Croatia 2009

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Serbia 2009

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Poland 2009 selection

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We made it!

We biked 2,300 Km (1,350 miles) in 34 days of actual riding! from Greece to Estonia...we still have a bit more to enter and exit the ferry to Helsinki, ha! We are at the ferry terminal in Tallin, tired but happy. We made a great feat and we are proud we did it. We will continue writing in the Blog some additional experiences and thoughts, as well as posting additional pictures, but for now we wanted to share with all of you, at least a short message so you know we made it!

Thank you to all family members and friends who followed us through the Blog, your support meant a lot to us! and thank you to all the people that we met on our way during these 6 weeks. You enriched our experiences beyond the imaginable.

More pictures

Not all computers in the world work alike, so unfortunately we were not able to directly upload the pictures of Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia directly to the Blog. But if you want to see them you can go to http://normayevan.shutterfly.com and there you will find all those albums. Just go to the appropiate album and select "view album", them choose "select all" on the right above the pictures and then select "slide show" on the upper right. Hopefully that works. For us, sharing pictures is sharing moments of discovery and joy with all of you! A window onto the wonderful part of the world we are visiting.

Musings

"Do You Want To Know My Secret?" Krishnamurti is said to to have posed this question to an audience he once addressed. His secret, he disclosed, is " I don't mind anything". To me, this great teacher was talking about the analytical mind which judges and evaluates. He was saying that he didn't allow his mind to discolor his experience of life.

Personally, I can mind a LOT of things. I am uncomfortable with dirty glasses, for heaven's sake; and then there's cigarette smoke, heavy traffic, holes in the pavement and food I don't usually eat! These things that I "mind" can be a real source of irritation. And so I have had a wonderful opportunity to observe the part of me which analzyses and passes judgement. "Es lo que es"--it is as it is--says my wise wife--who really minds very little. I find that as I am able to release judgement, the beauty of the experience comes through. It doesn't change what IS, but I can be in the experience without poisoning myself with upset over how it "should be". THAT is an unnecessary thing that clouds the present moment.

Ten thousand flowers in spring,
The moon in autumn,
A cool breeze in summer,
Snow in winter;
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
This is the best season of your life. --Wu men

The Magic of Slovakia

The land of castles. And mountains. And hot springs. Traditional music played over loudspeakers in a small village. Shallow, flowing rivers that call to the canoeist. Or the fly fisherman. Ancient villages. Church bells. More castles. Ski resorts everywhere. Scenery that makes it hard to focus on the road ahead. Well managed forests. Great Beer. [and we don't even drink beer!] Like stepping into a fairy tale. Was that a deer running across the mountain meadow......or a unicorn?

If you haven't been to Slovakia, GO!