Bork Bork Bork!

WE'VE BEEN TO STOCKHOLM!

Hey hey! I spent the last few days exploring the far north. My sister was a missionary in Italy about 15 years ago. A woman that she taught married a man from Norway about a year ago and they planned to be sealed in the Stockholm Temple (for more info www.lds.org/church/temples/why-we-build-temples?lang=eng) this week, so I accompanied my sister and year-old niece on this expedition to territory previously unknown to any of us. This is what we found.

After we attended a local LDS church service, we did some touring of the cathedrals in the city. So tall.

Stockholm is a city of islands, bridges and lots of bike lanes.

I'm not sure where this goes, but it's pretty!

Mooring here must cost a pretty penny.

One of the islands is basically all museums and gardens. This is the Nordic Museum. We didn't go in, but I'm sold on Vikings just from seeing the outside.

And who wouldn't be delighted to see a statue of Orpheus just hanging out in the fall leaves? Lots of great statues all over town.

We did go to "one of the world's foremost tourist attractions!" The Vasa Museum is...wow. The Vasa is a naval ship that was built in the 1600s - the biggest, the best, sort of a Titanic kinda deal - and on the maiden voyage she capsized and sank when a bit of wind blew her over. She was a bit top-heavy. Anyway, the ship was under water in the harbor for 333 years before being raised, rinsed and restored (although it's 85-90% original). Then they built a museum around the ship in the drained dry dock. AMAZING! Have a read. www.vasamuseet.se

The Stern.

Back out into the city, with not much time to explore....

For how ornate the rest of the city is, you'd think the Stockholm Palace would be....a little more gaudy.  But it's quite beautiful.

Me. Palace. Crown. Too bad we didn't get the guard in the picture - his bayonet looked threatening.

To the left is the some of the palace. We just thought this was great square with a great view down into the harbor.

Sarah's a little in awe (or terror) of the Gamla Stan (Old Town),  a little island that contained all of Stockholm back in the day. Stockholm was founded in 1252. So, it's like 600 years older than Portland.

Lovely Synagogue right in the midst of downtown. :)

All the lovely rooftops come to a point.

Little cutie. The Temple's Guesthouse has a little playground. This horse is like the  traditional highly decorated Swedish horses...which I can't tell you anything about.....cuz I don't know.

Stockholm Temple...kinda the reason for the trip.

New friends! Elisabetta and Hans-Petter (right) were just sealed. Han-Petter's parents, the Jacobsens, traveled with them from Norway. Wonderful people!

And now for a couple Sweden Musts. I was only slightly bummed that our rental car was not a Volvo, BUT it was a wagon, as were 90% of the other vehicles on the road. We ate Swedish Meatballs and Swedish Fish. And we bought a tube of Bacon Cheese - it's incredible. If we weren't so busy, we may have done some furniture shopping...

Who goes to Sweden without visiting IKEA?! Us, actually, cuz we ran out of time.

This was a marvel of Scandinavian efficiency, if I've ever seen one. It's our hotel room. The panel on the right is a fold-down bed. At the head of the other bed is a flat screen TV. Around that corner is an armchair. The bathrooms in the house in Germany are bigger than this entire room. We were living in a closet! But the most comfortable, chic closet I've ever lived in.

Sure it rained and you may have to mortgage your house to buy lunch, but all things considered, I'm thoroughly impressed with what we were able to see of Stockholm and wouldn't take much convincing to go back again anytime. Just the layout of the city is so intriguing. Everyone speaks great English. The population is incredibly cosmopolitan. Everything is absolutely beautiful - my jaw hit the floor every few minutes. Bad bad writing. I just want to make this available to you, so you'll want to go to Stockholm too! It's been a pleasure!

P.S. I killed a pigeon. Darn thing saw me coming....just didn't get out of the way. And probably 100 people were on the sidewalk to witness this. But the thud of the tire and the shocked faces of two girls probably my age was enough to make me feel a little sheepish.

Devils, Romans, Belgian-men...

Do you guys really wanna...read...I mean, wouldn't you rather LOOK AT PICTURES?!?!

Well, just so you're not so confused, last weekend we went for a lovely hike at nearby Tüfelsschlucht (Devil's Canyon), which could have passed easily for a Lord of the Rings set. Beautiful, mystical, full of hikers!

100% real TOADSTOOL....next to a mein Begleiter.

Die Wanderer!.....or The Hikers...!

Descending into the depths of Tüfelsschlucht

Giant pencils! This place is magic!

Trier is the oldest city in Europe - we're talking Assyrian Empire.....remember, Assyria conquered Israel in 722 BC.....yeah, it's an old city....but with all the charm and traffic of modern Europe. In order to enter the plaza, we walk under THIS:

The Portra Nigra - Big ol' gate remaining from the city's wall.

Here, I'll use my 5'6"self for you to see what big blocks Romans built with.

So we walk through the gate and end up here:

Can you see the golden arches?

....where we buy or currywurst and brotchen 

...And tour the Basilika, which is the largest existing Roman-built room (it's not terribly pretty on the outside)

Walk outside and there's the Kurfürstliches Palais (Electoral Palace). Yep, it's pink.

Inside the Cathedral of St. Peter and the Church of Our Lady, where the Seamless Robe of Jesus is housed. I didn't get to see it - I think it comes out of the vault every nine years or so.

And the outside...

Somewhere in Belgium...

We started off with some shopping in a huge department store, everything in French. Hop in the car. 40 minutes later we're at a park called Bokrijk....which is Dutch...ya know. Well, anyway, I've never been to a cooler park in all my life, happily lacking in all the safety features and whistle-blowing playground monitor killjoys more prevalent in the States.

I went down the taller one....twice!

Cute niece, Lauren, diggin'.

I think I hit like 30 mph going down this one.

Sarah and Lauren in a basket swing.

Man, this was cool. A big rope web. A little trepidation.

I hoped to put a couple videos in this post, but until I make peace with my computer and the internet simultaneously, you'll just have to wait. Sorry.

And for those who wonder, the observation is going fine. It's just like physical therapy at home, only everyone wears camo and speaks in nothing but acronyms.

Mein Begleiter

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's this: Travelling by oneself is the pits. It's always better to have a Begleiter (companion), especially one who's familiar with the culture and can help you blend in.

Here's mine! A little German! Outside the Delta Terminal at JFK, which is in need of serious repair.
 

She's gonna help me learn the language.

Found her favorite drink!

Visiting Malberg, which is something like a mile from where we live, in an even smaller town.:) We toured the church and on the way out we saw an honest-to-goodness-living-in-Germany Dachshund, the stuff of legends!

I'm 52 hours with almost no sleep, but I just wanted to say that the Frankfurt Airport (Flughafen Frankfurt Main) smells like SUPER high end fast food. It's delightful....and way too big. And I think 90% of the passengers on my flight from New York to Frankfurt were German and most of the guys looked like they could be my brothers - such beautiful people....(teehee).
Also the United States is holding all the heat these days - it's nice and Oregonie here.
Sarah greeted me at Spangdahlem with Lauren (4) and Camilla (1) and takin' care of business on the base we went to Kyllburg, which is all of 2 blocks from Orsfeld (where we reside...in the country:)), to shop at the German store, where you're greeted by all the most delectable chocolate treats imaginable the moment you walk in the door. At some point I'll explain all the quirky details of ADLs, German-style. For now, I'm going to sleep in the bed I've been dreaming (day-dreaming) of for far too long! Guten nacht!

Here we are, jumping-off point!

It's 2:30 in the AM. I have to be at the airport in 3 hours. Nothing would be better than sleep right now, but at the urging and assurance of a friend, that I'll value this post, I'm writing how I feel in anticipation of the 3 months to follow.

Germany is something of a small miracle - it's actually the result of a grad school rejection letter. Last fall I applied for the Army's Physical Therapy program, only to be turned down. My resolve to be accepted at all costs (excepting murder, etc.) got me looking for ways to REALLY stand out as an applicant. 'Go foreign, go military,' I thought (okay, it wasn't QUITE as simple as that, but I want to hold your interest, so if you want more details, email me.). And after a while I realized maybe I could go to the Air Force base in Germany, where my sister's husband is working, and shadow the therapist there.....The plan morphed a lot, from 3 weeks to 3 months, changing to accommodate realities and holding strong, even when fluke upsets may have destroyed it. Everything's fallen into place beautifully and my chariot awaits, as it were.

Even as I write about the last several months of planning and praying that this would all work, I can't believe it's really happening tomorrow. Reminds me of that time I planned and prepped 10 long months for my study abroad in Jerusalem, and then was shocked one day to realize I was actually there. There's a little trepidation that comes with the first day of the rest of one's life upon them, especially if it's gonna be drastically different. Am I really ready to step away from my situation - the circumstances I've been openly ready to leave since I arrived 2 years ago (don't get me wrong - love Portland, just don't love feeling limited)? Am I going to make as much of this experience as I've been assuming I will? The time for preparation is literally over and I hope I'm ready to take on the journey and the opportunities ahead.

The other day I was talking to a friend and had the beautiful realization that this opportunity feels just as heaven-sent as did Jerusalem. The same assurances whirl around all my thoughts of going to Germany, and as surely as I felt I was supposed to go to Israel, I know I am supposed to go now and have this experience. I don't know exactly why, minus the obvious reason for the trip. But the Lord is a marvelous multi-tasker and I can only imagine that something phenomenal will come out of living with my wonderful sister's wonderful family, trying to learn German, eating currywurst, and visiting Disney Princess castles. It may not be realized in the next three months, but I'll keep my eyes open for it until it comes.

A request: I've never been to Germany, or Europe at all, for that matter, so if you can think of anything I'd really be worse off for not experiencing, PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT IT! Time is limited and money will run out someday, but I'm not a great planner of excursions to new places and I'd hate to miss something life-changing simply because I didn't know it existed.

So, I'll just say, I'm thrilled to be embarking on this adventure. I hope I'm equal to it. I've been waiting a LONG time for this and...it's time. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of my hopes, dreams, plans, needs, and ukulele-playing. Y'all are great!