Venitian Goodbyes

Well I’m on the bus to Klagenfurt. It’s such a relief to be in this seat, I thought I’d never make it! This morning was a little rough, saying bye to my mom. It was so wonderful being with her and Caroline this week!  I think I realize just how much she loves me. She flew all the way to Austria to spend a week with me! She brought me all my clothes and shoes I need for the summer, along with other requests like Crystal Light and peanut butter. She left me her deodorant and her toothpaste. She would give me the shirt off her back if I needed it (or wanted it, for that matter, because I’m sure it would be a stylin’ shirt). I’m such a lucky girl. We got up at 3:45, and left for the boat dock at 4:30 to catch their 4:50 boat. We lugged the suitcases through the dark alleyways while it was raining. I cried when I had to say bye. It was the perfect movie set for a sad goodbye- her and Caroline getting on the boat, and me standing on the dock, crying, in the rain, as the boat takes off. I walked back to our hotel room, but couldn’t sleep. I cried for a while more, had a little pity party I guess. Should have had balloons and a cake and some streamers because the pity party definitely lasted a little while. I laid down for a while, and then went to get some breakfast. That wasn’t good either, sitting alone I wasn’t very hungry. But we’ve been gorging on the hotels’ free breakfasts, and I promised Mom and Caroline I’d eat enough for the three of us. I came back upstairs, and found my mom’s cheater glasses that she left, and got sad again. I’m definitely a little homesick. But being with my mom this week really made me realize how much I love her. She is one of the most selfless people I know, and would do anything in the world for me. I hope that some day I have enough money that I can treat her to a second mother daughter trip. Can’t promise that we’ll stay in resorts like Lake Garda, but I would love to be able to do that some day. We had so much fun all week, just laughing and going with the flow and seeing where life takes us. Mom and Caroline are both spontaneous, and that makes traveling so fun. I seriously hope that I’m as cool as they are when I’m fifty!

Our first night in Venice, we went to a nice dinner and explored the city a little bit. Then, yesterday was our full day. We ate our usual amazing breakfast, and then ventured out. The weather was nice for most of the day. We did some serious shopping, trying to find the perfect souvenirs for all of our friends and family at the best prices. It’s so touristy, you have to be careful when you shop. They can really get ya! But we bought some beautiful scarves, glass beads and necklaces, postcards, Venitian masks, a hat, and some t-shirts and Italia jackets. Quite the shopping day!  We went into a cathedral, which was beautiful. The highlight, of course, was the gondola ride! Our gondola driver was a pretty cute guy, lived in Venice his whole life. He would use the oar, and sometimes push off the buildings with his foot, to take us through the canals. Caroline got the best picture of him doing the foot thing. We shared our boat with a couple from Germany, so it worked out pretty well since we could split the cost.  We did a little more shopping in the main square. We walked into a store with a lot of different glass. Up on the wall, my eyes went straight to this amazing clock. It was glass, with a tree and a sun and all differenet colors, and it had a swinging pendulum. I wanted it so bad, but it was 49 Euro’s, so it was immediately off limits. Caroline said she was buying some little piece of glass for her sister, and Mom and I walked outside. I had no idea what was going on, but Caroline was actually buying me the clock!  Soon after, we went back to our hotel, and Caroline told me she had something for me from St Louis. I was so confused, but I opened the little package. Inside, there were two more things wrapped up: the clock and the pendulum!!!  I couldn’t believe it!  Her and Mom were really sneaky, I had no idea!  I seriously love this clock, and will think of her and of our trip whenever I see it up on my wall. It’s gonna look so good when I hang it up!  I can’t wait. A little later, we went to a really nice dinner, which we called The Last Supper. It was delicious, but very sad. I’m sure going to miss the way we’ve been eating all week. It’s definitely going to be a tough transition for me back to my way of life as a student. No more fancy pancy hotels, no more towel warmers, no more maids, no more free breakfast buffets, no more robes and slippers. Back to Graz, where I don’t have a room.  Shizaa. But what an amazing week it has been.

So back to this morning- I checked out of the hotel and took the boat to the train station. I thought I had plenty of time, got to the train station about 45 minutes early. I lug my suitcase up the stairs and try to figure out where to go. But then I realized I’m not taking a train, I’m taking a bus. Uh oh. So I asked information where the bus station is, because my ticket said “Venizia San Lucia,” which is where I was. I couldn’t be too far away, right? She told me to go outside and turn right. So I did, thinking it would be easy to spot when I got outside. I clunk, clunk, clunk the suitcase down the stairs, and follow a group of people. I walked for a while but there was no bus station in sight- just boats and tourists and masks and scarves and glass. Then I started getting nervous. So I went back to the train station, to get clearer directions. I asked a different guy this time. He looked at my ticket, and told me there was no way I was going to make my bus. It left in 20 minutes, and the bus station was about 40 minutes away. He told me that the bus stops at another station after San Lucia, which is Venezia Mestre. The train goes there too, and the train is faster. So I could take a train and try to beat the bus there, then get on at the next stop. Crap.  So off I go, and get onto a train toward Milan. I didn’t have a train ticket, and the conductor wouldn’t let me on, understandably. I was trying to explain to him my dilemma, and how the other guy told me I could go, but he hardly spoke English, and the train was closing its doors to leave. I started crying, and he let me on. Step one- get on the train… check! I got off at Mestre like I was supposed to, and flashbacks started hitting me left and right of my time alone there at 2 am waiting for my train to Vienna, freezing cold, with the creepy guys begging me for money. But I go straight to information, and ask them where to go for the bus. The lady sends me across the street. So I find a bus and ask the bus driver, but he doesn’t speak English. I show him my ticket, and he points to a blue bus down the street. I go there, and there is no driver. So I go to the bus next to it, and ask him, and he sends me back to the first guy. So I go back, and he points the other way. So off I go, frantically trying to figure it out. It was 11:37, and the bus was supposed to leave Mestre at 11:40. So now I’m in panic mode, and tears are building up behind my eyes a little bit. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?! I ask another guy, and he points back to the blue bus with no driver. I’m freakin out. I ask some people on the street, but they don’t even try to answer me. So rude. Then, on the opposite side of the street, I see an OBB bus pull up. I’m pretty far away, but I recognize the logo, so I start running to it. Cars are coming, but I jet across the street anyway. No time to wait for a crosswalk- sorry Charlie. I’m pulling my huge suitcase and running on the street toward the bus. The driver closes the door to pull away, but I run up to it and flag him down. Finally, the right bus, just in the knick of time.  I get on the bus, sweaty, hair blown in the wind and stringy, and out of breath, but I make it on. Wowie zowie. Now I have to get to Klagenfurt, then change buses to make it back to Graz. Here we gooooo!

Lake Garda, Italy

We made it to our wonderful hotel at Lake Garda after quite the journey to get here. We took a train from Innsbruck to Verona, then another train from Verona toward Milan, but got off at Desanzano, which is the closest train station to our Garde Riviera, where our hotel is. Then, we met some gypsies (story to come), before taking a bus for an hour to the stop nearest our hotel. Whew! But when we walked into our hotel, we realized how worth it the voyage was!  Our hotel is an amazing resort, right on the water, with a view of the lake and mountains behind it right from our balcony. They upgraded us to a suite, and gave us free robes and slippers. It’s the best of the best! I seriously feel like a princess, and can’t wait to put that robe on tonight!  You bet your bippy I’m wearing those slippers all night long too.

Anyway, here’s the story of the gypsies. So we get off the train in Desanzano, just like we’re supposed to. And we have four huge honkin’ suitcases, that we struggle to lug off the train. We hold up the line as we clank clank them down, but we make it. We start to go down the stairs to exit the train station, and these two women come up to us and offer to help us carry our bags down the stairs. I don’t think a thing of it- how sweet of them! I have a huge smile on my face, as she helps me carry my bag on down. We get to the bottom, and they turn on us, and start begging for money. Shizaa.  They’re relentlessly pestering us, and we don’t know what to do. So we scrap together a one-euro coin, and a few other small coins, and hand them to them, and try to leave. But they follow us, and ask for more. They keep yelling at us and begging in Italian, saying that we didn’t give them enough money. We tell them to stop, and walk away. But they follow us out!  We go out of the train station, and start looking for the bus to figure out that whole deal. But the two women keep following us, and insisting that we give them more money!  They keep saying that we gave one of them one euro, and we owe the other one a euro.  We kept telling them to go away, but they wouldn’t. So my mom goes and gets security, and the guy tells them something in Italian. But they don’t leave!  We were on guard with our suitcases, to make sure nothing would happen. They’re sure sneaky! The security guard came over and helped us, and told us to watch our bags very carefully.  We kept everything, and were fine, but definitely learned our lesson with the “sweet ladies who just want to help us carry our bags.” No cigar. 

Anyway, we got dressed up and went to dinner last night looking rather stunning if I do say so myself.  We thought we’d go to a nice dinner, and were walking along the promenade of the lake looking for somewhere to eat. We couldn’t decide and it was getting kind of late, so we just went in somewhere. It turned out to be a little bit of a dud. They brought us a plate of little fishies that still had scales on their backs, with bread and olive oil. I felt bad that none of us could even touch the fish, so I moved them around a little bit to make it look like we at least tried them. We ended up splitting a pizza, which was fine. But they say the pizza in Italy is supposed to be so delicious- I have to say I prefer good old Imo’s in St. Louis, but that’s just me.

This morning I went for a run along the lake, and explored the area as always. I saw the botanical gardens and the public library. The library was a beautiful building, with pillars in the front that were carved into angels. The roof of the building sat on the heads of the angels. Those angels’ neck muscles must be getting a little tight! I’m thinking they’re gonna need a nice massage whenever that library gets torn down. It’s such a beautiful building though. I think if our public library had angel pillars I might just do a little more reading!  Anyway, I finish my run and make it back to our resort, and I see the outdoor swimming pool. It’s a little chilly out, but I decide to feel the water anyway. When I realized that water was heated, there was no stopping me from going for a little dippity doo!  I wasn’t sure how to go about it, because I didn’t have a swimsuit. I was going to swim in my sports bra and undies, but I didn’t want all the people eating breakfast next door to watch me take off my clothes and know that it wasn’t a real swimsuit. So I grabbed a towel, went inside to the bathroom so it would seem like I was changing clothes, and then went back out. I was wearing a hot pink Nike sports bra and some navy Victoria’s Secret undies, and I swam like there was no tomorrow!  A few laps of free, a few laps on my back, thought about trying the butterfly but decided not to, a few hand stands, and I was a happy camper.

After gorging ourselves on the hotel’s gourmet breakfast buffet and then checking out, we took a ferry across the lake to Desanzano, where the train station is. The boat ride was awesome. You could see the mountains all around the lake, and there were multiple islands within the waters. One of the islands had a castle built into it, and it looked like a castle out of a coloring book page. Definitely could have been the setting for our girl Rapunzel!

Mom and I went into the little basement area of the ferry to use the bathroom. We waited for quite a while, as someone else was in there. We wait and wait, as she’s doing who knows what in there. Then, finally, the culprit comes out, about 20 pounds lighter than when she’d gone in. Mom heads in next, and within about 30 seconds she sprints out, trips on the stair getting out, and takes a huge breath. “That lady gave birth to a rat or something!” she told me. I about died in laughter at all her little comments. We noticed when she came out, she didn’t really hide her face or anything. She must have just been thinking, “I’m never gonna see those Americans again, I think I’ll just let them enjoy the fumes.” I was up next. Good thing I did swim team when I was eleven, I managed to finish my business without having to take a breath. Gotta thank Coach Diana and the Cool Dell swim team for that! 

Now we’re on the train, and we’re about 15 minutes from Venice. A few minutes ago, Mom and Caroline went to the snack car of the train to buy some drinks. I think they wanted to get a Mimosa. Apparently, they walked through an automatic door that closed pretty quickly after it opened. So Caroline went on through, and Mom was following right behind her. But the door closes, and squeezed Mom right in there!  From three cars forward, I hear her little scream. I know the sound of my mom’s voice, and I knew it was her. So I was anxious for them to come back and tell me the story of the scream. Caroline heard it too, and turned around to see Mom stuck in the door. Now I’m going to give Mom a few interview questions to get the whole story. Here’s what she gives us:  “It all happened so fast. But I’m going on through, just trying to get my Mimosa. And the door just closes on my and squeezes me in. I gave a little yelp and Caroline turned around and saw me, and her eyes were as big as saucers when she saw that I was smashed in there.  My arm’s definitely gonna have a little bruise on there, but I made it out- I sure did.  Caroline could hardly take it, she was laughing so hard. Down she went, straight to the floor!  Sitting Indian Style right there in the aisle of the train, laughing as hard as ever…”  Pretty dang funny.

Innsbruck, Austria

Well we’re back on the train, after two days in Innsbruck.  I’m having a wonderful time with my mom and Caroline on the train. The ride is absolutely gorgeous! We’re going through the Alps, looking at the white mountain peaks! We saw a few mountain goats galloping through the hills and I about died. Amazing.  Innsbruck is a beautiful mountain town.  Monday, we went to a castle that a royal family used to live in, and explored all the rooms and the gardens. The weather was cold and rainy, didn’t score too much on that. But ya get what ya get and that’s all there is to it. We decided we weren’t going to let the weather ruin our trip, so off to the castle we trekked. We went to a lovely dinner at the Piano Bar, and ate the most delicious potatoes of our lives. I meant to ask for the secret ingredient that made those potatoes so dang good, but I chickened out. For dessert, we split “icepalachinkin,” which is a plate of crepes filled with ice cream, topped with chocolate and whipped cream. My tongue was dancing like there’s no tomorrow!  This morning, we got up early to catch the train.  So here we are, just crossed the border into Italia! 

April 15, 2012- Vienna, Austria

Well, it’s been an amazing past few days!  Right now, I’m sitting on the train from Vienna to Innsbruck with my mom and Caroline! They arrived Friday evening. The anticipation had been building for so long to hug my mom!  Wednesday morning, I flew from Thessaloniki, Greece to Bergamo, Italy. I spent a few hours in Bergamo with Madison, who had to wait there 28 hours for her flight to Ireland. We played quite a few games of War, Go Fish, and Egyptian Rat Race, trying to pass the time. After a while, I decided to go for a run, and had Madison watch my backpack. I went in the bathroom for a quicky quick wardrobe change, and went outside to run. It was cold, and right when I walked outside it started to rain. Shizaa. I started off, trying to find a place to run, but the airport was on the highway. I found a small bike path that ran parallel to the runway. There was a barbed wire fence between the path and the runway, and the bike path took about six minutes to run before it ended. So back and forth I went, rain pouring down on me, planes taking off right next to me, the wind from the plane almost knocking me down, and people walking to the airport with all their luggage and umbrellas, watching me run back and forth like a nut. It was pretty great! I wish I had a list of all the crazy places I’ve run! Maybe I’ll start keeping one…

Anyway, then I said bye to Madison, and was riding solo to make it to Vienna. I took a bus from Bergamo to Milan, and had to waste 9 more hours in Milan before my train left from Milan to Venice. I went to McDonald’s and ordered a pistachio McFlurry so I would have a place to sit and get out of the train station. I didn’t have anything with me except clothes, one pair of shoes, and my Bible.  So I read. A lot. It was wonderful to spend some time just reading God’s Word. It’s so easy to get caught up with traveling and seeing everything and neglecting time with God. But having hours upon hours by myself with nothing with me but my Bible was truly a gift to me. The time was truly refueling. I took the train from Milan to Venice, and almost missed my stop at a station on the outskirts of Venice because I kept falling asleep! But I made it, and got off at Venizia Mestra, like I was supposed to. Then I had to switch from an Italian train to an Austrian train. I arrived a little before midnight, but had to wait til almost 2am for my next train to leave. So I’m sitting outside in this tiny station for two hours, freezing cold, sitting on the ground with my backpack in my lap. I turned into survival mode because I was so cold. I put pretty much all the clothes that I had with me on, and sat with my knees to my chest and my hood tied around my head! I’m sure I looked hilarious, kind of wish I had a picture. But eventually the time passed, and I got on the train from Venice to Vienna. It was about an eight hour ride, and we arrived around 9:30 am. I tried to sleep some on the train, but it was a little difficult. The seat across from me was empty, so I made a little plan. I took my laptop inside my backpack, and sat it straight up. Then I laid across the seats, balancing on my laptop, but the “bed” was pretty arched, looking like a “U” and I didn’t get much sleep, to say the least. But sure enough, I made it there. My amazing friends Stina and Carmen were waiting for me at the train station. I went back to Carmen’s apartment and stayed there for the night. The next day, we explored Vienna a little bit and hung out for a while, and then took the train to the airport to go meet my mom!  We were waiting in the airport, holding up a sign that said “MOM & CAROLINE.” I freaked out a little when I finally saw them walk up! I gave my mom the biggest hug ever, and she started to cry. It was awesome!  My mom has a very distinct smell. Her clothes smell like it too. I k now it sounds kind of strange, but I loved smelling that same familiar mom smell when I gave her the biggest hug ever! 

Friday night, we checked into our hotel, and went to a great Italian dinner. Saturday we got up early, and ate breakfast at the hotel. Most delicious breakfast spread ever! I seriously feel like I’m living in a palace compared to those hostels I’ve been staying in. Taking a hot shower and having a towel to dry off with isn’t something I’m taking for granted anymore! It was wonderful. After breakfast, we took off to explore Vienna. We saw St. Stephen’s cathedral, then another beautiful church, then made our way to the Spanish riding school and saw the horses, then went to the Parliament, where we met up with Carmen and Stina again. There was a festival going on nearby, so we walked over and hung out there for a while. We got some drinks and watched traditional Austrian dance and live music. It was great! After that, we took a subway to the summer palace of the emperor. We saw where the royal family used to live, with the servant’s quarters and beautiful garden and the whole deal!  Mom and Caroline went on a tour inside the palace, and learned about some of the history there, and loved it. We were a little tired after that, and decided to head back toward the hotel to get something to eat. We sat outside under heated umbrellas and got some drinks and appetizers at a cute little pub, then went back to the hotel to get some warmer clothes and chill for a while. Later on, we ventured back out and went to another Italian restaurant. I have to say, we’ve been doing our fair share of eating for sure!

This morning, the Vienna City marathon was taking place. I wanted to run in it, but didn’t sign up in time, and couldn’t get a runner’s number. But as my mom would say, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” So I got up and ran in the area anyway, and pretended like I was one of the runners. People were cheering for me and encouraging me in German, and I loved every minute of it. The environment of a race like that is so cool, with all the streets closed off and 36,000 runners. I got a little lost, of course. I knew I was in the wrong place when I found myself in Prater, where the famous huge ferris wheel is. I remembered the people at our hotel telling us to take a tram there if we wanted to go, so that was a bad sign. But I asked people to point me in the direction as I inched my way back toward our neck of the woods, and I found my way back like I always somehow manage to do. We ate the hotel’s delicious breakfast again, and checked out of our hotel. I sniped almost the whole bowl of delicious fruity candies that were on the check out counter, of course. I mean, you shouldn’t fill the bowl to the brim if you don’t want your guests to fill up their pockets, right? Seems logical to me. We hit up the train station surprisingly smoothly, and are on our way to Innsbruck! Caroline is sitting behind my mom and I, and she is having the most hilarious conversation with the precious old lady sitting next to her. The Austrian old lady doesn’t speak English, and Caroline doesn’t speak German, but somehow they’re still talking to each other and smiling from ear to ear. It’s pretty cute. We’re getting further and further into the Alps, and the mountains are absolutely amazing! The train that we’re on goes to Salzburg, then to Innsbruck, then into Switzerland.  It’s a beautiful ride! Huge mountains- here we come!

The Caveman at Mount Olympus

 Mount Olympus National Park

 Feeling on top of the world...

 (The cave on the right is where the caveman lives!)

Well yesterday was quite the adventure, as always. We woke up early, and headed to the Thessaloniki train station to buy tickets to the town outside Mount Olympus, called Litochora. It was difficult to figure out the train schedule because everything is written in Greek! But we made it to LItochora, and asked someone how to get to Mount Olympus. He said it was about 15 km away, and that we’d need to call a taxi. We didn’t know how much it would be, but we’d made it that far, so we caved and called a taxi to take us the last leg of the journey. The taxi driver dropped us off, and off we went! We followed signs and wandered a while, and then found our way to Olympia National Park. We followed the paths through beautiful mountains, overlooking ravines. We passed a waterfall, and climbed up on mounds of rocks. It was so beautiful! And to think, that we were climbing the mountain where the Greek gods were thought to live. It was pretty neat. We made it to the end of the path; it ended and you couldn’t cross the waterfall. We still wanted to hike more, so we went to the smaller trail that went more up the mountain to explore for a little while. It was very quiet. We’d only seen a few other hikers the whole day. As we were walking, Madison made a comment that no one knew we were there, and no one expected us back. That’s never good, just for emergency purposes. So we sent a quick text to a friend, telling her that we were at Mount Olympus, just in case we never came back. We felt better after that, so we went deeper into the mountain.  The trails winded through the forest, and up the mountain we went. Over the river and through the woods, to the top of the mountain we go! A while later, we were climbing, and we saw this man up in the forest, off the path. He started talking to us, and asked us where we were going in a thick Greek accent. He looked a little bit dirty and grimy, and was probably about 40 or 45. We told him we were just walking, and that we hoped he had a great day! I think all of us thought he seemed a little strange. But we continued on our way, up, up, up.  Twenty minutes later or so, we came to a ledge with tons of rocks and a magnificent view. We decided to climb the rocks and take some pictures. So we’re hanging out, taking pictures and sitting around, enjoying the beautiful view. On the other side of the rocks, we see a cave. We talked about going inside the caves and exploring a little bit, but we weren’t sure if we wanted to or not. Then, we see the man coming over toward us. All of us got a kind of weird vibe from him, so we started climbing down from the rocks back onto the main path. He came over and started talking to us again. He told us that he’d been living in the caves of the mountain for ten summers now! A REAL LIVE CAVEMAN, LIVING IN MOUNT OLYMPUS!!! We felt kind of cornered by him, and wanted to get on our way, but he kept talking to us. He was talking about traveling, and wanting to go to Brazil. At one point, he used the word “we” when talking about visiting Brazil, and we all really just wanted to get on our way! So we ended the convo and said we had to go, and kept walking up the mountain. We walked for a while, letting the fact that we’d just met a caveman kind of sink in a little bit. We hadn’t seen any other hikers for a long time, and we started to get a little bit scared of Caveman. We hoped he wasn’t somehow following us or something. As we climbed further and further into the forest, I started to get a little anxious. You know when you can feel the nervousness in your stomach, and you can feel your heart beating inside you? That’s how I was getting. So we stopped, to decide whether to keep hiking or turn around. We came to the conclusion that if Caveman were following us, it probably wasn’t a good idea to keep trapping ourselves further and further in the forest. So we made a quick game plan. We all picked up rocks and carried them with us. And if we saw him again or anything happened, we’d be good to go- rocks already in our hands! Hahaa… but seriously we carried rocks. We started walking pretty quickly, and anxiety was building inside me. I was praying so hard as we climbed down! We passed Caveman like 15 minutes later, but nothing happened. On we went. When we got to the main path again, we weren’t so afraid, and eventually we returned to the town at the base of the mountain. We were fine, and finally had time to regroup and collect our thoughts a little bit. Yep, we climbed Mount Olympus, met a caveman, hiked alone deep into the forest, were followed by the caveman, planned to attack him with rocks if he tried to do anything to us, but made it down.  What a hike! 

We walked back to town, and ate gyros at a little local café. They were cheap and delicious- good meal. Then, we took a taxi back to the train station, and figured out the train back to Thessaloniki. When we made it back to our neck of the woods, we went to “our café” as we’ve been calling it. Our first day in Greece, we ate at this little café, and they gave us free cookies for some reason. So nice! So of course, we went back the next day. They remembered us, and gave us free dessert once again. We couldn’t believe it, free dessert two days in a row! So that night, we thought we would go and say thank you, and buy our own desserts. But when we got up to the cashier, they knew us as their American girls, and wouldn’t let us pay! The cashier told us that the worker had told her that we were very good customers and that we were her friends, and to give us free dessert! So that was our third free dessert. Crazy. After our Mount Olympus adventures, we went back to our café to see our friends there. We were going to buy only desserts. But when we got up to the front, a new worker told us that they were free! So we didn’t even buy anything, they just gave us chocolate croissants and berry pastries. Free dessert for the 4^th time in a row! We absolutely couldn’t believe it! So we wrote them a nice long thank you note, and left them a good tip in Euro’s plus some American change.  We asked them for the address of the café, so we can send them a postcard from Graz. It was sad saying bye to them! They were the nicest people; we had no idea why they liked us and why they continually gave us free desserts, but we formed a bond with the workers there and I was sad to hug them goodbye! We stopped by one last time on our way to the airport this morning to buy a breakfast pastry. Our favorite place!

Now, Madison and I are on the plane from Greece to Italy. We fly into Birgamo together, and then we’ll split. She’s going to Ireland, and I’m going to Austria to meet my mom. So I’m taking a bus from Birgamo to Milan, then an Italian train from Milan to Venice that gets in at midnight tonight. Then, I’ll switch to an Austrian train that leaves for Vienna at 1:30 am, and should arrive in Vienna at 7:15 am, where I’ll meet Stina and Carmen. I’ll spend the night at Carmen’s apartment, and Mom and Caroline will spend the night in London. Then, Friday night, I will wait at the airport for them to arrive!  I am BEYOND EXCITED to see my mom!  It will be so great! We will spend two nights in Vienna, one night in Innsbruck, two nights in Lake Garda, Italy, and then the last two nights in Venice. It will be so nice to stay in hotels rather than sketchy hostels! In some of the rooms at Hostel Arabas, the ceilings were so low you couldn’t even stand up straight! The comforter smelled like dirty socks. The owner of the hostel was blaring the songs “But then I got high” and “Show me your genitals” with us all sitting in the room. We didn’t feel comfortable leaving our things in the room during the day because we couldn’t lock the door. The shower was freezing cold, a sink type thing with a hose, and I had to air dry because I didn’t bring my own towel. It makes sense that it’s 12 Euros per night to stay there. Let’s just say I’m unbelievably stoked to be with my mom and to stay in nicer places! It’s gonna be great. Alrighty, that’s all for now!

-Lyndsey and the Caveman

Living as a Thessalonian

So, I’m on Day Three in Thessaloniki, Greece.  I have come to the conclusion that, while I’m here, I am a Thessalonian. I read through both of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians in the Bible, and have made some notes on the way that he calls the people to live, in order to be pushed further toward Christ.

1 Thessalonians:

-their work is produced by faith

-their labor is prompted by love

-their endurance is inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ

-they are chosen by God

-the Gospel came to them with the power of the Holy Spirit

-they became imitators of the Lord and welcomed Paul, Silas, and Timothy with joy

-they became a model for all believers in Macedonia and Achaia

-their faith in God was known everywhere

-they had become so dear to Paul, Silas, and Timothy that they were delighted to share their lives with the Thessalonian people

-when Paul had to remain in Athens, he sent Timothy to them in order to strengthen and encourage their faith

-Paul prayed that God would make their love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as his did for them

-they loved all the brothers throughout Macedonia, yet were urged to do so more and more

Paul commanded them to:

            -warn those who are idle

            -encourage the timid

            -help the weak

            -be patient with everyone

            -never pay back wrong for wrong

            -try to be kind to each other and to everyone else

            -be joyful always

            -pray continually

            -give thanks in all circumstances

            -do not put out the Spirit’s fire

            -hold onto the good

            -avoid every kind of evil

           

2 Thessalonians:

-their faith was growing more and more

-their love for each other was increasing

-they were enduring persecutions and trials but still had faith

-God is just: He will pay back trouble for those who trouble you, and give relief to you who are troubled

-Paul commands them to stand firm and hold to the teachings he gave them and to never tire of doing what is right

In the same way, God is calling us to those higher standards! We, as believers, can be encouraged and strengthened by Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians.

It is so crazy to be here, where Paul walked and visited and preached the Gospel and longed to be. I look out onto the Aegean Sea, and think of him coming here on a ship, with his mind focused on Christ and his heart desiring to make Christ known. I imagine the believers in Thessaloniki receiving the letters of encouragement from Paul, written in his own hand, and reading them aloud in order to strengthen the faith of the group. I imagine a community of believers in the area, filled with power of the Holy Spirit, committed to following Jesus. In the same way, I want to be known as a believer who is passionate about following Christ, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! Everyone who has been made new in Christ, has received a “heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 26:36), been made into a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), received salvation, become a Christian, whatever term you want to use… anyone who has the Holy Spirit living inside them- we receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on us (Acts 1:8)! The same power that conquered the grave, that brought Jesus to life, lives inside us! My prayer for my brothers and sisters in Christ, today, is just what Paul prayed for the believers living in Thessaloniki: 

2 Thess 3:5 “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

Thessaloniki, Greece

Well, where should I start?  Oh, Greece… definitely different than I expected. I think I had this image of Greece being like the scenes in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and there would be a donkey waiting at the airport to pick me up and take me to my luxury hostel that costs only 12 Euros per night. Well, it was a little different.

We got off the plane, exhausted after not sleeping all night at the Milan airport. We thought we had to get our passports stamped, but there was nowhere to do it. So we are wandering around looking for customs and asking people if they speak English and where we should go to get our passports checked. We do that for a while, and eventually come to the conclusion that we’re good to go. Hope we can get out of the country on Wednesday! Then, we try to figure out which bus we need to get on to go toward the city center. Everything is written in Greek symbols, and we have no idea what to do. We’re literally wandering around, but we eventually find the bus line that Rachel had written down. We get on the bus, and can’t figure out how to pay, because the ticket machine is out of order. So we just don’t pay, and stand near the door at the front of the bus, hoping no one checks for tickets. It worked out- free ride! Eventually we get off at a random stop, and just start walking toward this huge castle thing that we see in the distance.

We were all hungry, and hadn’t really eaten since lunch the day before. So we stop in at this cute little café that had pretty cheap food and free wi-fi. I got a spinach salad with cranberries and feta cheese, and it was so delicious! My body has been craving vegetables because all we eat is cheap food off the streets. Then, we were sitting outside eating our food, when one of the workers came out and handed us three cookies! “From us to you,” she said with a smile. Sometimes the little things make the biggest difference. I counted the free cookie as my Easter basket. (Yes I realize it’s a little different, whatever I loved it).

After we finished eating, and were in good spirits from the free cookies, it’s time to start the search for our hostel. We snipe a map from a tour bus company, and try to find the street that our hostel is on. We walk for forever and a half, and are in a not-so-nice part of town. The homes are extremely run down. Some of the doors were made of blankets tied to the top of the door frame, and the roofs were patched together. There were cats everywhere. On we went. We passed this creepy dude and decided not to ask him for help. But we were getting desperate.

Then we passed this couple making out on their porch.  We debated it, but then decided to go ahead and interrupt their make out session to ask for help. The guy hardly speaks English, so we play our usual game of charades, trying to figure out the name of the street we are on and trying to ask if he knows where “Hostel Arabas” is. We weren’t getting very far, so Rachel showed him the piece of paper with the info on it. It had a phone number, so he called it. He was speaking Greek, so we had no idea what he was saying. When he got off the phone, he told us to follow him. Then, he put on a blue shiny helmet, and he and his girlfriend got on his motorcycle! So they’re riding, and we’re running/walking behind them with our backpacks bouncing on our backs as we try to keep up. They wait for us at the street corners, and we feel like the baby ducklings running in line behind this motorcycle. Up and down hills we go, turning around a few times, and hoping that he is taking us to the right place! Eventually, we see a spray paint on the wall that says “Hostel Arabas” with an arrow pointing left. Sweet sign! We follow it, and sure enough we make it to our super sketchy hostel! We walk into this run down building, and meet Ike. He shows us to our room, which we were sharing with some Italian dude.

We were all exhausted, so we decided to take a short little nap… psych! We wake up a few hours later, and the afternoon is gone. Madison and Rachel were still sleeping, but I see that our hostel has a stove. So I rationalize that it would be a good idea to walk alone to try to find a market and buy some pasta, and make it for the three of us. Plan is going well so far, and I buy cheap noodles and some tomato sauce and make it back to the hostel without getting lost. (Yes, be proud). I get back inside, and go to turn on the stove, when Ike tells me that it costs 2 Euros to cook food there, and 3,20 to clean up. So if I want to make the pasta, it will be 5,20! That’s more than I paid for the meal! I was so mad. Seriously, you’re gonna charge me 3,20 to clean my own pot? Fine then, I’ll leave the pot dirty! So I tried to explain to Ike that all I needed was to boil the noodles with water, and that I wouldn’t even put the sauce into the pot. I boiled the water in the broiler rather than on the stove, and sneakily cooked the noodles. He saw me doing it, but I hardly used anything and put everything back exactly where I found it. I never paid him, so I hope he doesn’t charge me! The pasta wasn’t very good, but it was food, and the three of us finished it. I talked to a few people back home on the internet, and started to get a little homesick. It was Easter Sunday, and I didn’t go to church or eat a chocolate bunny. I was stuck in a sketchy hostel that I didn’t really feel safe in, and I was in a country where I couldn’t understand anyone, read the language, or be understood. But I spent some intimate time with God, and read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. No matter where you are, or what you’re doing, His resurrection is worth celebrating!  Jesus defeated death, and His death brings me life!

We woke up today, and realized that it was almost noon! We were so mad that we’d slept so late, but I guess our bodies just needed it. It was cold and rainy out, and we were a little discouraged. We were going to go to some archaeological site, but it was too confusing to try to figure out the bus system to get there, and it was too late in the day. So we just went to explore Thesaloniki. We tried to find a new place to eat, and searched for about an hour without finding anything. We ended up going back to the same café we went to yesterday, and they gave us free dessert again! We couldn’t believe it! Today, they brought us two chocolate pastries and two raspberry pastries. Delicious! Their friendliness meant so much to us! The lady recognized us, and we talked a little bit. So nice!

Then, the three of us split up. Rachel wanted to walk around and explore “Old Town.” Madison needed to use the internet to download some things for a class. And I wanted to go for a run, since I hadn’t ran for two days. So we went to Starbucks, and I left my stuff with Madison, and went in the bathroom to change into shorts and running shoes. I thought I’d locked the door, and thought it was a good idea to change out by the sink rather than inside a stall. Of course, someone walks in when I don’t have any pants on, and I run into a stall holding my shorts in my hands and leaving my jeans and shoes on the floor out by the sinks. Embarrassing!  Shizaaa.

I went for a 10 mile run along the Aegean Sea, and it was beautiful! I passed through many fishing docks and rows of boats, and ran around a giant peninsula. I went about 5 miles along the sea, and then about 5 miles back. It felt so good!

Then, we sat in Starbucks for a while to use the internet. I wanted a chai tea latte, and went to buy one until I saw that they were 4 Euros, which is $5.20. I couldn’t bring myself to spend that on a drink, especially when my debit card won’t work at the ATM’s and I only have 18 Euro’s left. So I went back to my seat. Then, a few minutes later, Madison come around the corner and had bought me one! She handed it to me with a smile on her face, and it was the most delicious latte ever! It was seriously so nice of her. Then, I skyped with Mary, Amalie, and Michele for a little while. The internet connection was pretty horrible, and I could only understand what they were saying about half the time. I would try to make out the gist of what they were saying and kind of guess about the rest. Nevertheless, seeing their faces made me so happy! I am definitely a little homesick. As much as I love backpacking through Europe, I miss the comforts of my luxuries back home and I miss my friends and family. I miss feeling safe, and not having to sleep with my wallet next to my head. I miss being able to leave my computer at home when I leave the house and not worry about it being stolen. I miss being able to understand what people are saying around me, and being able to communicate with ease. I miss not being afraid of drinking the tap water. I miss knowing how to flush to toilets. I miss clean clothes and having more than two t-shirts with me. I miss having hot water to shower with, and a towel to dry off with. Taking a freezing cold shower and having to air dry/ use a tiny rag isn’t the most enjoyable time. But at the same time, all of these things are teaching me to live simply, and giving me a tiny glimpse of a different kind of lifestyle!

On the way home, we stopped at our favorite café again, and were going to buy the desserts this time. But when we went up to the check out line, the workers knew us, and gave us free desserts a third time! We couldn’t believe it! The person checking us out said that her worker told her that we are good customers and we are her friends, so to treat us! She made me this delicious sweet cream pastry with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and gave me a free chocolate pastry as well. They’re the best. So we left them a thank you note, with a tip of one of each Euro coin, and the only American money we had with us: a dime and a nickel. We’ll be back there tomorrow! It’s the best!

Now, we’re back at our hostel, and I’m about to hit the hay. We set our alarms for tomorrow morning, so we can get up and out the door early to see Mount Olympus. It’s about an hour away, but should be pretty cool if we can figure out the buses to get there! I’m excited! Ok, that’s all for now. Good night from Greece!