Srbija

Have been busy, so this post is a little late (then again, please don't expect daily postings!!).

Had to get up at 0400 to get to the airport for the flight from London to Belgrade, so was a very tired little sausage that day. Was a little worried about check in, as Heathrow Terminal 5 has been the scene of some horror stories since it opened, but as it turned out, it was painless. As such, we were checked in & through security quite early.

Tried to get into the BA lounge, but as expected, on my Qantas Gold card I could only get 1 guest in. No problems, I thought, I will just ask a stranger to invite my second guest in. A guy coming in was more than happy to help, but the b*tch on reception then insisted that he must be on the same flight as us to invite someone in! At that point I walked away before I said something I would later regret.

Anyway, arrived in Belgrade at midday, and the temperature was MUCH more pleasant than London. A couple of very pleasant Eastern European blondes at Immigration, but never saw them smile once! Welcome to Serbia!

A friend of the family had been tasked to pick us up for the 3 hr drive to Leskovac, but due to a mis-communication he arrived with a BMW325. Even more of a squeeze than the BMW 735 with our 3 large pieces of luggage! One good point of being the largest, you always get the front seat! As mentioned, it was a 3hr drive home, and I was struggling not to doze off in the sun. Helen, however, was as excited as a schoolgirl the whole way.

Sadly, Helen's grandfather had passed away the day before, so this cast a definite pall over the welcome. I had practised some Serbian to greet everyone when we arrived & they were all smiling & laughing when I talked, but I am sure they were just being polite.

As "requested", there was a very nice BBQ for dinner, with loads of very nice food. Including some very lovely home grown tomatoes that where very flavoursome. I discovered the family had arranged cable TV (ie some English language programmes) and internet specially for our arrival. Talk about honoured guests!

After the very early start, the long drive and a big meal, I faded very early, and was in bed by 9pm. Of course Helen had loads & loads to catch up on, so lasted a few more hours.

More about tomorrow later