Savor little glimpses of God's goodness and His majesty, thankful for the gift of them: winding pathways through the woods, a bright green canopy overhead, and dappled sunshine falling all around.
Grazie, Merci, Köszönöm
Probably the most important word we spoke in each country (or in the case of Hungary, the only Hungarian word we could speak!)
Bright and early at 5am Monday morning, Michelle and I took a taxi to the train station, only to find that no ticket window was open and the ticket machines didnt seem to be working...uh-oh! Luckily, we found another wonderful person, a security guard who spoke a little english, and directed us to a tiny newspaper shop to buy a train ticket...the day was young and already we had been "saved" yet again by a stranger. On the train we shared a booth with a lovely italian woman, and while we had zero capability of verbal communication, we were able to share smiles and laughs with her as the ride had a few unexpected happenings- stopping in the middle of the track, repetitive announcements, etc. My experience in Rome was amazing- so much history, so many different people, and some sunny weather! Grazie molte Rome :)
Next stop- Geneva! We arrived in a cold and rainy Geneva. Burrr. First stop, another winning hostel- City Hostel Geneva. After quickly dropping our stuff, we headed for the United Nations and Red Cross Museum. It was very cool to see every country's flag! I noticed that the American flag was not near the front, and I really appreciated that fact. I love being an American and am definitely grateful for the privileges it allows me, often things that I don't think twice about being allowed to do or say, but I do think we have a tendency to be elitist toward the rest of the world at times. I don't want to get too side tracked on this tangent, but I did really appreciate that the flags were all together, on equal ground and equal height...definitely an image that I will keep in mind as I think about different world issues and make various decisions about my life- every country is filled with people, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, and no one has any more value than another, despite what our culture sometimes declares.
So in Geneva, we did two main things, explored the Red Cross Museum and walked around the city taking pictures and buying delicious Swiss chocolate :) The Red Cross Museum was INCREDIBLE. Michelle and I spent a couple of hours exploring there. The most incredible thing to me about the Red Cross? It was dreamed up by ONE MAN. Henry Dunant. ONE MAN witnessed thousands of men injured from war not being treated, and decided that something needed to be done. ONE MAN wrote letter after letter, describing his idea for an organization that would be country neutral, and able to treat all men. ONE MAN got the ball rolling on what is now one of the biggest worldwide caregivers of people experiencing disaster. This fact (hence the capital letters haha) really struck home with me. What if we all took off our blinders and allowed ourselves to have a reaction to the horrible things going on all over? What if we let ourselves be so affected by it, that we could not separate ourselves from the pain that others feel, of the unfairness of it all? What if we all allowed ourselves to be inspired by the places and people around us? Well, my answer to all of those questions is that we'd change the world. By choosing to not be numb to everything around us, by actively seeking deeper meanings and Truth, we wouldn't be able to live independently from the people around us, and we would actually see the world become a better place. Well, that's my opinion anyway :)
We continued our streak of supermarket dinner, which really is the most cost-efficient way to eat, AND you can get fresh produce pretty cheaply in Europe...at least that's what we've found so far! As we walked around the old part of the city, we stopped in many chocolate shops :) Chocolate truffles are definitely my favorites! We both bought a bunch of chocolate for family at home and took in all of the beautiful buildings and streets in Geneva. My favorite plaza had all of these small lights in the cobblestone with words in various languages printed on them, it was really cool (see picture =]). We then enjoyed our first hostel that included a towel! In the last couple of hostels, we were using a tshirt we brought as a towel, in order to be even more cost efficient...supermarket dinners, tshirt towels, and money to buy delicious chocolate! We obviously had our priorities straight :) The next day we unsuccessfully searched for the d'eau fountain, which we are CONVINCED we saw shooting up out of Lake Geneva the day before, but APPARENTLY the fountain is closed from November through March...oh well! I then stopped at the post office and met a wonderful women who was patient and enjoyed my feeble attempts at French and communicating with her, and sent my family almost a pound of Swiss chocolate (your welcome Mike!). Then we were off to the airport to fly to Budapest, Hungary!
We left Geneva in cloudy, rainy weather, and were very bummed that we would not be able to see the Swiss Alps when we flew! Twice we had hoped to see them while flying around, and twice we had been unsuccessful. I settled into my window seat for what I thought would be a 1.5 hour nap. Well, completely abruptly, I was waken up- and not by anyone around me- I just kind of jolted. I looked out my window and saw- THE ALPS! And not just the Alps with dark clouds around, we saw the Alps with sun shining down and bright blue skies all around. It was definitely the best part of my day. I felt like I had been given the greatest gift, a wonderful surprise, to see those AMAZING mountains, so big, so majestic. It was a nice gift from God, a simple yet beautiful way to experience love :)
We arrived in Budapest kind of late, well really just dark, so checked in to our WONDERFUL hostel, Hostel Maverick, which was incredible! We had our own room, a big window facing the busy street, our own bathroom, TOWELS, and even a tv that we didnt know how to use haha. The hostel offered free coffee and tea 24/7, and had a great common room and kitchen, and Levi was super helpful with suggesting food places, the Bali Cafe=total winner. Anyways, jumping ahead of myself. We had another supermarket run, and food was even cheaper than Geneva- our exchange rate stunk because we exchanged at the airport, but basically our food for 4 meals was under 5 euros...woo! We spent the first night planning our busy next day and got to bed kind of early...We were up bright and early Wednesday and literally walked the entire city! I've heard Budapest is one of the most beautiful places, and now I can attest to this. Every building is so "photogenic" (picturesque, but photogenic is a more fun word!) We went to St. Stephen's Basilica, Parliament, Margaret Island, Fisherman's Bastion (my favorite), St. Matthias Church, the Chain Bridge, a Cave Chapel, The Buda Castle, and the Central Market...phew! I will save you the agony of describing how beautiful everything was, but the pictures are breathtaking (like the Alps!) and I am so glad I got to see this beautiful city. We grabbed a late lunch in the Central Market, and being the frugal money-savers we are, found an entire HALF OF A CHICKEN grilled, for 690 Forints, which is Hungarian money, and basically works out to be less than 3 Euros for the crappy exchange rate we had in the airport...woo! It was incredibly delicious too :) For dinner, Michelle and I went to the Bali Cafe, which is actually a Hungarian restaurant (name is deceiving!). We had DELICIOUS Hungarian food, onion soup, golash, chicken with paprika, and my absolute favorite thing I have had so far on this European whirlwind (yes, equal or even better than the Swiss chocolate!), HOT WINE. The way to make it (because I will be having this on a regular basis, it really is so tasty!): Take red wine, and bring it to a simmer on a stove. Add some sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Put in a glass and stick a slice of an orange in there too. and Ta-Da! you have a heavenly drink. I legitimately could not stop raving about it, ask poor Michelle haha.
Today we allowed ourselves to sleep in, our first long sleep almost all trip! We slept until 1030am and then checked out for the airport. It was a wonderful, solid and uninterrupted night of sleep :) At the airport we met an awesome guy on our flight, James, who's from South Carolina, and has been to Paris before. He gave us some great tips for seeing Paris, and we were able to sit together on the plane and talk some more. All of the people we've been continuing to meet have been awesome. A great friend of mine suggested that as I travel to Denmark and throughout Europe, that I keep a gratitude journal and each night write down some things that I am grateful for that happened. Well, it has been such a great reflective thing to do each day and has helped me amidst tiredness and busyness to be reminded of all the little miracles and beautiful gifts I receive each day, things that could go unnoticed if I didn't stop to commit them to memory for recording later in the evening. As I flip back through this gratitude journal so far, it is filled mostly with gratitude for all of the "strangers" I've met along the way. All of the people who just happen to be at a certain spot as Michelle and I stop there with confused looks on our faces, and they just happen to reach out to us and lend a hand. Even tonight, walking to our hostel in Paris, we stopped at a street corner, a little confused as to which way to turn, and a gentle man turns and asks if we are looking for a specific hostel, and if so, its the big building just over there. People are just really amazing.
One last thing Ill share before heading to bed- we have a longgg and exciting day in Paris tomorrow (or today since it's nearly 2...oh joy! waking up in 4.5 hours =])- there have been a lot of people begging on the streets of each city we've been to. I've had a pretty big inner debate about how to react...giving money is not usually the best method, buying food is often good, but still, what can I actually do, especially being in these cities for a day or maybe 2. There isn't even time to find a soup kitchen to help out at. I guess in all of my reflection so far, in my journals and what I've shared here, this has been a pretty me-focused experience. I've talked about my feelings, interpretations, excitement, and adventures. Sure, I've been really affected by people, especially being in a vulnerable place of not knowing how to get places or how to speak the language, but I realize it's been a pretty selfish endeavor, and I don't really think that's all there is- I think I can get more out of my time in Europe by being much more outwardly focused. I haven't really figured out how I will do this on my short visits to each city, but I feel pretty convicted about one thing- I will not be buying myself any new articles of clothing in this 6 months of travel, from now until I return from Nicaragua in May. Maybe that doesn't sound like a difficult thing, but I am guilty of liking clothes a little too much, and it is a way I have enjoyed spending a little extra money here and there. I figure, saving the money I would spend on clothing will give me extra money to do more helpful things as I travel. Perhaps buy someone a meal, or maybe it means being able to visit another city and meet more people to be changed by. Maybe that's still selfish? I'm not sure, but either way, through prayer and reflection, God has shown me that my materialism can change, and that there is many beautiful and unforeseen things that await my growth. So yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how this realization will affect my semester, even my daily life.
Alrighty, before I go, one more short story! In the Central Market in Budapest, there are lots of vendors, selling crafts and souvenir type gifts. While walking through the stands, I saw a woman sewing a table cloth so intricately. When I stopped to ask her about it, she told me that she makes all of the table cloths, and began showing me such beautiful pieces of fabric with detailed designs throughout. She told me how this is a trade in her family- her grandmother, mother, and daughter all sew these cloths. I just thought it was really beautiful to see a tradition like that, a livelihood and a way for a family to spend time together and make a living all combined. I know we have a lot of incredible freedoms and opportunities in the United States that are worth so much and often taken for granted, but I think the idea of tradition and family unity that this woman told me about are sometimes lost amidst striving for success and wealth. I don't know, I was just really touched by this woman, and I wanted to share her story. Sorry for not doing it as eloquently as it deserved to be done! Anyways, I'm off to bed :)
**Internet is being slow, will update with pictures later :) check my shutterfly link: http://adventureisworthwhileinitself.shutterfly.com/ the site/pictures arent fully organized yet, but I'm working on it!! (there are full albums for each city at least, just no captions/site organization =])
