Germany & Czech Republic in 2005
In May of 2005, I returned to Germany to visit my friends and also to travel to the Czech Republic. My niece, Kristen Rathjen accompanyed me on the trip, and my sister, Mary Comte, joined us a few days after our arrival. Special THANKS to all our special friends in Germany who made my trip a very special one, ... and one I will always remember.

We visited many places in Germany and the Czech Republic, and even the Netherlands. Bamberg, Hallstadt, Cologne, Aachen, Julich and Linnich are a few of the German towns we spent time in. We took a trip to Enschede, Netherlands to visit the shopping mall. And of course, the driving time was very enjoyable seeing the beautiful countryside of Germany.

After Mary arrived, Josef drove us to Praha (Prague), Czech Republic. This was a very special journey for me, as the Czech Republic was the birthplace of my grandparents, and it was always my dream to visit their homeland. I never thought it would be possible though, until in 2004, then with the help of the internet, we was blessed to meet my grandfather's family, the Machocky's... Jaroslav, Jana, Klara and Karolina. Klara currently lives in Prague, so Jaroslav came to Prague, and they met us. We stayed in Praha for two days.

The day after we arrived in Ostrava, we traveled to Roznov, where we toured the Valasske Museum. It was a wonderful excursion. I was also very happy to meet with Ivan and Daniela Kocajda, from Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. Ivan is a very successful German Shepherd breeder in the European Union (Slovakia), and is also the Head Breed Warden and Conformation/Show Judge. I am very pleased to be importing my new female from his kennels, Farina z Lintichu will be coming to Texas soon.


Claudia Orum, Daniela & Ivan Kocadja


Meet Farina z Lintichu

(Click Photos Above for Enlargements)


View my Vacation Journal


View some of our photos

 
Cancun, Mexico 2002
Sometimes in life ... you just need to have some fun!  So in August of 2002, my two sisters,
Sandy Travis and Mary Comte and I decided to take a little trip to Cancun, Mexico to relax and ENJOY.
We booked our reservations at the Iberostar Quetzal Resort on the Mayan Riveria.
It was fabulous!  The 28 acre facility was ALL-INCLUSIVE, and the atmosphere, crusine,
hospitality and entertainment was just GREAT.  Take a look at the photos ... and judge for yourself.

View photos from our Cancun Vacation

 

Mexico 2001
In May of 2001, I took my first trip to the interior of Mexico as a participant in the
FDIB Mexico 2001 Program (Faculty Development in International Business), sponsored by the
Center for International Business Studies at Texas A&M University.  This trip was a
business trip to gain knowledge about international business in Mexico and the Mexican Culture.
And "gain knowledge" is what I did!  I learned many things about Mexican business
at many different business levels from factories to global corporations, but I also learned
some things about the Mexican way of life and ... the people and their dogs.
In this article, you will get a taste of Mexican hospitality and camaraderie in the canine community.

CLICK HERE to view my article entitled,

"Internationalism: Yesterday a Vision"

CLICK HERE to view my article entitled,

"A Visit to Puebla, Mexico .... and the factory of URIARTE TALAVERA"


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I would like to extend a very sincere "thank you" to my new friends in the Mexican Canine Community:
Carlos de la Vega Kessel
Christian Dominquez
Monica and all the COP-K9 Ring Sport Dog Club Members

And a most gracious "thank you" to the President of the Federacion Canofila Mexicana, A.C.
MVZ Jose Luis Payrd & his assistant, Jorge for their kindness and hospitality.

Our Mexican Canine Page UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

 
Germany 2000
Fred and I visited Germany in July 2000 to vacation and have fun with friends,
as well as to learn a variety of training techniques and visit different dog clubs and shows.

We would like to extend a very sincere thank you to our dear friends, Marga and Michael Hintzen
for sharing their vacation with us and for the many wonderful excursions we went on together,
and especially Marga's fantastic cooking!
*********************
We also wish to extend many thanks to Birgit & Josef Pflaum, Hannelore & Peter Guell, Marion & Karl Fuller,
Dieter Krausling, Marc Kouchen, Willie Kohnen, and Rico Krause for their
WONDERFUL HOSPITALITY and making us feel so WELCOME during our visit!

View photos from our Germany Vacation

 
Germany 1999
My first visit to Germany and the 1999 German Sieger Show ... AWESOME!

With many special "thanks" to our dear friends Birgit & Josef Pflaum, Gabi Schorr, Stefan Heller and Heike Beebe
for all your help, information, and especially their GREAT HOSPITALITY and FRIENDSHIP!

Our Germany 1999 Page is still UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
1999 USA Sieger Show - Cinncinati, Ohio

1998 USA Sieger Show - Seattle, Washington

 

SOMETHING ABOUT FRIENDS

As a little girl, my great-grandmother once told me
that there are many things in life to be thankful for...
good health, happiness, family and friends.

But she said the greatest of these is FRIENDS,
because first you can chose your friends, and
when you find a TRUE FRIEND, you keep him.

TRUE FRIENDS are with us when our health is not so good,
and we are not so happy,
and even when our family and loved ones let us down.
You can count on TRUE FRIENDS to make
you smile when you need to,
and be there for you when the chips are down.

For my true FAMILY friends....I AM BLESSED!

For my true chosen friends....I AM THANKFUL!

Written by Claudia L. Orum