Eastern Europe Conclusion

Actually, I just discovered that Barbara and I both stopped taking notes by this point in our trip, so I really can't tell you too much about Austria and Prague. We did really enjoy Veanna, where we got to attend a concert of truly great musicians playing classical music. They all dressed the part, gray wigs and all and were truly spectacular, as was that beautiful city.
     In Prague, I visited their Astronomical Clock. It was huge, thirty or more feet high. On the hour, various assorted figures came out and played around for a time, capped off by a rooster coming out and crowing at the end. The rooster's crow was a little weak, possibly because it was built in 1400, and has been keeping time and performing on the hour every since. The people were so proud of it, wanted to make sure nobody else had one like it, that they blinded the clock maker. Kinda par for the course in the middle ages, I understand. After the rooster crowed, I looked down at the ground, and what should I see but money, folded up, with 500 staring right up at me. It was for 500 crowns, which actually was about 25 dollars. Well, at least it almost paid for supper for four that night.
The rivers were still rising, so we had to detour around a little to get back to Germany. One of my major disappointments was that the tour didn't include Russia, but we got very close. The tour was already established when we joined with family to go, so we didn't have any choice. Since I have more Russian readers that any other country outside the US, I felt guilty about that. But I'll try to put Russia at the top of my list the next time I get over there. Anyway, just let me say that I DO appreciate all you Russian readers, and I apologize for leaving you out.
The plane back was just as crowded and jammed up as it was on the way over, and we're old folks, ya know? Barbara just has a gift for getting things done that needs to be done, so she picked out a nice, kindly faced attendant, called her over, and showed her just how much her feet were still swollen from the trip over, whined awhile, and almost shed a tear or two, and she finally found Barbara and I a front row seat with lots of leg room, and even brought her ice for her feet. Frances Moved up to one of our empty seats, so all four of us wound up with plenty of room. Just goes to show you what a tiny bit of sincere whining can get a person, if you just have the nerve to do it. Barbara just has a gift for getting things done.
We had a great bus driver from Hungary, and a wonderful tour guide. She really took care of us, and she, also, knew how to get things done. Our bus got caught up in traffic once in Veanna on the way to the concert.We were five minutes late. She felt so bad, she bought every one of us a  CD of the concert. Now, hows that for a mother hen taking care of her babies?
Our tour group, forty or so strong, from many different nations, became a very tight group. No problems. We had lots of fun together after we got acquainted, though as I told you in my last post, some were a bit of a bad influence on me. My daddy never allowed his boys to hang out in honkey-tonks, so I guess I'm just getting to that life stage. I was a little shy and retiring as a boy, so I never wanted to go anyway. But now days, I don't worry about hanging out with a rough crowd. Nobody wants to be seen beating up an old man.
Barbara's English as a Second Language Academy at Henderson State University, turned out to be a really enjoyable time for Barbara, even though it was a bit hard on her at first, ten hours or so after we got back. Seems all the speakers were top people in their field from all over the world. Now her assignment is to write a very long paper about it, so she has been on the computer so much, along with the fact that we have been bogged down in computer problems so long, that I have been a little late on my blogs. That's my excuse. Actually, I've just been shirking my duty.
I'm one of those people, very common in my generation, who is just hung out to wither and twist  in the wind between two worlds. When I was a boy, we looked upon old people as being the wisest of the wise. The older they were, the smarter they were. Now, for so many of my generation, whose time to bask in the respect of the younger folks, are missing the boat. We've never really joined the computer and cell phone generation, and if we have a question to ask, we are forced to look for a kid to answer it, who always gives us that "You're just so ignorant" look before answering. We just get no respect. But I'm about to get to where I can function on this new computer.
Now, how's that for a good whine? See, Barbara's not the only one who can do it.


Thanks for your time, your attention, and your sympathy!