Goodbye! But, It't Not the End!

The morning awoke on our last minutes together for three weeks.  After the brief goodbye hugs, they watched me bike down the avenue.  Right now, they are in the air soaring over the Atlantic in a friendly metal beast.

As my family wings across the fathoms of water, Jackson and I have just come from German school.  I relied on Johannes as my life-line to keep me on the surface of reason.  Thankfully, he had a "relaxing" day.  We only had three periods of school today and only two teachers.  One of my favorite parts of school is the way we reach it.  On bikes!  OK, I know, but I would love it if I could bike to school (ha ha), to the store, to church, to the park, to soccer practice, to a friends house, do you get the picture?  My goal is to know how to pedal to school the school in Bonn without help.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures, but taking pictures in a classroom can quickly become akward.  Besides, my paparazzi are on a plane.  So, goodbye Mom and Dad, I love you, but I'm not finished in Europe!

Our Final Day in Köln

We traveled into Bonn for church with the Gundlachs, and began the rest of our day with lunch at “Delphi”, a Greek restaurant.  We then grabbed the train to Köln.  Our first stop was the cathedral in Cologne (Kölner Dom).  Yes, we have visited plenty of cathedrals, but each one is different and amazing in its own way.  The cathedral in Cologne was more impressive that the famous Notre Dame in my opinion.  It was certainly taller.  In that event, part of our group conquered the 533 steps of one of the almost 160 meter tall spires.  Many places in Cologne, street performers rule the streets.  So, after being distracted by many performances, we arrived at the water playground, where we relaxed in the shade while the youngin’s played in the water.  Because of the great deal of tromping our troop had already done, we grabbed some “Eis”, toured the old part of Cologne, and caught the train back home, where we are having mini-concerts.  Our final day had been well spent in the city of Köln.

In front of  Köln Dom

HUGE!!!

We were...

…up there!!!!

This is really cool if you look closely

I playing lifeguard

Home from our last day of full family vacation.

Bonn

Bonn. The birthplace of Beethoven.  The education of Marx.  The home of the Gundlachs.  For our first full day with the Gundlachs, Ellie gave use a tour of Bonn.  We began with a visit to the statue of Beethoven in the town center.  Then, we proceeded into the Cathedral in Bonn.  Built in the 11 century, it was the spot where two Roman soldiers were martyred for their Christian belief.  After exploring the cathedral and grabbing some Currywurt for lunch, we hopped on the Moby Dick and cruised down the River Rhine.  When our river boat adventure concluded, we chugged up a mountain to dragon tooth rock on a cogwheel train.  Our tour of the the top gave us a beautiful view of the city of Bonn and we could even pick our the city of Köln.  We hiked down the mountain and split up to head home, half using the train and the other half, the available car.  We were exhausted from our day in Bonn, but it had been a good one.

The statue of Beethoven in the town center 

The cathedral in Bonn

Something about pillars that invited family photos...

At Beethovens house

A bookstore that used to be a movie theater = really comfortable seats to read in!

Our tour guide up the Rhine River, Moby Dick

Bonn is behind us to the left 

On top of Dragon's Rock

WWI Trenches and Worms

We visited the Normandy beaches earlier on the trip and we ended our time with Grandma and Grandpa with an excursion to some WWI trenches.  The French had dug in at Hartmannswillerkopf so they could keep an eye on the Germans.  At this point, Alsace, a region that changes back between French and Germany, was in German hands.  The Germans had the same ida and dug in on the French border (the French side of Alsace).  It turned into a battle in which 30,000 men died.  War is so pointless.  

"Beneath the crosses, row on row"

This was one of the few parts of the French trenches left

The German trenches, on the other hand were much better built

The memorial 

Still here?

Today, we arrived at the Gundlach's house after a slight detour to the town of Worms, where Martin Lurher took his stand against the Catholic church.  Many people think he took his stand on the words, "Here I stand.  I can do no other."  But, he actually stated, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."*  Befuddled as to whether this was really the place we sought, Mom noticed two men speaking English.  As her knowledge of the French language would not suffice when trying to communicate in German, she found relief in the fact that the pair of men were from Wales.  It turned out, also, that they had been reading the Bible when Mom discovered our similarity.  During our talk, we discovered that they were praying for a change in Worms.  They prayed that the people of Worms would realize the message of Luther for its truth.  After praying with them, we parted ways, us to our lunch, them to continue their prayer-walk through Europe.  Finally, we rolled into Bonn and were guided by a running Ben to the home of the Gundlachs.  Now, after our brief excursion to the Rhine River, we are settling down to wind down our trip.

The cathedral in Worms

After all that time, Karis has a sister again!

*Learn more about Luther at <http://www.luther.de/en/worms.html>

Gruyère and Vogelpark

Drive.  Drive.  Drive.  Yesterday was a day of travel.  We started home but detoured to Gruyère, the home of Gruyère cheese.  There we toured the cheese factory.  They have huge copper vats for stirring the milk and separating the curds and whey.  Each 35 kg round of cheese uses 400 liters of milk. Therefore, each copper vat can make 12 rounds of cheese daily, as they hold 4800 liters of milk.  With four vats they can start forty-eight 35 kg rounds daily.  The numbers really add up, especially when you go back to the cow.  A cow needs 180 kg of grass daily and 85 liters of water.  The cow can then give 25 liters of milk a day.  The cheese factory has a morning and an evening milk delivery.  They mix the evening milk, after it is stirred at a curtain temperature, with the morning milk.  Then, they begin the day's cheese making.  Two thirds of the cheese produced is consumed in Switzerland.  The other 1/3 is exported to the US and EU.  The cheese-makers of Gruyère have been using the same recipe for their cheese since 1655.  Every year, 5.7 million liters of milk are made into Gruyère cheese.  To age this cheese, they have a cheese maturing cellar that can hold 7000 rounds of cheese.  That's over 540,000 pounds of cheese!  But, before it can enter the maturing cellar, they are soaked in brine to allow them to develop a crust.  After many days in the cellar, the cheese is ready.  Scientists have discovered over 75 different flavors in one round of cheese.  So, next time you are at your local supermarket, pick up some Gruyère cheese and tell me how many flavors your fine palate can taste.

Now, back to the present.  Have you ever heard of a "Vogelpark"?  It is, literally a "bird-park".  Today, we trotted over to the local "bird-park" (Vogelpark Steinen).  There, we first watched a bird show.  It is incredible to watch falcons dive, storks strut, and condors awkwardly flap onto the falconer's glove.  After the bird show, we rushed over to the place where they keep the monkeys.  (Yes, very good, it is a "bird-park" but there are more than just birds there, though that is the theme.)  Entering the sprawling cage, we disturbed swaggering peacocks.  The monkeys would scamper around, take popcorn, grapes, and treats out of our hand, and depending on the monkey, either cling to us or scamper to the next person.  The older monkeys were bullies, biting and pushing the smaller monkeys.  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the vast playground in the back of the park.


I had better sign off so I can enjoy the Gruyère fondue Grandma is serving tonight!

My beautiful sister was chosen to be his "apprentice falconer"

The Great Horned Owl

The symbol of America

The stubborn Snowy Owl: Flocke

One big, awkward bird

My favorite bird of prey: the Peregrin Falcon

Karis working a double shift

Food?  You have food?

What happened to you?!  (That was how they all were)

Ladies...

Part of the playground: It just kept spinning, and quite fast!

Glistening Glaciers

Again, we visited a glacier today.  We decided to try to hike to one again so we could actually touch a glacier.  The mountain thwarted our attempt.  Apparently, glaciers in Alps are receding at the moment.  To reach our objective, it would have required technical climbing (ice pick, careeners, rope, ect. - you get the picture).  Bummer, because we leave this enchanting area tomorrow.  Fortunately, there was a brisk river at the end of our hike that became our playground.  We dunked our heads in the water (BRRR!), climbed on rocks, and generally acted like kids.

Lunch at the trail head in Peuty. 

There's the glacier, the glacier du Trient, in between the two peaks.

This water came from the glacier in the distance.

Literally, hanging out on this boulder in the river.

Yea, that's cold!

Jax and I chillin' by the glacier :)

Proof that we got this far.

Dad has decreed that by the next vacation, he must be out of the "carry me!" stage.

Yes, with a town of 20-30 houses, they can paint their church pink.

The valley floor is completely flat and suddenly, there's a mountain!

Our adventures in Switzerland have ended with a visit to a blue, glistening glacier.

L'Abri and a Salt Mine

Have you ever heard of an apologist named Francis Schaeffer?  In the 50's, he founded a community titled "L'Abri", French for "The Shelter", where students wrestle with questions involving all of life, which has spread into other countries including the US.  Through his books, he has influenced many and is best known for his "How Then Shall We Live" video/book series.  So, today, we went to church at the original L'Abri in Huémoz, Switzerland.  They broke down John 1:1-18.

Following lunch, we decided to tour a salt mine.  After a 15-minute intro video (in French), we crammed into a cramped electric train and clanked a mile into the Salt Mines of Bex where we were over 400 m below ground.  Stooping under low ceilings, we explored the history of salt mining.  Salt, at one point, had more value than gold.  They used to just hammer and chisel away at the rock, progressing vewy, vewy swowly.  Now they can drill down at 10-15 meters a day.  When they find a salt vein, they shove a tube that spouts high-pressure water and saturates the salt, transforming the salt into brine.  Then, through holes above the main, water emitting hole, they draw up the brine.  They then evaporate the water and harvest the salt.  The salt mines are always at 17˚ C, but if it were not for dehydrated gypsum, the temperature would be a chilling 12˚ C.  The dehydrated gypsum sucks water out of the air, which has 80% humidity, but emits heat, bringing the temperature up to 17˚ C.

The view over the chapel at L'Abri

Family pic with a beautiful view!

Proof that we've been to L'Abri

Cramped train car and 19% oxygen

Except that it would be pounds and pounds of salt.

At the end of the rails

Today, we learned about being the salt of the earth and then we visited the salt in the earth!

(If you want to learn more about Francis Schaeffer and L'Abri, here is their website - <http://www.labri.org>)

At the end of the rails.

More Landscapes and More Culture… and More Fun!

When planning our trip this morning, we intended to visit the highest dam in the world (highest in elevation).  The Grand Dixence is the dam at the highest elevation in the world.  Its base is an astounding 200 meters (>650 ft.) thick and they used a whopping 6 million cubic meters (>210 million cubic feet) of concrete in its construction.  Shockingly, the dam contains 400 million cubic meters of water.  That’s over 14 trillion cubic feet of water!  The snow on the trail stymied us, however, and we found that the trail did not open until June.  Finding an open tourism office, we decided, based on what they told us, to drive up to Thyon and  experience the elevated view of the dam.  When we arrived, we found a playground and a stunning view of the Alps, including Mt. Blanc and the Matterhorn, but no view of the dam.  We even hiked half-way up the snowy slope and couldn't catch a glimpse.  After we munched our lunch on the side of the mountain, we coasted down to the valley to explore a castle on a knoll.  It possessed a wonderful panoramic view of the valley.  We encountered a student from my grandparent's (and therefore my mom's) hometown.  After many photo ops, we climbed down to the cathedral on the adjoining knoll.  All of our bodies were screaming to drive home, so our cathedral tour was brief.  We silently creeped into the main cathedral and wondered at the intricate art on the walls.  It intrigued me to note that although there was a crucifix in the center of the cathedral, the front of the cathedral housed a statue of Mary.

We could see the dam from the road!  Its colossal!

See the dam in between the mountains?

The view from Thyon (notice we can't see the dam!)

Mt. Blanc on the right and the Matterhorn on the left.

He insisted "that I drive"!

Imagine looking through this gate when all the houses were little thatched roofed structures under a green mountain-side.

My attempt at a 360˚ panorama turned out in two parts.

The inside of the catholic cathedral at the top of the adjoining knoll

Throughout this Saturday, we have experienced more handsome landscapes and more European history and culture, as we playfully amuse ourselves at a random playground on a mountain!