My blog

Category: My Adventures

  • Prague Adventure: Part 3

    Prague is a city where history whispers from every cobblestone, where the past and present intertwine in unexpected ways. On our self-guided (and somewhat ambitious) walking tour, we uncovered stories of wonder, tragedy, and irony in three unforgettable places: the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarter, and the Museum of Communism.

    The Astronomical Clock: A Timepiece with a Dark Past

    Nestled in Prague’s Old Town, the Astronomical Clock is an engineering marvel and a storyteller of its own. Just two blocks from our hotel, it was astounding to realize how far we had walked in our eager exploration.

    Built in 1410 by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and astronomer Jan Šindel, the clock is renowned not only for its intricate design but also for the gruesome legend that accompanies it. As the story goes, the Prague council feared that the master clockmaker might replicate his masterpiece elsewhere. To ensure exclusivity, they gouged out his eyes, rendering him unable to create another. In his final act of defiance, he supposedly sabotaged his own work, stopping the clock for nearly a century.

    At the foot of the clock, 27 crosses mark the site where noblemen were executed after the Battle of White Mountain in 1621. It’s said to bring bad luck to step on them. We made sure not to—out of respect more than superstition.

    The Jewish Quarter: A Haunting Legacy

    No part of Prague stirred deeper emotion than the Jewish Quarter. Established in the 13th century as a ghetto, it confined Jewish residents for over 500 years before they were granted the right to live elsewhere. Walking its streets, we couldn’t escape the somber weight of history, especially knowing what lay ahead for Jewish families during World War II.

    Time was against us, and we could only glimpse a fraction of its history. The Jewish Cemetery alone left a lasting impression—12,000 gravestones crammed into less than 2.5 acres, with the remains of over 100,000 souls layered up to 12 deep. It was a sight both haunting and humbling.

    Next to the cemetery, we visited a museum displaying artwork by children from the Holocaust. Their drawings, frozen in time, carried the sorrow and fear of a generation lost. The weight of it stayed with us long after we left.

    The Museum of Communism: Irony at Its Finest

    Reaching the Museum of Communism required walking through an unexpected gateway—McDonald’s. The irony wasn’t lost on us.

    Inside, stark rooms displayed remnants of a regime that sought to suppress individualism—old typewriters, rigid wooden chairs, and artifacts of a controlled society. The contrast between the oppressive past and the bustling capitalist reality just outside its doors was striking.

    Reflections on Prague’s Past and Present

    Prague is a city of contradictions: beauty and brutality, triumph and tragedy, freedom and control. It’s a place where the past is never far from the present, reminding us to honor history’s lessons.

    Have you ever been to Prague? What part of its history left the biggest impression on you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

  • Prague Adventure: Part 3

    Prague is a city where history whispers from every cobblestone, where the past and present intertwine in unexpected ways. On our self-guided (and somewhat ambitious) walking tour, we uncovered stories of wonder, tragedy, and irony in three unforgettable places: the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarter, and the Museum of Communism.

    The Astronomical Clock: A Timepiece with a Dark Past

    Nestled in Prague’s Old Town, the Astronomical Clock is an engineering marvel and a storyteller of its own. Just two blocks from our hotel, it was astounding to realize how far we had walked in our eager exploration.

    Built in 1410 by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and astronomer Jan Šindel, the clock is renowned not only for its intricate design but also for the gruesome legend that accompanies it. As the story goes, the Prague council feared that the master clockmaker might replicate his masterpiece elsewhere. To ensure exclusivity, they gouged out his eyes, rendering him unable to create another. In his final act of defiance, he supposedly sabotaged his own work, stopping the clock for nearly a century.

    At the foot of the clock, 27 crosses mark the site where noblemen were executed after the Battle of White Mountain in 1621. It’s said to bring bad luck to step on them. We made sure not to—out of respect more than superstition.

    The Jewish Quarter: A Haunting Legacy

    No part of Prague stirred deeper emotion than the Jewish Quarter. Established in the 13th century as a ghetto, it confined Jewish residents for over 500 years before they were granted the right to live elsewhere. Walking its streets, we couldn’t escape the somber weight of history, especially knowing what lay ahead for Jewish families during World War II.

    Time was against us, and we could only glimpse a fraction of its history. The Jewish Cemetery alone left a lasting impression—12,000 gravestones crammed into less than 2.5 acres, with the remains of over 100,000 souls layered up to 12 deep. It was a sight both haunting and humbling.

    Next to the cemetery, we visited a museum displaying artwork by children from the Holocaust. Their drawings, frozen in time, carried the sorrow and fear of a generation lost. The weight of it stayed with us long after we left.

    The Museum of Communism: Irony at Its Finest

    Reaching the Museum of Communism required walking through an unexpected gateway—McDonald’s. The irony wasn’t lost on us.

    Inside, stark rooms displayed remnants of a regime that sought to suppress individualism—old typewriters, rigid wooden chairs, and artifacts of a controlled society. The contrast between the oppressive past and the bustling capitalist reality just outside its doors was striking.

    Reflections on Prague’s Past and Present

    Prague is a city of contradictions: beauty and brutality, triumph and tragedy, freedom and control. It’s a place where the past is never far from the present, reminding us to honor history’s lessons.

    Have you ever been to Prague? What part of its history left the biggest impression on you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

  • Prague – Part 1

    As you can imagine, it was quite eerie to travel to a country that was once behind the iron curtain. The fact that we drove from Germany to the Czech Republic seemed surreal. The trip was over 500 kilometers from our humble apartment in Plieningen, Germany.

    Since the Czech Republic did not use the Euro currency, we were forced to exchange Euros for Czech Crownes. The base did not do that exchange so we were forced, once again, to go to the airport to make the exchange.

    Although the trip was long covering lovely German countryside, I was struck with an even greater awareness of communism and the eeriness of traveling to a country that was once under communist control. Driving through the checkpoint without having to stop and show our passports was weird to me. But I wasn’t about to complain.

    Our hotel was in Old town. As you can imagine, parking is limited in old cities like Prague. The streets are narrow and can barely fit traffic let alone parked cars. Many of the streets are one way making it even more difficult to get to where we needed to go. Our GPS (affectionately known as “Julie”) finally took us to the parking location. Unfortunately, we didn’t know it was on the back side of the hotel, so we went wandering around with luggage in tow.

    By the time we found our hotel and checked in, it was 9 pm. Our room was on the fourth floor. We took the elevator up to the third floor and had to hoof it to the fourth floor because the elevator didn’t go that high.

    We decided to go to dinner and finally found an Argentinian restaurant and ate, then walked back to the hotel at midnight!  Yikes!

    The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel which was like all the breakfasts we had in Germany and other European cities. But the kicker was that we did not realize that the elevator that we took the night before was not an elevator that you’d take in the U.S. hotels. No… this one was on the exterior of the building and perched on the side of the hotel with thin poles.

    When I saw how it was attached, my heart was in my mouth every time we got on it.

    Was this a hint of what was to come?  Hopefully the trip would get better. Stay tuned to part 2 of our Czech Republic adventure.

  • Spa Day…

    Since we got up late that Sunday morning, so we had our church services in our Plieningen apartment. We listened to worship music and three messages: two by our old pastor at Calvary Chapel and one by a pastor from a church in Vacaville, California. Afterward, we prayed for our country, friends, and family.

    After church, we had lunch and then went to a spa in Beuren, which was about thirty kilometers away from where we lived.

    It was a unique and interesting experience. We found the place with no trouble thanks to Julie (our English GPS) but we had difficulty finding a parking place. Once again, I forgot to bring my camera, so I have scanned and uploaded some photos from their brochure (I want to apologize up front for them). Since the spa was open until 10pm we had a lot of time, even though we never arrived there until about 2pm.

    It was definitely a LOT larger than I expected.

    We paid for our tickets 10 Euro (about $15) for four hours for both of us. That would be more than enough time for us. It was very inexpensive compared to the spas in Northern California. The clerk asked us if we wanted to go into the clothed area or the nude area. What? It was a nude spa? I laughed and said, “No way! Thank you anyway.”

    After going through a turnstile using our tickets as a key to get in, we were escorted to a locker by a young man who spoke English. The locker room was co-ed but there were male and female showers. The locker had a key that was plastic and attached to a plastic wrist band. We were told to store our things in the locker and take the key with us. In order to get the key out, we had to use our ticket to release it.

    After finding two changing rooms (one for me and one for my husband), we moved toward the bathrooms to shower before going into the spa. I want to describe that changing room because it was so unusual. They were in long rows and there were two doors going into a singular, tiny cubicle. There was a bar that extended the length of the changing room and it was the mechanism by which both doors would lock. It was difficult to get that bar to lock both doors, but I wasn’t taking any chances that someone might walk in while I was changing into my bathing suit!

    We separated to go to our respective shower rooms, then we emerged into a huge area where there were cubes in the walls for towels, sunglasses and tanning lotions. There were flip-flops everywhere! There were three pools inside and three pools outside. It was an overcast day, and it wasn’t hot, but we would explore the outdoor pools later.

    After looking around and stowing our towels in one of the many cubes on the wall, we realized every interior pool was a different size and had different temperatures. The first one we went into was too cold. So we went to another one that was warmer. We didn’t realize it, but it was a highly monitored spa and there were tons of people. We stayed there for a bit but decided we wanted to explore more of the spa. I will elaborate on this pool later in the blog. We decided to find the sauna.

    What struck me the most was the number of people and the different kinds of people. There were children splashing around in the pools, next to young lovers cuddling. There were the elderly along with middle-aged, and those with infirmities (metal crutches were propped next to the pools). What was even more interesting was that there were women who clearly should not have been wearing bikinis, but they were. No one thought this was out of the ordinary and no one laughed or made fun of them. That was refreshing to see.

    After walking outside and into another building, we were now in a grotto-like cave. There were stalactites on the ceiling and there was an area where people were sitting on rock like benches. In another area of the grotto, there were showers.

    Since we could not read any of the signs (they were in German, of course), we decided to try the different rooms. The first room was what I would call the “salt” room. We walked in and it was cloudy and warm and smelled and tasted very salty. We sat on the bottom row of the three-tiered, ceramic-tiled seating area. There was a clock on the wall, and we stayed in there for some fifteen minutes or so. My entire body felt salty.

    We went onto the next room which was the “real” sauna. It was 60 degrees centigrade which roughly translates into 140 degrees. It was hot in there. Again, we sat on the first tier of the three-tiered, ceramic-tiled seating areas. It was difficult to breathe but we stayed (and sweat) in there for about fifteen minutes.

    Then we decided we needed to shower off the salt and the heat and went into the shower area, which also was in a grotto-like environment. The shower stalls were positioned in a semi-circular manner with one large one in the middle with a half wall surrounding it. That one was the one to look out for. It spilled huge amounts of ice-cold water onto the person who was under it. And while we searched for a warm water shower, we were splashed with that ice cold water on several occasions.

    After showering, we decided to check out the outdoor pools. It appeared the first one was not heated. That was not for me, at least not on that day. We went to the second one and gingerly stepped down on the stainless steel steps. As soon as we hit the bottom of the steps, we were immediately swept into a current running around the closest end of the pool. There was a circular area people were hanging on to…after going around the circular area we ended up towards the middle of the pool, but it was difficult not being drawn into that current again. We used the stainless steel handrails to guide us along the edge so we could get to the steps to get out. Even this pool was not hot enough, not to mention having to fight that current.

    The next pool was about 42 degrees Celsius which is about 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that was more like it. It was spa, of course, but no jets. It was a stainless steel, round pool and could hold about twenty-five people There were seats along the perimeter. We sat there and did some people watching. There were people from all nations: USA, France, Turkey, Italy and of course, Germany.

    It was time for us to get out and I wanted to go back to the first pool we were in. That pool had jets that we did not get to experience. We realized when we got out the first time, we were in there that it was a very controlled pool in that the jets which were for different parts of the body were along the perimeter of the pool. People lined up to the stairs and waited in line. There was a large timer on the wall above the waterfall at the end of the pool that could be seen from anywhere in the pool.

    How it worked was that the timer was set for 30 seconds. Every time the timer hit zero, the people moved to the next set of jets. Leave it to the Germans to be orderly even when they are in the spa. It worked though, and everyone gets a chance to use the various jets. From jets for your feet to jets for your shoulders and back. It was wonderful. I was totally looking forward to being under the waterfall but for some reason, when I got there, it wouldn’t work. I was bummed about that. Oh well. Perhaps next time.

    We walked around the spa for a bit and realized they have a cafe, tanning beds, a work- out area and you could get a massage. It was a terrific place, and according to Brigit (the woman who was doing physical therapy on my husband), it’s the best place around.

    My husband was not all that impressed because the spas were not hot enough (except the one outside) for him. And what he really didn’t like was the number of people who were there. He thought it was going to be a natural spa, not man made. I suppose if one goes on a Sunday, it is expected there will be tons of people. I had to wonder how many people went during the week?

    We retraced our steps, showered, and got dressed.

    Ted lost his ticket, and he didn’t realize he needed it to leave the locker room. That must be the way they monitor how long one is in the spa. Anyway, I went to the counter and begged the clerk to allow him to leave.

    The ride home was uneventful. At that point we were very hungry and decided to have pizza at Mama Maria’s across the street from where we lived.

    After eating, we realized it was time to do the weekly chore of laundry. It was getting increasingly difficult to find the motivation to gather up the clothes and take them to get washed on base. Add to that, laundry is my very least favorite chore to do, and it’s even more of a struggle when we have to lug the laundry to and fro. We had to get a washer and dryer fairly soon.

    Have you ever been to a spa such as this? I will never forget it, that’s for sure.

     

     

     

     

  • Spa Day…

    Since we got up late that Sunday morning, so we had our church services in our Plieningen apartment. We listened to worship music and three messages: two by our old pastor at Calvary Chapel and one by a pastor from a church in Vacaville, California. Afterward, we prayed for our country, friends, and family.

    After church, we had lunch and then went to a spa in Beuren, which was about thirty kilometers away from where we lived.

    It was a unique and interesting experience. We found the place with no trouble thanks to Julie (our English GPS) but we had difficulty finding a parking place. Once again, I forgot to bring my camera, so I have scanned and uploaded some photos from their brochure (I want to apologize up front for them). Since the spa was open until 10pm we had a lot of time, even though we never arrived there until about 2pm.

    It was definitely a LOT larger than I expected.

    We paid for our tickets 10 Euro (about $15) for four hours for both of us. That would be more than enough time for us. It was very inexpensive compared to the spas in Northern California. The clerk asked us if we wanted to go into the clothed area or the nude area. What? It was a nude spa? I laughed and said, “No way! Thank you anyway.”

    After going through a turnstile using our tickets as a key to get in, we were escorted to a locker by a young man who spoke English. The locker room was co-ed but there were male and female showers. The locker had a key that was plastic and attached to a plastic wrist band. We were told to store our things in the locker and take the key with us. In order to get the key out, we had to use our ticket to release it.

    After finding two changing rooms (one for me and one for my husband), we moved toward the bathrooms to shower before going into the spa. I want to describe that changing room because it was so unusual. They were in long rows and there were two doors going into a singular, tiny cubicle. There was a bar that extended the length of the changing room and it was the mechanism by which both doors would lock. It was difficult to get that bar to lock both doors, but I wasn’t taking any chances that someone might walk in while I was changing into my bathing suit!

    We separated to go to our respective shower rooms, then we emerged into a huge area where there were cubes in the walls for towels, sunglasses and tanning lotions. There were flip-flops everywhere! There were three pools inside and three pools outside. It was an overcast day, and it wasn’t hot, but we would explore the outdoor pools later.

    After looking around and stowing our towels in one of the many cubes on the wall, we realized every interior pool was a different size and had different temperatures. The first one we went into was too cold. So we went to another one that was warmer. We didn’t realize it, but it was a highly monitored spa and there were tons of people. We stayed there for a bit but decided we wanted to explore more of the spa. I will elaborate on this pool later in the blog. We decided to find the sauna.

    What struck me the most was the number of people and the different kinds of people. There were children splashing around in the pools, next to young lovers cuddling. There were the elderly along with middle-aged, and those with infirmities (metal crutches were propped next to the pools). What was even more interesting was that there were women who clearly should not have been wearing bikinis, but they were. No one thought this was out of the ordinary and no one laughed or made fun of them. That was refreshing to see.

    After walking outside and into another building, we were now in a grotto-like cave. There were stalactites on the ceiling and there was an area where people were sitting on rock like benches. In another area of the grotto, there were showers.

    Since we could not read any of the signs (they were in German, of course), we decided to try the different rooms. The first room was what I would call the “salt” room. We walked in and it was cloudy and warm and smelled and tasted very salty. We sat on the bottom row of the three-tiered, ceramic-tiled seating area. There was a clock on the wall, and we stayed in there for some fifteen minutes or so. My entire body felt salty.

    We went onto the next room which was the “real” sauna. It was 60 degrees centigrade which roughly translates into 140 degrees. It was hot in there. Again, we sat on the first tier of the three-tiered, ceramic-tiled seating areas. It was difficult to breathe but we stayed (and sweat) in there for about fifteen minutes.

    Then we decided we needed to shower off the salt and the heat and went into the shower area, which also was in a grotto-like environment. The shower stalls were positioned in a semi-circular manner with one large one in the middle with a half wall surrounding it. That one was the one to look out for. It spilled huge amounts of ice-cold water onto the person who was under it. And while we searched for a warm water shower, we were splashed with that ice cold water on several occasions.

    After showering, we decided to check out the outdoor pools. It appeared the first one was not heated. That was not for me, at least not on that day. We went to the second one and gingerly stepped down on the stainless steel steps. As soon as we hit the bottom of the steps, we were immediately swept into a current running around the closest end of the pool. There was a circular area people were hanging on to…after going around the circular area we ended up towards the middle of the pool, but it was difficult not being drawn into that current again. We used the stainless steel handrails to guide us along the edge so we could get to the steps to get out. Even this pool was not hot enough, not to mention having to fight that current.

    The next pool was about 42 degrees Celsius which is about 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that was more like it. It was spa, of course, but no jets. It was a stainless steel, round pool and could hold about twenty-five people There were seats along the perimeter. We sat there and did some people watching. There were people from all nations: USA, France, Turkey, Italy and of course, Germany.

    It was time for us to get out and I wanted to go back to the first pool we were in. That pool had jets that we did not get to experience. We realized when we got out the first time, we were in there that it was a very controlled pool in that the jets which were for different parts of the body were along the perimeter of the pool. People lined up to the stairs and waited in line. There was a large timer on the wall above the waterfall at the end of the pool that could be seen from anywhere in the pool.

    How it worked was that the timer was set for 30 seconds. Every time the timer hit zero, the people moved to the next set of jets. Leave it to the Germans to be orderly even when they are in the spa. It worked though, and everyone gets a chance to use the various jets. From jets for your feet to jets for your shoulders and back. It was wonderful. I was totally looking forward to being under the waterfall but for some reason, when I got there, it wouldn’t work. I was bummed about that. Oh well. Perhaps next time.

    We walked around the spa for a bit and realized they have a cafe, tanning beds, a work- out area and you could get a massage. It was a terrific place, and according to Brigit (the woman who was doing physical therapy on my husband), it’s the best place around.

    My husband was not all that impressed because the spas were not hot enough (except the one outside) for him. And what he really didn’t like was the number of people who were there. He thought it was going to be a natural spa, not man made. I suppose if one goes on a Sunday, it is expected there will be tons of people. I had to wonder how many people went during the week?

    We retraced our steps, showered, and got dressed.

    Ted lost his ticket, and he didn’t realize he needed it to leave the locker room. That must be the way they monitor how long one is in the spa. Anyway, I went to the counter and begged the clerk to allow him to leave.

    The ride home was uneventful. At that point we were very hungry and decided to have pizza at Mama Maria’s across the street from where we lived.

    After eating, we realized it was time to do the weekly chore of laundry. It was getting increasingly difficult to find the motivation to gather up the clothes and take them to get washed on base. Add to that, laundry is my very least favorite chore to do, and it’s even more of a struggle when we have to lug the laundry to and fro. We had to get a washer and dryer fairly soon.

    Have you ever been to a spa such as this? I will never forget it, that’s for sure.

     

     

     

     

  • The Ark Encounter

    For the past couple of years, my husband has wanted to travel to Kentucky to see the life-size Ark. While I thought it would be fun to do, I hadn’t been able to commit to any time because of my mother’s illness several states away.

    When the time finally came, I wasn’t looking forward to the eight plus hour drive after making two eight hour trips every month for the past year to handle my mother’s personal affairs after she passed.

    When my husband said it was time and he wanted to go, I recommended we go in the fall so there wouldn’t be as many people. (My husband doesn’t like crowds because of his issue with trying to navigate through them with his bad leg and foot.)

    He agreed and made all the arrangements for us to go right after labor day.

    I dragged my feet getting ready for the trip on a Monday morning. At one point, we almost canceled the trip because we both were feeling a little under the weather.

    Because it would be only a four-day trip, I decided to pack light including the snacks I normally bring with us. I don’t, however, skimp on always having sufficient water with us. It’s heavy and a pain to cart around, but it’s worth it in order to be hydrated. We usually buy a case of Smart water and load it into the trunk, but making sure we put a few bottles in the fridge before we leave.

    The Ark was out in the middle of nowhere. As a result, our hotel was about an hour away so that meant another hour of driving to get to the location.

    Like many theme parks, the parking area is far from the actual Ark and you take a bus to get to it. You can see the Ark in the distance, but it doesn’t look very big… until you get up close and personal.

    I’ve read the Bible story a ton of times and could never visualize how truly mammoth the structure was. No wonder it took Noah all those years to build it!

    The inside is spectacular. (But there are no live animals, only representations of some of them.) When I pondered the amount of food and water that was needed to keep those animals (and the eight humans) alive for all those months Noah and his family were on the ship, it’s truly astounding.

    Consider when a cage or urn may have been broken and they had to repair it. Did they have the facilities to handle those issues?

    There were many exhibits on how they lived on the ark and what their living quarters may have looked like. We don’t know for sure, but God is able to do all things so I believe He may have put the animals into a state of hibernation while they were one the ship. But who knows? It’s a question for God Himself, when we get to heaven. (And I have a LOT of questions for Him, too!)

    I won’t go into detail on all we saw because it would spoil it for you if you decide to make the trip. I’m just whetting your appetite to think about whether you want to see it or not.

    If you live in the eastern half of the United States, it’s well worth the trip.

    All in all the trip was fantastic… until the last day.

    On the last day before we came home, we both tested positive for COVID so we are still getting over the virus. We are doing much better than the first week when we returned.

     

  • Good Friday…

    Good Friday is the holiest day of the year in the Christian calendar. It is a day of remembrance and… a day of sorrow. But it’s also a day that we, as humans, are reconciled to our Lord and Savior.

    From the beginning of the Bible in Genesis through to Revelation, the entire story, His story, is revealed.

    God the Father knew man would sin before He created the universe. So, it wasn’t a surprise to Him when man fell in the garden in Genesis 3. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s plan of salvation in the form of Jesus Christ.

    Although there may be those who do not believe in the Bible, but for those of us who do, Good Friday is a day of remembrance to reflect on the impact Jesus had on society in His day through the centuries to today.

    I marvel at His capacity to love us so much that He willingly went to the cross and died for our sins so we could live with Him in eternity. It’s what we, as Christians, believe.

    About ten years ago, my husband and I had the distinct privilege of visiting Israel with our church. The ten-day trip took us to the Sea of Galilee where we boarded a boat and had a Bible Study in the very area where Jesus walked on water.

    We visited many places while there: Nazareth, Capernaum (where the Apostle Peter lived), Masada, Tel Dan, the Valley of Megiddo (where the battle of Armageddon will be held), Ein Gedi (where David hid from Saul), the Jordan river (where John the Baptist baptized Jesus), the Dead Sea, Gideon’s Spring (where God culled Gideon’s army to three hundred men), and finally Jerusalem.

    We traveled underground and walked the length of one wall of the temple mount. The wall’s stones, which were at least twenty to thirty feet long and four to five feet high, had no mortar between them. It was simply astounding. I stood in wonder at the feat of building such a wall in ancient times. But what happened at the end of the quarter mile trek to the corner of the temple wall would be something that would stay with me for the rest of my life. Our guide told us the stones we were standing on were the same stones that were in the streets of Jerusalem in ancient times. I imagined Jesus walking through Jerusalem on the very stones I was standing on.

    But there was more…

    Struck by the stark beauty of the thousand-year-old Olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, we stood in awe of them. While there are paths and the garden seemed small to me, I imagine it wasn’t small in ancient times. Most likely, there were no paths or walls surrounding it.

    We stood on a platform and stared at Golgotha, also known as the place of the skull, where the crucifixion of Jesus took place. Sadly, it is now a parking lot for a bus station. But on the stony hill above the blacktop, the eyes and the nose of the skull are still visible. But photos from the 1800s show the entire face of the skull.

     

    On the last day of our trip, we visited the tomb. It is empty. Empty because Jesus arose on the third day is in heaven preparing a place for His bride, the church

    Having been a believer for many years, the Bible came alive for me while in Israel and I could see Jesus every place we visited where he walked.

    Visiting Israel right before Easter left us with an indelible impression, a reverence for the Almighty. And I will never be the same.

  • The Biltmore

    Christmas 2020 is like no other we’ve ever encountered. There’s an overarching sadness and we all know why. Rather than lamenting on what we can and cannot do, I choose to think about the reason for the season and past Christmases where happiness abounded. Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, we’ll take a trip to a Christmas past and relive a fond memory.

    Every year, my husband and I travel to Northeast Ohio where my entire family gathers for Christmas and we return to North Carolina before New Year’s.  My two children and grandchildren fly or drive to visit my mother, my sibling’s family, and of course, us. Three years ago, it was no different.

    Without telling me, my husband had invited his older sister for a visit to North Carolina for her birthday in January, My husband wanted to do something special for her and take her (and me) to see the Christmas decorations at The Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. (We had visited one summer a few years before, but wanted to see it at Christmas time).

    While the sentiment was lovely and his sister deserved it for all she had done for his family over the years, it was December. I was knee-deep in cleaning, decorating, baking, wrapping, and last-minute year-end work stuff. I told him he had to plan the entire trip because I couldn’t possibly put one more thing on my plate. So he did.

    Of course, anything my husband does, it’s always the last minute. Tickets for Christmas at the Biltmore (not to mention hotel rooms) would have been impossible to get, not to mention ultra-expensive if he’d wanted to go in December. But, thankfully, The Biltmore keeps the Christmas decorations until around the tenth of January. So, he could get tickets and make hotel reservations.

    The day his sister arrived, it snowed. It delighted not only my husband, but his sister as well. Since they grew up in the Los Angeles area, snow was a big deal. Except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, snow had lost its luster for me since I lived in it growing up. The rest of the time, I could do without it. For the three years we had lived in North Carolina, that year was the coldest we’d experienced.

    We had dinner and planned for the four-hour trip to Asheville, North Carolina, the next day. The day we left, the sun shone and but the air was frigid as we traveled to the estate, which is in the northwest mountains of North Carolina. When we arrived, we checked into the smaller of the two Biltmore hotels. To date, with all our travels, it remains my husband’s favorite hotel.

    We had tickets for the Candlelight Christmas tour that evening. The hotel and exterior decorations were spectacular, but being in the mountains, arctic-like temperatures prevailed, which curtailed our ability to walk the estate. Shopping was a must, though, and the quaint shops on the Biltmore estate still had Christmas themed items.

    The carriage house next to The Biltmore has quaint gift shops year-round, but at Christmas, they transform into a unique Christmas shopping experience. Since ornaments are my favorite item to purchase during the holiday season, I bought several not only for myself but for my children for the following year. Interestingly, the sales clerk who sold his sister the delightful Santa she shipped back to California, grew up in the same little town where my husband grew up. What a small world! Neither my husband nor his sister could get over it.

    The intense cold bit through several layers of clothing, but after our shopping expedition, it was finally time to see the interior of the house. Every fireplace and lamp was lit and made the enormous rooms look cozy and inviting. Words cannot do justice to the grandiose beauty of the Biltmore at Christmas, so I won’t even try. Instead, here’s a look at just a few of the photos we took and I hope someday you too, may see the wonder of The Biltmore at Christmas… Enjoy!

     

     

     

     

     

    Merry Christmas from our house to yours!  May you have peaceful and blessed Christmas, remembering the reason for the season. 

     

     

     

  • The Biltmore

    Christmas 2020 is like no other we’ve ever encountered. There’s an overarching sadness and we all know why. Rather than lamenting on what we can and cannot do, I choose to think about the reason for the season and past Christmases where happiness abounded. Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, we’ll take a trip to a Christmas past and relive a fond memory.

    Every year, my husband and I travel to Northeast Ohio where my entire family gathers for Christmas and we return to North Carolina before New Year’s.  My two children and grandchildren fly or drive to visit my mother, my sibling’s family, and of course, us. Three years ago, it was no different.

    Without telling me, my husband had invited his older sister for a visit to North Carolina for her birthday in January, My husband wanted to do something special for her and take her (and me) to see the Christmas decorations at The Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. (We had visited one summer a few years before, but wanted to see it at Christmas time).

    While the sentiment was lovely and his sister deserved it for all she had done for his family over the years, it was December. I was knee-deep in cleaning, decorating, baking, wrapping, and last-minute year-end work stuff. I told him he had to plan the entire trip because I couldn’t possibly put one more thing on my plate. So he did.

    Of course, anything my husband does, it’s always the last minute. Tickets for Christmas at the Biltmore (not to mention hotel rooms) would have been impossible to get, not to mention ultra-expensive if he’d wanted to go in December. But, thankfully, The Biltmore keeps the Christmas decorations until around the tenth of January. So, he could get tickets and make hotel reservations.

    The day his sister arrived, it snowed. It delighted not only my husband, but his sister as well. Since they grew up in the Los Angeles area, snow was a big deal. Except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, snow had lost its luster for me since I lived in it growing up. The rest of the time, I could do without it. For the three years we had lived in North Carolina, that year was the coldest we’d experienced.

    We had dinner and planned for the four-hour trip to Asheville, North Carolina, the next day. The day we left, the sun shone and but the air was frigid as we traveled to the estate, which is in the northwest mountains of North Carolina. When we arrived, we checked into the smaller of the two Biltmore hotels. To date, with all our travels, it remains my husband’s favorite hotel.

    We had tickets for the Candlelight Christmas tour that evening. The hotel and exterior decorations were spectacular, but being in the mountains, arctic-like temperatures prevailed, which curtailed our ability to walk the estate. Shopping was a must, though, and the quaint shops on the Biltmore estate still had Christmas themed items.

    The carriage house next to The Biltmore has quaint gift shops year-round, but at Christmas, they transform into a unique Christmas shopping experience. Since ornaments are my favorite item to purchase during the holiday season, I bought several not only for myself but for my children for the following year. Interestingly, the sales clerk who sold his sister the delightful Santa she shipped back to California, grew up in the same little town where my husband grew up. What a small world! Neither my husband nor his sister could get over it.

    The intense cold bit through several layers of clothing, but after our shopping expedition, it was finally time to see the interior of the house. Every fireplace and lamp was lit and made the enormous rooms look cozy and inviting. Words cannot do justice to the grandiose beauty of the Biltmore at Christmas, so I won’t even try. Instead, here’s a look at just a few of the photos we took and I hope someday you too, may see the wonder of The Biltmore at Christmas… Enjoy!

     

     

     

     

     

    Merry Christmas from our house to yours!  May you have peaceful and blessed Christmas, remembering the reason for the season. 

     

     

     

  • Venice, Italy

    Venice.  The City of Canals. One of the many names of this extraordinary city.  Instead of cars, the people of Venice travel from one end of the city to the other using motorboats or water taxis.

    I’ve visited Venice twice in my life and both were distinct experiences.  Once as a sixteen-year-old with my grandparents and once as an adult with my husband some forty years later.  While my youthful visit consisted of two days, my adult visit was merely hours.

    My husband and I didn’t have much time to drop our bags at the port to board our ship for an eastern Mediterranean cruise that would take us to Croatia (I have posted the Dubrovnic adventure), Athens and Turkey. We left the luggage at the hotel so we could spend more time in Venice proper. But it had been a mistake.

    The trip started out early with a bus ride to one of the 118 islands separated by canals and 400 bridges in a low-lying lagoon.

    Massive amounts of debris littered the canals when I visited the first time in the late sixties. I remember thinking why would anyone want to visit a place where there was smelly garbage everywhere you looked, but I worried about the garbage issue when my husband insisted on a Gondola ride despite the exorbitant fee. You can imagine my delight when the waters were clear of debris and the water pristine. (Venice has had its challenges this year with flooding they’ve not seen in decades.)

    My husband chuckled because our gondolier thought I was an interpreter. I’m not, of course. But I grew up listening to my grandparents conversing in Italian so it was a natural way for me to learn the language. That and having spent ten years with a family who spoke primarily Italian led me to be fluent in the language.  And while my grammar isn’t top shelf, I make myself understood.

    The ride was romantic, but the gondolier didn’t sing, I’m sad to say.  It’s probably an extra cost, and I didn’t even think to ask.  Several times during that short trip through the canals, I worried we’d tip over or hit the bottom of the bridges. Even the gondolier had to duck!  Funny, I didn’t remember that being the case at sixteen.

    My biggest disappointment was that I couldn’t show my husband the Bridge of Sighs because it was being restored and covered with advertisements that helped to finance the restoration. I didn’t even bother to take photos. This famous 17th century bridge took prisoners from their prison cell to the courts and ultimately to their deaths. The name says it all.

    Being close to St. Marcos Square, I remembered my grandfather pointing out the spot where, in World War I, his plane crashed in the square. Dumbfounded, I wondered how he survived but at sixteen didn’t voice the question.

    Early morning rainwater dotted the piazza when I slipped and fell but wasn’t hurt but embarrassed. I worried about getting up. People around me, including my husband, wanted to call an ambulance which further embarrassed me.

    On my feet again, my husband purchased a bib with photos of Formaggia on it because I dropped food on my shirt every time we ate. The Italian restaurant owner, opposite our apartment in Stuttgart. would get a kick out of me wearing it when we dined there.

    With our purchase in hand, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a break from walking around the piazza and refresh ourselves with a small bottle of soda and one small bowl of gelato. Both for the meager price of $30.00.  Good thing we didn’t have lunch!

    A thought niggled and I double-checked the cruise documents because it was nearing two pm by this time and found I misread them. Four pm was the departure time, but we had to be there by three. I panicked but God bless my husband; he remained calm and took in the sights.

    We hurriedly found a water taxi. The opportunity to enjoy the Rialto bridge, the oldest bridge in Venice (12th century) passed with me worrying. Time ticked faster than the taxi moved and my nerves now stretched tighter than a rubber band. When we got off the water taxi, we still had to get to the hotel and pick up our bags.

    I procured a taxi, told him what we needed and told him to do whatever he had to do to get us to the hotel and then to the port by three. A tall order. I was never so thankful to speak the language as I was that day even though the Venetian dialect is difficult to understand.

    My husband, who likes to drive fast, held on for dear life as the taxi driver maneuvered through streets and passed other drivers who honked and gave him angry hand signs. But we made it, just barely, and gave that taxi driver a great tip. If we hadn’t had made it by three, we would have had to get to Dubrovnic on our own to meet up with the ship. Cruise ships wait for no one. A hard lesson to have learned on vacation but I’m glad we made it on time.

    A beautiful city I recommend to anyone looking for a romantic getaway. Seek the out-of-the-way places and forget the tourist traps.  Except for the gondola ride. 

    Have you visited Venice?  What were your impressions of the city?  And if you haven’t, would you like to? Let us know what your thoughts are traveling there.