europe: krakow edition

here's the next part of our adventure. first of all, we're safely in krakow, poland. we're staying at a hostel where we accidentally booked only tomorrow night instead of tonight, because we were off a day in our dates. oops. fortunately they had space available and we are able to stay here despite our confused traveling dates.

some of you already know, but we got another surprise this morning. yesterday when elizabeth's purse was stolen, i had immediately gone through my stuff to check if anything of mine had been lost. i had thought i found the envelope with half of my money in it (i had my money split up in two places, this was one of them), and thought i was only missing my camera. but this morning i realized my money was gone as well. so the guy made off with both of our money and both our cameras, along with elizabeth's passport, credit cards, ipod, etc. anyway, that was a bit of a shock. at that point we were ready to call our trip off and come home, but we got on the train to poland as planned, just taking one thing at a time.

while on the train, we were both stressing out, of course...trying to figure out what in the world to do. both of us are planners and worriers, so we decided to write numbers/dates/etc. out and see what we could figure out. we ended up coming up with a budget (made up of other half of my money which we still have). we figured out that we can do the next 17 days through to paris, using our 15 day eurrail passes, with a budget of 45 euros a day (for both of us). it seems very doable. we were just looking at some exchange rates online, and it looks like we might have even more than that if the euro/won/dollar exchange rate is as good as google says it is (which seems to differ when we go to money exchange places, ha).

when i got online tonight, i literally had dozens of emails from family/friends/people i don't even know from all over europe offering to help us in any way they could. it's amazing and overwhelming. so no matter what happens, God is here and somehow we're seeing Him more now that our plans are not going according to schedule. funny how that happens.

oh, good news!! we got up at 6:30 this morning and were at the US embassy by 8:30 to get lizzie an emergency passport. everything was fine (excpet we had to go get new passport photos since the ones we had done were .2 cm. too small, ha). so elizabeth has a passport and we could leave prague! yay!

for now, we're in krakow tonight and tomorrow and then we'll take a night train (cutting down on lodging costs!) to vienna on the 17th. then we'll see from there.

more updates to come as they happen....thank you all so much for your prayers and offers to help, etc. you are amazing and we've been blessed.

the europe chronicles -prague 3, poorer and wiser

so, as you've heard, we had a bit of a mishap here in prague this morning with elizabeth's purse (with passport, 1000 euros, credit cards, camera, ipod, etc.) being stolen. we spent the day going to police stations, getting sent to other police stations, finding the US embassy only to find it closed, hanging out in a police station waiting room for hours along with everyone else who got mugged in prague today. it was a bit of a damper day, compared to what we were planning on doing -exploring the jewish quarter. but plans change. at this point, we're planning on going on with the trip, we'll just have half the budget we planned on. so we'll see how that goes. our biggest worries are paris and london and the rest of england where it will be more expensive for lodging. other than that, we'll cut out more expensive tours and live on oatmeal and spaghetti. ha. thank you for your prayers! lots of reminders that we are not the ones in control...and life goes on without pictures of prague (both our cameras were stolen and we hadn't downloaded the pics off them yet).

the europe chronicles -prague 2, mishap

elizabeth's purse was just stolen out of our hostel room. a guy came in late last night (after we were asleep) and slept in the bunk down from us. he was still asleep this morning. elizabeth and i and the other girls staying here were in and out of the room this morning, while he continued to sleep. then we went across the hall to the kitchen to eat breakfast, came back a couple minutes later and he was gone and her purse was gone. we searched the room and it's not anywhere. i went down to the street to check just in case, but didn't see anything. we talked to the lady in the office and she has no record of anyone checking in last night or leaving this morning. she told us where the police station and us embassy are, and we're going to go make a report, but i doubt there's much they can do. i have a copy of elizabeth's passport, but that's all. please pray for us..jayne (who is online) just got ahold of elizabeth's dad and he's going to cancel her credit cards, etc. there was over 1000 euros in lizzie's purse, all our money for until we got to england. i have quite a bit of won, but all her money is gone. we were planning on going to krakow tomorrow, but we'll see how things work out.

the europe chronicles -prague 1

i should know how to say "hello" in czech by now, but i'm not that good. i'll listen more closely tomorrow. so we're here in prague. today we slept in (didn't go to sleep till late last night since we had slept on the train coming from berlin). we ate oatmeal and granola bars for breakfast and then set out, maps in hand, for old town square. it wasn't far from our hostel, which was really nice. all of prague that i've seen so far is beautiful -but the old part of town is gorgeous with all its ornate buildings and cobblestone streets. we saw the astronomical clock and tyn church (which was closed today, so we'll have to go tomorrow), we walked through the old square market, and took picture after picture. we walked across the charles bridge and up steep, narrow streets to prague castle. we got there about an hour and a half before they closed, so we just did the short tour of the castle. we went through vitis cathedral (from the 1300's, where st. wenceslas is buried) and st. george's basilica, and walked down golden lane (where all the goldsmiths who worked for the king were at), and went in a tortue tower (ahhhh!). we probably could have spent a bit more time with our audio guides, but we felt good about it. it's FREEZING here!!! that's not understated at all. elizabeth and i wore lots of layers and wrapped our scarfs around our faces and wore big hats and gloves and it was still the coldest we've ever been. but we were outside all day, so that doesn't make things easier. we walked quickly and tried to stay distracted by the sights. we got back to our hostel about 5:30, made tea to help us thaw out, laid down to rest for a minute, and then ended up sleeping for nearly 3 hours. guess we were tired. we went out at about 8 and found stuff for spaghetti at a nearby mini-market...made dinner...planned out some budgeting stuff...and now we're about ready for bed. i'm so thankful for a place to sleep where it's nice and warm! this hostel is perfect for what we need -all the basics, a kitchen, and cheap!

the europe chronicles -berlin

guess where we went last night!! jayne told us she had a surprise for us and didn't tell us what it was until we were standing across the street -she took us to see the nutcracker ballet at the state opera house here in berlin!! it was amazing. i kept thinking katie and carrie would be so jealous. the opera house was gorgeous and they did the entire ballet, of course...probably nearly 3 hours. the story was a little different though -began with a flaskback to marie (clara) being kidnapped during the revolution. then she is adopted and during the rest of the play she is the kind of "shunned" sister. anyway, i'll have to look up the story and actually read it in english. jayne translated the german from the program.

today we walked all over...mostly east berlin. we went to the reichstag building (old parlamont), and then we were really cold from walking around, so we went to starbucks and hung out for a good little while and got all warmed up. that was like perfect. then we braced ourselves and went back out and jayne took us to a bunch of cool places. we went to the holocaust memorial which is about the size of a block and covered with grave shaped stones of all different heights. (we very inappropriately decided it would be the perfect place to play hide and seek). then we walked through "the topography of terror" which is the longest preserved portion of the berlin wall. very cool to actually see. then we walked around through beautiful squares (platzes) and eventually came to "checkpoint charlie" which is where the allies made set up camp. (my information is probably not all there, and i don't have time to really elaborate, so give me) lots of grace =)).

now we're back at the hostel in the warm and we're thinking about eating, i think. the hostel is super nice and we have a 4 bed room in which we are the only three, as of now. last night i got to sleep on a super high bunk bed. that was exciting. i'm quickly using my precious internet time, so i'm going to get off and save some for later.

but we're here and it's wonderful. jayne will be with us until sunday, then we'll be on our own. kind of scary. but it will be a grand adventure, i'm sure.

elizabeth, jayne and i went to the jewish museum in berlin today, and all i can say is you need to go. i can't give any justice to a description of the museum -what it looked like -all i can do is try and tell you how it felt. the museum is housed in a grey squarish building with jagged slits placed randomly on all sides. my first impression was a building that had been cut apart, mangled, burned, left for dead -then later found, piece by piece, and put back together. the parts belong, but they don't fit the way they should. the sight is eerie and uneasy, appropriately.

you walk in on the first floor and are instantly struck with the feeling that things aren't right -and they aren't. the floors are sloped, the walls are dead white, the hallways jag out at uneven points, and there is nothing giving order to the way you should go. there are three hallways -the axle of exile and the axle of continuity run parallel and then the axle of the holocaust cuts through them with no regard for either. it was disorienting, confusing, uncomfortable, scary, and anything but numb. i kept looking behind me and searching for elizabeth and jayne because i felt like i was lost and i needed constant reassurance that i was not alone.

the only things on the white walls are black windows telling stories of men, women, and children affected by the holocaust. parents who sent their children to countries ahead of them, planning to join them soon, only to be arrested before they could leave germany. husbands and fathers taken before they could help their families to safety. postcards from mothers in concentration camps assuring their children not to worry -things are not as bad as they seem. letters urging friends and family to "keep your chin up," "God is near."

at one end of the axle of the holocaust is the holocaust tower. it's a huge stone cave type tower with only a slash in the top that lets in the tiniest bit of light. the first time i walked in the huge metal door, i turned around and walked right back out. there was no one else in the room, and i was literally blasted with the darkness, the cold, the vast emptiness and yet almost solid mass of despair. i couldn't do it. and victims of the holocaust couldn't either -but they had no choice. it's something no one should ever experience -it's the epitome of loneliness and the opposite of how humans are made to thrive. i went in again later with jayne and elizabeth, but still couldn't handle it for more than a few seconds. it was so real.

when leaving the first floor, the stairs stretch on and on and continue into the wall at the top. leading nowhere. the next floors documented jewish history from day one to the present, it was beautifully done, well arranged, and full of information, but the first floor is what makes it real. i can't describe it, -i felt so helpless and small. and yet it made me more resolved to live in a way that demonstrates the immense respect and love i believe each person deserves and is created to experience.

the world is not right. it's not right at all. i'm reminded of this daily -when i see a homeless person on the street or a parent screaming at an obstinate child on the subway. sometimes i wonder if it's good to be so aware -if a passive optimism isn't just as effective or even better than a deep sorrow at what i see behind pasted smiles. at this point, i can't go back, so i have no choice. but what i do have is a hope that dives down deeper each time i see joy behind tears.

a few resolutions for the new year:

-do something scary/uncomfortable everyday
-say "i love you" more
-hug more
-floss
-write/talk to God everyday
-read at least one "literary classic" per month
-learn one piano piece a month
-study a language -either french or german
-study for and take the GRE
-write a "real" letter once a week

that's enough, i think. even if i don't carry them out to a tee, it's more a matter of being aware of where i'm coming from and where i'm going. here's to 2009!!