The final part of our Slovakian tour was broken up with a few trips to other countries. We spent a couple of days enjoying the luxury of western europe (soft toilet paper, choice of food) in Vienna, and then a few days in Budapest, which is now near the top of our list of favorite cities (but this was before Barcelona).

We were in Slovakia for so long that we almost became locals. People started coming up to us and asking us for directions in Slovak. We were invited to be guest lecturers at Veronica´s high school English class (what they didn´t realize was Mandy almost failed English in high school ;) ). We were also entertained at a real small-town ballroom dancing competition where Veronica was competing. After 5hrs of watching dancers from 17 to as young as 8 dancing their hearts out, mandy is still convincing andrew to take some classes on our return to NZ (and pigs might fly).

L´Shana Tova (Happy Jewish New Year) to everyone. We had the pleasure of going to the Rabbi´s house for dinner on New Year´s eve, and meeting his family of nine children, all of whom were adorable and spoke 5 languages fluently (well, the ones who were old enough to speak). The service at the Bratislava synagogue was an interesting experience -- the combined effects of rampant anti-semitism and communist-imposed atheism has left a very small community with very little Jewish knowledge (people were asking MANDY for Hebrew lessons! -- A most amusing concept), but the community has started to grow again in the last few years.

Our first two weeks in Slovakia have been pretty action-packed. My (Andrew's) mom has shown us many of the different places she grew up here, and we've spent a week in the beautiful High Tatras doing lots of hiking and sightseeing. We struggle with food here a little, as pretty much everything has ham in it. I mean everything. Vegetarian dishes, plenty of them, but all have some bacon shoved in. It's gotten so bad that I half-expect bacon bits to be sprinkled on top of every beer or ice-cream we order.

When we were in the High Tatras we did a couple of envigorating hikes, so one overcast day we spent at a pool and getting a massage. Well, the first surprise that should have set off warning bells was the sight of the masseuse -- a leathery tanned old man in all-white pants and ribbed tank-top. I thought I'd be nice and offer Mandy the first massage, and well, to make a long story short, Europe is one big naked continent, as Mandy ended up naked, face up, with her eyes closed, praying for it all to be over as soon as possible. With her virtue still in tact, she invited me in to go next, where I thanked god that I had only signed up for 30 minutes instead of the usual one hour massage.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks...

After a good hike in the High Tatras




Andrew and his Mom in the High Tatras




Andrew and his Mom outside one of the many cute Chatas (Chalets)




The closest Mandy will get to tasting Ham/Bacon:




Andrew across the street from his Grandfather's old house in Kezmarok (the blue building):




Andrew and Monica in front of Spissky Castle:




The view from Spissky Castle:




Andrew and his Mom at the top of the Orava Castle:




Andrea and Monica:




Mandy dressed up warmly in an Ice Cave:

Mandrewadventure Inc. (Q1) Quarterly Report June 2 - Sept 16

Due to many complaints from shareholders, regarding the poor performance of our communication staff, Mandrewadventure Inc has taken the unprecidented step of producing a full quarterly report for Q1. We hope this will give shareholders all the information that they were expecting to hear over the past 3 months.

Cheers
Mandrew
CEO/Founder
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revenue is at 0, with costs particularly high over the first 2/3 of Q1. Offices were opened all through the Northwest US, Canada and Alaska, and a part-time employee (Kevin Wiggen) was brought in to the Valdez office. Due to the increase in beer costs and constant "sniping" problems, our Alaskan staff member was terminated only 2 weeks after being hired.

Mandrewadventure Inc. recommends the following areas to shareholders for further exploration in the US/Canada:
* Kayaking in the Queen Charlotte Islands (B.C)
* Kayaking in Valdez/Prince William Sound (Alaska)
* Bear viewing in Katmai National Park (Alaska)
* Hiking in Jasper National Park (Alberta)
* Hiking in the Grand Tetons National Park (Wyoming)

Thanks go out to those who organized temporary office space in Seattle (Mike & Julie), Vancouver (Pat), Anchorage (Tammy & Jeff), Jasper (Brent & Jen), Calgary (Unknown but friendly Australian), & Helena (Carol & Bill).

Profits this quarter took an additional hit with a one-time restructuring charge for the shutdown of our transportation department (the VW vanagon), due to low performance and rising costs within the department.

As costs were so high in the first 2/3 of the quarter, offices were closed in the US, and all opererations were moved to Europe in mid August.

After an initial office opening in London (thanks to Shareholder Sophie who financed the office lease), Mandrewadventure Inc, hit hard by the low $US were forced to quickly shut down operations and set up shop in Eastern Europe (Czech & Slovak Republics).

Expenses have decreased significantly due to the local Slovak employees (Andrew's cousins Andrea & Vlado) who have been subsidising the offices in Bratislava & the High Tatras. Foreign investment from our US/Slovak employee (Andrew's mum) has also reduced costs during the month in which she will be employed by Mandrewadventure Inc in Slovakia.

Mandrewadventure Inc. recommends the following areas to shareholders for further exploration in the Czech & Slovak republics:
* Prague (meeting andrew's great cousins Juraj, Teresa & Annelie Herz)
* Karlovy Vary (spa town in Czech R.)
* Cesky Krumlov (Czech R.)
* Castle Devin (Slovakia)
* Banska Stiavanica (Slovakia)
* Hiking in the High Tatras (Slovakia)
* Touring the Ice Caves (Slovakia)
* Orava Castle (Slovakia)

Projections for Q2 include office closures in Czech/Slovak republics and new offices opening in Spain, Portugal, Italy & Turkey. No revenue is projected, however we anticipate hiring more foreigners in Spain (Mandy's Parents).

Despite zero revenue and no revenue growth projections, Mandrewadventure Inc's board of directors has voted to continue funding the venture for another 9 months. After that point an additional round of funding may be sought.

If shareholders would like any further information about Mandrewadventure Inc. including photos and very brief and sporadic updates from the poor performing communications team, please go to www.wiggenout.com/mandrewadventure.html
(for europe pics look at http://www.wiggenout.com/2003_09_01_mandrewadventure_archive.html)
There may be additional paragraphs added to old sections from Alaska, and may be some fairly recent updates. (Nothing is being promised)
The current office phone number in Slovakia is: +421 907 172 539. We are 9 hours ahead of PST. A new office phone will be sent out when our Spanish office opens in October.

Cheers
Mandrew

We arrived in Bratislava on Saturday to meet up with my mother at my cousin´s place, and have been getting spoiled with home cooking, personal tour guides and translators ever since. So far we´ve seen 2 castles, and spent time in the cute downtown, and stuffing ourselves with great Slovak sweets, like Gashtanove Pire, a delicious chestnut and chocolate puree with nuts. Our clothes are shrinking swiftly ;)