ACROSS / UP AND OVER / DOWN UNDER

After a quick hello to Annabel and saying farewell to Marty and Annika, we were off to Stuttgart and Holtzgalingen via the fast Inter City Express train travelling at speeds over 200 km/hr – relaxing on leather seats, playing cards and sipping our sparkling mineral water (mit gas).
Reconnecting with Klaudija and Hans Martin and their son David was wonderful – they have a lovely apartment and made us very comfortable. We slept on a most interesting sofa bed which was really comfy – I wonder if there is any equivalent in Canada? Klaudija and I had time to sit and enjoy our tea and conversation while Hans-Martin and Ron went go cart racing and to the Mercedes Benz museum. Wee David is a darling and charmed us even though he had a fever. He signs a lot and can communicate really well for a one year old. He is bright and charming and well parented. We love being with Hans-Martin and Klaudija – just kind of slid in to their world like we did with Marty and Annika and now with Jen and Caleb.
Emirates Air was a wonderful flying experience with delicious food and comfy seats. The leg from Dubai to Perth was made even better by being only half full! Ron and I both found space to have 2 seats each – wiggle room so to speak. The best bit of course was that Jen and Caleb were waiting at the airport. Jen is looking well and very round. Her hospital bag is packed and the baby space is ready. Caleb is geared up on the best route to the hospital too!
Caleb and Jen have made a wonderful home of their apartment and we are enjoying times of just hanging out together squeezed into their very busy schedule. They are great fun to be with – we even let Caleb win a game of cards!! One prayer request is that the baby will arrive when Caleb’s parents Pete and Shirley are here – they have travel commitments before and after the due date and I would hate for them to miss out on the initial excitement. More important of course is a safe delivery!
We have had the opportunity to spend some time at the YWAM campus, including a commissioning service last night. We will go to Friday night worship tomorrow. It is a place which is full of energy with lots of school teams arriving and leaving and staying!! The presence of the Lord is evident (the CCC gospel choir song “the Presence of the Lord is here” keeps popping into my head).
Our house exchange is all we could hope for. A lovely clean home with all the amenities and terrific hosts who are staying in a cottage on the back of the property. Rosemary and Bill are very hospitable, interesting folks and we hope to get to know them better while we are here. We drove their vehicle for the first time today and Ron did well driving on the left side of the road … We entertained ourselves by using the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal a couple of times!
We are sitting out in their garden having a relaxing day. Yesterday we walked for about 4 hours taking photos and enjoying the winter flora and fauna – the weather has been dry and sunny (fine is the term used here) but a change is expected tomorrow. I love seeing the palm trees, the various birds and of course the roos on Heirisson Island…

Photos will follow soon but right now I would like to go for a walk before preparing dinner for Cherine and Sharon from YWAM. Looking forward to their company and wishing you could be here with us!

Moments in Time

Here are a few tidbits from our adventures:
1. Heading into the Haute Bon Hauf (Main Train Station) to find a row of police vans with many officers and riot gear near by along with 2 rows of officers on foot along each side of the main exit – as we wandered through, our excellent host for the evening, Reiner, (our friend Pia’s father) asked what was happening. Apparently they were expecting a train load full of G8 protestors. We decided not to stick around and watch!
2. Walking through the area near the parliament buildings, we had to stop and wait for an enormous police brigade with car loads of VIP’s to pass by – this was a group of secretaries of state form Africa, Brazil and other countries off to an evening’s activities. This event was running at the same time as the G8 which was in a smaller place not far from Berlin
3. Going to the Reitstag – parliament building – which has a huge dome on top - architecturally amazing and clever with excellent traffic flow and views of the City – one can also see though to the area where the parliament sits. The chairs are purple! The lineup to get in is always long but we were able to enter through a different door with our host. They do the airport scan thing and frisk you before entering. It was so beautiful and worth the scrutiny experience. I will post a photo…
4. Watching a police officer hanging his bag of take out Thai food on his revolver and cycling away.
5. Listening to Turkish music as we go to sleep
6. Trying to figure out the washing machine in the apartment
7. Helping Marty and Annika scrape old wallpaper off the walls of their apartment and envisioning the finished product down the road.
8. Wandering through the parks, taking the trains and feeling very safe
9. Wishing we could stay longer – always a good sign and a good time to leave!

More photos!

A view near Solingen
A strnage little something on the table - any guesses?

These chairs with the don't walk / walk symbols are intersting. They are the symbols of teh former East Berlin traffic signs. after reunification, they were to be replaced with the West Berlin symbols, but due to many objections, they remain and are now well marketed!

Below (at least below on y screen!) is a sample of Potsdam Dutch quarter architecture!

A river cruise boat One restored building and the other yet to be restored

Some of the remains of the Berlin wall

A Holocast memorial - very spiritual and emotional walk through here - it is very extensive and a real call to my spirit to pray.

The Brandenburg gate

a sculpure - each piece is a memorial to a politicain killed for speaking out

BERLIN IS

Berlin is:

Wall art (grafitti embraced)
Bicycles, bicycles and more bicycles think tons and add some
Subway travel - fast and effiicient
River life and canals - sightseeing boats
Sidewalk cafes - more than we have seen elsewhere
Socializing - an important passtime

Young families and students
Multiethnic
Centuries of history: opulence to terror to reconciliation
Reminders of the divided city
Green spaces and courtyards

Cars parked every which way
Museums, galleries and monuments
Squats
Tour buses
Markets
Cobblestone streets
Architectural variety

Rental apartment living (88% of housing is rental), mostly walk up - ours is 120 stairs!
Variety of food, beer available everywhere – curry wurst is an option!

Many quiet spaces and singing birds
Ping pong tables in the park
Pretzels and bread ( a great time to discover that Lauris is likely allergic to wheat!)

Days begin and end ‘late’ – we are going to bed when many Berliners are getting started!
Inexpensive food and beverages available

Intersting note - when you rent an apartment you get the rooms and plumbing - you supply the rest including your kitchen cupboards - and remeber these are walk up flats!

Can you tell we are really enjoying Berlin? Photos will hopefully follow on the next post - they take time! We seem to be out for at least 15 hours a day! Got to love it!

Blessings to all of you!

Germany

Guten Tag

Well I think that is the correct spelling! We are having an awesome time. We took the wonderful fast (ICE) trains to Solingen and had a wonderful time with Annika's family. Everyone was more than kind and we saw many amazing sites! Forests, rivers, cathedrals, castles,and the list goes on.

Then it was back on the train to Berlin where we were welcomed by Marty and Annika - a very sweet reunion. We are just getting aquainted with the area... Annika and Marty have gven us an overview of the city with it's many faces and we have plenty of time to explore in depth. Our accomodation is in a Turkish area - translate that as fabulous food! The first evening we were here we were sitting at a turkish restaurant when a huge storm came up - wind, thunder and lightening, rain, hail and a lady riding by on her bike in her bathing suit :)

The photos will speak volumes so I will post a few.
Inernet at our accomodation is not working so we are on-line at Marty and Annika's.
I am working of teh website which is in German - stressful for my limited knowledge!
Enjoy the photos!




Berlin - lots of great architecture and beach bars too!



Solingen - beautiful riverside walks and a fantastic one man knife caftsman / manufacturing shop.




Koln Dom Solingen sculpture





Solingen at the castle the and old town sqare - note the slate buliding with the green shutters - very common here. Very charming.



Berlin street scene and a photo from the festival of cultures parade.




The happy couple well posed!!

Cross Country Run

Let the games begin!
We are off and running – by van, foot, bus, ferry, sky train, sea bus, and train! The Via Rail trip was wonderful – we highly recommend it – especially travelling on the senior companion fare!

The train was a great way to see this fabulous country – the mountains, the valleys, the rivers and plains, & the Laurentian Shield with all the lakes and rock outcroppings – Wow after Wow!

We had a ‘section’ on our train car: translation – upper and lower berths with heavy curtains for privacy right across the aisle from an identical section and the bathroom just steps away. Getting dressed was rather like camping … There was a great hot shower on board!
Ken and Jackie had a ‘bedroom’ with upper and lower bunks and a private sink, toilet and small cupboard. It was there we met to sip the wine we had brought along …. But for the real views we enjoyed the dome cars – no problem getting a seat … There were also games tables which we used regularly to play a number of games including ‘golf’ which one of the stewards taught us.
The stainless steel rail cars were built in 1955 - check out the dining car photo where we were served excellent meals with plenty of choice. The train was 23 cars long plus 3 engines so it was realty fun to see it on the curvy bits.
We met up with cousins Marj and Bud at the Winnipeg station for a quick hello. How delightful that they came considering how late the train was running!
Our time in Elliot Lake has been great fun – nephews Eric and Dave and their families are here: Eric, Kim and Isaac; Dave, Jen and Tegan .. then a cousin Joan MacNeall and her husband Gordon arrived for visit. I haven’t seen Joan since I was a teenager (a few days ago!).
And the fun continues. Elliot Lake is a city of 13,000 with lots of lakes and hills and hiking trails. An afternoon walk is n the agenda to walk of Jackie’s amazing cooking!
Germany is calling in a few days . Tschuss (Bye!)