Dear Ivanka,

We are back in town, in Utrecht. We had a good travel from Beograd to Utrecht.
For us it was a very special trip in Servië, especially because you were our guide. We told you already that we are touched by your stories about your country, culture and religion.  Again we will thank you for that.

Robert is sleeping with his Serbian cap. ( joke!)

Love,

Margreet en Robert, Holland

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Thank you very much for keeping us informed and the assistance you gave
to the clients.

Greetings,
Dobry Den Reizen
Rikus Hulscher

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Dear Ivanka,

Yesterday have got well at home. A lot of thanks for so amazing and wonderfull tour what you and your team have organized! I had a lot of information what I will study. In future I try to make programm for Latvian tourists where I include a lot of objects what I saw on this tour.

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your care !

Best regards,

Inese Kravale,
Travel manager

Travel agency RIGAS TURISTI
Dzirnavu iela 43, Riga, LV-1010, Latvia
Tel.: +(371) 67281803, 67244314, 29470228
Fax.: +(371) 67281803
mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.rigasturisti.lv

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I safely arrived in Amsterdam and I like to say thank you again to all the people who made it possible to experience Serbia in a such a good way.

As soon as I have studied all the information you gave me, I will develop a plan for tours in West-Serbia in the near future. The contacts will go through Ivanka Tasic from Panacomp Travel.

I hope that all the agencies you invited will have the same experience as I had and that they also will develop new tours in West-Serbia.

I put all the pictures in a photo-album on internet, with this link you can find them :
http://picasaweb.google.nl/116814591903390911967/StudiereisWestServieJuni2010?feat=directlink

Best regards,

Peter Guyt

Natuurlijk Reizen
Van Hogendorpstraat 861
1051 CD Amsterdam
tel:020-2221767

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Dear Ivanka and Team:

Donna and I want thank you for our wonderful tour of Serbia. We especially enjoyed our meal at the Vila Melodija.  Our driver/guide Zlatan was wonderful. And, yes, we did enjoy visiting the monasteries. We look forward to retuning sometime in the future now that we know a little about Serbia. Donna and Warren, USA

"Thank you for a wonderful meal! We enjoyed it greatly! We thought of our visit with your family as one of the special delights of our visit to Serbia.  We arrived home safely to Peoria, Illinois-USA on May 29, 2010. Hopefully, Maria will let me know if she can read my letter alright. We loved the nettle soup also. Maybe Maria can send me the recipe by e-mail sometime.
Thank you, again for all that you did to make our visit most memorable.
Love, Donna and Warren Wilkins"
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Hi Ivanka,

Good to hear that your Dutch guests had a good time in Serbia !

Thanks for all the good work !

Many regards

Dennis van der Aavort

Europe Destination Marketing

Azaleastraat 90-A

3051 TJ Rotterdam

The Netherlands

Tel: +31-(0)10-785 7300

Mobile: +31-(0)6-2888 5668

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

---------------------------------

Inter Balkan Trip around Serbia - authentic 8 days
Accommodation was acceptable, people very hospitable and kind. Meals were delicious, with great variations. Often too much for us - old people. Drive with three persons in a car from our excellent driver - our Tour leader. Activities : all things of our interest are visited. Communication very good. Everywhere we were waited for ! We are received like V.I.P.s and as old friends. Especially the friends of DJERDAP !!!Our tour guide Ivanca Tasic made our tour a 100% success ! A fine combination of Nature and Culture of Serbia. Many minor road are horrible ! Start of the tour very complex : Departure at Shiphol was planned on May 17. Six O clock : No Flying possible because of the ash-cloud, surely till 14,00. Advice on TV : do not come to Schiphol. On TV many departures cancelled, but Belgrade delayed till 15,00 O clock. We phoned at 11,00 to ask how to handle and advice was : come immediately to the Airport. We managed to get the 11,52 train in Moppel and arrived 13,37 to the airport. No Belgrado on the scale !!! Information told us Belgrade was canceled ! We went to Departures III in search for the JAT Desk. After a while we found an empty desk. We tried to phone for information but no success. 14,15 a man appeared, lated on an other. It turned out that their passangers had gone to Brussels by bus at 14,00. We waited till 15,30 and then came the advice to go next day : at 11,00. We should be at the JAT Desk. So we took the train to go home. One of the JAT persons put the blame on us : We were too late !!! Quite unfriendly !!! On May 18 we had to pay 110 EUR each to change our tickets.
After that we had no problems more and have had wonderful holidays in Serbia !!! Durk and Joop Van der Zee, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Holland

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Individual Tour with private car : Belgrade - Zica and Studenica and Sopocani Monasteries, Nis, Gamzigrad Felix Romuliana - Belgrade
Tour planned very good. Comfortable, good service, for instance in Studenica Monastery. In hotel Prolom Banja the dinner and breakfast were sufficient but not of good quality. In Balasevic hotel our room was a bit small, no place to put the second suitcase. Guide/Driver Zlatan Ilic was very good, well prepared and showed interesting views, according to our wishes, always in time. Activities were very interesting and informative, especially thinking of our interest in frescoes and buildings of monasteries, also in general themes. Guide the best you can get, he tried to explain everything patient way, he had good knowledge of everything. The journey made me feel very happy, Thank you, hvala ! Dr Monika and Christian Klarhoefer, Germany

Bemerkungen zur individuellen Serbien-Reise 20.-23.5.10 Lernidee

Mit der Durchführung der Reise sind wir sehr zufrieden.
Dies ist in erster Linie dem ausgezeichneten Reiseleiter Slatan Ilic zu verdanken und natürlich auch der Agenturleiterin von Panacomp, Ivanka Tasic, indem sie nämlich auf unsere Wünsche bezüglich des Reiseverlaufs eingegangen ist und alles dementsprechend organisiert hat.
Slatan Ilic ist ein erfahrener Reiseleiter, kompetent und ruhig.
Er hatte gelesen, dass wir an der Architektur der Klöster und der Fresken-Ausmalung der Kirchen interessiert sind und hatte sich bestens vorbereitet, so dass er uns überall gut informieren konnte. Er hat überdies immer die Leute, die in den jeweiligen Klöstern oder anderen Sehenswürdigkeiten die Aufsicht führten, gebeten, uns etwas zu erzählen.
Von sich aus hat er uns vorgeschlagen, noch weitere Klöster, die in der Nähe unseres Weges lagen, zu besuchen, auch wenn sie nicht im Reiseplan standen. So haben wir viel Schönes erleben können. Dafür sind wir ihm dankbar.

Der Fahrer, der uns am letzten Tag nach Belgrad fuhr, kann - entgegen der Auskunft zum Reiseverlauf - nur ganz wenige Brocken Englisch. Wenn etwas Unvorhergesehenes passiert wäre, wäre ein Gespräch mit ihm unmöglich gewesen. Aber zum Glück war Ivanka Tasic zur selben Zeit wie wir im Hotel Balasevic und konnte ihn vor der Fahrt genau instruieren.

Wolfsburg, den 24.5.10
Monika und Christian Klarhoefer, Germany

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Dear Ivanca and team. Here I send you the link to the site where you can find all my foto's from our Serbia trip in october. Before I send already some from of our last diner in Farm 137. Here there are more. When you see them, man must say that you form together a very pretty team. Only this is already a trip to Serbia worth!. If one of you like a foto in its original resolution, just send a mail and I send it back.
Wish you all the best and with friendly greetings, Ludo Mooi, Holland
 

http://picasaweb.google.nl/ludomooi/ServieOkt2009Studiereis?authkey=Gv1sRgCNifovTf3Mbm5wE&feat=email#

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I wish you from all my heart a Happy New Year 2010 with your family and best friends!
Yours sincerely, Marina ILIE from Romania

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Excellent, keep it authentic! Daniel - Streamtheworld
What a nice trip! Gerhard Wieser - ORF Austria
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Dear Ivanka,

I promised to send you my opinion on our trip through mediaeval and post-mediaeval Serbia. It was one of the most beautiful and impressive trips I have ever taken through an orthodox country, which learnt me once more that the influence from Byzantium on art, although clear, is always translated in a very specific way into new and very characteristic local images. The history of the Slavic people of Serbia goes hand in hand with its orthodox belief and its sense of beauty, not to mention the impressive natural surroundings, and all this comes together in the beautiful fresco paintings and architecture. Only after such a trip do you realize that the history of the Balkans is very rich, brave, and tragic and, for some reason, little known in Western Europe. It was great to make the acquaintance of your country and your kind, hospitable and warm countrymen from a different, historical and art historical angle, leaving aside all the political questions and obstacles, and to realize that on the basis of history, modern history might need some slight revision.

Of course, a few things could be changed and/or organized in a different way in the programme, which absolutely bears repeating. (Day 2) The Krushedol Monastery was worth a visit, as was our surprising visit to Sremski Karlovci and the honey museum, but the second monastery (Grgeteg?) wasn't (to my opinion); (Day 3) The trip from Novisad to Valjevo was a little too long (perhaps there are some more interesting places to be visited on the way?) (Day 4) It might be a good idea to spend at least half a day (preferably longer) on a boat in the beautiful gorge of Ovcar and Kablar to visit more of the little and very characteristic monasteries.

Our hotel in the neighbourhood of Novi Pazar was situated much too far away from that city. As a consequence we couldn't pay a visit to ‘oriental' Novi Pazar and its bazar and it took us far too much time to visit Melesheva. It is, of course, not good to sit on a bus for ten hours in order to visit only one monastery, a visit which takes no longer than one hour. The hotel itself was not at all suitable for elderly persons (cold, no hot water etc. and, as a whole, a real fire trap), but, it should be said, we had great fun over a delicious diner and the landscape around the hotel is magnificent. Diners might have been more diverse.

All the entrance fees should be included in the price for the trip. Low though they are, it is impossible to pay for yourself if you have only 1000 dinar banknotes at your disposal.

The visit to the opera was a very welcome cultural extra and should always be included in trips like these! Thank you for creating the opportunity.

I already told you about the last restaurant which was a disappointment in every respect.

Dear Ivanka, perhaps my criticism seems harsh but it is meant to be constructive. You should continue to include beautiful historical trips like these in your programme.

Wishing you a great New Year 2010 and hoping to meet you again in the near future,

Best wishes, Victoria, Holland

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 Dear Ivanka and Jadranka!!!!

I do remember the nice time we had in Novi Sad with you both!!!! I often look at the pictures and smile...happy memories of our time in Serbia.

From Toronto, we want to WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND THE BEST OF EVERYTHING FOR 2010!!!!

Hugs from us both
Renate and John, USA

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Dear Ivanka,
In our journal I read that your archbishop Pavle died. You told me about him. I understood that you loved him because he was a man of peace.
So I thought about Serbia and of course I remembered those wonderful weeks we travelled in your beautiful country. I hope all is well with you.
I sent you some pictures with my greetings!
Pieter van der Heide, Netherlands

--------------------------------------------

Dobar Dan

The french NGO "See the earth from the ground" thanks you for the time that you spent with our explorators members. 

They informed us that they met very interesting project hope to you, and that they collect useful testimony from you and your partners. We will inform you soon when some of this projects will be publish on our website.

In hope that is the beginning of a sustainable network in Serbia with you,

Regards,

La Terre Vue du Sol
NGO of Responsible travellers
13, rue des Blanchers
31000 Toulouse
+336.21.20.15.40

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Dear Panacomp-team,

It was a pleasure to meet you! The warm hospitality of the Serbian people was overwhelming. I am sure we will be in contact again to arrange something for our clients, so they can experience the same as I have in the last week.

All the best,

René Dool
Dobrý Den Reizen
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

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Dear crew at panacomp,

it was a pleasure to meet you all. Thanks for your good care. I have enjoyed a wonderfull stay in Serbia, met many interesting and great people, became much more familiair with the places in our programms, had a great laugh with many of you, and last but not least I am greatfull that we have reconsilidated our professional and friendly ties.

Have a look at some of the pictures I took on the way....

Speak to you soon again!

Ruud Peeten, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Dear Ivanka,

I want to say you a lot of thanks. Hotels were very good and dinner in Sirogojno was great.

Thank you very much!

I hope to cooperate with you next year. I have group to Serbia and Montenegro next september.

Best regards,

Inese, Rigas Turist, Latvia

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Dear Ivanka,

Just a few words for you. How I decided in the beginning of 2009 to go to Servie, now finishing our trip we are very very glad we did it.
First of all, your country is so beautiful, the landscape, pure ! The mix of hills and valleys, the trees, much kind of flowers with so different colors !
The very kind people and their strength to develop and reconstruct their beautiful country !
Your country with its old history will survive because of its brave people !
One of them, you Ivanka, is the best and beautiful visit-card, a promoter, passioned, honest, with pure and lovely heart. It was not only the way how you explained the story of Serbia, its culture, but I saw the human Ivanka, with a golden heart and mind and none of bitterness. So to look in your heart is great present.
Again I learn : forgive your enemy ! I'll try it with more intention !

Thank you for all you did for us and may God bless you and your family.

Hans and G, Netherlands

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Dear Ivanka,

First of all I would like to thank you the organization, the service and the guides were really perfect, the partners liked Dunav Restaurant very much.
Best regards Orsolya Serfőző Bosch, Hungary

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CHRIS HANDLEY MA LLB FCIPD
41 LEYBORNE PARK, KEW, SURREY TW9 3HB
Tel: 020 8940 1709 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Alistair McCabe 09/10/2009
McCabe Pilgrimages
11 Hillgate Place
Balham Hill
LONDON SW12 9ER

Dear Alistair

We were among the party led by Rev Nigel Worn of St Anne's, Kew, to Syria on 23 April this year. It was a most memorable week, for which many, belated thanks.

Since then we have enjoyed an equally memorable week, which Nigel suggested we should tell you about, in case you might wish to include such an idea in your portfolio of tours.

We have always loved Byzantine art and architecture and have visited most of the greatest sites in Greece. It is generally agreed, however, that some of the most outstanding examples are in Serbia and Kosovo. Having spent a week touring those beautiful countries, we can confirm this is true. We had intended to join a tour organised by Panacomp, one of Serbia's top tour operators, but as it was cancelled due to lack of support, one of their co-Directors (it is a husband-and-wife Company, with a support team of about eight) suggested a tailor-made tour and offered to drive us in her car.

We visited almost 20 churches and monasteries, staying overnight in one of them and in very pleasant hotels elsewhere. We met countless monks, priests and nuns (including a 90-year-old abbess!) who were delighted to describe the magnificent frescoes and tell us often harrowing stories about their fight for survival. Some of the most beautiful Serbian Orthodox monasteries are in Kosovo, and are UNESCO sites, protected by NATO forces. Attacks from Albanians are now very rare, and at no time did we feel unsafe or even uncomfortable. The people are extremely welcoming and hospitable.

We could go on. Indeed, if you would like to learn more and see some photos and booklets, we would be happy to meet you in Balham. We feel that, ten years after the war, Serbians deserve the support of overseas tourism, especially in view of the priceless treasures they have to offer. Perhaps McCabe could forge some kind of link with Panacomp. I know that Ivanka Tasic, their Director, would love to hear from you. She is a devout Christian, her English is excellent and her knowledge of Serbian history and culture is second to none. You will reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and they have an excellent website.

Kind regards,
Yours sincerely,

We have just returned home, but our minds and hearts are still with Serbia!

We simply cannot thank you enough for all your kindness, generosity and sheer hard work over the last six days. The tour exceeded our wildest expectations, and we have many memories which we will treasure for the rest of our lives. You introduced us to so many wonderful people - monks, priests, nuns - and, of course, the wonderful people of Velika Hoca. We learned so much through your superb translating abilities and have now a real understanding of the challenges facing your beautiful country.

We have just finished looking at the many photographs we took - magnificent churches, monasteries, frescoes, scenery, food - and above all, the people. This has made us all the more determined to return one day.

Please say a big 'thank-you' to everyone who helped to make our tour so memorable and to Olga and your excellent team. And when there is news of Djuka, please let us know!

But especially, please accept our heartfelt thanks to yourself, for giving us the experience of a lifetime. We are privileged to have spent so much time with you, and feel we have a very special friend.

With fondest love and best wishes,

Margaret and Chris, UK

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"For a long time already I was curious to visit Kosovo and Metohija. This tiny province of 11 000 km2 (approx. 15% of the territory of Serbia) was a hot-spot of the wars following the breakup of former Yugoslavia and is today a frozen conflict. In February 2008 ethnic Albanian secessionist declared unilaterally independence from Serbia and until today they have been recognized by 54 countries among which, the USA and 22 European countries, but as well Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. 2/3 of the UN countries, among which Serbia, Russia, India and China haven't recognized the Serbian province as an independent state which is why this disputed territory is still in legal limbo. There are still more than 15 000 armed international peace-keeper troops, protecting the remaining Serbs, gathered in enclaves and Serbian monasteries and churches. During an uprising of Albanian extremists in 2004, 24 Serbian orthodox churches and shrines in Kosovo had been damaged or destroyed by rioters.....

So I wanted to know how life goes today in the province, especially for the endangered Serbian community and to watch the magnificent frescoes and churches, some of them of the 12th century, which for their beauty have been classified World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Even though protected by the United Nations KFOR, most of these sites have been added to the List of World Heritage Sites in danger in 2006, due to the potential for attacks by ethnic-Albanian extremists. Naturally my aim was as well to realize a photo-reportage about this journey to be able to show how really the reality on the ground looks like....
...Approaching the administrative line between Kosovo and Serbia I noted the transformation of the landscape with pre-Alpes like, snowcapped mountains, forests and quiet rivers boarding the road....

....One of the highlights of this journey was the visit to several monasteries and churches, with the oldest dating back to the 12th century. The first I visited, and certainly one of the most impressing, was the Visoki Decani Monastery, established in a chestnut grove by Serbian King Stefan Uroš III Dečanski in 1327. We passed a first checkpoint of Italian KFOR military and our bus stopped at the second in front of the huge gate of the Monastery. Soldiers in arms told us to wait for our arrival to be checked. For security reasons it was forbidden to take photos of the military installations. The security glass windows of the guards' cabins were crippled with impacts from former aggressions by Albanian extremists.
Once we were allowed to cross the huge gate of the Monastery, the large medieval church, built from blocks of red-purple, light-yellow and onyx marble was just in front of us in the middle of the garden, surrounded by several service buildings. After a warm welcome by the monks they guided us around the church, explaining us its history and showing us the magnificent frescoes, which for most of them are remarkably well conserved. It was impressing how vibrant the colors of the frescoes are despite the lack of light and it was a special challenge for me to take pictures of them without using my flash light....

...Not far from there is the Patriarchate of Peć, a complex of four churches in one which is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of the Serbian archbishops and patriarchs, dating from the 13th century. It is located at the very entrance of the Rugova gorge near Peć, Barbed wire boards the river for to impeach an aggression by crossing the river and armed KFOR forces protect the complex. The churches are richly decorated with splendid frescoes and contain a true treasure of medieval liturgical art. During winter time the garden with its tower is transformed into a landscape coming right out of a fairytale. After discussing and sharing meal with the nuns we took the direction of Prizren.

Our Lady of Ljeviš is a 12th century Serbian Orthodox Church in the town of Prizren. It was destroyed and burned down during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo by Albanian mobs despite being guarded by KFOR since June 1999. For to access the church we had to wait that KFOR soldiers cleared the entry of the barbed wire protecting the premises. The interior was cold, empty and dark, with only some of the splendid medieval frescoes spared by fire and destruction. Nevertheless we still felt the feeling of this impressing building and the rests of the remaining frescoes came to life with the light of our candles.

Three kilometres from Prizren is the Monastery of the Holy Archangels. It was erected on the left bank of the Bistrica river, on an expansive plateau formed in the gorge by the water's fast course. At the time of it's construction by king Dušan it was a very large monastery, housing about 200 monks. At his death, king Dušan was buried in the main monastery church and his gravestone can still be seen in the ruins of what is left today of this monastery even if his remains have been transported to Belgrade for security reasons. In 2004 Albanian extremists destroyed and burnt down nearly everything of this Monastery so that today only a small house (konak), lodging the 5 remaining monks is still on site among the ruins. Standing in the yard of the monastery at dawn, looking at the snow-covered ruins and the surrounding majestic hills, one can imagine how life has been during medieval times. It was a very strange and moving experience for all of us.

The difference between the Albanian and Serb villages and settlements was very noticeable : the Serbs were gathered in enclaves with barbed wire and heavy KFOR military protecting them. Their villages were very poor and the local shops almost empty. At dawn it was difficult to say which of the shops was actually open since frequent power shortages left them without light and sometimes only a discreet shimmer of candlelight indicated that the shop was actually open. The local population gave us a warm welcome and, in typical Serbian hospitality, shared their meal with us.

The landscapes of this province are absolutely wonderful, especially the natural park near the skiing domains of Bresovica. This travel was really an extraordinary experience for me, culturally and emotionally rich and still today, I'm still enlightened with the memory of the beauty of the images I saw, the rich history and the peaceful atmosphere of the monasteries and churches. I'm looking forwards to return during spring time for to take some more photos of these, then, completely changed landscapes."

Joachim HEINEMANN, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Dear Ivanka,
Thank you so much for giving us such a brilliant view of Serbia, we
had a wonderful time in your beautiful country, and I am sure it is in
no small part to the generous amount of help and time given to us by
you and your girls. The wooden village and train ride at Mokra Gora
was such a beautiful excursion to go on from Guca.
We had a truely amazing time dancing on tables, hugging police men and
having trumpets blown in our ears, We'll never forget our time in Guca
hvala hvala hvala,
much love Liv and Jess, UK

--------------------------------

Hello,

We had a great time rafting with Mr. Simo. The scenery is superb and the guys are wonderful. The "rachia" was very good too :)

I'm very sorry about all the problems that happened because of us (being late for the meeting in Prijepolje, not sending the money because of my stupid bank, and so on). Thank you for everything! You're the best!

Regards,
Claudiu & Ioana & Horia, Romania

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My dear Ivanka,

I really have the best memories to the 3 nights spend in Guca and I guess I will be back for 2010.  I was afterwards one week in Albania, a fantastic country as well, especially as I travelled with my Albanian friends.  Please send my warmest regards to the girls!

And I hope that we get to see some of Jimy's pictures and the film Jimy did with Ruben. Do you have a link?  I guess it will be on internet right?

Have a nice weekend,  Elena  

------------------------------------------

Dearest Ivanka

We had a marvellous time !

I found Marko Markovic on the last night in a bar and asked him for a photo with my group. He was very pleasant and spoke very good English. My group were so pleased they stayed dancing until 4am. They talked about it for the rest of the holiday!
Attached are a couple of photos you might like to see. I  am in the process of putting together the itinerary for 2010, we would definitely like to stay in the same house again but with any luck, I'll bring a much bigger group next time!

Zoe, Thegroupscompany, UK

---------------------------------

Dear Ivanka & staff,

I thought I was crazy, but then I met Ivanka and her girls... Thanks for everything ! Maja Wieser, Austria

---------------------------------

Thanks for everything. Nice girls ! Nice trumpets ! I hope to see you again very soon on the Balkan Trafyk Festival in Brussels !
Samuel Cololignon, Belgium

---------------------------------

We have a very nice time in Guca. Thanks for your hospitality. Greetings from Holland, Erwin and Rhianne, Holland

---------------------------------

What's for a great PANACOMP crew ! Thank for you attention during our trip ! BalkanTrafyk was there : see you in Brussels 8th, 9th and 10th April 10
Nicolas www.balkantrafik.com

---------------------------------

What a wonderful hospitality ! These days was better than you ever could imagine. Now I have to go home and pick up the trumpet to come back in an orchester next time. Best greeting from me and my friends Asa and Sture.
Mathias, Sweden

---------------------------------

Brilliant ! Thanks from Ireland

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Our time in Guca was absolutely fabulous !!! Hospitality was the best !!
Ivanka, Sladjana and Marina were the ultimate hosts. Very attentive and helpful, especially our "translator" Sladjana, "the hostess with the mostess".
Lots and lots of love. James, Amsterdam

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 Dear Ivanka & Staff,

Just a quick e-mail to say thank you for looking after me so well during my stay in Guca for the wonderful but mad, brass festival. I had a great time and you really made the whole thing a very easy and fun experience right from the beginning (half travel agent / half mother) You were great!

I've attached some photos I took of the festival. If you can use any of them (or you want others - these are just a small selection), then please let me know.

Good luck with the business and all of your work.

 Mark x      www.markepstein.co.uk 

Thank you for a wonderful time. You have been so kind. I've loved it !
Mark Epstein /Manchester/ This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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hey lovely ladies! it was wonderful to meet you.
Novi Sad truly is much nicer then Beograd. I had a wonderful time in Serbia and really do want to come back!
We are in Bulgaria now and struggling through the mountains. Beautiful but challenging.  Thanks for the place to stay the awesome food and just for being too marvelous and open and intelligent women!
Till next time, Keely jade Dakin, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Canada 

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Dear Ivanka and team,

Sorry for answering you so late, we had some more holidays in our family in France after comming back from Belgrade, and we are now back to work and have had some busy days ! Thank you very much for your kind e-mail, and for your proposition of refunding dinner and breakfast, you will find our full bank account number at the end of this email.

Indeed, Silver Lake was maybe not the best place to stay for our last night, but I guess you tried to find somewhere that best fitted to our request,that is to say a place near the end of Djerdap National Park on Golubac side, and not to far from Belgrade. With the experience gained, I guess we could either have stayed one more night at Crnajka (and get up very early in the morning) or even spend our last night in Belgrade. Indeed, as Lepenski Vir was closed for renovation, we arrived at Silver Lake quite early, at the beginning of the afternoon, so we would have had time to go back to Crnajka or directly go to Belgrade before dinner time. For your information, we paid 2400 dinars for dinner (which was delicious, all other problems apart !!!). I think this closes the subject of our unfortunate last stop, which must not hide how nice was the rest of our stay ...

As promised, we have compiled hereafter some of our impressions concerning the rest of our stay in Serbia :

- whatever the time we arrived (sometimes much earlier than expected, sometimes later), we have always been welcomed very kindly by all our hosts ! I would say that with regards to exchanges with Serbians, our best experience was in Rudno, but I guess it was partly because of the presence of several english speaking people ; anyway, even though we sometimes had difficulties to communicate, we always managed to find a way to understand each other (drawings, hands, ... and we even learnt some essential words in serbian : pravo, desno, semaforu, dobar dan, dobre jutro, sup ... very useful !!!).

- our favorite stops, in terms of nature, are Tara National Park and Uvac canyon region, not to forget Davolja Varos, which is really an amazing site !!! ; with the experience gained during our stay, I would say we had a bit too much driving so that we had only time to get a first "taste" of these regions. If we had to choose again an itinerary, we would go to the same places ... except Silver Lake ..., but we would do it in 2 weeks instead of 1. By doing this, we would have time to do more walking in the mountains (e.g. go to Midzor peak and not only Babin Zub in Stara Planina or do more walks in Tara National Park and in Uvac region). We would maybe just have a half-day driving along the Dunav in Djerdap National Park, but not make a specific stop there, or rather try to go further (in Homoljske mountains nearby ?) to do some walking ...

- We liked very much Serbian cooking, even if it was something difficult to eat so much at breakfast, because we are not at all used to ! (so much that we generally did not have lunch in between breakfast and dinner !!!) If we had to give marks to all our hosts, it would be very difficult to find the best, as they all proposed different and very tasty dishes ... but, still, I guess we had a small preference for the cooking of our host Mrs LADOLEZ ... in Rudno !

As a conclusion, we wanted to thank you again for the organisation of our accomodation : you managed to find places which we would certainly not have found if we had seeked by ourselves ... and which corresponded exactly with our wish to exchange about serbian traditions and culture (and cooking!), and discover natural sites. I hope such a tourism will go on developing in Serbia, and above all that it will still enable simple and true exchanges with people, and keep natural sites as they are. We really think that there is a place (and a market) for such a kind of tourism, far from what Croatia is doing and soon Montenegro, i.e. mass tourism. If it is the case, we will be very happy to come back to Serbia in a few years maybe, to visit more deeply some places we aleardy went to, and maybe discover some other places and traditions (I guess we could go to Guca trumpet festival as well, as we are very fond of this kind of music !!!)

Thanks very much again, and best wishes, to you and all your team !

Marie & Itham, France

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Dear Sladjana,

Thank you very much for your help - everything was perfectly organized and I really enjoyed my stay in Belgrade and Novi Sad !

Best regards,  Serban Costa

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. S.-D.Costa

Direktor der Universitätsfrauenklinik

Gerhart-Hauptmann-Straße 35

39108 Magdeburg Germany

Tel.: (49) 0391/67-17310

Fax: (49) 0391/67-17311

Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

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Dear Ivanka,
Thank you for your hospitality during my visit to Belgrade. I had a wonderful time meeting you and your colleagues and your dinner reception was wonderful.
wish you all the best.
Armando LaCivita
Account Executive EAME, GEOSOFT Europe Ltd.
freedom to explore
T +44 1491 835 231
F +44 1491 835 281

Hello Ivanka,
Thanks for your hospitality and all your efforts in planning the conference, and efforts of your staff. Overall, I believe the conference was worthwhile venture for us as a company - although it is always difficult to judge the commercial success of a conference, especially so soon afterwards.

For me personally, it was one of the easiest exhibition experiences I have ever had, largely due to your efforts. I had a good stay in Belgrade, short as it was, and look forward to returning in the not too distant future.

Regards
Kent Falkenstein, Seistronix

Dear Ivanka,

From Tirana I am expressed to you our gratitude for the your hospitality, friendship, and attention toward us during the Congress days in Belgrade. Thank you very much. For many years we will remember our stay in Belgrade.
Please transmit to all your team our cordial congratulations!
 
With much respect and best regards
Sincerely yours
Alfred

Prof. Dr. Alfred Frasheri
Faculty of Geology and Mining
Polytechnic University of Tirana
Home address: Rr. Durresit, Pall. 7, Sh.1 Ap.6
Tirana, Albania
Tel: +355 4 2225160
Mob: +355 68 2380260

Dear Ivanka,

Thanks for your hospitality at Belgrade and it was nice meeting you and your team. I hope we can repeat it in other occasion. Thanks,

Hasan Aktarakçi Ph.D
Senior Geophysicist/Manager
Advanced Geosciences Europe, S.L.
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear Senezana and Panacomp friends,
We thank you for the successful organization of the 5th BGC in Belgrade.
 
We found that our accommodations in Hotel Continental Belgrade and the congress facilities were perfect. We hope that this congress will open an opportunity to perform a futured scientific initiations between the Balkan countries in the frame of EU supported projects or bi-(multi) lateral cooperations.
On the other hand, representations of the friends in Panacomp, and their approaches were also so kind, high-grade professionally and excellent even during the stresfull and endless requests of the Turkish participants. We appreciated them for their patients and helps.
By the way, during our half day visit to Kalamegdan on May 12 (Tuesday); we also clearly unserstood that why the lungs of Istanbul was called "Belgrad Ormanlari-Belgrade Forest" when we looked from the Kalamegdan to the green forest where Sava and Danube rivers joins over there. Really so beautiful.
 
Best regards from Izmir city, capital of the Aegean region of Turkey.

Group of Izmir for the 5th BGS:
- Ms. Ayca Yurdakul (PhD Student)
- Mrs. Elcin Gok (PhD Student)
- Dr. Orhan Polat (Assist.Prof.Dr.)

Dokuz Eylul University
Engineering Faculty, Department of Geophysics
Earthquake Research and Implementation Center (ERIC)
Kaynaklar Campus of Tinaztepe
Buca 35160 Izmir, Turkey
Phone (work) : (+90.232) 412 72 66
Phone (gsm) : (+90.530) 505 13 05
Fax  : (+90.232) 453 83 66
E-mail  : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
WEB  : http://people.deu.edu.tr/orhan.polat/index_en.htm

Snezana + the Organizing Committee :
Thank you very much for a wonderful couple of days in Belgrade. I had a super good time ! Teaching the students EAGE course was fun and enjoyable. Looking froward to meeting you again.
Peter Nederlof - SHELL

Ivanka, You are the supreme organizer of conference planning - your enthusiasm and professionalism are excellent /including your budgeting skills/ ! Thank you for smiles and wisdom during the Balkan Geo Conference 2009. We value you at the SEG !
Pamela Terekhova, SEG Global Relations
Thank you for all your assistance with the Conference. You have been a great help in making this conference a success. I can not imagine a more professional group led by a highly professional woman - Ivanka.
Kerry Cosby SEG

Thank you for everything you have done for us. It is great pleasure to be here in Belgrade such lovely place in the region. You all have done OK, thank you.
Ilia Gjermani,

We are very grateful for the hospitality and for the kindness. All the organization team is very friendly and efficient. This was a good congress, very well organized. Thank you sincerely,
Orlando Leite, IRIS INSTRUMENTS France

The EXPO was interesting and well organized. The event staff were extremely helpful. My only negative point was that the expo hall was too hot !!! Please install modern air conditioning !!! Thank you again for all the help.
Jon Stead, ROBERTSON GEOLLOGINGS UK

I was glad to participate to the meeting of BGS. Greece and Servia were always aside. I hope I did the same to the Servian colleagues.
Prof. George Apostolopoulos, Greece

I'd like to my gratitude for good hospitality to all front desk staff. It was good organization. Every staff was very close and friendly. I have good memories. It was good opportunity to get some information and experience of Serbian people. I keep all forever in my mind. Thank you for everything from Turkey :
Murat Yilmaz, Metin Altay, A.Zeynel Denzlioglu, Ali Aydin

I came from Iran, the country of big oilfields. I was not surprised by the hospitality of Serbs since I had heard a lot about them, but I surprised by the quality of the Conference and how it covered many issues in Geophysics. Thank You !
Mehdi Aszharzadeh

The Congress and all related events were very good organized ! I thank you very much. A special thanks for the most important ladies of the Congress : Snezana, Alla and Ivanka !
Constantin Sava, Romania

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Thank you for the arrangements and all the work you did for the conference. I appreciated the help and the arrangements, including the hotel, were good.

I had brought my camera with the intention if getting pictures of the people that I met and worked with. Unfortunately, I did not do that. Would you have pictures of the people that helped with the conference? If you do, could you please send me a copy? Thank you
Alan Mencin, Chemical Engineer
Professional Engineer, MBA

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Dear Ivanka,

It was really a great pleasure to cooperate with your team at our PSI Constituency Meeting for Central Europe held in Skopje, Macedonia, on 12-13 January 2009. Your services were very professional. But I also appreciate your friendly behaviour and the fact that you were willing to travel to Macedonia to help us in the last moment in a difficult situation... Thank you very much on behalf of PSI. I hope to continue cooperating with you. This year we plan to organise various activities in our subregion including Serbia. E.g. we will have a meeting for energy trade unions from South Eastern Europe in Belgrade on 17-18 September and it will be in the Continental Hotel where you have opened your office. So that it is an opportunity to use your services again.
Looking forward to hearing of you and seeing you again,
Best wishes, Josef

Dr. Josef Krejbych
Public Services International (PSI)
Secretary for Central Europe
Office: W.Churchill Sq. 2, 113 59 Prague 3, Czech Republic
Phone: +420.234 463 559
Fax: +420.234 463 557
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
PSI website: www.world-psi.org
----------------------

Dear Ivanka, Natasa and everyone!

Hello once again from Ukraine:) We're finally back to reality and ready to send you our photos from Guca (as promised). Some of these pictures were used in the article we wrote for Ievgen's newspaper. So now 80000 more people in Kiev know about Guca festival, and we hope you'll have more tourists from Ukraine next year. As a feedback, I'd say that everything was as good as possible. Your organization was just perfect, our hosts were very kind to us, room and meals were good, so everything was worth it. We definitely would like to visit Serbia once again.

Many thanks to you for everything. Best regards,

Oleksandra Matviienko, Ukraine

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Hi,  Thank you for the pictures !
Hope to see you again in Guca !

Marc

Fanfare Médecine de Reims, Les Boules De Feu,
51, rue Cognacq-Jay
51100 REIMS

tel: 06.16.09.57.36 (président)
site: www.boulesdefeu.com
Retrouvez notre Actualité sur
http://www.boulesdefeu.com/date.html

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Dear Ivanka, we got home safes and sounds, thank you. And also thank you for all the event. We spent really nice time in Serbia an will keep very nice memories. Muzeum Narodowe Rolnictwa i Przemyslu Rolno-Spozywczego w Szreniawie ul. Dworcowa 5, 62-052 Komorniki, Poland BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL !

Ula Siekacz, Poland

--------------------------------- 

I'm lucky to have met you and the people you introduced us to. It was an experience not many tourists would have had. I only hope that more people will open their minds and leave aside their prejudices about your country, and allow themselves to experience Serbian hospitality and the still "undiscovered" places you have there. You are certainly doing an important bit in opening foreign people's eyes, and you have our congratulations and best wishes. You are a very inspiring person and I'm sure you are touching many people's, especially young ones', lives, and we admire you very much for that. We have been telling people we meet, including our families, of our experience there, and sharing our photos, so we hope to convince a few people we know to consider Serbia in their future holidays. Who knows where it might lead, right? I hope to make my own webpage or blog about travels, and will certainly include our unique and interesting experiences there.

Here are some photos taken when on our trip to Viminacium. Hope you like them. If you could send us a few from your camera, that would be great.

This is all for now. By the way, I shall be sending you a copy of the book I have been talking about, Genes, Peoples, and Languages by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, so please don't bother to buy yourself one. Just a small token from us.

Best regards from Nuno and myself to you and your family, and all the best  in all of your projects! Donah, Portugal
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NIGEL and company !

Thanks for your kind words Ivanka!

We were very much impressed by the arrangements you had made and I shall comment upon them in more detail later.

To be fair, after visiting the wonderful countryside, we were not at all impressed with Belgrade and that seems to have been the overall impression of the British Eurovision delegation, judging from the comments made on to-day's flight.

But your countryside is something really special as was the wonderful welcome we received there. Too many special things happened for me to be able to remember them quickly. Sufficed to say, we were the envy of the people we met to-day, as they would have loved to have experienced the 'real' Serbia, which we were fortunate to have seen for ourselves.

You might recall that I was slightly less than enthusiastic about Guca earlier.............but having felt something of the Serbian soul, it does sound quite appealing..........watch this space and I shall work on another friend for a return visit before too long.

Speaking of CDs, I have just realised that, including the one you gave me, I have brought home 13 CDs....so I shall be kept busy listening to them all as well!

Serbia is a wonderful country and one you are rightly proud of. Your contacts too, were very fine ambassadors of your country.....

A very big 'Hvala' to you and your lovely young ladies.

N, S, J & E /UK guests visiting Serbia before and during EUROSONG 2008, MAY 2008/

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Dear Ivanka,

I am sorry that I write you so late. As I have already told Natasa, I have had such a nice impression of our short time spent together, that I didn't feel like a "thank-you postcard" would be enough to show that. And time and inspiration for a letter I haven't had till now, because of the many problems I faced after my coming home and because the work. I am spending almost the whole day in the hospital.

Today is Sunday, I am home finally, I remember my friends, my trip, the people I met, my impressions about all.

I am very happy, that I had this occasion due to Prof. Tihomir and prof. Diczfalusy. And also your agency; I was not at all decided and Natasa was so nice and encouraging. Her help was what I needed to make the final decision and she made it easier for me to realize it.

Novi Sad stays in my mind as a wonderful and friendly town. On my way to home I could study the books I got from you. I am grateful to you, who helped me to feel closer to your culture /I am still seeing that young girl coming out the church, to understand things, that I didn't know so. In fact, this is your vocation and you do it well!! Thanks for all.

Looking forward to hearing about you, Anna, Romania

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Dear Ivanka and Miroslav,

Thank you for the cd's of Serbian beauties that I will certainly enjoy and distribute to friends. Miroslav, we had a very educating tour last Saturday and I thank you for the interesting discussions and introduction to the manasteries in Fryska Gora and for the Vergin of Snow.All the best and many wishes for a successful summer tourist period. Dragi Ivanka i Miroslave, Hvala za CD o lepotama Srbije u kojima cu svakako uzivati i predstaviti ih prijateljima. Miroslave, imali smo veoma edukativnu turu prosle subote i mnogo se zahvaljuem na zanimljivim razgovorima i upoznavanju sa manastirima Fruske Gore i Snezne Marije. Sve najbolje i mnogo dobrih zelja za uspesno turisticku sezonu.

Professor Leonidas H. Duntas Endocrine Unit, Evgenidion-Hospital University of Athens /May 2008/

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My Dear Ivanka!

Thank you very much for such optimistic, encouraging and original message. I am very happy to know that you (more intelligent , more beautifull and more modest !!!!!! than me ) and your special team are well, that you are working with the same whole-heartedness and premptitude (as I KNOW!!!!!!).
Now, let`s leave big words and free advertising..... . I miss Serbia, Novi Sad, Serbian traditional music, shlivovitza etc. etc. .... ok, you and Slagyana. Maybe life is not so short, and world is not so big so that we can get together at least the once.

About Mr. Razvan Ciuca... I know..and you know... Please excuse and understand us. But you must know that he likes and admire you very much, especially as leader, strong and beautiful woman, and very pleasant.

I was very busy last month, that is why I couldn`t write you quickly, as I promised. Please forgive me for this.
Also, do not forget to pardon my English and any inopportune statement.

With friendship and many thanks,
modest Marina ILIE, Romania

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Hi Ivanka, Thank you for your professional handling of the CIMA congress last week. It was a pleasure to watch you meeting and greeting both the delegates and your tourism friends in the field. We will never forget the hospitality we received and the beauty of Serbia. I hope you feel that everything was positive with the congress and that you made some new contacts that will be valuable to you in the future. I will think of you often when I am arranging a tour or dinner here and remember your unfailing sense of humor. ZIVILI !

Judit Sheridan, USA

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Dear Ivanka and team,

Our apologies for taking so long to write back. City life takes over once again! We both had an incredible time in Serbia at the Guca festival and we want to thank you, your team and our campsite hosts for your warmth and hospitality. When we arrived we were welcomed with delicious food and plum brandy. Ivanka, you loved to share that plum brandy with anyone and everyone! The campsite was beautiful and it was great to be sharing it with the French band Les Boules de Feu, who rocked, Brass Band Style! Our only suggestion to you for the next year is to be careful not to overfill the site - there's only one shower and toilet!

We will always remember our time at Guca. Especially fond memories include the Boban Markovic concert. I have never seen such amazing emotion in a crowd. Also, we had a lovely time with you and the TV crew - the food, drink, company that evening made it a special end to our time at the festival.

You were also very helpful in suggesting places in Montenegro, where we went after Guca. We ended up camping in peaceful Stoliv, near Kotor. It was the perfect medicine to the craziness of Guca!

So thank you, Panacomp, for helping to make our stay in Serbia a wonderful experience we will never forget. We hope we can return one day soon. Please stay in touch and let us know of any other Serbian folk festivals you think we might like to go to!

We wish you and your team the very best for the future.

Ollie and Hannah xxx/UK/

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Hello! We had a wonderful time in Serbia! Thank you for your help in planning this special part of our trip. Our driver was fantastic.  Nicholai was very friendly and kind and patient, and a good driver.  He was very helpful during our time in Crvenka.  Please send our best to him as he finishes his studies. We also really enjoyed the tour with Goran to the winery and fortress.  This was very interesting.  We learned so much. Your country has many beautiful sights and historic treasures.  And although we were a little hesitant because of events in the news, we found the people to be very warm and friendly.  Once again, thank you for your help. Warm regards, Marti Gutwein, USA

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To PANACOMP

NOVI SAD, Bulevar Cara Lazara 96

Jadranka Petrovic

We thank you for the brilliant organization of the "Vojvodina Endocrinology Day" held on December 21, 2007.

 Prof.dr Dragan Katanic,

Head of Endocrinology Dept.

The President of Endocrinology Section,

Doctors's Association of Vojvodina

 28, Dec 2007

Hello dear Ivanka! Finally, after much delay I am here to say thank you again! Hvala Hvala Hvala!

I have had a busy time with work and family matters since I returned home, but here I am now. Our visit to Belgrade was excellent. I want to thank you for arranging everything for us - the hotel in Zemun was perfect - like a little oasis. The Staff at B-Klub were very helpful and attentive and it was a very comfortable and homely base for our visit.

From the Kalmegdan gardens, the views of the river confluence was amazing - what a commanding vista! Something I will never forget. The cafes and restaurants of the old town gave perfect southern european hospitality and we also enjoyed the lovely restaurants on the edge of the Danube in Zemun. Of course, the main reason for our trip was Eurovision and we are happy that our passion brought us to the capital of Serbia. Everyone was very welcoming and we had a great time.

Thank you again for enabling our visit. Please thank your team also - we are very appreciateive of the efforts you made to get us the excellent seats in the Belgrade Arena. I am just sorry we did not get to thank you personally, but the days went by very quickly. I am sure we will return to Belgrade some day. Very best wishes and thank you again Gary (Speirs), UK  

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Yes, Serbia is a nice country and the people are interesting and intelligent. I stayed in Belgrade for a few months last year and I stayed in the country too for a couple of weeks. I went swimming in Ada Lake in the summer and I stayed through the winter in Belgrade too. It was very interesting and different for me as a western European to see just how normal Serbian people are...not at all like the propaganda stereotype my media had portrayed. I intend to go again this winter to see my Jelena.
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  dearest ivanka,

it was such a great time with you and i wished, now i were in guca and not here in my office. (see the picture!) i will stay in contact with you and will send photos and send the best wishes to you to Serbia. and if you come to Germany (you have to come!), than let us know! 
i also have some pictures for you, but i need some time to arrange it and order for you. so much work here again :-(   best, eva, Germany August 2007

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Dear Ivanka,

I have arrived back home and have to say I really enjoyed the time in Guca - thanks for all your help and organisation, greetings to Svetlana and her family! Greetings from Germany and thank you again!
Steffi, Germany August 2007

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HI Ivanka !
We are in Belgrade. Everything is Ok !  Many many thanks, greetings to the girls, have a nice evening and see you next year in GUCA, Olaf, Germany August 2007

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This is a rather belated "thankyou" for all the help, hospitality and welcome which you and your colleagues provided to me and other visitors in Novi Sad a couple of weeks ago. All the arran