December22
Currently, I’m sitting on a train typing this on the way from Bratislava going to Kosice. We just passed a large castle in a place called Trencin, I write that mainly to remember it if I ever want to stop off again. But also, to highlight the fact that passing castles on trains is normal now. We’ve been traveling for over a week now. Last week we went to a conference in Senec, Slovakia which is somewhere near Bratislava. I don’t attempt to know, I just usually get on a train and pray that I have a seat. Which, funny you should ask, on this train we didn’t have seat reservations. Not only that, but we somehow bought a train ticket for the wrong type of train and so, here we are on the train, and ticket lady comes by telling me we have a reservation for the wrong train (all in Slovak). How am I supposed to know what to do in a situation like this? Apparently you pay the difference and get another type of long receipt ticket. Life is adventure here, everyday.
This train ride is the last leg of our travel, we’ve been to Bratislava, Senec, and Rome. One of these cities is not like the other. We hopped a plane to Rome, which got us there in about 2 hours. My team met up with some friends from the Sweden team, Lindsey and Ryan. Their holiday travels include Rome (with us), Paris, and London. I’m not quite sure I could pack all of that into one trip.
I loved Rome. There is so much history crammed into that one city that I can’t even attempt to take it all in during one visit. Being there made me wish I had retained more from History and Latin class.
Our first day we saw the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Emperor’s Palace. This is a good traveling tip, take tours whenever you go somewhere with this much history. We payed something like 19 Euros (27 dollars) for a tour of the Colosseum , the Forum, and the Palace, which was incredibly worth it. We learned a lot about spectators in the Colosseum, and our tour guide even invited us to see his personal butterfly collection when it was all over. I can’t say that we took him up on his offer.
That night, I ventured with Matt, Ryan, and Aaron to the Pantheon to see it at night. During our trip we ran across the American Embassy which inspired us to sing a medley of Patriotic songs through the streets of Rome all the way to our hostel. The second day we went to the Pantheon to see it in the day-time, and actually go inside. The Pantheon is an immense building with huge columns guarding its entrance. Inside there is a huge hole in the ceiling and when it rains, the water drains into 22 tiny holes in the marble floor. Then we went to one of the famous Piazza’s to enjoy the market and to eat outside in a café! This was a delight to me because we were outside, in December, in a café, eating real Italian Pizza, in Rome! It was too much to take in at times that we were really there. That night we headed back to the Trevi fountain where there was filming going on, the type of thing us Wilmingon-ites are used to. We then went to another Piazza with yet another market. It felt like home! We said goodbye to Lindsey and Ryan hopefully to see them later in our STINT year (a girl can hope).
And then there were 5. We went to Vatican city during our third day. This was quite an adventure. I got the audio guide during my tour of the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. I could hardly believe all of the statues, the history, the Egyptian sarcophaguses and the culture that has collected over the years. Once again an audio guide for only 5 euros, made the 13 euro entrance into the Vatican completely worth it. Sure, without it, it would have been really cool, but just having a bit of information makes these types of visits come alive for me. Inside there are elaborate paintings by Van Gogh, Michelangelo (his most famous Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel) as well as Rafael. In this picture you can see Rafael’s talent at making paintings come to life, these are paintings on the wall, not statues.
There is so much to learn about these frescos and I tried to do it as fast as I could by staring at them overtaking the chapel. To me, it’s so amazing that when Pope Julius commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo didn’t feel confident in his painting ability and told the Pope that he would rather sculpt. It took him 6 years to finish the ceiling and 4 to finish the Last Judgment. I think we have a lot to learn from this. In fact, I think we have a lot to learn from the Catholic church in general. Sure, there may occasionally be doctrinal issues, but the way the Catholic church (at least then) embraced culture and art, I think really ministered to society of the time. I think it still does today, that’s why things like Solarium, Story of the Soul, and sharing our “stories’ works well today. It’s not a new idea, the church has been doing it for thousands of years. Not only this, but we could all stand to try new things, and discover new talent, to not be afraid of the unknown and to learn from Michelangelo’s perseverance.
After our visit to the Vatican Museum we went to St.Peter’s basilica, this is where the Pope speaks, in that really big square, with fountains, and marble, and even very large screens and a sound system that would rival any sound stage today.
In all of these visits to these historical places I really enjoyed the privilege of being able to see these places in real life. My team spoke about how amazing it is that you see these places in textbooks, but when you see them in real life, it makes you crave knowledge, it makes you want to know everything about all of these places. Which is unfortunately impossible in one trip, but is doable over time.
During our travels (and in less than a week) I read 2 books, To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller and The Big Love by Sarah Dunn. It really makes me wonder if I would always read like that if I didn’t have the internet to distract me.
Our flight to Bratislava got in just late enough that we couldn’t make the last IC (fast train) back to Kosice, so we stayed the night in Bratislava at John and Amy Russell’s home. They have a beautiful home and 2 really cute children. This morning we got up and took a commuter train from the train station near their home to the main train station, where we bought tickets to travel on the train that I’m currently on typing this blog.
Up next we’re having Christmas in Kosice, and we’re planning to make a big feast, things to that will make us feel like it’s really Christmas. We’ll also head to Brad and Karla’s, two missionaries here, with their kids for a family meal! Then, on the 28th we’re going to our Winter Conference in central Slovakia. It will be a joyous time. Our theme mirrors that of the Midsouth’s, Encounter, except ours is “Tvarou v Tvar” which is the closest translation of Encounter in Slovak but literally means “face to face.” I am excited about that time which I am praying will propel the movement here forward.
On January 12th, Jeremy and Dara will get married in the huge church on Hlavna in Kosice and the next day (the 13th) we’ll head out to go to our STINT midyear conference and then to the last of the 4 conferences, Area of Affairs conference. Both of these conferences are in Hungary, somewhere near each other. I’m praying for refreshment during these times even though travel can be somewhat wearing especially by train.
Enjoy these videos and pictures that I’ll put on facebook and flickr for your viewing pleasure.
If you learn anything from reading this blog, I would say this, travel as much as you can (get a tour guide), travel as cheaply as you can, bring a good book and pack light. It’s worth it. Anyone can be comfortable, anyone can stay home, but you were made to fly. So spread your wings.
Currently listening to: Love Song by Sara Barallies
Currently Reading: Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne
