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These are recent stories - the rest are in my latest book,"Walking Through Adversity."

Stories about European Trips (3)

Rob bryant
2006-01-09 11:34:22

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Alone in Macedonia - A few hours later I flew from Zurich to Macedonia. This was the final leg of the 42 hour trip from Korea to Macedonia. The flight from Zurich to Macedonia on a small RJ100 (a far cry from the 747 the day before) took us over the Alps on a clear day with a light snow falling on the massive 20,000 foot peaks that dwarfed everything on the horizon. The Alps seemed to go forever in every direction and reminded me how powerful God was to create such a wonder with a touch of His little finger. We flew over Italy, the Adriadic Sea, and war torn Eastern Europe consisting of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia on the border of gorgeous Greece. Since I changed destinations so quickly (from the Middle East to Kosovo), no one knew I was coming. Therfore, DynCorp did not meet me at the Macedonia airport. Fifty cab drivers fought over me and wanted to "take the rich American" for a cab ride. I chose one who looked honest and he grabbed my bags and we whisked away to the Holiday Inn in SkopJe (pronounced Scope Ya). However, another cabby felt cheated and followed us all the way to the hotel cussing at us both. My driver was a Serb and the other man an ethic Albanian so they hated each other but God was with me and we escaped violence. I checked my e-mail, ate a Yugoslavian meal, and went to sleep for 12 wonderful hours after the 42 hour long trip.

It�s all a matter of perspective - In the morning I ate a small Macedonian breakfast (fruits and breads native to the region), went shopping and checked out of the hotel just as my driver arrived to take me to Pristina in Kosovo. The drive took us over mountains and heavy snow. We passed through machine gun nests and various borders protected by US and NATO troops to keep the peace here. Our passports were checked closely and were permitted to pass. Americans are treated well in Kosovo as we led the mission to free them from the Serbian ...