In pictures...

Coming into St. Peter after 18km hike!

Freiburg crowd at a children's acrobatics performance

Lipstick ladies taking on Baden-Baden

Morning street in Taize

Symbolic. The promise.

Post-vaca

Greetings.  

I am back in Finland after 2.5 weeks of vacation in Germany and France.  The journey contained just enough elements of surprise and adventure to satisfy this lady.  It was so refreshing to be away, to think new thoughts, see new places and have meaningful encounters.  I think I will be mulling over and integrating things into daily life for a while yet.  They may or may not end up in these posts.

I went to a massive conference in Nuremberg, Germany, where 25,000 people from around Europe joined together to ask God for awakening on this continent.  Then I had a week with my best friend Essy in Schwarzwald, hiking, talking, taking in the local atmospheres.  When we split ways, I went south to France, where after unforeseen twists, I spent five days at a monastery/community called Taize before rounding off the trip with a day in Nice with some wonderful Italians.

Discoveries:

Freiburg is a wonderful city, "the sunniest corner of Germany," they say.  Do visit it if you have the chance.  They have water canals by the street where you can dangle your weary feet.  

The Camino reaches all the way to Germany!  As we hiked through the Black Forest, the seashell signs of the Way showed up for part of the trek! :)  

Blablacar--carpooling or ridesharing around Europe.  This is how I got around frequently and saved tons of money.  What a great concept.  You find a ride to the destination you want, sign up, show up, and get to your destination with interesting people.  In my case, a chance to brush up on some French...

I was initiated into the wonderful world of couchsurfing in Steinbach, Germany, where we stayed with a lovely family.  There is something so heartwarming about hospitality and people who welcome strangers.

It is possible to feel at home in a spiritual community whose traditions are not the same as yours. God uses people of other backgrounds and countries to speak to us, encourage us and open us to more of Him.  He truly does lead us when we ask him to, in all details.

Traveling alone is overrated.  Give me the company of a dear friend over solitary explorations of new cities any day!

I am happy to be back, even though it seems that summer temperatures never reached Finland. :) May my ordinary everyday life be fertile ground for the seeds planted and watered on this past holiday journey.

Freiburg Hostel

I stood waiting to pay 50 cents for coffee grounds at the counter of the hostel this morning.  The lady was explaining to two Spanish tourists about which trains to take to get them to their desired lake. 

The man had a stuffed elf securely fitted under his backpack straps.

"What is his name?" I asked in Spanish.

"It cannot be pronounced with human words," he responded.  The stuffed elf just hung there and smiled. "He is a bit shy.  But look, the bottom of his feet are black." 

I'm not sure what you can say to that, but I wished them a good journey.

Essy and I are also headed out in a few minutes.   We are going to spend the day in the forest.  Yesterday we enjoyed city touring, as Freiburg is a gorgeous place, full of life, history, beautiful buildings, students and outdoors stores.  Dangerous places, those stores.

Our conference in Nuremberg ended on Sunday, and we left for Triberg the next day.  Traveling by train is one of the most enjoyable forms of getting from a to b, as you can peer out the windows and watch the scenery change.  The lush forests and rolling hills/mountains around here are delightful.  Suddenly, in a tiny valley, you see red tiled rooftops and cleanly kept homes, and once again you wonder how it is that people have picked such small corners of the world to reside in.

It is also no wonder that the brothers Grimm set their fairytales here.  The imagination can easily be inspired in dark turns and magical encounters in such a forest.