Europe pre-school trip 2022

Travel to Greece, Spain, a cruise around the Mediterranean and a trip to Lithuania. These were the longest summer holidays we had, which were possible thanks to a remaining parental leave for Alisa, and to Elijas having a break before school. Read more

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Trip start
June 1, 2022
Europe pre-school trip 2022
Our holiday starts
June 1, 2022 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We are ready for our adventure! Kids got up without major issues and went into the taxi that was waiting for us 05:45. We got nice service at the airport and kids were very motivated to ride their new luggage. See you in Greece!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Arrival to Thessaloniki
June 1, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
The flight went according to the plan and we landed in Thessaloniki at more than 30°C - that was very warm and had quite an impact on the general mood and the need for water. We stayed at the Waterfront apartments close to the port and at the heart of a restaurant area where most of them are very well rated. We had a huge portion of fish and chips at Mpakaliarakia sto limani
https://goo.gl/maps/EDiHbNEvQRKLqrpe6 as recommended by the apartment owner, so lots of fat called for a long walk. The next in plan was to invest Elijas' euros into a Lego set small enough to keep some cash and change it to DKK to get a Playdough accessory once we are back to DK. That set us back into a better mood and we could walk along the sea promenade past the white tower and to a playground. Kids loved and got amused by the fountains on the way! For dinner we got at our apartment the lovely Cretan barley rusks with tomato, olive oil and feta. Mmmmm!!!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Thessaloniki - day 2
June 2, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
I wonder whether it is just us, or other families also face this: 1.5 hour to walk 100 meters away from home, including 2 returns home in the meanwhile for various reasons (me forgetting my phone, then Alisa in need of toilet..) anyway, after series of frustrations and discussions about the plan, our day official started with a lunch at a Kitchen bar, port restaurant recommended by our host. It was a very cosy, refreshing (they had fans!!) and Not so cheap but good quality food.
It certainly put us all in a better mood.
We were good to go to the white tour to take the decision of our life, hop on Citus bus…
How was it? We literally cooked in that bus, although we were expected to get some wind (the bus was quite open). But it was stuck in traffic most of the time with the”great guide” to keep us entertained. Just that it kept silent 98% of the time and when it spoke one could not hear anything due to the poor sound quality. But if we were without kids, I would take the risk to get lost on the upper side of the city close to the fortification..Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Edessa waterfalls
June 3, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Finally the road trip started! The destination was Edessa waterfalls, a one and a half hours drive away from Thessaloniki. The waterfalls were certainly beautiful and impressive. We could even go behind them on a balcony and access one cave that the water had carved through millions of years. The town was also charming itself, with lots of bridges and shade along the little river.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Arrival to Meteora
June 3, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We arrived late to the hotel close to Meteora. There were many great things waiting for us: the astounding sunset, the extra cute kittens, a playground and a huge bed to go late to sleep.
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Meteora
June 4, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
This was a rich day! After enjoying our breakfast - best ever according to Elijas- we went to hike in Meteora between a parking lot at the access of Saint Nicholas monastery and the monastery of Varlaam. It was a refreshing hike under the shade of the trees, the mountains around were impressive and the monastery itself very beautiful. The afternoon program was exclusively dedicated to swimming and enjoying the slides for David.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Meteora and arrival to Pelion
June 5, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The day started with a greeting with the kittens (Alisa became such a friend with them that they started coming for a visit to our room), a perfect breakfast for Elijas and a dip in a swimming pool while Neringa preparing the luggages. It was impressive to see kids getting braver every minute and learning more in 2 days than in the whole year of swimming lessons in Denmark 🙈
The trip to Pelion peninsula was a bit of a torture for us all, because it was too long for the kids and once we got onto the picturesque road from Volos to our new home for another 2 days, both kids started complaining of a stomachache… for a moment we were a bit unsure whether it was due to the food (which was excellent btw, ordered with a help of a local teacher, because the town square restaurant in Nikaia had no menu, and the waitress could not speak a word of EN), or the spinning roads. It turned out the be the latter as the kids fell asleep at the end and the ache got away as soon as we reached our Amelia beach apartments.
Not so much more achieved in the day, just a quick swim in the sea, a pancake dinner next door and a good rest until tomorrow!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Relax day in Agios Ioannis
June 6, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
The day could not start better with the sun greeting us while rising above the sea. We went to explore a neighbor beach - Papanero - though we got some experiences on the way: a local dog that followed us and mandatory stop at the playground. Later at the beach, Alisa played with the ice cream sand toys while Neringa and Elijas fought against Neptune in the water. The rest of the day was rather slow but we could also manage on time to go to bed for the early trip to the ferry the day after.Read more
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Good bye Pelion and hello Skiathos
June 7, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
The day started early, so after a stormy night Alisa could also finally see the sunrise 🌅.
We took off to Volos port where we departed to Skiathos island by ferry. It was quite special as Elijas had been waiting for the ferry moment since the start of the trip. To my astonishment, he was not so thrilled about the Greek landscape, small islands and islets popping up from different corners, instead he wanted to stay INSIDE the boat and explore it fully. And he did until he found a mini playground where the kids stayed most of the trip while their mother was enjoying the changing landscape…
When we arrived we still had a few hours to “waste” until we could check in at Villa Karina, so we decided to have a mini road trip around the island (which is not so big to begin with). We learned only later that the busses do not go to parts of the island and the why is the crazy narrow, steep, winding and unpaved roads!!! Our rented car could barely make it up the hill and we were very stressed not to meet anyone coming from the front, as there was no easy solution there. Drama aside, the panorama was stunning and if not the deadly roads I would wish to return for a proper photo session (which we could not do coz the kids fell asleep at that moment).
After the mini tour we stopped to eat. We happened to enter Skiathos city by car, big mistake, which we managed to correct and park a bit outside the car (same problem as mentioned above + too many pedestrians).

We were not very impressed by the lunch with a few dead cockroaches in the toilets, but maybe it was because we deliberately avoided the main walking street with noticeably elevated prices (we are smart after 6 days of travel 🧭)..anyway, we ate well, the kids were entertained with 7 (!) homeless cats around the restaurant’s terrace and they also could eat spaghetti which they enjoyed very much after days of suvlaki and french fries…

The hotel and its closest (sandy) beach was the afternoons programme with a ‘home-made’ build-it-yourself Cretan sandwiches for dinner (recipe taught by my dear Cretan friend Minos). Could not ask for more!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Beaches in Skiathos
June 8, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
We got a fantastic breakfast to start the day, exactly what we needed to go check some beaches in Skiathos. The first one we went was the Banana beach at the west most point in the island, belonging to some private resort but still accessible by foot. This one was recommended by a Greek who helped us a couple of days before at a restaurant and who had been quite often in the island. It was definitely a very nice beach and kids friendly, with toilets, changing cabins and showers, and with quite a safe access to the water.
After that, we had our lunch at a nearby restaurant and continued to the next beach in the north of the island: Small Asolinos. This was only accessible through a dirt road and was more picturesque than previous beaches. Alisa and Elijas rejoiced swimming there and playing restaurant where the dishes were stones.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Minicruise in Sporades Islands
June 9, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
So it was our turn to be mainstream tourists by going in a minicruise through the Sporades Islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos. The decks of the boat were packed but we could nevertheless be comfortable indoors and rejoice with the kids running around, following the dog or even driving the boat briefly. It was quite an animated sailing, visiting the landscapes where the movie Mamma Mia was filmed in Skopelos Island. We made two stops, one in the town of Skopelos to visit around the picturesque houses and have lunch, and the other to swim at the main port of Alonissos Island, former home to pirates. We also managed to see dolphins jumping nearby as we returned to Skiathos!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
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Return to mainland and trip to Delphi
June 10, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
The day started with the last spoiling breakfast at Villa Karina in Skiathos. The packing and preparing always takes longer with kids and we got very stressed as we left our hotel at 11.03 knowing our ferry was leaving at 11.30. As it usually happens, An island’s bus driving ahead of us made us feel that we would never be able to get there on time, but then we made it!
As it was kind of rainy, we felt lucky to spend the day travelling and not on a beach.
We also felt blessed to be heading towards a less cloudy side of Greece, Delphi, where we could enjoy some beautiful sunshine (not too hot for once!), including a stunning panorama at a local Restaurant ‘To Patriko mas’.
If not the kids getting impossible and naughty, we would have really enjoyed the place.
And not to forget to mention that on the walk back to our hotel, the kids got free lolly pops from the owner of a local kiosk and it made Elijas say ‘Delphi is such a cool town!!’ 🙈Read more
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6/10/22Reply
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Delphi and its archeological site
June 11, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
We were walking to the Delphi Archeological museum when the rain came. It was not too bad, because it meant a fresh weather. The lucky part is that we could start with the visit to the Archaeological museum to see some of the sculptures and artifacts from the site. Especially impressive was the one of the Sphinx, but also the golden jewellery captured Elijas' attention. We continued into the ruins and found quite amazing the amount of places up the hill, including temples, a theater and a stadium, where important ancient games were celebrated - second after Olympia. It could have been the sports theme background that inspired the kids to practice some Kung Fu. After lunch we decided to do a local hike uphill from Delphi but had to stop before not too long because of the intense rain.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
From Delphi to Athens
June 12, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
In this transition day, we visited the ruins of the Athena temple in Delphi, while the kids were mostly concerned by the humongous amount of insects getting too close. The next stop was a waterfall in a small town called Petra, not much advertised in tourist guides, but which is an oasis of peace to have picnic or BBQ for locals. The last bit of the trip was the arrival to Athens, where we returned the car as soon as possible to avoid the nightmare of city driving and parking. The apartment was cozy and very well located in the center close to the main shopping street, tourist sites and different restaurants. Bit probably what we enjoyed the most was watching the Monsters Inc movie all together before going to sleep.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Athens sightseeing
June 13, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Without much clue of what to see where in Athens, we went on a GPS walking tour guided by Elijas with intense motivation. We saw the soldiers' performance at the monument to the fallen soldier and then went to the historic center. We got too much food before starting the visits to the sites but then we did that. We started by the Ancient Agora and because of the heat, we soon ran out of water - we first got an extra bottle using our last coins and then got some dubious drinking water from some service tap in the gardens. But it kept us on our feet on the search of the Acropolis. That was really a stunning site - really impressive and also the views to the rest of the city. The kids were very well behaved and Elijas managed to make many many steps.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Not an ordinary day in Athens
June 14, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
After the intense sightseeing, we decided to take it easy. Still, we had a few items on our list: the national gardens (including the playground) and to see some of the remaining temples to use our combined ticket. However, the heat got us and it was very difficult to make kids walk, even if the ‘carrot’ was the playground. So we were stopping to rest under shade every 20-30 meters.
Once we finally reached the playground, Neringa realised that she was no longer having her phone with her. So suddenly instead of enjoying the playground we started looking for the phone in the park. Neringa could remember placing it on one of the benches of the park but when David ran back to check, it was no longer there. Then Neringa and Elijas took their turn to look for it, in case it fell from the pocket… we looked until the scream of David on the other side of the park. We managed to find each other to learn that someone responded the call and is waiting hand over the phone. Happy end!
We then ate at an Indian restaurant ‘Indian Havel li’ to conclude that our local resto in Østerbro offers much better food. But it came in handy as Alisa fell asleep and could rest in an air conditioned space while we were eating.
Following the lunch we have reconsidered o it plan and reduced it to finding an ice cream place, which would offer fresh ice cream without traces of nuts. After some persistent search we found a ‘Chillbox’ frozen yoghurt place which offered soft-ice-like yoghurt without any traces of nuts. Supposedly. After enjoying the portion Elijas started scratching his ears and head and soon after Neringa discovered that he was having an allergic reaction. Luckily, we managed to get some medicine from a nearby pharmacy which stopped inflation of his eye and eventually calmed the itchiness which had spread all over the body. Neringa carried Elijas home as he had no forces to walk and then followed a series of calls to family, friend doctors, another pharmacy visit as Elijas had some cough attacks and really scared his parents. Luckily, the medication worked and we did not need to use the needle … All good what ends well!Read more
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Goodbye Greece, hello Spain
June 15, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Thanks to the landlord of the Syntagma contemporary apartment, we could postpone our checkout time and could have a more relaxed day.
We spent the morning packing and then went for lunch around the corner. After that, we took our luggages and started our trip. We decided to go to the airport by metro, but it took us nearly 1 hour to get moving. First, queuing to find out that kids do not need a ticket, then going down to the wrong elevator, looking for the right elevator.. in the park end, all went smoothly, we did not have to queue anywhere in the Athens International airport and could smoothly board the AirEuropa plane Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the most modern we have ever flown with. Although the flight was supposed to be nearly 4 hours, the time went really fast as kids (and their parents) were busy with the entertainment system! Also the flight arrived ahead of schedule, an extra bonus. The only disappointment was that there was nearly no food available on the plane. Luckily, we had got a couple of sandwiches at the airport. Yet nothing Elijas-safe, so the dinner for Elijas was crackers, Spanish ham and sausage snacks 💪

We landed in Madrid at around 22.00 and it was 34 degrees Celsius. We quickly got our shuttle to hotel where, after a couple of hours of fun, we managed to force the kids to go to bed. We slept quite well thanks to the air conditioning on all night long!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Segovia and Real Sitio de San Ildefonso
June 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
The day was packed of ambitions and extreme heat - not a good combination. David and Elijas went to rent the car and the initial idea was to get 2nd hand car seats. But it was a holiday, Corpus Christi, in Madrid. So we had to buy new seats from a shopping mall, luckily rather cheap. After that we could all start the road trip under 39°C of heat. We headed towards Segovia to see the impressive Roman aqueduct. However, there was very little excitement because the heat was so intense. The next stop, the Royal Palace of San Ildefonso, inspired by Versailles tradition and with huge gardens. We crawled ourselves there, but the extensive shades helped us survive. We continued our trip north to find our hotel and rest comfortably - and Elijas could enjoy some dives in the bathtub!Read more
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Mining museum
June 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Finally we arrived to Asturias! The day promised again lots of heat, so we lowered our ambition - just the visit to the mining museum at El Entrego. This was quite an authentic experience thanks to the guided tour to the underground galleries with large temperature and humidity differences and a drive in a mining train. Later we went to our new home, the charming Casa Pichi in a village called El Pulliu, a place with a bathtub 🛀! Despite having no air conditioning (there is usually no need for that in Asturias) the ground floor felt pretty cool!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Ruta del Alba
June 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
As Asturias has a lot of beautiful nature, we wanted to experience that - and our first hike attempt was the Ruta del Alba. Despite being over easy conditions (flat and along a concrete road) it took us very long to go some part of it, but no complaints about it! Kids were very well behaved, mostly walking by themselves or Alisa at times in the hiking backpack, and enjoying many experiences along the way. The start of the trail was at Soto de Agues where a myriad of cats lived for enthusiasm of our kids. Then we bought some walking sticks for all the family from a man who was giving that money to Doctors Without Borders, luckily because that kept them entertained. Then there were many butterflies and insects and eventually, the river. That was refreshing! And we continued until we could find a picnic table to have our well-deserved lunch! The way back was faster, either because Alisa was half asleep in the backpack or because the storm was threatening to appear at any moment. Luckily we were home before any major drop got us.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Running from the rain
June 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
I still wonder how come we need to go with jackets provided that a couple of days ago we could not walk due to the heat. Anyway, let’s start from the beginning…
The sun was kind to greet our Casa Pichi this morning to help us dry our laundry from two days ago, but we knew that todays forecast was grim. We had a slow morning packing and tidying up. Once we checked out, the house owner invited us to her home, introducing to her two cute dogs and hen gang (it is thanks to their eggs we got a nice welcome treat in a shape of a yoghurt sponge cake). Very kind! She was also kind to warn us about Sunday peaks in some restaurants and gave us some good tips on where (and where not) to eat some traditional food. So we called to make a reservation and hit the road towards the restaurant. After a good 4 course menú del día and some playground time, we were more than ready to start the day. On the map there were two stunning nature places: Acantilados del infierno and Bufones de Pria. We were ready but also a bit hesitant especially when we saw a thick could hanging above us and some rain was about to discourage us. But as we did buy some umbrellas and we were ready to use them in case!
Both places were gems of wilderness and both us and the kids loved the strong wind, watching the splashing waves and finally racing with them in the Playa de Guadamia. And who would guess, we never got the rain!!
We finished the day in Cangas de Onís at an apartment with a swimming pool in the yard and although it was past 7pm, probably not more than 20 degrees and cloudy, our kids were determined to have a swim. So they did in David’s company, to end the day with a water blast 💥Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Foggy Lagos de Covadonga
June 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
Today we were supposed to see one of the highlights of the Asturian natural landscape: the Lagos de Covadonga. If a few days ago we were melting, today was quite the opposite: 11°C at the lakes with rain and fog. We were not really prepared for that so we covered ourselves in what we had and tried to survive even with sandals. It was a total disappointment to be up there where there usually are breathtaking views with lakes, green mountains and cows, and see no further than a few meters in front. We still did a hike and got some proper food and shelter - even the bus driver got us in even though he had already departed from the top! So some positive elements remained!Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Bufones de Pria, beach, Pool
June 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
It seems that the bad weather has contributed to our mood and ambitions of how much we wish to see. After the checkout at Cangas de Onis, we decided to give it another try to Bufones de Pria at high tide to see if the water would be splashing this time. As the morning was not stormy the water fountains were barely seen, but it was still exciting for the kids. Alisa was less keen to see it as she seemed to be a little afraid. But we were lucky that there were some cows in the area so she got entertained. And then the farmer came to feed the cows and he showed a 2 days old calf, very special treat for Alisa.
After this, we went to explore another wild beach ‘Playa de Cue’. It was very nice as we, parents, could enjoy watching the powerful waves while the kids had to their pond to play. The only downside was the temperature of 18 degrees, so the parents did not dare splashing there with the kids…

We got hungry and were planing to eat in the village of the beach but we were not so convinced that with the offer (which looked like smelly bars, not suitable for the kids), so we hit the road to Llanes. After 2 rounds around the city trying to park the car, unsuccessfully, we hit the road again to find ourselves in a small villa with a fantastic restaurant ‘Casa Poli’ where we ate very well in a roustique kind of place, served kind waiters.

There was no more programme for the day except for arrival at our ‘fancy’ hotel Jardines Villaverde, in a village that seemed not to have any life, but having a 3 star Michelin star restaurant next to our hotel. We managed to resist the temptation to try their menu of over 200 euros per person without drinks.
We ended the day with a dip in the pool, some cartoons and an improvised sandwich dinner where Elijas for a generous monetary offer tried eating cucumber, then bell pepper, then a mandarin, without any success nor win.. but we call it a victory for us as he dared to lick all three things 🥳Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Parque del Cabárceno
June 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Cantabria has great nature, and some rainy weather too! That's what we got today - we visited the animals at Parque del Cabárceno, a large zoo where you need to drive around and also get the cabin car around to see the animals from above. We started from the snakes - which Alisa seemed to love, hopefully not more than dogs or cats. We drove around seeing gorillas, tigers and other animals. The best experience was nevertheless the bird show, with eagles, hawks and voltors demonstrating their flight and preying abilities. It was simply amazing and we got plenty of impressions with the kids.Read more
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Europe pre-school trip 2022
Trip to Pamplona
June 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
After a cryfull and hectic morning (that’s what happens when there are some other important things one need to take care of, this case it was Neringa taking her test for a new contract at the EEA), David with the kids managed to exit the hotel for a play hour in the hotel’s playground and a morning swim. After Neringa’s business, we started the trip to Pamplona. We stopped for lunch in a village called Alegria (which means happiness) and we found not much happiness there. In one of the best rated restaurants (4.5 in Google) we were welcomed by pointing at a table for two, followed with a surprised question whether the kids will also eat. Then with a sigh the waitress prepared us the table for four but appetite for that place was gone. So we decided to leave and find a worse rated restaurant 😅
So we did and had a nothing special menu del día. Then some more road and unloading in the Center of Pamplona under special permission to enter the city for 30 min not earlier than 17h00…
The evening programme was the best, meeting the old dear friend from Brussels time Isabel and her beautiful family. She was the reason for us to visit Pamplona and she will be at the centre of our programme for the coming days.Read more
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