So it has been a month since our last post. There are several (forgivable) reasons for our lagging behind. First, Alice and Shawn came to town and we had a week of extravaganzas. Then the whole Leckie family met in Vienna to start off an epic week-long road trip, followed by a week experiencing some Viennese culture with the parents.

Alice and Shawn came to town October 15th and settled into our little home. With the help an air mattress in our living room, we had a cozy home for 4. They arrived to Vienna with a drastic twist in weather, snow was falling. Though it did not stick it was definitely a change in temperature from the previous week into the cold seasons. During the first weekend we had several social gatherings that allowed Alice & Shawn to meet some of our new friends in Vienna and get a feel of how we live our lives here. It also probably inhibited them from getting back into a proper sleep routine. However, if ever a choice of sleep or fun, choose fun! We showed them around the city and explored the nightlife that proved to be enjoyable. And they got an extensive sampling of Austrian beer and the now infamous Kase Kreiner (a sausage with cheese inside) a standard late night snack! Needless to say it was a wonderful experience to have them stay with us and continue our visiting together into the wee hours of the mornings. It was nice for us to host them as they had been so gracious in extending such loving family hospitality prior to us leaving on our adventure. They took a break from Vienna and made a trip to Prague, which we we very happy for them to be able to do, they had a great time there with my parents.

The next stretch culminated in the family gathering in Vienna, Shawn and Alice returned from Prague a day earlier and headed to the airport to meet Marko and pick up the Van for our version of European Vacation. Then it was off to the Sudbahnof to pick up the Parents from their train ride from Prague. We all met up at the Kaiser Franz Joseph, a hotel near our house and exchange warm greetings, such a great thing to be all together! That evening we went to on of our favorite Viennese restaurants called Figls where we had some food and planned our decent out of Vienna toward the Adriatic coast.

Once morning arrived we headed out- 7 people in a spacious van headed south toward the Adriatic with anticipation of beautiful scenery ahead and hopefully some sun. Along the way, we stopped in Graz for a delightful lunch at a Greek restaurant and a stop at a quaint little French shop owned by a young family. Then on to Slovenia which was quite picturesque with rolling hills of green, everything seemed to be going smoothly and along the highway, we were cruising by toll booths without having to pay-lucky us! The next thing you know we are pulled over on the side of the road by the Police. The officer asked Marko to get out of the vehicle and follow him to his vehicle, in typical Marko form he turned around to us and said "Don't worry people! Relax, enjoy yourselves." As it turns out if anyone plans on driving in Slovenia it is imperative that you purchase something called a Vinetta, which is a 15 euro sticker that allows you to drive on the highways in Slovenia for 8 days in lieu of paying tolls. But instead, we got to pay 150 euro for the ticket. Our first little lesson in European car travel. After that little pit stop we headed on to the Croatian border where instantaneously, the skies grew clearer and temperature warmed up. It was quite the sight when we first saw the Adriatic with its beautiful aqua marine tones, and rugged cliffs. Our first destination was the Mozart Hotel in the coastal city Opatija. Opatija is a beautiful beach and resort town and it really felt like vacation. This being only a few hour drive from Vienna-it's a definite must come back to destination.

The next day we headed to Split via the island of Pag. Marko, our fantastic cousin/driver/tour-guide, drove along the coast and shared history and information along the way. He has spent much of his life in these areas and we were fortunate to have him give us a personal tour the entire time. We just had to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Croatia is an incredible country, every turn we saw turquoise water, sand beaches, and small cities with red-tile roofed houses surrounding the town church. We took a ferry to the island of Pag that was comprised of rock that almost felt like we were on a different planet. The land was filed with little rock walls that acted as wind barriers to protect the small farms. Pag is known for it's goat cheese and we had to stop on the highway for GOAT CROSSING.

Moving on, we stopped in Split for the next 2 nights. Split is a port town and home Diocletian's Palace-one of the largest and best-preserved Roman palaces. Here we enjoyed visiting the palace, shopping, eating delicious food, and the warm weather! We went sailing on the Adriatic Sea to the island of Bac. Our captains were fun and served us grappa and appetizers along the way. It was so nice to be on the sea with the wind on our faces. We enjoyed a little sea-town on Bac then headed back to Split during sunset and enjoyed the star-lit skies-such an incredible feeling. In split we stayed in garden apartments where we picked fresh lemons, oranges, and pomegranates. We shared our 2 bedroom apartment with Alice & Shawn and continued our love of playing cards into the late hours.

After Split, it was on to Herceg Novi, Montenegro. Again, thank goodness for Marko. He took us to all the quaint little towns, stopped off at this remote and adorable restaurant in Mali Stone, and took us through all the border crossings. Traveling in the former Yugoslavia, there was so much beauty and the further south we traveled, we got more into the heart of historical tension within these nations. We saw bombed homes, abandoned hotels and businesses and destroyed landscapes, witnessing some of the aftermath of the wars. Driving along Croatia, we had to pass into 7km of Bosnia, back to Croatia, and shortly after, the Montenegro border-each time stopping and getting clearance into each country. This is another time when Marko was of particular help considering he speaks Serbian-Croatian. Passing through Dubrovnik-which we went back to visit twice, we made it to Marko's home in Herceg Novi.

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Upon entering the house we were greeted graciously by Marko's parents Tomo and Danica, two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. We sat down in there living room and where immediately attended to offered vino, pivo(beer), lemonade and grappa. No, was not an answer that was listened to and we could observe that from the first moment. They were so happy we were there and so generous we were a bit overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity it was truly special. After a short time we went to the lower house and put our things in our respective rooms and relaxed for a little bit before dinner. The lower house has a large deck on the 2nd floor with great views of the water, a pleasant place to sit and relax. After, taking a little rest we headed to the main house for dinner. Sasha, Marko's brother had arrived and we all sat down for a meal. We were immediately bombarded with Tomo's homemade grappa and platters of prosciutto and cheese, followed by other platters of olives, pickles, peppers followed by hot meats and potatoes. Danica, always encouraging us to eat more. If she saw we liked something you would get two more on your plate. Ciara was very sly and moved most of her 2nd-5th helpings onto my plate (mostly the meat), leaving me to take one for the team and eat more than imaginable. Tomo's homemade wine was delicious, and after every sip, your glass was refilled. After the dinner came the dessert apple strudel, torte and a cake. The hospitality and generosity was like no other. With our bellies full of dinner dessert and wine we went to bed eager to adventure the next day. We woke up the next day to another gorgeous day, walking out on to the deck and smelling the fresh sea air. Once we had all gotten up and ready we headed up to breakfast at the main house where we were again continuously spoiled and stuffed. Many hvalas (thank yous) where given due to the overwhelming hospitality and all Danica would say is "Ne hvala" meaning that we didn't need to thank her. Such a sweet woman, it was hard not to squeeze her. And you could tell by her affection that she was so happy to have her family visiting her in her home. Each morning after we said our goodbyes to Tomo, Danica and Sasha we headed out into Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia.

In Montenegro we visited Risan (an old Roman town), Perast (where Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas have a home), Kotor (an old town with city walls and medieval architecture), Sveti Stefan (an old fishing village built on an island peninsula that is now filled with villas and luxury hotels-to open again soon), and Budva (another old city within walls along the coast). Montenegro is filled with natural beauty- gorgeous water, dramatic mountains, and from the mountain tops, we looked down on deep valleys and across to Croatia to the north, Albania to the south, and on a clear day, Italy to the west. We have a feeling that Montenegro is going to come from the shadows of years of unrest and take on the appreciation and beauty it holds.

Twice, we took a day trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia-one of our new favorite places in the world. We were awe-struck by it's presence- a fortified town along saphire waters. From it's beginning in the 7th century and since the rebuilding of what it looks like today after an earthquake in 1667, it's hard to believe the city was heavily bombed during the war from 1991-1992. It was mind-blowing to enjoy a pristine and unique city knowing the hardships and distruction that occurred here a short while ago. We walked along the city walls and couldn't help but take a picture of everything we saw. We spent much of our time eating and drinking while staring out into the Adriatic horizon.

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The following day, we did a day trip to Trebinje, Bosnia to visit an orthodox monastery. No matter what country we went to that was formally part of Yugoslavia, this trip was particularly special because it allowed the family to visit our Serbian roots. We visited the villages, houses, churches and a school and cemetery that our former generations call home. It was an emotional experience for all of us in different ways and it was truly a blessing to share this experience with everyone.

At the end of the week, it was time to say goodbye to Marko, Tomo, Danica, and Sasha. Such an amazing time had come to an end. Without our driver, we headed north to Croatia, Bosnia, Croatia again, and headed to Slovenia. We missed Marko and all the funny things he would say, so we found ourselves quoting and mimicking him the entire way. We filled our 7-hour drive playing games like Loaded Questions and used our IPODS to play trivia and 20 Questions against the computer-a freaky thing considering it guessed our item most of the time.

We made it to Lake Bled, Slovenia. What a perfect place to spend our last day of vacation,

at least for Ciara's October break and our road trip. It was magical. The small town surrounded a lake

about 3 miles around-everything about it was picturesque. Autumn was a perfect time to be there,

the weather was crisp and the leaves were bright hughes of red, and orange. We stayed in a very nice

hotel-thanks to Baba Lu for treating us. We got to spend this time relaxing from the hours we spent

in the car and before we headed back to Vienna. What a vacation this turned out to be, we could not

have asked for a more perfect time and are so blessed to have such an amazing family.