Airport fun

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I read a news story today about a homeless man in Michigan who found $21,000 in savings bonds. The man was searching for bottles to return and came across the bonds in a dumpster; he promptly turned the bonds in to an authority at his shelter, and the authority tracked down the original owner. The owner gave the man a $100 reward, but people from around the nation (and especially around Detroit, where the homeless man lives) have chipped in to give almost $4,000 to the good samaritan. Even people who are homeless have morals (think about the implications of giving away $21,000 when you personally own $0). What a concept. You can read the whole story here, but I just told you the whole thing.

Blogger is currently being persnickety, but, later, I'll try and post some (unrelated) pictures. Today will probably be my last opportunity for a while, as Mom and Dad's internet connection is not, shall we say, supportive of my picture-posting efforts; though, as soon as we re-enter U.S. soil, I will be able to post via cell phone again...

If you hadn’t noticed, it’s been quite some time since I posted. Blogger has been giving me some trouble lately, and, in addition, I haven’t felt particularly inspired. It’s no excuse, of course, but that’s my excuse. Sarah and I have been hanging around the house, in a sort of, it’s-too-hot-to-do-anything-let’s-hang-around-the-house kind of stupor. There have been times that we’ve done things: we take perfunctory walks in the evening. I say perfunctory, but we do enjoy them; of particular note is a trail that winds through the vineyards in the hills above town; I’ll post pictures of the view at some point. Perhaps.

Randy and I have also been playing basketball in the evenings. Yesterday we played at BFA, and then we all (Jan and Sarah too) went to dinner at the Greek restaurant in Kandern. This particular restaurant has a name; however, I don’t know it, because everyone just refers to it as, “The Greek Restaurant”. In any case, the food was great: Sarah ordered her usual (gyros), and I had pork stuffed with goat cheese via Jan’s recommendation. Both the pork and recommendation receive my approval. Tonight, we play more basketball, this time in France, and tomorrow marks our last full day on this leg of the vacation.

Today I got an email with my first syllabus for the M.T.S. I was presently surprised when I bought my books via Amazon: I only had to spend $34. At Calvin, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have gotten the dust jacket for one of my textbooks for that price. Although that's not entirely fair, this was very, very cheap.

This particular class is Introduction to Theology and Ethics. It only meets 3 times (a weekend class), and I have a 15 page paper due on the first day. Whoops. Mom and Dad, if you're listening (and I know you are), there should be some books arriving at your house in the next few days. Just thought I'd get a jump on things.

In other news, it's still hot here, so we're not doing to much today (other than being sticky). Yesterday, Randy and I played some more basketball with the locals, and then we met up with Sarah and Jan downtown (or uptown, or in town; in any case, it's a few hundred yards from where the Kents live). Guebwiller was having a festival of some sort; there were people selling food, live music, traditional Alsacian dancers (which I missed; too bad), and, of course, traditional tourist crap such as purses made from beads that fall off and jewelry made from rocks that fall off. I came away from it with a kebab, so it all worked out in the end.

It was hot today. After a few hours of dinking around the house and sweating through out shirts, we all piled into the car and headed for a lake that was recommended by some locals. It was quite picturesque (unfortunately, I didn't have my camera; didn't want to have to watch it); the water was surrounded by close-knit, rolling mountain-type hills. Located on an out-of-the-way road, I'm sure the 'beach' is a popular hangout (I say 'beach' because there was no sand, only stones); though, it was pretty empty by the time we arrived at around 5. We cooled off quickly in the mountain water and, with the looming threat of a far-off thunderstorm, were soon chased back to the car. Later tonight, we're going to go out for pizza in Guebwiller (pronounced geb-v-lehr), the town where Randy and Jan now live.

Yesterday, we went to Kandern (where Sarah spent her high school years, and where Randy and Jan lived for the past 7 years) to play basketball (Randy and I) and eat ice cream (Sarah and Jan). After basketball, we went and had dinner/dessert at the house of some of Randy and Jan's friends. The 'house' is actually a joint structure owned by two separate families; it's quite amazing: once a mill, it was built in 1357 (not a typo, 1357) and has many of the original stones and beams (still intact). The families have spent the last three years restoring their respective sides; each has a distinct feel, and each is quite amazing.

We don't have too much going on today. Sarah and Jan are at a local thrift shop, Randy is running errands, and I'm manning the fort. And by fort, I mean the house. And by house, I mean the computer. And by computer, I mean the cookies.

The trip to Croatia was a success. The town of Opatija (pronounced Opa-tia), turned out to be somewhat of a tourist destination (for Europeans; we were really the only Americans around: and I can say this with relative certainty because I'm pretty sure Randy talked to 94, no 96, percent of the other hotel guests--not that there's anything wrong with that...). It was fun swimming on the Adriatic, which, as it turns out, is very salty (I normally sink like a stone, but I actually found myself floating at one point).

We also spent time walking along the boardwalk/shore, looking at the concession stands (you'll note that tourist crap is tourist crap, no matter the language or culture or price), and eating ice cream. Croatian ice cream, and cuisine in general, seemed to be very Italian: one night we had pizza (very good mind you), and it seemed much the same as the Italian style. On a small side point, you wouldn't believe how many pizzerias I saw as we drove through Italy. I would guess there were 5-10 per town (and by town, I'm talking town with 200 homes kind of town).

The views from the restaurants (above) were quite good (all overlooking the sea), but we did discover an interesting thing about Croatian culture (or perhaps Opatijian culture): they really charge you for everything. You want a side dish with your main course? Forty Kuna (Croatain currency). You want a fork? Ten Kuna. You want to look at the sea? Four Kuna. You get the idea. In truth, the food was quite reasonably priced (for a tourist spot, and small portions nonwithstanding); though it wasn't for the Croatians/Slovenians/Eastern Europeans (we found that they make very little money; coming to such a tourist spot would be a major extravagance).

We had a pretty good view from out hotel room (which I found for a song); the sea could even be spotted (barely, and not shown in the picture) from our balcony. The view from the hotel's terrace (below) was even better. See Sarah's blog for a picture of our hotel.

(Above, from our balcony; below, from the hotel's terrace)

We pulled in late last night, returning from our quick trip to Croatia (seems weird to say, "quick trip to Croatia", but, in reality, it was only 500 miles from here). We didn't end up stopping in Venice, instead taking the long way home (mostly to avoid the horrible congetstion that is central Italy/Venice/Milan--we were stuck there for 5 hours on the way down). This long way took us through 7 countries (in one day; again, weird): Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and France. Oddly, I'm not even sure that I've been to seven states in one day. By far, my favorite part of the drive was the Dolomite section (seen below) of the Italian Alps (in northern Italy). The extended, jagged peaks and precipitous valleys are different than mountians I've seen before, and, apparently, this place is a mecca for mountain climbers and winter-sports enthusiasts.

We even passed through a town called Cortina d'Ampezzo, home to the 1956 Winter Olympics, and location of several movie productions, including The Pink Panther and For Your Eyes Only (a James Bond film). Cortina seemed like a great town, and is, apparently, one of the three most exclusive mountain resorts in Europe. Naturally, we didn't (or should I say, couldn't...) stay there. From the car, the best I could manage is the bad picture below.

In fact, we didn't really stay anywhere. Most of the pictures I'm posting (regarding yesterday; as in, everything that's not Croatia) were either taken through the car windshield (on the go) or at rest stops. Note the spectacular scenery at even the rest stops. Although, at one point, we did stay in a traffic jam. Note the people are actually OUT of their cars. At this point, we hadn't moved anywhere in about 15 minutes. All told, we were stuck for about on hour. When the cars started to move again, the cause of the jam was nowhere to be found. It was as if nothing had happened. Crazy Italians.

(Above, rest stop in Swizterland. Below, rest stop in northern Italy).

All in all, it was a pretty good trip; though, I'd have to say the best part was when Randy and Jan decided to pay for everything as an early anniversary present for me and Sarah... Quite frankly, we are just very blessed in general. Thanks be to God.

Sarah and I won't be posting for a few days: we're heading off on a road trip to Opatija, Croatia, a small seaside town in the northwestern section of the country (on the Adriatic coast). On the way, we'll pass through Switzerland's St. Gotthard's Tunnel, which, at 10.5 miles in length, is the world's second longest tunnel. Woo hoo. Hopefully there aren't any traffic jams. We'll stay in Opatija for two nights and then hit Venice on the way home.

Literally.

In other news, we went to Basel, Switzerland yesterday (find your own information; kidding), as per the usual when we come and visit. Not that we're creatures of habit, it's just a fun place to be. The picture below shows the view from the banks of the Rhine river.


Randy and I also played some more basketball (while Sarah ate the ice cream mentioned on her blog; though, later, she came and dutifully took pictures). I played fairly well. At one point, I made 4 or 5 three pointers in a row (note from the picture that I am well behind the three point line, which, as everyone knows, is significantly longer on European courts: 20 feet, 6 inches compared with 19 feet, 9 inches in the USA). Of course, later, I missed at least 5 in a row with the game on the line, but whatever. Whatever. In case you were wondering, this one went in.

The people.


The view.

As I mentioned, it did rain yesterday. Instead of driving several hours into Switzerland, we decided to go to a local car museum (in a town called Mulhouse) that was having a free day. As it turned out, we were a day late, and instead of paying $12 a person to get in, we walked around town and ate Doner Kebabs. Click on the link for a fascinating description of this cheap, wonderful food.

I didn’t intend for this post to be about Doner Kebabs, but they’re just so good. Made mostly from shaved, grilled meat, their contents are stuffed into a pita-bread-type material and can also contain lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a yogurt sauce. Typically, they cost less than five dollars and are easily better than any other fast food I’ve eaten. According to the Wikipedia article, Doners may be making their way to the U.S., and a person can already find a variant of the dish in Windsor, ON (directly across the border from Detroit). Mark my words, the company who markets these will make billions. BILLIONS! Invest now. DO IT!

Anyway, yesterday Randy and I also played basketball with some local, North Africans in France. I had a really good time (aside from not understanding most of the calls, trash talking, etc.). I played well and really seemed to have some unusual spring in my legs (at one point, I found myself unintentionally hanging from the rim).

Today, we made it to Switzerland. We ended up in a town called Schwarzsee (pronounced Shvartz-key, though Sarah says that this is incorrect), a local nature hangout with a lake bordered by small mountains (6000 feet). On the way home, we took a mountain pass and found ourselves at an outdoor ‘café’. The plastic tables and chairs sat on a parking lot outside a store (by store, I mean barn). The store (barn) had a kitchen on one side (with showers for passing bikers) and a cow barn on the other (I think there were about 7 cows inside). The view was spectacular, and we ordered milk shakes. Incidentally, a Swiss shake is milk that has been shaken (makes sense, doesn’t it?). We also bought some local, “mountain cheese”. I left with a stomach ache, but it couldn’t have been from the unpasteurized animal products. Who needs 19^th century biology anyway; this is the 21^st century.

It rained.

I found out that yesterday's attackers are called sandflies (known as Biting Midges to you entymologists out there). Apparently, those people who've never been bitten are particularly succeptible to the pain the little buggers cause (the article said something about locals being able to build up some sort of immunity).

After reading that the sandflies are only active at dusk, dawn, and in the rain, I went back out to work. I got a lot done, clearing a large patch of weeds, moving a couple of tons of dirt (metric of course), digging a fire pit and lining it with rocks (which, we found out later, may be useless--no fires allowed), and laying a cinderblock border around the patch. I don't particularly enjoy yardwork, but it's either that or watch TV in a language I don't understand.

On tap for tomorrow: Switzerland. Unless it rains.

I did some landscaping yesterday and was continuing today when I was attacked by a flock of tiny, flying insects. I don't know exactly what they were, but their bites were incredibly painful. Amazingly, these barely-visable bugs drew blood with each bite, and then the bites swelled like bee stings and itched way too much. I'll have to do some research...

The view from the plane.


The view from the Kent's new house (through the front door).


The view from the congregation last Sunday.

Good news, 1) Sarah and I arrived in safely in France, and 2) I was able to quickly set up the internet here at Randy and Jan's new place. Unfortunately, this won't be a very long post, as I am still suffering from jet lag. And I am mourning Ben Wallace's departure from the city of Detroit. I won't say that I called this weeks ago, but I called this weeks ago. If you don't know to what I am referring, please get out of your hole and watch a basketball game.

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Again

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