Our trip involved many forms of transportation.

We left the River Concerto in Amsterdam
and boarded the overnight train to Prague.

The first class compartment was very efficient, but certainly nothing like you see in the spy movies where there's enough room to have a fight.
We were carrying too much luggage to ever be mistaken for spies.

Joe got the top bunk and we elected not to heave our 50 lb suitcases into the storage compartment ABOVE the top bunk.

There was actually room up there for a 3rd person to sleep,
obviously someone without any fear of heights and
who doesn't roll around during the night.

Although Prague is a beautiful city and well worth visiting again, our goal on arrival was to pick up our rental car and drive toward Slovakia

After a week in Slovakia we drove to the Czech Republic

Pardubice was the site of the NTREM conference where Joe was presenting a paper

The Pardubice Castle was the site of the Conference Banquet
Peacocks roam the grounds at will.

Near Pardubice is the city of Hradec Kralove. This is the current site of the wooden church
purchased from Habura, Slovakia (my ancestral village) in 1935

Habura's church is located in a city park. Divine Liturgy services are still celebrated there

Other features of the park also have historical significance

Jirisek’s Gardens was established on the grounds of a former entrenchment between the confluence of the Elbe and Orlice Rivers in front of a ravelin (an advance triangular shaped rampart in front of the main wall of the stronghold).

Preserved structures at the garden park entrance gate include a part of the right side of the face of the ravelin and armoured casemates for infantrymen (1784).

In the front part of the entrenchment in the direction of the confluence stands a preserved postern – a sally port used by infantry units for raids on the enemy. The 7.5m long and 2m high tunnel passage breaks through the connecting earth rampart of the entrenchment in front of the ravelin. The former portals can be seen on both sides of the tunnel.

Hydroelectric power station on the Labe (Elbe) River

We drove to Prague and stayed at a hotel at the airport

After 30 days in Europe it was back to the USA for us.