JoeandLen

This entry is a reflective one about the prevalence of English in Europe these days. Our trip began in the Netherlands where essentially everyone speaks English. As one older Dutch gentleman said to Lenora when she complemented him on his English - "well we have no choice". I recall saying to Lenora that we were spoiled by being in the Netherlands first and that once we arrived in Hungary and Croatia it would be a different story. Well, I was wrong. I teach a course at UNB called Bilingualism and Education and do a module on English as a global language. We read and discuss how English has essentially become the communication tool for speakers of different languages with respect to various countries including China. Nonetheless, I was really taken aback by how many people in ... read more

We have spent the last week between Cobourg and Toronto. After arriving in Cobourg we let down and really needed a few days of sleep and rest and little else. 3 days later though, on Tuesday, we took the train into Toronto, met with Adele for lunch, with Peter and his girlfriend Sammie for supper, went to Adele's opening night, and went out with Adele and a friend for drinks after the show! It was a great day but a little more than we were ready for at this point. We didn't really appreciate the opening show as much as we should have because we were so tired by that point. Adele was very happy with how things went as were the rest of the cast and crew. We left Toronto the next morning to return ... read more

There has been a serious delay in posting this entry. This was due to lack of high-speed access for the last few days and a busy schedule to Toronto and back and to Toronto again to see Adele's final show at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and to attend her graduation ceremony. More about that later. First though, the flight home. Our flight from Amsterdam to Frankfurt was short and sweet. When we got to the gate in Frankfurt we were directed to see an agent regarding our tickets. Turns out our seats were sold and they had to issue us different tickets. Originally Lenora and I were not sitting together so Lenora asked if we were together now with these new tickets. Well, the lady said, sort of -- you are across from one ... read more

What a difference a 2 hour flight from Budapest can make! We left scorching heat and sunshine to arrive in 16 degrees and wind and rain in Amsterdam this morning. I was looking forward to about 20 degrees and sunshine but I was looking at Saturday's forecast not today's! On a positive note our hotel was ready when we arrived at 11 am so we were able to check in shower and get some rest. We then tried to leave to take the train into town (we are at an airport hotel for convenience tomorrow when we fly out) but our attempt to leave was cut short by a torrential downpour and winds that soaked us both. We turned back but were determined to get into the city centre. An hour later after drying some clothes ... read more

We left Zagreb this morning on what was supposed to be a 1st class ticket and a 5 hour train ride to Budapest. Well, that didn't exactly work out. We were in a car that was labelled 1st class but I was a little apprehensive upon entry since all the 2nd class cars looked newer and shinier than ours and didn't have windows that were dirty with grime built up over the years! It started badly and got worse. After a 35 minute delay we left Zagreb station. The air conditioning unit turned out to be a warm air blowing unit so we resorted to opening windows outside our compartment and inside to try to get a breeze. It was brutally hot all the way and got hotter as the day went on (we left around ... read more

We left Tucepi at around 9:15 this morning and after about 40 minutes on the scariest road I have ever been on through the Croatian mountainside with hairpin turns and 90 degree rock faces looking straight down at the water we reached the A1 highway - a most welcome sight. With a "speed limit" of 130 we were in Zagreb in no time (once my nuckles recovered from the climb up the mountain). This is just a short stop - we will go out for a walk about and dinner and then tomorrow morning off on the train to Budapest.... read more

Since the last post we have basically been beach bums - mainly here at Tucepi but we did vist Makarska beach on Sunday - hard to find a spot to lie down!!! A beautiful vista though with the water and mountains right in front of you. For our last day - Monday - we decided to take a cruise. At Tucepi every evening around 6:45 a converted fishing boat came by with a crowd of waving, dancing tourists and loud Croatian music blaring. I wanted to do a cruise to the islands and Lenora decided that this was the boat. So on Monday morning at 8:45 we crowded onto this vessel and eventually found a seat next to a nice young couple originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina living now in Sweden. The view from the water was fantastic ... read more

I am sitting on our balcony at the Villa Anton in Sukosan as I write this. It is a beautiful sunny morning and at 6 am the air actually feels cool! We arrived here yesterday afternoon once we finally got our rental car. For some reason, the agency wasn’t able to get our credit cards to accept a pre-authorization for damages. After an hour or more we were told that we couldn’t have the car if there was no deposit - even though the rental was pre-paid! We eventually got things worked out thankfully! The major highway from Zagreb to Zadar on the coast is new and very impressive. We went through several tunnels cut through the mountains. I clocked one to be 5 kilometers but there was another that was even longer than that. The ... read more