Spreken ze deutch?

Berlin
We arrived late evening in Berlin after a long day of traveling by train from Munich. Our eyes were weary after seeing so much at Dachau and sitting in a confined coach for several hours as we headed north and wanted nothing more than a bit of comfort. Comfort arrived in the form of the Keltners.
As we stepped off the train and onto the platform, not knowing where our next step would lead us we searched aimlessly for our old librarian and her husband. We headed toward the escalator that would lead us towards information-- and, we hoped, we prayed-- some English-speaking angel might interfere. Instead, around the corner came the smiling, lively person of Anne Keltner! She sped toward us and gave us each a hug, followed closely by her wonderful husband Monte. Oh what a joy it was to see a couple friendly faces, people who knew where to take us and what words to say... the love was much needed. I'll never underestimate the power of meeting someone at the station. It's like that feeling you get when you get home late, only to realize someone's been waiting up for you.
We made introductions as we made our way back to their flat. They showed us how to buy a day pass for all the busses and tubes around Berlin for the following morning, asked us all about our trip, and fed us like queens when we arrived. They have a lovely apartment on the third floor of a century old brick home, complete with wood floors, a terrace, and all the college kids you could ask for! They have been working for Campus Crusades for Christ and had a number of "STINT" (Short term missions) kids constantly filling the place. The night we got there, about 15 American and a few German college students were having a film festival in their living room watching it on the "beamer" (that's what they call the projector....not a BMW:) After our delicious meal out on the terrace, and gleaning words of wisdom from the Keltner's love story (complete from meeting to marriage, and both perspectives!) we hung out with the Campus Crusaders for a while then hit the sack.

The next morning we woke up relatively early to catch a free tour around the heart of Berlin. This one actually existed, thankfully :) and was led by a wonderful little leprechaun of an Irishman named Tom. It started in the Paris Plaza where Michael Jackson had his famous baby-dangling incident out of the window of the $12,000/night hotel, moved through the arched gateway, topped with the stone goddess of victory (who used to be the goddess of peace before she was won back from Napoleon and the French) standing high on her horse-drawn chariot, gazing down to the left with her watchful eye over at the French embassy. We saw the Berlin wall-- of what's left of it-- and heard the story of how it was constructed after WW2 in a matter of 56 hours, virtually overnight, and how if you were visiting a friend across the street in East Berlin the day before, you literally were not able to return home for some 27 years during the Cold War. We saw Check point Charlie (not a real person, but Charlie as in "C"... A as in Alpha, B as in Beta, etc...) where most people crossed over from East Berlin to West Berlin once the declaration (an accident some may say) that the borders were open in 1989. We saw the plaza where the famous book-burning took place in Babalplatz and the underground memorial: a glass square that peeks into a room underneath the square, a gigantic room which no one can get into and no one can get out of, full of hundreds of bookshelves, empty white bookshelves, enough to house the 22,ooo+ books that were lost in the fascist fire. Across the street stands Humbolt University (that provided most of the thousands of books that were burned that night) and the eternal street book sale that takes place outside it to this day as a sign of good faith and recognition of their fault, forever promoting the belief that knowledge should always be available to the people.
The most interesting things to me was seeing the location of the 4-meter iron bunker where Hitler spent his last days before committing suicide and how it has now been turned into a parking lot with a mere sign explaining its significance ... the statement is that they have destroyed its remnants so as not to glorify the man or let his place of death become a shrine for Neo-nazis. Across the street from there stands the only remaining Nazi building which used to be their airforce headquarters. An intimidating piece of architecture, it is cold, hard, dark grey building with huge iron doors, and oversized door handles that are too high so as to make the enterer feel dwarfed like a child. The windows are slim rectangles with many bars that overhang in the right-angle downward slope that resembles a swastika. On the front of the building is a large mural that was painted once the Soviet Union gained control of west Berlin. In 50's fashion, you have a family smiling gaily as they walk around their new Communist state. A child sits atop his father's shoulders laughing, next to them is a group of scientists, hard at work, then railroad workers, farmers, students, and a flag-flying stadium scene from the olympics. Everyone seems sublimely happy and colorful in this new world.
Below that is a monument of exactly the same dimensions, set firmly in the ground-- a black and white photograph of thousands of protestors linked arm-in-arm, demanding that the Berlin wall be torn down and the freedom of democracy restored. This is to mark a very hard truth the people of Berlin have come to face-- the ideals of Communism and the reality of it. The theory versus practice. A picture, a painting, and a photo.
During the tour we met a nice American once again named Ross who plays bass in a band and has many other good qualities I'm sure, but can't remember right now. He accompanied us to the outdoor market and then to the house of Parliament-- which is a fantastic glass dome that overlooks the seats of government and is free to the public as you wind up and down the spiraling staircase to the top where you can see virtually all of Berlin. The basic idea behind this "Architectural C-Span" as I like to call it, is that the people are above the government. The Keltners say ever since Hitler, the people of Germany are extremely wary of any one leader having too much power, so that when they hear the phrase "Never again" it means never again will they let one man overcome the votes and will of the people. The Keltners also expressed that is why it is difficult for the gospel to be spread there because no one wants to take leadership or be under it either... and anything or anyone who claims to be "THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Light" cannot be trusted. Leadership is tyrrany, and must be resisted at all costs.
At this point in the day, I was feeling rather ill, so we headed back. The Keltners took us out to a fantastic dinner at an Indian restaurant where we shared family style rice, chicken, curry, lamb, and veggies as well as a tasty mango drink-- their treat! The best part of that was definitely Monte's impression of a duck. Ask any one of us to do it for you-- it's pretty good.
The next morning we said goodbye as they escorted us all the way to the airport well outside the city central and barely made it on our last Ryan Air flight!
We arrived in London yesterday morning at 11 AM, but due to taxi complications and a rather ornery secretary, did not arrive at the Gandon's house until about 4 PM. The girls got to go hear Andy preach, I stayed laid up in bed and slept through dinner. And this morning we went to a cricket match and are about to head into London for the last time before jetting home. We'll go to Evensong at Westminster Abbey then meet up with my friend from Oxford, Roz, for dinner at a pub across from Big Ben. Back to the states tomorrow! Can't wait to hug you all again :)
Hope you're well, I miss you! LOVE YOU!
-L

Let the Walls Fall Down

Hello from Berlin! Well, it's our last night in Continental Europe.... what a wonderful adventure it has been. Lots has happened the past few days, here's a basic rundown:
Salzburg was a breath of fresh air and we all agreed, our most relaxed stay. Meeting up with Katie Miller and Mallory Duran was so wonderful! We got "Mexican" food at a place called LEMONCHILLI and met an Austrian waiter named Bernard who wants to move to Australia after couch surfing through the western United states. Then Mills and I went for a little walk and got some apple struedel... this all put a little extra pep in my step, as did our own 4 hour bike tour around the city in the rain singing "Doe a Deer"! We saw lot of the things in the Sound of Music (just missed the gazebo from the sixteen going on seventeen song!), fantastic cathedrals, a street full of the craziest most intricate shop signs I ever saw (alliterate much?), royal gardens, and a huge waterwheel that powered a lift up the mountainside up to the fortress. I also got a chance to hike the mountain nearby on my own up to the fortress/ castle (whose name I can neither remember nor pronounce) and did a painting of the gorgeous Austrian skyline as it stretched out for miles out into the hills, with the teal green cuppolas and church bells ringing all around.
The next morning we had our free breakfast with REAL coffee and toast, said goodbye to my brunette Azusa beauties and hopped the train to Munich!

MUNICH.
Well, if you've ever been to Edinborough, something about the flavor of this city reminded me of the Scottish town. It is not huge, but it does have a lot of historic buildings, including a church with a huge clock that a life-size Dutch-looking boy and girl come out and dance on the hour. Crystal, Ames and I decided we wanted to try and hit "Lenny's free bike tour" at 4 PM in the city center at the "Fish fountain"... We got there and realized why it was free.
Lenny never showed.
Thankfully, there were four American guys standing around looking just as dazed and confused as we were, and we became fast friends with Peter, John, Kyle and Kevin from Chicago. Peter was German-blooded and had the book with all the facts, so we decided to go out and discover our own tour! It rained again (the rain has followed us everywhere we go and it's become a joke between us and God at this point) but we didn't care. After a humourous tour with no historical or relevant information whatsoever led by our very own Amy Orr and the witty Kevin, we ended up in the famous "Chinese beer garden"-- which is really a bogoda with a bunch of picnic tables under it. The only out-of-the-ordinary sight there was a rather intoxicated woman sitting next to us, singing loudly, whose pants had slid down well beyond her Y shaped undergarments thus enticing the guys to believe she was a man because, they claimed, she had a man's derriere... as inappropriate as it sounds, the conversation was the only possible way to cope with what we were seeing. It looked-- painful .
Anyway, the gents thought it was fascinating that three girls could possibly only come to Munich for one night and not really care about drinking, but we had a good laugh anyway and experienced the culture enough to have the smallest mugs of quality wheat beer... I've discovered that a glass of wine only every now and then with a good meal is what I enjoy most. Don't worry, dear parents... none of us has even gotten remotely close to getting drunk. We do you proud. We're already too self conscious about looking like dumb tourists to let our American stigmas be enhanced by any amount of "liquid courage."
We continued on from there saw the royal palace and a beautiful garden... and my favourite part-- the river surfers!! Yes. There is a spot on this river-- it's more of a creek really--- near a bridge with lots of currents that the surfers meet and surf from bank to bank like it was a skate park! About fifteen young men in wet suits carve the water on their short boards for a few intense seconds, do incredible jumps and swishes, then dive downstream to the bank, make the hike back up and do it again. It was so awesome!
The girls then went back to Jaeger's hostel, grabbed Carissa and got a sweet dinner at this Italian place before meeting back up with the guys at a beer hall called "Augustiners" where we met a bunch of local students and sang songs. Again, no worries, mom. Sobriety is sexy... We like to remember our fun :)
We headed back, got our free "drink" of juice at the bar, then konked out early for the next day.

DACHAU
Dachau was the hardest thing I've experienced on this trip. I never want to forget what I saw or learned there as long as I live. We arrived mid-morning, got our audio guides and split up as we walked the route of thousands of Jews, Poles, gypsies, intellectuals, priests and anyone who resisted the Nazi regime. In a concentration camp orignally labeled as a "re-education camp" we saw and in a small way felt the experience of the death spot. The camp has been preserved in spots and leveled in others, but at each spot you could listen to the history where the "role call" happened every day, see where the barracks of some 30,000 men were housed where only 5,000 were supposed to reside. They built artillery, had a small bowl of soup for their rations, had their heads shaved, were forced to give up three things at the entrance-- their property (including civilian clothes), their rights, and their dignity as human beings. This is the place where some would not see freedom for twelve years, from 1933-1945, but most would never go beyond the rectangle hell, until their premature deaths.
The conditions were gruesome, the stench of bodies burning in the crematorium increased daily, and the doctors who did experiments testing humans for how hypothermia shut down each individual organ had one principle for dealing with the sick and dying: the more exterminations, the better.
At both ends of the walkway that runs through the middle of the camp with 20 or so barracks on either side stand memorials. On the south end is a gigantic rusty iron structure that looks like very thick barbed wire, only when one does a double take do you see that the barbs are actually fingers, and the twisted knots are actually heads, the thin lines are the limbs are of the bodies mangled and stretching out into harsh shapes that evoke the agony of the prisoners. Below this structure is a ramp walkway that goes below ground level in a T shape to another monument in the wall. A series of different colored triangles linked together in a chain shape that symbolize the solidarity the prisoners formed amongst themselves in spite of the SS tyranny, and at the other end of the walkway is a large stone with the words printed in German, Hebrew, English, French, Italian and Sweedish:
"Never Again."
At the other end of the camp stand three chapel-like memorials: protestant, Catholic and Jewish, each building with its own shape, color and message, but all crying out to God for a mixture of justice and mercy.
As I entered the space of into third, chapel, the protestant building with all it's funky angles, clean yet unrestricted lines and weird floorplan-- a direct and purposeful contrast to the controlled right-angles of the camp outside, I said a prayer and was overwhelmed with grief. How could this happen? How could one human being do this to another? And the hardest question-- could I do this? Inflict this harm? Commit murder? In my heart I know the sin is there, and the capacity to sin in every way... my only hope is in knowing that God is good. I wrote a sort of poem and read out of the lone Bible there on a wooden stand in the center of the room Romans 12. That chapter that haunts my life it seems.

God save us from ouselves
From the sin in every life
And the hate in every heart
Thank you for life, for liberation
For the strength to stand up
To face evil and declare it void
In the presence of your love
Conquer the last enemy
That is called death
Let us not be overcome by evil
But overcome evil with good.

There was so much despair, and yet so much hope. So much pain. And yet the healing and reconciliation between the German people and the Jews of Europe continues fifty-three years later.
Let us not forget. And declare with conviction, reprimand, solidarity and hope:
NEVER AGAIN.

I love you, pray for Europe. The church is here, but it is quiet and in need of revival. I covet your prayers as my heart is heavy today. Tell you about our stay here in Berlin with the Keltners tomorrow :)
-Lo
Ve

The Hills Are Alive ...

Hello from Salzburg, Austria! We arrived here this afternoon after a wonderful stay in Venizia, and will be staying two nights in a very colorful hostel with about 300 Jr. Highers playing tag in our dormitory hallway. It´s fun :)
Venice was beautiful... I had been before but it was wonderful the second time round. We walked around the narrow streets and over a ton of bridges over tiny canal ways. The first night we stayed in a campground outside the city because of bus issues, but it ended up being a nice little getaway for us.
Yesterday we saw San Marco´s Piazza and the Rialto bridge... we then went to the water´s edge after lunch and sat reading, writing, listening to music and I painted. Carissa had said she wanted to go on a gondolah ride but it was 100 euro (roughly $140) for a ride, so we initially settled for watching people ride up to the docks and the zebra-striped pöle guys with the funny straw hats lounge around. I began painting two of them from my spot, and the curious gents took a gander at my picture and liked it. I decided to be bold and went up to mz ´models´and asked if I could have a ride for half off.
"Eighty Euro."The younger one said
"Fifty. With the painting"
They consulted their red-faced boss who came over and inspected the painting.
"I am not even in it!" he said
"I could put you in," I laughed, "But then you´d have to give me the ride for free"
The old round man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fine. Fifty Euro."
I smiled and shook his hand
"It´s a good painting," he said.
I think I´m content if I never sell another piece of art again, that half hour was more than worth it :)

The train ride into Austria was by far the most gorgeous. Towering green mountainscapes for miles, whitecapped with snow. Watch the first two minutes of Sound of Music and you´ll get the visual pretty fast. We watched the whole movie in the lobby tonight and tomorrow we´re going on our own little bike tour to see all the sights for a few hours. Praise the Shepherd for beauty, its such a gift.
I love you and miss you all.
So long, Fare well, Aurvederzein, Good night!

Ciao Bella!

So the last few days have been crazy crazy!
We went to Florence for two days, but almost didn't make it with all of us on board... the next time I have more internet time I will explain how we got on the wrong train to Rome, lost Carissa who got pushed off the train, survived no communication and a delayed connection due to a TRAIN ON FIRE... then showed up to Carissa's missing passport and Eurail pass, got to the hostel which resembled a WW2 infermary but felt more like an inferno. and yet had the best time in Florence ever!
The Uffizi Gallery, the Arno river, Michelangelo's lookout hike, statues, gelatto, the David, the Duomo, the night life and meeting up with Cassandra Quilantang!
We then trecked to Rome where we have seen the Vatican, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Sistine Chapel and are going to see the Colosseum tonight. A friend of Brandon Polley's named John who is interning at the US Embassy here generously saved us from a terribly shady hostel, way off the Roman map and we will stay for one more night with before training up to Venice tomorrow morning!
We are off to do laundry and dinner, then a night jaunt possibly dancing. Love you and miss you. Talk to you in Venice!
Lo

An American in Paris

Today was wonderful :)
We woke up in our awesome hostel and had free breakfast including real coffee... Carissa went to Versailles with some friends she met here while Crystal, Ames and I went on a walking tour to see the entire city. We had a great story-telling tour guide, a girl named Narini who was from Boston but has been studying at the American University in Paris for the past three years. She was very knowledgeable about the history of Paris from Rome to Medieval times to the Renaissance to the Revolution to the Enlightenment to the World Wars to Sex and the City and made it so exciting.... I felt like I wanted to go back to school to become a history major after that.
We saw: the Louvre, Arc De Triomphe, Parc du Monceau, Palais Royale, Pont Neuf (New Bridge), Grand Palais, countless towering Roman statues, Fountain at St. Michel, Hotel Des Invalides, Notre Dame, the Egyptian obelisque (which the Egyptian govt. wants back... sorry! No can-do), the opera house, some weird interactive black-and-white striped art cylinders sticking out of the ground with little kids playing on them and all sortsa fun. The coolest story is to hear how Paris was saved from Hitler's destructive hand. When Nazi forces occupied the ~most beautiful city on earth~ Hitler ordered one of his most loyal generals to bomb Paris the moment it looked as if the Allies would reclaim it. The General (whose name escapes me) could not do it, however, and while TNT was strapped to everything from the Eiffel tower to the Royal Palace, the only thing he did was drop bombs in the river Seine and set fire to the part of the Grand Palace that was all stone, so nothing of importance was destroyed. Cool story ah?

After that, C-Rain, Ames and I gathered some blankets, bagguettes, cheese and wine and walked several miles to the Eiffel tower and had a late afternoon picnic on the lawn there called the "Parc du Champs De Mars." I brought paints and did some painting and sketching. We laughed and caught up on the simpler things in life.... stretched out on the grass, looking up through the trees at the ginourmous metal asparagus above us, listening to some concert in the park nearby. It was a picture-perfect end to a picture-perfect day. Thank you God for beauty. Soon it began sprinkling, so we packed up and headed towards the south quarter to the Gare de Lyon to get our Eurail Night tickets then had quite the late night odyssey getting back home to the northeast quarter. The highlight was catching the a glimps of the Eiffel tower's light show, it glitters and glows like a sparkler on the fourth of July, every hour on the hour.
Back at St. Christopher's hostel we've met some great people, and I do confess I REALLY love speaking english and not getting a perplexed, furrowed brow in return. :)
Tomorrow is Moulin Rouge and the Louvre before taking the night train to Florence! AH! pray it goes well, we've never done this Eurail thing before and I sense we're on the cusp of another grand adventure.
looooooove!
LOVE YOU DADDY!

PARIS!!!

Last night was the most fun I´ve had thus far!! We went on a pub crawl all around Madrid and met a lot of cool people from all over the world and danced the night away. Ask me about it and I´ll give you all the details another time. We are off to see one more "museo" before our flight to Paris, and then hopefully we´ll meet up for dinner with my friends Katie, Mallory, and Cassandra somewhere near the Tower dÉiffel!
Loves.

Bon Voyage! ¡Hola Madrid!

We arrived in Madrid yesterday afternoon and toured la ciudad :) The rain has followed us once again, but it can´t keep´us down. We´ve seem beautiful gardens from the 16th century and the Palace Royale, along with the Plaza de Mayor with artists and people and restaurants everywhere. Our four bedroom hostel is getting the job done magnificently, considering we have a shower and a place to take a midday siesta.
Last night we ate at a place called "Aboo wag" and it was fantastic fun. Huge red lanterns from floor to ceiling, great service and sparkling white wine.
Tonight we are going on a free pub crawl and dressing for the occassion. We leave tomorrow for Paris byut until then, fiesta!
Love you!