European Vacation

Saturday, July 17th Krista and I landed in Frankfurt and drove to Brussels where we tried to stay awake by walking around and seeing sights all day. Sunday we went to church there and it was in English, French, and Dutch. About half the congregation had head sets and they would take them off when the person at the podium was speaking their language. The bishop conducted in English, one sacrament prayer was French, one was English, and the talks were mostly in Dutch. While in Brussels we toured a chocolate museum (with samples), a musical instrument museum, a general museum, and saw lots of cool stuff at the Grand Place.

Monday we drove to Brugge, Belgium which is a quaint medieval city. It is the kind of place that you just want to stay and explore because it had so many interesting buildings and spaces. We didn't stay long though because we had to be at the airport Tuesday to get Kara and Blake. So we drove back to Frankfurt and stayed there that night.

Tuesday we all drove to Caen, France and arrived kind of late so the hotels were all full. At each place we asked if they knew of any vacancies elsewhere until we finally found rooms. The hotel had bunkbeds and the room Krista and I stayed in was stinky.

Wednesday we went to Normandy to see the D Day beaches and the American Cemetery which was very moving! We also went to Mont San Michel which is a sort of castle on an island. That evening I did a job interview over Skype. We stopped at a hotel and I paid for the internet for an hour and used my iPhone to do the call. I sat in a corner of the hotel bar and tried to focus on the questions. It was kind of amazing. It was a bit difficult to switch from vacation mode to job speak. Especially with my friends looking at me from the restaurant.

Thursday we stayed in a town where some of Blake's ancestors lived. We spent a couple of hours in the archive doing research and then we drove to a couple of places his ancestor lived. There was even a plaque on one of the buildings. After that we saw castles the rest of the day.

Friday we drove to La Neuveville, Switzerland which is a village where Blake's ancestors were Bergers (town  leaders). He had been corresponding with the museum people in regards to finding records and they rolled out the red carpet for him. We met the current Bergermeister and got to go into the archives where we saw letters, records, and bibles from the 12th century to the 14th century. It was amazing. They were handling the letters and stuff as if they were just received in the mail, yet they still had the ribbon and wax seal from the original senders and the bibles were written entirely in calligraphy. We also drove by and took pictures at the Swiss Temple. That night we stayed at Rheinfalls which they compare to Niagara Falls and we saw them the next morning before we left to drive to Germany.

Saturday we were in the car most of the day because we were stuck on the Autobahn for over two hours in a traffic jam with no movement. So instead of arriving at the Freiberg Temple at 5:30 or 6 we got there around 9:30pm and rushed to get our laundry done by midnight in the small European washers like Mom and Dad had in Siberia. It was great to see Krista & Kara's dad and meet his new wife (who is much nicer than the last one).

Sunday we went to church and got to attend the missionary class in English. There was only one investigator and he is in Germany attending the university and is Chinese. He had a Chinese Book of Mormon, but the sisters had to teach him in English because they don't know Chinese. I'm not sure why they didn't do it in German, but that may be another story. It was a powerful class. The sisters asked everyone to share their favorite Book of Mormon scripture. It turned out that the scriptures that were shared were specific answers to the prayers and needs of the investigator. I was struck by a Chinese man being in Germany, conversing with Americans, and getting specifically what he needed. God cares about each of us individually!

Monday we got up early to catch a bus to Prague where we spent the day. We were running a bit behind schedule to meet the bus and then we ran into a closed road. We couldn't find a way around it so I just drove through it anyway. A motorcycle followed me which gave me confidence until I saw a giant road grater (or something like that) working on the road and coming straight at us. It was at the very end when we were almost all of the way through with only 200 yards to go. So I simply drove around it and continued on our way. I later learned that Krista and Kara were surprised (not appalled as I thought) by my actions and never would have done it. I simply figured that I could play the naive American if we were stopped...

In Prague we saw the church where Good King Wenceslas is buried along with lots of cool things. We also saw the Jewish section, the famous bridge, and more. Additionally we ate great chocolate.

Tuesday we went to the temple and did a session along with some sealings afterwards. Then we left for Rothenburg, Germany which is a fascinating place. It wasn't bombed during WW II because enemy generals made a deal as they recognized its value as an authentic medieval town. It still has its wall all the way around and motes and everything.

Wednesday we drove to Frankfurt and did some shopping then got Blake and Kara to the airport Thursday morning. Krista and I drove to Mainz which is the hometown of Gutenberg who invented movable type and a printing process. It was another cool place with mostly modern buildings with some older stuff thrown in.

Friday we did a boat tour of the Rhine River and Saturday we stopped and took pictures at the Frankfurt temple and then got on the plane for home.
We probably planned too much, but I'm very glad that I went and I'm also very tired. Here are some lists I made while traveling:

Loved:
Self cleaning toilet seats
Going fast on the autobahn (I went over 200 km/hr to make up time on the way to Dresden)
Traveling with friends
Chocolate
Hopefully free hotel slippers
Freiberg temple
Seeing beautiful sights
Family history - even tho' not mine
Real Passing lane on the left
Normandy cemetery & visitor center
Castles
Belgium waffles
Favorite Stephenson's notes & pictures
Medieval cities
Trying to learn new languages
Polite Europeans
Fresh Pastries
Quiche
Nightwatchman
Jane the GPS
Down pillows
Clock tower innerworks
Yellow light to get ready for green
Heritage road signs

Could do without:
Autobahn as parking lot
Eating at McDonalds & Burger King
Paying for Internet
Feeling rushed
Lack of sleep
Coughing (I never got much better despite the z-pack)
Closed roads (although we have good stories)
Twin beds
Stinky Etap Hotel
Bunk beds
Expensive tolls in France
Me continuing to call the euro pound.
Paying for unclean toileten
Drizzly rain & cold
Stinky smokers

Things that make me smile:
Blake's missed opportunity list
  Men in capris
  Short shorts
  Double plaid outfits
Kara & Blake's disability rooms
Driving on a closed road
Church in multiple languages
Small sewer in tour I didn't understand
Pick pocket basilica
Tour guides who forget where they left off on their memorized schpeil
Ausfahrt signs