Today is transitional. Together with the rest of the C.S. Lewis Conference attendees, we leave by bus for Cambridge University, where we will stay the next 4 nights.
Oxford has been busy but enjoyable. Yesterday we went out to C.S. Lewis' home, called "The Kilns," where he and his brother and later he and his wife lived. It's a cottage that he bought mainly because of the 9 beautiful acres that surrounded it. Today, as you might imagine, it's surrounded by newer homes. The pond that was originally part of the acreage has been donated to some government entity and has been designated as a nature preserve. Our guide suggested that the pond and its environs served as the immediate inspiration for the landscape and the animal characters in Lewis' Narnia Chronicles. It seemed like a believable proposition to me.
As I think I mentioned in my previous entry, we've been staying at Keble College on the Oxford campus. Most our our meetings have been held at St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, about a half mile down the road. Many Oxford buildings and churches have an interesting history; St. Mary's is no exception. One of the key figures in the English Reformation was a man named Thomas Cranmer, who was Archibishop of Canterbury and author of The Book of Common Prayer, one of the most influential worship resources ever written. Cranmer was instrumental in setting up the Church of England under King Henry VIII, but was caught up in the ever-changing church scene that unfolded in the years following Henry's death. Under Queen Mary (who was Roman Catholic), Cranmer (apparently) agreed to give up the Reformed faith. But in a dramatic sermon given in the very church where we've been meeting, Cranmer took back his recantation, declared his loyalty to the Reformation, and was taken down the street to the entrance to Balliol College, where he and his companion, Hugh Ridley, were burned at the stake. As the flames licked his body, he is supposed to have cried out "Play the man (be a man), Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
Thus endeth the history lesson.
One thing I've enjoyed at Keble is the traditional English breakfast. You can have fruit and toast if you like, but the English breakfast will stick to your ribs: ham, sausage, a poached egg, a whole boiled tomato, toast and . . . beans (as in pork and beans). I ate it every morning.
Connie is out buying souvenirs. I must finish packing, check out and get on the Cambridge bus.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
A Look Back at Holland
I promised a few days ago that I would tell about our 2-day trip to The Netherlands. Here goes.
We arrived by train from Paris, non-stop to Brussels then on to Amsterdam. It was the only time on our trip when we got a meal on the train. Like you used to get on airplanes. We got into Amsterdam late in the afternoon, then took a local train about 10 miles west to the city of Haarlem (yes, that's where Harlem in New York City got its name; NYC used to be a Dutch colony).
When we got to Haarlem, we walked maybe 10 blocks to our hotel, which was in the central square close by the "Groote Kerk," the Great Church, which at one time was Roman Catholic but became Reformed when Holland gained its indpendence from Spain. These days the Reformed Church is the state church of The Netherlands, in the same way that the Anglican Church is the state church of England. The official designation doesn't seem to count for much. Holland feels so secular that "church" would be in the past tense if it wasn't a noun.
The next morning we took a short walk to the house where Corrie Ten Boom used to live. If you don't know about Corrie Ten Boom, I highly recommend her book The Hiding Place or the very fine film by the same name that was made in 1975. Together with her father and sister, she hid Jews in her house until they were discovered in 1944. Subsequently, her whole family was sent to concentration camps, where her sister and father died. Corrie became a traveling evangelist after the war and continued that work until shortly before she died. The house and the tour were quite impressive. We saw where people were hidden, the great lengths that were taken to protect those who hid, and the danger involved in this kind of activity. Our tour guide was a older woman who was very frank about Corrie's Christian commitment and the importance of accepting Christ as one's savior. We spent a very edifying hour there.
That afternoon we took the train into Amsterdam and visited the Rijksmuseum, something that Connie had been anticipating for some time. She loves the Dutch masters: Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc., so we spent a very enjoyable time looking at the Rijksmuseum's outstanding collection. Later we wandered through some of Amsterdam's beautiful older neighborhoods (no, we didn't go to its infamous red light district!), along canals, on cobblestone streets. We walked past the house where Anne Frank took refuge during the war. We would have gone in but there was a large crowd waiting to be admitted.
One thing I must comment on is the staggering number of bicycles one sees in Holland. They say there are as many bikes there as people and I believe it. One reason, I suppose, is that the country is pretty much flat as a pancake, and thus conducive to this mode of transportation. The other reason (which Holland shares with every other country we've been to) is that gas costs about 8 dollars a gallon, which makes you think twice about getting in your car (assuming you own one).
We only spent two nights in Holland, so the next morning we got up and (ahem) took the bus to England. This was one part of our trip that we didn't plan very well. If we had shopped early, we could have flown from Amsterdam to London for about $60 apiece. That price had climbed considerably by the time we got ready to buy, so the bus became our cheapest alternative. Twelve hours through every Tom, Dick and Harry town in Holland, Belgium and northern France. We saw lots of country and got our first real taste of European freeway driving. However, we don't recommend this mode of travel. It just took too long.
But the "chunnel" from France to England was sort of interesting. We arrived at the embarkation point, where we had to go through French customs. They made us take all our baggage off the bus and run it through their x-ray machines. Frederick, our driver, informed us that sometimes they do this, sometimes they don't. Which was okay. But then we got on the bus, drove 50 yards, got off the bus and went through British customs. At least they didn't want to look at our luggage. So finally we go to go in the chunnel. Only it wasn't what I expected. I can't speak for cars or trains, but buses that go through the chunnel are loaded onto long trains. You drive into what looks like an incredibly long trailer (ours stretched maybe a quarter-mile), only there are train tracks beneath it. The bus drives as far to the front as possible. Then dividers come down in front and in back of the bus, separating it from vehicles in front and in back of it. Finally the train starts to move. At first you csee light through the little windows on the sides of the train. Then everything goes black as you enter the chunnel. It takes about half an hour to get to the other side (the English Channel is 20 miles wide at its narrowest point). Then when you come out you're in England! I had great admiration for our driver, Frederick. As soon as we left the train, he had to switch from driving on the right side of the road (Europe) to the left side (England). He handled it like a pro. From there it took us about an hour to get to London.
We arrived by train from Paris, non-stop to Brussels then on to Amsterdam. It was the only time on our trip when we got a meal on the train. Like you used to get on airplanes. We got into Amsterdam late in the afternoon, then took a local train about 10 miles west to the city of Haarlem (yes, that's where Harlem in New York City got its name; NYC used to be a Dutch colony).
When we got to Haarlem, we walked maybe 10 blocks to our hotel, which was in the central square close by the "Groote Kerk," the Great Church, which at one time was Roman Catholic but became Reformed when Holland gained its indpendence from Spain. These days the Reformed Church is the state church of The Netherlands, in the same way that the Anglican Church is the state church of England. The official designation doesn't seem to count for much. Holland feels so secular that "church" would be in the past tense if it wasn't a noun.
The next morning we took a short walk to the house where Corrie Ten Boom used to live. If you don't know about Corrie Ten Boom, I highly recommend her book The Hiding Place or the very fine film by the same name that was made in 1975. Together with her father and sister, she hid Jews in her house until they were discovered in 1944. Subsequently, her whole family was sent to concentration camps, where her sister and father died. Corrie became a traveling evangelist after the war and continued that work until shortly before she died. The house and the tour were quite impressive. We saw where people were hidden, the great lengths that were taken to protect those who hid, and the danger involved in this kind of activity. Our tour guide was a older woman who was very frank about Corrie's Christian commitment and the importance of accepting Christ as one's savior. We spent a very edifying hour there.
That afternoon we took the train into Amsterdam and visited the Rijksmuseum, something that Connie had been anticipating for some time. She loves the Dutch masters: Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc., so we spent a very enjoyable time looking at the Rijksmuseum's outstanding collection. Later we wandered through some of Amsterdam's beautiful older neighborhoods (no, we didn't go to its infamous red light district!), along canals, on cobblestone streets. We walked past the house where Anne Frank took refuge during the war. We would have gone in but there was a large crowd waiting to be admitted.
One thing I must comment on is the staggering number of bicycles one sees in Holland. They say there are as many bikes there as people and I believe it. One reason, I suppose, is that the country is pretty much flat as a pancake, and thus conducive to this mode of transportation. The other reason (which Holland shares with every other country we've been to) is that gas costs about 8 dollars a gallon, which makes you think twice about getting in your car (assuming you own one).
We only spent two nights in Holland, so the next morning we got up and (ahem) took the bus to England. This was one part of our trip that we didn't plan very well. If we had shopped early, we could have flown from Amsterdam to London for about $60 apiece. That price had climbed considerably by the time we got ready to buy, so the bus became our cheapest alternative. Twelve hours through every Tom, Dick and Harry town in Holland, Belgium and northern France. We saw lots of country and got our first real taste of European freeway driving. However, we don't recommend this mode of travel. It just took too long.
But the "chunnel" from France to England was sort of interesting. We arrived at the embarkation point, where we had to go through French customs. They made us take all our baggage off the bus and run it through their x-ray machines. Frederick, our driver, informed us that sometimes they do this, sometimes they don't. Which was okay. But then we got on the bus, drove 50 yards, got off the bus and went through British customs. At least they didn't want to look at our luggage. So finally we go to go in the chunnel. Only it wasn't what I expected. I can't speak for cars or trains, but buses that go through the chunnel are loaded onto long trains. You drive into what looks like an incredibly long trailer (ours stretched maybe a quarter-mile), only there are train tracks beneath it. The bus drives as far to the front as possible. Then dividers come down in front and in back of the bus, separating it from vehicles in front and in back of it. Finally the train starts to move. At first you csee light through the little windows on the sides of the train. Then everything goes black as you enter the chunnel. It takes about half an hour to get to the other side (the English Channel is 20 miles wide at its narrowest point). Then when you come out you're in England! I had great admiration for our driver, Frederick. As soon as we left the train, he had to switch from driving on the right side of the road (Europe) to the left side (England). He handled it like a pro. From there it took us about an hour to get to London.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
London Then to Cambridge
I'm finally in a place where I can connect to the internet in my room, so it will be easier to write.
Yesterday (Monday?) was spent in London and it was pretty neat. We started at Buckingham Palace, where we saw the Changing of the Guard. They spend an hour doing what could be accomplished in ten minutes, but it's fun to watch the red coated soldiers march precisely and listen to their officers shout out commands in their British accents. Buckingham Palace is big but not so impressive architecturally.
Then it was on to the British Library (not to be confused with the British Museum). The Museum is about historical artifacts, the Library is about historical documents. We spent our time in just one room. Without question, it contains the greatest single collection of historical documents anywhere in the world (not copies, not photographs, but the actual pieces of paper themselves). Just to mention a few:
1. G.F. Handel's original score (full orchestration) of Messiah. All the notes are scribbled there, together with the words, and you wonder "How could he write this whole thing in 24 days?" But he did.
2. Captain Robert Scott's journal from his Antarctic expedition in 1911 when he and his companions froze to death in their tent 11 miles from a food depot. Scott's handwriting is in pencil; the little volumes are in amazing condition considering that he carried them with him the whole way.
3. The Magna Carta, written in 1215, the first written attempt to limit the rights of kings in relation to their subjects.
4. Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament, dated to the 300s. Found at a monastery on Mt. Sinai. An absolutely priceless document and extremely important for New Testament studies.
5. Just for fun: original copies of lyrics to several Beatles songs, handwritten by Lennon and McCartney themselves. Including Michelle (McCartney), A Hard Day's Night (Lennon), Yesterday (McCartney), Ticket to Ride and Help! (both Lennon). One of the Lennon songs is scratched on the back of a birthday card he had given to his son Julian for his first birthday.
This room was probably the most amazing single thing I've seen on our trip. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Multiple times.
I figured everything would be downhill after that, but it was a great afternoon. Just up the street from 10 Downing Street is an underground warren of rooms that served as headquarters for the British government during much of World War II, especially when the Germans were bombing London every day. Rooms for cabinet meetings, Mrs. Churchill's bedroom, etc. Attached to these rooms is a large museum devoted to Winston Churchill. If you are ever in London, this is a place you won't want to miss. I think we paid 12 pounds to get in but it was worth it.
Then Connie suggested we ride over to Abbey Road and she would take my picture in the intersection where the cover photo for the Beatles' Abbey Road album was snapped. It was pretty funny. The street was busy with traffic and there were about 20 people trying to do the same we were: get their picture taken at the Abbey Road crosswalk without getting run over. But the drivers were patient; they knew why people were there. So we got some pictures of me crossing the intersection. They're not at all like the photo on the album cover, but it's the same place.
By the way, the Abbey Road Studio, where the Beatles did much of their recording, is immediately adjacent to the intersection and still functions as a studio today. In fact, the neighborhood looks pretty much as it did when the album cover was shot back in 1969.
Today was a travel day, but not a big one. We took the tube (subway) to Paddington Station and traveled an hour north to Oxford and its university. It is just as you might imagine: medieval buildings all over the place; spires and churches and university buildings. We are here for the C.S. Lewis Institute Oxbridge Conference. Four days at Oxford, four days at Cambridge University (Lewis taught at both schools). Our "digs" are at Keble College (one of the many colleges that make up Oxford University), in a dorm room on the 4th floor. We had dinner tonight in a place that looks very much like the Hogwarts dining hall in Harry Potter. Afterwards we attended a worship service at a beautiful Anglican church down the road a few blocks. There was a reception on the lawn afterwards with canapes and beverages in champagne glasses (although there was no alcohol). Connie and I felt a little out of place due to the fact that we didn't pack any dress clothes. Oh well.
The preacher for the week is Dr. Earl Palmer, who until his recent retirement was senior pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. He was quite effective and I enjoyed listening. But it's the first real sermon I've heard in many weeks and it reminded me of my vocation, which is to preach in my congregation. Believe me, I miss it and will be ready to begin anew once September rolls around, d.v.
Yesterday (Monday?) was spent in London and it was pretty neat. We started at Buckingham Palace, where we saw the Changing of the Guard. They spend an hour doing what could be accomplished in ten minutes, but it's fun to watch the red coated soldiers march precisely and listen to their officers shout out commands in their British accents. Buckingham Palace is big but not so impressive architecturally.
Then it was on to the British Library (not to be confused with the British Museum). The Museum is about historical artifacts, the Library is about historical documents. We spent our time in just one room. Without question, it contains the greatest single collection of historical documents anywhere in the world (not copies, not photographs, but the actual pieces of paper themselves). Just to mention a few:
1. G.F. Handel's original score (full orchestration) of Messiah. All the notes are scribbled there, together with the words, and you wonder "How could he write this whole thing in 24 days?" But he did.
2. Captain Robert Scott's journal from his Antarctic expedition in 1911 when he and his companions froze to death in their tent 11 miles from a food depot. Scott's handwriting is in pencil; the little volumes are in amazing condition considering that he carried them with him the whole way.
3. The Magna Carta, written in 1215, the first written attempt to limit the rights of kings in relation to their subjects.
4. Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament, dated to the 300s. Found at a monastery on Mt. Sinai. An absolutely priceless document and extremely important for New Testament studies.
5. Just for fun: original copies of lyrics to several Beatles songs, handwritten by Lennon and McCartney themselves. Including Michelle (McCartney), A Hard Day's Night (Lennon), Yesterday (McCartney), Ticket to Ride and Help! (both Lennon). One of the Lennon songs is scratched on the back of a birthday card he had given to his son Julian for his first birthday.
This room was probably the most amazing single thing I've seen on our trip. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Multiple times.
I figured everything would be downhill after that, but it was a great afternoon. Just up the street from 10 Downing Street is an underground warren of rooms that served as headquarters for the British government during much of World War II, especially when the Germans were bombing London every day. Rooms for cabinet meetings, Mrs. Churchill's bedroom, etc. Attached to these rooms is a large museum devoted to Winston Churchill. If you are ever in London, this is a place you won't want to miss. I think we paid 12 pounds to get in but it was worth it.
Then Connie suggested we ride over to Abbey Road and she would take my picture in the intersection where the cover photo for the Beatles' Abbey Road album was snapped. It was pretty funny. The street was busy with traffic and there were about 20 people trying to do the same we were: get their picture taken at the Abbey Road crosswalk without getting run over. But the drivers were patient; they knew why people were there. So we got some pictures of me crossing the intersection. They're not at all like the photo on the album cover, but it's the same place.
By the way, the Abbey Road Studio, where the Beatles did much of their recording, is immediately adjacent to the intersection and still functions as a studio today. In fact, the neighborhood looks pretty much as it did when the album cover was shot back in 1969.
Today was a travel day, but not a big one. We took the tube (subway) to Paddington Station and traveled an hour north to Oxford and its university. It is just as you might imagine: medieval buildings all over the place; spires and churches and university buildings. We are here for the C.S. Lewis Institute Oxbridge Conference. Four days at Oxford, four days at Cambridge University (Lewis taught at both schools). Our "digs" are at Keble College (one of the many colleges that make up Oxford University), in a dorm room on the 4th floor. We had dinner tonight in a place that looks very much like the Hogwarts dining hall in Harry Potter. Afterwards we attended a worship service at a beautiful Anglican church down the road a few blocks. There was a reception on the lawn afterwards with canapes and beverages in champagne glasses (although there was no alcohol). Connie and I felt a little out of place due to the fact that we didn't pack any dress clothes. Oh well.
The preacher for the week is Dr. Earl Palmer, who until his recent retirement was senior pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. He was quite effective and I enjoyed listening. But it's the first real sermon I've heard in many weeks and it reminded me of my vocation, which is to preach in my congregation. Believe me, I miss it and will be ready to begin anew once September rolls around, d.v.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
London Calling
I could tell about our time in Holland but I think I will wait until after I write about London. We got here Friday night July 22, arriving at Victoria Station, one of several enormous London transport centers/train stations. It was raining. We didn't know how to use the transit system. We couldn't figure out where we were. We ran into a couple of dodgy characters whom I can't describe in a "family" blog. Thank goodness for Connie, who reads maps, reasons things out and points the way. I trot along behind. We didn't get to our hotel until 11:30 and the door was locked. Finally we rousted the night manager and were let into our room--which turned out to be just fine. We slept in a little, then got up and attacked London town.
Frankly, we're just doing the things you have to do when you come here. We visited the Tower of London (across the Thames from where we're staying), where we saw the crown jewels and the place where British kings used to torture their subjects in the bad old days. I must admit that buildings from the 11 and 12-hundreds no longer impress me. Israel and its ruins make everything else look almost new. However, the Tower of London is impressive and absolutely central to the story of Great Britain.
After the Tower of London, we took a long walk along the Thames, west toward Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, etc. It was a fabulous view. The Tower Bridge (looking very medieval), the London Eye (a giant ferris wheel erected not so many years ago), St. Paul's Cathedral (more about that later). Time was getting away from us so we hopped a (not-so-fast) bus and eventually got over to Westminster Abbey, where as you may recall, Prince Edward married his Kate a couple of months ago.
Westminster Abbey is in one sense a grand cathedral. In that sense it is like Notre Dame in Paris. What makes it different from Notre Dame is that it functions as Britain's cultural memory bank. So you have all these famous people who are either buried there or memorialized along its walls, with a plaque or perhaps an opulent statue. Some of those honored seemed appropriate in a church: T.S. Eliot, G.F. Handel, Isaac Newton, to name a few. Others, though, seemed like they should have been elsewhere: D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterly's Lover) and Charles Dawin to name a couple. Oh, well. Needless to say, Britain is not a Christian nation these days and in some ways the Abbey makes that clear.
However, the church's worship life goes on without missing a beat. We stayed for evensong at 5 p.m. (basically music and scripture readings). There was a marvelous guest choir; we got to sit in the choir stalls right next to them. It's just an incredibly magnificent church that truly soars; we felt transported. Required for all London visitors!
Afterwards we walked by Downing Street (which is blocked off). Just beyond we took a detour and wandered into the area where they're building the beach volleyball venue for the 2012 Olympics (they'll be held in London). There's Olympic construction underway in various parts of the city; the tube system (subway) is being upgraded, with the result that some lines are closed, especially on weekends. By the way, the London mass transit system, like that of Paris and Rome, is highly developed, highly reliable and generally inexpensive. The trains run on time, they're clean and seem very safe. We ended the day with a walk up into London's West End Theater District, where we bought tickets for a musical.
Today turned out to be sunny and mild, our first such day since we left Chambery, France. The high was near 70, which is about as warm as London gets. First thing, we got on the tube and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Diana were married many years ago). It's the largest Anglican Cathedral in the world (truly gigantic), was designed by the famous architect, Christophere Wren, and is another of those "must-sees" if you're a church person. We attended the11 o'clock service which was basically traditional Anglican worship on steroids. Full orchestra, choir, preaching, holy communion and just for the icing on the cake, the communion service was accompanied by Beethoven's "Mass in C Major." You may be familiar with such-and-such a composer's "Mass in G" or whatever. Well, those were intended to be used as part of an actual communion service. So that instead of saying the creed, the choir and the orchestra would perform it, etc. And of course if you're talking about worship on steroids, you might as well have composer on steroids, too, which fits Beethoven to a tee. So it was pretty special. What's more, we got there early and got to sit in the first two seats in the front row. Right under the enormous dome of St. Paul's (as big and beautiful as the U.S. Capitol). Pretty good for a couple of rubes from Portland, Or-a-gone!
This afternoon we tubed over to the British Museum, arguably the greatest historical museum in the world. We didn't have enough time but we saw some great stuff, including the Rosetta Stone, which is how archeologists learned how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics. Then, just to prove we aren't so terribly serious, we went to our musical. It was called Jersey Boys, basically the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the rock band from back in the '60s. Light, frothy, with familiar music (Sherry! Sherry Baby!, etc.) and basically just good fun. Then we had burritos at Chipotle (yes, we broke down and ate American food) and took the tube back to our hotel.
Don't ask me what we're doing tomorrow because I can't think straight right now.
Just a word about London: one travel writer says that Paris is an urban garden, but that London is an urban jungle. I agree. Not because London is dangerous, but because it is all jumbled together in a manner that's not quite coherent. Old buildings stand next to new ones and they don't fit. Of course, this kind of juxtapositioning can be done so that the results are pleasing to the eye. But it hasn't worked that way in London, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, the city is so energetic, so filled with people, so multi-cultural, that you get caught up in the spirit of the place and it's a joy to be here. I must say I like it better than Paris, but of course that is my taste. Maybe part of it is being back where everybody speaks English. It is true that England is more like America than anyplace else we've been.
Frankly, we're just doing the things you have to do when you come here. We visited the Tower of London (across the Thames from where we're staying), where we saw the crown jewels and the place where British kings used to torture their subjects in the bad old days. I must admit that buildings from the 11 and 12-hundreds no longer impress me. Israel and its ruins make everything else look almost new. However, the Tower of London is impressive and absolutely central to the story of Great Britain.
After the Tower of London, we took a long walk along the Thames, west toward Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, etc. It was a fabulous view. The Tower Bridge (looking very medieval), the London Eye (a giant ferris wheel erected not so many years ago), St. Paul's Cathedral (more about that later). Time was getting away from us so we hopped a (not-so-fast) bus and eventually got over to Westminster Abbey, where as you may recall, Prince Edward married his Kate a couple of months ago.
Westminster Abbey is in one sense a grand cathedral. In that sense it is like Notre Dame in Paris. What makes it different from Notre Dame is that it functions as Britain's cultural memory bank. So you have all these famous people who are either buried there or memorialized along its walls, with a plaque or perhaps an opulent statue. Some of those honored seemed appropriate in a church: T.S. Eliot, G.F. Handel, Isaac Newton, to name a few. Others, though, seemed like they should have been elsewhere: D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterly's Lover) and Charles Dawin to name a couple. Oh, well. Needless to say, Britain is not a Christian nation these days and in some ways the Abbey makes that clear.
However, the church's worship life goes on without missing a beat. We stayed for evensong at 5 p.m. (basically music and scripture readings). There was a marvelous guest choir; we got to sit in the choir stalls right next to them. It's just an incredibly magnificent church that truly soars; we felt transported. Required for all London visitors!
Afterwards we walked by Downing Street (which is blocked off). Just beyond we took a detour and wandered into the area where they're building the beach volleyball venue for the 2012 Olympics (they'll be held in London). There's Olympic construction underway in various parts of the city; the tube system (subway) is being upgraded, with the result that some lines are closed, especially on weekends. By the way, the London mass transit system, like that of Paris and Rome, is highly developed, highly reliable and generally inexpensive. The trains run on time, they're clean and seem very safe. We ended the day with a walk up into London's West End Theater District, where we bought tickets for a musical.
Today turned out to be sunny and mild, our first such day since we left Chambery, France. The high was near 70, which is about as warm as London gets. First thing, we got on the tube and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Diana were married many years ago). It's the largest Anglican Cathedral in the world (truly gigantic), was designed by the famous architect, Christophere Wren, and is another of those "must-sees" if you're a church person. We attended the11 o'clock service which was basically traditional Anglican worship on steroids. Full orchestra, choir, preaching, holy communion and just for the icing on the cake, the communion service was accompanied by Beethoven's "Mass in C Major." You may be familiar with such-and-such a composer's "Mass in G" or whatever. Well, those were intended to be used as part of an actual communion service. So that instead of saying the creed, the choir and the orchestra would perform it, etc. And of course if you're talking about worship on steroids, you might as well have composer on steroids, too, which fits Beethoven to a tee. So it was pretty special. What's more, we got there early and got to sit in the first two seats in the front row. Right under the enormous dome of St. Paul's (as big and beautiful as the U.S. Capitol). Pretty good for a couple of rubes from Portland, Or-a-gone!
This afternoon we tubed over to the British Museum, arguably the greatest historical museum in the world. We didn't have enough time but we saw some great stuff, including the Rosetta Stone, which is how archeologists learned how to read Egyptian hieroglyphics. Then, just to prove we aren't so terribly serious, we went to our musical. It was called Jersey Boys, basically the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the rock band from back in the '60s. Light, frothy, with familiar music (Sherry! Sherry Baby!, etc.) and basically just good fun. Then we had burritos at Chipotle (yes, we broke down and ate American food) and took the tube back to our hotel.
Don't ask me what we're doing tomorrow because I can't think straight right now.
Just a word about London: one travel writer says that Paris is an urban garden, but that London is an urban jungle. I agree. Not because London is dangerous, but because it is all jumbled together in a manner that's not quite coherent. Old buildings stand next to new ones and they don't fit. Of course, this kind of juxtapositioning can be done so that the results are pleasing to the eye. But it hasn't worked that way in London, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, the city is so energetic, so filled with people, so multi-cultural, that you get caught up in the spirit of the place and it's a joy to be here. I must say I like it better than Paris, but of course that is my taste. Maybe part of it is being back where everybody speaks English. It is true that England is more like America than anyplace else we've been.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Paris on the Run
Well, I haven't checked in for a few days. Paris was great but we were on the move all the time, so writing time was hard to come by. Here follows a brief report.
We arrived on Saturday the 16th, late in the afternoon. It was a quick trip by high speed train. Lliterally, we were there before we knew it. The train stopped, everyone got off, we sat there thinking they must be transferring. So we sat there by ourselves. Then a train employee walked by and said something in French. I think it was, "Why are you still on the train?"
Connie said, "We're going to Paris."
The guy pointed out the window and said "Paree!"
We said, "This is Paris?"
Then he said something else in French. I think it was: "Get off!" So we did.
You have to understand that European travel schedules are written differently than ours. If a train arrives at 3 p.m., the schedule will say "15:00," meaning 12 noon plus 3 hours equals 15, like the military. We didn't look carefully and thought "15:00" meant "5 p.m." So by our reckoning we got there two hours early.
After that, we figured out how to use Paris' excellent subway system and found our hotel. Only in the meantime, the weather decided to take a nosedive. By the time we checked in, got back on the Metro and got off at the Eiffel Tower, it was raining like someone had just built the Ark. We stood under an awning and watched raindrops bounce off the sidewalk. Then we went into a cafe and had a tuna fish sandwich (this is sounding more romantic all the time, isn't it?). Finally we said "Nuts!" and went back to the hotel.
The next day was Sunday, so we started at the Cathedral of Notre Dame ("Notre Dame" meaning "Our Lady"). We sat through a brief praise service and really enjoyed it, especially the music which was performed by an organist and two (female) vocalists. The previous Sunday we had been in St. Peter's in Rome, and after St. Peters, anything else would seem intimate, even a great Gothic cathedral like Notre Dame. It had the quintessential high, soaring ceiling, together with gorgeous (though somewhat understated) stained glass windows. It felt like a church. By comparison, St. Peter's felt like a statement ("This is the biggest, most glorious church in the world and don't you forget it!). Construction on Notre Dame began in the 12th century; I loved it.
Afterwards we walked around the small island where the cathedral is located and adjusted to the fact that though it had stopped raining, the wind had come up and the temperature had gone down. It felt like mid-October, not mid-July. So we walked down the boulevard (in Paris we did a lot of walking) and spent the afternoon at the Louvre, Paris' great art museum.
The Louvre is comparable to The Vatican Museum in terms of the sheer amount of art; both are staggeringly large. The difference is that there are times when the Vatican feels like somebody decided to empty the attic ("Let's put all our statues in this big hall here"), whereas at the Louvre great care has been taken as to how the art is presented. Besides that, the building and the rooms themselves are architectural works of art. Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue and some truly astounding Medieval tapestries. I saw so much art that my eyes are still bulging. But let me compare it for just a moment with the Musee de Orsay, which we visited this morning just before we left Paris. The Orsay is famous for its Impressionist collection: Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Millet, etc. We spent a mere hour there, but on one floor they had put together the most remarkable exhibit of beautiful art I will ever see. I walked by and said "Yup, seen that one in a book. Yup, seen that one on a CD cover." Or else, "Never seen that one before, but it's fabulous." Oh, and just as an added highlight, they threw in "Whistler's Mother." I probably only saw 200 paintings but I have never left a museum more satisfied.
After we visited the Louvre that afternoon we spent the early evening at the Eiffel Tower, waited in line for quite a while and finally took an elevator to the 400-foot level; I think at the top it's about a thousand feet high. Obviously a great view of the city, which in itself became a revelation. You have to understand that Paris is very large; much bigger than Rome in my estimation. And that unlike Rome, where famous buildings or fountains or ruins seem to show up haphazardly, in Paris everything is carefully arranged. The buildings are placed just so, the avenues come together as they should, the streetsweepers in their green uniforms are everywhere. The city is stately, resplendent with a sense of its own history and beauty, very conscious of its continuing role as perhaps the world's leading arbiter of taste.
On Monday we took the Metro over to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champ Elysees. Then we took a two-and-a-half hour train ride out to Normandy, where the D-Day invasion took place on June 6, 1944. This was in part to honor my dad, who came ashore June 10, 1944, walked up the beach and saw bodies stacked like cordwood. We stayed in a little coastal town called Arromanches, which is right on "Juno" beach, where British and Canadian troops fought. It looks a lot like Cannon Beach, except that instead of Haystack rock, there are all these big, rusted-out hulks that look like barges but are actually left over from D-Day. They had to build a huge artificial harbor as part of the invasion process; the "hulks" were lined up by the dozens and functioned like jetties. An important visual reminder of what happened there. The next day we toured some of the other D-Day beaches and took the train back to Paris. That night we walked to the Eiffel Tower. After dark it is bathed in golden light, once an hour or so they turn on little lightbulbs so that it twinkles like a Christmas tree. If you want to impress that "special someone," take her to the Eiffel Tower at night.
Today, after we visited the Musee d'Orsay, we got on the train again and headed for Holland. Tonight we are in Haarlem, a short distance outside Amsterdam. Tomorrow: more art museums! Maybe a bike ride out to the North Sea! If it doesn't rain! If we have the energy!
We arrived on Saturday the 16th, late in the afternoon. It was a quick trip by high speed train. Lliterally, we were there before we knew it. The train stopped, everyone got off, we sat there thinking they must be transferring. So we sat there by ourselves. Then a train employee walked by and said something in French. I think it was, "Why are you still on the train?"
Connie said, "We're going to Paris."
The guy pointed out the window and said "Paree!"
We said, "This is Paris?"
Then he said something else in French. I think it was: "Get off!" So we did.
You have to understand that European travel schedules are written differently than ours. If a train arrives at 3 p.m., the schedule will say "15:00," meaning 12 noon plus 3 hours equals 15, like the military. We didn't look carefully and thought "15:00" meant "5 p.m." So by our reckoning we got there two hours early.
After that, we figured out how to use Paris' excellent subway system and found our hotel. Only in the meantime, the weather decided to take a nosedive. By the time we checked in, got back on the Metro and got off at the Eiffel Tower, it was raining like someone had just built the Ark. We stood under an awning and watched raindrops bounce off the sidewalk. Then we went into a cafe and had a tuna fish sandwich (this is sounding more romantic all the time, isn't it?). Finally we said "Nuts!" and went back to the hotel.
The next day was Sunday, so we started at the Cathedral of Notre Dame ("Notre Dame" meaning "Our Lady"). We sat through a brief praise service and really enjoyed it, especially the music which was performed by an organist and two (female) vocalists. The previous Sunday we had been in St. Peter's in Rome, and after St. Peters, anything else would seem intimate, even a great Gothic cathedral like Notre Dame. It had the quintessential high, soaring ceiling, together with gorgeous (though somewhat understated) stained glass windows. It felt like a church. By comparison, St. Peter's felt like a statement ("This is the biggest, most glorious church in the world and don't you forget it!). Construction on Notre Dame began in the 12th century; I loved it.
Afterwards we walked around the small island where the cathedral is located and adjusted to the fact that though it had stopped raining, the wind had come up and the temperature had gone down. It felt like mid-October, not mid-July. So we walked down the boulevard (in Paris we did a lot of walking) and spent the afternoon at the Louvre, Paris' great art museum.
The Louvre is comparable to The Vatican Museum in terms of the sheer amount of art; both are staggeringly large. The difference is that there are times when the Vatican feels like somebody decided to empty the attic ("Let's put all our statues in this big hall here"), whereas at the Louvre great care has been taken as to how the art is presented. Besides that, the building and the rooms themselves are architectural works of art. Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue and some truly astounding Medieval tapestries. I saw so much art that my eyes are still bulging. But let me compare it for just a moment with the Musee de Orsay, which we visited this morning just before we left Paris. The Orsay is famous for its Impressionist collection: Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Millet, etc. We spent a mere hour there, but on one floor they had put together the most remarkable exhibit of beautiful art I will ever see. I walked by and said "Yup, seen that one in a book. Yup, seen that one on a CD cover." Or else, "Never seen that one before, but it's fabulous." Oh, and just as an added highlight, they threw in "Whistler's Mother." I probably only saw 200 paintings but I have never left a museum more satisfied.
After we visited the Louvre that afternoon we spent the early evening at the Eiffel Tower, waited in line for quite a while and finally took an elevator to the 400-foot level; I think at the top it's about a thousand feet high. Obviously a great view of the city, which in itself became a revelation. You have to understand that Paris is very large; much bigger than Rome in my estimation. And that unlike Rome, where famous buildings or fountains or ruins seem to show up haphazardly, in Paris everything is carefully arranged. The buildings are placed just so, the avenues come together as they should, the streetsweepers in their green uniforms are everywhere. The city is stately, resplendent with a sense of its own history and beauty, very conscious of its continuing role as perhaps the world's leading arbiter of taste.
On Monday we took the Metro over to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champ Elysees. Then we took a two-and-a-half hour train ride out to Normandy, where the D-Day invasion took place on June 6, 1944. This was in part to honor my dad, who came ashore June 10, 1944, walked up the beach and saw bodies stacked like cordwood. We stayed in a little coastal town called Arromanches, which is right on "Juno" beach, where British and Canadian troops fought. It looks a lot like Cannon Beach, except that instead of Haystack rock, there are all these big, rusted-out hulks that look like barges but are actually left over from D-Day. They had to build a huge artificial harbor as part of the invasion process; the "hulks" were lined up by the dozens and functioned like jetties. An important visual reminder of what happened there. The next day we toured some of the other D-Day beaches and took the train back to Paris. That night we walked to the Eiffel Tower. After dark it is bathed in golden light, once an hour or so they turn on little lightbulbs so that it twinkles like a Christmas tree. If you want to impress that "special someone," take her to the Eiffel Tower at night.
Today, after we visited the Musee d'Orsay, we got on the train again and headed for Holland. Tonight we are in Haarlem, a short distance outside Amsterdam. Tomorrow: more art museums! Maybe a bike ride out to the North Sea! If it doesn't rain! If we have the energy!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Of Big Macs and Fireworks
Tonight we were sitting in Brandon and Rachel's apartment when we heard "booms" outside and realized the city of Chambery was shooting off fireworks. A day after Bastille Day and I don't know why they waited but the display was pretty good. We stood on their 6th floor balcony and watched with the dark outline of the Alps as backdrop. It doesn't get much better than that!
Earlier today we got on a train, rode for an hour and got off at Geneva, just inside Switzerland. It's a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains. It's on Lake Geneva, which is huge. From out of the west end of the lake flows the Rhone River, beginning its journey to the Mediterranean.
We had a great day and enjoyed ourselves. Though relatively small (under 200,000 people) Geneva has many unique features. To start with, it's one of the world's great financial capitals. It's also the home of the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. Besides that, it's where the U.N. has its European offices. It's a pretty natural connection, since it was home to the League of Nations, forerunner to the U.N., in the years following World War I.
And of course it's where John Calvin lived for most of his adult life. You can still see evidences of his presence. The most visible is in a large park in the old part of the city. There's a huge, long wall called "The Reformation Mural." It tells the story of the Reformation in terms of the historical movement from Roman Catholic dominance to the eventual separation of church and state. The centerpice is four huge statues, maybe 30 feet tall, of Theodore Beza, John Calvin, Guillermo Farel and John Knox. Along the rest of the wall are statutes and then quotes from various church and state documents, including the Mayflower Compact, that emphasize the theme of human freedom from tyranny. Not exactly what you hope for in a Reformation monument, in that it de-emphasizes the spiritual aspect of Calvin's work. But not inaccuarate, and not bad for a city that has become decidedly secular in the 4 centuries since Calvin died.
But I have to mention in closing what I learned from Wikipedia: that Geneva is the fourth most expensive city in the whole world! This completely squares with our experience. When we got there, it cost Connie a dollar-and-half to go to the bathroom (European bathrooms routinely charge, but this was the highest fee we've encountered). I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch; it cost 8 dollars. I was tired of paying high prices so I thought, "I'll go to McDonald's for dinner and show them who's boss." Silly me! We got there and a Big Mac cost $13! Without fries and drink! So we went to a grocery store and bought some bakery items.
We've had a pleasant stay here in Chambery. We've especially enjoyed being with Brandon and Rachel, Annika and Alexa. But tomorrow, speaking of expensive cities, we're going to Paris. It should be quite a show. I don't suppose we'll make a very big impression on Paris, but I suspect it will show us a thing or two.
Happy Bastille Day, one day late.
Earlier today we got on a train, rode for an hour and got off at Geneva, just inside Switzerland. It's a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains. It's on Lake Geneva, which is huge. From out of the west end of the lake flows the Rhone River, beginning its journey to the Mediterranean.
We had a great day and enjoyed ourselves. Though relatively small (under 200,000 people) Geneva has many unique features. To start with, it's one of the world's great financial capitals. It's also the home of the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. Besides that, it's where the U.N. has its European offices. It's a pretty natural connection, since it was home to the League of Nations, forerunner to the U.N., in the years following World War I.
And of course it's where John Calvin lived for most of his adult life. You can still see evidences of his presence. The most visible is in a large park in the old part of the city. There's a huge, long wall called "The Reformation Mural." It tells the story of the Reformation in terms of the historical movement from Roman Catholic dominance to the eventual separation of church and state. The centerpice is four huge statues, maybe 30 feet tall, of Theodore Beza, John Calvin, Guillermo Farel and John Knox. Along the rest of the wall are statutes and then quotes from various church and state documents, including the Mayflower Compact, that emphasize the theme of human freedom from tyranny. Not exactly what you hope for in a Reformation monument, in that it de-emphasizes the spiritual aspect of Calvin's work. But not inaccuarate, and not bad for a city that has become decidedly secular in the 4 centuries since Calvin died.
But I have to mention in closing what I learned from Wikipedia: that Geneva is the fourth most expensive city in the whole world! This completely squares with our experience. When we got there, it cost Connie a dollar-and-half to go to the bathroom (European bathrooms routinely charge, but this was the highest fee we've encountered). I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch; it cost 8 dollars. I was tired of paying high prices so I thought, "I'll go to McDonald's for dinner and show them who's boss." Silly me! We got there and a Big Mac cost $13! Without fries and drink! So we went to a grocery store and bought some bakery items.
We've had a pleasant stay here in Chambery. We've especially enjoyed being with Brandon and Rachel, Annika and Alexa. But tomorrow, speaking of expensive cities, we're going to Paris. It should be quite a show. I don't suppose we'll make a very big impression on Paris, but I suspect it will show us a thing or two.
Happy Bastille Day, one day late.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Bastille Day at Lac du Bourget
Yesterday it rained most of the time. Late in the afternoon we went out with Brandon, Rachel and their girls. Got rained on, but saw some of the city of Chambery. It's not a tourist attraction, but it's a very nice place. Lots of old buildings and the foothills of the Alps tower over the town. I wouldn't mind spending a few more days here.
Today, July 14, is France's Independence Day--Bastille Day, they call it. Brandon had the day off from French school so we decided to go to Lac du Bourget, a large, beautiful lake about 8 miles from here. They don't own a car, so we rented bikes (including a little trailer for the twins to sit in) and headed out. When we got there we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a lakeside restaurant. There were lots of people around and it was obviously a holiday but it didn't have the intense feel that you get with a 4th of July celebration in the states. However, let me say it again: the lunch was wonderful! Our first real sample of French cooking and we enjoyed it.
The lake itself is long and crescent-shaped. Imagine the Columbia River Gorge twice as wide as it is, with a lake at the bottom instead of a river, and you get some sense for the type of country. The most obvious difference is that the trees on the slopes are almost all deciduous; there aren't very many conifers. It was very pleasant, in part because it's not nearly as hot here as it was in Italy. Skies were mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low 70s.
Connie and I haven't been on a bike for at least 30 years so 16 miles round trip felt like quite a bit. But our philosophy on this trip has been to do everything we can. So we did just fine except that now I have sore tail bone from the bicycle seat.
Tomorrow we catch a train at 7:30 a.m. and head for Geneva, Switzerland, where John Calvin changed the world through his teaching, preaching and reforming. It's only an hour away and we're looking forward to it.
Today, July 14, is France's Independence Day--Bastille Day, they call it. Brandon had the day off from French school so we decided to go to Lac du Bourget, a large, beautiful lake about 8 miles from here. They don't own a car, so we rented bikes (including a little trailer for the twins to sit in) and headed out. When we got there we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a lakeside restaurant. There were lots of people around and it was obviously a holiday but it didn't have the intense feel that you get with a 4th of July celebration in the states. However, let me say it again: the lunch was wonderful! Our first real sample of French cooking and we enjoyed it.
The lake itself is long and crescent-shaped. Imagine the Columbia River Gorge twice as wide as it is, with a lake at the bottom instead of a river, and you get some sense for the type of country. The most obvious difference is that the trees on the slopes are almost all deciduous; there aren't very many conifers. It was very pleasant, in part because it's not nearly as hot here as it was in Italy. Skies were mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low 70s.
Connie and I haven't been on a bike for at least 30 years so 16 miles round trip felt like quite a bit. But our philosophy on this trip has been to do everything we can. So we did just fine except that now I have sore tail bone from the bicycle seat.
Tomorrow we catch a train at 7:30 a.m. and head for Geneva, Switzerland, where John Calvin changed the world through his teaching, preaching and reforming. It's only an hour away and we're looking forward to it.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
From Rome to France
We had a pleasant train trip today. Leaving the apartment we'd been renting, we got onto the subway, rode it to the train station and boarded the Eurostar train headed north. When we got to Milan we transferred to another Eurostar train headed west across the Alps into France. We were fortunate enough to be able to go first class. It's required with the rail pass we bought and it made for pleasant travel.
The country coming out of Milan was flat, with lots of cornfields, but after awhile we started seeing steep foothills, the first indicator that something lay ahead. Then we climbed up a narrow valley, passing through many tunnels. One of them was seven miles long! The Alps are more like the Rockes than the Cascades; a solid wall of steep hillsides headed ever higher until you look way up and see something that's above the timberline. There was very little snow, but the Alps are the real deal. Using a map I was able to recognize one knife edge peak that's over 12 thousand feet high (about the same as Mt. Adams). It's no accident that two Winter Olympics have been held in this region: Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville more recently.
After an eight hour trip we arrived in Chambery, France, where our niece, Rachel, her husband, Brandon and their 15-month old twins Anika and Alexa now live. They are studying French in preparation for missionary service in Cameroon, an African country where French is the trade language. They've only been here for two weeks (!) so we're the first family they've seen since they got here. They live in a spacious 6th-floor apartment (no elevator) that includes a guest room where we will sleep. We're really glad to have a chance to see what these dear folks are doing. They plan to be here for 12-14 months, or until their French is good enough to see them through the work they'll be doing in Africa (Brandon will be a jungle pilot). I've always thought that missionaries lead the most adventurous lives of anybody; Brandon and Rachel are living proof of the statement.
It was interesting going over the border between the two countries. In Italy, the buildings all have red tile roofs and are painted in warm colors (yellow, sienna, gold, etc.). France is a little different. The houses and roofs tend to be darker, or else made of stone. That small visual difference gives you the impression that France might be a more "serious" country than Italy, although obviously that's a gross generalization. In fact, Brandon and Rachel have been warmly received here, thus disproving the caricature that the French are rude and snooty. We look forward to getting out and meeting people ourselves, starting tomorrow.
It rained a bit tonight; only the second time we've seen rain since we left Portland.
The country coming out of Milan was flat, with lots of cornfields, but after awhile we started seeing steep foothills, the first indicator that something lay ahead. Then we climbed up a narrow valley, passing through many tunnels. One of them was seven miles long! The Alps are more like the Rockes than the Cascades; a solid wall of steep hillsides headed ever higher until you look way up and see something that's above the timberline. There was very little snow, but the Alps are the real deal. Using a map I was able to recognize one knife edge peak that's over 12 thousand feet high (about the same as Mt. Adams). It's no accident that two Winter Olympics have been held in this region: Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville more recently.
After an eight hour trip we arrived in Chambery, France, where our niece, Rachel, her husband, Brandon and their 15-month old twins Anika and Alexa now live. They are studying French in preparation for missionary service in Cameroon, an African country where French is the trade language. They've only been here for two weeks (!) so we're the first family they've seen since they got here. They live in a spacious 6th-floor apartment (no elevator) that includes a guest room where we will sleep. We're really glad to have a chance to see what these dear folks are doing. They plan to be here for 12-14 months, or until their French is good enough to see them through the work they'll be doing in Africa (Brandon will be a jungle pilot). I've always thought that missionaries lead the most adventurous lives of anybody; Brandon and Rachel are living proof of the statement.
It was interesting going over the border between the two countries. In Italy, the buildings all have red tile roofs and are painted in warm colors (yellow, sienna, gold, etc.). France is a little different. The houses and roofs tend to be darker, or else made of stone. That small visual difference gives you the impression that France might be a more "serious" country than Italy, although obviously that's a gross generalization. In fact, Brandon and Rachel have been warmly received here, thus disproving the caricature that the French are rude and snooty. We look forward to getting out and meeting people ourselves, starting tomorrow.
It rained a bit tonight; only the second time we've seen rain since we left Portland.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Roman Sunday
Today was Sunday. We decided to attend worship at St. Peter's at the Vatican (i.e. the largest church in Christendom). There was no English mass available so we attended the Latin service. I felt like people did back in the "Dark Ages." At that time, all Masses were said in Latin; only the learned (a very small group of people!) could understand what was being said. So it was an enlightening experience to attend church and join so many in feeling ignorant. I did enjoy the music, performed by a small guest choir, I think from Germany. They were there at the invitation of the Vatican and seemed very excited about performing. Their music was "classical," liturgical, contrapuntal, difficult and well-performed.
The afternoon was spent at a huge Roman ruin, Ostia Antica, located west of Rome out near the coast. It's a fascinating place that's been excavated in the past 20 years. It was Rome's port during its heyday and had a population of about 60 thousand people. At some point (over time, actually) it became covered with mud as the harbor silted in. As a result, the buildings were spared the ravages of weather, erosion, etc. and are remarkably well-preserved. It was fun to get out of the city, into the country and to feel the breeze from the nearby Mediterranean. It has been warm and humid here; you don't take off your clothes before getting in the shower, you peel them. On the other hand, I like the predictable sunshine so I don't complain.
We took the Roman subway to Ostia Antica. It's a very good system; trains come every 4 minutes. It cost me 2 Euros (3 Dollars) to get to Ostia Antica and back. On the other hand, everyone and his dog was coming home from the beach this afternoon and the trains were jammed. Air-conditioning was in some cases non-existent, so it was hot, crowded and tiring. By the way, my guess is that a plurality of people around here don't have cars. They ride the trains and walk a good deal getting to and from their stops. I think this is one reason why fewer of them are overweight compared to the U.S. Another reason is the general absence of fast food. There are a few McDonalds. I've seen two Burger Kings. But I don't see Italians going into them. They might get a pizza for dinner and eat the whole thing, but the crust is cracker-thin and has much less cheese than a Papa Murphy's. People are the same wherever you go, but they're different, too.
I thought a lot about my own congregation as I sat in St. Peter's this morning. It's a long way from here to Parklane! To be honest, I'd rather worship in Portland. I hope you had a good Lord's day and that your summer is going well. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome. Tuesday we travel by train to Chambery, France to meet our niece, Rachel Penkoff, her husband, Brandon and their beautiful twin daughters.
The afternoon was spent at a huge Roman ruin, Ostia Antica, located west of Rome out near the coast. It's a fascinating place that's been excavated in the past 20 years. It was Rome's port during its heyday and had a population of about 60 thousand people. At some point (over time, actually) it became covered with mud as the harbor silted in. As a result, the buildings were spared the ravages of weather, erosion, etc. and are remarkably well-preserved. It was fun to get out of the city, into the country and to feel the breeze from the nearby Mediterranean. It has been warm and humid here; you don't take off your clothes before getting in the shower, you peel them. On the other hand, I like the predictable sunshine so I don't complain.
We took the Roman subway to Ostia Antica. It's a very good system; trains come every 4 minutes. It cost me 2 Euros (3 Dollars) to get to Ostia Antica and back. On the other hand, everyone and his dog was coming home from the beach this afternoon and the trains were jammed. Air-conditioning was in some cases non-existent, so it was hot, crowded and tiring. By the way, my guess is that a plurality of people around here don't have cars. They ride the trains and walk a good deal getting to and from their stops. I think this is one reason why fewer of them are overweight compared to the U.S. Another reason is the general absence of fast food. There are a few McDonalds. I've seen two Burger Kings. But I don't see Italians going into them. They might get a pizza for dinner and eat the whole thing, but the crust is cracker-thin and has much less cheese than a Papa Murphy's. People are the same wherever you go, but they're different, too.
I thought a lot about my own congregation as I sat in St. Peter's this morning. It's a long way from here to Parklane! To be honest, I'd rather worship in Portland. I hope you had a good Lord's day and that your summer is going well. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome. Tuesday we travel by train to Chambery, France to meet our niece, Rachel Penkoff, her husband, Brandon and their beautiful twin daughters.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Before Leaving Florence
I have an hour before we check out of our hotel ("Pensione Pendini"), just enough time to jot down some observations about Florence. It's an hour and a half northeast of Rome by train. The land in between is mostly rural; there are sunflower fields, bright yellow against a backdrop of green hills and furiously blue Italian sky. Maybe you've seen pictures of Florence. Above and from a distance it is mostly red roofs with a large red dome predominating. That dome is a Renaissance cathedral designed by an Italian architect in the 1500s. What I was not prepared for was the church itself, which is gigantic and made entirely of green, pink and white marble. It is marvelously exuberant and somehow reminds me of a birthday cake. Whether it agrees with you depends on your notions of what a church should look like. I have the impression that here in Italy, birthday cake will do just fine.
Of course, Florence is not nearly so big as Rome. And unlike big brother,wherein ancient ruins and Renaissance buildings are randomly thrown together, Florence shouts "Renaissance." You find yourself thinking a lot about Michelangelo and da Vinci, both of whom lived here. Indeed, we visited one of Florence's famous museums yesterday and actually saw Michelangelo's statue of David, naked with sling in hand.
But the town is not stuck in the past. They make a lot of leather and silk goods here, which means that it is one of the fashion capitals of Europe. If you like to shop, this is a great place to come. Beautiful gowns, dresses, scarves and especially leather goods. All of it is fairly expensive. The one exception seems to be men's neckties. You can buy them off corner carts for 8 to 10 Euros (12 to 15 dollars) which is cheap for a nice tie.
The weather has been quite hot. It was 93 yesterday (compared to Rome, which was 84). You get a bit sweaty walking around. The nice part is that in the evening you can comfortably sit outdoors and indulge the Italian propensity for fine, leisurely dining. We have been doing a lot of that, but we walk so much during the day that I don't think we're gaining any weight. Who knows? I haven't seen a scale since we left and I don't plan on seeking one out.
As in Rome, there are thousands of people on the streets, mostly tourists. Not so many Americans as in Rome, but plenty of people from Europe, the UK, even Australia. It's not hard to figure out why they come. This place is about as picturesque as you can imagine. Narrow streets, beautiful architecture, the Arno River flowing through the middle of town. And yes, shopping wherever you go. There's a famous bridge over the river that's lined from bank to bank with nothing but jewelry carts and stores (Florence is also the place to go for jewelry). It's sort of a Renaissance Disneyland, in the same sense that Jerusalem is a spiritual theme park. I wanted to remind myself about real life so I took a long walk yesterday, out of the core of the city, into the less exclusive areas. It's not so picturesque, but it still looks like it'd be a fun place to live.
Our train leaves for Rome at 6 p.m. Tomorrow will be a big day for sightseeing. Many of the main Rome attractions are closed on Monday, so we'll need to pound some serious pavement. If we go to church, it will probably be Roman Catholic. I haven't seen a Protestant building since we came.
Of course, Florence is not nearly so big as Rome. And unlike big brother,wherein ancient ruins and Renaissance buildings are randomly thrown together, Florence shouts "Renaissance." You find yourself thinking a lot about Michelangelo and da Vinci, both of whom lived here. Indeed, we visited one of Florence's famous museums yesterday and actually saw Michelangelo's statue of David, naked with sling in hand.
But the town is not stuck in the past. They make a lot of leather and silk goods here, which means that it is one of the fashion capitals of Europe. If you like to shop, this is a great place to come. Beautiful gowns, dresses, scarves and especially leather goods. All of it is fairly expensive. The one exception seems to be men's neckties. You can buy them off corner carts for 8 to 10 Euros (12 to 15 dollars) which is cheap for a nice tie.
The weather has been quite hot. It was 93 yesterday (compared to Rome, which was 84). You get a bit sweaty walking around. The nice part is that in the evening you can comfortably sit outdoors and indulge the Italian propensity for fine, leisurely dining. We have been doing a lot of that, but we walk so much during the day that I don't think we're gaining any weight. Who knows? I haven't seen a scale since we left and I don't plan on seeking one out.
As in Rome, there are thousands of people on the streets, mostly tourists. Not so many Americans as in Rome, but plenty of people from Europe, the UK, even Australia. It's not hard to figure out why they come. This place is about as picturesque as you can imagine. Narrow streets, beautiful architecture, the Arno River flowing through the middle of town. And yes, shopping wherever you go. There's a famous bridge over the river that's lined from bank to bank with nothing but jewelry carts and stores (Florence is also the place to go for jewelry). It's sort of a Renaissance Disneyland, in the same sense that Jerusalem is a spiritual theme park. I wanted to remind myself about real life so I took a long walk yesterday, out of the core of the city, into the less exclusive areas. It's not so picturesque, but it still looks like it'd be a fun place to live.
Our train leaves for Rome at 6 p.m. Tomorrow will be a big day for sightseeing. Many of the main Rome attractions are closed on Monday, so we'll need to pound some serious pavement. If we go to church, it will probably be Roman Catholic. I haven't seen a Protestant building since we came.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Day at the Vatican
As I think I mentioned, our apartment is pretty close to the Vatican--maybe 10 blocks away. So on Wednesday we headed over, paid our entrance fee and started through.
One of our travel books says that the Vatican Museum, (which is the first part of the complex that you go through) has one of the 3 or 4 best collections in Europe. I have nothing to compare it with, not having been at any other European museums, but believe me, it is ridiculously spectaclar, beggars the imagination and is beyond description. One wanders through room after room, hall after hall, filled with astounding statues, paintings, frescoes, etc., many of which I have seen in books. Two rooms especially drew my attention. One was a long, rather narrow corridor filled with statutes. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands. Most were ancient, meaning 1500 years old or more. There was a bust of the Roman Emperor Trajan that I had seen pictures of. I wondered to myself what it was worth. How many millions of dollars? Then I looked up and down the corridor. I figured there was enough monetary value there to pay off the national debt of several small countries. Not a very "artsy" idea but it would be fun to do a modified version of "Antiques Road Show" and have experts tell you how much such-and-such a statue is worth.
The other room that caught my eye was basically a narrow hall, about a hundred-fifty yards long (a football field and a half!). There were frescoes along the walls but what caught my attention was the ceiling. It was curved, and its entire length consisted of small paintings, frescoes and statues, all contained inside small panels framed in gold. The overall effect was indescribably stunning (you look down the hall and see a shimmering gold roof all the way to the end), and up close was equally impressive. It may be the most beautiful human creation I have ever seen.
And yes, we did see the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's magnificent frescoes. It's the climax of the museum and takes you into the actual "church" part of the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel is the Pope's "personal" chapel and it's where the conclaves are held when a new pope is chosen. Two aspects subtracted from my enjoyment of the chapel: they keep the room fairly dark (just the light coming through the clerestory windows), and there were probably a thousand people squeezed into the room. Many were taking flash pictures although they were told repeatedly not to. If we do the Vatican again, I will hire a guide to take us through at 8 a.m. or some off hour. There were huge numbers of people everywhere we went. It was also warm and humid.
Oh yes: there's also St. Peter's Basilica, "the largest church in the world." It is truly massive. It tries to be huge and soar at the same time; I'm not sure it succeeds. But at least Connie and I found chairs in a side chapel where we could . . . take a nap. While we walked around, we discussed whether the building is bigger than the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. I said "no," Connie said "yes." In retrospect, I think she is right.
There is no way I can do justice to what I saw yesterday. Indeed, there is nothing else like it on the earth, at least, not that I have seen. Like many Christians, I wonder at the opulence of it all. Is this what Jesus would want? I read a piece by Pope John Paul II wherein he wondered about the same thing. It seems to me that much of it should be sold off and invested in programs for evangelism and the development of poor countries. But it was a visual feast such as I have never seen.
In about an hour, we leave on a train for Florence. More art! More paintings! More statues! More beautiful buildings! And I haven't even told you about the stuff we saw on a walk we took night before last!
One of our travel books says that the Vatican Museum, (which is the first part of the complex that you go through) has one of the 3 or 4 best collections in Europe. I have nothing to compare it with, not having been at any other European museums, but believe me, it is ridiculously spectaclar, beggars the imagination and is beyond description. One wanders through room after room, hall after hall, filled with astounding statues, paintings, frescoes, etc., many of which I have seen in books. Two rooms especially drew my attention. One was a long, rather narrow corridor filled with statutes. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands. Most were ancient, meaning 1500 years old or more. There was a bust of the Roman Emperor Trajan that I had seen pictures of. I wondered to myself what it was worth. How many millions of dollars? Then I looked up and down the corridor. I figured there was enough monetary value there to pay off the national debt of several small countries. Not a very "artsy" idea but it would be fun to do a modified version of "Antiques Road Show" and have experts tell you how much such-and-such a statue is worth.
The other room that caught my eye was basically a narrow hall, about a hundred-fifty yards long (a football field and a half!). There were frescoes along the walls but what caught my attention was the ceiling. It was curved, and its entire length consisted of small paintings, frescoes and statues, all contained inside small panels framed in gold. The overall effect was indescribably stunning (you look down the hall and see a shimmering gold roof all the way to the end), and up close was equally impressive. It may be the most beautiful human creation I have ever seen.
And yes, we did see the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's magnificent frescoes. It's the climax of the museum and takes you into the actual "church" part of the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel is the Pope's "personal" chapel and it's where the conclaves are held when a new pope is chosen. Two aspects subtracted from my enjoyment of the chapel: they keep the room fairly dark (just the light coming through the clerestory windows), and there were probably a thousand people squeezed into the room. Many were taking flash pictures although they were told repeatedly not to. If we do the Vatican again, I will hire a guide to take us through at 8 a.m. or some off hour. There were huge numbers of people everywhere we went. It was also warm and humid.
Oh yes: there's also St. Peter's Basilica, "the largest church in the world." It is truly massive. It tries to be huge and soar at the same time; I'm not sure it succeeds. But at least Connie and I found chairs in a side chapel where we could . . . take a nap. While we walked around, we discussed whether the building is bigger than the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. I said "no," Connie said "yes." In retrospect, I think she is right.
There is no way I can do justice to what I saw yesterday. Indeed, there is nothing else like it on the earth, at least, not that I have seen. Like many Christians, I wonder at the opulence of it all. Is this what Jesus would want? I read a piece by Pope John Paul II wherein he wondered about the same thing. It seems to me that much of it should be sold off and invested in programs for evangelism and the development of poor countries. But it was a visual feast such as I have never seen.
In about an hour, we leave on a train for Florence. More art! More paintings! More statues! More beautiful buildings! And I haven't even told you about the stuff we saw on a walk we took night before last!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Four Airports and a Happy Ending
We left Jerusalem at 1 a.m. Sunday morning, arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport (between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) at 2 a.m. The airport had been distinctly unbusy the day we entered the country. However, at 2 a.m. Sunday it was a beehive of activity. The only reason I can think of is that every flight from Ben-Gurion is international; if you tried to fly from, say, Tel Aviv to Haifa it would take you two minutes. It took us an hour-and-a-half to get through check-in and security. Then it was onto the plane for the four hour flight to . . . Amersterdam! There it was like Portland, cool and cloudy. Then we changed planes and flew to . . . London! Heathrow is huge. It took us 15 minutes in a van to get from terminal 4 to terminal 5. Then we got on our next flight and landed in . . . Rome, at last, at about 4:30 p.m. Check my last entry for a partial explanation of this strange itinerary. Anyway, we are in Rome now.
At the airport we got on a commuter train. Good transportation but no air conditioning in our car. A real cooker. It took about half an hour to get from the airport to Termini (the big--and I mean big--train station in downtown Rome). From there it was a 15-minute walk to our very nice hotel. Later we walked up the street and ate at a sidewalk restaurant. We sat next to a woman and her high-school age son. They were from Manchester, England. A pleasant time of food and conversation. Then we went back to the hotel, and having pulled an all-nighter the night before, crashed into an oblivion of sleep.
Let me explain that a good deal of the entry will be about food. That's because Italy (so I'm told and so I've experienced thus far) is gastronomically advanced. You know how in your hotel or motel the complimentary breakfast is usually dry cereal, milk, doughnuts and coffee? Well, this was slightly better than that. There were scrambled and boiled eggs, cereal, croissants, beautiful hard rolls, three kinds of pastry (all hand-made in the hotel's own bakery), yogurt, orange and pineapple juice, fresh fruit and capucchino. Among other things, I ate four pieces of pastry. Thus fueled we spent the whole day sight-seeing and ate no lunch except for a gelato (an Italian ice cream-sherbet concoction that is wonderfully delicious and refreshing).
Of course, Rome is different from Jerusalem. For one thing, it's a big city, whereas Jerusalem is small. We spent most of the day at or around the old Roman Forum, which for centuries was the political and emotional center of the world. The sheer number of ancient ruins is staggering, although nothing in the "ruins" category can compare to Israel. But the Forum is also surrounded by many beautiful buildings from the mid-1800s, many painted or washed in warm colors (sienna, yellow, etc.). It is simply a stunning visual atmosphere. Besides that, it's jammed with people, cars, scooters and the sound of peeping horns. You step off the sidewalk and you are fair game for any vehicle that might careen around the corner. It was a good day of walking around. We could tell that all the hiking we did in Israel had prepared us for this new challenge.
Later in the afternoon we took the subway (very clean and fast) over to a neighborhood not far from the Vatican. It's mostly large apartment buildings, seven or so stories high. We arranged with our friends, the Ledfords, to rent a spacious suite in this area for the next few days. We're on the fourth story overlooking a busy street. The neighborhood is not as picturesque as where we were earlier. But it's Rome and there was a good restaurant for dinner and a beautiful bakery where we bought pastry aftterwards.
It's the kind of place you dream about visiting. But we were reminded of the role Christians have played in its long history. This afternoon we wandered past Mammertine Prison, where Peter and Paul were incarcerated. The gospel advanced with great difficulty. It's nice (and a great privilege!) to take such a wonderful trip. But there is still work to do. You may not believe it, but I'm looking forward to resuming ministry come September. In the meantime, there is Rome tomorrow and Wednesday, then two days in Florence. Then more of Rome!
At the airport we got on a commuter train. Good transportation but no air conditioning in our car. A real cooker. It took about half an hour to get from the airport to Termini (the big--and I mean big--train station in downtown Rome). From there it was a 15-minute walk to our very nice hotel. Later we walked up the street and ate at a sidewalk restaurant. We sat next to a woman and her high-school age son. They were from Manchester, England. A pleasant time of food and conversation. Then we went back to the hotel, and having pulled an all-nighter the night before, crashed into an oblivion of sleep.
Let me explain that a good deal of the entry will be about food. That's because Italy (so I'm told and so I've experienced thus far) is gastronomically advanced. You know how in your hotel or motel the complimentary breakfast is usually dry cereal, milk, doughnuts and coffee? Well, this was slightly better than that. There were scrambled and boiled eggs, cereal, croissants, beautiful hard rolls, three kinds of pastry (all hand-made in the hotel's own bakery), yogurt, orange and pineapple juice, fresh fruit and capucchino. Among other things, I ate four pieces of pastry. Thus fueled we spent the whole day sight-seeing and ate no lunch except for a gelato (an Italian ice cream-sherbet concoction that is wonderfully delicious and refreshing).
Of course, Rome is different from Jerusalem. For one thing, it's a big city, whereas Jerusalem is small. We spent most of the day at or around the old Roman Forum, which for centuries was the political and emotional center of the world. The sheer number of ancient ruins is staggering, although nothing in the "ruins" category can compare to Israel. But the Forum is also surrounded by many beautiful buildings from the mid-1800s, many painted or washed in warm colors (sienna, yellow, etc.). It is simply a stunning visual atmosphere. Besides that, it's jammed with people, cars, scooters and the sound of peeping horns. You step off the sidewalk and you are fair game for any vehicle that might careen around the corner. It was a good day of walking around. We could tell that all the hiking we did in Israel had prepared us for this new challenge.
Later in the afternoon we took the subway (very clean and fast) over to a neighborhood not far from the Vatican. It's mostly large apartment buildings, seven or so stories high. We arranged with our friends, the Ledfords, to rent a spacious suite in this area for the next few days. We're on the fourth story overlooking a busy street. The neighborhood is not as picturesque as where we were earlier. But it's Rome and there was a good restaurant for dinner and a beautiful bakery where we bought pastry aftterwards.
It's the kind of place you dream about visiting. But we were reminded of the role Christians have played in its long history. This afternoon we wandered past Mammertine Prison, where Peter and Paul were incarcerated. The gospel advanced with great difficulty. It's nice (and a great privilege!) to take such a wonderful trip. But there is still work to do. You may not believe it, but I'm looking forward to resuming ministry come September. In the meantime, there is Rome tomorrow and Wednesday, then two days in Florence. Then more of Rome!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Last Post From Jerusalem
Tonight we leave Jerusalem, bound for Rome. But we had an enjoyable day beforehand. This morning we walked from our hotel to a Baptist Church about a mile-and-a-half away (many churches here worship on Saturday, in deference to Jewish practice). The service was mediocre but we heard a powerful message from a Rice University Chemistry Professor, a Jewish convert to Christianity who happened to be in town. He hit it out of the park and of course when a preacher does that it means he "parks" it in your heart. A great sermon, basic and convicting.
We attended this church so we could meet Connie's niece, Vicki Brown, who worships there. Vicki's serving as a nanny for missionaries who are in Israel studying Hebrew. Ironically, she lives in Portland (63rd and Burnside) and we never see her. So the three of us came to Jerusalem and had lunch together! We enjoyed our afternoon, shared experiences and did a bit of shopping in the Old City.
This evening we had dinner for the last time at our home away from home these past few weeks, the Gloria Hotel. We also said goodbye to the many new friends we've made. It was our great fortune to be with such a great group: 40-plus students, professors and hangers-on. It really is true that love makes the world go 'round and we received a lot of it from these folks.
Jerusalem is a remarkably different kind of place. In one sense it's like a spiritual Disneyland. By that I mean that it's so visually stunning, and so overrun with tourists, that it almost seems artificial. But then you remind yourself that it's the real deal. The walls of the city really are 5-hundred years old. The Church of the Holy Sepuchre really does date back to the 3rd century A.D. The Pool of Siloam really is the one that Jesus visited. King David really built a palace, half a mile from here. And Abraham wandered through this very neck of the woods almost 4 thousand years ago. There's no place else in the world where you can touch so much history. Above all, it is the launching pad for the gospel of Jesus Christ, still the most important and transformative message every proclaimed to humankind.
Now we look forward to the next leg in our journey. It is a bit of a doozy. We leave at 12:45 a.m. for the Tel Aviv airport, where we will finally experience Israel's rigorous customs procedures. It's easy getting into the country but we're told it's hard getting out. Our coordinator from Jerusalem University College says they give you a number from one to six. A "one" means you're a corpse in your coffin, a "six" means you're Osama Bin Laden (who's also a corpse, come to think of it). Most people get a "three" or a "four."
Assuming we get on the plane, we will fly first to Amsterdam, then to London, then--and only then--to Rome. Don't ask me to explain why. It has something to do with establishing London as our "hub" so that we get a lower fare (our trip back to Portland originates there). At any rate, we're scheduled to arrive in bella Roma (beautiful Rome) at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. That's nine hours ahead of Portland time which means 7:15 Sunday morning. There we have a hotel reservation (thanks to Evelyn Schaefer for the recommendation!) and a day to get our bearings before meeting our friends Monty and Elaine Ledford on Monday, at a big apartment we've rented near Vatican City.
We attended this church so we could meet Connie's niece, Vicki Brown, who worships there. Vicki's serving as a nanny for missionaries who are in Israel studying Hebrew. Ironically, she lives in Portland (63rd and Burnside) and we never see her. So the three of us came to Jerusalem and had lunch together! We enjoyed our afternoon, shared experiences and did a bit of shopping in the Old City.
This evening we had dinner for the last time at our home away from home these past few weeks, the Gloria Hotel. We also said goodbye to the many new friends we've made. It was our great fortune to be with such a great group: 40-plus students, professors and hangers-on. It really is true that love makes the world go 'round and we received a lot of it from these folks.
Jerusalem is a remarkably different kind of place. In one sense it's like a spiritual Disneyland. By that I mean that it's so visually stunning, and so overrun with tourists, that it almost seems artificial. But then you remind yourself that it's the real deal. The walls of the city really are 5-hundred years old. The Church of the Holy Sepuchre really does date back to the 3rd century A.D. The Pool of Siloam really is the one that Jesus visited. King David really built a palace, half a mile from here. And Abraham wandered through this very neck of the woods almost 4 thousand years ago. There's no place else in the world where you can touch so much history. Above all, it is the launching pad for the gospel of Jesus Christ, still the most important and transformative message every proclaimed to humankind.
Now we look forward to the next leg in our journey. It is a bit of a doozy. We leave at 12:45 a.m. for the Tel Aviv airport, where we will finally experience Israel's rigorous customs procedures. It's easy getting into the country but we're told it's hard getting out. Our coordinator from Jerusalem University College says they give you a number from one to six. A "one" means you're a corpse in your coffin, a "six" means you're Osama Bin Laden (who's also a corpse, come to think of it). Most people get a "three" or a "four."
Assuming we get on the plane, we will fly first to Amsterdam, then to London, then--and only then--to Rome. Don't ask me to explain why. It has something to do with establishing London as our "hub" so that we get a lower fare (our trip back to Portland originates there). At any rate, we're scheduled to arrive in bella Roma (beautiful Rome) at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. That's nine hours ahead of Portland time which means 7:15 Sunday morning. There we have a hotel reservation (thanks to Evelyn Schaefer for the recommendation!) and a day to get our bearings before meeting our friends Monty and Elaine Ledford on Monday, at a big apartment we've rented near Vatican City.
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