An ICE-y Trip To Berlin

Fortunately I’m referring to a mode of transportation, not a weather report! We took the Inter-City Express train to Berlin in June and loved it! I will admit that I did not do a complete cost-benefit analysis before buying tickets, but considering our horrible Autobahn experience a few weeks earlier, it seemed it was worth any cost to avoid staus and stress. (For those who are wondering, the total cost was 300 Euros for the four of us, travelling first class with reserved seats.)

 The train is much roomier than a car or an airplane. We could walk around, use the WC and buy food and drinks in the dining car (or have it brought to us!) The kids could eat unlimited popsicles for FREE. That sold them right there. Another obvious bonus: we didn’t have to drive.

And then there is the speed. The ICE does make several stops, but we were in Berlin in just 5 hours.

We stayed in a rental apartment recommended by some locals. It was quite pleasant and adequate for the four of us, but the best feature was…

…this playground across the street! This small park was a great place to play and even had a fresh food market on Friday and a flea market on Sunday. We didn’t have much time to peruse the flea market treasures, but the boys did manage to find some bargains on legos and pokemon cards.

The Europa Cup soccer tournament was happening while we were in Berlin. This restaurant across from the apartment was a popular spot to watch the game.

We had a busy few days seeing the sights but here’s a brief overview: We did some shopping (and by “we” I mean “I.”) Climbing trees is much more interesting to some.

Unless shopping involves small plastic bricks.

We went to see the Pergamon Museum and completed our Turkish adventures.

Of course we saw all of the Berlin landmarks, some of them while riding bicycles.

The “don’t walk” symbol is a Berlin icon!

So is the “walk.”

These bears were all over the city.

As in any large metropolis, there is plenty of people watching to do. Stay tuned for full reports on the Pergamon museum, the Berlin Aquarium, and the Fat Tire Bicycle tour!

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Je Vais à Disneyland!

(Or more accurately, since I am writing this nearly 2 months later, “Je suis allé à Disneyland!”)

I had one of those “milestone” birthdays this year (what is it with modern society and the obsession with multiples of 10?) and for months I told my gift-giving inner circle that the only thing I wanted was a trip to Disneyland Paris. That should be easy enough! No worry that an internet order will arrive on time; no trying to convert clothing sizes from European to American; no shopping trips to buy diamonds in Antwerp. Just a simple trip to Disneyland.

I will admit it: I LOVE Disneyland. I don’t love Disney, and I don’t necessarily love amusement parks (though we have been to a few since we’ve been here – like Europa Park and Legoland) but Disneyland is one of my favorite places. As a child whenever we’d visit my Grandmother we’d spend a day at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. That day it was all about the rides, meeting Mickey Mouse, eating at restaurants for lunch and dinner plus snacks, and even getting a souvenir. It really was the happiest place on earth!

Disneyland Paris is about a 4 hour drive from home (or more, if a major road is closed and a GPS cannot be convinced to find an alternate route.) We stayed at a partner hotel, which meant it was family friendly and quite close (with a free shuttle to the park) but not actually owned or operated by Disney. The weather was not great – intermitten downpours both days – but we made the best of it.

We rode plenty of rides. Andrew’s favorite was Thunder Mountain Railroad. Lesson learned here: Go for the Fast Pass and the baby switch. We don’t have a baby, but we do have one kid who doesn’t like roller coasters. The baby switch allows one parent to ride while the other waits at the exit. When the first is done they switch and the second parent gets to jump to the front of the line. In the case of a popular ride like this one, it saves hours.

Thomas’s favorite ride was Star Tours. We had a old VHS tape of Disney Sing-A-Long-Songs that featured Disneyland, and this ride was on it. He thought it was pretty cool that he got to ride the actual ride. I thought it was a bonus that there was virtually no line.

Also in “Discovery Land” (which is known as “Tomorrow Land” back at the Disneyland of my childhood) was Space Mountain. We did the baby switch on this one too since neither of our kids were tall enough to ride. Loved it!

We had to ride Dumbo – it’s a classic, even if the movie isn’t on my kids’ top 10 list.

In my mind I kept comparing this Disneyland to the Disneyland of my youth. There were many similarities – like this Autopia ride – but obviously things had changed. The last time I was at Disneyland California was nearly 15 years ago, my memory could be a bit foggy, and of course there are cultural differences. However, I expected the food to be better, especially since we were in France. (Maybe my palate as a child was not so discerning?) Also, I remember more performers – like barbershop quarters and jazz combos – out and about and we didn’t see much of that. Sadly, at this Disneyland they don’t sell the Mickey Mouse ears with free personalization! Bummer!

We had a two day Park Hopper pass and the second day we went back to Disneyland to hit our favorite rides and the ones we missed. Then we went next door to Walt Disney Studios. We were initially impressed – check out the Hollywood sign. It looked so realistic!

However, we didn’t stay long. We went to one of the shows (a movie with some special effects). We wandered around a bit, but two of the rides we wanted to go on were not operating and others had really long lines. It seemed quite crowded and congested. I remembered wise words told to me – it is better to leave while everyone is still having fun. On that note, we bid Disneyland “Adieu!” and headed back home.

Here’s my final analysis: Disney was great and I had a fabulous birthday. I expected that there would be more things here that were uniquely French – like maybe  berets with Mickey Mouse ears or Mickey Mouse shaped crepes – but there were not. Even the Woody doll sold in the gift shop spoke English when I pulled the string. Perhaps that is because when Europeans go to Disney they want to get a taste of America. Either way, this mini-vacation was enjoyed by all.

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Nine Lives Lived Well

In the midst of all of the crazy-busy Spring we had, we realized that our dear cat Ruby was not well. A visit to the veterinarian confirmed that she had cancer, and at her age (15) there wasn’t much that could be done so we said good bye to our dear feline companion. They say cats have nine lives and in this case it was surely true. Here’s my take on how she used each of those lives:

Life #1: Adoption  When we got Ruby she was just a tiny baby. Back in the day it was common practice to spay kittens before they were adopted, even though she was probably only about 3 months old. She was declawed too (I know, a very cruel practice) because our landlord would only permit cats without claws in our apartment. On top of dealing with those two surgeries she had a cold – sneezy, snotty and generally pathetic. I didn’t think she’d make it.

Life #2:  Moving to Cleveland At the young age of 4 Ruby was ready for her first move. We headed to Cleveland and Ruby went in Jeremy’s car, a recently purchased 1981 VW Jetta (only 35,000 miles and 20 years old!) Unfortunately, the air conditioning went out around Mansfield, just at the time we hit a construction traffic jam. It was HOT – and poor Ruby was panting like a dog – but she made it.

Life #3: Cat on a Hot Asphalt Roof The summer of 2002 was one of the hottest on record – I remember it well because I was pregnant. One scorching summer day our house was being painted and one of the painters said, “Hey, do you own a black cat? There’s one out here on the roof!” Ruby had jumped out of an open window onto the roof but couldn’t get down. Thanks to the roofer she was rescued.

Life #4: Another Move This time we headed from Ohio to Mississippi. She survived 3 days in the car and some time in a kennel before we got into a house, not to mention the shock of being south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Life #5: Hurricane Survivor I’ve admitted it before – we made a mistake. We were a little out of the news loop about this “Katrina” that was headed our way back in 2005. We thought it was just a little storm that would miss us just like Ivan did the year before. We left plenty of food and water, and our house was fine (all’s well that ends well!)…I’m sure she just had a little bit of PTSD after that.

Life #6: Little Humans Not that they ever did anything completely horrific, but she must have used up one of her lives dealing with little boys who loved to play with, hold, chase and generally love on her. Of course she did her best to get them back. She may not have had claws but she did have teeth!

Life #7: Two Weeks in the Wilderness Where she was for nearly two weeks in the summer of 2010 we’ll never know. She came back thinner and a little less spry, but we were quite happy to see her when she showed up on our doorstep one Sunday morning after we’d given up hope.

Life #8: Moving Overseas It wasn’t just the 8 hour plane ride, it was all the time alone that worried us – alone in our old house after our furniture had been moved out, alone in her room at the guest house…I’m not sure if she was happy to see us once we finally got settled, but we were happy to see her!

Life #9: Old Age Need I say more?

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This Is Most Certainly True

I was sitting in 10th grade European History class when two worlds collided. The topic was the Protestant Reformation and we’d just finished watching a film strip about it. (Yes, youngsters, a film strip, not a video or DVD. Perhaps such a thing has been featured on Antiques Roadshow.) The closing credits rolled and the background music was the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” – one I knew well from the Lutheran Church we attended. But I was hearing it at school!

And so, that is similar to our trip to the Luther Sites a month ago. Certainly we were seeing things that had great significance for Germany, the church and the world, but it was also significant for me personally as I have been a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church and still ascribe to its tenets and theology. We piled into a charter bus with about 40 friends and headed to Eastern Germany on a trip sponsored by the chapel and organized by my dear husband.

Although I might like to forget about it (and I don’t have any photo documentation) I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a pretty significant event in the trip: a 3 hour stau (traffic jam) that we encountered on the Autobahn. For those who have aspired to drive on a highway with no speed limit, be aware that charter buses in fact do have a speed limit (and it is not what Google Maps uses to calculate travel time) and coming to a complete stop for several hours pretty much negates any gain from driving at high speeds. That being said, we arrived at the Hostel shortly after 2am and we were indebted to Dr. Kolb who waited up and let us in after the hostel management locked the doors at 11pm.

The sun was up way too soon and after an ample breakfast, we headed toward the city of Wittenburg and our first stop: The Castle Church.

Once again we were quite thankful to Dr. Kolb, one of Jeremy’s professors at Concordia Seminary, who had agreed to meet up with us and be part of the weekend tour. Although a group tour of the Castle Church had been arranged, the original tour guide was ill so Dr. Kolb stepped in and showed us around.

The most notable feature are these doors, the place where young Martin Luther nailed papers containing 95 statements for debate. These statements were rather critical of the Catholic Church, and it all went downhill or uphill from there, depending on how you look at it.

The interior of the church has been rebuilt but is still impressive.

There are many images of Luther both in the church and around the town. We should have kept a tally. During the travel months worship is held in English every Saturday evening. Jeremy volunteered to do one of the Scripture readings. I’m sure that will make many other Lutheran pastors green with envy!

We stopped in another church in Wittenburg, Stadtkirche St. Marien,  and while it was impressive, I didn’t get many good photos as the lighting was dim and flash was prohibited. I thought this depiction of the infant Jesus as Lobster was pretty funny! Maybe it was his Halloween costume? Or a way to hide from King Herod?

After lunch we visited Luther Haus, where Martin, his wife Katie, their brood of children, and various Seminary students spent their days.

That Katie was the quintessential Proverbs 31 woman! She ran the household, managed the finances, and even brewed beer. This statue shows her as she usually was – a woman on the go.

The children got their own special tour with the sweetest tour guide. She was so enthusiastic and patient. She would say, “Would you like to see Martin Luther’s robe? It is his actual robe! We will go see it now!”

Of course we saw a few more images of Luther. These were painted by Lucas Cranach. Katie wasn’t fond of her portrait but Cranach wouldn’t change it.

This is polymer Luther. I was hoping they had them for sale in the gift shop, but it was just leftover from a promotion where little Luther statues were put all over the city.

A recent addition to the exhibits was discovered less than 10 years ago. A gardener was working and found a brick in one of the flowerbeds. Personnel at the Luther Haus realized that an entire section of Luther’s House – the kitchen, WC, and beer and wine cellar – was beneath. It was excavated and made into a display. These diaoramas depicted life in Luther’s day.

Sunday we travelled to the city of Eisenach. This city has not one but two claims to fame – Luther spent his childhood here (though probably not exactly in this house but a house like it),

and also Johann Sebastian Bach. We did not tour the Luther Haus and looked briefly at the Bach House. A special demonstration of various period instruments was happening. The music was quite beautiful, and apparently the speaker was witty and entertaining. It was all in German but most in the audience chuckled periodically.

Our last stop on the tour was the Wartburg Castle. Luther spent a few months in confinement here and used his time to translate the Bible into German. The castle has some historic rooms (such as Luther’s study, complete with ink stain on the wall where he threw his inkwell at the devil) and some more “modern” (such as the Women’s room covered in mosaics from the 1800′s.) The tour guide was delightful – she referred to the Wartburg as “our castle” and was very patient to answer all of our questions.

And so our brief tour of Luther sites came to an end. We didn’t get to see Worms, but perhaps we will get to declare “Here I stand!” another time.

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When Life Gives You Flowers, Make Floriade

At the end of May we were blessed with another day of free babysitting German but non-school holiday, so we headed to Venlo, Netherlands to Floriade.
What is Floriade? That is what we wanted to know. All I knew was that it is a once-a-decade horicultural expo. Sounded like a must-see, right? I was also feeling regret that we were missing another once-a-decade European event (the Passion Play at Oberammergau) so I was not about to let this one pass us by.

All that anticipation, and I will say that I give it a “thumbs sideways.” (That is the middle ground between “thumbs up” and “thumbs down.”) It was interesting but I am definitely glad we did not drag the kids (both because they would have found it even less than interesting and the admission price was a bit steep.)

Like a World’s Fair (I’m assuming here – I’ve never actually been to a World’s Fair) various countries had displays.

Here is the building for Azerbaijan. Such an interesting structure! I was quite curious to see what was inside. I thought maybe we’d see the horicultural specialties of Azerbaijan – the national flower, the national fruit and vegetable, common crops grown there…

Nope. Inside were some Azerbaijani items for sale and a big video screen playing a promotional film about the country of Azerbaijan.

Some countries (like China) had very elaborate structures. Others had double-wide trailers with banners covering them so they looked fancier. We’ve lived in Arkansas and Mississippi – we weren’t fooled!

This was the display for the Netherlands. They love the color orange!

This exhibit by Rabobank (sponsor of the Dutch football team) was cool. We went up a walkway that spiraled around the building. Once we got to the top we went into a room that a floor covered with video screens playing a short movie about the earth.

The view from the top was great too!

There were some flowers, but it wasn’t like being at Keukenhof. (How could a 6-month display compare?)

There was also outdoor art. Some was whimsical and some made me wonder.

This tree was cold so it is wearing a sweater.

Floriade has one featured country each week. We visited during South Korea’s reign and we watched a performance of drumming and dancing. The men were wearing these springs on their hats that had ribbons attached and were twirling them throughout the performance. It was like rhythmic gymnastics but only with the head. It gave me a headache just watching.

Throughout the grounds there were other groups performing also.

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the giant shoe displays.

All in all, we had a nice time at Floriade. Hurry over because in 3 months it will disappear for another 10 years!

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Who Built The Ark? Noah, Noah!

Does anyone remember that Sunday School song? I’ll start by revising the lyrics: in this case it should be, “Who built the Ark? Johan Huibers!”

Earlier this Spring we climbed aboard Noah’s Ark. Though the real ark is thought to be in Turkey, we saw a replica in Cologne, Germany. This big boat was the project of a man from the Netherlands, Johan Huibers. While some might think that another flood may inundate his homeland if global warming continues, Huibers did not make the flood for that reason. He says the idea for building the Ark came to him in a dream, and throughout the 20+ year process his steps were ordered by God and the whole thing came together. Now it is touring the waterways of Europe and when it stopped nearby, we got on board!

This ark is about half the length of the original and one fifth of the volume, though the exact length of a cubit is not known. (A cubit is the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, estimated to be about 20 inches.)

Ironically, it was a rainy Saturday when we visited so we wanted to get into the Ark quickly!

Inside it is filled with stuffed animals (and a few real ones – bunnies and fish for example) and displays that tell the story of not just the great flood described in the book of Genesis, but many of the “highlights” of the Bible.

The kids were given a treasure hunt to complete – questions to answer from each of the displays.

Solomon had his own luxury suite. After all he had a few ladies to share it with. (Just to clarify: King Solomon was not on the real ark. Like many others he was on board for visitors to see.)

Do you recognize this guy? Hint: He was taken out by a little guy who had 5 stones for ammo.

There are 4 floors to explore, a small gift shop and a restaurant. It is very kid friendly. This orangutan was tied to a big rope and by pulling the rope he would raise his head.

After we’d been there a couple of hours the rain stopped so we disembarked and headed home. God promised never to flood the earth again so we felt pretty confident it was safe to get off.

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The Grand Finale: Ephesus

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

This is what I loved about Ephesus: Incredible ruins (although they were so well preserved they were hardly “ruined”) in a picturesque setting. This was the largest site of the seven we visited and there was so much to see!

This is what I did not love about Ephesus: the crowds. We were definitely spoiled at the first 6 sites because we were pretty much the only ones around. The kids could explore without much worry. Not so in Ephesus! This is a popular shore excursion for Mediterranean cruises so there were throngs of people. I was a bit concerned that I’d lose track of the kids in that mass of humanity, but I am happy to say that all are present and accounted for!

Interestingly, the word for fear of crowds is agoraphobia…and here we were in the ancient Agora of Ephesus! 

Ephesus was a pretty significant city back in the day – it likely had a population of a quarter of a million people – and it is mentioned multiple times in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul’s time in the city is described in Acts 18-20. The letter Paul wrote to the church there is the book of Ephesians, and of course it is mentioned in the book of Revelation.

We walked through the city and saw many of the important buildings including the government center, the public toilets (I cannot bring myself to share pictures of this but suffice to say it is a significant historical location), and this water distribution center, formally known as the Fountain of Trajan.

The road was made of stone but could get slippery if wet – hence these grooves were made for better traction. Apparently Ephesus had its own version of OSHA. 

As our guide said, “This is the goddess of tennis shoes.” Also the goddess of victory, and more formally known as Nike. We’d met her in Paris but now we know what her face looks like since it was missing.

 

The crown jewel of Ephesus is probably this building – the library. Only the front facade is preserved. It once held thousands of parchments and was a center for learning and knowledge. Smart architects built it facing East so scholars could maximize the use of natural light for reading.

A close second in the competition for crown jewel of Ephesus are the terrace houses. These are currently being excavated and the amount of detail is astounding! This reminded me again that even old cities can have new things to see.

Unlike a lot of the mosaic floors we’d seen before that were just decorative patterns, these houses had images of animals and people.

 

Archeologists must be some of the most meticulous and patient people in the world! I enjoy a good jigsaw puzzle, but I can’t imagine the task of searching for pieces and assembling ancient walls and floor tiles.

The Amphitheater was enormous. Usually amphitheaters were designed to hold 10% of the population; the bigger the city the larger the amphitheater. Ephesus is on the coast so the seats face the Aegean Sea. This gave the people a view of the water and built-in air conditioning with sea breezes. Sorry about those people standing in front – it was just impossible to get a good picture with all of the crowds!

As a parent I try not to put my children on a pedestal, but it is difficult – especially when they jump up and demand that I take a picture.

After we made our way past the souvenir vendors and found our tour bus, we headed to a much quieter part of Ephesus, Aysoluk Hill. This is the site of the Basilica of St. John. It was St. John who wrote the book of Revelation. Though he received the message at the island of Patmos, he lived out his life in Ephesus.

He even died on Aysoluk Hill and his tomb is there.

The basilica was once quite ornate with multiple domes, as shown in this model. Today the model is inhabited by critters (centipedes?) and I think my boys actually thought it was built as a home for them.

 

And so ended our journey to Turkey! I will admit, I was not incredibly enthusiastic about going to Turkey, and it wasn’t on my DEROS list. However,  I was so glad we went! It was a fabulous trip and a great learning experience. Many, many thanks to Wendy and James who were instrumental in making this trip happen.

 

 

 

 

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Graffiti, Jesus Style

Although it was sometimes subtle, there was evidence at every one of the sites of the Seven Churches that there were Christians who once lived there. Spotting the symbols carved into the stone was as much fun for the parents as finding lizards, turtles or cats was for the kids. Check it out!

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Millions and Billions and Trillions of Cats

I think the unofficial mascot of Turkey just might be the stray cat.

“Cats here, cats there, cats and kittens everwhere!” Maybe it wasn’t as bad as this book, but we did see many, many cats. (Millions of Cats is a children’s literature classic. It is a charming little story, with what looks like a hand-drawn font, but also a bit disturbing.)

There were plenty of cats wandering outside, but they were also free to wander inside buildings and restaurants. (Non-cat people were less than thilled to have feline dining companions.)

According to legend, the prophet Mohammed loved cats. A cat even saved his life from a snake once so now cats are revered.

Another legend is that the revered Father of the Turks, Ataturk, is going to come back as a cat someday. Ataturk was pretty significant in modernizing Turkey so I can understand why the Turks would be grateful

Or it could be that without Bob Barker urging people to spay and neuter their animals at the end of every Price is Right episode, the population has just exploded.

Unlike rugs and Turkish Delight, we did not bring any cats home.

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