When in Rome...

No Ron, that doesn't work here..wait, actually it does...(this anchorman quote goes out to all my french buddies who I miss so much already, this was the last movie we watched together...sad). So as you may have guessed, this is the story of our stay in Rome. It started out kinda rocky. We arrived late and had half and hour to check into our hostel before our spot was given up (somthing about absolutly no checkins after 6pm w/o calling first but we didnt' have the number..you know, the usual). So we prayed, Lord take us to our hostel in time, we don't have any directions (oops, forgot to write those down) or a map, but we know you can get us there. And like the guardian He is, the second we walked off the platform a man approached us and started speaking english. He asked if we had a place to stay (he was a walking info dude). We gave him the address and he traced our route on a map and sent us in the right direction. Needless to say, we got there in time. When we got there we found out that we apparently only booked the one night, not two. This is very bad because online almost everywhere was booked for the time we planned on coming. We were lucky to find this place. But God was watching out for us, and as it turns out our beds happened to be vacent the next night so booked it right away. The hostel itself was a little sketchy but you get to the point where you're expectations aren't real high after traveling for awhile. The shower was a shower head on the wall in the bathroom with a hole in the ground a couple feet from the toilet for the water to drain. But the water pressure was excellent, so I had no complaints. Our room door had only one key that you share with everyone so you have to drop it off and pick it up at the desk everytime. For some reason we could never open the door on our own. We had to ask the dude at the desk everytime. He either thought we were crazy or that we liked him. Oh well.

Now for the exciting stuff. The first night we saw a lot. We walked to the Colesseum, explored the Forum, wandered by the Panetheon and stumbled upone some famous fountains (of which I already forgot the names, but they were cool). Everything was huge. Columns were everywhere, often chillin out and not holding anything up. We soaked it all in. The history there is unbelievable. You can't even comprehend it. You just take in as much as you can. We hit up some more gelato, it was stellar. By the way, hazulnut (the nut used in nutella with chocolate which is the euro version of peanutbutter) and chocolate gelato mixed is a close rival to my old favorite chocolate peanutbutter at Madison. Nothing has come close before. So thats how good it is.

The next morning we made it out to the Vatican before 8 (to beat the crowds) and we stil lwaited another 2 hours in line before we could go in. They had statues galore. We saw cool scenes painted by Rapheal. But the piece de la resistance, as you may have guessed, was seeing the Sistine Chapel. For some reason, I just thought it was a dome or something. I don't know, I was stupid. It's actually a chapel, and a pretty big one at that. The walls and ceiling were covered with Biblical scenes. From the ceiling you could trace the Bible from creation (the famous God man finger touch), Adam and Eve, the flood, all the way through David, Jonah, to John the Baptist and then the scenes of Christ. (i'll finish this post if I ever find my red notebook!)

Venizia, Italia

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's amore! yeah we arrived in Venice today, so this Dean Martin favorite slowly took the place of the sound of music songs playing in our heads. Some may recall this as one of my favorite songs last year, for no apparent reason. But it seemed fitting for our next stop. Not just because the song is quasi-italian, but more because it's so cheesey. And as much as I love Venice, its definitly on the cheesey side.

The first day we got there kind of late in the afternoon. But as usual we try to see the whole city the first night. It's habit or something. So that first afternoon/night we walked the entire city, not an easy task. To find the major spots, like the Rialto bridge and San Marco square, is not someting you can do by looking at a map. Instead you try to point yourself in the right direction and just walk. As you wind through various ally ways and over bridges big and small you start to wonder if you'll ever make it out of the maze that is Venice. Eventually you see signs with arrows that you faithfully follow for about an hour (though you seem to walk in circles), and eventually you get there. On the way you can stop to admire the many masks in the famous Carnival shops or check out some venician glass in one of their many shops. At some point you find yourself in the middle of a million tourists, and at that point you know you've found something. I didn't mind them as much as most people do. They add another dimension to traveling. They're often a sight to see in and of themselves. I'm one of them. It's wierd. Some of them are way over excited, some frustrated, some spend some much time taking pictures you wonder if they stop to see the city without looking through the lens of thier cameras.

I really loved the archetecture here. Everything is old and delicate. The whole city seems as fragile as the galss they're famous for making. The buildings just scream history and pride, both of which the city seems to hold onto for dear life while it's slowly being adulterated by tourism (the only thing, ironcially, that still keeps it alive). The canals really are cooler then you'd think. There are no cars. The buses are boats. You have to cross more bridges, big and small, then you'd ever imagine. The gondolas are sweet, but too pricey for the likes of me. Its just crazy that they designed and built a city where you need boats to traverse it. You can see many buildings where the steps to the front entrance lead directly from the water, no sidewalk or anything. Bizarre but cool.

Dana and I happened to be staying in a suburb of Venice so we went to one of thier local pizzarias for food. The waiter was crazy. He kept telling us about all his specialties and this special cheese his dad makes in Napoli. He was italian, he was a talker...when it came time to order we actually didn't get to order anything. He picked for us. A special not on the menu, but with his dad's special cheese. So we were way confused but it was funny. He came out with flavored pizza crust and a plate of tomatoes and cheese. It was actually really good. A rare dish we probably wouldn't have tried otherwise. We had to disappoint him later when we declined to hang out with him after work. Oh well.

Well we saw al lwe wanted to of Venice in half a day, so we decided to head elsewhere the next day. We thought about Florence, but the David statue was closed and I didn't feel like doing the museam thing all day. So Dana, the genius, suggested finding a beach in Venice. Brilliant. We were joined by our new friend Katie from Washington who has been traveling Europe solo. She's super sweet and she was pumped for relaxing for a day. We spent a good afternoon there and got some sun. We got to take a dip in the Adriatic. Life is good. It got even better when we found some gelato on the way home. It's pretty much heaven in a cup.

Later that night we got all cleaned up and went back into Venice to see it at night. It was gorgious. The restaurants all had a very romantic ambiance, not to mention the gondolas drifting down the canals. The three of us wandered until we saw the best gelato and we had some more. We got ourselves to the other side of the city again, and had to maze our way back out. It's much longer when its late and you're tired. But we made it to the train and caught our ride back to the burbs. All in all Venice was about what I expected. Very touristy, but still beautiful and unique. The atmosphere hadn't been killed completely by tourism so I liked it. Now we're headed to Rome where we have 2.5 days to see it all. I have a feeling we're only going to scrape the surface. I'm super pumped. I'm sad that this is our last city till Paris. It's starting to hit me that I might actually have to leave. But for now, I'm taking it all in. Vita vella. Ciao!

Salzburg, Austria

So the morning we left Switzerland was clear and beautiful, so consequently we had an amazing train ride through the Swiss and Austrian alps. It is seriously undescribable. An eight hour ride could never be so pleasant otherwise. My pictures don't capture a fraction of the beauty I saw. Majestic. That's all I can say to describe it.

We got to Salzburg and settled in. It was about 5pm so we didn't want go "sight-seeing" in town. So instead we rented bikes, like old school handle bar and bell bikes. It was awesome. Something about riding a bike just makes you feel like a kid again. I'm not talking about hard core race bikes or mountain biking, but riding just for fun. I recommend it for everyone. So not sure where to go, we just turned towards the biggest mountain (I was told its name a million times but I can't ever remember it because german just sounds like gibberish to me) and rode. On our way towardsit we stumbled upon the Sound of Music house (front entrance) and the lane that Maria walks down with her guitar singing "I have confidence in me!" For those who were unaware, Salzburg was the film location for that movie. We took a tour the next day which is how we knew that what we rode by was what it was. We also found the gazebo with the very famous I am 16 going on 17 song. We also found several amazing playgrounds (much more fun than US playgrounds) and had the most scenic bike ride ever. You just can't beat a ride along fields with the Alps towering in the background. I'm sorry but no where in WI can compare.

The next day started a little rough because we were lacking on sleep (the biggest downfall of hostels, the more people in a room, the higher chance you'll have a loud snorer). But we did the early S of M tour anways and loved it. Our guide was a stich, as Dana says. We met two sweet girls from Texas who sang and goofed off with us. We got to frolick in the park where the kids in the movie ran around singing Do Re Me. We got to tabogin down a Bavarian alp! We saw the beautiful lake district where the church is from the wedding scene.

That afternoon was less eventful because we were pretty tired. We cruised around old downtown. Salzburg is such a pretty town. Now many grocery stores, but no town's perfect. As for cuisine, we both tried strudel, Dana had apple and I had tophen (white cheese?), and I had wienerschitzle cause momma told me to try it. Not too shabby. But now I'm on my way to Italy and I feel like that food will be more to my liking. That night the hostel played S of M so was had to watch it. I'd been so long since I last saw it. But after being in the city and tour it was so cool to see everything and know that I saw it in real life. I know that makes me an official dorky tourist. But I'm okay with that.

Oh and praise God that He got Dana and I to the train station on time. We had the alarm set for 5:15. There was a 6:08 bus we had to catch to make our train. The next one wasn't until 6:45 and wouldnt get us to our 7:04 train on time. Unfortunatly, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I did not hear my alarm. It was either under my pillow or we were just too tired to hear it at all. Miraculously, God woke me up at 5:57 (andI never wake up on my own that early, esp when I'm that tired, and if I do I almost always just roll over and go back to sleep). But when he woke me up he also gave me a sense of urgancy. I checked the alarm clock, freaked out, and jumped up to wake up Dana. Thankfully we packed everything last night so we just got changed, grabbed our stuff and booked it. Nothing left behind, we didn't even check out. We just threw our keys on the counter and ran. We got to the stop as the bus pulled up. A second later and we would have missed the bus and our train. So praise God for looking out for us and waking our butts up.

One last thought about the mountains. They've alternated from being a million different shades of green to rock and snow, from covered with clouds, to perfectly clear. There's somthing about them that I just can't explain. It's like that sometimes. I finally know what they mean when they say "it never ceases to amaze me" because it honestly hasn't. When they're green they give this wonderful impression of life and growth. When they're covered with snow it's like even the scarey jagged edge of the rock cliffs can be softened by something as light and pure as snow, like they're covered by a white veil. Both types express ultimate rest. The mountains aren't in a hurry to go anywhere. They seem content to just be. That's good enough for them. And in doing so they emmanate strength and might. Then sometimes these great mountains are themselves overtaken by clouds, harmless clouds can slowly overtake the giants at rest. And when the clouds do cover them, it's like they're trying to hide this great secret. It also looks like God's there, just chillin on earth, circa Mt Sinai or something. You just feel like you're seeing his presence just resting there, watching over the whole world.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

Right now as I ride to Italy, the clouds have almost completely covered the mountains. They're look cloaked in mystery. But it's like a veil that God will lift in his own time. Then we'll all know what's been hidden. And when it's unveiled, like when you see the mountains after the clouds lift, you will have to stand in awe. I know for some of you that brings back a ton of references in the Bible, but that's what I saw when I watched out my train window. I firmly believe, espially now, that God uses his creation to reveal and remind us of Biblical truths. Like the mountains, Jesus is a source of life and growth (like the green ones) but he's also a dicatomy of strength (sharp rock face) and gentle purity (snow). For some the mystery of Christ is still hidden behind a veil of clouds, but it doesn't mean they don't wonder what's behind it all. When God lifts the veil, they'll see the truth. Maybe that didn't make sense to you, but if you saw what I did you'd understand. I find it funny that I haven't heard a sermon all semester but God teaches me just the same by having me look out the window of my train. He likes to do things like that.

Interlocken, Switzerland

So Interlocken, random? A little. Dana and I spent 6 hrs last night planning this trip. Today we were going to go to Cannes for the film festival, but for various reasons we find ourselves today in the middle of the swiss alps. Amazing. We got here, exhausted, and couldn't believe our eyes. On the train the landscape was gradually progressing from flat farmlands to mountains and kelly green fields. When we saw the first mountains with snow cap tops we knew. We were in the swiss alps. Flashback to Torino in Feb... I was awed then and all I saw for the most part was a blizzard. These were the Alps as God made them, in all of their splendor. Thier very presence cried out, worshipping thier creator. I've been told you that you can see God's presence in nature, that his handiwork is written all over just yearning for our attention. I don't think I ever really understood that until today. No picture could do it justice.

When we finally reached Interlocken I was kind of disappointed that most of the mountains were covered in clouds and that the rain was pouring pretty steadily. But Dana and I trekked out anyways. We went on a hike up the mountain that reaches up above our hostel. It rained, it was cold, it was definitly slippery, but we kept on hiking. God rewarded us ten fold. We reached one clearing that must have put us exactly between two clouds, the fog below and the raind clouds above. As we watched, we praised God for lifting the veil of clouds off the mountains for us to see. As we praised Him, the clouds on the mouintians across from us started clearing away. We was giving us a special show, no more than a few minutes, that no one else probably saw today. With the weather as it was, we had to be in that exact spot at that exact time to see it! After that the clouds came back and we were back in our hazy fog. To thank God for for his special show, we started singing. We sang any and every worship song we could think of. God protected our steps as we climbed higher and higher (but we barely made any progress in comparison to the hugeness of the mountain itself). Singing and going up hill, not easy. But we sang anyways. The way down was easier. We sang "our God is an awesome God" and the thunder part (there's lighting in his footsteps and thunder in his fists) when we heard thunder in the background. Maybe we should have been concerned that we were up a mountain in the middle of a thunderstorm, but it didn't even register to us at the time. But why worry about that, God was there. So was a runner, apparently, who smiled as he passed us letting us know that he heard our little concert as he ran by (I wonder if he knew english?).





When we got back down we were soaked to the bone. It was hard to believe that so muched happened in just one day. Tomorrow we leave at 6am for Austria. Who knows what God has in store for us there...