missed a lot of posts
> 
> Hand on heart, your posts really helped me over the last few months. To see people living as close to a normal life as we can have right now and sharing your home and your family with us was a privilege. You helped keep me grounded during the long times I have been on my own, often going for long periods with no human contact at all.
> 
> I can't thank you enough for all the time you've shared with us. It wasn't just the photos, but also your words which cheered me up and reminded me that there is still life and happiness out there.
> 
> I thank you from the bottom of my heart.


I am really touched by your words. Thank you.


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## stevarad

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## mariomart

Fantastic memories Stevan, but where are the cakes!!! lol  

I'm glad that Sergei's waterproofing didn't let down the Amphibia reputation


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Fantastic memories Stevan, but where are the cakes!!! lol
> 
> I'm glad that Sergei's waterproofing didn't let down the Amphibia reputation


Oh my god, how many cakes for every dinner....at least 10 different kinds. Of course we had to try every one

Sergei was good, crown tube was good, everything was good, waterproofing and without rust


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## stevarad

A lot of more photos left, so stay tuned....

Mario get some sleep  and i promise you more stories.


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> A lot of more photos left, so stay tuned....
> 
> Mario get some sleep  and i promise you more stories.


You know I don't need sleep, haha.


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## stevarad

We used that time to explore cultural heritage of Fruska gora. Fruska gora is beautiful mountain, with beautiful nature, coverd with tame forests. So it is under protection as national park. But that mountain and forests is home for 35 orthodox moneseries. They are very important for our heritage, culture and history. 

They are builded in period from XIII to XVIII century. Some of our most important historical figures builded those monestaries, and in some of them are buried great men and women of our history, including those declared as saints, or important rulers - kings, emperors etc.

So we went to see some of them. Always good to teach kids about culture and history.

You will see that every monestery is pwrfectly arranged, full of flovers and green, no matter if it is men or women monestary. And also, I think they are almost perfectly balanced with nature surrounding them.

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## stevarad

Monestary Vrdnik. Somewhere from XV century.

In monestary church was exposed one of icons of Kazan Mother of god (those icons are considered as protection of Russia), so Sergei was pleasently surprised.


































































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## stevarad

Monestary Jazak. XV century.

Beautiful monestary which is home for last medeviel Serbian emperor from XIV century, who was declared to be a saint - emperor Uros.

Full of flowers and chikens (and one rooster who is enjoying, I bet)...


































































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## stevarad

Inside it is like you are in the kingdom of marble. Just beautiful...

You will also see cage where are remains of last Serbian emperor (with red cover).

































































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## stevarad

Well, that rooster didn't waste time. During running through monestary backyard (OMG), kids found one warm egg.

They went inside, and gave egg to first nun we saw. She was so happy and smiled, so she gave some nice present for all of them.
(Actually the got presents almost in every monestary, so I think they were irresistebly cute and adorable).






























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## stevarad

Monestary Grgeteg. XV century.

Perfectly balanced with nature.

Full of flowers and buterflies.

It is home of one our most important Icons - threehanded Mother of god. This is one of rare copies, and original, which was painted as legend says by apostol Luka is in serbian monestary Hilandar in Greece. Unfortunately, taking photos inside was not allowed, so I can' t show you how beautiful it is.


































































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## stevarad

Just beaitiful..

































































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## stevarad

Monestary Krusedol. XVI century.

Great number of really important historical figure are buried here.

Taking photos inside church also was prohibited in that time, so only photos from outside.


































































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## stevarad

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## stevarad

Horse riding pause....

One of those cute horses (it was actually mare) stepped on my foot, when I tried to place Iskra in saddle.

I saw stars without telescope.

I had lucky, foot is ok, no damage.




















































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## stevarad

Monestery Big Remeta. XIII century.

My favorite. They are in absolute harmony with nature.

Just see that small waterfall, their small view on paradise garden.

And inside...It is like you entered some magical book, fairy tale, or some comic, whatever you like.


































































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## stevarad

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## stevarad

Our exploring of cultural heritage of that area we finished with visiting and nice dinner in Sremski Karlovci. Small beautiful town on Fruska gura. When you walk through center, you can think that you are in XIX century.

Unfortunately, some of most beautifule buildings were under adaption, so I can't show you how nice they are.

This town, among all other things, home of firs serbian gymnasium. It was most important center of our culture during XVIII and XIX century.


































































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## stevarad

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## stevarad

End of vacation. It was good one. Despite all.

Good night Fruska gora, good night Danube.

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## stevarad

Summer break is over.

Time for Tara's first day in school. First grade.

Also for Iskra's first day in kintergarden. Mirna will lead her and take care of her there.

And it is time for saying goodbye to Sergei.

I gave him this 090 bezel and black strap as present for future adventures.

These are officialy last photos of Sergei in Serbia.

I am somehow sad because this unexpectedly long adventure came to end.

And also I can't wait to see and read about new adventures all over the world.

Good bye Sergei.

And big love to all of you from family Radunovic, Zrenjanin, Serbia.


































































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## stevarad

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## mariomart

Wow, so much colorful history mixed in with beautiful natural serenity. Amazing.

Sergei was very blessed to be a part of your family.

Regards, Mario


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## elsoldemayo

stevarad said:


>


The boy in green is devastated Sergei is leaving


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## stevarad

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## thewatchadude

Thanks Stevarad, these were nice stories. We'll certainly miss these smiling little girls of yours. May you continue to make their life happy and full of events, discoveries and learning!


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## SuffolkGerryW

thewatchadude said:


> Thanks Stevarad, these were nice stories. We'll certainly miss these smiling little girls of yours. May you continue to make their life happy and full of events, discoveries and learning!


You've said it all there!


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## haha

Sergei just arrived safe and well !
I'm still at work and will finish late tonight.
More news to come tomorrow morning 😊


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## stevarad

)))))))

Please, hurry up...


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## Matt_Bored_O

.
Stevarad: I want to tell you that I enjoyed your photos and the commentary very, very much.
I should like to visit Serbia. It is very beautiful. You have a beautiful family.
I don't know about you, but I was depressed when my kids began school for the first time. 
I missed them very much. I had tears in my eyes as I stood on the street corner surrounded by mothers who were thrilled their child was now out of the house.....


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## mariomart

I can't wait to see what adventures are to come with haha


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## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> I can't wait to see what adventures are to come with haha


Same here, having visited the Czech Republic a couple of times, I will say that there is some stunning scenery and interesting places.


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## stevarad

Matt_Bored_O said:


> .
> Stevarad: I want to tell you that I enjoyed your photos and the commentary very, very much.
> I should like to visit Serbia. It is very beautiful. You have a beautiful family.
> I don't know about you, but I was depressed when my kids began school for the first time.
> I missed them very much. I had tears in my eyes as I stood on the street corner surrounded by mothers who were thrilled their child was now out of the house.....


Thank you.

It was mixed feelings. I was not depressed, but there was one part of happiness and one part of sorrow. And there were couple of tears.


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## haha

So here are the first news about Sergei in Czechia.
After landing in Prague, he found us quite easily and arrived in a HUGE box full of presents !!










On the right, Sergei in his fancy leather clothes (changed today for something lighter because of the heat wave), his passport, a glass to use for drinking rakia (we'll try it tonight with merunkovice, a strong alcoohol made with apricot) and a nice notebook from Zrenjanin.










On the left, another glass because there is nothing sadder than to drink alone ?, cup pads featuring pictures of Zrenjanin, and in the back, a brochure about the city.










Thank you so much, Stevan, for these lovely presents, that will be a remaining souvenir of you and Sergei after he's gone further in his journey !

For the next couple of days, I'm going to be quite busy with work, so Sergei is going to rest a little, but we're planning hikes and visits as soon as possible.


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## mariomart

Excellent  

Are there still any trinkets/postcards from Sergei's previous hosts? I was hoping he would collect little physical memories along the way that would stay with him for future hosts to look at.


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## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Excellent
> 
> Are there still any trinkets/postcards from Sergei's previous hosts? I was hoping he would collect little physical memories along the way that would stay with him for future hosts to look at.


Paris and W. Australia postcards are with me.

I can send them where ever you want. I had to take something out because some paper problems with custom declatration, so I took out some presents (yes, initially there were more presents) and accidentally those postcards (I thouhgt they were in passport until today, but they were atached with box of puzzles instead, which I took out because of customs).

So, they are with me, and I can send them to you....you now when... 

Or where ever you want.

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## mariomart

No problem Stevan  

Perhaps you can post them to haha when time allows, it would be nice to have them travel with Sergei 

Cheers, Mario


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## haha

Enjoying a quiet moment after work with my new buddy


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## haha

Things got a little more complicated.
My daughter got sick. Most probably nothing more than a little cold, but since she was in contact last week-end with a kid whose teacher has the covid (which no one knew at the time of course), we have to be careful and keep her home at least 10 days. Actually as she already seems to feel a little better, i think she'll skip school but i hope that we'll be able to go on hikes as long as we don;'t meet anyone.
Today i just ran for a quick errand (meaning i brought a couple watches to repair!) in the nearest -small- town, Hejnice.
It has quite a huge baroque church for such a small place, but it's well known of pilgrims.










It's also fortified in case Swedish want to come back ? But it's more useful against floods like the one we had 10 years ago










On the way back, i stopped in Lazne Libverda, our spa town village where people can appreciate its spicy water










Classical kitsch colonnade










Keep climbing to have a look at the surrounding mountains










And if you still have enough energy and are tired of water, keep going up a little and have a beer in a place really meant for it !


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## SuffolkGerryW

Ooooo, Pilsner Urquel, know that name - the original 'Pils' lager, been past the brewery, but didn't stop, as was heading further East.


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## stevarad

Oh beautiful Czech..


I hope daughter will recover fast. Kids usually very easy knock down that viruse.

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## SuffolkGerryW

Yes, hopefully a quick recovery for her, never good, but youngsters usually 'bounce' back quickly


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## haha

Thanks. That's what I'm hoping.
Usually i wouldn't worry at all, but this year, everything's upside down.


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## mariomart

I hope your daughter springs back real quick. And what wonderful and beautiful places to see so early in Sergei's visit. Thank you


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## AaParker

@haha I wish your daughter a quick recovery! Amazing pictures. You live in a beautiful part of the world.


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## haha

Thank you all.
Today was better already. Mother and daugther went in the woods for a short mushroom hunt.



SuffolkGerryW said:


> Ooooo, Pilsner Urquel, know that name - the original 'Pils' lager, been past the brewery, but didn't stop, as was heading further East.


Yes, that's exactly where the name comes from. The city of Plzen, Pilsen in german. It's the first Czech brewery, unfortunately owned by a foreign firm like almost every other...


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## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> Thank you all.
> Today was better already. Mother and daugther went in the woods for a short mushroom hunt.
> 
> Yes, that's exactly where the name comes from. The city of Plzen, Pilsen in german. It's the first Czech brewery, unfortunately owned by a foreign firm like almost every other...


Glad to hear that your daughter is feeling better 

I think that most large breweries are owned by international consortiums now, one of our local ones (Greene King) is now owned by a Japanese company, the other large one (Adnams) is still 'family owned'.


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## haha

Still improving today, so we went to the village of Visnova, at the Polish border, to see my son's football match.










Then a short visit of the village.









After WW2 and the change of borders, the church found itself in Poland. It then came back to Czechoslovakia in the 60's after they agreed on small border corrections (they still make changes now!).
The cemetery is in the church's garden. The older graves of the German speaking inhabitants were in a very bad condition and are just kept along the wall.









This may actually need a quick explanation for those of you who don't know Czech history.
When Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, 1/3 of the inhabitants of the Czech part were "German". Most of them lived in the main cities or in the regions near the German and Austrian borders. The first Germans had been here since the middle age and they became more important after the Czech lost their independence in the 17th century. In the region where i live, about 80 to 90% of the inhabitants were German.
After WW2, almost all of them (2.6 millions!) were deported to Germany and Austria in retaliation for their support to ******, but mainly to have a 100% Slavic nation (the same thing happened on the Slovakian part of the country with the deportation of the Hungarians).

Back to the village and its firehouse. It's an old czech (and german) tradition for every village to have its volunteer firefighters. It's kind of a boys club. Almost every week-end, you can see them training, servicing the material and... drinking a lot ? 









We then saw 3 Upper Lusatian houses typical of the region. They're an interesting combination of log, timber framing and stone construction.
Unfortunately, the local museum that provides useful and detailed information about it was closed, so you'd better take your chance with Wikipedia ? 



























We ended in the woods and had lunch under these rocks










And this ends our first week with Sergei ?


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## SuffolkGerryW

Sudentenland the 'old' name of the area? If I remember my history right - not often! 
Hopefully your sons team won!  
Certainly some great scenery you have.


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## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sudentenland the 'old' name of the area? If I remember my history right - not often!
> Hopefully your sons team won!
> Certainly some great scenery you have.


Historically, the Sudetes are mountains in the north-east of Czech republic, at the border with Germany and Poland. The name was later used to describe the border regions almost all around Bohemia and Moravia, mainly inhabited by german speakers. 
My son's team won... but maybe it was thanks to him being mostly on the bench 😅 He just reached a new age category, so almost all other players are taller and stronger than him. He'll probably need one year to adapt.


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## mariomart

What an awesome first week  I love the architectural style. I once spent 6 months living in Italy when I was 7 and we lived in Premadio which is right near the Swiss/Austrian/Italian border, and the houses all had a similar style influence.


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## haha

mariomart said:


> What an awesome first week  I love the architectural style. I once spent 6 months living in Italy when I was 7 and we lived in Premadio which is right near the Swiss/Austrian/Italian border, and the houses all had a similar style influence.


Yes, this style is rather common all around central Europe, but the construction method is quite unique.
I found a picture i made when we visited the museum previously that explains quite well its principle.
So once upon a time, Czech and Germans found themselves living together in what is today the border area of Czechia-Poland and Germany. Each of them built their houses according to their tradition, but none was really happy with the result, so they decided to make a mix of everything and come with new ideas 😊










The rear side of the house (1st pic) is usually made of stones.
The front side (2nd pic) is made of wood (timber).
But to avoid them supporting the first floor or the roof and losing their quality with time (shrinking of dry timber, etc), an independent structure is made outside the walls (3rd pic) and this will support the weight !
Our house is also made this way and it looks like the one on the 4th pic.
Now if you look again at yesterday's pictures, especially the first and the second house, it becomes quite obvious how the houses were made.
Funny consequence: if you take away the timber that constitutes the ground floor, the rest of the house will hold all the same.

And here is the proof: our house 8 years ago when we had to change the lower beams that were in a very bad condition. But lucky for us, the weight of the house rests on the outside pillars.








.


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## thewatchadude

Very nice!
And congrats for dressing up Sergei with a different suit every day


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## haha

Yesterday we took Sergei to the big city !
With one hundred thousands inhabitants, Liberec est the 5th largest city in Czech republic and, of course, the main city in our region. 
It's a rather lively city surrounded by -small- mountains that make it very attractive for sport and nature lovers. In winter, you can see people waiting for the bus with skis since you just need to go to the end of the line to be able to put them on and slide ? 
Mainly because of the 20th century events, the city doesn't really have a unity and it looks a little messed up. Recently huge ugly malls were built in the center, which doesn't help...
Here are just a few pics from our quick run there, mainly modern (from the first half of the 20th century) buildings that I quite like.

Palac Dunaj, very modern, huge and hated at the time (1936). The ancestor of shopping malls.









Palac Nisa, neoclassic office and house building









Bata store. It would take pages to explain the fascinating story of Bata. I recommend having a look at the Wikipedia page HERE









The neo-renaissance town hall









Hotel Praha Art nouveau









A young girl who seems dressed especially to fit this "sculpture"









"Peace to all nations in the world". The city had a poll a few years ago asking people if this sculpture fron the 1970s should be restored or destroyed. To my big surprise, you can admire the result of the choice that was made.









Coming next, our visit to the Liberec "Eiffel tower"...


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## stevarad

That town hall is beautiful...

Almost as girl with balloons  Seems she is ok now?


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## haha

stevarad said:


> That town hall is beautiful...
> 
> Almost as girl with balloons  Seems she is ok now?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


? She's feeling too well now for someone who's still not allowed to go to school ?

Here's finally the little story about Ještěd, the "Eiffel tower" of Liberec.

Here it is, seen from the Town hall









With 1012m, Ještěd is the tallest and closest mountain near Liberec. It's also the name given to the tower at its summit, which became the symbol of the city and our goal this (Tuesday) afternoon.
You can go up there by foot, by bus, by car or cable car. 
We went halfway by car and continued by foot from the other (west) side.

A little stop at 825m on the Red rocks with a nice of our goal









The weather was great, but not the light...
North with Germany in the (close) distance









Sergei was still with us of course









Getting closer









And here we are









This futuristic tower was built in the early 70s, replacing the old hotel that had burned down.
It's a hotel, restaurant and obviously a giant antenna. I think it would have looked good in a Star Wars movie ?

View to the north-east. Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures. It tried to fix it a little, but it might look worse in the end.
If you manage to see them in the distance, the wind turbines slightly on the right are near the village where we were last Sunday. On the left, you might distinguish the open-air coal mine and the power station next to it that are just on the other side of the border with Poland. It's a huge ecological problem that we have here ?









Liberec on the east. We live right behind the mountains that are in the back









Yours truly ?


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## SuffolkGerryW

Great photos, never been to your corner (closest I've been is Terezin as we left after the first visit - with no knowledge of it's history, had goose bumps and a feeling of great sadness as we rode through, wasn't until I arrived home & did some research, that I found out!)


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## mariomart

Amazing scenery, thank you.


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## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Great photos, never been to your corner (closest I've been is Terezin as we left after the first visit - with no knowledge of it's history, had goose bumps and a feeling of great sadness as we rode through, wasn't until I arrived home & did some research, that I found out!)


Terezin is about 90km from Liberec. I was there a couple of times. It was really a hard and strong experience.
I have the feeling the Czechs don't really have a connection to this part of their history, maybe because they suffered 40 years of dictatorship afterwards.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Only visited your country a couple of times - both were to the south of Prague, first time we stopped between Prague and Kutna Hora (great motel!), the second time at a campsite just outside Benesov. Would love to come back & visit other parts.


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## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Only visited your country a couple of times - both were to the south of Prague, first time we stopped between Prague and Kutna Hora (great motel!), the second time at a campsite just outside Benesov. Would love to come back & visit other parts.


When you're ready to come back, don't hesitate to ask for tips ?

Nothing fun for Sergei in the last few days. It's been raining all along and i had to work inside.
Yesterday i was supposed to go to Prague and i was looking forward to taking Sergei to some of my favorite places, but i decided to cancel since the virus is coming back strong. It's actually worse here than it was in the spring.
At least Sergei had someone to talk to when we welcomed a new family member yesterday ?


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## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> When you're ready to come back, don't hesitate to ask for tips 😊
> 
> Nothing fun for Sergei in the last few days. It's been raining all along and i had to work inside.
> Yesterday i was supposed to go to Prague and i was looking forward to taking Sergei to some of my favorite places, but i decided to cancel since the virus is coming back strong. It's actually worse here than it was in the spring.
> At least Sergei had someone to talk to when we welcomed a new family member yesterday 😅
> View attachment 15476170
> 
> 
> View attachment 15476171


Across Charles Bridge, the market near Wenceslas Square and Wenceslas Square by any chance? We liked that market and the kiosks in the square. 
Stay safe


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## stevarad

haha said:


> When you're ready to come back, don't hesitate to ask for tips
> 
> Nothing fun for Sergei in the last few days. It's been raining all along and i had to work inside.
> Yesterday i was supposed to go to Prague and i was looking forward to taking Sergei to some of my favorite places, but i decided to cancel since the virus is coming back strong. It's actually worse here than it was in the spring.
> At least Sergei had someone to talk to when we welcomed a new family member yesterday
> View attachment 15476170
> 
> 
> View attachment 15476171


Wow...poljot ampfibia. Older brother from anothe mother )

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## LowIQ

Things are not shaping up too well over here in Brussels. Covid 19 on the rise...I think we are second in the league of European citys...behind Madrid but before Paris...covidwise....Bars and Cafes now closed from today....

Not a good time for Sergei to visit I think...could not show him really around....would like to postpone his visit for a while...


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## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> Things are not shaping up too well over here in Brussels. Covid 19 on the rise...I think we are second in the league of European citys...behind Madrid but before Paris...covidwise....Bars and Cafes now closed from today....
> 
> Not a good time for Sergei to visit I think...could not show him really around....would like to postpone his visit for a while...


I am very sorry to hear about the escalating problem @LowIQ 

I will shuffle you down a bit and see how we go when the time comes.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. Father of Five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed TBA
7. SuffolkGerryW - UK
8. SinanjuStein - Israel
9. LowIQ - Belgium
10. leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. DocTone - Germany
12. columela - UK
13. colt - France
14. Joespeeder - Michigan USA


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> Things are not shaping up too well over here in Brussels. Covid 19 on the rise...I think we are second in the league of European citys...behind Madrid but before Paris...covidwise....Bars and Cafes now closed from today....
> 
> Not a good time for Sergei to visit I think...could not show him really around....would like to postpone his visit for a while...


Shame, stay safe yourself.
Hopefully it'll soon be clearer for your city. Never made it to the city, been past a few times though, would be great to see some pictures of what we've missed.
Got lost in Ghent, found the city centre, but had to buy a map to find our way out


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## haha

Hi all,
Sorry for not being more active here, but not much news with this weather that doesn't let us enjoy our mountains and the virus that keeps us away from the cities.
Today was finally a little better, so we went on a short hike while the kids were at school 😁
Photos to come in a few minutes...


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## LowIQ

My guess is that we are heading for a full lock down at the latest in 2 weeks time......



SuffolkGerryW said:


> Hopefully it'll soon be clearer for your city. Never made it to the city, been past a few times though, would be great to see some pictures of what we've missed.


----------



## haha

So it hadn't been planned at all, but when i saw the blue sky in the middle of white clouds this morning, i decided to improvise a little hike.
If we had more time in front of us, we could just go on foot from home up on the plateau, but since we had stuff to do in the afternoon, we took the car which takes us there in less than 20mn.
To make it simple, our house is 550m above sea level, the plateau around 900m and the different summits up there reach1100m.
Only 2 cars on the parking, looks good, the mountain will be for us alone 
There we go









This place is not very interesting, but i wanted to show the contrast with winter









Same place in... April. Imagine January with 2 more meters of snow !









Going up









Almost there









This rock at 944m was our goal









From up there we can see our valley. In front is the small town where i took Sergei the first day. We live completely on the right.









Smrk and its tower, the highest summit at 1124m. Each year our neighbors organize a triathlon and the running part is from our village up the summit.Great but tough !









Going back we stopped for lunch
No, Sergei, don't eat that!!









But those blueberries that we didn't expect to find in October were delicious









Oh my, another rock. Well, up we go.









Sergei, king of the Jizerske hory !









Opposite side









These forests had been almost completely destroyed by the acid rains (I just found out that in the article about acid rain on Wikipedia, you can see a photo taken here!) and they slowly got better to be now attacked by the bark beetle, mainly because of the climate change.

Finishing where we started









Back in the darkness of our house, Sergei was still full of energy


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## SuffolkGerryW

Great area you live in, fantastic views and places to visit.


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## thewatchadude

Very nice place you live in!
What is this stone stuff in the first picture? Looks like stairs going straight into the lake!


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## mariomart

What a glorious vista you have access to so close by. I love the "Rocky Balboa" photo the best


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## LowIQ

Very nice young Fliegenpilz (Fly Agaric) in the picture. We had loads of them where I grew up, they sometimes form big circles, witches circles.. ;-) , my wife, coming from Australia, was flabbergasted when we came across them in the Alps, she did not think that they do exist, apart from illustrations in childrens books....


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## haha

Thank you all.
The pond in the first picture was created a few years ago in the middle of a bogland (tourbière) and a few hundred meters only from the source of the river.
I suppose it's intended to regulate the flow of the river and the stone construction is part of it. When there's little water, it flows from a pipe at the bottom of it. When there's more, it overflows at the top as it was yesterday and continues under the bridge you can see in the following picture.









Aerial view









April 2019









@LowIQ 
We found hundreds of those yesterday. They're really beautiful. But unfortunately not a single edible mushroom.


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## AaParker

haha said:


> So it hadn't been planned at all, but when i saw the blue sky in the middle of white clouds this morning, i decided to improvise a little hike.
> If we had more time in front of us, we could just go on foot from home up on the plateau, but since we had stuff to do in the afternoon, we took the car which takes us there in less than 20mn.
> To make it simple, our house is 550m above sea level, the plateau around 900m and the different summits up there reach1100m.
> Only 2 cars on the parking, looks good, the mountain will be for us alone
> There we go
> View attachment 15490370
> 
> 
> This place is not very interesting, but i wanted to show the contrast with winter
> View attachment 15490371
> 
> 
> Same place in... April. Imagine January with 2 more meters of snow !
> View attachment 15490372
> 
> 
> Going up
> View attachment 15490373
> 
> 
> Almost there
> View attachment 15490374
> 
> 
> This rock at 944m was our goal
> View attachment 15490382
> 
> 
> From up there we can see our valley. In front is the small town where i took Sergei the first day. We live completely on the right.
> View attachment 15490384
> 
> 
> Smrk and its tower, the highest summit at 1124m. Each year our neighbors organize a triathlon and the running part is from our village up the summit.Great but tough !
> View attachment 15490389
> 
> 
> Going back we stopped for lunch
> No, Sergei, don't eat that!!
> View attachment 15490394
> 
> 
> But those blueberries that we didn't expect to find in October were delicious
> View attachment 15490395
> 
> 
> Oh my, another rock. Well, up we go.
> View attachment 15490401
> 
> 
> Sergei, king of the Jizerske hory !
> View attachment 15490402
> 
> 
> Opposite side
> View attachment 15490403
> 
> 
> These forests had been almost completely destroyed by the acid rains (I just found out that in the article about acid rain on Wikipedia, you can see a photo taken here!) and they slowly got better to be now attacked by the bark beetle, mainly because of the climate change.
> 
> Finishing where we started
> View attachment 15490414
> 
> 
> Back in the darkness of our house, Sergei was still full of energy
> View attachment 15490416


Wonderful scenery! Where I am, you go through some flatlands and across some flatlands to get to some flatlands so, obviously, it is great to see these panoramic mountain views.


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## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> Wonderful scenery! Where I am, you go through some flatlands and across some flatlands to get to some flatlands so, obviously, it is great to see these panoramic mountain views.


Sounds like either the fens, or the Somerset levels  
Around here, we're not really flat or hilly, just gently rolling countryside, so either the flatlands or mountains are a refreshing change!


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## AaParker

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sounds like either the fens, or the Somerset levels
> Around here, we're not really flat or hilly, just gently rolling countryside, so either the flatlands or mountains are a refreshing change!


Yes, mountains are a refreshing change from prairies! Fens and Somerset levels seem like they would also be a nice change 🙂


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## LowIQ

AaParker said:


> Wonderful scenery! Where I am, you go through some flatlands and across some flatlands to get to some flatlands so, obviously, it is great to see these panoramic mountain views.


.
Having grown in up in the Alps, those flatlands pull me as well...the endless skys.....and deserts....flat stony deserts or ones with sand dunes....I also love being on water, without any sight of land....


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## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> .
> Having grown in up in the Alps, those flatlands pull me as well...the endless skys.....and deserts....flat stony deserts or ones with sand dunes....I also love being on water, without any sight of land....


I like being on the water, the wife doesn't like it if that gets 'hilly' though! Last time, the ship fought a force 8 down the North Sea, I was one of the few enjoying breakfast!


----------



## stevarad

Just beautiful. 

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----------



## haha

Yesterday was probably our last walk with Sergei, since time is coming for him to continue his journey among fellow members.
Once again we went on the plateau, but this time we crossed it to start going down on the south side where the slopes are steeper and you're able to ski. Thanks to that and it being closer to Prague, this side is more touristic than our lost micro-region (which i consider a good thing and one of the main reasons why we decided to live here).
From the small town of Desna, known for its tradition of glass manufacturing, we went up into the forest. There were many nice typical small mountain houses on our way.


















Old glass factory in the town behind us




































One important thing to know about the Czech is that almost everyone here owns a house, cabin, villa, shed or whatever you may call it, out of the city. Whether you're rich or poor, whether you inherited it, built it or bought it, as a Czech, your main goal for the week-end or the holidays, is to flee the city and hide there. In some pubs of Prague, there are less people (except for tourists, of course) on Saturday than during the week!
These houses were particularly important during the communist regime as, for most people, they were the only place where they could have privacy. It could be just for relaxing, or growing vegetables and fruits, or having serious political conversations with neighbors and friends and read forbidden books.

After the last cabin, we enter the witch forest



























And we're back on the plateau (on the lower south end) at the lake of Souš that's completely forbidden of access since it's a clean water reserve









And from here we're going back to Desna, but this time, following the Černá desná torrent









Sergei wanted to go for a swim, but we stopped him, for it was too cold































































It was our first time here and quite a pleasant surprise. It should be fun to come back this winter when cross-country skiing.

On the way back, i stopped to take the following pictures that i had forgotten last Thursday.


















In 1934, when it became obvious that ****** had appetite for Czechoslovakia, it was decided to prepare for it. At the time, the French diplomacy and military were very involved here and it was advised to build a line of fortresses similar to the Maginot line that you may have heard about. It was not intended to stop a German attack, but to slow it down enough to give time for the army to get ready and for the allies to intervene. The construction started in 1935 and lasted until the Munich Agreement. Thousands of light structures similar to the one above were made and a few hundreds of stronger ones, mostly around here and in the north east of Moravia. The irony is that ****** used them later to train his artillery to attack more efficiently the Maginot line ! That's Karma for you


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Certainly see the Autumn colours coming through, looks wonderful!


----------



## mariomart

The Černá desná torrent looks absolutely glorious. Thank you


----------



## stevarad

I want to be there.


----------



## haha

Sergei is still here, but almost ready to go (still waiting for the missing postcard).
From the beginning i had planned to take him to Prague, but had given up on the idea because of the situation, until yesterday when this trip really became necessary and urgent since from today almost everything's closing and travels are limited. We don't know how long it's going to last and we needed to renew my son's passport.
So here we go.
Parking in Prague became very difficult, so we let the car in the Karlin district, one of those "almost center" places.
From there we took the tunnel that crosses the Vitkov hill to take us to Žižkov. "Neboj" means "don't worry" or "don't be afraid" ?









Karlin and Žižkov were traditionally workers, gypsies and thugs districts, so it might appear necessary to reassure people when they go through this.









Sergei was brave and trusted me when i told him there was of course nothing to be afraid of, even at night









In Žižkov, we climbed the hill of Vitkov to visit the national monument in which you can find the tomb of the unknown soldier (but it was closed).
It's a functionalist building started in the 1920's and finished after ww2.


















You'd better not mess with the gentleman on the horse as he is the famous general Žižka, chief of the hussite armies and never defeated, even after he lost his second eye 









After 1948, the Soviets had some influence on the building's decoration. Some statues were already taken away, but i was a little surprised to see that those high reliefs had remained.









Maybe Sergei recognized his grandfather in here as the nice accordion guy from the Red army playing for the pretty Czech girl and the thankfull worker ?!









From Vitkov we have a nice view on Žižkov and its TV tower nicknamed Baikonur ! Its construction had started in the late 80s' and it remained unfinished several years after the revolution until it was decided to achieve it although it was quite hated by most people. And no, you're not dreaming, there are babies climbing up and down the tower !!









On the north side we can see the center of Prague. On the left and on the other side of the river is the hill of Petřín and its great park/forest. On the right you can recognize the castle and the cathedral of St Vitus. Right in front of us are the New and Old town (the New town is actually quite old too: founded in the 14th century) where we're going now for a walk.







.

More to come...


----------



## mariomart

Wonderful  

I love the reliefs, and it looked like Sergei quite fancies the young lass listening to the accordion.

I shudder to think the reasoning behind having babies crawling up the tower.


----------



## haha

mariomart said:


> Wonderful
> 
> I love the reliefs, and it looked like Sergei quite fancies the young lass listening to the accordion.
> 
> I shudder to think the reasoning behind having babies crawling up the tower.


They're not just babies. Wait til you see their faces !
Here are more info about IT
The artist David Cerny first became famous when he was still a student for painting in pink the Russian tank tank that celebrated the liberation of Prague by the Red army 😁 
I'll show more of his work in the next post.


----------



## haha

From the Žižkov district we walk in direction of the center bypassing the main railway station









If we don't miss this little street, we can have a look at the beautiful facade of the Jerusalem synagogue









A little further we stop at the central post office where the facade of the building seems to have been made inside !?!









And we arrive on Vaclavske Namesti, the Prague "Champs-Elysees" and dynamic center of Prague all along the 20th century.
I won't be able to show many pictures of its buildings, or even of Prague's buildings in general, for there are too many. Imagine an entire city where each and every building, from the 10th century to the 20th, is beautiful or at least interesting and original in its architecture. I'm not being chauvinistic when i say this, i'm not even Czech ?. Actually, one of the reasons of this situation is simply that Prague (almost) didn't suffer any war destruction for many centuries.
Vaclavske namesti is on a slight slope. At the top, you can't miss the National museum, one of the main symbols of the city. It went under an 8 years renovation and looks almost like new. 
Just before it is the statue of Vaclav (one of the many) father of the country.









On the left of the National museum a controversial building that i really like, the ex federal parliament. Because of its style and its communist origin, the new parliament decided not to stay there. In the 1990s it became the headquarters of Radio Free Europe and then remained more or less unused until its recent renovation when it became part of the National museum.









A few other modern (early 20th century) buildings from Vaclavkse namesti and its surroundings



























I didn't take any picture of the Palace Lucerna because it was being renovated but this building is important for several reason. It was "built" by Vaclave Havel's grandfather between 1907 and 1921. Very modern by its style and structure, it included one of the first inside galleries (not sure how to say this in English), making it the ancestor of the shopping malls. There were many shops, a cafe, theater and movie theater and a concert hall that became legendary in the 1950s, 1960s for welcoming the first rock concerts in Prague.
And here is a little surprise that you can find today inside









The same good king Vaclav on his horse that you can see on a previous picture from Vaclavske namesti, except that this horse is dead and suspended from the ceiling, and that Vaclav doesn't seem to mind, still proudly seating on it to rule the country.
This highly symbolic work of art was also made by David Cerny, the author of the TV tower babies. I'm not usually a big fan of provocative art, but i think that his often makes sense and is really in tradition of Czech and Central Europe absurdism (which, i know, can seem contradictory with the fact of making sense...)

Another controversial building to end this second part of our visit is the New scene building of the National theater right next to the historical building.









More to come...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

The streets look deserted - a far cry from the two times that I've been to the city!


----------



## stevarad

haha said:


> From the Žižkov district we walk in direction of the center bypassing the main railway station
> View attachment 15512515
> 
> 
> If we don't miss this little street, we can have a look at the beautiful facade of the Jerusalem synagogue
> View attachment 15512518
> 
> 
> A little further we stop at the central post office where the facade of the building seems to have been made inside !?!
> View attachment 15512520
> 
> 
> And we arrive on Vaclavske Namesti, the Prague "Champs-Elysees" and dynamic center of Prague all along the 20th century.
> I won't be able to show many pictures of its buildings, or even of Prague's buildings in general, for there are too many. Imagine an entire city where each and every building, from the 10th century to the 20th, is beautiful or at least interesting and original in its architecture. I'm not being chauvinistic when i say this, i'm not even Czech . Actually, one of the reasons of this situation is simply that Prague (almost) didn't suffer any war destruction for many centuries.
> Vaclavske namesti is on a slight slope. At the top, you can't miss the National museum, one of the main symbols of the city. It went under an 8 years renovation and looks almost like new.
> Just before it is the statue of Vaclav (one of the many) father of the country.
> View attachment 15512545
> 
> 
> On the left of the National museum a controversial building that i really like, the ex federal parliament. Because of its style and its communist origin, the new parliament decided not to stay there. In the 1990s it became the headquarters of Radio Free Europe and then remained more or less unused until its recent renovation when it became part of the National museum.
> View attachment 15512550
> 
> 
> A few other modern (early 20th century) buildings from Vaclavkse namesti and its surroundings
> View attachment 15512571
> 
> 
> View attachment 15512572
> 
> 
> View attachment 15512573
> 
> 
> I didn't take any picture of the Palace Lucerna because it was being renovated but this building is important for several reason. It was "built" by Vaclave Havel's grandfather between 1907 and 1921. Very modern by its style and structure, it included one of the first inside galleries (not sure how to say this in English), making it the ancestor of the shopping malls. There were many shops, a cafe, theater and movie theater and a concert hall that became legendary in the 1950s, 1960s for welcoming the first rock concerts in Prague.
> And here is a little surprise that you can find today inside
> View attachment 15512593
> 
> 
> The same good king Vaclav on his horse that you can see on a previous picture from Vaclavske namesti, except that this horse is dead and suspended from the ceiling, and that Vaclav doesn't seem to mind, still proudly seating on it to rule the country.
> This highly symbolic work of art was also made by David Cerny, the author of the TV tower babies. I'm not usually a big fan of provocative art, but i think that his often makes sense and is really in tradition of Czech and Central Europe absurdism (which, i know, can seem contradictory with the fact of making sense...)
> 
> Another controversial building to end this second part of our visit is the New scene building of the National theater right next to the historical building.
> View attachment 15512602
> 
> 
> More to come...


Oh, thank good postcards didn't arrived, because of this story (although they should be there by now)

I really think that Prague and Czech are among most beautiful places in earth, and that people there and their leadership were among wisest through history, because they managed to keep people and land safe during very difficult challenges in past centuries.

We want more, we want more, we want more...

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----------



## haha

Ok, here's more 

After seeing the National theater, it's time to cross the river on the Legion bridge with a classical view of the castle and Charles bridge.









We then climb the hill of Petřín from which i was hoping to have a nice view over the other side of the river, but it seems trees have a tendency to grow ?


















So we walk north towards the castle, or maybe we should say castles, as it was made of an addition of buildings throughout the ages









One of the pleasures of Petřín is the many fruit trees available to all









And if you come from far away to visit Europe, you can save on the trip to Paris. We also have an Eiffel tower 









Černínský palác, ministry of foreign affairs. Jan Masaryk, the minister (and son of TG Masaryk the founder of Czechoslovakia in 1918) was found dead in 1948 in the courtyard below his window. Suicide or murder, we'll probably never really know ?









Just next to it and only a couple hundred meters from the castle is on of the best traditional pubs of Prague, At the black ox, where they serve you another beer before you even had time to finish the previous one !









Detail of the Schwarzenberský palác and its typical sgraffito from the renaissance









And we finally arrive at the castle for a quick look as we're getting a little late. This is the western entrance and presidential building. Oh my, so many tourists ?









TG Masaryk keeps an eye on the actual president, reminding him in vain his credo, Do not be afraid, do not lie and do not steal.









Time for a break...


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## stevarad

Schwarzenberský palác...

Vampire palace?  

Eleonora Schwarzenberg?

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## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Schwarzenberský palác...
> 
> Vampire palace?
> 
> Eleonora Schwarzenberg?
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Probably just means 'black rooftop'


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## Kotsov

I think its going to be a visit to Prague once the current issue finishes.


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## Kotsov

If there is ever a Raketa baby barcode watch then I'm out.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> I think its going to be a visit to Prague once the current issue finishes.


It is a beautiful city, been there twice, and would love to go back there.


----------



## haha

stevarad said:


> Schwarzenberský palác...
> 
> Vampire palace?
> 
> Eleonora Schwarzenberg?
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


I didn't know about her, but yes, she must have lived here, among her many other castles 



Kotsov said:


> If there is ever a Raketa baby barcode watch then I'm out.


I'd love to see such a watch.


----------



## haha

Sorry for not reacting and finishing the Prague visit earlier, but I've been very busy with managing kids and work at home.

From the castle, we have a look at Mala strana where all the catholic lords, victorious at the Bila hora battle, started a competition to know who would build the biggest and nicest palace just to show off.
Many of them are embassies now.


















Behind us, the Strahov monastery (where i once had the pleasure to organize an exhibition about french comics )




































St Nicholas, one of the most impressive and beautiful baroque churches




































Commandry of the Knights of Malta









Welcome to the waiting room of the French embassy 









In front of the French embassy stands the Lennon wall. Since the 1960s people used to write poems there. In 1981, an unknown "artist" painted the first Lennon graffiti and it became a cult place for students and dissidents. Unfortunately, the wall as you can see it now has been repainted a little too much "nicely" and "officially"...









One of the nice things about Prague is that you often feel in a village









Charles bridge as you'll probably never see it again. Almost no one. Only a few Praguers and... stup... French tourists.



























The Golden tiger, Bohumil Hrabal's favorite pub. Havel and Clinton even paid him a visit here.









And we finish on the Old town square, also empty.


















And not far from it, a nice example of something almost unique in the world : cubist architecture ! There must be at least 20 cubist buildings in Prague, most of them very good looking.









Well, it was quick and almost painful : we walked 14km wearing a mask, but i'm glad i could show you an overview of the city i fell in love with 27 years ago. Many things have changed since then, and not all for the best, but behind the factory for tourists remains a great atmosphere that one needs to take the time to enjoy.

Sergei is now ready to leave to England and discover new people and lands.


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## thewatchadude

Nice city and nice country. I went to Prague a couple of times several years ago for work reason and I recall how beautiful it was... and very crowdy as well. Something seems to have changed since then--clue: it still looks very beautiful in your pictures!

Intrigued by this exhibition on French comics--what kind of comics? A few titles for us?


----------



## haha

thewatchadude said:


> Nice city and nice country. I went to Prague a couple of times several years ago for work reason and I recall how beautiful it was... and very crowdy as well. Something seems to have changed since then--clue: it still looks very beautiful in your pictures!
> 
> Intrigued by this exhibition on French comics--what kind of comics? A few titles for us?


French "new wave" from the 1990s and forward. We had invited authors from independent publishers such as L'Association, Requins marteaux, Cornelius, etc, who were just starting to be well known : Sfar (Klezmer, Pascin), Trondheim (Lapinot, Le pays des 3 sourires), Rabaté (Ibicus), De Crécy (Foligatto, Visa transit), Dupuy et Berberian (Monsieur Jean), David B. (L'ascension du haut mal).


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## SuffolkGerryW

I hope that I can give a respectable visit for Sergei, we have nothing like the architecture of Prague, nor the spectacular scenery - though we have a few places that I'd like to share, along with their history and folk tales.
Covid is slowly getting hold of parts of the UK - so far, it seems to be steering clear of this corner (thankfully!) so I should be OK to travel to a few places that I'm hoping to show - though still not back at the theatre, so no photos of the inside & the outside doesn't look much (1920's building)


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## stevarad

Wooooowwww 

One of the best Sergei posts ever, from one of the most beautiful places on earth. I will read again and again...

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## stevarad

haha said:


> French "new wave" from the 1990s and forward. We had invited authors from independent publishers such as L'Association, Requins marteaux, Cornelius, etc, who were just starting to be well known : Sfar (Klezmer, Pascin), Trondheim (Lapinot, Le pays des 3 sourires), Rabaté (Ibicus), De Crécy (Foligatto, Visa transit), Dupuy et Berberian (Monsieur Jean), David B. (L'ascension du haut mal).


Well, my first passion, before watches, and maybe even bigger in time are comics....All of them french/belgium school, italian, american - from classic to graphic novels...

Last I read was Hodorowsky and Janjetov comics about Metabaron (Serbian artist and Moebius successor in John Difool story/universe), just month ago.

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## stevarad

..and yes, you should read about Eleonora Schwarzenberg. A lot of interesting materials. Very interesting and mistical person. So powerful and rich that she was considered as a challenge and threat for emperor Charles himself and his daughter Maria Theresia (Emperor even "accidentaly" killed her husbund during hunting, mistery even today). And of course that such powerful woman and femme fatale was vampire, how she could be so strong, irresistable and powerul if she was not  She couldn't be "just" woman in that time and be so mighty, so being vampire was rationale explanation.

After her dead, she was burried in church, under tones of stones, just in case, you know...

Dracula is just school boy for her.

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## mariomart

Awesome post @haha 

I have fallen in love with the vistas and architecture of your beautiful part of the world ?

Thank you


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## stevarad

Btw, nice new outfit for Sergei...


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## columela

haha said:


> Yesterday was probably our last walk with Sergei, since time is coming for him to continue his journey among fellow members.
> Once again we went on the plateau, but this time we crossed it to start going down on the south side where the slopes are steeper and you're able to ski. Thanks to that and it being closer to Prague, this side is more touristic than our lost micro-region (which i consider a good thing and one of the main reasons why we decided to live here).
> From the small town of Desna, known for its tradition of glass manufacturing, we went up into the forest. There were many nice typical small mountain houses on our way.
> View attachment 15495909
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495911
> 
> 
> Old glass factory in the town behind us
> View attachment 15495913
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495917
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495918
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495921
> 
> 
> One important thing to know about the Czech is that almost everyone here owns a house, cabin, villa, shed or whatever you may call it, out of the city. Whether you're rich or poor, whether you inherited it, built it or bought it, as a Czech, your main goal for the week-end or the holidays, is to flee the city and hide there. In some pubs of Prague, there are less people (except for tourists, of course) on Saturday than during the week!
> These houses were particularly important during the communist regime as, for most people, they were the only place where they could have privacy. It could be just for relaxing, or growing vegetables and fruits, or having serious political conversations with neighbors and friends and read forbidden books.
> 
> After the last cabin, we enter the witch forest
> View attachment 15495928
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495929
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495930
> 
> 
> And we're back on the plateau (on the lower south end) at the lake of Souš that's completely forbidden of access since it's a clean water reserve
> View attachment 15495934
> 
> 
> And from here we're going back to Desna, but this time, following the Černá desná torrent
> View attachment 15495959
> 
> 
> Sergei wanted to go for a swim, but we stopped him, for it was too cold
> View attachment 15495965
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495973
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495974
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495977
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495979
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495981
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495983
> 
> 
> It was our first time here and quite a pleasant surprise. It should be fun to come back this winter when cross-country skiing.
> 
> On the way back, i stopped to take the following pictures that i had forgotten last Thursday.
> View attachment 15495988
> 
> 
> View attachment 15495989
> 
> 
> In 1934, when it became obvious that **** had appetite for Czechoslovakia, it was decided to prepare for it. At the time, the French diplomacy and military were very involved here and it was advised to build a line of fortresses similar to the Maginot line that you may have heard about. It was not intended to stop a German attack, but to slow it down enough to give time for the army to get ready and for the allies to intervene. The construction started in 1935 and lasted until the Munich Agreement. Thousands of light structures similar to the one above were made and a few hundreds of stronger ones, mostly around here and in the north east of Moravia. The irony is that **** used them later to train his artillery to attack more efficiently the Maginot line ! That's Karma for you


Simply beautiful. I ignored the existence of a Czech Maginot Line. Very interesting. You are a wonderful storyteller

Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk


----------



## columela

haha said:


> Ok, here's more
> 
> After seeing the National theater, it's time to cross the river on the Legion bridge with a classical view of the castle and Charles bridge.
> View attachment 15513943
> 
> 
> We then climb the hill of Petřín from which i was hoping to have a nice view over the other side of the river, but it seems trees have a tendency to grow
> View attachment 15513948
> 
> 
> View attachment 15513955
> 
> 
> So we walk north towards the castle, or maybe we should say castles, as it was made of an addition of buildings throughout the ages
> View attachment 15513956
> 
> 
> One of the pleasures of Petřín is the many fruit trees available to all
> View attachment 15513971
> 
> 
> And if you come from far away to visit Europe, you can save on the trip to Paris. We also have an Eiffel tower
> View attachment 15513975
> 
> 
> Černínský palác, ministry of foreign affairs. Jan Masaryk, the minister (and son of TG Masaryk the founder of Czechoslovakia in 1918) was found dead in 1948 in the courtyard below his window. Suicide or murder, we'll probably never really know
> View attachment 15513987
> 
> 
> Just next to it and only a couple hundred meters from the castle is on of the best traditional pubs of Prague, At the black ox, where they serve you another beer before you even had time to finish the previous one !
> View attachment 15514006
> 
> 
> Detail of the Schwarzenberský palác and its typical sgraffito from the renaissance
> View attachment 15514007
> 
> 
> And we finally arrive at the castle for a quick look as we're getting a little late. This is the western entrance and presidential building. Oh my, so many tourists
> View attachment 15514013
> 
> 
> TG Masaryk keeps an eye on the actual president, reminding him in vain his credo, Do not be afraid, do not lie and do not steal.
> View attachment 15514016
> 
> 
> Time for a break...


This beautiful report brings me warm memories of my honeymoon spent in Prague decades ago

Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk


----------



## haha

Thank you all for your appreciation. 
It was a little frustrating (and reassuring too) not to be able to show you more of Prague, but it would take weeks. It's all about getting lost in the small streets or finding an opened door leading you to a hidden yard.



stevarad said:


> Well, my first passion, before watches, and maybe even bigger in time are comics....All of them french/belgium school, italian, american - from classic to graphic novels...
> 
> Last I read was Hodorowsky and Janjetov comics about Metabaron (Serbian artist and Moebius successor in John Difool story/universe), just month ago.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


I remember having a pleasant conversation with a publisher from Slovenia (Stripburger) about the tradition of comics in Yugoslavia. Some of them were also published in France.



stevarad said:


> ..and yes, you should read about Eleonora Schwarzenberg. A lot of interesting materials. Very interesting and mistical person. So powerful and rich that she was considered as a challenge and threat for emperor Charles himself and his daughter Maria Theresia (Emperor even "accidentaly" killed her husbund during hunting, mistery even today). And of course that such powerful woman and femme fatale was vampire, how she could be so strong, irresistable and powerul if she was not  She couldn't be "just" woman in that time and be so mighty, so being vampire was rationale explanation.
> 
> After her dead, she was burried in church, under tones of stones, just in case, you know...
> 
> Dracula is just school boy for her.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


I will look more into it. Powerful women seem even scarier than men. I'm not looking forward to a female Trump  😁



stevarad said:


> Btw, nice new outfit for Sergei...


Yes, I forgot to mention it. I lent him a compass in case we'd be separated in the crowd 😁


----------



## elsoldemayo

Thanks for the great pics. Nice to do a little virtual travelling when the real thing isn't an option


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Not good news, looking like the UK is heading for another lockdown - just after haha has posted Sergei to me


----------



## stevarad

Let's hope for the best.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

UK is back into lockdown as from Thursday until at least 1st December.
This will cut off a couple of places I was going to take him to - will now have to re-think.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

5 days ago, Sergei left the Czech Republic, he's still not arrived, hopefully he'll be here in a day or so.


----------



## LowIQ

There might be fog in the channel.....had it on the canal in front of the house today.....well, light fog...cleared up pretty quick...

Just saying 'Hello' to all from lockdown Belgium... ;-)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

He's still showing as left the CR, but not that he's landed in the UK yet - considering that I've driven from here to the other side of Prague in a couple of days (4 when we went by bikes via the scenic route - Belgium, over to the Easternmost parts of the Netherlands (Zavenaar) and the old East/West German border), I'm wondering/worrying where he's got to.


----------



## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> He's still showing as left the CR, but not that he's landed in the UK yet - considering that I've driven from here to the other side of Prague in a couple of days (4 when we went by bikes via the scenic route - Belgium, over to the Easternmost parts of the Netherlands (Zavenaar) and the old East/West German border), I'm wondering/worrying where he's got to.


I also check the tracking every day and it's true it's a little slow, especially with this only comment "Item Leaving overseas".
On the other hand, a package we sent to France a month ago just arrived yesterday (but it was not registered mail, though i don't know if it has any influence on the speed).
Let's hope for better news before the end of the week.


----------



## LowIQ

As a little interlude.....(as it might just be the fog)...


----------



## mariomart

I'm sure everything is fine  Slow, but fine


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> I'm sure everything is fine  Slow, but fine


Probably, just a bit concerned as it isn't mine - I'll wait patiently for an item that I've ordered but as he isn't 'for me' and I'm to host his visit, it puts a different slant on it!


----------



## stevarad

How is in UK? Lockdown part 2? Can you go out, can you move, what would be restrictions for you and Sergei?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

No museums, theatres, 'non-essential' shops (still trying to figure out what they are!) but other than that, still got freedom of movement - so can go to parks, open air places and things like that - so long as we don't mix/meet with other households, so hopefully will be able to do a little 'tour' of Ipswich's 'interesting' places (all of 15 minutes, including the time taken to walk between them!  Local council used to just demolish anything that it didn't like and replace it with 'brutalism' architecture) - just won't be able to go inside any of them, and of course, the surrounding countryside areas are 'available'.


----------



## stevarad

Well, until Segei arrives, and if anyone miss cakes, candles and birthdays, big and warm hello from family Radunovic, Zrenjanin, Serbia


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Well, until Segei arrives, and if anyone miss cakes, candles and birthdays, big and warm hello from family Radunovic, Zrenjanin, Serbia


Was it your birthday? Hope that you had a good one, looks as though you had plenty of cake!


----------



## Kotsov

stevarad said:


> Well, until Segei arrives, and if anyone miss cakes, candles and birthdays, big and warm hello from family Radunovic, Zrenjanin, Serbia


Did you manage to move to the new property?


----------



## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Was it your birthday? Hope that you had a good one, looks as though you had plenty of cake!


Oh yes, 41th 

They made me excellent surprise party after work


----------



## stevarad

Kotsov said:


> Did you manage to move to the new property?


Unfortulately not. Seller changed his mind and gave up of selling. So we are still in searching for new house. But price started to be crazy in last few weeks like 40-50% up  
Like millioners living here..
Crazy times.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Oh yes, 41th
> 
> They made me excellent surprise party after work


Sounds good, glad that they didn't forget 'poor old dad' when it came to your birthday 

On good news, Sergei has been updated to say that he's arrived in the UK


----------



## mariomart

I see that Sergei has arrived at the Heathrow DC


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> I see that Sergei has arrived at the Heathrow DC


Hopefully he'll arrive here over the weekend, will keep you posted


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Should arrive today, as he's out for delivery from the local DO


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Should arrive today, as he's out for delivery from the local DO


Yay, Sergei is yet to be defeated by the world's postal systems


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Hopefully we'll be able to get out and about with him, weather has turned wet, and with all indoor places (except supermarkets/essential shops) closed, will mean that some thought will have to be given.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Sergei has arrived! Safe and sound, though had concerns when the postie handed him over 








But on checking the contents, it was just the outer layer of the envelope (and haha had done a very good job of double wrapping!)
He's now having a quick catch-up with one of his brethren.








Many thanks to Ivan (Haha) from my wife for his gift to her of the Prim, which she's very taken with.









Let his East Anglian tour begin.........


----------



## mariomart

AWESOME  

Looking forward to following his continuing adventures


----------



## haha

Great news !
You had me worried with the first picture of the package


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> Great news !
> You had me worried with the first picture of the package


Not as worried as I was when I saw it! Luckily though, it was just the outer layer, the lining of bubble wrap was untouched, and the internal envelope was safe - might not have been if there was anything showing though - certainly worth the extra effort you put in!


----------



## Kotsov

Lucky escape. Looks like someone has had a quick rip to see what was inside and then moved on....


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Lucky escape. Looks like someone has had a quick rip to see what was inside and then moved on....


My thoughts as well - the fact that the internal layer of bubble wrap held and the package was double wrapped could well be the reason that he got through safely.


----------



## Matt_Bored_O

.
Suffolk Gerry:

Or shall I say 'Gerry of the South Folk'

If you and Sergei are able to view some of the Anglo-Saxon sites, that would be great. 

I am now reading the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicles' for the third time and I am at the mid-600s period which was an exciting time for East Anglia. Sutton Hoo and things connected to King Raedwald surely must be on your itinerary.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Matt_Bored_O said:


> .
> Suffolk Gerry:
> 
> Or shall I say 'Gerry of the South Folk'
> 
> If you and Sergei are able to view some of the Anglo-Saxon sites, that would be great.
> 
> I am now reading the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicles' for the third time and I am at the mid-600s period which was an exciting time for East Anglia. Sutton Hoo and things connected to King Raedwald surely must be on your itinerary.


Sutton Hoo, is, I think closed for the duration, I'll double check (as it's only about 6 miles away) - it's thought that his palace was just up the road from there near Tunstall (not been excavated properly yet though, so closed to the public). Trying to figure out their website, I think that the interior bits are closed, but the outside (mound) is open to walk round


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Within an approximate 35 mile / 60 km radius of here, got various places that could be of interest, from 'Grimes Graves' (pre-historic flint mines that supplied flint tools for the builders of Stonehenge - little bit further) through the birthplace of RADAR (Bawdsey Manor), to the castle that Ed Sheeran sang about in his hit 'Castle on the hill' (Framlingham) and the Easternmost point of the British Isles (Lowestoft), and all manner of things in between, though some places might be closed due to the season and Covid - I'll have to check on some of them


----------



## stevarad

@haha Excellent gift!!! So generous.

This things with gifts will become some tradition as I can see


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> @haha Excellent gift!!! So generous.
> 
> This things with gifts will become some tradition as I can see


Just so long as it doesn't become 'competitive'


----------



## Kotsov

stevarad said:


> How is in UK? Lockdown part 2? Can you go out, can you move, what would be restrictions for you and Sergei?


Its a very lightweight version compared to the first lock down. Its mostly an excuse for government corruption and carpet bagging here.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Its a very lightweight version compared to the first lock down. Its mostly an excuse for government corruption and carpet bagging here.


That, and people not bothering, the fact that both my sons are classified as 'clinically vulnerable' and both work in customer facing roles tend to push how some people view it, also makes the wife and myself more cautious about where and when we go anywhere, so if we do go anywhere and it's got more people than we're comfortable with, we'll move on to somewhere else (one of the reasons for the approximate 35 mile/60km radius)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Little local walk to show Sergei around








He was all for going for a swim, but I didn't want to disturb the trout that lives in the pool


----------



## mariomart

Beautiful countryside  Sergei looks very happy with his new family and environment.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Beautiful countryside  Sergei looks very happy with his new family and environment.


He might not be later today, he's coming with me this afternoon to blood donors (95th donation)


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> He might not be later today, he's coming with me this afternoon to blood donors (95th donation)


You are a good man Gerry


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> You are a good man Gerry


Wouldn't say that, just something I do (I've got blood type O negative, so that it's always needed for emergency use, as it's able to be given to anyone) 
Edit - just checked the paperwork, not 95th - 97th


----------



## stevarad

Beautiful. England adventure starts!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Think Sergei doesn't mind that I brought him along - though probably fed up being driven about in a Skoda 
















Though it's only a small cake (mince pie)


----------



## stevarad

Skoda is his natural enviroment


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Skoda is his natural enviroment


He might have a different one if I'm 'second out' - our other car is a vauxhall/opel/gm zafira (7 seater)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Another local trip out - churches in the UK aren't as good looking as they are on the continent and tend to be locked, so couldn't get any interior photos of the windows, which are the most colourful part of the church over here.








A gratuitous scenic view from a hundred yards up the road from our front gate








Hopefully I'll be able to get out a bit 'further afield' in the next few days - lockdown allowing.


----------



## AaParker

You and Sergei are certainly lucky to have such wonderful countryside in which to walk. We're lucky to have you share it with us. It's as pretty as a picture! 🌳 🙂


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> You and Sergei are certainly lucky to have such wonderful countryside in which to walk. We're lucky to have you share it with us. It's as pretty as a picture! 🌳 🙂


I would've put up a photo from the front garden, but need to cut the hedge!


----------



## AaParker

SuffolkGerryW said:


> I would've put up a photo from the front garden, but need to cut the hedge!


You were busy donating blood! 🙂 Hedges can wait. 🌳🌳🌳


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> You were busy donating blood! 🙂 Hedges can wait. 🌳🌳🌳


Well, it's waited for a year, so a few more days won't matter


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Still keeping 'local', hopefully in the coming week, we'll get further away.
Pretty much the view we get when we look out of the window








Looking towards one of my sons 'out apiary' (his car can just be seen in the field)








The monument that marks an anti-slavery campaigner who lived in the area.
















'Big skys' are what normally attracts artists to Suffolk - should really have taken this photo 'landscape'








Introducing Sergei to one of the hives in the out-apiary that I mentioned earlier


----------



## mariomart

One thing I have always admired about the English countryside is the deeply embedded history, both recent and prehistoric. From all the documentaries I have seen it seems that you could pretty much dig up any portion of the British Isles and unearth a fragment of history, this is in complete opposition to where I currently live, as other than Aboriginal history going back 40,000 odd years, our "modern" history only started less than 200 years ago. I'm looking forward to seeing and reading more about you locale. Cheers


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> One thing I have always admired about the English countryside is the deeply embedded history, both recent and prehistoric. From all the documentaries I have seen it seems that you could pretty much dig up any portion of the British Isles and unearth a fragment of history, this is in complete opposition to where I currently live, as other than Aboriginal history going back 40,000 odd years, our "modern" history only started less than 200 years ago. I'm looking forward to seeing and reading more about you locale. Cheers


We do have an iron age hill fort in the area, but the location is, for some reason, being kept secret, only way that the locals found out, was that we've just had a set of power cables run through to a substation from an offshore wind turbine site, and they had to divert round it, but nobody knows where it was!


----------



## AaParker

I absolutely agree with @mariomart. Anywhere you look in your part of the world seems to be full of history! I looked up Thomas Clarkson. He was an fascinating individual. I think the obelisk mentioned in the article is the one in the picture with Sergei and you. BBC - Suffolk - History - Thomas Clarkson and Suffolk Now I have to look up more on the King and Queen of Haiti! 🙂


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> I absolutely agree with @mariomart. Anywhere you look in your part of the world seems to be full of history! I looked up Thomas Clarkson. He was an fascinating individual. I think the obelisk mentioned in the article is the one in the picture with Sergei and you. BBC - Suffolk - History - Thomas Clarkson and Suffolk Now I have to look up more on the King and Queen of Haiti! 🙂


It is the same one - if you've a 'spare' £1,125,000, you can buy the house that his good lived in (not Playford Hall, but Airys Cottage (another name that you might like to research - Airy) - up for sale at the moment for that price  ) obviously updated over the years!


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> It is the same one - if you've a 'spare' £1,125,000, you can buy the house that his good lived in (not Playford Hall, but Airys Cottage (another name that you might like to research - Airy) - up for sale at the moment for that price  ) obviously updated over the years!


I'd only be interested if it comes with a shrubbery.

According to this documentary they were well regarded back in those times.


----------



## LowIQ

A part of that 40thousend year old history has been blown away by a mining company in Australia......Australian History does probably not start with the First Fleet....









First Fleet - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





Anyway, I/we can't go and visit our family over there, as things currently are....:-(...and they can't visit us...:-(...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> I'd only be interested if it comes with a shrubbery.
> 
> According to this documentary they were well regarded back in those times.
> 
> View attachment 15562144


No shrubbery, but does have a dragon (which I think will come with the house, as I don't think that they can get it out of the door!)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Still local  
Fairly sure that this 'road' hasn't changed much since Saxon times - the shortest way into Ipswich by horse or foot (or bicycle)








Playford Hall, from the 'road' from Ipswich - probably a similar view to as it would have been first seen by Thomas Clarkson over 100 years ago (though the evidence of the old drive to it is just off to the right of the photo)








Another local view, which probably hasn't changed much over the past 400 years


----------



## stevarad

Nice to see Sergei again in his first outfit.

And your local places are beautiful. We can see real England. I am enjoying, I think rest of us also. Really no need for


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Nice to see Sergei again in his first outfit.
> 
> And your local places are beautiful. We can see real England. I am enjoying, I think rest of us also. Really no need for


It's just so annoying that I've so many places that I wanted to take Sergei to in the wider area, and this lockdown is preventing it, I _will_ get into Ipswich as there are at least 3 buildings and one statue that needs his 'approval' (though the statue might not mean much to the rest of the world, fairly sure that the British would recognise the name it's commemorating) but daren't travel too far afield as there's been a case of somebody being fined by the police for just travelling into the next county! (Mind you, they were going into Norfolk, so probably ought to be fined!   Suffolk & Norfolk have always had a friendly 'rivalry')
I'm also waiting for the postie to bring him another outfit that can travel with him - should arrive tomorrow if the delivery date is right


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Well, his new outfit (a Milano Mesh, as I personally like metal bands - and one of those can easily be adjusted) hasn't arrived, so hopefully it'll turn up soon.
Got the news that I'm going to have some work in the next couple of weeks, which will get me into Ipswich, and near 2 of the buildings and the statue, just will have to see about getting an 'extended' lunch break to get to the last one 
Some good news, is that where I'll be working has had some of the tourist information stock moved in, so hopefully there'll be some postcards in stock


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Sergei now has another outfit for his travels








Just tried it on








Not a 'fall off' one, to adjust, just lift the cam near the lugs, and slide


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

First trip out in his new outfit - not far, as Mrs 'Suffolks' hip was playing up


----------



## mariomart

Sergei is looking pretty suave  I'm loving the historical aspect

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed TBA
8. @DocTone - Germany
9. @LowIQ - Belgium
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @columela - UK
12. @colt - France
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
15. @Miggyd87 - USA


----------



## Miggyd87

Hey all, not a regular here on the Russian forum, but I am always intrigued by the "traveling watch" concept. It is fun to share a common object and see where it goes and the adventures it goes on. The history of it's travel and the people who have been it's caretaker before you.

I am currently running one in the affordables forum, with a set of 4(!) Traveling Timex watches, 2 new, 2 vintage.

I've been interested in Vostok, as a historic company with it's roots based behind the iron curtain, I find the engineering interesting and the design aesthetic quirky.

Its a pleasure to be added to the list and I am excited to see where Sergei's adventures take him.


----------



## mariomart

Miggyd87 said:


> Hey all, not a regular here on the Russian forum, but I am always intrigued by the "traveling watch" concept. It is fun to share a common object and see where it goes and the adventures it goes on. The history of it's travel and the people who have been it's caretaker before you.
> 
> I am currently running one in the affordables forum, with a set of 4(!) Traveling Timex watches, 2 new, 2 vintage.
> 
> I've been interested in Vostok, as a historic company with it's roots based behind the iron curtain, I find the engineering interesting and the design aesthetic quirky.
> 
> Its a pleasure to be added to the list and I am excited to see where Sergei's adventures take him.


Welcome to the thread


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Sergei is looking pretty suave  I'm loving the historical aspect


The mesh will be included in the package (I've not got a watch for it anyway).
Another little 'historical' fact, is that the house that Sergei is staying in, has a little 'history' of its own - struck by a Hawker Hurricane in WW II, the plane ended up upside down in the gate over the road, damage to the house was just an upstairs bedroom corner 'ripped out', the pilot suffered a broken nose, he was later shot down over the English Channel (Battle of Britain) and his body never recovered (I do have full details of the incident involving the crash)


----------



## mariomart

What an awesome piece of history, being ex RAAF I've always loved the Hurricane, it literally was the aircraft that won the war of the skies for Britain in WW2. It is very generous of you to add the mesh, thank you.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Always preferred the Hurricane to the Spitfire - even before learning about this little bit of history, think that the Spitfire had a better PR job done for them!
I know that I gave the 'bare facts' in the post, so here are a few more:-
There were two planes that took off in response to 2 'intruders' on 29 Jan 1940, but due to a training flight leaving an aircraft on the runway, they had to take off in deep snow, the air intakes got clogged with snow, and while one plane could immediately land again, this one was too far from the base when the engine cut out, so was going to make a forced landing in a field, misjudged between two houses and just caught the wing-tip. The plane was written off and salvaged for spares.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

First day back at work, so had to go into Ipswich
First off, a 'humourous' piece of artwork on a public toilet








The major swatting flies








A building that used to be the 'premier' local jewelry/watch shop with the dates of its founding etc. unfortunately now closed and split into smaller units








The 'Ancient House' - one of the fanciest examples of decorative plaster-work in the UK (or so it's said)








Another of the oldest shopping areas in the town, has 3 walkways into it, but known as 'The Thoroughfare'
















This statue is in commemoration of Carl Giles - a local cartoonist who lived and worked in the area - his cartoon 'family' headed by Grandma was legendary to his fans, can still buy Christmas albums of his works, and some of the old ones can be very expensive!








Inside the Corn Exchange, event venue, which is one of the places that I work at - has all manner of things going on here, from singers, comedians, through election counts, balls, weddings etc. etc. today, it was set up for police training.








The inside of the Town Hall, where I was working today (well, manning the front desk)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Didn't get to the other end of town and another building that I wanted to show you, perhaps next time.
Though thinking about it, Sergei's time for leaving is fast approaching, and I'll be getting in touch with the next host soon.


----------



## stevarad

But give us some more of England, please.

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> But give us some more of England, please.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


The other building I'm hoping to get to, has a legend/myth attached to it which I'll either link to, or recount with the post  
I'll also try to get out into the surrounding area a bit more as well.


----------



## AaParker

What a beautiful area you live in. The buildings are really fantastic. The plaster-work building facade is incredible! 🙂


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> What a beautiful area you live in. The buildings are really fantastic. The plaster-work building facade is incredible! 🙂


It dates back to the 15th century (according to some websites, possibly the 14th) walking around the interior is a real 'education' as over the years, all the floors have shifted and are uneven (used to go in regularly as it used to be a book shop) incredible place, supposed to be haunted, of course! 
Don't be fooled by my photos, there's a lot of 'dross' which I didn't take photos of!


----------



## AaParker

SuffolkGerryW said:


> It dates back to the 15th century (according to some websites, possibly the 14th) walking around the interior is a real 'education' as over the years, all the floors have shifted and are uneven (used to go in regularly as it used to be a book shop) incredible place, supposed to be haunted, of course!
> Don't be fooled by my photos, there's a lot of 'dross' which I didn't take photos of!


It all looks very nice. You should work for the Tourism Board! 🙂


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

AaParker said:


> It all looks very nice. You should work for the Tourism Board! 🙂


  In a way, I do - part of the job I was doing yesterday, was manning the Tourist Information 'shop' (which has moved from a church into the Town Hall) but it's not what it says on my contract, it's just a 'fill-in' to help out due to the virus closing the entertainment venues for the foreseeable future.


----------



## mariomart

I've reshuffled the host list a tiny bit due to our previous proposed next host having not posted on the forums for over a year. I hope @DocTone doesn't mind being bumped up 

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed TBA
8. @DocTone - Germany
9. @LowIQ - Belgium
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @columela - UK
12. @colt - France
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
14. @Miggyd87 - USA


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> I've reshuffled the host list a tiny bit due to our previous proposed next host having not posted on the forums for over a year. I hope @DocTone doesn't mind being bumped up


Yeah, no worries .
Would be my pleasure if Sergei join the christmas time with me


----------



## mariomart

DocTone said:


> Yeah, no worries .
> Would be my pleasure if Sergei join the christmas time with me


Thank you very much  🎄


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

DocTone said:


> Yeah, no worries .
> Would be my pleasure if Sergei join the christmas time with me


Hopefully he'll arrive in time - should get him in the post Monday (14th) at the latest


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Well, as it's Sergei's last week, I'm going to try and do a quick 'whistle-stop' tour tomorrow, but as I was back in town for work today, a couple more photos

The 'orrible 'ead (horrible head) of Ipswich -








The tale that is told about its legendary origin:-

The area was originally desolate and swampy, and home only to a fierce ogre. The council needed to expand the town, but everything they built on the land by day, the huge creature would break by night: the timbers were broken, the walls and roofs were smashed. Eventually, a deputation was sent to try and bargain with the ogre. After long and difficult negotiations the ogre agreed to let them use the land provided that they carved an image of his head in the street to remind everyone whose land they were on. "If ever you take my image down, I will come and take the whole street down, in one night!" he roared. That is why to this day there is still the 'Orrible 'Ead of Eagle Street&#8230;"

As I put up a photo of the inside of the town hall last time - this time it's the outside


----------



## LowIQ

#849 @ mariomart and all...

I would like to take Sergei out to the Opera....sadly there are no performances now....might start again mid spring, fingers crossed.......so, bumping me down a few notches would be a good thing...after all I would like to be a good host......and deliver some pics.....and there the pressure is on, how can I keep up with all the others ......and so on....during lock down...


----------



## mariomart

LowIQ said:


> #849 @ mariomart and all...
> 
> I would like to take Sergei out to the Opera....sadly there are no performances now....might start again mid spring, fingers crossed.......so, bumping me down a few notches would be a good thing...after all I would like to be a good host......and deliver some pics.....and there the pressurevis on, how can I keep up with ......and so on....


I think we can accommodate that 

Thanks for the heads-up 🎄

I've done another reshuffle.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed TBA
8. @DocTone - Germany
9. @colt - France
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @columela - UK
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
14. @Miggyd87 - USA


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

LowIQ said:


> #849 @ mariomart and all...
> 
> I would like to take Sergei out to the Opera....sadly there are no performances now....might start again mid spring, fingers crossed.......so, bumping me down a few notches would be a good thing...after all I would like to be a good host......and deliver some pics.....and there the pressure is on, how can I keep up with all the others ......and so on....during lock down...


I've been fairly lucky, in that I live in a small village just outside of Ipswich, so that we could go for walks around the area, during this lockdown.
Normally at this time of the year, we're working flat out with pantomimes and Christmas balls. 
A pity that I couldn't take him to any of the tourist attractions in the area due to them being closed/minimal opening due to the virus - the 'whistle-stop' tour might not be until tomorrow now looking at the weather - can't see much in fog


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Having an 'almost' birthday brunch, as it's almost Mrs 'Suffolks' birthday (Friday) Dutch pancakes and honey from sons hives


----------



## mariomart

Sergei approves


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Finally get to post the photos from the final trip round the area

Wickham Market - small but pleasant little town/large village - the 'market hill' still a small market held, can remember when it was larger!








View from the church and of the church (used to be a prosperous area)
















Finally, one of the sights of the area - Framlingham castle,








A right pain to get into during this Covid visit, which is why I've not been to Sutton Hoo, hopefully when Nomad arrives for his visit, I'll be able to access all of the places that I've not been able to get into with Sergei.


----------



## mariomart

Thanks for the update, I really love the architecture of all the old buildings and I'm adoring the castle. Cheers


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Thanks for the update, I really love the architecture of all the old buildings and I'm adoring the castle. Cheers


Plenty of old buildings, so if you're ever over to the East of the UK, plenty to see in the area.
Normally, I'd have gone into the castle (though not much to see inside, as it's really only the curtain wall that's still standing, whereas Orford castle (opposite direction) is the opposite way round, and it's only the keep that's still standing - combine the two, and it's a full castle!   
Just a bit disappointed that I couldn't get round everywhere - still, could have been worse, at least we're still healthy.
Sergei will be packed up today, ready to go into the post tomorrow.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

All packed (double wrapped, after the scare I had when he arrived!), wearing his black 'travelling' band (seems to fit better in the case) goodbyes said ready for the post in the morning


----------



## AaParker

Thank you for hosting Sergei! I really enjoyed the posts from your part of the world -- a beautiful and historic place! 🙂


----------



## stevarad

Goobuys are always sad.

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> If you want to follow Sergei's adventure on a map here is the link Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps
> 
> :-!
> 
> View attachment 14547413


If you'd be so kind, can you move his UK position to Ipswich (North East of London)? It might get confusing when he next visits the UK if he's showing London all the different times


----------



## stevarad

SuffolkGerryW said:


> If you'd be so kind, can you move his UK position to Ipswich (North East of London)? It might get confusing when he next visits the UK if he's showing London all the different times


Local patriot! )))))

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Local patriot! )))))
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Not just that, it's also that we've another 2 UK hosts to come, and Sergei will come into Heathrow (London - LALA Land) on his next trip to the UK - and then travel about the UK, so without our approximate locations, it'll look as though he's just visited London - might be 'good' to keep London, then mark his trip from there to wherever in the UK?


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> If you'd be so kind, can you move his UK position to Ipswich (North East of London)? It might get confusing when he next visits the UK if he's showing London all the different times


Done 

Thank you for taking great care of Sergei  especially during these really hard and unusual times.

Cheers


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Done
> 
> Thank you for taking great care of Sergei  especially during these really hard and unusual times.
> 
> Cheers


Thanks, it may save a bit of confusion later on when he returns to the UK 

A pleasure to host him, though disappointed that I couldn't get to some of the places that I wanted to get to due in part to the lockdown (Sutton Hoo/local UFO site/most Easterly UK point/site of last armed invasion attempt etc etc). Still - perhaps when Nomad arrives, I will be able to get to those places, there's always hope!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Sergei is now on his way to his next 'family', Godspeed.


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Sergei is now on his way to his next 'family', Godspeed.


Thank you once again for being a wonderful host  

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived TBA
9. @colt - France
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @columela - UK
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
14. @Miggyd87 - USA


----------



## DocTone

@ Gerry difficult to beat your benchmark post here 

Germany called out by Wednesday the next Corvid lockdown (yesterday published)
Hope, Sergei will be not getting lost in the overwhelmed flood of packs.
I don't know what's coming true, to get an appointment with my hair dresser by tomorrow ...or Sergei is arriving before christmas... most likely both I concern
hysterical times


----------



## stevarad

DocTone said:


> @ Gerry difficult to beat your benchmark post here
> 
> Germany called out by Wednesday the next Corvid lockdown (yesterday published)
> Hope, Sergei will be not getting lost in the overwhelmed flood of packs.
> I don't know what's coming true, to get an appointment with my hair dresser by tomorrow ...or Sergei is arriving before christmas... most likely both I concern
> hysterical times


Hair dresser is not obligatory, but some good sausages and beer are. 

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> Hair dresser is not obligatory, but some good sausages and beer are.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


True, the bad news here is that my usual supplier of Budvar and Bratwurst haven't got any in


----------



## DocTone

stevarad said:


> Hair dresser is not obligatory, but some good sausages and beer are.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


yes this is true, went today through the supermarket...it seems that exspecially toilet paper ( next to noodles ) is the germans all time favourite 🤣 🤣 ..to bridge the worse time ..everything empty 9 oclock in the Morning 
Bratwurst and Beer .. more than enough at same time


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Just had a quick tally up of how far he's traveled so far (not counting trips out) - 32,727 kms


----------



## kiwi.bloke

You need to ad a trip to Stewart Island, NZ and Christchurch when he Was with me...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

kiwi.bloke said:


> You need to ad a trip to Stewart Island, NZ and Christchurch when he Was with me...


I was going off the google map that Mario has created to follow his trip - it had the NZ trip (North & South Islands) on it  - obviously, the distances aren't 'accurate', as without putting a tracking device in Sergei, we'll never know his exact distance traveled.


----------



## mariomart

kiwi.bloke said:


> You need to ad a trip to Stewart Island, NZ and Christchurch when he Was with me...


It's already on the map, I chose not to be too specific with "touch-down" points so as to give the hosts some anonymity.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Looking at his travels, and future hosts, looks like he's going to return to Australia the same way as he left over the Pacific, pity we can't get him to travel all the way round the world, and have him return over the Indian Ocean


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> It's already on the map, I chose not to be too specific with "touch-down" points so as to give the hosts some anonymity.


Good idea, though possibly the nearest large town/city (i.e. Cologne for DocTone, Brussels for Lowiq and York for Leastonh as examples)? Think that most of us use 'nicknames' on here, rather than ones that could be traced? I could easily be wrong though


----------



## DocTone

When we got (get) the GPS data's of participants and give it to Gerry/Mario via PM (must be not exactly the home point to ensure anonymity ) so we would be able to trace more detailed. For me would be fine


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

DocTone said:


> When we got (get) the GPS data's of participants and give it to Gerry/Mario via PM (must be not exactly the home point to ensure anonymity ) so we would be able to trace more detailed. For me would be fine


Me? Wouldn't know how to add the area to the map 

Sergei is on his way to the airport (Heathrow) so hopefully he'll be flying out soon


----------



## mariomart

My intention with Sergei's map was just to give a rough guide for his travels. I generally won't pin the "in-between" places he visits, unless it's a hosts visit to another country, or a large trip within the host country as happened in New Zealand.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> My intention with Sergei's map was just to give a rough guide for his travels. I generally won't pin the "in-between" places he visits, unless it's a hosts visit to another country, or a large trip within the host country as happened in New Zealand.


That sort of trip wouldn't happen in the UK - a 'large trip' for most people over here is a couple of hours!


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> That sort of trip wouldn't happen in the UK - a 'large trip' for most people over here is a couple of hours!


Yep, I understand that, lol.

Here in Australia the tyranny of distance isn't really a bother. Just last weekend I decided to take the missus to a farmers market "down the road" which happened to be 150 km away.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Yep, I understand that, lol.
> 
> Here in Australia the tyranny of distance isn't really a bother. Just last weekend I decided to take the missus to a farmers market "down the road" which happened to be 150 km away.


I tend not to think in distance, but in time taken to get somewhere - probably comes from when I was driving a lorry and having to plan my route for the day.


----------



## haha

I'm a little late but i can't believe Sergei's journey near Ipswich is already over ! It feels like he arrived there a couple weeks ago, but it's actually been one month 

I just wish I could have seen pictures of a real English gentleman farmer in his garden, such as this one 









Thanks a lot, Gerry for showing us your area in these difficult conditions !


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Nope, he's a Gaul (French)


----------



## haha

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Nope, he's a Gaul (French)


English (as seen by the French of course) !
From the Asterix in Britain book, which is actually a great homage to England in my opinion 😊


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> That sort of trip wouldn't happen in the UK - a 'large trip' for most people over here is a couple of hours!


To be honest that is a bit of a generalisation. Until March this year I had a four hour daily commute and it wasn't that exceptional.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

haha said:


> English (as seen by the French of course) !
> From the Asterix in Britain book, which is actually a great homage to England in my opinion 😊


I stand corrected - went by the artistic style


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> To be honest that is a bit of a generalisation. Until March this year I had a four hour daily commute and it wasn't that exceptional.


True, but I did say most - though if you drive into any major city, can easily take over an hour to get to the centre (usually, with me, it was fighting through with a 18 tonner)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Sergei is now in Germany, landed last night - so hopefully he'll arrive with Doc Tone before Christmas, fingers crossed!


----------



## SkinnoPT

Sergei is going to be a great history in the future for your kids and so on 😉


----------



## mariomart

SkinnoPT said:


> Sergei is going to be a great history in the future for your kids and so on 😉


Indeed  , either that, or a plague carrier 

Welcome to the forum


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Indeed  , either that, or a plague carrier
> 
> Welcome to the forum


Just seems to be following the lockdowns, in my case, our lockdown was announced just as he left CZ, and the same as he went into the post to Germany, their lockdown was announced.

Looking as though he should arrive with Doc Tone today, according to the tracking!


----------



## mariomart




----------



## DocTone

Well,
happy to announce travelling christmas gift just arrived some minutes ago


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Glad he made it - see he's already got changed    
Over to you sir!


----------



## SinanjuStein

Glad to see this little fella is still going around in his world wide trip.

Mario, is there still any chance to add me to the list of recipients? I thought about it when you originally started the thing but knew i wouldn't have any time which has changed since then, and I might be able to take him into a trip to the old city of Jerusalem.


----------



## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> Glad to see this little fella is still going around in his world wide trip.
> 
> Mario, is there still any chance to add me to the list of recipients? I thought about it when you originally started the thing but knew i wouldn't have any time which has changed since then, and I might be able to take him into a trip to the old city of Jerusalem.


I actually had you on the list until recently, however when I checked up on the remaining host list I saw that you had not been active on any WUS forum for over a year, so I thought your interest in watches has waned, hence you were removed.

I'd be happy to tack you on the end of the list, just as long as you check in once in a while. Cheers.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
9. @colt - France
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @columela - UK
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
14. @Miggyd87 - USA
15. @SinanjuStein - Israel


----------



## SinanjuStein

mariomart said:


> I actually had you on the list until recently, however when I checked up on the remaining host list I saw that you had not been active on any WUS forum for over a year, so I thought your interest in watches has waned, hence you were removed.


Fair enough.

I have a few projects that i'm keen on cobbling together so i'll be on for a while.


----------



## stevarad

Wooowww. Jerusaem. Can't wait 

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## SuffolkGerryW

Looks like Sergei got away just right, seems that our international postal service has been shut down, as I've just tried to order a few bits from Komdotcom, only to be told that it's courier only (the order was sub $40, and I'm not going to be held to ransom for twice that in 'fees')


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Looks like Sergei got away just right, seems that our international postal service has been shut down, as I've just tried to order a few bits from Komdotcom, only to be told that it's courier only (the order was sub $40, and I'm not going to be held to ransom for twice that in 'fees')


Are you sure you aren't extrapolating that our international postal service has been closed down from ordering a few bits and bobs off the Internet?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Are you sure you aren't extrapolating that our international postal service has been closed down from ordering a few bits and bobs off the Internet?


Yes, I am extrapolating just that - if lorries can't cross the channel, fairly sure that planes wont be allowed to land either


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Yes, I am extrapolating just that - if lorries can't cross the channel, fairly sure that planes wont be allowed to land either


No I meant do you have it from another source other than komdotcom.

Have you had it confirmed by another source before posting on multiple threads that international post is suspended?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> No I meant do you have it from another source other than komdotcom.
> 
> Have you had it confirmed by another source before posting on multiple threads that international post is suspended?


Only by royal mails website, or isn't that appropriate?




__





International incidents update


International updates for the Royal Mail service - a round up of any issues which may be affecting mail services to and from countries around the world.




personal.help.royalmail.com


----------



## DocTone

Last working day, so no big issues happened. 
Sergei joined today a „Vostok-advent- wreath" and realizing to be the single russian original in the house ?
Well, could be proud to survived longer as all other arrivals 
??


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Glad to see that he's settling in


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Only by royal mails website, or isn't that appropriate?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> International incidents update
> 
> 
> International updates for the Royal Mail service - a round up of any issues which may be affecting mail services to and from countries around the world.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> personal.help.royalmail.com


But thats Royal Mails service to Europe.


----------



## mariomart

DocTone said:


> Last working day, so no big issues happened.
> Sergei joined today a „Vostok-advent- wreath" and realizing to be the single russian original in the house ?
> Well, could be proud to survived longer as all other arrivals
> ??


Sergei looks as happy as Caligula, surrounded by his beauties 

Would a collective like this be called an "Orgy of Vostoks" 

Looks like he's going to be very happy there.


----------



## DocTone

Merry Christmas to all ???

After some good dishes last days,
time to going outside with Sergei.
Today some sunny hours.. after a lot of rain and wind... ugly 
Not far away from my home you find the largest open-pit mine in the west of Germany (area of Colgone)
Yes, Cologne have not only to offer „Carneval" ?










In the backround you see several powerplants fired by the brown coal.


















By further expansion of the hole the infrastructure and surround is affected and ongoing changing.
So you find several „lost places" 
Old train track ending in the nowhere.









Also you find empty and lost villages which will be removed - during the years I saw serveral of those..



























After the short walk through I have to return to the family for lunch time.

to be continued.


----------



## mariomart

Amazing views, thank you  

It's a shame that the coal mine is gobbling up the beauty of the countryside and wiping the history of some towns off the map. But this is what needs to happen until we find suitable and economic replacements for what the earth has to offer from below.

I look forward to seeing as much as you can show safely.

Cheers


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Some stunning views, as said, shame about the mine pulling the area apart, but that's the way it goes, hopefully the land will be 'returned' to nature/the people after the seam is worked out. Would love to see some of the fossils that come out of it, have seen some of the leaf impressions that came in UK coal, can only imagine what has come out of that mine!


----------



## DocTone

time to share some news ...
Sergei and familiy left the surround of Cologne some miles to the south/west in the area of "Eifel" to visit (grand-)parents and spend also some days off there (what we doing every year). This year everything is more complicated and needed some preparation in respect of Corvid beforehand (corvid tests of familiy members etc.)
Anyway "Eifel" is an area - most national and nature park - between Cologne / Belgium/ Luxembourg.
There you find a lot of historical spots, walking, enjoying the nature, kajaking, water sports, parks for kids, etc..etc..not finger enough to count everything.

Like everywhere in Germany you find more and more windturbines all around. Since "Fukushima disaster" most of nuklear powerplants are ramped down (last should be down 2022). Government is
pushing hardly the exit (same for coal).

Weather is changing between rain and snow in the higher areas.










Sergei on the road









First spot ... Monreal  (yes not Montreal )
Nothing exitement from top view.. but let's dive into the gorge.
































































ICEPhibian









Another location and another gorge ..
.." Castles of Manderscheid" built in the years 978-1275




























Lovely and nice place. 
Nevertheless all hospitilities are closed also the access to the castles is denied by lockdown.
Talking with local people gives a bad feeling. The village need the tourism to survive - jobs were lost, some hotels closed meanwhile.


----------



## AaParker

@DocTone Stunning views and history! Thank you for sharing this with Sergei and with us! 🙂


----------



## Victorv

Super nice photos and the strap totally match the watch.

Someone knows where i can find a similar strap?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Looks a great place - reminds me of a couple of times I was in Germany (Rudisheim & Furth im Wald)
Hopefully this virus will soon get it's 'come uppance' with the vaccine being rolled out.


----------



## DocTone

Victorv said:


> Super nice photos and the strap totally match the watch.
> 
> Someone knows where i can find a similar strap?


Mine is from here








PhenomeNato Straps - The best nato straps!


The highest quality nato strap by PhenomeNato. In 18/20/22 mm widths with seatbelt like texture and premium hardware. Handmade in the EU.




phenomenato.com





excellent quality for the price (IMHO at the same Level what Omega selling for trriple Price )

PS: crownandbuckle.com have a similar colour ..
I could not found another Supplier offering Even this light ice Blue .. ( I like so ..)


----------



## Victorv

DocTone said:


> Mine is from here
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> PhenomeNato Straps - The best nato straps!
> 
> 
> The highest quality nato strap by PhenomeNato. In 18/20/22 mm widths with seatbelt like texture and premium hardware. Handmade in the EU.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> phenomenato.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> excellent quality for the price (IMHO at the same Level what Omega selling for trriple Price )
> 
> PS: crownandbuckle.com have a similar colour ..
> I could not found another Supplier offering Even this light ice Blue .. ( I like so ..)


Many many thanks fot the link. The truth is that this blue is super nice and uncommon


----------



## mariomart

AWESOME photo's  

I absolutely adore castles, the more the merrier.

I hope you enjoy your time with your family.

Cheers


----------



## stevarad

Just..WOW!!

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----------



## Matt_Bored_O

DocTone:

Thank you for the excellent photos. German history and architecture has always fascinated me.

Do you have access to anything of the ancient Roman settlements? 

Cologne was one of the most important cities of all Europe in the Middle Ages perhaps that is why the cathedral is so large and beautiful.
I would love to paddle my canoe along that river in your photos past the old houses and through the misty hills. 

Matt


----------



## DocTone

Matt_Bored_O said:


> DocTone:
> 
> Thank you for the excellent photos. German history and architecture has always fascinated me.
> 
> Do you have access to anything of the ancient Roman settlements?
> 
> Cologne was one of the most important cities of all Europe in the Middle Ages perhaps that is why the cathedral is so large and beautiful.
> I would love to paddle my canoe along that river in your photos past the old houses and through the misty hills.
> 
> Matt


Hi Matt , 
Aachen maybe Trier is still on my roadbook ..? 
and of course Cologne anyway ?


----------



## DocTone

Happy new year to all ...

Let's follow Sergei's travel ..

By new year some time to relax ..









Sergei meet the Concorde
You find somewhere In the Eifel a small village ... nothing there to talk about.
Nevertheles you find there a small and excellent exhibition by a private collector of around 100 planes, helicopters and other technical stuff.
I saw growing this nice place over 30year, I spent there hours and hours. Exspecially when you meet the owner.. he will tell you nearly endless backrounds about technique, history, Development and so on ..very familar place ...
You find several pieces with unique historical backround.














































Scottie beam me up..
Changing the Location and leaving the snow area



















Passing serveral small villages to visit some further castles in Eifel






























































































































Passing the Eifel you come to the river „Mosel" and a new region is appearing.
If you follow this small river to both direction
you find the Mosel vine region along.


----------



## mariomart

WOW! Just WOW!

Thank you


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Looks like he enjoyed the snow  
Great pictures.


----------



## Miggyd87

I'm starting to worry about my time with Sergei. I think I need to start planning now...

Some really great places pictured, Sergei sure is getting to see the sights.


----------



## stevarad

What castles!

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Victorv

Wooow what an amazing place


----------



## Topper203

Man, Sergei has been to way more awesome places that I have! Sigh 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Miggyd87 said:


> I'm starting to worry about my time with Sergei. I think I need to start planning now...
> 
> Some really great places pictured, Sergei sure is getting to see the sights.


I planned for his visit, but Covid had other ideas & we went into a lockdown just after he was posted to me (and didn't really lift until I posted him off) - I'm hoping that Nomad will be able to 'see the sights' that Sergei missed!


----------



## Miggyd87

SuffolkGerryW said:


> I planned for his visit, but Covid had other ideas & we went into a lockdown just after he was posted to me (and didn't really lift until I posted him off) - I'm hoping that Nomad will be able to 'see the sights' that Sergei missed!


Well most people know the total Clusterf**** the states are right now. We might not be in lockdown, but you really are taking your life into your own hands to go out and do anything that is non-essential. I hope when my turn arrives, in late 2021, this is all a distant memory, but given past trends, I am not super positive.


----------



## Kotsov

I WANT CONCORDE AND A CASTLE OVERLOOKING THE TOWN!!


----------



## DocTone

Kotsov said:


> I WANT CONCORDE AND A CASTLE OVERLOOKING THE TOWN!!


😀👍 
If I had the choice , I would prefer the Mil-Mi-6 heli what you find there also..
Concorde is a tiny bird.


----------



## DocTone

Sign of life by Sergei...
I had to stop to visit further places what I wanted to show here.
Hopefully only short interception.
German government decided last week further and harder lockdown regulations up to end of January.
Hope the story will not end with house arrest at this point.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Great view - sounds like you are going to be in a similar situation as I was, and not able to get out and about with him (other than the two times I had to go into work)
Keep healthy!


----------



## DocTone

.. unspectular update .. Lockdown
First snow since longer time , joining the time with the kids.. .. yes... snowman is the challenge ..



















Wellness for Sergei...
Garden hardcore Diving









Snow relaxing









Hope party here is agree, that Sergei can stay some time longer... Cologne and Aachen I want to visit and show here


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Matt_Bored_O said:


> .
> Suffolk Gerry:
> 
> Or shall I say 'Gerry of the South Folk'
> 
> If you and Sergei are able to view some of the Anglo-Saxon sites, that would be great.
> 
> I am now reading the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicles' for the third time and I am at the mid-600s period which was an exciting time for East Anglia. Sutton Hoo and things connected to King Raedwald surely must be on your itinerary.


@Matt_Bored_O , if you have 'Netflix'- have a look at their film 'The Dig' - it's the story of the initial excavation of Sutton Hoo, interesting film and at least they took the trouble to get the accent right (as opposed to the 'normal' West Country style  )


----------



## DocTone

Hi folks,
Sergei is speaking ...
Worse lockdown time here in germany ....
After seeing this morning the birth of a new vostok member (see modding thread)..today a trip to Cologne.

For cologne (and surround) citizen today one of the most worst day, because normally the street-carneval (as highlight of carneval season) is starting by today and will end next week by Wednesday.
...by lockdown whole carneval ceremonials were skipped and city was nearly empty ..instead flooded with thousends of party carneval people ..
On the pictures you will see a lot of safety and police to avoid any party or come togheter (more than 5 people is not allowed staying together)




























Cologne cathedral , difficult to get the whole front on picture.
































































Behind cathedral you find main train station of Cologne


















Down to the river Rhine .... Very high tide 









Normally here on boarder of Rhine is a very pleasant place....now empty , every closed













































Lonely "carnevalists" 
Cologne forbidden parties at home. Only 1 person of forgein household is allowed)



















In Cologne you find a lot of brewhouses with very famous local beer





































mmmhhh.... what is Sergei thinking ??? 


















Relic of the 2000 years history of Cologne


















Not needed to say .....also a very famous exibition which allows a deep look into the history of Cologne
........... closed...









Changing the side of Rhine









Those houses were in older days part of the haven of cologne Storage places .. now rebuild and transformed
to apartment houses.




































Only some minutes away from downtown river upstream...in the summer find on this place the "Rhine beaches"
Great and chilled place to do barbecue, coming togheter , having beer, playing with kids etc.
Now the whole area is completely flooded by high tide of Rhine. Flood doors closed. Level of Rhine is increasing further. ...



















Hope I can continue up to end of Februray....and able to show you more pics.
I'm really sad to present you my suround in such a condition. Instead a living town I show you a "ghost town" with a lot police ..people with mask .....


----------



## Kotsov

Excellent pictures that speak volumes.


----------



## stevarad

Simply beautiful.

Thank you for this excellent photos. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ticonderoga

Thanks for the update. Great pics, a nice break from being stuck in the same place for a year!


----------



## AaParker

Wonderful photos and a wonderful tour for Sergei and for us. Thank you! 🙂


----------



## Father of five

Beautiful city and beautiful pictures 
Stay safe in this crazy Covid-19 world


----------



## mariomart

Thank you @DocTone

I had a little giggle about the green man with the birdy on his head, I'm sure he was an important historical/political figure.

Is the flooding of the Rhine at this time of year normal or is it exacerbated by other things?


----------



## Kotsov

mariomart said:


> Thank you @DocTone
> 
> I had a little giggle about the green man with the birdy on his head, I'm sure he was an important historical/political figure.


For me one of the things that stood out was the height of the flood barrier over the height of the wall in the last picture.


----------



## stevarad

Sergei would be safe in case of flood....No worry for him.

But for the rest of Cologne, lets hope that barrier are strong enough.


----------



## DocTone

Flood is normal at this time during Jan-Feb. Melting snow from higher areas and/or rainfall. Worse if both coming togheter .. 
Normal average level of Rhine at Cologne over Last 20 years is approx. +3m 
Actual level of Rhine is +6.6m ...(what you see) 
Last week +8.3m was reached, fortunetaly weather changed ..since one week it’s very dry and cold. 
At +8.3m high risk level is reached (vessel traffic stopped etc.) ..at+10.5m disaster alert reached.
Worse flood we had in the 90‘ties two times .. with level of approx +11m 

So for the moment ..buisness as usual 👍


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> Thank you @DocTone
> 
> I had a little giggle about the green man with the birdy on his head, I'm sure he was an important historical/political figure.


???... the guy with birdy on head ??

During the time when the bridge „ Hohenzollern bridge" was built it is was normal to flank buildings with famous people.. in this case prussian familiy/kings








Hohenzollern Bridge - Wikipedia







en.m.wikipedia.org





I guess „King Mam" of Commonwealth is also connected to Hohenzollern family....

edit :
wrong ..Queen Elisabeth is bundled with another German familiy Saxa-Coburg and Gotha ..


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Great to see a new city, some stunning architecture  
Hopefully you'll stay safe, and the waters do not rise too far this year.

Would have loved to take Sergei to Colchester (just 20miles/15km away) which has the Roman city walls still standing, and its Norman castle is built on top of a Roman temple, plus the streets are still laid out on the original Roman plan - but at the time Covid travel restrictions meant that I couldn't (and still can't) go there.


----------



## DocTone

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Great to see a new city, some stunning architecture
> Hopefully you'll stay safe, and the waters do not rise too far this year.
> 
> Would have loved to take Sergei to Colchester (just 20miles/15km away) which has the Roman city walls still standing, and its Norman castle is built on top of a Roman temple, plus the streets are still laid out on the original Roman plan - but at the time Covid travel restrictions meant that I couldn't (and still can't) go there.


Sergei's travel is not yet finialzed... maybe considering to do a second turn ? why not. 
the most cruicial is that nobody is able to forecast the end of the Covid story.

Here in germany first vaccination started. I'm so happy, that my Dad (83 years) participated yet. Incredible luck, seeing the very limited amount of dose what is distributed yet (the suppliers are not able to produce so fast) 
.... lockdown here is now extended to March


----------



## LowIQ

I'm more or less housebound currently....the wife goes into the Opera Hous twice a week, some stuff she has to do in person she says.....but its not the same than before.........if a vaccine comes our way it might be summer at the earliest........September more likely......so Sergei might be thinking about visting Brussels later in the year....when I can show him around properly ....and taking him out to a first night at the Opera....
So me moving further down the list of hosts would be fine....but, my wife would like to meet Sergei, before he is going back down under, where she grew up.......albeit in Southern Australia...and then in NSW....before Sergei moves back home to Western Australia....

PS
My mother, spring chicken she is, at 90 years of age, got her first jab in Austria last week, follow up jab in 3 weeks time, made my day...!


----------



## stevarad

I must say that we are lucky than...Here in Serbia, we have a lot of vaccines comparing others and you can choose which one you want (pfizer, moderna, astra zaneka, sputnik and sinopharm). And process is going fine and fast. Although, it is true there are problem with "western" (phizer,moderna..) vaccines supply also. I am considering russian or chinese one and depending on that, I will weare segull or some poljot/vostok on the day of jab.

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## LowIQ

That Russian vacine seems to be good...probably the same with the Chinese.....but there politics come into play........in the EU.....my mother got the Moderna...

There are lots of possible and vacant production facilities around in the world for vacines but politics and patent laws play a big role....slowing down the roll out....especially the patent laws are a hinderance....


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Eldest son had his first dose of the Astra one on Monday (he's classed as 'clinically vulnerable' due to his MS treatment) headache for a couple of days, and should hear about the 2nd dose in the next couple of months or so - still waiting to hear about mine and my wife's (we're in the 60-70 bracket), but they're still working down the ages, no reason to rush ours, as the theatres won't be opening for a while! Talking to a nurse yesterday (blood donors) and the figures are that it's as much as 1 in 20 that are asymptomatic, surprised me by that higher number!


----------



## stevarad

LowIQ said:


> That Russian vacine seems to be good...probably the same with the Chinese.....but there politics come into play........in the EU.....my mother got the Moderna...
> 
> There are lots of possible and vacant production facilities around in the world for vacines but politics and patent laws play a big role....slowing down the roll out....especially the patent laws are a hinderance....


100% true.

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## DocTone

..Sergei is reporting ..
shorthand on Friday we decided to go to Eifel spending some days in familiy surround .. ..
More familiar and private in this small villages and without the feeling getting monitored .. while stepping outside the house. Wheater forecast gave great outlook
Of course enyoy being there..anyway...
Have a Look to outside









Sergei should not be alone


















Went to „High Eight" . The highest point of Eifel Region with 747m. This tiny mountain is basically a cold volcano and a relic of the history of origin of „Eifel" . Such relic you find all along .e.g .basalt formations, thermal springs .. .
Since today the whole area along the Rhine , Cologne/ Eifel/ Aachen ..is affected by minor earthquakes ( range 2- 5 )

way trough forrest to the Top of „High Eight"









by some heavy storms last year.. a lot of trees broken









on top ...









Through the tree .. you see Castle Nürburg


















view from top
direction Castle Nürburg









view to North
far in backround you see first powerplant in direction of Cologne / Bonn ( today view is incredi









view to Southeast









On base of High Eight the village
Adenau and Breitscheid


















Through Breitscheid the Northloop of the Raceway Nürburgring is passing


















On the way to Castle Nürburg .. sometimes normal street quiet next to the „Northloop of Nürburgring"










raceway next to street









Castle Nürburg



























Raceway „Nürburgring" is one of major economical drivers in the whole region.
Next to races this is also a Location for exibitions , concerts .. etc.pp


















Time to chill


----------



## mariomart

Fantastic update  

Sergei feels the need, the need for speed .... yes, a very corny saying, lol 

I never knew that there was actually a castle called Nürburg, sort of makes sense that the racetrack is called Nürburgring


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> Fantastic update
> 
> Sergei feels the need, the need for speed .... yes, a very corny saying, lol
> 
> I never knew that there was actually a castle called Nürburg, sort of makes sense that the racetrack is called Nürburgring


My wife was very angry that I want to go on racetrack ( with our old familiy car ) to do a turn .( my kids wished and were excited to do) Luckily closed.... 🤣🤣🤡🤡


----------



## mariomart

DocTone said:


> My wife was very angry that I want to go on racetrack ( with our old familiy car ) to do a turn .( my kids wished and were excited to do) Luckily closed.... ????


I'm with the kids  I would love to see what my 10 year old Honda Odyssey would be capable of, lol ?


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> I'm with the kids  I would love to see what my 10 year old Honda Odyssey would be capable of, lol ?
> 
> View attachment 15711103


I see .. togheter we would be a nice couple on the track
...14 years japanese vessel ?


----------



## LowIQ

I rode there on my 650 single cylinder BMW GS, put some super moto tyres on for the ocassion, and had a few laps, getting scared..........and then had a ride in a Taxi....with Sabine on the steering wheel....









Sabine Schmitz - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





fastest woman on earth...apart from Michelle Mouton.....









Michèle Mouton - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

DocTone said:


> My wife was very angry that I want to go on racetrack ( with our old familiy car ) to do a turn .( my kids wished and were excited to do) Luckily closed.... 🤣🤣🤡🤡


At one point, I'd have loved to do it, but now? I'm not too sure, yes, would be nice to try out the 2012 Octavia round there🙃🙃


----------



## LowIQ

One might think its nice, no traffic coming from the opposite side, free road, biker (or car driver) heaven...until one is looking in the mirrors and does see the bullets coming towards one from behind....all or most of them faster than light speed.......never used my right side blinkers that much than there.....to indicate that I keep out of their way....scary stuff...but fun...


----------



## mariomart

@Miggyd87 has decided to leave the list.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
9. @colt - France
10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @columela - UK
13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
14. @SinanjuStein - Israel


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> @Miggyd87 has decided to leave the list.
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
> 3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
> 4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
> 5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
> 6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
> 7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
> 8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
> 9. @colt - France
> 10. @leastonh - England - Yorkshire
> 11. @LowIQ - Belgium
> 12. @columela - UK
> 13. @Joespeeder - Michigan USA
> 14. @SinanjuStein - Israel


uff .. time is running.. see Sergei joining now 2 month with me ... it feels like a timeshift..
Nevertheless pending the situation @colt so I would say , Sergei could leave after next weekend ? ..I don't want stress folks here too much with my output.... of course I would have some further ideas going around.. .( maybe better than being in house arrest at other sites ?) ..

this Weekend .. it seems spring time arrived with nearly 20*C.. my commanding minister
gave instruction to bring garden in the right order.. so Sergei have to stay at home ...

lockdown will continue anyway here in Germany ...










PS :I see User colt didn't Joined forum since a longer time anymore


----------



## mariomart

DocTone said:


> PS :I see User colt didn't Joined forum since a longer time anymore


Hmmm, you are correct. No activity from @colt since November 2019, so I have made the executive decision to remove the host from the list.

@Joespeeder also looks they have dropped off the forum and no longer active, so also removed.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
9. @leastonh - UK
10. @LowIQ - Belgium
11. @columela - UK
12. @SinanjuStein - Israel


----------



## leastonh

Would you mind moving me down the list a little please mariomart? Sadly, I'm not going to be able to do much with Sergei at the moment due to work commitments.


----------



## mariomart

leastonh said:


> Would you mind moving me down the list a little please mariomart? Sadly, I'm not going to be able to do much with Sergei at the moment due to work commitments.


Sure 

A little reshuffle, if the remaining hosts have any issues with hosting please speak up.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
9. @columela - UK
10. @LowIQ - Belgium
11. @leastonh - UK
12. @SinanjuStein - Israel


----------



## columela

Hello

I am happy to host Sergei here in Plymouth. I just had his Spanish cousin Ivan with me and we had a good time despite the restrictions 


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk


----------



## DocTone

Great to hear .. 
I will do this week a farewell with Sergei 
and will prepare the shipment, (Details via PM @columela @mariomart )


----------



## columela

DocTone said:


> Hi folks,
> Sergei is speaking ...
> Worse lockdown time here in germany ....
> After seeing this morning the birth of a new vostok member (see modding thread)..today a trip to Cologne.
> 
> For cologne (and surround) citizen today one of the most worst day, because normally the street-carneval (as highlight of carneval season) is starting by today and will end next week by Wednesday.
> ...by lockdown whole carneval ceremonials were skipped and city was nearly empty ..instead flooded with thousends of party carneval people ..
> On the pictures you will see a lot of safety and police to avoid any party or come togheter (more than 5 people is not allowed staying together)
> 
> View attachment 15705364
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705366
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705450
> 
> 
> Cologne cathedral , difficult to get the whole front on picture.
> 
> View attachment 15705367
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705369
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705370
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705371
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705372
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705373
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705374
> 
> 
> Behind cathedral you find main train station of Cologne
> View attachment 15705376
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705375
> 
> 
> Down to the river Rhine .... Very high tide
> View attachment 15705377
> 
> 
> Normally here on boarder of Rhine is a very pleasant place....now empty , every closed
> View attachment 15705378
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705380
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705385
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705392
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705395
> 
> 
> Lonely "carnevalists"
> Cologne forbidden parties at home. Only 1 person of forgein household is allowed)
> 
> View attachment 15705403
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705407
> 
> 
> In Cologne you find a lot of brewhouses with very famous local beer
> 
> View attachment 15705411
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705412
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705414
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705415
> 
> 
> mmmhhh.... what is Sergei thinking ???
> View attachment 15705416
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705446
> 
> 
> Relic of the 2000 years history of Cologne
> View attachment 15705439
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705440
> 
> 
> Not needed to say .....also a very famous exibition which allows a deep look into the history of Cologne
> ........... closed...
> View attachment 15705443
> 
> 
> Changing the side of Rhine
> View attachment 15705418
> 
> 
> Those houses were in older days part of the haven of cologne Storage places .. now rebuild and transformed
> to apartment houses.
> View attachment 15705421
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705429
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705435
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705459
> 
> 
> Only some minutes away from downtown river upstream...in the summer find on this place the "Rhine beaches"
> Great and chilled place to do barbecue, coming togheter , having beer, playing with kids etc.
> Now the whole area is completely flooded by high tide of Rhine. Flood doors closed. Level of Rhine is increasing further. ...
> 
> View attachment 15705471
> 
> 
> View attachment 15705481
> 
> 
> Hope I can continue up to end of Februray....and able to show you more pics.
> I'm really sad to present you my suround in such a condition. Instead a living town I show you a "ghost town" with a lot police ..people with mask .....


Fantastic post comrade, thank you for letting us know more about your beautiful corner of the world.


----------



## mariomart

columela said:


> Hello
> 
> I am happy to host Sergei here in Plymouth. I just had his Spanish cousin Ivan with me and we had a good time despite the restrictions
> 
> Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk


Excellent  

Please keep me in the loop with tracking number and details via PM when you are ready @DocTone


----------



## leastonh

mariomart said:


> Sure
> 
> A little reshuffle, if the remaining hosts have any issues with hosting please speak up.
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.
> 
> 1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
> 2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
> 3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
> 4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
> 5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
> 6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
> 7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
> 8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed TBA
> 9. @columela - UK
> 10. @LowIQ - Belgium
> 11. @leastonh - UK
> 12. @SinanjuStein - Israel


Brilliant, much appreciated


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Looking forward to Sergeis 2nd UK visit and hopefully some pictures of an area in the UK that I've not visited  (plus it's looking as though we'll be coming out of lockdown about the time he's visiting!)


----------



## DocTone

Sergei is speaking..
only ..some days before we saw pictures of frosty trees .. ice and flood condition at Cologne with Rhine river ..
Now 21 *C very uncommon for February.

Went  to „Rhine Beaches" today to collect sun and enjoy being outside ..










Same position than 12 days ago :
Flood doors away ..
Rhine still not reached normal level so most of beach not yet visible ( approx. 2/3 didn't appears yet)




























Panorama from seaside


















Even such a beautiful day and „afterwork" time .. less people on track ..
mostly families with kids ..
By frequently controls of police .. the disciplinary of People is high to follow the lockdown requirements


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Looks like a great trip out, certainly a difference in just a few days.


----------



## DocTone

Sergei is speaking ...

Saturday 
went to small market of suburb of Cologne (not far by using bicycle)









The market place is small but very familiar..



















Major reason to going to this unspectular place, is mainly a french bakery ....excellent croissants...baquettes.. and delicous selection of famous french patisserie.

What could be a better place to enjoy those goodies... 









Some steps away .. (Rhine in backround)



















In the middle of picture frame of flood door ..(lowered in underground) 









in middle / corner of wall -intalled level 









Along the Rhine you find several floating hospitalities offering beer, eat and also nice entertainment..
"Alte Liebe" is an institution with a nice and warm charm since a long time. 









View to (downstreamed) downtown. 









Sunday
joining some sunny hours ... 
Serveral cities in Germany installed additional lockdown restrictions these days.. to avoid that to many peoples joining the town ..come together etc.pp
...










On right hand: (restored) storage houses of old Rhine-Harbor. 









Old Harbor meanwhile totally modernized.....e.g. with a lot of apartments



















also you find a "Chocloate museum by "Lindt" (famous tademark).. 



























In opposite of Rhine harbor you find also some unique places... like the "Mustard museum" 









..or somes steps further the "Heumarkt" ..(second biggest marketplace of Cologne) ..more or less in extension of harbor area.
The history of the market place is long and starts in roman era.
The guy on the horse is emperor "Friedrich"..










Exploring also smaller streets..far from the main attractions, also then you find familar places ..at this lockdown time those look lonley.. (some steps from here you find a small restaurent/snack bar. offering excellent oriental dishes for takeawy..  )



















On the way back
.. passing "Ulrepforte" ..built around the years 1100 and was part of the city wall during middle age


----------



## mariomart

Wow wow wow!!!

What an awesome update. What a beautiful area. And Lindt is my favourite chocolate, especially Lindt Bunny for Easter 🤣 

I hope things return to a proper normal as soon as possible.

Thank you


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Beautiful place!


----------



## DocTone

mariomart said:


> Wow wow wow!!!
> 
> What an awesome update. What a beautiful area. And Lindt is my favourite chocolate, especially Lindt Bunny for Easter 🤣
> 
> I hope things return to a proper normal as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you


Well ....what to say.. 😂🤡👍👍


----------



## Matt_Bored_O

.
No host of Sergei should think that their photos or cities are uninteresting.

I live in a small and very bland city that has very little culture and no building or house was built before 1865. Almost all were built after 1930 and almost all have an ugly industrial appearance. Empty, rusting, weed infested factories everywhere tell the history of a once thriving automotive industry that is now almost dead with thousands of lost jobs. There are no nice streets paved with stone or brick - there is only dirty, cracked concrete and oil soaked, cracked asphalt everywhere. We have the highest number of cars per household in the nation, so the streets are clogged almost 24 hrs. a day with nothing but dirty cars and big, loud 18 wheel trucks and dump trucks that bang loudly against every hole in the road. There are only a few areas for pedestrians or cyclists to go to enjoy the outdoors, but you always hear the traffic. We also have the lowest air quality in the nation and the river is dark green and opaque. You see only a dozen stars at night because the sky glows brightly from the lights of the huge city across the river, which is also one of the most violent and decrepit cities in North America. 

In other words: it is a paradise here! - lol.

So, for me, I enjoy each and every picture that you guys post here. Your cities and towns are beautiful and interesting to me. Every street, every house and every building has nice architecture and interesting history.
.


----------



## Kotsov

Matt_Bored_O said:


> .
> No host of Sergei should think that their photos or cities are uninteresting.
> 
> I live in a small and very bland city that has very little culture and no building or house was built before 1865. Almost all were built after 1930 and almost all have an ugly industrial appearance. Empty, rusting, weed infested factories everywhere tell the history of a once thriving automotive industry that is now almost dead with thousands of lost jobs. There are no nice streets paved with stone or brick - there is only dirty, cracked concrete and oil soaked, cracked asphalt everywhere. We have the highest number of cars per household in the nation, so the streets are clogged almost 24 hrs. a day with nothing but dirty cars and big, loud 18 wheel trucks and dump trucks that bang loudly against every hole in the road. There are only a few areas for pedestrians or cyclists to go to enjoy the outdoors, but you always hear the traffic. We also have the lowest air quality in the nation and the river is dark green and opaque. You see only a dozen stars at night because the sky glows brightly from the lights of the huge city across the river, which is also one of the most violent and decrepit cities in North America.
> 
> In other words: it is a paradise here! - lol.
> 
> So, for me, I enjoy each and every picture that you guys post here. Your cities and towns are beautiful and interesting to me. Every street, every house and every building has nice architecture and interesting history.
> .


Could be worse. Could be Sunderland in the UK.


----------



## stevarad

Well Doc,

You managed to make beautifull stories and travelogue.

Congrats, my dear friend.




Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## DocTone

Matt_Bored_O said:


> In other words: it is a paradise here! - lol.
> 
> So, for me, I enjoy each and every picture that you guys post here. Your cities and towns are beautiful and interesting to me. Every street, every house and every building has nice architecture and interesting history.
> .


To be honest , lockdown time also the opportunity here to show you my living surround opened the window for me (and familiy) to explore the local environment more intensive than before.
The awareness where we live came back. Before it was normal and not worth talking about.

Beside this. My pictures should not give a wrong picture about the reality. During rush hour and normal work day the streets are clocked by traffic jams .. the attractions are overflooded by tourists ..
Basically no reason to go there - full pulsating inner city.
The rental fees for apartments are outstanding, the dream of a house far away of any consideration.

My pictures doesn't mirror also the worse conditions in other district's of cologne - concrete bulidings etc. - also not showing the whole chemistry industries along the river or other industrial parks.

Means, also here you find what you described about your hometown. Cologne have the advantage of the signs/relic of history. In many other towns in germany nothing left, too much bombed away during WWII or removed driven by industrialization.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Matt_Bored_O said:


> .
> No host of Sergei should think that their photos or cities are uninteresting.
> 
> I live in a small and very bland city that has very little culture and no building or house was built before 1865. Almost all were built after 1930 and almost all have an ugly industrial appearance. Empty, rusting, weed infested factories everywhere tell the history of a once thriving automotive industry that is now almost dead with thousands of lost jobs. There are no nice streets paved with stone or brick - there is only dirty, cracked concrete and oil soaked, cracked asphalt everywhere. We have the highest number of cars per household in the nation, so the streets are clogged almost 24 hrs. a day with nothing but dirty cars and big, loud 18 wheel trucks and dump trucks that bang loudly against every hole in the road. There are only a few areas for pedestrians or cyclists to go to enjoy the outdoors, but you always hear the traffic. We also have the lowest air quality in the nation and the river is dark green and opaque. You see only a dozen stars at night because the sky glows brightly from the lights of the huge city across the river, which is also one of the most violent and decrepit cities in North America.
> 
> In other words: it is a paradise here! - lol.
> 
> So, for me, I enjoy each and every picture that you guys post here. Your cities and towns are beautiful and interesting to me. Every street, every house and every building has nice architecture and interesting history.
> .


I'm afraid that I was guilty of 'cherry picking' the photos that I took in Ipswich - none of the majority of 'modern' buildings, the pot holed roads, gridlock during the week, the rundown shopping areas with empty shops with graffiti etc. etc.. A lot of our villages have modern estates tacked onto the edges, I'm lucky that the one that I live in isn't a 'building zone', the one next to us has built on every bit of land in their village, and are looking at neighbouring areas for building land.


----------



## DocTone

Sergei is speaking...

only some unsorted fast snap shots by yesterday (back from an appointment in Cologne inner city ) 
later afternoon, beautiful warm weather..
Normaly I avoid to go there at this time , knowing nearly impossible to catch a place for car at this time


----------



## DocTone

Sergei is speaking .. 
Time to leave today 
I spent now seven days in quarantine after a short business trip ..
really crazy times ..and confusing advices by government here and there..

Starting now new adventures in UK
? (Hope the weather is better than here ?


----------



## columela

Hello 
Sergei will make good friends in Plymouth!
We are happy to make it welcome


----------



## thewatchadude

DocTone said:


> Sergei is speaking ..
> Time to leave today
> I spent now seven days in quarantine after a short business trip ..
> really crazy times ..and confusing advices by government here and there..
> 
> Starting now new adventures in UK
> ? (Hope the weather is better than here ?
> 
> View attachment 15769507


That picture of Sergei in his package in the front of the car being driven to the airport/railway station/post office looks so sad... 



columela said:


> Hello
> Sergei will make good friends in Plymouth!
> We are happy to make it welcome
> View attachment 15769653


We can feel their impatience! We can feel the tremendous efforts they're doing to stay calm in their boxes and not jump around of excitment!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Hopefully by the time Sergei gets here, we'll be able to get out and about, looking forward to seeing some pictures from Plymouth and it's environs


----------



## DocTone

thewatchadude said:


> That picture of Sergei in his package in the front of the car being driven to the airport/railway station/post office looks so sad...


Yes, indeed .. sounds crazy ..
when we went around .. kids asked often ‚is Sergei with us' .. or when we sit in car .. ‚where is Sergei' ... ??
In the end of the day I ordered the correct successor .. because kids demanded it so wife agreed directly ????


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

DocTone said:


> Yes, indeed .. sounds crazy ..
> when we went around .. kids asked often ‚is Sergei with us' .. or when we sit in car .. ‚where is Sergei' ... ??
> In the end of the day I ordered the correct successor .. because kids demanded it so wife agreed directly ????


Yes, I'm missing Sergei since he left, might have to go your route and order a substitute.


----------



## mariomart

The adventures continue 

Thank you @DocTone for being such a wonderful host for my Sergei.

You have taken him into your family and life and shown him the wonders and beauty of your special part of the world.

You have enriched us all with your narrative and fantastic photo's, an especially hard thing to achieve amongst this monstrosity of a virus leering over us, but you endured 

I'm hoping Sergei arrives as promptly as possible into the arms of @columela so he can soak in more wonderful adventures.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status.

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed 16Mar21
9. @columela - UK - arrived TBA
10. @LowIQ - Belgium
11. @leastonh - UK
12. @SinanjuStein - Israel


----------



## Kotsov

DocTone said:


> Sergei is speaking...
> 
> only some unsorted fast snap shots by yesterday (back from an appointment in Cologne inner city )
> later afternoon, beautiful warm weather..
> Normaly I avoid to go there at this time , knowing nearly impossible to catch a place for car at this time
> 
> View attachment 15743076
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743077
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743079
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743082
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743085
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743086
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743089
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743091
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743093
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743096
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743097
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743100
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743103
> 
> 
> View attachment 15743104


The cathedral is stunning.


----------



## stevarad

DocTone said:


> Yes, indeed .. sounds crazy ..
> when we went around .. kids asked often ‚is Sergei with us' .. or when we sit in car .. ‚where is Sergei' ...
> In the end of the day I ordered the correct successor .. because kids demanded it so wife agreed directly


I know the feeling 

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## DocTone

Following the tracking list, 
Sergei passed this customs without issue... holy .. good News 👍😀. 
First pack what I send since ‚Brexit‘ ...had some concerns...
Now it seems ..short before destination .. 👍


----------



## columela

Hello folks

Sergei is in Plymouth, safe and sound. Just after the unpacking I have shown it it's quarters and it's new bedfellows.


















Ready to go on the wrist!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Glad to see he's arrived safe & sound!
Word of warning - make sure that the catch on that mesh is fully pushed home (had a couple of near misses myself & if I'd had more time, would have gotten a better one!)


----------



## DocTone

columela said:


> Hello folks
> 
> Sergei is in Plymouth, safe and sound. Just after the unpacking I have shown it it's quarters and it's new bedfellows.
> Ready to go on the wrist!


I'm happy .. that everything is fine !
Great first pic of his new home
??


----------



## mariomart

Excellent news about his safe arrival  

I am looking forward to seeing what sights and wonders are to come


----------



## Chascomm

columela said:


> Hello folks
> 
> Sergei is in Plymouth, safe and sound. Just after the unpacking I have shown it it's quarters and it's new bedfellows.
> View attachment 15781743
> 
> 
> View attachment 15781747
> 
> 
> Ready to go on the wrist!
> View attachment 15781751


Looks like he's settling in and making friends.


----------



## columela

Today was a long day at work so no time to show Sergei around, hopefully tomorrow I will have some free time. But Sergei is adapting to local customs very quickly


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

He's certainly settling in there!


----------



## LowIQ

Nice pictures, nice stories, nice thread..!

Belgium is going into a strict lockdown again, starting Friday, I am currently in a small town near Antwerp in a hotel, waiting for a call that I can pick the wife up tomorrow morning from the hospital....the hospital stay not Covid related...

I'm probably not a good host for the next few weeks......her recuperation will take a month at least...

I'm glad she got the operation done before this new lockdown, as it has already be cancelled twice last year due to Covid ....

Here a picture, shot from the window of my hotel room just now.......beautifull day, but I stay indoors....


----------



## dubhead

Whenever Sergei feels like its time for a tropical vacation I would LOVE to host him and show him South Florida, he would never be alone I got two of his immigrated cousins ( third cousins twice removed) and they eager to meet him! Sergei would sunbathe on the beaches of Miami with a cocktail before heads down to the Everglades and the seven-mile bridge to the Florida Keys. As a fellow traveller and a photographer, I feel it's my duty to document his adventure on a daily basis and add them to his epic journey around the world. He would be pampered and taken care of and I can promise him a fantastic adventure!


----------



## columela

Hello again

Today I had some free time after lunch so Sergei has had a first taste of what Plymouth has to offer.
We started our walk in the Royal Parade , which is the Main Street where all buses start and where the main city buildings are








This is the city Guildhall used for many official and unofficial events like concerts and ballrooms. Behind is the church of St Andrew , one of the oldest in the city.









On the other side of the street are the municipal buildings, dated from the 1970s as most of Plymouth city centre was obliterated during the Blitz in 1941.









Following the Armada way we end up in the Hoe , a large public space open to the sea which enjoys wonderful views over the Plymouth Sound and the Atlantic Ocean

















There are many monuments in the Hoe erected commemorating historical events , from the Armada defeat of 1588 to the Boers war or the Two world wars.
Let's start with the bowling green. Legend says that Sir Francis Drake was playing a game when the order to confront the Spanish fleet arrived. Un disturbed and calm, he kept playing until the end and only then gave the order to put the fleet to sea.

















here is Sir Francis , looking defiantly over the sea
















Next to it is the monument to the fallen at sea during the world wars

















and then we have the monument to the tricentennial of the armada defeat
















And now a general view









Perhaps the most recognisable symbol of Plymouth is the Smeaton tower. A 18th century lighthouse which was state of the art technology back then . In the 19th century a new lighthouse was built so the old one was dedicated in the hoe so it would be recognisable from the sea.

















To be continued


----------



## mariomart

Awesome photo's @columela  

I love hearing the little back-stories about seemingly uninteresting places that are actually directly linked to pivotal moments in history, fascinating. Those monuments are glorious, and it looks like your weather was being very kind to you whilst beside the seaside 

So far Sergei has travelled a minimum of 33,932 km.

@LowIQ I'm sorry to hear about your current situation, we all hope your wife has a very rapid recovery. To give you some space/time I've reshuffled the host list again.

@dubhead you are welcome to host Sergei I've slotted you in at the end. Please read the first post of this thread to avail yourself to the rules of hosting.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status. Depending on localised Covid-19 restrictions the list may be shuffled to take these considerations into account.

And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed 16Mar21
9. @columela - UK - arrived 22Mar21 - departed TBA
10. @leastonh - UK
11. @SinanjuStein - Israel
12. @LowIQ - Belgium
13. @dubhead - United States of America


----------



## stevarad

Great photo story my friend @columela

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## mariomart

And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps


We must find someone from Afrika, Asia and South America...

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## SinanjuStein

mariomart said:


> 9. @columela - UK - arrived 22Mar21 - departed TBA
> 10. @leastonh - UK
> 11. @SinanjuStein - Israel
> 12. @LowIQ - Belgium
> 13. @dubhead - United States of America


Interesting, i didn't know i was quite so close on the list as i've been on generally on lurker status for the last month or so.

Mario i don't intend to be too hasty with it but is it possible that Sergei will have a slightly shorter stay with me? Around 8~9 days instead of the regular 2 weeks. I was planning going up north but that will take a weekend more an i can't really spare that time, but i do have a couple of interesting destinations that i can do in a weeks time. I should note it's speculative and dependent on when Sergei arrives.



stevarad said:


> We must find someone from Afrika, Asia and South America...
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Well, Israel is considered as Asia and is the traditional land gateway between Asia and Africa.

So, i guess it's close enough?


----------



## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> Interesting, i didn't know i was quite so close on the list as i've been on generally on lurker status for the last month or so.
> 
> Mario i don't intend to be too hasty with it but is it possible that Sergei will have a slightly shorter stay with me? Around 8~9 days instead of the regular 2 weeks. I was planning going up north but that will take a weekend more an i can't really spare that time, but i do have a couple of interesting destinations that i can do in a weeks time. I should note it's speculative and dependent on when Sergei arrives.
> 
> Well, Israel is considered as Asia and is the traditional land gateway between Asia and Africa.
> 
> So, i guess it's close enough?


@SinanjuStein at the current rate of movement there is every chance that Sergei won't make it to you until June/July or possibly even later. I'm happy for hosts to have Sergei for 4 week PLUS. I decided to move @leastonh up a little so that Sergei will be transferred internally and not across any borders as International post is still dicey for some nations. But if you only want him for a few days that's fine.

Cheers, Mario


----------



## LowIQ

Sergei arriving in August or so in Brussels would suit me......or September....


----------



## SinanjuStein

mariomart said:


> @SinanjuStein at the current rate of movement there is every chance that Sergei won't make it to you until June/July or possibly even later. I'm happy for hosts to have Sergei for 4 week PLUS. I decided to move @leastonh up a little so that Sergei will be transferred internally and not across any borders as International post is still dicey for some nations. But if you only want him for a few days that's fine.
> 
> Cheers, Mario


I see.

Generally speaking shipping from the EU (&Britain) is around 2~3 weeks right now, as long as it arrives in or before June i'm fine. And by how it looks getting him in late april/may is plausible so it's all ok.

(I got a small leg operation in early July, and uni exams from the middle of August so if anything weird happens and Sergei arrives after several months ill ship it to the next destination)


----------



## leastonh

mariomart said:


> @SinanjuStein at the current rate of movement there is every chance that Sergei won't make it to you until June/July or possibly even later. I'm happy for hosts to have Sergei for 4 week PLUS. I decided to move @leastonh up a little so that Sergei will be transferred internally and not across any borders as International post is still dicey for some nations. But if you only want him for a few days that's fine.
> 
> Cheers, Mario


I'm happy for SinanjuStein to have Sergei first as I'm still pretty isolated in terms of going anywhere right now  I'm flexible on timing beyond lockdown easing here in the UK.


----------



## SinanjuStein

leastonh said:


> I'm happy for SinanjuStein to have Sergei first as I'm still pretty isolated in terms of going anywhere right now  I'm flexible on timing beyond lockdown easing here in the UK.


I've said the timing so far is alright on my end as long as it goes as planned, you can enjoy your time with Sergei on your wrist and don't want to impose and derail it because i'm a little uncomfortable.


----------



## columela

Another day in Plymouth

We left Sergei in the Hoe area. We are moving east to the Citadel. First is the Boers War memorial, erected after the end of that war in 1902. This is a forgotten conflict today but it was probably the bloodiest of the colonial wars and the harbinger of many 20th century disasters.
















The Royal Citadel is a fortified structure which commands the Plymouth sound and the entrance to the Sutton harbour. Erected in the 17th century, it is still a military installation home to a regiment of commandos.

















From here we have a nice perspective over the city centre

















We are on our way to the Sutton Harbour and the Barbican, the oldest and probably the most charming area of town.









There is still a small fishing fleet operating here, but that area has been redeveloped to accommodate the national aquarium.
Many recreational ships depart from here to nearby villages or to make small cruises around the Sound and the Tamar estuary, so people can see the big ships of the Devonport base when moored here.
A monument marks the exact spot from where in 1620 the Mayflower departed for the new world

















Many world changing sea voyages started in these shores, like the Mayflower in 1620, or the Beagle in 1831.

As this area has become the main tourist destination in the city more monuments have been erected like the locally known as "the Prawn"









Sutton harbour was the kernel around which Plymouth evolved, many of the houses in the neighbourhood of the Barbican were erected between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Luckily the damage created by the heavy bombardment of WWII was minor and the place has kept its charm.
















Plenty of bars and restaurants serve the tourists and locals who come here to have fun , particularly in the summer months. In the present lockdown only some fish and chips stores serve takeaways to be eaten outside looking at the boats.


















The Main Street in the Barbican is Southside st, home of another fine plymouthian tradition, our Plymouth Gin









A former Blackfriars monastery became the distillery for Gin in 1793, serving the ships of the Royal Navy. Today after many ups and downs gin in Plymouth is having a renaissance.









There are tours of the distillery and a restaurant inside, now all closed as per the present restrictions.
Just a newly painted mural on the entrance to the Barbican


















Going back to the city centre there are a few interesting houses which survived the blitz like Capt Parker's









or the Prysten House from 1498 , the oldest house in town. Now it houses a nice restaurant









The oldest church is St Andrew's in the Royal Parade. Here is surrounded by flowers in spring bloom










Back to the start of our walk let me show you the Theatre Royal , which is the main artistic venue in town









Recently a 2.5 million pound statue was erected next to it









Yes, money well spent, no doubt...

Just a look across the street to show some of the main stores which graced these areas until very recently


















Unfortunstely I will be unable to do much walking around in the next couple of weeks due to family commitments so it might be a while until my next entry.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

columela said:


> Another day in Plymouth
> 
> We left Sergei in the Hoe area. We are moving east to the Citadel. First is the Boers War memorial, erected after the end of that war in 1902. This is a forgotten conflict today but it was probably the bloodiest of the colonial wars and the harbinger of many 20th century disasters.
> View attachment 15793198
> 
> View attachment 15793228
> 
> The Royal Citadel is a fortified structure which commands the Plymouth sound and the entrance to the Sutton harbour. Erected in the 17th century, it is still a military installation home to a regiment of commandos.
> View attachment 15793197
> 
> View attachment 15793199
> 
> 
> From here we have a nice perspective over the city centre
> View attachment 15793201
> 
> View attachment 15793200
> 
> 
> We are on our way to the Sutton Harbour and the Barbican, the oldest and probably the most charming area of town.
> View attachment 15793202
> 
> 
> There is still a small fishing fleet operating here, but that area has been redeveloped to accommodate the national aquarium.
> Many recreational ships depart from here to nearby villages or to make small cruises around the Sound and the Tamar estuary, so people can see the big ships of the Devonport base when moored here.
> A monument marks the exact spot from where in 1620 the Mayflower departed for the new world
> View attachment 15793204
> 
> View attachment 15793250
> 
> 
> Many world changing sea voyages started in these shores, like the Mayflower in 1620, or the Beagle in 1831.
> 
> As this area has become the main tourist destination in the city more monuments have been erected like the locally known as "the Prawn"
> View attachment 15793203
> 
> 
> Sutton harbour was the kernel around which Plymouth evolved, many of the houses in the neighbourhood of the Barbican were erected between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Luckily the damage created by the heavy bombardment of WWII was minor and the place has kept its charm.
> View attachment 15793206
> 
> View attachment 15793207
> 
> Plenty of bars and restaurants serve the tourists and locals who come here to have fun , particularly in the summer months. In the present lockdown only some fish and chips stores serve takeaways to be eaten outside looking at the boats.
> View attachment 15793209
> 
> 
> View attachment 15793210
> 
> 
> The Main Street in the Barbican is Southside st, home of another fine plymouthian tradition, our Plymouth Gin
> View attachment 15793211
> 
> 
> A former Blackfriars monastery became the distillery for Gin in 1793, serving the ships of the Royal Navy. Today after many ups and downs gin in Plymouth is having a renaissance.
> 
> View attachment 15793212
> 
> There are tours of the distillery and a restaurant inside, now all closed as per the present restrictions.
> Just a newly painted mural on the entrance to the Barbican
> 
> View attachment 15793214
> 
> View attachment 15793213
> 
> 
> Going back to the city centre there are a few interesting houses which survived the blitz like Capt Parker's
> View attachment 15793216
> 
> 
> or the Prysten House from 1498 , the oldest house in town. Now it houses a nice restaurant
> View attachment 15793220
> 
> 
> The oldest church is St Andrew's in the Royal Parade. Here is surrounded by flowers in spring bloom
> 
> View attachment 15793218
> 
> 
> Back to the start of our walk let me show you the Theatre Royal , which is the main artistic venue in town
> View attachment 15793221
> 
> 
> Recently a 2.5 million pound statue was erected next to it
> View attachment 15793223
> 
> 
> Yes, money well spent, no doubt...
> 
> Just a look across the street to show some of the main stores which graced these areas until very recently
> 
> View attachment 15793225
> 
> View attachment 15793224
> 
> 
> Unfortunstely I will be unable to do much walking around in the next couple of weeks due to family commitments so it might be a while until my next entry.


Some great insights into the city and its history - knew that it's been an important port, but never visited, might change in the future though!


----------



## columela

I think Plymouth is an underrated city. It has plenty of interesting sights and has a spectacular countryside in its doorstep. Well worth a visit when coming to Cornwall for holidays.


----------



## dubhead

columela said:


> I think Plymouth is an underrated city. It has plenty of interesting sights and has a spectacular countryside in its doorstep. Well worth a visit when coming to Cornwall for holidays.


And you showing it to us through your eyes which makes it even better. Very entertaining post with great history and I was laughing out loud when I saw that sculpture. I'm sorry I'm sure there is a meaning to it especially if one would ask the artist who designed it but it just doesn't translate.


----------



## LowIQ

Rode a few times from London (living there) to Cornwall, on the motorbike, had some very memorable meals at Rick Steins......as boring as he is in his TV series compared to Gordon Ramsay.......

No way of me getting there now, Pandemic and Brexit....but I have fond memories......great area...good to see some pics from things I have not (yet) seen...!

Just wonder if Rick Stein delivers to Brussels...these days..?









Stein's at Home Food Boxes


Stein's at Home gives you the chance to enjoy a Rick Stein restaurant experience at home. Three course menus, plus breakfast, afternoon tea, cheese & charcuterie and barbecue boxes that are available for nationwide delivery every week.




shop.rickstein.com





PS
The Antony Gormley statue at West Hoe I would quite like to see...! Mayflower 400 years and so on...Rusty Reg...


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## mariomart

Fantastic post 

I just don't get the sculpture 🤣


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## SuffolkGerryW

columela said:


> I think Plymouth is an underrated city. It has plenty of interesting sights and has a spectacular countryside in its doorstep. Well worth a visit when coming to Cornwall for holidays.


Daft thing is that my sister lives just over the Tamar (in Oke), and we've even popped into the Eden Project a couple of times, though never dropped down to your neck of the world.


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## AaParker

Fantastic photos of wonderful buildings, monuments, and scenery! Thank you for sharing @columela! 🙂


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## stevarad

Well, look who is staring in phone and reading new Sergei an Nomad stories. Still remembering them. And enjoying in photos and memories.

And asking thooooousand questions - what is on that photo, what is that building, what is...

So hello to all of you from us friends.









Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## mariomart

stevarad said:


> Well, look who is staring in phone and reading new Sergei an Nomad stories. Still remembering them. And enjoying in photos and memories.
> 
> And asking thooooousand questions - what is on that photo, what is that building, what is...
> 
> So hello to all of you from us friends.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Haha, wonderful photo of your beautiful children, and as always they are smiling, but the little one does not have any cake, that is very wrong  🤣


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## columela

Hello there

After a long hiatus Sergei is back ! We took him for a little marine adventure last Sunday.









I will publish a full rapport as soon as possible


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## Matt_Bored_O

.
I look forward to more tales and photos of England's great naval history

_"England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty"_

- Admiral Lord Nelson: during the Battle of Trafalgar
.


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## columela

A day in Cornwall
It was a fine Sunday when finally I had some free time to show Sergei around. We had a walk to Stonehouse, one of the Plymouth boroughs, and there we took the ferry to cross the Tamar river into Cornwall.









The crossing takes less than 10 minutes but we enjoyed beautiful views of the Tamar estuary, the Royal William Yard and Mount Edgecumbe.







































































The Royal William Yard is one of the finest examples of 19th century military architecture in the country. A vast complex devoted to the provision of all that a vessel of the Royal Navy might need, from bread and beer to cured meats, Cooper tools and general maintenance. All in a set of beautiful buildings in neo-classical style built in the typical dark Devon granite.
Once arrived to Cornwall we are in the former dominions of the Earls of Edgecumbe.









The Mount Edgecumbe park is now run by Cornwall council and Plymouth city. Until the mid 20th century it was the seat of the Earls of Edgecumbe, one of the most important aristocratic families of the south west.









You might realise that this sign post is bilingual. Cornwall ( Kernow in Cornish) had a Celtic language which survived until the 18th century. It is closely related to Welsh and Breton. There are now efforts to revive this ancient language as it was preserved in writing in the Middle Ages.
The vast estate occupies one of the most beautiful spots in the South west. It has imposing views over the Plymouth Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The main house was destroyed in World War II , so the present house is a reconstruction of the Tudor era buildings which were well preserved



















The house is surrounded by a beautiful Italian style garden with some Roman goddesses





































Once we leave the main house behind , a short climb takes us to the camelia trail and then thru some forestry to reach the summit of mount Edgecumbe.




























Some deer graze in the distance










to be continued...


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## DocTone

Great pictures, wonderful trip to a region only I heard about...


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## columela

Cornwall : Kingsand and Cawsand

After leaving the deer park we walked towards the sea following the South west coastal path.

















Some fallen trees have taken peculiar shapes



















After crossing another forested area we are getting closer to our goal: the picturesque villages of Cawsand and Kingsand.

La


















Once in the village there are many interesting old houses built in the beautiful local red sandstone










One of the most peculiar buildings is home to this tower clock


















A small pebbled beach is near










Many pleasant summer days come to memory in this lovely spot.

This is the signpost which separated Cornwall and Devon in older times










A lovely view of Kingsand 


















We reach the Cawsand beach, a beautiful Sandy cove surrounded by trees and rocks










In the summer months this can become a busy spot, but not today.









A typical photo opportunity










Once in the main square we are lucky and our efforts will be compensated by a delicious pint of local cider in the main pub. So many months without a pint...










We had an excellent lunch of fried calamari and battered cod and chips. And as dessert my favourite ice cream: salted caramel and honeycomb.
After a short walk we arrive to the beach. This is the stop for the ferry that will take us back to Plymouth



















This is a map of the area










The boat finally arrived. We are going to get wet...


















From the boat we enjoy beautiful views over the sea














































We are getting closer to port and the end of our adventure









So this is the end of the journey. Hopefully there will be more interesting places forSergei to see.


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## columela

Hello

I am waiting to publish a final post of the adventures of Sergei here in Plymouth. After that, I think it is time for it to move on to the next host, which i am a bit uncertain of who will be. I would like to send it this week as next week I have my annual evaluation and will be quite busy.


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## DocTone

@columela , I saw it late , very very nice pictures !.
thx for sharing pics about your surround

nevertheless this pic is absolutely top notch 
.


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## mariomart

Sorry for not replying earlier, just going through a bit of a life downer at the moment.

Thank you @columela for taking such great care of Sergei and supplying us with so many awesome photos of your beautiful part of the world


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## columela

Devonport: the hidden gem of Plymouth

I just took Sergei once again for a stroll in a fascinating area of Plymouth: the western borough of Devonport . This is the seat of one of the largest naval bases in Western Europe, as well as a neighbourhood full of history and interesting architecture.
We came thru the beautiful Devonport park. Next to the entry we find this monument to the fallen in WWI.









Not far there is a monument to the locals fallen in the Boers War. A cannon captured to the enemy is on display










We move south towards the sea to find the imposing but sadly dilapidated Raglan Gatehouse










Once the gateway to a huge barracks complex, now lays in ruins as there are no clear plans to save the monument. The architect was capt Fowke. He became a prominent architect in the late Victorian period. He designed the famous Royal Albert Hall in London for example.

Once we reach the coast on mount Wise we find the Scott memorial, erected in 1925 honouring the memory of Cpt Scott and his men who tragically died in their ill fated South Pole expedition in 1912.


















Scott was from Plymouth and he is a local hero.

From this vantage point a spectacular view of the Tamar river estuary and the Plymouth Sound lay before us.




































Turning west we reach the tip of the naval base, with a huge figurehead of King William IV , known as King Billy, looking ahead to sea. This is now a copy , the original is on display in the New Plymouth museum which is closed now due to the pandemic.



















Devonport was successful in reaching the status of town in 1824. To celebrate, a proper Guildhall was commissioned to the famous architect John Foulston. He planned a spectacular Doric building , a column pinned by a statue of king George IV and a public library in Egyptian style.


















The column was erected but the funds for the king' statue never materialised so it was left as such. Once Devonport was incorporated again into Plymouth the buildings fell into disrepair but fortunately it has been recently restored.



























Although much of Devonport housing has been demolished to give way to more decent housing estates , some old buildings have survived, like the Devonport Market hall , a beautiful building from 1852 with a huge tower-clock



















After years of refurbishment it is expected to be reopened as a cultural centre this summer.

Another interesting building is St Aubyn's Church, an 18th century building which is now part church, part library


















Moving north towards the Torpoint Ferry we find the once grand Royal Fleet Club , a lodging house for sailors . Unfortunately it lays unoccupied now, it's future uncertain.



















Once in the pier for the Torpoint ferry we can get a glimpse of the ships and edification of the Devonport base, which are obviously not open to the public as it is a military installation. Taking the ferry to the other side of the river we can enjoy great views of the base









































































And we return back to Plymouth . This is the final leap of the travels of Sergei around this part of the world. The present circumstances have made difficult to travel to interesting places in this region so it is time to say Ahoy to Sergei and wish it well for the next leg of its journey around the globe.


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## columela

DocTone said:


> @columela , I saw it late , very very nice pictures !.
> thx for sharing pics about your surround
> 
> nevertheless this pic is absolutely top notch
> .
> View attachment 15861459


 Thank youy very much!


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## columela

mariomart said:


> Sorry for not replying earlier, just going through a bit of a life downer at the moment.
> 
> Thank you @columela for taking such great care of Sergei and supplying us with so many awesome photos of your beautiful part of the world


Sorry to hear that Mariomart. Hope that things get better for you. This is a beautful place while the sun shines, which is not usually the case...


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## mariomart

Another batch of fantastic story telling and photo's, well done and thank you @columela


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## SuffolkGerryW

Great to see your area, read its history, see its historical buildings - next time I'm in the area, will have to visit and see some of it myself!


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## Al Faromeo

Love to browse these reports! Some great pictures too 

Only thing is: it's all lies, clearly: I've been in Plymouth twice and it rained all week. Both times.


Thank you!


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## SuffolkGerryW

Al Faromeo said:


> Love to browse these reports! Some great pictures too
> 
> Only thing is: it's all lies, clearly: I've been in Plymouth twice and it rained all week. Both times.
> 
> 
> Thank you!


Ah, similar to Bergen then, every time we've been there it's raining - all those photos showing sunshine must be Photoshopped!


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## SuffolkGerryW

columela said:


> Sorry to hear that Mariomart. Hope that things get better for you. This is a beautful place while the sun shines, which is not usually the case...
> View attachment 15861974


My sister calls the rain 'Devon sunshine' - she lives in the North of the county


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## DocTone

it‘s simple:
when Sergei is travelling with you.. Weather is mostly nice
(- my son 9years old - stated )


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## mariomart

It's nearly time for Sergei to make his next move. Unfortunately the timing doesn't agree with @leastonh current personal situation so I have had to reshuffle again.

So @SinanjuStein looks to be next on the list, you will be contacted very shortly for information  

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status. Depending on localised Covid-19 restrictions the list may be shuffled to take these considerations into account.

And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed 16Mar21
9. @columela - UK - arrived 22Mar21 - departed TBA
10. @SinanjuStein - Israel
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @dubhead - United States of America
13. @leastonh - UK


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## SinanjuStein

mariomart said:


> It's nearly time for Sergei to make his next move. Unfortunately the timing doesn't agree with @leastonh current personal situation so I have had to reshuffle again.
> 
> So @SinanjuStein looks to be next on the list, you will be contacted very shortly for information
> 
> Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status. Depending on localised Covid-19 restrictions the list may be shuffled to take these considerations into account.
> 
> And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps


Got the message and details were exchanged.


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## LowIQ

Just checking in.....
Will get my second Covid jab next week...will be away from mid to end of July....Atlantic coast.....camping.......then a couple of weeks back at home and then off to the Alps for a few days....so far the plan......who knows if it's really possible........let Sergei know....


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## SinanjuStein

Small update, just picked up Sergei up after he spent a few days waiting on a shelf at the local grocery. (Israeli post ain't known to be fast)

Will update with pictures in a bit


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## SinanjuStein

Now that everything is unpacked.









Luckily Sergei arrived just late enough to miss the nighttime fireworks and accompanying air raid sirens.










I should probably take a picture with the rest of the Soviet watches, but it's already dark here.


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## columela

SinanjuStein said:


> Small update, just picked up Sergei up after he spent a few days waiting on a shelf at the local grocery. (Israeli post ain't known to be fast)
> 
> Will update with pictures in a bit


Happy to hear that the watch is safe. Enjoy!


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## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> Now that everything is unpacked.
> View attachment 15900898
> 
> 
> Luckily Sergei arrived just late enough to miss the nighttime fireworks and accompanying air raid sirens.
> 
> View attachment 15900900
> 
> 
> I should probably take a picture with the rest of the Soviet watches, but it's already dark here.


Good to see he arrived safe and sound.

Thank you @SinanjuStein for being Sergei's latest host.

Yet again Sergei finds himself in a part of the world experiencing moments in history, luckily he is somewhat of a good luck charm, so hopefully he can add a little joy into your day, but I see he has already ended up in a "prickly" situation ? ?

Take care and we are all looking forward to seeing your life through the lens.

Best Regards, Mario


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## stevarad

SinanjuStein said:


> Now that everything is unpacked.
> View attachment 15900898
> 
> 
> Luckily Sergei arrived just late enough to miss the nighttime fireworks and accompanying air raid sirens.
> 
> View attachment 15900900
> 
> 
> I should probably take a picture with the rest of the Soviet watches, but it's already dark here.


I hope that time is better now, and that there is and will be peace. Challenging times, but again, so exciting for this world travelling stories.

What (was, is and will) Segei see, my god...

I hope there will be no more fireworks, iron dome pics, sirens, worries and fears.

Peace and love to all good people.

Stay safe my friend.

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## SinanjuStein

stevarad said:


> I hope that time is better now, and that there is and will be peace. Challenging times, but again, so exciting for this world travelling stories.
> 
> What (was, is and will) Segei see, my god...
> 
> I hope there will be no more fireworks, iron dome pics, sirens, worries and fears.
> 
> Peace and love to all good people.
> 
> Stay safe my friend.
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


I hope it will be quiet as well, sure as hell wasn't fun running down 3 floors worth of stairs at 3am from being soundly asleep. Was a bit funnier when i ran to the stairwell in my towel straight out of the shower with me and my neighbors having a hearty laugh. (Happened 2 days in a row....)

Even though it's just 200 meters away from me, i'm guessing having a wrist pic with one of the destroyed houses is a tad bit too much?

(That was all in good humor i suppose)

And to nicer stuff, after having a quick chat with Mario about do's and don'ts i gave Sergei a bit of TLC with polywatch and a bezel out of my drawers. Along with this little fella that arrived a couple of weeks earlier.










Would like to know ye or nay on the new bezel? I personally think the Adidas jacket styled bezel fits well.

Also, i was originally planning on going to Jerusalem but that might take a while longer. Jaffa, hopefully would be a great place to visit.


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## columela

I hope that Sergei brings a bit of peace to that part of the world. Jerusalem would be an incredible destination but i am sure you will show us marvellous places.


Enviado desde mi iPad utilizando Tapatalk


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## Matt_Bored_O

.
Bezel looks good.
.


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## mariomart

He's looking rather dapper for sure   

I would dearly love to see Jerusalem and any other historical areas, however only if it's at no major personal risk to yourself.

As for letting us see how the conflict is directly affecting your daily life I have no problem with you showing things, warts and all, perhaps it will add perspective.

Please take care and we all look forward to seeing more.


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## stevarad

SinanjuStein said:


> I hope it will be quiet as well, sure as hell wasn't fun running down 3 floors worth of stairs at 3am from being soundly asleep. Was a bit funnier when i ran to the stairwell in my towel straight out of the shower with me and my neighbors having a hearty laugh. (Happened 2 days in a row....)
> 
> Even though it's just 200 meters away from me, i'm guessing having a wrist pic with one of the destroyed houses is a tad bit too much?
> 
> (That was all in good humor i suppose)
> 
> And to nicer stuff, after having a quick chat with Mario about do's and don'ts i gave Sergei a bit of TLC with polywatch and a bezel out of my drawers. Along with this little fella that arrived a couple of weeks earlier.
> 
> View attachment 15904594
> 
> 
> Would like to know ye or nay on the new bezel? I personally think the Adidas jacket styled bezel fits well.
> 
> Also, i was originally planning on going to Jerusalem but that might take a while longer. Jaffa, hopefully would be a great place to visit.


Document everything if you find it appropriate, please. It is part of life and what happens.

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## SuffolkGerryW

@SinanjuStein Hoping that everything is ok with you and yours?


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## SinanjuStein

SuffolkGerryW said:


> @SinanjuStein Hoping that everything is ok with you and yours?


All is well, i have been busy with studies and my last exam until late August was last Friday.

I have a small trip planned for Sergei this Tuesday, and Jaffa soon enough. (Jerusalem is still problematic)


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## SinanjuStein

As promised for the small (but not so short trip).










As a lot of central Israel, or more specifically the so called Israeli heartland of Gush-Dan metropolitan area (Essentially Tel-Aviv and surrounding cites) is known to be cities bordering cities with a large road network, Petah Tikva is a unique one as it sits on the border of said metropolitan area.

So i went to my favorite walking trail which begins after a 30minute walk from home. It's quite a long route to take especially as i'm going in a large roundabout route and the with the current 32c weather it adds up to an interesting experience. You can see in the beginning of the trail that it's hard to avoid human presence.










I've always liked it as it reminds me of the lower Galilee/Sea of Galilee basin in both feel (and smell) which i remember from childhood.










Exactly the time of year where a lot of the early blooming have already switched to tints of yellow and the later bloomers like this Abraham's balm blooming. And while not pictured attracting a very large number of bees and various airborne insects.

















My phone's camera isn't the best nor the greatest but it does the job.










Not only looking visually impressive, the Abraham's balm has grown and blossomed throughout most of the 3km trail and in some points the blocked the trail with overgrowth. While wading through bushes isn't an issue, each of them attracted at least a couple dozen bees. I somehow avoided being stung entirely.

































Rosehip and Figs grow on many parts of the trail, unfortunately not the time for either to be properly ripe.










Along with what i can only call as the Banana-Caterpillar plant.

















Approaching the end of the trail but not the end of the journey.










After a stroll under a bridge filled with graffiti we arrive in an area that is part of nearby orchards, or as known in Hebrew as פרדסים which are a historically a very common thing in the Sharon area as the soil is well suited for citrus fruit in particular. And this very early and unripe oriental persimmon of the local variety.










A large grove of Walnut trees. Occasionally you can find horses roaming around here.

















Both very unripe and almost ripe peaches, i was able to snag a couple of ripe ones to eat on the way.

There are very extensive mandarin and olive tree orchards however i wasn't able to photograph them as entrance to those areas is problematic since they have issues with people picking large amounts. (And it feels uncomfortable to be told to buzz off)



















A stroll through the small town of Kfar Sirkin, wasn't too keen on photographing too many of the private houses. And a small touch of how prevalent Russian culture and language is here that it can be found almost in the middle of no-where. (They have excellent but rather expensive honey)


























And for a finishing touch for today, something that Sergei (Or more specifically Mario) will recognize quite well. The Eucalyptus tree is a very common and invasive species ever since it was brought over from Australia during the late 19th and very early 20th century to drain the vast swamps around both the Sharon and Northern Galilee regions. And as you can see during a couple of places during the long trip back home.

9km in an hour and half under heat is quite a way to shed some weight i guess. I'm hoping ill get to Jaffa this weekend but we'll see.


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## mariomart

Fantastic update @SinanjuStein 

I particularly love the amount of fruiting vegetation along the path, I love comparing other countries "bush" areas to see what other peoples "normal" is, yours is very colourful and beautiful.

And when I saw the photo of the Eucalyptus trees I instantly did a double-take as it looked like a scene from my own house, what a wonderful discovery and information I certainly wasn't aware of. Now you just need a couple of Koala's to finish it off ?

Looking forward to more. Cheers


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## columela

Thank you SinanjuStein for the update. The plants and fruits in your walk remind me of my youth in Andalusia. The Mediterranean countryside is similar all along this part of the world. I hope that you and yours are well and safe. Looking forward to a new chapter of Sergei’s travels.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Loving the update - what a great walk, most of what grows beside our paths isn't edible.


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## SinanjuStein

I apologize for the lack of updates for a while. Had quite a few things going about and a leg operation coming up after being delayed twice during the last 2 weeks.

Nothing major on the latter as i should be able to walk within a couple of days afterwards, and a nice update _(hopefully, unless it gets delayed again)_ come afterwrads










For now, kitty sends her regards.


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## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> I apologize for the lack of updates for a while. Had quite a few things going about and a leg operation coming up after being delayed twice during the last 2 weeks.
> 
> Nothing major on the latter as i should be able to walk within a couple of days afterwards, and a nice update _(hopefully, unless it gets delayed again)_ come afterwrads
> 
> View attachment 15993828
> 
> 
> For now, kitty sends her regards.


We have nothing without our health. So please take as much time as needed and I hope all goes well with the operation and recovery.

Cheers


----------



## Matt_Bored_O

.
I would like to see a photo or two of your typical Israeli meals. 
It does not have to be fancy.
I am sure that your meals are unique and would make some good photos for us. 
.


----------



## mariomart

@SinanjuStein I hope things are going well, however we have not heard from you for a month.

Any updates with Sergei?

Cheers


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## mariomart

@SinanjuStein has been in contact with me and all is well  . Studies and recuperation have understandably taken precedence, but Sergei may indulge in another local foray, or two, before moving on in mid September to the next host, @LowIQ in Belgium.

Here is the current list of hosts; I will keep this list updated with his known travel status. Depending on localised Covid-19 restrictions the list may be shuffled to take these considerations into account.

And don't forget you can follow Sergei's entire journey an Google maps here Sergei the Travelling Vostok - Google My Maps

1. @mariomart - West Coast Australia - departed 15Oct19
2. @kiwi.bloke - East Coast Australia - arrived 17Oct19 - departed 22Nov19
3. @Father of five - Canada - arrived 04Dec19 - departed 14Jan20
4. @begud - France - arrived 20Jan20 - departed 15Feb20
5. @stevarad - Serbia - arrived 28Feb20 - departed 02Sep20
6. @haha - Czech Republic - arrived 16Sep20 - departed 30Oct20
7. @SuffolkGerryW - UK - arrived 14Nov20 - departed 14Dec20
8. @DocTone - Germany - arrived 21Dec20 - departed 16Mar21
9. @columela - UK - arrived 22Mar21 - departed 07May21
10. @SinanjuStein - Israel - arrived 24May21 - departed TBA
11. @LowIQ - Belgium
12. @dubhead - United States of America
13. @leastonh - UK


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## stevarad

We should help Nomad to keep going also. If someone is interested, this is time to put name on the list...









Meet “Nomad” The World Traveling Poljot 3133.


Nomad looks to be in good company there, looking forward to more adventures soon. Cheers...




www.watchuseek.com





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## SinanjuStein

The *(very very very delayed)* return of Sergei, now from the old city of Jerusalem on a relatively quiet Saturday.

The start of the trip and a quick look at the mount of Olives Jewish cemetery from next to the "Dung gate" of the old city.









I was acting essentially as a tour guide for a group of 9 at the time, so to nab pictures with Sergei i had to make myself scarce for a couple minutes at the time.










The city streets on a Saturday are relatively empty and most of what you will see in the old city are as pictured, small streets that feel like crevices between buildings all made from Jerusalem limestone that has been used for ages. There are a few streets that fit cars but some can just about fit a scooter assuming the steps aren't too bad. (Yes yes, you can even see Wolt deliveries in the old city)










Despite being a Saturday the markets were still relatively bustling and getting more and more full during the hours of the afternoon, but pictured in the morning you still have some breathing room. You would be surprised how large the market complex actually is and it's all very similar unless you know where to go 😉

I would say the Jaffa flea market can be more interesting, yet much less expansive.

















And as teased to Mario, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

















I've tried to be relatively respectful as there were a lot of visitors, and even in the picture of the stone of anointing there were people on it at the time so i had to do some camera work. The monks are usually not keen on getting photographed.

















The domes are beautiful but perhaps not grandiose as some large cathedrals in Italy.










I don't think the Western wall (wall of wailing) really needs much introduction. If this was during Friday morning you probably wouldn't have been able to see the floor from the amount of people coming to pray. And you can see the domes of the Al-Aksa mosque on the top right.










A view off the Ottoman walls of the old city towards (iirc) the Jewish neighborhood of Maale Zeitim on the slope of the mount of olives, slightly east of Jerusalem.










And a picture of something a bit more modern, a basketball/football combo along with a children's playground on the left of it right inside the old city walls.

Unfortunately a few of the places visited were problematic to take pictures in, both for privacy and technicalities of how no-so-great my phones camera is, and in some places they didn't allow photography at all. (Or just couldn't on account of the group i had to guide)
-Greek Patriarchate/St.Georges Church
-Ethiopian Patriarchate 
-Most of the historic market in the Muslim district 
-Via Delarosa 
And a few more smaller Churches, shops, and excellent local Hummus that's usually well hidden from tourists.

Out of about 60~ish pictures that day a third is what i had to work with in account with privacy. The full album with a few more takes of some of the pictures in better resolution:


http://imgur.com/a/Lv5FS6P


Apologies for the lack of any contact and or signs of life, i've been so swamped to the point i haven't even took a peek at eBay ever since July 😅


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## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> The *(very very very delayed)* return of Sergei, now from the old city of Jerusalem on a relatively quiet Saturday.
> 
> The start of the trip and a quick look at the mount of Olives Jewish cemetery from next to the "Dung gate" of the old city.
> View attachment 16148939
> 
> 
> I was acting essentially as a tour guide for a group of 9 at the time, so to nab pictures with Sergei i had to make myself scarce for a couple minutes at the time.
> 
> View attachment 16148943
> 
> 
> The city streets on a Saturday are relatively empty and most of what you will see in the old city are as pictured, small streets that feel like crevices between buildings all made from Jerusalem limestone that has been used for ages. There are a few streets that fit cars but some can just about fit a scooter assuming the steps aren't too bad. (Yes yes, you can even see Wolt deliveries in the old city)
> 
> View attachment 16148949
> 
> 
> Despite being a Saturday the markets were still relatively bustling and getting more and more full during the hours of the afternoon, but pictured in the morning you still have some breathing room. You would be surprised how large the market complex actually is and it's all very similar unless you know where to go 😉
> 
> I would say the Jaffa flea market can be more interesting, yet much less expansive.
> 
> View attachment 16148950
> View attachment 16148951
> 
> 
> And as teased to Mario, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
> 
> View attachment 16148957
> View attachment 16148963
> 
> 
> I've tried to be relatively respectful as there were a lot of visitors, and even in the picture of the stone of anointing there were people on it at the time so i had to do some camera work. The monks are usually not keen on getting photographed.
> 
> View attachment 16148962
> View attachment 16148965
> 
> 
> The domes are beautiful but perhaps not grandiose as some large cathedrals in Italy.
> 
> View attachment 16148966
> 
> 
> I don't think the Western wall (wall of wailing) really needs much introduction. If this was during Friday morning you probably wouldn't have been able to see the floor from the amount of people coming to pray. And you can see the domes of the Al-Aksa mosque on the top right.
> 
> View attachment 16148970
> 
> 
> A view off the Ottoman walls of the old city towards (iirc) the Jewish neighborhood of Maale Zeitim on the slope of the mount of olives, slightly east of Jerusalem.
> 
> View attachment 16148977
> 
> 
> And a picture of something a bit more modern, a basketball/football combo along with a children's playground on the left of it right inside the old city walls.
> 
> Unfortunately a few of the places visited were problematic to take pictures in, both for privacy and technicalities of how no-so-great my phones camera is, and in some places they didn't allow photography at all. (Or just couldn't on account of the group i had to guide)
> -Greek Patriarchate/St.Georges Church
> -Ethiopian Patriarchate
> -Most of the historic market in the Muslim district
> -Via Delarosa
> And a few more smaller Churches, shops, and excellent local Hummus that's usually well hidden from tourists.
> 
> Out of about 60~ish pictures that day a third is what i had to work with in account with privacy. The full album with a few more takes of some of the pictures in better resolution:
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/a/Lv5FS6P
> 
> 
> Apologies for the lack of any contact and or signs of life, i've been so swamped to the point i haven't even took a peek at eBay ever since July 😅


  What an AWESOME update, thank you.

I really appreciate the time and effort it took to show these outstandingly significant locations of the birthplace of many religions and faiths.

Well worth the wait.

Thank you again


----------



## columela

SinanjuStein said:


> The *(very very very delayed)* return of Sergei, now from the old city of Jerusalem on a relatively quiet Saturday.
> 
> The start of the trip and a quick look at the mount of Olives Jewish cemetery from next to the "Dung gate" of the old city.
> View attachment 16148939
> 
> 
> I was acting essentially as a tour guide for a group of 9 at the time, so to nab pictures with Sergei i had to make myself scarce for a couple minutes at the time.
> 
> View attachment 16148943
> 
> 
> The city streets on a Saturday are relatively empty and most of what you will see in the old city are as pictured, small streets that feel like crevices between buildings all made from Jerusalem limestone that has been used for ages. There are a few streets that fit cars but some can just about fit a scooter assuming the steps aren't too bad. (Yes yes, you can even see Wolt deliveries in the old city)
> 
> View attachment 16148949
> 
> 
> Despite being a Saturday the markets were still relatively bustling and getting more and more full during the hours of the afternoon, but pictured in the morning you still have some breathing room. You would be surprised how large the market complex actually is and it's all very similar unless you know where to go 😉
> 
> I would say the Jaffa flea market can be more interesting, yet much less expansive.
> 
> View attachment 16148950
> View attachment 16148951
> 
> 
> And as teased to Mario, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
> 
> View attachment 16148957
> View attachment 16148963
> 
> 
> I've tried to be relatively respectful as there were a lot of visitors, and even in the picture of the stone of anointing there were people on it at the time so i had to do some camera work. The monks are usually not keen on getting photographed.
> 
> View attachment 16148962
> View attachment 16148965
> 
> 
> The domes are beautiful but perhaps not grandiose as some large cathedrals in Italy.
> 
> View attachment 16148966
> 
> 
> I don't think the Western wall (wall of wailing) really needs much introduction. If this was during Friday morning you probably wouldn't have been able to see the floor from the amount of people coming to pray. And you can see the domes of the Al-Aksa mosque on the top right.
> 
> View attachment 16148970
> 
> 
> A view off the Ottoman walls of the old city towards (iirc) the Jewish neighborhood of Maale Zeitim on the slope of the mount of olives, slightly east of Jerusalem.
> 
> View attachment 16148977
> 
> 
> And a picture of something a bit more modern, a basketball/football combo along with a children's playground on the left of it right inside the old city walls.
> 
> Unfortunately a few of the places visited were problematic to take pictures in, both for privacy and technicalities of how no-so-great my phones camera is, and in some places they didn't allow photography at all. (Or just couldn't on account of the group i had to guide)
> -Greek Patriarchate/St.Georges Church
> -Ethiopian Patriarchate
> -Most of the historic market in the Muslim district
> -Via Delarosa
> And a few more smaller Churches, shops, and excellent local Hummus that's usually well hidden from tourists.
> 
> Out of about 60~ish pictures that day a third is what i had to work with in account with privacy. The full album with a few more takes of some of the pictures in better resolution:
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/a/Lv5FS6P
> 
> 
> Apologies for the lack of any contact and or signs of life, i've been so swamped to the point i haven't even took a peek at eBay ever since July 😅


Wonderful glimpse of the Holiest of cities. Thank you for the beautiful pictures and sights.


----------



## stevarad

SinanjuStein said:


> The *(very very very delayed)* return of Sergei, now from the old city of Jerusalem on a relatively quiet Saturday.
> 
> The start of the trip and a quick look at the mount of Olives Jewish cemetery from next to the "Dung gate" of the old city.
> View attachment 16148939
> 
> 
> I was acting essentially as a tour guide for a group of 9 at the time, so to nab pictures with Sergei i had to make myself scarce for a couple minutes at the time.
> 
> View attachment 16148943
> 
> 
> The city streets on a Saturday are relatively empty and most of what you will see in the old city are as pictured, small streets that feel like crevices between buildings all made from Jerusalem limestone that has been used for ages. There are a few streets that fit cars but some can just about fit a scooter assuming the steps aren't too bad. (Yes yes, you can even see Wolt deliveries in the old city)
> 
> View attachment 16148949
> 
> 
> Despite being a Saturday the markets were still relatively bustling and getting more and more full during the hours of the afternoon, but pictured in the morning you still have some breathing room. You would be surprised how large the market complex actually is and it's all very similar unless you know where to go
> 
> I would say the Jaffa flea market can be more interesting, yet much less expansive.
> 
> View attachment 16148950
> View attachment 16148951
> 
> 
> And as teased to Mario, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
> 
> View attachment 16148957
> View attachment 16148963
> 
> 
> I've tried to be relatively respectful as there were a lot of visitors, and even in the picture of the stone of anointing there were people on it at the time so i had to do some camera work. The monks are usually not keen on getting photographed.
> 
> View attachment 16148962
> View attachment 16148965
> 
> 
> The domes are beautiful but perhaps not grandiose as some large cathedrals in Italy.
> 
> View attachment 16148966
> 
> 
> I don't think the Western wall (wall of wailing) really needs much introduction. If this was during Friday morning you probably wouldn't have been able to see the floor from the amount of people coming to pray. And you can see the domes of the Al-Aksa mosque on the top right.
> 
> View attachment 16148970
> 
> 
> A view off the Ottoman walls of the old city towards (iirc) the Jewish neighborhood of Maale Zeitim on the slope of the mount of olives, slightly east of Jerusalem.
> 
> View attachment 16148977
> 
> 
> And a picture of something a bit more modern, a basketball/football combo along with a children's playground on the left of it right inside the old city walls.
> 
> Unfortunately a few of the places visited were problematic to take pictures in, both for privacy and technicalities of how no-so-great my phones camera is, and in some places they didn't allow photography at all. (Or just couldn't on account of the group i had to guide)
> -Greek Patriarchate/St.Georges Church
> -Ethiopian Patriarchate
> -Most of the historic market in the Muslim district
> -Via Delarosa
> And a few more smaller Churches, shops, and excellent local Hummus that's usually well hidden from tourists.
> 
> Out of about 60~ish pictures that day a third is what i had to work with in account with privacy. The full album with a few more takes of some of the pictures in better resolution:
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/a/Lv5FS6P
> 
> 
> Apologies for the lack of any contact and or signs of life, i've been so swamped to the point i haven't even took a peek at eBay ever since July


Oh, it was worth of waiting ))

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Kotsov

Any updates on this?


----------



## mariomart

Kotsov said:


> Any updates on this?


I haven't heard from @SinanjuStein since the last post 

I'll try to contact him and see if we can bring Sergei home.


----------



## Kotsov

That would be nice if we could continue this.

If it doesn't we could use his non union stunt double that is sitting in my lunadude box


----------



## time4d

I'm willing to take it if this thing is still going on


----------



## mariomart

It would seem that Sergei the travelling Vostok is no longer  , as I have not heard back from the host in over 6 months.

Vale Sergei.


----------



## Kotsov

mariomart said:


> It would seem that Sergei the travelling Vostok is no longer  , as I have not heard back from the host in over 6 months.
> 
> Vale Sergei.


The offer of a Sergei replacement is still good from my end...


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> It would seem that Sergei the travelling Vostok is no longer  , as I have not heard back from the host in over 6 months.
> 
> Vale Sergei.


I don't want to believe this


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> It would seem that Sergei the travelling Vostok is no longer  , as I have not heard back from the host in over 6 months.
> 
> Vale Sergei.


His last acitvity on forum in november 2021.

Does anyone have his email?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Such a shame if he has gone MIA, when I hosted, it felt like I was being part of the world, and when forwarding him to the next host, it felt like passing on a folk tale, rather than a watch.


----------

