Simplicity At Its Finest

This past week I spent 6 nights and 5 days at Taizé, which is a monastic community in France. I had the lowest of expectations for this place, however I was pleasantly surprised. I was prepared for a week of plain clothes, no makeup, hard work, and lots of Jesus time where I would grow in all these great ways. For me, I experienced all the above except for the latter not so much to my disappointment. For everyone else that was there, it was not so simple. Girls were wearing cute clothes and make up, and it was more like church camp than I was expecting it to be. So I could have brought cute things, but honestly it was nice to not really have to worry too much about that aspect of my life for a week. On a positive note it gave me an extra fifteen or twenty minutes to sleep, and when we were getting up at sevenish, I will take that extra snooze time. Fo sho.

So being at Taizé we had a daily routine and it looked something like this:

7:30 - Wake up
8:15 - Morning prayers
9ish - Breakfast (bread, dark chocolate, and hot chocolate; every morning)
10 - Bible Study/Small group time
12:20 - Mid Day Prayers
13:00 - Lunch (Always some kind of mush)
15:00-17:00 - Work at Cadole
17:15 - Tea Time
19:00 - Dinner (slightly more tasty and substantial than lunch)
20:30 -  Evening Prayers
21:15ish - 23:30ish - Hang out at Oyak

So it was always a pretty full day, however there was an hour here and there for some downtime, which was normally spent sleeping or talking to people from all over the world. During the summers, Taizé can have close to 6,000 people visiting. While we were there I believe there was under 1,000, but the weekend we were leaving around 400 new people were coming in. So it's a pretty well known place over here on the Europe side. I had never heard of it before until Brady, our chaplain, told us we were going for a class this semester. I literally had no idea what to expect. I didn't know what we would be doing or what a normal day would look like, so I was completely clueless walking into this community. Prayers were a new experience for me not because I do not know how to pray, but because their style of worship and praying is different than what I am normally participate in. It is a lot of chanting in another language that I do not speak nor do I understand. My first impression of the whole service was that I did not like it because I did not know what was going on, and I didn't understand anything that was happening around me. Nothing was ever explained to us about how the services would work or what to expect. There was no foreknowledge before experiencing the prayers services. By the end of the week though I had grown an appreciation for the prayer services, and I might also say that I actually enjoyed them even if I still really did not feel like they were life changing. There was something pretty neat about hearing everyone sing and harmonize together from every tongue, tribe, and nation. That was definitely an experience I will remember.

Every weekend they celebrate Easter, which was interesting to me. Friday night they bring the cross down to the center, Saturday night is the candle service, and then Sunday is the Eucharist service. People are allowed to stay longer after the brothers leave the center and pray by the cross after those services. There were people of all different backgrounds, countries, and beliefs, but it was a cool experience to be there worshipping one God altogether despite the differences. Here is a peek at what the inside of the church looked like:

My favorite part of the Taizé experience was the hard work aspect of it. Everyone that goes to Taizé is assigned a job during their stay because this community is completely kept alive by volunteer efforts. The brothers do not make any profit from people staying, and they only charge the amount necessary to stay because they want to break even, not over. The brothers make pottery to sell to help sustain the community, and at the Oyak all the snacks are dirt cheap because they only charge the price they paid to buy the food and drinks. Anyways, there are opportunities for people to go and stay extended periods of time at Taizé and become what is called a "permanent." This just means that you are there for 3 months or more at a time, and they become in charge of each area, for example, welcome area, cleaning, random jobs, food, etc. My job was to work in the Cadole, which is a workshop basically and we took down tent canvases, and we also moved boards underneath the tents and things like that. I had so much fun working, way more than I thought I was going to. The permanent that was in charge of my group was Pawel. He was from Poland, and he was just wonderful. He called himself our "responsible," which meant our boss or leader. We were able to spend a lot of time getting to know him as well as some of the other permanents that helped us in the Cadole. Another permanent, Julian, was from Germany, and he was around my age, and he was really fun to hang out with too.

This is our hardworking group :)

On Sunday, I had to switch jobs because it was a new week, and I was in the Tea Time group, which greeted all the new comers coming in. I LOVED that job because I got to see and meet and talk to all the new people coming in from France, Germany, Belgium, etc. I was able to work on my German and French a little bit, but let's be honest, it was rough. I can barely hold a beginning conversation. But that was one of the things I really enjoyed about this community is that there were no strangers. Everyone wanted to get to know everyone, no matter where you were from. And the best way to do that was to hang out at the Oyak after evening prayers, and that was a blast. People played music together, sang together, danced together. It was great. I met so many people, and had so much getting to know them and hearing their stories.

My proudest moment was actually at lunch. You may laugh at me, and I give you full right to, but I was thoroughly impressed with myself. I will let you experience it with me all over again through these pictures.

Those are peas in my mouth. Yes, you read that correctly. I, Hannah, ate peas for lunch. Not only did I eat all of my peas, but I finished my friend George's peas as well. And here is the kicker. I liked it. I enjoyed my lunch of peas. Now, there was some other things that were mixed in as well, but the point is that I ate disgusting vegetables, and I enjoyed it. My mother would be so proud, and in fact, I know that she is :) I took these pictures just for her, so that I would have proof to show her, and she would not be able to doubt me. And now I have shown the world that I am indeed growing up. I ate vegetables, I drink black coffee on a regular basis, and I could totally take the train or bus on my own without freaking out about it. I feel accomplished.

To end this trip to France, we took a few hours on Monday to go into Cluny, France, which was this adorable little French town. Nothing was opened, which was really depressing, but it was still fun to walk around and see all the beautiful and intricate architecture. We did eat lunch there, and I had the biggest pizza ever. All to myself. Bad idea. Also, the greatest because it was DELICIOUS.

Also, I had tiramisu. Again. For the record, Salzburg was WAY better than Cluny's, but let's get real any tiramisu is just super tasty. After lunch, we just walked around Cluny, and actually before lunch we went up in this tower and saw a 360 degree view of Cluny, so here is the rest of my day spent there in some lovely pictures because we all know that I probably take too many, so I have plenty to share with all of you that actually read my blog :)

View from Tower

Tower we went up in

Pretty side streets

Church we hung out at

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip WAY more than I thought I would. Some of the people were able to sit down with a brother from Taizé and talk with him, and one of the questions asked was this a place where the seed is planted or it is watered? I think all of us coming in thought this would be a place where we would be "watered" spiritually, but the brother actually said this community was a place designed for the seed to be planted in people. This is why there was no introduction coming in to Taizé about how the services work or the meaning behind things. Honestly, I didn't really like that because I feel like that can be dangerous. In Mark it shares the parable of the Sower and seeds, and this is what came to mind when the group was telling me about their talk with the brother. While Taizé is a good place, I wonder if it is not always the good, fertile soil that it could be if there was some more knowledge given to the people about the background of why's and how's of the community. I could be wrong, but what if there are those who fall through the cracks and miss out on truly experiencing Taizé if they are confused by their surroundings? I know there were times when it would have been nice to understand what was happening around me rather than just assuming that I understood. There are always good things and bad things when going to a place like this, and for me the good outweighed the bad. I would definitely suggest it to anyone wanting to come over to Europe because I do felt like while it may not have been life changing their are things from this experience that I want to implement into my everyday life. Especially more moments of silence where I can just sit with God and be in His presence with no agenda. I think that is definitely going to be a nice addition to my life that will be much needed because sometimes I just need to stop talking and listen. I am learning. Slowly, but surely :) Til Next Time.

The Hills are Alive

This past weekend was my first trip without any adults from school accompanying us. It was just Hayley, Erin, Cherith and me heading into the beautiful country of Austria. We were all super excited to be traveling in a smaller group than normal, and to see Salzburg. There was so much on our schedule to get done, and I was hoping that we would be able to accomplish it all. My biggest concern was the Sound of Music tour because I was beyond stoked about going around the city and seeing where Julie Andrews had been so many years before. Random fact, Salzburg means salt castle and we could have visited the salt mines, but we didn't have enough time. Sad day. Anyways...

Thankfully, this trip started out on the right foot, and we made it to and on all of our trains without any problems. We arrived in Salzburg around 2pm, and we didn’t really know where we were to go from the train. We had written down the directions, but that was about the extent of our knowledge. It took us 45 minutes to find our hostel because where we were supposed to turn left we turned right because we saw construction in the way. Little did we know that there was a path through the craziness that would have taken practically straight to our hostel. So a ten-minute walked turned into almost an hour. We were all more than ready to check in and put our bags down. Once we had found our room (which was much nicer than I was expecting) and were ready to go shopping and we took off to go find the city center were Old Town was located. Somehow we ended up on the complete opposite side of town, but at least we stopped at a bakery, ate some deliciousness, and the nice lady informed us we were not anywhere near our destination. Thankfully it was within walking distance and with an hour to spare before everything shut down, we made it to Old Town. The architecture was amazing, and I instantly fell in love with city, but I have a problem with falling in love with wherever I go. God has truly given me an extremely expensive passion. Guess I will just have to marry rich J After everything started to close down, we headed back to the hostel so we could watch the Sound of Music. I mean we were in Salzburg, the town where it was filmed, and we were going on the tour sometime that weekend, so it was only fitting that we watched the movie. We sat in wooden chairs for the whole 3 hours and it was literally the most uncomfortable thing ever, but the movie was as fantastic as ever! It was a great way to end our first day in Austria.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Old Town, and this time we went in the correct direction, and we made it  in an easy ten minute walk, if that. The first thing we visited was Mozart’s Residence. I was looking forward to seeing his house, but honestly once we had gotten there and walked through it, I was a little disappointed by it. I think it would probably help if I was a bigger Mozart fan, or was a musician. It’s cool to say that I have at least been there though. You were not allowed to take pictures, but we designated Cherith to be the sneaky one with her iPhone, so we would have some pictures. We did some shopping in between that and going to visit Mozart’s birthplace. The latter visit was also a disappointment to me. I don’t know if I just didn’t like it or if I am just not a big enough Mozart fan. There was a lot of focus put on his family, rather than Mozart himself, which I found interesting because I have only ever really heard of Mozart himself. 

Mozart's Residence

Mozart's Birthplace (smack dab in the middle of Old Town)

We took a break to eat lunch next and in order to sit at the café tables you have to order something, so naturally we all decided we needed to try apfel streudel because it is supposed to be delicious in Austria, according to my Aunt April, and Maria mentions it in the favorite things song in the Sound of Music. To be honest, I didn’t think it was anything special. It was not very sweet, and it had these raisins like things in it. I ate it all, so my mom would be proud, but I was little disappointed with it. After lunch we headed up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which is this huge fortress that overlooks the entire city of Salzburg. It was built in 1077, but through the next several hundred years, it was added on to, which makes it the fortress it is today. The view from the top was phenomenal, and the last thing we did was take an audio tour up one of the towers and the view from up there was even better. I loved seeing the 360 view of Salzburg, and I took tons of pictures to show everyone back home! 

At the fortress there was a smaller marionette theatre inside, and it was stinking creepy. The dolls just weird me out, but the things that people do with them is so talented, and honestly I think it would be pretty neat to see a show with them. It still was a little eerie to see all of them in a museum though. 

The MOST delicious Tiramisu

The fortress was probably one of my favorite things that we did on Saturday, but the shopping was pretty fun too J Once we made our way back down the mountain side in the cable car we decided it was time to look for dinner. The one disappointing thing about Old Town is that many of the places close around 5 or 6. That made it slightly difficult to find a place to eat, but as we were walking back to our hostel we found the perfect place. The owner spoke English and he even offered us English written menus. We knew instantly that it was the place for us, and the prices were not too shabby at all. I tried the schnitzel with potatoes and salad, and while it was good, to me it just tasted exactly like chicken. Unfortunately, my schnitzel did not come with noodles like Maria sings in the movie. For dessert, I decided to try the tiramisu, and it was literally the best I have EVER had. It was to die for, and I savored every bite of it. If I had not been so full, I swear I could have eaten another one it was that good. The other girls got crepes to split, and those were fantastic as well. We really lucked out with this place. I was very satisfied. Eventually, we made our way back to the hostel to be in for the night.

Today was our last day in Salzburg and what better way to spend your last day than on a Sound of Music tour. I don’t care how nerdy I sound, but I was BEYOND excited to see all the places this movie had been filmed at. I was thinking of my mother the entire time because she would have loved it, considering the Sound of Music is her favorite movie. You were with me in spirit, Mom! 

The first place we saw was the back porch of the von Trapp family’s home. It was gorgeous and looked like it did just in the movie. This was the spot where the children and Maria fell out of the boat when they were greeting the captain. 

Fun fact: the back porch was the only thing used in the movie because they used another house for the front gate and front door. And anything filmed inside the house was filmed back at the film studio in LA. Next, we got a good look at the mountain where the von Trapp climbed over into Switzerland for safety at the end of the movie. Fun fact: directly beyond the mountain is not the Swiss border, instead it’s actually Germany.

 After that we drove to Hellbrunn palace where the gazebo is now located because they moved it from it’s original spot because the back porch and lake shot is now private property. We didn’t actually get to go inside the gazebo, but we got pictures with it. I didn’t sing 16 going on 17, but believe me I was tempted. Fun fact: the inside of the gazebo shot in the film was actually filmed back in LA. They only used the gazebo for the outside shot of it. 

Next to Hellbrunn is the place where Maria skips along the alley path, singing, “I’ve got confidence in me!” while on her way to the von Trapp home. So obviously, we had to get some kind of action shot on the path! And yesterday while we were walking through the town we found the fountain where she funs by and splashes the water, so clearly we found it necessary to take pictures of us doing the same thing. However, the fountain was super high up, so they had to have had a step stool for her to do that or something because it was no easy task to repeat her actions. 

Just like Maria.. Almost.

The path where she skipped

The next place we headed to was the church were Maria and the captain were married. I actually got to walk down the aisle and everything. Yes, Hayley and I did walk down it together like we were getting married. It was completely normal and acceptable, and I loved every minute of it. The church was unbelievably ornate, and right across the street from it there was a café where the children ate apfel streudel at before filming their scenes. So, logically we also decided we needed to eat apfel streudel there because then we could say that we ate at the same place they did. We were those people, and I have no regrets. Once again, I was not impressed and I probably didn’t need to get it, but at least I have the memory. That has to count for something! The one thing I was really bummed out about was the fact that we didn’t get to go to the Abbey. I was really hoping we would be able to, but it was not apart of the tour. I got to see it from a distance, but that was all.

Red Roof of Abbey

Same cafe the children ate at and below is the apfel streudel :)

 After the tour, we went across the street to Mirabell Gardens where in the movie the kids and Maria skipped through the flowers and the Pegasus fountain. It was gorgeous and there were so many flowers popping everywhere. We saw the little tunnel that they all rode their bikes through, and we walked underneath that as well.

We pretty much lived the Sound of Music all day, and I loved every second of it. To make it even better our bus ride to all the places was super cheesy, and our guide for one knew so much information and she did a great job telling us everything, and number two did a wonderful job of leading up to all the songs in the movie. We practically listened to every single one, and we sang along. It was fantastic.

 Honestly, today was probably my favorite day in Salzburg. I had a blast, and I was nowhere near ready to leave. There is just so much more to see and do here, but alas we have to get back to campus because in two days we leave for Taize in France. This month is crazy, and in the past 6 days I have been in 6 different countries. I would say this experience has been more than a success for me. Salzburg is definitely a place that I would love to go back and visit one day, and I recommend it to anyone because it would make for a great place to stop and enjoy the beauty of it. I enjoyed every minute here, and I am sad to leave it. I will be back one day. Europe has already wiggled its way farther into my heart, and I have no idea what I am going to do when I have to go back to the states in two months. It’s definitely going to be hard and an adjustment. But, thankfully, I have two more glorious months on this fantastic continent, and I refuse to waste any time while here. I will make the most of it! Til Next Time. 

A Family Affair: Part 2

To continue where I left off, Katie and I made it safe and sound to Lille, France. I believe the memories of that day will always haunt us though. Of all the people to be with when that happens though I am glad it was Katie because she is much more laid back than I am, so we worked well together.

Anyways, by the time we made it to Aunt April’s house we were all pretty wiped out, and it was definitely not a challenge to fall asleep once my head hit the pillow. The next morning I awoke to the smell of pancakes, and I thought I was in heaven. I was beyond ecstatic because if I am being honest I have really missed Saturday mornings where my mom makes homemade pancakes. I missed it when I was back in the states too. It was probably the best way to wake up considering the previous day’s awful trail of events. I had a leisurely morning, and I got to enjoy some time with my cousins, which I didn’t realize how much I had missed them. It didn’t feel like it had been 3 years since I had last seen them. Unfortunately, the kids had homework and had to stay home while Aunt April, Katie, and I took the weekend to do some sight seeing. The first thing on the schedule was Haarlem, Holland where we visited Corrie Ten Boom’s house and museum. Her house was Aunt April’s favorite, and I wish that I would have done a little more research because I have never seen the movie, The Hiding Place, which is based off of Corrie’s story. I had heard of her, but I didn’t really know all the specific details. The guide who took us through her house, and who showed us the hiding place did an excellent job of telling her story. It was very intriguing to listen to, and I gained even more respect for this woman who risked her life to save others during World War II. She opened up her home to hide and protect those that the Nazi’s were after, and even when she was caught and was sent to a concentration camp for 2 years, she never lost her faith. She was a remarkable woman.

After visiting that museum, we hit the road again to go to our bed and breakfast, which was located still in Holland, but right next door to Zaanse Schans that we would be visiting the next morning. Our B&B was gorgeous and our window view was gorgeous. All the architecture was adorable in the area we were in, and it reminded me of little dollhouses that I used to play with as a child. It was a very quaint place that I instantly fell in love with, however there are not many places in Europe where that does not happen. We took that evening to walk around and explore the little village area we were in, and for dinner, we scouted out a Chinese restaurant in the next city over. It was my first Chinese food experience in Europe, and I knew the food wouldn’t be the same as home, but this place made me really miss my Chinese places back home. It was not bad, but it was nothing to go on about. And considering, Chinese is probably my favorite food, I can be very picky about which places are the best! After our bellies were full we enjoyed a relaxing rest of the evening before our next busy day.

Sunday, we woke up and ate breakfast prepared by the owners of the B&B. They had a spread of bread, which I am finding is very consistent in almost any European place you stay, but hey I have no complaints about that except for that croissants are my weakness. Especially when they offer nutella… It’s a combination that every person should try at least once. Anyway, after our delicious breakfast we began our day in Zaanse Schans. It is known for their windmills, which were huge, and Katie and I got to go inside one that was used for grinding up chalk. It was pretty neat to see how it worked because honestly I had no idea why people used windmills. And on top of that every windmill was unique, no two looked alike. They may have had similar characteristics, but it was fun to see all the different ones. We also were able to see a Dutch shoe making demonstration, and if I am being honest those shoes just do not look comfortable. At all. I have no idea how the workers were wearing them all day because I would have been miserable! Then we tried some different cheese in another building, and personally, I loved the smoked gouda, but really I think I would like anything smoked. And then we obviously asked to try some chocolate, milk, dark, and white because you can never have enough, and it was to die for. Seriously, I have no idea what these people do over here, but our chocolate in the states is a big thumbs down compared to the heavenly stuff here. It’s like they put a drug in it or something to make you keep eating it. It’s that good. No lie. We walked into a few more little shops, but we soon had to leave because we needed to head to Amsterdam to see the Anne Frank house.

I had no idea how I would react to seeing Anne Frank’s house because to me it felt extremely surreal to be going to the same house of the girl I had learned about growing up. It is one thing to read Anne’s book and hear her story, but it’s an entirely new level to see and stand in the actual places she did. We had to stand in line for a little bit, but to me it was completely worth it. The tour took us through her father’s offices, and then it led us into the Secret Annex. The door to the attic was hidden behind a bookshelf and you had to duck to go through the doorway leading to the attic. The hiding place itself was actually bigger than I had originally imagined it in my head, but overall it was still a very cramped place for 8 people to live like quiet mice. There is nothing in the rooms to make them look like they once did during that time and that is because Otto Frank, Anne’s father, chose to leave them bare because it is very sobering to remember back to those times. There is a model size that Otto helped designed, from his memory, of what the Secret Annex would have looked like. The room that was the most real to me was Anne’s room because the pictures and posters that she glued to her walls are still there for the most part. They are surrounded by glass, but you can still see them nonetheless. I cannot imagine going through what she did at her age and it was heartbreaking to walk through this empty place. Like I said before it was a very unreal moment to be standing in the bedroom of the girl whose diary I grew up reading. It put truth to her words that I had read before, and going through this museum affected me more than Corrie’s. One of the last areas that you walk through is the place where they keep her original diary, and I was able to see that as well as other journals she had written in for short stories and favorite quotes from books. Her house is one that I would definitely suggest visiting especially if you have read her diary because it just makes everything in her diary a reality.

We didn’t stay in Amsterdam for anything else, and I didn’t really want to stay there much longer anyway because it is not exactly known as the best city around. We drove back to Aunt April’s house, and I was able to spend some more time with my cousins before they had school the next day. I could not get over how tall Jeremy was, or the beautiful young woman that Megan had grown in to. As for the younger boys, they were still as lively as I remember them being, and I could tell they were growing into fine young boys. I really loved getting the chance to spend some quality time with them and I knew it was going to make it hard to say good-bye when Wednesday came.

Jeremy was definitely much taller than I remember him being... 

Jeremy, Megan, me, Jared, and Joshua.
Cousin Love :)

Monday and Tuesday we decided to stay closer to Lille, and so on Monday we chose to visit Brugge, Belgium. It was a very beautiful city, and the architecture was amazing to gaze upon. We didn’t have very much planned other than eating a Belgian waffle in Belgium and going into all the lace shops because lace originated from Brugge. It was fun to walk in and out of the shops and see all the decorative handmade lace pieces. While we were there I bought a hot chocolate, and I can say hands down that it was the BEST hot chocolate I have ever had. It might have had to do with the fact that Katie and I saw him pouring straight chocolate and then milk into my cup. No matter how they made it, it was delicious, and I enjoyed it immensely! We all, also, experienced a Belgian waffle, which was delectable especially with the dark chocolate and strawberries on top. I dare say it was the best waffle I have ever had, except for my Uncle Robb makes the best homemade waffles, and I would have to say I was torn between which one was better. The one in Brugge had the foreign factor to it, but either way my Uncle Robb should be proud that I just compared his waffles to those from the actual country where they were created! They were that good.

We didn’t have long in Brugge because we needed to get back to get the kids from school and it was Jeremy’s birthday, so Aunt April was making him his favorite dinner, barbeque. Just typing it and then rereading it makes my heart sing because they don’t have barbeque sauce here. I think Aunt April spoiled Katie and I because we got peanut butter and doritos this weekend too! It was a small taste of home. We ate chocolate mousse for our dessert and it was seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten, and it was just store bought so I can’t even imagine how it tastes in restaurants!  I liked my evenings at Aunt April’s because it was so laid back and stress free. Tuesday, we actually went into Lille to at least get a peek at it. It’s a beautiful city and from the city center there is so much to do to keep you busy! For lunch I finally got to experience a French crepe with nutella, and it was fantastic. However, the best part of the day was trying a macaroon for the first time. Aunt April had heard of this place called Meert, and so we went on a mission to find it. Macaroons are from Lille, so we wanted to try one because we had no idea what they were. When we found the place it was gorgeous because it still had the original cash register and designs from when they first opened in the 1700’s. I chose to try a caramel one and Aunt April tried vanilla. Let me just say that my expectations for this sandwich cookie looking thing were very low. I mean I thought I would just detest it because they look weird, and I had no idea what in the world it was, however Aunt April and I were floored. They were phenomenal! Aunt April’s was our favorite, but they were way better than what we were expecting. Aunt April definitely found herself a new shop to get her goodies from!

I wish that we could have had more time in Lille, but we had to get back, and I wanted to have some time with my cousins before leaving the next morning. But that just means I will have to be back, so I can explore the beautiful city some more. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to see my family, and getting the chance to take a look into how their lives run over here in the beautiful country of France. I hope to be back at the end of the semester, so that I can spend some more time with them because 5 days was nowhere near enough time. I am praying that God opens the doors and works it out for me to be able to come back, but we shall see. Currently, I am sitting on a train to Zurich as I write this, and I can say, thankfully, that Katie and I did not miss any of our trains this time, so I should be safely back home in about 3 hours or so. Til Next Time.

A Family Affair: Part 1

One of the best parts about studying abroad this semester is that I am half a world closer to my Uncle Bill and his family. It has probably been about 3 years since I have seen my cousins, and I was determined to make a trip to come see them. The planning started out so smoothly. We picked the weekend, we booked the reservation (which we chose a German holiday weekend; worst idea ever and we had to do some rearranging), and we made it to the train station on time for our day of departure. However, everything after that just went down hill. My friend, Katie, came with me so that I would not have to travel alone. We checked our tickets, found the right gate and time, and we boarded our train from Schaffhausen to Zurich. Unfortunately, somewhere in there we made a mistake because we didn't make it to Zurich in time to catch our next train. I literally have no idea how that happened, but it did. So what was supposed to be an 8 hour trip, slowly turned in to a 15 hour trip of just flat out ridiculousness. We were supposed to get there at 17:45, and I was so excited to have my evening with my family, but with our one mistake in the beginning our new arrival time became 00:20. We had 7 train changes and a bus ride to Lille on top of that. It was never ending. I will say that Katie and I finished both of our sandwiches, both cans of pringles, and a package of chocolate cookie deliciousness, that being said without a lick of shame. It was a LONG day.

Finally, we reached the train station in the wee hours of the morning, and Katie and I began looking for my aunt who was supposed to be picking us up. Ten minutes passed, twenty minutes, thirty minutes and there was no sign of her. I know my Aunt April, and she is not late, so I just knew she had to be around the station somewhere. I was beginning to get a little nervous because it was one in the morning, and we were in a very alive city that was filled with drunkards and VERY attractive men :) The latter part I did not mind too much, but I was still anxious to find my aunt because I was tired and cold. By some grace of God, Katie and I hit a hotspot of wifi, and I connected with my iPod. I used that opportunity to first facebook message my aunt, but then I skyped my mom in hopes of somehow using that to get ahold of my aunt. So here is where the story gets good. I skyped my mom, who called my mammaw, who called my cousin Megan, who got ahold of my Aunt April. Just a recap: I was skyping my mom who was talking to me and then my mammaw on the phone, my mammaw was on the phone with my mom while also being on the phone with my cousin Megan, Megan was on the phone with mammaw while also being on the phone with my Aunt April, and my Aunt April was on the phone with my Uncle Bill. We definitely got a good use out of all those technology devices, and mind all of you that we were connected all the way from Missouri to France. That makes for one heck of a phone call connection. While all of that was happening we were trying to stay put in the hotspot and my iPod was close to dying, and we were still trying to find my aunt. It took around ten to fifteen more minutes, but by two in the morning we finally found her. I was more than ready to be in a warm bed asleep, and I was so thankful to God for the use of technology because if we didn't have that, I have no idea how I would have found my aunt. We did make it to her house, which is GORGEOUS, and by three in the morning I was safely tucked in bed all warm and cozy. Needless to say it was a forever long day, and I was more than ready for it to be over with. At least now I am prepared on what to do if I miss any trains on my upcoming trips; that's the positive side to this story. Stay tuned to hear about my travels with my Aunt April and Katie! Til Next Time.

That One Time in the Alps...

Today marks one month of living in the beautiful Busingen, Switzerland/Germany. I feel so blessed to be able to have this opportunity to experience all the phenomenal sights, and also to build relationships with people I may normally have not had the chance to. I love living here, and I am thankful to have this semester to take a step back and really revaluate my life. For those of you that are wondering, I really am doing LOTS of school work even though my pictures may show otherwise. One really great thing about this semester is that I don't have to work, which is a huge deal to me after having 40 to 50 hour weeks this summer. But that also leaves me more time to work on other parts of my life like being intentional with relationships, and it also gives me the chance to learn more about myself; About what I want, about the kind of person that I want to become and the person God wants me to be. I am the kind of person that is so used to having my life planned out and laid out before me, but God is slowly showing me that I am definitely better off letting him have the reins. I am enjoying being single, and I want to really use this time in my life to focus on my relationship with God. And what better way to do that then spend this semester in Europe? I have two more months here, and I plan on not wasting any time here because this is definitely a once in a lifetime experience! But now on to the stuff you have been waiting for... the Swiss Alps! :)

I literally have no words that could accurately describe the beauty of these mountains. And the pictures do not do this beautiful place any justice. My friend, George, was hiking with me, and after I had complained for the second or third time that my camera was not doing the view any justice, he said, "God's probably thinking, I create things that you can't ever catch on camera." I honestly had never thought about that before, but it's true because we will never truly be able to capture the beauty of God's work and maybe we were never really intended to. The view, seriously was amazing. Hands down one of the top 5 best moments of my life. I mean it ranked up there with the birth of my nephew and my experiences in Africa, so it's a pretty big deal. 

We were in Stoos, Switzerland, and we were told that the hike would take anywhere from 2.5 to 3 hours to complete. I am not exactly the most athletic person, but I was more than ready and beyond excited to tackle these mountains. 

At first, the hike was not that bad because it was all mostly down hill, but it still made me anxious because I almost rolled my ankle a time or two. I mean if you fall there really is no one to catch you because you are just going to roll down the mountain. Ok, that's a little exaggerated, but in most spots it's true. There was green everywhere, and the color of the water was just wonderful because it was this mesmerizing aqua blue and green. Unfortunately, we never got close to the water, but even from far away it looked fantastic. 

The above picture is of me and my hiking buddies, Erin and Hayley. We had some others here and there along the way, but the three of us pretty much stuck together most of the way. The bottom picture is probably the flattest part we hiked the whole time. It's a little over halfway to our ending point, but once you reach the end of that stretch there was the steepest hill I have ever hiked before. Let's just say it was a workout, for real. The last leg of the hike was a lot worse than the start I feel like because there was more steep hills to climb, but I definitely think that the way we came was the best way to hike the the Blade (name of the portion of the Alps we hiked.) We took plenty of time to stop, not always out of weariness, but more out of awe of what was before us. I could not get over the view that was laid out before us, and it was fun to think about what God must have been thinking when he designed this breathtaking place. 

There were so many times during this hike that I was overwhelmed by my surroundings. I just had to take moments to be still and remind myself that the God who created all of this beauty was the very same God who chose me, loved me, and claimed me as his own. If the view didn't completely blow me away, that thought process did. I felt so undeserving of His grace and of His desire to want me as His own; me, this lowly human who looked like nothing compared to these towering mountains and gorgeous landscapes. It was a very humbling experience. Towards the end of the hike the clouds were moving over us, and it was really cool to see others walk through the clouds. I had Katie take a picture of me taking it all in. It's my one hipster picture :) I had to have at least one, especially with the hat I am sporting!

The whole hike took my group a little over 2.5 hours, and it was worth every step. I would do it again if I had more days on my Eurail pass to come back. Above is our victory picture because we completed the entire hike without passing out or dying, so I feel like that is a pretty great accomplishment :) All in all, the alps trip was a definite success. I would recommend this hike to anyone who is planning on going to visit Switzerland. Mainly because of the incredible sights, but also because it was a super fun hike! It will definitely get your heart rate up and blood pumping! We did the hike for our last PE activity, and I can say that this PE class has been by far, hands down, the BEST PE class I have ever been apart of. I am so glad that last semester I asked Brad if we could figure out a PE course for this semester because this definitely beats any course I would have had to take back in Olathe. It was a LONG day, and I was beyond worn out when we finally made it home, but I would do it all again in a heart beat. If people question God, then I think they need to make a visit to the alps because I don't know how anyone can doubt Him once they see the breathtaking scenery. He definitely did an A+ job when He created the Swiss Alps! That excursion is one I will always remember.

Tomorrow I leave for France to go visit my aunt and all my cousins. I will probably be out of touch or just super busy for close to a week, but I am BEYOND excited to see all of them because it has been years! This is definitely going to be the best semester yet! Til Next Time.