Whenever I am in a new country, I always try to learn a few words of the local language. In Asia, it was always a bit of a challenge since the alphabets and languages were all so completely foreign. As I was riding into Paris on the train, I pulled out my handy dandy French, Italian, and German to English dictionary and began perusing the survival phrases. Much to my delight, there were several recognizable French words. Bonjour, au revoir, bon voyage, madame, monsieur, oui, merci beaucoup, excusez-moi, perdon, je ne parle pas Francais. When we arrived in Germany, the phrasebook offered guten tag, guten morgen, gute nacht, wilkommen, herr, frau, auf wiedersehen, sprechen sie Englisch, ja, nein, and danke. Because we use the same alphabet, unlike in Asia, I could even figure out some familiar words on signs and menus. Since I’ve mainly traveled in Asia, it caught me completely off guard when people in France and Germany spoke to me in their native tongue, not able to tell simply by looking that I was not a local. Then, when I said, “Bonjour” or “Guten tag” they would begin talking and I would have to ask if they spoke English. Most people that we encountered were fluent, but the initial thought that I was European was always kind of fun to think about…and it was nice, for once, not to stick out like the gaijin (foreigner) that I have been for so long.
The mixture of languages on the trip has been an experience along. A continual source of adolescent-minded giggles in German was the repeated use of the word ‘fahrt’. Abfahrt = departure, ausfahrt = exit, einfahrt = entrance. And even though I had no idea what it means, my favorite phrase is ‘gute fahrt”! (It turns out that gute fahrt means something like, “Have a good trip.”) When we were visiting with Manfred, he also used the word “kaput”. I guess I’d never thought about the origin of the word because I nearly laughed out loud every time he said it. Since we spent so long in Germany (compared to me quick jaunts into other places) and tried so hard to use what German we could, I got a little stuck with the German words. I found myself saying “danke” throughout the trip, even when I was in Barcelona. There, I was disappointed to find out, they use a local dialect of Catalan which is nearly as different from Spanish as Italian.
In the past, whenever I thought of Germany, I unconsciously linked it to the World Wars and, therefore, did not consider it a place that I wanted to go. Several of my friends in DoDDs had taught on the many bases scattered across the countryside and enjoyed the experience immensely, but I always assumed that they simply liked being close to the other European countries that I did consider worthy of a visit. But now, as I sat on a train rumbling through the breathtaking Bavarian Alps out of Germany toward Austria, my perspective was completely different. Germany is a beautiful country with many unique and beautiful places to visit. In fact, the snow-capped mountains hovering over cozy little villages that passed by my window made me wonder anew what heaven will be like since I can’t even imagine any thing more stunning than what I saw through the train windows along this trip.
On our first complete day in Germany, we were scheduled to meet a friend of Aunt Joanne’s. I have to admit that I was not at all looking forward to the outing. When I asked how she knew Manfred, she said that she had met him on a flight to Alaska nearly 15 years ago. When they arrived in Anchorage, Aunt Joanne offered him a ride to his hotel. He didn’t have a reservation and asked if they knew of a cheap place to stay. Aunt Joanne and Uncle George took him to the cheapest place they knew and waited while Manfred went inside. When he came out, he looked troubled. The hotel was asking more that Manfred wanted to pay. Aunt Joanne, in typical fashion, then offered him use of her guestroom. Manfred happily accepted, and Aunt Joanne and Uncle George spent the next ten days playing tour guide. They kept in touch over the years, and when Aunt Joanne found out that she was going to Germany, she called and made a plan to have Manfred show us around Limburg, his home town.
Manfred, it turns out, has the same gregarious personality as Aunt Joanne. Neither of them has ever met a stranger. Once introductions were made, Manfred and his girlfriend/wife offered us a tour of their home and then some wine. We then headed out to see the town. Our first stop was to a hotdog stand in the town square. We all got some delicious bratwurst and agreed that it was the best we’d ever had. Next, we headed to Marguerite’s house. She was in the hospital recovering from an operation, so Manfred was house-sitting. We were so grateful because her home was amazing…much better than a museum because it was an authentic home. We saw several treasures…Uncle George modeled World War I and II helmets while Aunt Carolyn marveled at the dolls from long ago. As we were shown from room to room throughout the house we couldn’t believe how large it was and how many rooms it had. Aunt Carolyn pointed out that must be how they were able to hide people during the war because the homes were so cobbled together that it was impossible to tell when a room was ‘missing’.
After Marguerite’s house, Manfred took us to the Limburg Cathedral. It was huge and dated back to the 1200’s. He had worked as part of the restoration team for 13 years and described the process. It was painstakingly slow, and he said that sometimes he would clear less than a square foot a day. After the cathedral, Manfred gave us a private tour of the cathedral museum where he works now. In addition to the regular museum pieces on display, he took us up to the depot and we saw all of the pieces that were in storage. It was really neat to get the behind the scenes tour. Overall, our day with Manfred was wonderful, and I am so glad that my wacky Aunt Joanne talks to everyone she meets!
For the rest of our time in Germany, we explored the Mosel valley. The little towns along the river each had their own cathedrals. We visited several and saw many more on the hillsides as we traveled from place to place. I was surprised to find that being inside the cathedrals, even in the Vatican, didn’t spark any desire to worship or pray. In fact, after visiting several, I realized that the cathedrals made me feel as sad as the shrines and temples of Japan. There, they had pretty buildings honoring false gods. In Europe, however, the pretty buildings were meant to turn people to God, but instead were just pretty pieces of architecture that people mainly went to as tourists. Several are now charging people to enter, and on cathedral even had a sign that said, “Church not open to visitors.” All of that has just made me understand more fully that God did not intend a church to be a building, but rather a gathering of people who love Him, and that makes even more grateful to be connecting once again with my church family in South Florida.
Well, my trip is coming to a close. Usually at this point, I get a little sad that the adventure is ending, but this time it is the opposite. Although I’ve had a wonderful time zooming through and exploring some of Europe’s famous cities, I’ve missed my family and friends and my home. I think God allowed me to take this trip by myself to allow me to see that although I can do things by myself, He made me to be in fellowship with others. The others He has given me for this season are in Florida and I am ready to return to them. I didn’t realize it when I was heading home from Japan because I was so focused on what I was leaving and what my next step would be, but this time alone has made me really miss my loved ones and anticipate the next chapter of life…including being an aunt – which I am very excited about.
That said, I am still nervous about what God has in store for me. I must admit that I have been worrying, but that has driven me into His presence to ask for His peace, which He provides without fail. As always, I am afraid that He wants me to be an administrator and I have always been terrified of that job. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the very reason He wants me in the position…I will need Him more than ever and therefore draw close to Him to depend on His strength rather than my own.
Random thoughts:
· After seeing several Kitty look-a-likes in France, I am more convinced that she is a beauceron.
· Nutella is so much tastier than vegemite…someone should tell the British and Australians!
· We saw lots of dogs in Germany…but not a single mutt! All were obviously pure bred and very well treated.
· The stark contrast between the Mosel Valley and Bavaria was immediately recognizable in the different architecture and in the wooden carvings found in all of the gift shops.
· Garmisch was an adorable little town in the Alps, but the Alps are so gi-normous that I was afraid to ski…especially without insurance!
· The hills of Salzburg were alive with the Sound of Music…especially when they began playing it on the tour bus.
· Venice, or Venezia to the locals, is very unique. I never realized that it is a city made up of about 100 islands, 400 bridges and 2000 alleys. The Grand Canal runs through the center of the city, but countless canals crisscross the rest. Because of that, there are no cars and all transportation is done by boat. I saw a garbage boat, ambulance boat, DHL boat, taxis boats, gondolas, and several police boats. Instead of a bus system, they have vaporettos, or giant boats, that work the same way. When I arrived, I booked a room, hopped on a vaporetto and set off through the maze of alleys to find my hotel. Happily, I stumbled upon it fairly quickly, checked in, dumped my stuff, and set off to wander around. I didn’t have a destination in mind, so it didn’t matter that Venice would be an impossible place to navigate. I just kept walking around, hopping on the vaporettos when I was tired and enjoying the sights.
· The further south you go in Italy, the less organized it is and the more run down the cities get. Although the entire place could use a coat of paint and some new roads, it is somehow still charming.
· After just a week of traveling by myself, I was so happy to have some company when I got to Naples. Mishel was a wonderful tour guide and drove me along the Amlafi coast…one of my favorite parts of the trip.
· I’ve never been overly interested in architecture, but the work of Gaudi in Barcelona is really amazing. His buildings are really eye-catching.
· Amsterdam had way more bicycle parking than car parking and people were riding everywhere. There were even little lanes along the stairs at the train station where people could push the bikes up and down.
· Why do people change the names of places from what the locals call them? Wouldn’t it make more sense for everyone to call Florence Firenze like the Italians do?
