Sunday, June 28, 2015

Our journey through the month of June!

Mission transfers came the first week of June, and we found ourselves on the way to Sarajevo again to pick up our new elder.  This is a little farming village north of Niksic.

This tiny one-lane bridge spans the Tara River which is the border between Montenegro and Bosnia.  It's a good thing the traffic on this bridge isn't too heavy (both meanings) or there would be quite a traffic back-up.











   






This is a big fountain outside a mosk in Sarajavo's old town.  The major religion in Bosnia is Muslim.  Sarajevo is a huge city with many modern as well as old pre-war buildings.  We were even able to find a McDonald's there - not a choice we'd make in America, but something that's missed in Montenegro.




During the month of June, we were able to close a project that LDS Charities had at the University of Montenegro School of Dentistry.  Dr. Andelic, the director, is so thankful for the new sterilizer that was provided..










We were invited  by our "Give Us A Chance" friends to a display of their art projects in a local gallery.






On June 24th and 25th, we had a special two day zone conference at the mission home in Zagreb, Croatia.  This is the sharp looking missionaries in the Podgorica, Montenegro district - notice the awsome ties - and the odd one in the middle.  Sister Grant wanted a picture of Sister Taylor with her "boys".



President Grant gave us the option to fly from Montenegro to Slovenia, then drive to Zagreb for the conference.  We jumped at the chance to see this beautiful country!  This church is on an island in the middle of Lake Bled, a popular place for tourists from around the world.









Another big tourist attraction is Bled Castle which sets high on the rock above the Lake.








                                         The main gate and cobblestone walkway into the castle.











                                                                                                   



                 These ancient elk horns and bones and the suit of armor were on display in the castle.


           Many well-maintained hotels, hostles, villas, shops, cafes and homes surrounded Lake Bled.


World famous "Bled Cake" (made only in Bled).  It was a really delicious treat containing pudding, whipped cream, a very flaky pastry top and bottom, and a dusting of powdered sugar.  Of course, it contained no calories!


The border between Austia and Slovenia - unfortunately this is as close as we could get.  We were unable to capture pictures of the Alps because of the pouring rain and low hanging clouds.


                                A beautiful old rock bridge and Inn by the outlet to Lake Bahinjsko.





A display being made to show how hay is stored in Slovenia.  After the hay is cut, it is laid over the cross beams to dry.  What a time consuming process!










This is an actual hay shed with the left over hay from last year.  These are seen throughout the countryside.  We also saw large round bales of hay in big white plastic bags.






It was fun to drive through the country roads in Slovenia and see the well-kept homes.  Many had flowers hanging from pots on porches and windows.





Ljubljana Castle sitting on a hill above the "old town".











Cobblestone streets in "old town" Ljubljana.











Dragon Bridge over the Sava River.  If you look closely, there are four bronze dragons on the four corner posts.











All along this bridge rail are padlocks called "love locks".  When a couple becomes engaged, they put these locks on the rail and throw the key into the river.









This huge green market by the river, sold many yummy looking fruits and veggies.  The watermellon
was delicious!






One of the streets in "old town".  The old buildings and churches were interesting to see.







         The famous Triple Bridge in Ljubljana.  These boats took tourists up and down the Sava River.





We spent our anniversary night at an awesome bed and breakfast which was newly remodeled from an old clothing mill.  This was in the breakfast area.











The entire room was made from rock walls and old red brick.  It was beautiful!






We feel very fortunate that we were able to visit this beautiful country on our forty-fourth wedding anniversary.  We were also grateful to be able to spend two days in the mission home with President and Sister Grant, Elder and Sister Morgan, Elder and Sister Johnson and about twenty awesome young missionaries.