15 April 03 May 2013 Visiting Europe with Oliver. Dear Friends,

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1 Dear Friends, Here are a few photos and stories from Oliver s and my trip to Europe. These lines are written at the airport in Dubai while Oliver is sleeping in the middle of the night (like all normal people) while I seem to be getting ready for New Zealand time zone (11:30 am). Our travel to Europe was fantastic: five flights to Rome, with over 25 hours in the air and travelling 20,000 km When on our way to Europe we finally arrived to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) (after stopping in Christchurch (New Zealand), Sydney (Australia) and Bangkok (Thailand), it seemed like we arrived although we still had ~4,500 kilometers and 6 hours of flying to go During the whole trip to Europe, Oliver was so great and fascinated with his surrounding that was changing all the time - from an airplane to an airplane. The first hour of flying Oliver spent playing with a plastic cup lucky mother with a curious baby! Oliver was playing during the whole flight to Sydney. And then a 9-hour flight to Bangkok was fortunately during New Zealand night time so Oliver fell asleep during the take-off and I woke him up just before landing And then a 6-hour flight to Dubai. On the last 6-hour flight to Rome, it was not entertaining any more to play around the airplane seat so Oliver went on to explore the airplane and learned how to climb the stairs It was certainly not a boring trip!

2 And then a welcome to Italy On a boarder, they barely looked at photos and personal details on our passports From the airport, we took a local train and metro to our hotel in Rome. That part of the trip would not have been so interesting if I was not dragging 2 suitcases, a backpack and Oliver in a front pack it would have been great to take a photo of that scene but I did not have any spare hands. And I have to admit I did not feel like taking photos especially when on the first metro station I discovered that there were not escalators and all that after 40 hours of travelling and with a 10-hour time difference And then we finally got of a metro and started walking toward our hotel that on the map seemed to be about 500 meters away. You can only imagine facial expressions of people who saw me carrying Oliver in a front pack and with 2 suitcases and a backpack We kept walking toward a hotel until I got a great idea how we could catch a bus instead of walking. Fantastic idea, indeed. However, by the time I explained to the bus driver (in English which he did not understand, of course ), where I need to get off, the bas already passed the hotel for about 500 meters So Oliver and I with our luggage started walking another 500 meters this time on a gravel path and up the hill I was very happy when we finally arrived to the hotel! We walked into our hotel room around 4:30 pm local time and fell asleep around 6 pm Oliver was wide awake around 1 am that night so we played and played until 3 am (Despite a time difference of 10 hours, I was not really interested in getting up in the middle of the night that day ) Fortunately, around 3 am Oliver decided that it was a great time to sleep a bit more this time until 4:30 am Every day we managed to move Oliver s time zone for 1-2 hours forward By the time we left Rome 6 days later we were already adjusted to European time. Anyway, every morning we were leaving hotel around 7:30 am to explore Rome

3 My brother Boris and his family (wife Sanja and children Sergey (7 years) and Katarina (5 years)) arrived to Rome the day after us to spend together next 5 days touring around Rome what a great idea! It was wonderful to see them all! Sergey and Katarina have grown so much in 3 years that I have not seen them in person It was fantastic to be together again and explore Rome together in the upcoming days

4 Boky, Sanja, Sergey and Nina (Katarina) played so much with Oliver. During this time in Rome, Oliver definitely started to laugh much more quite a change from our little serious baby in the last few months. Sergey and Nina sang and danced for Oliver, made him laugh It was so cute to see them together. We missed Adriana and Philip

5 We visited the Vatican Museum and St Peter s Basilica in Vatican 15 April 03 May 2013

6 We admired the majesty of the Coliseum 15 April 03 May 2013

7 We wondered in the old city centre of Rome and visited tourist attractions: Piazza Venecia, Piazza Navona, Panthenon

8 We visited an archaeological area in the centre of Rome (Palatino and Foro Romano) Boky, Sanja and kids visited the area while I ran through it rushing to the conference

9 Here are a few scenes from the streets of Rome 15 April 03 May 2013

10 The last day we went to visit the archaeological museum Ostia Antica with remains of this town near Rome

11 Those days I managed to attend my scientific conference (Boky, Sanja, Sergey and Nina were taking care of and entertaining Oliver at that time ). And the conference was excellent and offered an opportunity to connect again with colleagues from all over the world It is hard to believe how much we managed to do in Rome with 3 children with us And after those 6 wonderful days in Rome, Boky took Oliver and me to the airport Another Italian experience was awaiting for us there. When we came to check in for our flight, an agent of Alitalia (Italian national aero-company told me that there are problems with my flight and she was not sure if she will be able to put me on this flight because it was oversold Seeing a surprise on my face, the agent told me that this is a standard practice of Alitalia and a few other companies and that it is completely legal Apparently, my airplane ticket bought online on Alitalia website was just a contract and that checking in is done on first-come, first-serve basis (and could also be done online 24 hours before the flight). I was speechless After a few consultations with her colleagues, the agent finally was pleased to tell me that I would actually get a seat on this airplane because of travelling with a 6-month old baby. Apparently, I was supposed to be very grateful for this act of kindness Oh, if only my Italian experience ended there When I finally checked in, we said good-bye to Boky and went towards the gate. And that was a *long* journey 7- minute walk to that part of the airport, then waiting in a passport check line, then more walking, then waiting for a train to a different terminal When we finally arrived to the gate, the boarding was nearly finished. I was so happy when we finally sat down on our seat on the airplane And my little traveller handled the whole airport journey with a smile on his face. Mommy s and daddy s little darling

12 And then came the cultural surprises of the Balkan area. The airplane was full of people from Belgrade (it was a direct flight from Rome to Belgrade). When the ladies from the area of former Yugoslavia saw me with a child, backpack and small suitcase, they all immediately started to offer their help with a child. And when they heard that I travelled from New Zealand, then they started to compete who was going to help me more. Oh, if they only knew that travelled from New Zealand alone and did just fine even without extra helping hands Those 2 hours of flying to Belgrade were so easy. It is amazing how one s perspective on a length of travel changes after a person travels from one to the other side of the world. I have to admit that after those long trips mothers have a few more hidden aces in their sleeves to entertain their children My friend Dejan was waiting for us at Belgrade airport and took us to Novi Sad, suburb Bocke, where my dad greeted us with a clean house and tons of food. Later that evening my friend Daniela arrived and our socializing time in Novi Sad began

13 Days ahead of us were filled with gatherings with dear people usually 2 to 4 families per day so I could fit in 10 days everything that I did in the past (without a child) in 3 to 4 weeks (Jaca; Nesa and Jelena; Comi; Djordje, Zorica, Tara and Kristina; Sale and Valika (with Tisa in her tummy ; Vesna)

14 My mom Mileva played a lot with her grandson Oliver (unfortunately, we did not see my dad very much during this visit).

15 It was fantastic to see dear people. Nothing seemed to have changed only the children grew older Here are a few wonderful visits. (Dejan, Ljubica and Relja (and Anja and Luka); Natasa; Tamara, Luka, Nina, Brane and Danijela; Jaca, Vlada, Anja and Aleksa; Sale, Danijela, Milica, Mihajlo, Marija and Nikola; Brana and Zoka)

16 A few more smiles (Danijela; Ljubica, Relja, Anja and Luka (and Dejan); Nikola and Jelena; Mira and Anja; Sesa and Steva)

17 And many unforgettable moments with (aunty) Daniela 15 April 03 May 2013

18 And a few plays with our big and little friends 15 April 03 May 2013

19 And more wonderful smiles and laughs 15 April 03 May 2013

20 And a few photos of Oliver, our big traveller in action and in rare moments of rest. Of all memories, one of the most priceless ones is Oliver s race with turtles in Daniela s backyard

21 A garden around my parent s home in Bocke (Novi Sad) was fantastic with the spring colours. Here are a few scenes

22 I also got a chance to meet with my former colleagues from Faculty of Physical Education in Novi Sad (generation ) 15 years after graduation. It was so wonderful to see many dear people from student days, many of whom I have not seen for years (Dejan, Nesa, Vlada, Ljilja, Djuka, Sule, Dusan, Sanja, Milica, Vesna ) We met in front of our former faculty and after that continued the evening with a music and dinner in a nearby restaurant on the Fisherman Island. It was such an unforgettable evening with a fantastic group of people with whom I shared wonderful memories of camping in Valdanos (Monte Negro coast) and skiing in Kolashin (Serbia) and Jahorina (Bosnia and Hertzegovina). By the end of the evening, I spoke to former colleagues and enjoyed the music and dance from this part of the world and simply lost my voice. What an unforgettable evening at least in part because of the fact that I stayed out until 2 am It took me a few days to recover from this outing, especially because Oliver was fully ready to play from 5:30 am that morning

23 And a few more Phys Ed smiles 15 April 03 May 2013

24 And a few scenes from Novi Sad (Serbia) 15 April 03 May 2013

25 Labour Day holidays (1 st May) was excellent without tons of meat, barbeque, food preparation and washing dishes, and with tons of wonderful time with dear people. That day, we walked with my mom Mileva to visit our neighbours Sesa and Steva. Later on, Mira and her 7-month old daughter Anja came to visit us from Zrenjanin. In the evening, we went to visit Dejan and his family (Ljubica, Anja, Luka and Relja) in their cottage house in Stari Rakovac, and later that evening Daniela came to Bocke for another evening together and to help us pack for the trip. The next day, Daniela and Sasa drove us to Belgrade airport and Oliver and I took off for another trip around the world.

26 Oliver handled this trip so well and the pace of meeting new people every day. He is a born traveller! And I got some rest and definitely managed well to avoid close encounters with a computer in these 3 weeks (indeed, in between all get-togethers and parental responsibilities with a 7-month old baby, I did not have much time and/or energy left for using a computer ). Overall, this was a fantastic trip to Europe! It was wonderful to see so many dear people again and for another time feel that the ties of friendship between us are far stronger than kilometres and years between our past memories and current lives. Thank you all for wonderful memories that I brought with me from Rome (Italy) and Novi Sad (Serbia) this year! And I am so happy that I had an opportunity to introduce you to another member of the McKague-Mandic team! Hope you will have a chance to meet the rest of the team in the years to come too in Europe, in New Zealand or somewhere in between it does not really matter! Tons of smiles and positive energy from our trip to New Zealand (currently in Dubai, and just 28 hours of traveling to go and 4 flights before landing in Dunedin (New Zealand) and delivering tons of hugs for our dear darlings Philip and Adriana! Sandy and Oliver Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 03 May 2013