Greetings from the Grand People (Chapter 2)

Dear All,
Our wonderful holiday is galloping to an end at a rate of knots and it seems that in a blink of an eye it will be all over!!  Boo Hoo!   Wow, have we had a tremendous time with the family!  Time has flown by since our last letter round about 10th June and we  have crowded so much into the time.
During the weekend 14th/15th we all went to explore two quaint old towns built around hot mineral springs, Marianske Lazne and Karlovy Vary, which are very beautiful with quaint buildings and beautiful Garden Parks.  People come from far and wide to experience the therapeutic benefits of the mineral waters and the hot baths. 

  Everywhere one walks in the towns there are mineral fountains with people drinking the mineral water or collecting it in bottles and containers.  As you can imagine, our cameras worked overtime.

The next weekend was the cherry on the top, our trip into the Arctic Circle!   On Friday afternoon, 20th we flew to Tromso in Northern Norway via Oslo, arriving there in the evening.  The trip was for Hayley to run the "Midnight Sun Marathon" and because there was no available accommodation in Tromso we were billeted in cabins in a caravan park in Skittenellv about 21kms out of Tromso.  This again was a bonus because of the beautiful setting. 

On Sat evening Hayley ran the marathon and finished in a very creditable time of 4hrs 32min, looking very good as she crossed the finishing line.    Next day was an easy day, naturally, for Hayley to recover and we spent most of the afternoon in Tromso.   Next day, Monday and Hayley's birth day, we did a spectacular tour of the area by bus which crossed two fjords by ferry to a place called Skjervoy. The bus and ferry trip left Tromso at 14h00 and arrived at Skjervoy at 18h00, where we had a two hour break before boarding a passenger liner for the journey back to Tromso, arriving there at midnight, but of course it is still daylight!!.  

We got back to our cabins at 01h00, still light enough to take photographs.
Next day we did a car tour of the other side of Tromso, stopping for photos along the way and having a lovely meal of fish and chips at a cafe in a small fishing village. 

It was early to bed on Tuesday night as we had to be up at 03h00 to pack and get to Tromso to catch our early flight home, as Hayley had to go to office in the afternoon.
This last weekend we went South and explored two Castle Towns, Hluboka and Cesky Krumlov, and once again our tour guide, Hayley, cracked the jackpot!  We first explored Hluboka and toured the Castle and surrounds before moving on to Cesky Krumlov where we found a super Pension for the night. 

It was delightful accom with a stunning view of the town below.  Sunday was spent exploring Cesky Krumlov and doing the Castle tour. 

The town has a river meandering through it which is a huge attraction with hundreds of people hiring canoes and drifting down the river shooting a few rapids built over wiers and all along the river are restaurants with tables on varandas under umbrellas.  Here again these towns are crowded with weekend visitors and tourists, with a tremendous vibe.

This coming Saturday we are going to another old and quaint town in Germany about 2hrs drive from here, a favourite of the family.  It will be our swan song, as we depart on Sunday night from Prague by bus for Zurich. It is an overnight bus journey arriving in Zurich at seven in the morning.  We will have Monday and Tuesday to explore Zurich before flying home.  Our Emirates Airlines flight leaves on Tuesday evening, 8th July, via Dubai and arrives in Cape town on Wednesday 9th July, flight EK seven seven 0, at 16h25 if all goes according to plan. (the seven key on our keyboard no longer works!)
We fly from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth on Thursday 10th July, flight 1391, departing five pm and arriving in PE at 18h10.  Mishie. we hope you will be able to meet us in CT and drop us off next day and Dennis, can you do the necessary at the PE end please??  If it is at all inconvenient, Trevor has also offered to collect us, or we may be able to rope Rick in if he is not out of town on business.  Anyway we will phone from Cape town before arriving. 
Looking forward to coming home and catching up with you all.  Lots of love from all the family here.   Dad and Mom.   Geoff and Marion.

(Greetings Chapter 1)

(Greetings Final Chapter)