Thum, Germany

After Prague we headed for Thum, Germany. We needed 3 buses whenever we travelled! Thum is just this little town but Nadine and I loved it, way less tourists, quieter and just fun. We were only here for a day, stayed at a hostel for the first time but were able to do a little shopping and found some chocolate for our family. I found the cutest little butterfly hoodie for Rebecca!

This is the first hostel we stayed at, this one was pretty much like a university dorm! You picked up your sheets and then brought them back down the next morning. You shared the bathrooms with half the floor so long line ups for showers. Breakfasts were buffets that you just went and helped yourself......... breakfast was interesting in Europe. Most of them had buns, meat (like the sliced deli kind) and lots of cheese. Occasionally you could get a boiled egg, yogourt or cereal (corn flakes or muesli) but not always, so basically you were eating a meat and cheese sandwich for breakfast most mornings. They always had nutella as well!!

I know I look like the Pillsbury dough boy in almost all the pictures of me!...but we were told to layer and layer I did! I almost didn't bring this jacket but Don picked it out and said I would need it.....he was sooo right. Some days were downright cold especially with the wind. What was funny was that some members of the tour were glad I was wearing pink, amongst all the black and dark blue jackets they could always find me and know they were heading in the right direction, lol..

Here's Mr. Ed Schnellert with the OKM band. They were able to have a practise session with the band in Thum and they did soooo good. They really are an awesome band and so fun to listen to. Nadine's son Jeremy played a saxophone solo with a girl from Germany and they did well considering it was pretty spur of the moment! We had a BBQ that night, which in Germany was a potluck! So all the families brought lots of food and we all ate downstairs, danced and listened to lots of English music.....

Couldn't resist taking this picture of a billboard in McDonalds (this was actually back in the Czech Republic) because its all in the czech language and the money is in crowns. We had fun trying to order but a lot, most people in Europe speak 2, 3 or even more languages! One of our guides said she only spoke 5, now her mother was really smart because she could speak 11!! Eleven languages!!!!! How could you keep them all straight in your head, insane!! So my measly 1 and a half just doesn't cut it!! So here you are, McDonalds was in every major city and we even found quite a few Burger Kings!

Europe!!

I am writing again.......thankful for a gentle reminder from my friend Marj Cooper! She mentioned that she checks my blog and that I haven't written anything since Feb 9 and I realized that I just need to get started again.

I have been gone the last couple of weeks to EUROPE!!!..... and writing about it seems like a mammoth task, at least in Hawaii I wrote from there but this time I didn't bring my laptop, we had such a busy itinerary and I wasn't sure how secure things would be. Anyway, it will never get written if I don't start, LOL.......

Appreciate all you who read this, especially grateful for wonderful friend bloggers who take the time to write a little note!

So my friend Nadine Edis called me the beginning of March to see if I wanted to go to Europe with her! (Technically speaking her husband Warren phoned Don first...... and asked how he would feel about sending his wife to Europe!! Don came to the table with a big grin on his face....) I want to mention how grateful I am to my whole family who were so happy for me and who totally took care of the house while I was gone! It had to be tough but they were so good about it..... I did make sure I brought lots of presents home and chocolate!!

Nadine and I, with one of the other "Shadow Tour" group members Olesia Thompson (Lesia). We are waiting at Okanagan Mission Secondary School to head for Vancouver and then London and then Europe!

Wanted to post this picture so you have an idea of the mammoth task this was. Nadine and I were traveling with her son Jeremy's band. This consisted of Grades 10, 11 and 12 and it was 120 students. We also had about 30 adults with chaperones and extra parents (shadow tour). From the beginning, Mr Schnellert the band director had the kids lined up in a "centipede" with their chaperones in front of them and this is what we did every time we went anywhere.... to count heads and make sure we didn't lose anyone. So keeping track of 150 people, all their luggage and band instruments..... being late was NOT an option! Anyone late really regretted it.....

In Vancouver heading for London's Heathrow Airport (the worst one I've been in!!!)

Our first hotel and only hotel in Europe was in Prague, Czech Republic. Nadine and I were on two different flights so she got in about 7 that night and I didn't get in until midnight. There is about an 8 hour time difference so we were into tomorrow when it was still yesterday at home, lol...... It was a wonderful hotel, they have heated towel racks in Europe!! From the beginning realized everything took about 3 times as long because of the amount of people and the line ups! But we were in Europe!!!!!! We had to laugh because every time it rained we would remind ourselves that at least it was Prague Rain!!! Will write more tomorrow.....