We're Back!

After all our “adventures” on this trip, we kept saying we were glad nothing else has happened. Kaleb kept asking, “What else could go wrong?” and our answer was always “plenty.” Well, the “adventure” continued today as we began our journey back home. It was raining hard when we left Kory’s cousin’s house in Oslo. I had driven straight into her long driveway yesterday, but was unable to turn around this morning so I had to back out. Sigrunn was helping guide me back UP her driveway (as I was going uphill and backwards in the rain and difficult conditions), and I was going very slowly until I reached the street then had to give it a bit more gas to get over the ridge of the road. That’s when I heard the crunch. I didn’t see the car parked on the street right behind me, nor did Sigrunn. I did some serious damage to the other vehicle because our van has a tow hitch on the back side and it put a good sized dent in the lower cowling on the front of the Volkswagen that was unfortunately parked there. I couldn’t believe it. I’m thankful we have insurance but it was still no way to begin the day. Kory didn’t say a word.

After that unfortunate event, I was glad to be the hero today in Kaleb’s eyes. I drove over eight hours from Oslo to Aalesund with only one stop and we made it back in time for him to say good-bye to Henrik (one of his friends) before he left on vacation tonight. The trip home didn’t go exactly as planned because I trusted the GPS to get me out of the city, and just like my laptop – it suckered me in to trusting it too much and then let me down. For some reason the GPS routed us out of Oslo heading to Bergen and then up the coast to Aalesund – taking a route that would use four ferries and many unnecessary hours. I didn’t realize the mistake right away as I was so worried about getting out of the city – but when I saw the signs to Bergen, rather than Trondheim, I knew we were in trouble. It cost about an hour to take a road over a mountain pass to get back on the highway heading north, not west, but that road was incredibly beautiful and there were no other cars to deal with – which was a good thing because it was a one lane road and I had to dodge many sheep along the way. I didn’t go the speed limit, hoping to make up some lost time, and as it turned out it was the fastest I went all day. Once I actually made it to the longed for Highway 6, I never went more than forty miles per hour – which is typical for traveling around in Norway. Most of the main roads have a speed limit between 25 and 40 miles per hour so it’s painful driving – especially since there are never straight stretches long enough to pass the inevitable motor home or truck in front of me. It’s quite the opposite experience from driving the German Autobaun, but that’s the “charm” of driving in Norway.

Kory and I had the same feeling today, driving back to Aalesund, that we had when we were heading back to Seattle after our two year honeymoon motor home trip. We loved driving all over America and Canada and seeing all the nice places, but when we drove back into western Washington we realized that as pretty as other places are, there’s no place as beautiful as the Northwest. Well, it’s the same for Europe. There are many beautiful places, but once we got back to the west coast of Norway we realized there is just no place that can compare with the beauty we have here. Kory was also glad to have something to look at other than the sky, as every place we’ve driven is pretty flat and he can’t see the landscape lying flat on his back, but once we reached Norway all of a sudden he had a view, as the farms up on the mountainside are almost touching heaven.

Once we got back to town we drove right over to Henrik’s house so Kaleb could give him a hug good-bye. His father was busy rotating the tires on their motor home so it gave Kaleb a few minutes to tell Henrik all about the amusement park rides he must not miss, as Henrik is going to all the same places we’ve just taken Kaleb. They also talked Pokemon moves and all that’s happened on our trip, so it was good to see Kaleb having a few last minutes with Henrik before they had to take off and drive out the road we’d just driven in on. After we left Henrik’s we drove down the street to see our old house. Nothing’s changed except the grass hasn’t been cut. Kaleb is already talking with a sentimental lilt to his voice when he talks about living there. Oh, it will be hard to leave.

Cousin Odd was waiting for our arrival and was quite protective of Kory as he helped him to the couch. Odd’s only plans this weekend is to be Kory’s personal physician. Kory said Michael Jackson had a personal physician and it didn’t work out too well for him, but Odd promised not to give him any drugs. It is good to be “home.”

(The photo today is a “drive by shooting” taken from the car while we were leaving Czech Republic last week.)

We Have Passports!

I set the alarm for six o’clock this morning so we could pack up and leave by seven. The GPS system said it was nearly six hours from where we were to the US Embassy in Oslo. When I called the embassy earlier they said it would take a full day to re-issue emergency passports so I was hoping to get there around noonish so by tomorrow at the same time, we might have them and be able to drive back to Aalesund Friday afternoon (an eight hour’s drive.)

Even though I didn’t have a driver’s license, I didn’t let that stop me from speeding. I was on a mission and had only one thing on my mind. It was the best scenario too because Kory was still lying flat on his back in the back seat and could neither see how fast I was going nor if there were other cars or hazards in the way – so he didn’t stress out and he didn’t stress me out. I only went as fast as the car in front of me, figuring the locals knew where it was safe to speed, and it worked well for me as I made it to the embassy in exactly four and a half hours without stopping. Whew.

I would highly recommend a GPS system for anyone who ever needs to drive in Oslo as it guided me right to the spot without one wrong turn. (It was a much better experience than spending two hours trying to find a hotel one time when Kory was driving in Oslo and left the GPS at home.) I also prayed this morning that we’d find parking near the embassy as the only way Kory is mobile is if he flops all his body weight onto my back and lets me take the steps for him. I couldn’t imagine walking like that for blocks, then waiting to be seen, etc. And sure enough, God loves me more than I ever expect and He heard my prayers as there was an empty parking spot as close to the embassy as I could get. Hallelujah! I parked there, left Kory in the car for the time being, and went in with Kaleb and the photo copies of our passports and explained our predicament.

The US Embassy is quite the experience. First we had to stand in line out on the sidewalk (rain and all), waiting to be invited in to the little security house to be checked out. While we were standing there, a security agent came and asked us why we were there. Apparently he’s the pre-screener as some folks had to leave the line after they talked to him. I think for the most part, an appointment is required and if their name wasn’t on the list, they got booted out. Everyone also had to show ID while standing in the line, so they don’t mess around. Once we were invited into the security building our palms were swabbed with a cotton disc which was inserted into some type of scanner to see if we’d recently been handling dangerous chemicals. Fortunately, I found out today, I hadn’t. Then we had the usual metal detector scanner and coats going through the x-ray machine. Once we cleared that we were allowed to go into the embassy building, which felt like being in a bomb shelter. All the employees were tucked behind bullet proof glass with only one slit open for talking at each station. Nearly every window also had a finger scanner machine and everyone had to have their finger and thumb prints scanned on both hands. Kaleb and I didn’t because we were at a special window for US Citizens that had problems with their passports. I guess they know enough about us already.

I was so impressed with the sympathy of the woman I dealt with. I think she was more upset about our experiences than I was so she was more than accommodating. I told her I needed to fill out Kory’s info for him and then go get him just for the signature, as he wasn’t able to walk. She said the Consulate could come with me out to my car and have Kory sign in front of her so we wouldn’t have to move him. Now THAT is good customer service, and I was so thankful! The other thing I was impressed by was that she said we could have the new passports in two hours! So after all the paperwork and signatures were done, I walked to a bakery to buy some lunch and we had a picnic in the car while waiting for the prize. The time flew by as Kaleb got on the phone and called all his buddies from school to tell them he’ll be back in town tomorrow, so his social calendar is filling up fast. I used the time to send a few text messages to people I’d like to see before we leave also, so I’m glad we will have a few extra days in Aalesund before we fly home.

Before we knew it, it was three o’clock and our passports were ready! They cost a hundred dollars each and are only good for three months, but they will get us home and then we can apply for permanent ones for free, so all-in-all, it wasn’t that painful to get them replaced (well, maybe it was painful for Kory as he had to ride in the car to Oslo. The insurance company said they would have flown him back to Aalesund in an air ambulance because he couldn’t walk, but he needed to get his passports in Oslo, so that wasn’t an option we could take.) I’m sure the fact I had photocopies of the old passports (and our social security numbers) helped a lot, but the woman did say it was a problem I didn’t have Kaleb’s birth certificate so we need to present that again when we get back home before they will issue him a new permanent passport. No sweat.

The GPS once again saved the day and guided us across town to one of Kory’s Slaatthaug cousins (Sigrund even has the same last name!) where we are spending the night before heading back to Aalesund in the morning. We had a wonderful visit with Sigrund, Bent and the girls (see photo). Sigrund is an incredible artist, (many of those Slaatthaug cousins are) and she had her first child at 45 (then they adopted another from China). Manghild is just a few months younger than Kaleb and they became instant best friends now that Kaleb can speak Norwegian (on previous visits there wasn’t so much bonding going on.)

So today was the last official day of our road trip. I think vacations with a few bumps in the road make the trip a lot more interesting and certainly give us more to talk about than just, “We had a nice time.”

On Schedule

Kory finally got all of the pain meds out of his system, so this morning he was feeling all the pain and not too happy about that. It dawned on me that I had a bottle of Valerian in the car, so I ran out and got it. Valerian is an herb that helps muscles to relax. I always use it when I can’t sleep as it relaxes me so much I fall asleep – but it’s not addicting and has no side effects. I gave it to my dog once when he slipped a disc and it really helped his pain level. Turns out, it did the same for Kory. I was so thankful.

It was a gorgeous day, but we spent it indoors. We had a leisurely morning at the hotel – Kory watched CNN and Kaleb watched kid movies while I was able to work a bit more on a photo album of our year in Norway. I hope to have it printed before we head home.

At noon I loaded Kory and Kaleb up in the car and we drove about ten minutes from the hotel to visit Elin and Sune Andersen – friends of Kory’s from way back. But we got doubly blessed because other friends (Lars and Astrid Eggerhorn) from Seattle were there visiting the Andersen’s as well so we spent the entire afternoon jabbering away (see photo). Kory was able to sit up at a slant on the couch, but not able to sit in a chair at the table, but at least he’s moving in the right direction and could participate in the chatter. Elin let him use her walking sticks, which worked out well for him also, so I’m confident it will just be a few days before he can walk without having to lean so much on me (literally).This morning I went in search of crutches for him but soon found out that they are not for sale in Sweden – they only come by a doctor’s prescription and then they are only on loan. Kory was so hoping to buy some but if he’s still bad when we get to Aalesund I’m sure his cousin Odd can write him a prescription. In the meantime, Kory will be using the walking sticks when my back isn’t available. His group of friends prayed for him today and I’m quite confident he’ll be on the mend sooner than expected. At least the look of pain is gone from his face. I think that Valerian has worked wonders.

It was so great to eat some American food today (Sune made ribs, coleslaw and jo-jo fries) and to hear these friends of Kory’s talking about things that God has done in their lives. They all come from Christian backgrounds and they are all in service to God one way or another so they were quite the inspirational group. I love hearing how God is in the details and they had many examples of it. It was pretty funny when Sune asked Kory how his brother Henry was doing, and then said that Henry was in his wedding some forty years ago. Sune got out his wedding photos to prove it, and it was actually Kory that was in his wedding (people get them mixed up all the time). Kory said he was in so many weddings back in the sixties he can’t remember them all. Too funny. (I think they picked him because he was so good looking he made the photos look good.)

Kaleb was unbelievable quiet today as he just sat and read a book without saying a peep while we were at the Andersen’s. He was hoping to earn a few “brownie points” for extra favors because he didn’t listen to me yesterday and lost his Nintendo privileges for today. Once we got back to the hotel, he was in the kid’s TV room and watched a few more movies, so he was a happy camper. I went back to working on the photo book and Kory had the remote control. I’m just thankful my computer is limping along. I don’t fully understand what’s wrong with it but one guy said it was an automatic software update that went bad so my operating system doesn’t work properly. Most programs won’t open – like the internet or e-mail. I can’t move any files around or delete anything and it won’t ever shut down on its own. At least I can open Word, and the software program that controls the photo albums, so it provides some value, but it’s been more than frustrating not to be able to get on the internet. The campground we stayed at in Denmark let me post my blog from their office computer, and the hotel we’re at now has a computer in the lobby. Most hotels have just the keyboard and screen, with no access to the hard drive so I haven’t been able to upload files or photos. But I’ve been lucky lately. I hate how dependant I am on the internet, but thankful it’s there when I need it. Like today I was able to see what will be required to apply for a new passport tomorrow when we drive to Oslo. I read that we’ll need our social security numbers and I knew I’d be in trouble because I hadn’t yet memorized Kaleb’s so it was written down in my wallet – which was stolen! A quick call to the guy that does our taxes in America and I had that problem solved, but if I hadn’t checked today, tomorrow we’d be hurting because of the time difference. I’m learning to listen better to that “still small voice” which prompted me to check the internet about the passport requirements. It also whispered in my ear to take my backpack into the store with me in Prague last week, but sometimes I have the same problem as Kaleb, and I don’t listen too well then have to suffer the consequences. Oi.

Flat on His Back

It’s a good thing I’m a highly capable woman because I have had to wear many hats today. Kory is still in intense pain from his back injury so it hurts me to even look at him. He was taking the pain pills the doctor gave him at the hospital last night, but he felt sick to his stomach all day and after he finally threw up several times, he decided he’d rather just feel the full force of the pain than to take any more pills. I think they give those nausea producing pain pills more to distract from the pain of the injury, as he complained more about how sick he felt all day, than his back.

Kaleb got to ride in the front seat for the first time in his life today – as Kory laid flat on his back in the back seat (see photo of my multi-tasking abilities - taking a photo of Kory in the back seat at the same time I'm driving 70mph). Before we left the campground, Kaleb had to help out a little and it was as if we’d turned him into our personal slave or something, for all the fuss he was making about every little thing we asked him to do. I wasn’t thinking he was too spoiled before today, but now I have to wonder. He was also upset we never got to play miniature golf at the campground so I had to have a talk with him about our unexpected circumstances and the need to catch the ferry we’d reserved to Sweden. I think he understood but I’m sure he thinks I’m the worse mother in the world to deny him such a simple pleasure.

Before we left the cabin I had to make breakfast, pack up all our stuff, clean the cabin, help Kory get dressed and use the bathroom, then drive three hours to the ferry, get Kory a wheelchair, get him out of the car and up to the lounge. Fortunately the drive north was a breeze – good weather, no traffic and beautiful scenery – so I was spared what Kory has endured on several of our driving days – and the GPS and Kaleb did a great job of getting me where I needed to go. The ferry ride to Sweden was three and half hours and I was so thankful they had a wheelchair so I could get Kory out of the van and up to a bench so he could lie down for the journey. The ferry (think cruise ship) was full of entertainment and innovative ways to pass the time. They had an internet café, a movie cinema, dog lounge, gambling casino, tax-free shopping, a huge kid area full of ping pong tables, air hockey, Legos, Wii machines, professional photo studio, art stations and lots of run-around area. (I have to say, Europeans very much value family life and children as we’ve even been on a train before that had a whole car geared to little kids with an elaborate play area built right into the train car.) The ferry today didn’t seem to have many rules however, as I saw kids younger than Kaleb plopping their kroner in the slot machines and pulling the handle – some of them won more coins than could fit in all of their pockets. What a sight.

We ate lunch on the ferry but Kory wasn’t too hungry and had a difficult time sitting for so long in the wheelchair. He needed to lean over and put all his weight on his arms against the table to take the pressure off his lower back. He just moaned most of the day but he seems OK now that we are at the hotel and he’s not having to move around too much. We drove about two hours east into Sweden to the town of Jönköping once we got off the ferry. We’d scheduled two nights here so Kory could visit an old friend who is now living here, and he figured even though he’s in pain, he can still visit while lying on his back, so we decided we’ll just carry on as planned this week. We still need to go to Oslo on Thursday to get our new passports so I’m hoping by then he can walk a little bit. As it is now he needs to lean over on my back and put all his body weight on me in order to even take a step. When we got to the hotel, I got one of those luggage carts and was able to get him up to the room pushing him around on that – which looked pretty funny – but worked great.

The hotel we are staying at is super lush and would be very expensive if we didn’t order it through a club we joined in Norway. We’re able to get four and five star hotels all over Scandinavia for under a hundred bucks a night. This one was only about eighty dollars and I’m sure it would be well over three hundred if we didn’t use the membership. It’s so nice now that Kory will be spending so much time in bed, to have a huge cushy room to hang out in. We’ve been here for several hours and I’ve yet to see Kaleb as there are several kid play areas, one with children’s movies playing non-stop, so he’s well cared for and hopefully won’t feel the need to play with his Nintendo for a few days.

Jönköping is a beautiful town situated on the shores of a lake so large I can’t see the other side. I took a walk around town tonight looking for a grocery store to buy Kory some saltine crackers for his nausea, but the only stores open were candy stores. They were the size of other grocery stores I’ve been in, but all they sold was candy – row after row of candy – every kind imaginable. I thought it was incredible when I walked into the first one, but then when I found two of them within blocks of each other I was shocked. (The dentists in this town must have a good client base.) I also saw that some pranksters had put soap in a big fountain and the foam was picked up by the wind and was floating all over the downtown area. It looked like pieces of clouds were falling from the sky. Teenagers had scooped out such a huge pile of the foam it was nearly as tall as they were – and they were daring each other to walk through it. Another fun sight.

It’s a spectacular summer evening and we have much to be thankful for.

Accidents Happen

It was a pretty good day today until we needed an ambulance. Right next to Legoland is a brand new indoor water park that’s gotta be the biggest in Europe. We decided when we woke up and saw drizzle today that doing something indoors would be a good idea. Kaleb was thrilled he got one more day that was all about him, so we were there shortly after they opened. We were completely amazed at the inside of this massive building that we thought JUST contained the water park, but instead contained an entire rainy day entertainment land, complete with miniature golf course, bungee jumping, bowling alley, shopping, restaurants and an amazing water park. We made a beeline for the Aquadome and couldn’t wait to get wet. They had huge water slides and tubes, hot tubs, saunas, water works spray area (where a gigantic bucket of water dumps on everyone in the area about every five minutes - see photo), a wave pool, river current (which I avoided), water obstacle courses and a cave swimming pool where it’s possible to dive down and see through a window into an aquarium full of tropical fish. They even had a pool that was indoors/outdoors. The whole thing was mind blowing. Kaleb was in heaven and even Kory and I were anxious to try out all the activities.
We did everything there was to do, then took a break for a late lunch and went back at it. Kaleb wanted to do the “Tornado” one more time but Kory wanted to sit and relax so I said I’d do it with him. The problem was, the Tornado requires a four person “raft” type inflatable to be carried up several flights of stairs, and I couldn’t carry it myself, so we had to coax Kory to come along. We’d gone on it before lunch and it was pretty fun where we all sat on one of the corners of this big inflatable thing that looks like four inner tubes connected together then we shot down a long tube of water and got dumped into a container that looked like a space capsule on it’s side and we slid up one side and down the other until we shot out the bottom and the ride was over. It wasn’t as scary as some of the rides Kaleb and I went on last month in Norway, so I was happy to go on this one again. But on the second go round, Kory’s skinny butt sat too far down in the hole of the inflatable and when we were sliding from side to side inside the Tornado, we hit a bump of water and the inflatable got a little lift and came down hard, with Kory’s bottom absorbing the shock of it all. Right away I saw the panicked look on his face and he just screamed out “My back!” I knew we were in trouble.

When we got to the end of the ride he couldn’t stand up so some guys lifted him out of the water and carried him over to a bench where he laid down for about an hour with his legs lifted – thinking he might have just thrown out his back again. But after an hour the pain wasn’t one he’s familiar with when his discs get injured, so the lifeguards there thought it best to call an ambulance because he couldn’t stand up, he was in so much pain. We prayed like crazy. Kory was so worried something in his back was broken, or even his hip, and we couldn’t even think through how something like that would play out while we are on vacation.

The ambulance took Kory away and Kaleb and I waited a while to give Kaleb a chance to play some more and then go on the bungee jump/trampoline ride. I found my way to the hospital thanks to the good directions from the lifeguard and we joined Kory in the Emergency Room. The first doctor that checked him out said she was pretty sure nothing was broken, but because he couldn’t move without intense pain, she gave him some powerful pain pills and just said, “We need you to stand up so you can walk out of here.” Kory just laughed as he couldn’t imagine how he was going to walk – and he was afraid to because he wasn’t convinced something wasn’t seriously wrong with his back. They gave him another dose of pain pills and some ibuprophen then let him hang around another hour while they took effect. Then another doctor came in and tapped all along Kory’s back, moved his legs around, had Kory do a couple moves and then told Kory he too thought nothing was broken. He drew a picture of the triangle shaped bone at the bottom of his spine and said he injured that bone and the muscles around it – which is very painful but there is nothing that can be done for it. The muscle pain radiates up to his lumbar region so Kory was initially worried he would do damage to his spine if he moved too much but the doctor told him he can’t damage it further – that he just needs to lay on his back for a few days and take pain pills and let it rest. He said in two weeks he’ll be back to normal. We both shouted HALLEUJAH with that bit of news, but then the reality of how to get home from here was a daunting thought. Kory will have to lie in the back seat and I’ll have to drive (without a license) the whole way with Kaleb acting as navigator. This should be fun.

Legoland!

Today was Kaleb’s day – all day at Legoland in Billund, Denmark. We had perfect weather for such a thing – not too hot, not too cold and no rain. It didn’t have any real thrill rides like the other amusement parks we’ve been too, but it’s still an impressive place to go just to see everything made out of Legos. The other cool thing about this park, and others we’ve been to in Europe – they let everyone bring in their own food and drinks. Legoland even provides free little carts to haul the ice chests and kids around. And as Kaleb says, “It’s a park not just for kids – but for the WHOLE family – because they allow dogs!” Every amusement park we’ve been to – dogs have been part of the experience. It’s funny to see the small ones in little tote bags going on the rides with their owners. Some of the parks even have special places for the dogs to hang out – I love that. Dogs are also allowed in restaurants and shopping malls and stores all over Europe – so it seems they are very dog friendly here, which makes our outings all the more pleasurable when we can see “adora-dogs” all day (Kaleb’s term for adorable dogs.)
We went to Legoland in San Diego four years ago, so Kaleb remembered some of the things there that were similar to the one here. There were enough differences though it wasn’t at all boring. The rides were geared more for littler kids here but Kaleb didn’t complain – he looked for the good in everything – which I appreciated. Legoland had two rides that I think are a step ahead of other amusement parks because they allow the children to have total control. One of them is a robotic arm with a seat at the end and each person gets to program the arm before they sit in the seat and the arm does what it’s been programmed to do. I wouldn’t go with Kaleb as I knew I’d spend most of the time upside down and spinning around, but Kory bit the bullet and lived to tell the tale. The other ride I so appreciated was driving real (mini) cars on real (mini) streets. It’s not like Disneyland where it’s impossible to go off course – each kid is given a driving lesson first and told about the rules of the road and then turned loose. I think it’s more entertainment for the parents than the kids – watching them run red lights and smash into other kids (although it’s not bumper cars and they are warned not to crash). Kaleb did very well signaling and obeying the traffic signs for the entire twenty minutes of the ride (they allow reservations so we didn’t have to stand in line.) At least there is some real life application to it and they were all issued driver’s licenses at the end. Kaleb was so proud.
Another ride we all participated in was at the fire station where eight fire trucks race across a big area (powered by hand pumps), then we all jump out and pump the water hose, all the while trying to hit the water into a hole in a second story window of a “burning” house. When there is enough water in the hole, the window closes and the firemen jump back into the fire truck and pump their way back to the fire station. Surprisingly, we won our round by a long shot, but then Kory and I had to sit down for quite a while and catch our breath. It was such a hard work out I was a little afraid Kory was going to have a heart attack. Kaleb didn’t understand our dilemma because all he did was aim the fire hose, but we were wiped out afterwards.
By far the best thing about Legoland is looking at all the mini cities made out of Legos. They so accurately recreate cities and towns, it was easy to recognize them without even reading the labels. Most of the cities use millions of Lego pieces and would take one expert Lego builder twelve years to build. They all had working parts whether they were windmills, airplanes, boats, cars, trains, or trucks moving along the pathways. One even had real working locks and moved boats up and down from a lake to a canal. I could have stood all day just looking at the details. Kaleb recognized the streets from Bergen (see photo), Copenhagen and Amsterdam right away. As he was studying the display of Copenhagen he started walking down the harbor and before he could even see it, he said, “The Little Mermaid should be right HERE!” and sure enough – there it was – not visible unless we stood right in front of it. I was impressed – and also when Kory found the restaurant where we ate lunch that day.
I feel so decadent on days like today. All my childhood I dreamed of going to Disneyland but never did, so I remind Kaleb that other kids aren’t as fortunate and don’t get to do even once, the things he gets to do in abundance. I’m not sure he fully appreciates that reality on one hand, but on the other, he’ll probably have a dozen dogs when he grows up because I wouldn’t let him have even one. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

A Driving Day

I knew today would be tough, as I planned a seven hour driving day to get up back up to Denmark – so we all expected to be in the car most of the day – but those seven hours turned into eleven pretty quickly. There was so much road construction in Germany, one stretch of road that should have taken less than an hour to drive, took well over three. And to top it off, we had incredible downpours and pitch black skies off and on throughout the day so if the construction traffic and rush hour traffic weren’t enough, the slowdown from the rain got us. We left at nine this morning and got to our campsite near Legoland in Denmark twelve minutes before eight o’clock – and just in time as the office closed at eight o’clock. I’m not sure what we would have done if we came after closing, but sleeping in our car wouldn’t have been out of the question. Poor Kory had to drive all but one hour of it and it was white knuckle driving most of the time as the construction lanes weren’t quite wide enough for our van so it was pretty stressful trying not to hit other vehicles. Thank God we made it safe and sound and this day is done.
Kaleb entertained himself for nine hours straight playing a new Pokemon game he bought for his Nintendo. Normally I limit his use on electronics, but today I knew better. We didn’t hear a peep out of him for nine hours. We didn’t stop for lunch and he didn’t even say he was hungry – no bathroom breaks – nothing. That kid was focused. Then the last hour we asked him to turn it off and look around at the landscape and all we heard was how bored he was and when will we get there. That Nintendo was a lifesaver today and I highly recommend it for long car trips. Kaleb did look up long enough to notice the police in Holland are very “polite” as that is how they spell “police” in Dutch. Pretty funny.
We at least saw some nice scenery during the drive as Holland doesn’t have any trees up next to their freeways so we saw lots of cows, corn and wheat fields and we watched all the new windmills spinning throughout the day. Holland must have a zillion windmills and I’m sure a good portion of their energy comes from wind power. We saw some incredibly designed office buildings and very interesting sound barriers along the freeways – many of them in glass and quite artistic. We also enjoyed trying to figure out what the road signs said, as Dutch is very similar to Norwegian, with just one or two letters off on many words. Some words are nearly universal – like the center of town - in Norwegian it’s called Sentrum, in Swedish it’s called Centrum and in German it’s called Zentrum. But a lot of the traffic signs about all the construction – we were just clueless - otherwise we would have taken side roads. Every single person on the freeway today had a car full of people, loaded down for a holiday vacation somewhere – pulling campers or with bikes attached. Today was the day for getting out of town. All of Norway shuts down for vacations the month of July, but the rest of Europe tends to take their vacations in August.
Once we got to our campground, Kaleb couldn’t wait to check out the facility and meet other kids. Some he made friends with right away and others beat him up. He’s clueless as to what he contributes to those rough encounters with other kids, but we see clearly he is no innocent bystander. We only blame ourselves because he has no siblings to rough him up a bit – just two over protective parents trying to explain the ways of life, but knowing it’s much better experiencing things first hand than being told about them – even if it means getting beat up every now and then. I’ve decided I do like staying in campgrounds better than hotels because of all the social activities and ability to get out and move around. I think European campers are a different breed than Americans. When I’ve had to camp in campgrounds in America before (something I loathe), it seems there are plenty of loud, drunk and obnoxious people who break up the whole “peaceful nature” experience that should come with sleeping outdoors. But in Europe, people sit quietly by their tents, trailers or cabins, reading or talking softly – no one is playing music or making a scene. And there are designated HUGE play areas for kids which keeps them all contained rather nicely, so it is a much more enjoyable atmosphere here than in the U.S. Kaleb likes the campgrounds too but says it would be nice to not have to walk so far to use the bathroom. I can’t disagree with that.

I AMsterdam

We got up this morning and hit the road before even having breakfast because we were just about twenty minutes from Amsterdam and we wanted to spend as much time in the city as possible. It was a good thing we left when we did because the minute we took the off-ramp on the freeway to check into our next hotel, the skies opened up and an incredible downpour ensued. The lighting and thunder were right overhead and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard thunder that was so close or all-encompassing like that before. It was quite the deal.
We left our car in the safety of the hotel parking lot and took the tram into the heart of Amsterdam. It rained off and on all morning but by afternoon it was blue sky and sunshine so we had a bit of everything today. The downtown area was not in the least affected by the weather as the streets were just as full and crowded as they are on any summer day with people coming and going like ants working an ant hill.
Amsterdam is not exactly a family destination, but I wanted Kaleb to see the Anne Frank House, so that was my only goal in coming here. He read her diary and I thought it would be a good way to teach him about the war without going to any concentration camps (I don’t think he’s ready for that just yet.) When I was here in 1983, her house was just like any other house on the block and I walked in the front door, went into the opening behind the bookcase and up the stairs to the loft where she lived with seven other people who were hidden for 25 months during the war. There wasn’t much to see and there wasn’t much pomp and circumstance around it. But now, time has certainly changed that place. The museum has bought up all the houses on the block to on one side – given them a new modern face and made a huge museum in them where we entered. In a way, it was better because there was more information and it was more interesting on the inside, but I wasn’t too fond of how much it changed the looks of the whole block. Kaleb was able to recognize each room inside by the details she’d written about and he did seem interested in it all, so I felt like my mission was accomplished. After that tour, we really didn’t have much else to do so we wandered around the city and looked at the canals and buildings and tried to avoid the whiff of marijuana in the air.
When the rain kicked in again Kory decided he wanted to go on a city bus tour so we did that for an hour and didn’t learn much, but Kory enjoyed seeing all the buildings and how they lean every which way. Most of the city was built on pilings so I guess after living in The Sinking Houses he felt right at home. It was difficult to keep Kaleb away from all the “liberalism” of the city, but I think he was clueless, even if I was a bit stressed about it. Between the Red Light District, the Sex Museum, Torture Museum, Erotic shops, marijuana bars and disgusting postcards displayed in the racks out on the sidewalks, I began to wonder why I even had this on our agenda. But I did see in the travel book there was a Bible Museum in town so we made a bee-line for there, figuring at least the content was family friendly. It was a pretty cool place with quite the collection of old Dutch Bibles (and many others) – some of them even hand written. They also had large scale models of Solomon’s temple and the portable Temple that was made for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. I could have stayed there all day, but as it was, they kicked us out at closing time.
Kaleb sampled some of the famous Gouda cheese in one of the shops and fell in love with the smoked gouda variety so we had to stop at a grocery store on the way back to the hotel to buy him some for dinner- all he wanted was bread and cheese. Me too, as the bread we bought was super good. (I’ll so miss all the good breads in Europe.) Kaleb was a non-stop talker today and it totally got on my nerves. Normally I can just let it go, but I couldn’t say one thing that he didn’t come back with “What do you mean…” and then he repeated everything I just said. He wanted to understand every little detail of every little thing – even if it was obvious. I told Kory, “Look at all the hooks up at the top of the buildings,” then Kaleb asked, “What do you mean look at the hooks up at the top of the buildings?” He swore he wasn’t intentionally being obnoxious, but he was. (The hooks were to hoist furniture in and out of the building through the windows because the staircases are too small.) Normally I enjoy Kaleb’s curious nature, but not so much today. I guess I needed more sleep. (What do you mean, you needed more sleep?)

Hello Holland!

We are moving around so much that Kaleb asks every once in a while, “What country are we in now?” I think Kory wonders the same. And besides not knowing what day of the week it is, we don’t know if something happened this morning, yesterday, or the day before, as all the days are starting to run together. We’re on the downward slide now though, so home is within sight. Kory is having to do all the driving because my driver’s license was stolen, but he’s holding up well. He says it’s less stressful than having me drive, but the only reason that’s true is because when I drive he has to navigate and that’s not his strong suit, as we’ve found out through trial and error. This trip has been good for us all in one way or another, but mostly to teach us all a bit more tolerance.
We enjoyed breakfast in downtown Brugge this morning at a fancy bakery that brought the coffee cup on a little tray with a bowl full of an assortment of sugar cubes (no two were alike). I love the little European touches we see in things here and there – like that we were given a knife and fork in which to eat our croissants. In America, they are finger food, but not here (neither is pizza, French fries or hamburgers.) One time when I told someone I blog about all the differences between American and Norwegian culture they said, “Oh, like that Americans don’t know how to use a knife,” because most Norwegians think it’s strange Americans cut their food with the side of their fork. We are so unrefined, we Americans.
The rain came down hard all morning as we drove out of Belgium into Holland, but at least we weren’t stuck in any traffic jams. Today was the day to go see Kinderdjik – a canal in Holland with 17 very old windmills lining both sides. I was a little worried about the rain, but the minute we showed up, the rain stopped and we were able to rent bikes and ride all over the area. All the clouds to the west of us were black as night, and same for the clouds east of us, but right over our heads we had blue sky and sunshine and it didn’t rain one drop on us for the two plus hours we were riding – it was nearly a miracle. We also got to go inside one of the windmills to see how they worked and how people lived in them years ago. One stretch of eight straw thatched windmills were all built in 1740 – others were built in the 1500s and people continue to live in them even today. I don’t know the rules about who gets to live there but each one had a picture perfect little yard complete with boat anchored out front ready to go explore the canals. It looks classic Holland more than any other place in all the land. There are so many canals around that area that even the horses didn’t need fences as they were completely surrounded by ditches full of water – all perfectly spaced marking off the home lots – with a house in the front near the street and the back few acres surrounded on three sides by water. It was all nice and orderly and looked so well planned.
Our destination for the night was about half an hour away from the windmills so we headed over to Gorinchem to check into our room and see the area around the hotel. As it turned out, Gorinchem is not at all a tourist town but still cute as can be – completely surrounded by canals, windmills, locks and buildings as old as the hills. It was originally a fortified city so the bird’s eye view of it shows a well planned five pointed star pattern – typical of the times. Many of the buildings in town were built in the 1500s and some were much older and even leaned a little. The town was full of locals out shopping in the heart of the city, where no cars were allowed. Fortunately for us, everything was open until 9pm (quite unusual) so we stayed in town and had dinner and did some souvenir and gift shopping as everything was so much cheaper than the tourist towns. We ate dinner out on a sidewalk café (as we have for most our meals on this trip). We were right in the town square so quite typically, there was a water fountain which attracts all the kid’s attention. Kaleb insisted on running around while waiting for our food but he was blessed tonight to have several other kids who were doing the same. One 11 year old Dutch boy he befriended right away spoke perfect English because he had lived in South Africa for a year. They played hide and seek for a long time around the town square with some other kids – it was just too cute. They talked to each other– sharing notes about how old they were when they first learned to read and how quickly they can get through certain books they both have read. I’m so pleased when Kaleb can kick into social mode and make friends like that. He’s upset he didn’t get his e-mail address so they could stay in touch, as they had many things in common.
I’m not too thrilled with the new camera I bought and I’m missing my old one terribly. I saw a mother loon in the canal today with two little black and white stripped babies peeking out from under her wings every once in a while. My new camera wouldn’t focus so I couldn’t get a good shot of them. I guess the camera is having the same problem we are – as everything is becoming a blur as we move from one city to the next, but there are still plenty of memories to be made on the road ahead of us, so onward we go and hopefully I’ll have a few clear photos to remember it all by.

Ugh

I'm still facing challenges when trying to post my blog. My computer's operating system had a "bad" updates which has corrupted a lot of my files so I can use less and less of it's functions. Currently I can still open Word, but that's it... then save it to my external hard drive, but unless I find a computer with a place to plug in my hard drive, I can't post the blog ... or photos.

I'm trying. But this computer at the hotel won't allow uploads... and has a very limited window of use so I can't retype the whole thing.

Brief update: we had our two days in Holland seeing windmills and Amsterdam and today we drive to Denmark to go to Legoland tomorrow. We'll be staying at a campground so I'm sure to befriend someone with a laptop there. :)

Waterloo and Chocolate

Today was the second of three historic days we planned for this trip (really, there should have been more.) We spent the morning at Waterloo – the battlefield of Napoleon’s big defeat in 1815. It was such a significant turning point in European history, they have done a good job of “big dealing” it in the town of Waterloo. We stopped first at the farm where Napoleon and his officers slept the night before the battle and where he laid out his plans for attack. There were several interesting artifacts in that farm house including his death mask, strands of his hair and lots of rifles and military effects. Then we drove just down the street to the big national park there and saw a bit more. Kaleb informed us that Napoleon didn’t die in the battle – he was exiled to an island in the Atlantic and died of possible stomach cancer five years after Waterloo. Kaleb also told us he’d read in a book that the reason Napoleon always had his hand in his shirt was because he had some kind of mite infestation and constantly itched. We didn’t see much about either of those facts today, but they certainly displayed the battle well using every kind of media possible.

Right in the heart of the battlefield, not long after the battle was over (which involved 300,000 troops from 7 countries and over 70,000 died or were seriously wounded), the locals made a huge mound with 226 steps to the top to get an overview of the area. Canons that were left behind were melted down and used to cast a huge lion which sits on top of the mound and is visible for miles away. It’s all very impressive and it was a good way to have that page in history sink in a little better. We did find out Napoleon wanted to go to America after he lost, but he was denied passage on any ships. I wonder what impact he would have had if he were allowed to immigrate.

Kory has never been to Belgium before so he wanted to drive through Brussels on our way to my favorite town in all of Europe – Brugge. I’ve driven through Brussels before and there’s nothing spectacular about it and in my estimation, it was wasted time as we could have avoided the city and made it to Brugge an hour sooner – but it was Kory’s deal. As it turned out – the GPS we used to navigate our way through the city to be sure we’d come out heading in the right direction – lead us on roads that mostly ran underground – so Kory only got to see the tunnels of Brussels – not the buildings. I thought that was funny. Kory somehow missed the humor in it all.

Both Kory and I are suckers for cool architecture and we love to do nothing more than walk around and look at the buildings. I knew he’d like Brugge, and I was right. Brugge is something special – with willow trees dipping down into the canals right where all the swans hang out and in the back ground is some spectacular church steeple and a six hundred year old bridge spanning the canal. Buildings line the canals like in Venice – many of them built in the 1600s and many much older than that. We took a canal boat ride as soon as we got to town because it was the perfect thing to do on a warm summer afternoon. It wasn’t too romantic with 30 other people along, but it was impressive just the same. Kaleb enjoyed trying to touch the bottom of the bridges we passed under as many didn’t have much clearance. And the best sight we’ve seen this whole trip, we saw from the boat. One house right on the canal had an open living room window with a big fluffy pillow partially sticking out - and plopped on top of the pillow was a very sad and lonely looking yellow lab. His legs hung over the window ledge, his head rested on his legs and he just watched the boats full of people coming and going. Obviously he was home alone. I got a few photos of him but we hurried back to that spot after the boat tour, hoping to get a really good photo of him with the canal visible under him, but by then his owner was home and he was off the pillow and out of sight. It was just the cutest sight, ever.

Belgium is known for its waffles and chocolates but Brugge in particular is known for it’s lace. Even thirty years ago it was hard to find handmade lace in Belgium, now it’s impossible. Just like Norwegian sweaters are being made in the Slavic countries, all the lace in Brugge is made in China. For centuries, women in Brugge made beautiful lace things, but the cost of labor is too high now to keep that going, but that doesn’t stop it from being sold by the boat load. I’m sure half the stores in Brugge are either chocolate stores or lace stores – a bit of an overkill – but it’s a big tourist town so they know their market.

The rain finally came just as we were walking back to our car after dinner tonight. Good timing. Tomorrow we head to Holland.

We Have a New Window!

I was up early this morning and drove the car to the glass repair shop, then sat patiently for two plus hours waiting to get our new window installed. It felt triumphant. Kaleb slept in and Kory had some time to relax and drink more than one cup of coffee before we had to hit the road again. Heidelberg was just a planned stopover point because I knew it was too far to drive from Prague to Brussels in one day, so we are now near Brussels and totally on schedule. We even had a few hours to walk about downtown Heidelberg (see photo) and splash in a fountain before we left town, so all-in-all, we haven’t missed a beat. This whole break-in thing is just part of the adventure of traveling. We even got new passport photos today, without even looking for a place – it was right across from where we stopped for lunch. God provides.

The drive this afternoon from Heidelberg to Brussels was VERY hot and frequent traffic jams made it hotter. Because the new window can’t be rolled down for 24 hours, we had no air circulation (and no air conditioning) so we were all toasted by the time we reached our hotel. Coincidentally, or not, it was the first hotel we’ve stayed at with a pool. How sweet it was! We couldn’t wait to jump in and cool off as it must have been ninety degrees today, but tomorrow the rain returns. At least we now have a window. Our drive today took us to our southern most point on this trip - down to the border of France and Germany and then we drove right across the tiny country of Luxemburg which was a first for all of us. It was so hot and we were so anxious to jump into the pool at the hotel, we opted out of taking an exit and seeing a little bit of Luxemburg up close and personal. We just enjoyed the view from the freeway. Luxemburg doesn’t plant trees right up next to the freeway like they do in Germany so we could see far into the horizon and we enjoyed looking at all the rolling farmland, cows and horses and occasional villages and chalets.

I was thinking today about the differences between the neighboring countries of Germany and Czech Republic - which are pretty drastic. It’s somewhat like America and Mexico. Hardly anyone in Czech Republic speaks English, and if they do, it’s very limited. We stopped at a gas station yesterday to fill the tank. There was a big sign on the front window that said “Internet” so I thought maybe I could post the blog there. I couldn’t see any computers inside the store so I asked the guy if he spoke English and he didn’t. I said, “Internet?” and he answered, “Diesel,” so I pretty much knew I’d get nowhere with him. That was typical of our interactions with most everyone we encountered in Czech Republic. In Germany everyone speaks a little English and most speak it fluently. Yesterday, however, when I was trying to call the Car Glass place, I encountered “voice jail” in German. I had the biggest fears about making phone calls in Norway because of those automated answering systems, but finally after a year, I was able to understand them enough to punch the right button, but German was a whole different ballgame. I understood nothing and just hit 1 the first time and when someone answered I said, “Do you speak English?” and they hung up on me. I called again and pressed 2 and asked them if they spoke English and I got hung up on again. Finally I called back a third time, pressed 3 and said in German, “Do you speak English?” I don’t know why I know a few phrases in German, but I do, and that’s one of them. Finally the person answered and said, “A little” (but that always means “a lot.”) I despise calling anyplace and getting trapped in the voice jail system – but when it’s in another language, it’s just downright comical. And I love the voice jail system at the American Embassies I’ve called. The travel book I have says to report stolen passports immediately, and the book even has an after hours emergency number to call for such a thing. When I called it, I got a recording that said I should call back between 8:30 and 5:30, Monday to Friday. When I called back on Monday morning at 8:30, I got a recording that said I could find out all the information I need to know about how to report a stolen passport on their website, and I never got an option to talk to a real person. Their website then says to call the emergency number to report the passport stolen. It’s a good system to make sane people crazy. (I still haven’t reported our passports stolen to anyone in the US government – just to the Czech police – because I’ve yet to figure out how to do it.)

Also in Czech Republic, out in the countryside it has a feel somewhat like Mexico, in that the houses are all drab and the yards aren’t well maintained (but our campsite was VERY nice and meticulously clean). I think someone should start selling paint in Czech. All the houses are made of stucco and are either dull grey or boring beige. And many of the buildings and walls in the villages are made of brick with a stucco overcoat and half the overcoat has chipped off so everything looks like it’s been bombed at one point. But then there are beautiful farms and wonderful landscapes and castles and monasteries everywhere. The castle we visited on Sunday was so impressive because it has been there in one form or another since 1170. In the chapel alone was an altar built in 1492 and the library had over 35,000 books dating from 900 to 1900 AD. - most of them hand written because they were made before the printing press was invented. So the history in Czech Republic has been well preserved. It seems the field to get into now would be restoration, as everywhere we looked in the cities and countryside, scaffolding surrounded some steeple or building somewhere and people were working on cleaning or repairing the antiquities. I’m sure Czech Republic has come a long way in the last twenty years, but they still have a long way to go, as evidenced by their neighbor Germany where every city is beautiful, manicured, clean and pristine, and there are no speed limits on their freeways. (Maybe that’s why they are so advanced – because they can go so fast!)
July 20, 2009
A Window on the World

A Window on the World

We took the advice of one of our campsite neighbors, and headed to Germany to get the window in our van replaced. The city of Nürnberg is on the way to Heidelberg (our destination for the night), so thanks to the GPS unit we were able to find a Chrysler dealership in Nürnberg. (The drive was a bit chilly but we had warm clothes and blankets.) Unfortunately, the Chrysler guy said there were no windows not only in all of Germany or Europe, but the entire world. He said because of the bankruptcy proceedings and Fiat’s new ownership of Chrysler, we were out of luck. Fiat has yet to set up a system for ordering spare parts so no Chrysler parts are being shipped and sold anywhere in the world right now. That was not something we expected to hear, but the guy was very nice and gave us the address to Car Glass just down the road, and suggested we get some plexi-glass installed on a temporary basis. We drove right over there, left the car to be worked on and went to lunch. When we returned, they had taped some thick plastic to the door and through his broken English, the guy explained it was a short-term fix (no charge) because he ordered a window for us and it will be delivered tomorrow to their shop in Heidelberg (he knew that was our destination.) We asked how he got a window when Chrysler said there were none and he just smiled. (I guess the aftermarket for parts isn’t as impacted as the dealerships.) The guy said we could drive to Heidelberg and have the car locked in the Car Glass garage overnight so it would be safe, and first thing in the morning the window would be fixed. It was a good plan, but it didn’t allow for traffic jams on the Autobaun and even though Kory drove fast to get to Heidelberg by 6pm, we just didn’t make it. I called and told Car Glass we’d be in first thing in the morning and we headed to the hotel I’d reserved for the night. Coincidentally or not, our hotel was just outside the city, surrounded only by farmland and the owner assured us in 13 years there’s never been anything stolen from any cars, so we were fine with just plastic over the window. Hallelujah.

God never promises that bad things won’t happen to us, but He does promise to be with us through the bad times. This whole experience hasn’t been too bad, but we have definitely felt God’s protection through it all anyway and we sure have laughed a lot about it. First thing this morning Kaleb said, ”Those guys should have checked their merchandise before they took it – they got a backpack with a zipper that won’t stay closed, two umbrellas – one that leaks and one with a broken handle, two cameras – one that is falling apart because the screws are lost and the other the on/off switch doesn’t work right, two dead camera batteries with no chargers, two memory cards already full of pictures, a coat that might not even fit, credit cards that have been deactivated, passports that might get them arrested if they use them and the keys to a car they now can’t steal.” Oh, how we laughed. And then I said I wonder what it says about us that we own so many dilapidated things. We laughed again, and again when we realized we’ll now get all new stuff. It was all pretty funny to think about. Kaleb even said if they were working for some kind of crime ring they might get fired because they didn’t bring back anything of value to them. But aside from the photos, that were of value to us and can’t be replaced, they took my photo of Jesus. I’ve carried that photo of Jesus in my wallet since 1973. It was given to me by the mother of the kid who drown when we were caught in a rip-tide off the Oregon Coast while at summer camp (he was holding on to me because he couldn’t swim and I pushed him off and then he died). On the back of the photo it says, “Only one life, twill soon be past – Only what’s done for Christ, will last.” (I’m going to have that written on my tombstone.) So above all things, that being taken hurt the worst, but again, we trust God to use it to the good and we prayed all day that when they went through my wallet and found that picture, that they would really meet Jesus in a personal way. We forgave them and prayed for them and trust God to work in their lives, too. We won’t know this side of heaven how that all works out, but we’ll continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sins against God and one day soon they will repent.

I couldn’t get through to the US Embassy in Prague today (no surprise there), so I called the one in Oslo. They said we could get new emergency passports in one day, so we’ll just cut off the last few days of our trip we’d planned to spend in Stockholm and go to Oslo instead to get the passports – and then we are set. And all my new credit cards will be waiting for me when I get home. None of this has been as hard as I anticipated, so the trip will go on as planned.

The last stretch of freeway before getting into Heidelberg was stopped dead and the sun was beating down on me and I couldn’t “roll down the window” so I was burning up. We decided to take a detour off the freeway and as it turned out, it was our unexpected pleasure for today. It was a very scenic road going along a river and in the 30 or so miles we traveled we lost count of how many castles we passed. We made a game of it and gave two points to the first to spot one, and one point to the first to spot a church steeple, as there were so many of both all along the road. At one point there were three castles all within shouting distance to each other – it was obscene. Many of the castles and surrounds were just stunningly beautiful – and then to arrive into the heart of Heidelberg about threw us over the edge – what a gem of a city that is. Kory was completely exhausted from all the driving today so after a good German meal and a cold beer, he now has the remote control in his hand and all is right in his world.

(I can’t post photos from my new camera for some reason so this is an old photo from last week – taken in Denmark. Sorry!)

A Day With No Pictures To Post

This will be the day we all remember the most from our road trip through Europe. We might not remember so much how the day started touring one of the oldest castles in all of Czech Republic or seeing the beautiful countryside on the way there and back (repeatedly - as we kept getting lost and taking wrong turns) but what we’ll remember is that it ended in a police station – all because of a quick stop we made on the way back to our campsite. Kaleb wanted to check out a shopping mall nearby to see if he could find a new game for his Nintendo as he’s getting a little bored with the current ones. We weren’t going to be long – just in and out – and in that time, someone did a “smash and grab” to the passenger window on our car. I blame myself because I left my coat on the seat, and the nearly empty backpack under it (out of view). But they took both my cameras full of photos from last week, my wallet full of credit cards (but no cash), and our passports. I’m just sick about losing the photos.

Before we left on this trip I felt very strongly that we’d have something like this happen and I was worried my laptop (although nearly dead at the moment - but still a valuable asset) would be the target. At least my computer was back at our cabin along with all our other things as I had emptied the van when we arrived in Prague. The one debit card I use to take money out of ATMs, I had with me in my pocket, so that would have been a terrible loss if that was stolen, but it wasn’t. I rarely use the credit cards and I had made copies of them so I called and reported them all stolen before the police report was complete. Getting the window replaced will be the biggest challenge, and I’m not sure what is involved with replacing the passports. I’ll find out more tomorrow when I can call the US Embassy in Prague.

When we first saw what happened, I paced around frantically wondering what we’d do about it and feeling very disappointed in myself that I didn’t take the backpack with me. It was one of those split second decisions – broad daylight – people coming and going – and we’d only be a minute. Kaleb cried but I told him God always works things out for good, and both cameras did have a lot of use on them – now we’ll get new ones. And then Kaleb was quick to point out that my wallet had my keys attached to it and if they would have checked the pocket of my coat, our car could have easily been stolen – so we were all thankful that didn’t happen. We were also thankful we’d gotten travel insurance for this trip so our unexpected expenses will be covered. Our regular car insurance will cover the cost of replacing everything, but we didn’t lose much – just the backpack, my coat, a few umbrellas and the cameras (with batteries and extra memory cards) and some things I bought at the castle. Kaleb was disappointed they didn’t take his Nintendo battery charger because that was one thing we went in the store to buy as his is broken and he thought it might be nice to have the insurance company buy him a new one. I left my cell phone back at the cabin, but fortunately Kory had his along (he hasn’t carried it for days), so I was able to call and cancel all the credit cards right away.

A store security guy called the police for us but we had to wait about an hour before they arrived – then for some reason – we had to follow them back to the station so they could file the report. In all, it took about four hours with the police. Only one officer spoke English, and it was very limited, so I’m not sure he fully understood anything we said. I had a hard time describing the things that were stolen – especially the little lace doilies I bought at the castle. I just gave up on that one, but I showed him the receipt for a new camera I bought while we were waiting for him to arrive – so he understood that ok. (I can’t go a day without a camera.) And my biggest worry at the end of the day was how to get back to our campground. The roads around here are nearly impossible to navigate and after this morning’s adventure trying to find the castle, I was pretty sure we’d be lost for good on the way back from the police station. But just like God sent a pillar of smoke to lead the Israelites, he sent one to lead us, too. At the very moment we were pulling out of the police station, not even sure if we should turn right or left, the number 249 bus passed by. When we realized it was the same bus that we took yesterday from the campground, we decided to follow it – knowing it would lead the way. It was the best gift of all as it got us back home again without a single wrong turn. What a miracle that was.

The last few days Kory has been talking to a guy from Denmark staying at the campground. He was very helpful tonight as he loaned me his laptop to find out the address and phone number to the US Embassy. I’ve been using the computer in the camp office, but often it’s busy, so I was thankful to check my e-mail and Facebook accounts and check out a few things for tomorrow. Also the guy that runs this camp checked on the internet for us and told us there are no passenger windows for our car in the whole country, so it will be at least three days to get a replacement window, which means we will drive to Germany in hopes of finding one. He also told us the shopping area we were at is notorious for this kind of break-in, especially with foreign license plates as they know people can’t take everything with them into the store. OK, so now I don’t feel so bad. We were hoping for a cultural experience, but this isn’t exactly what we had in mind.

A Rainy Day in Prague

Last night after Kaleb went to bed, Kory and I sat in our little camping stools out in front of our cabin and watched an incredible light show. A huge storm system was moving in and the thunder was rolling and the lightening was flashing all around us. It took the longest time before rain actually came our way, but for a good hour anyway, we were in awe by it all. Once the rain started, we went to bed, but then the storm really kicked in with high winds, hard rain and lightning and thunder all night. I saw on the internet this storm was coming when I checked the weather report yesterday and they were expecting flooding in parts of Europe because it was such a huge system moving through. I was so thankful we had a cabin, as most people in this campground were in tents. This morning I noticed six people in sleeping bags, packed like sardines on a concrete slab in front of the washer and dryer – simply because there was a roof over that spot. I can’t imagine how miserable everyone must have been last night, but we were warm and cozy and for the most part, had a good night’s sleep. After all that heat yesterday, I was actually quite thankful for the rain, but once again, God abundantly blessed me with the desires of my heart.

The campground we’re at is very close to a bus line which connects with the subway system into the heart of Prague so we were able to leave the car behind (which is why I picked this place). The heart of the city is all do-able on foot, but today it was a challenge because the pouring down rain didn’t let up even once. Kaleb and I had umbrellas and rain coats – Kory had a rain poncho (see photo) and we were still all soaking wet within an hour. The rain was relentless. The sidewalks in some areas were so narrow only one umbrella at a time could make it through so it was a challenge with people coming and going with umbrellas all day. We got some cool photos of just the sea of umbrellas lining the streets, but the real photo worthy sights were the streets themselves.

Prague is probably the best persevered ancient city in Europe. One part of town is a thousand years old and “new town” has buildings mostly from the 1300s. There is every type of architecture imaginable and every building is a work of art. The gothic buildings are the most stunning as they look so mid-evil and ancient. The destruction of the Iron Curtain finally brought tourism to this town and they are making the most of it. All the streets downtown are lined with shops selling cut crystal (what Czech Republic is famous for), and every other tourist trinket imaginable. It’s a city to visit, for sure, but not without a camera. Kory and I just stood in awe of every building, wanting to take in all the details but it was just too much. (Kaleb wondered what the big deal was because, “You can see buildings in every city.") The rooflines on each street were so varied and impressive. I could have sat in one spot all day moving my eyes from one building to the next, but as it was, with all the rain, it was difficult to look up at times.

We opted out of going to any museums as we wanted as much time as possible to wander the streets. We saw all the famous sections of town and the few buildings and one bridge that are the most well known. One church clock tower has a little “show” on the hour as doors open up and the twelve apostles spin around so each one is visible before the clock begins to chime. There is also a soldier on one side whose sword goes up and down, and a skeleton on the other emptying his hourglass – all very mid-evil and quite impressive it still works after so many hundreds of years.

Kory got his hair cut at one mall while Kaleb was figuring out how to spend money he’s saved since his birthday last year. Kaleb has been waiting for this leg of our journey because he knew things here are cheap – and they are, so he was satisfied to buy some Pokemon cards for a fraction of their cost in Norway. (It doesn’t take much to be cheaper than Norway, however.) There was so much I would have loved to buy as bargains were everywhere - but figuring out how to get it home is my biggest challenge, so for now, I had to “just say no.”

All the food we’ve had so far in Czech Republic has been super good - almost gourmet – and really cheap if it’s not from some chain like Starbucks or Subway. My expectations of this place were way off. I guess because they were communist for so long somehow I thought time passed them by and I expected to be visiting a somewhat backwards place, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. They have super hip malls and everything large cities around the world have – including McDonald’s on every corner and American clothing stores (many clothing companies have their products made in Czech Republic). We bit the bullet today and sat in Starbucks drinking coffee for awhile as it was warm and cozy and we needed to dry out a little. I didn’t feel homesick one bit, although the rain seemed rather familiar.

The Drive To Prague

Something I failed to calculate in all my travel estimations was traffic jams. It took over an hour to get out of the city of Berlin this morning, then we drove a few hours and crossed into the Czech Republic. Once we got to Prague, we sat in traffic, not moving a whole lot for more than an hour with blistering hot heat and no air conditioning. It wasn’t pleasant, but I was so thankful when we finally reached our little piece of heaven for the night, I forgot all about it once the water fight ensued (see photo of me and Kaleb, our van and our home for the next three nights.
What I am most thankful for is that we aren’t driving anymore. We decided to take a freeway for once just to expedite our arrival in Prague. Those German freeways are nerve racking. Kory was going about 80 mph the whole time and cars were zipping past us like we were standing still. Kory had to drive looking mostly in his rear-view mirror just to be safe. One time three motorcycles went flying past us doing at least 150mph. The only thing that made the whole drive tolerable was rocking out to the music of Jimmy Buffet, John Denver and Billy Joel. And I was also thankful we weren’t stuck in one backup we saw going the opposite direction (a truck caught on fire) because the exits are few and far between so there would be no hope of getting very far for many hours. I think we’ll stick to the side roads from now on. We’ll be crossing back through Germany next week so at least I have time to recover.

I have about 15% German blood in me from my dad’s side, but I didn’t feel any sense of belonging driving around Germany. I’ve always thought of Germans as the Texans of Europe – they are a bit proud, loud and bold. Norwegians aren’t very fond of them (rightly so), but the ones we’ve dealt with were certainly pleasant and kind. Not many people spoke English, but enough did that we got around. It’s certainly a beautiful country with a lot of land, but apparently not that many jobs because a lot of Germans go to Norway for work. One thing that puzzled me about Germany was there were no cemeteries anywhere. They must bury people, as we saw places that sold headstones, but there were no graveyards next to churches or anywhere visible from the roads we were on.

All the borders we’ve crossed so far are open – no one stops to check a passport or ask how long we’ll be staying. When I was on a backpacking/train trip through Europe in 1983, I got my passport stamped in every country. It’s a little sad we don’t get that now. And so far, only Germany has used Euros. I’ve had to use five different currencies on this road trip so far as Czech Republic still has their own money – which makes it incredibly cheap to be here. We stopped shortly after crossing the border to buy a few groceries as we are staying in a cabin for the next few days and making some of our meals. It was shocking how cheap things were at the store. Wine was a dollar a bottle. A six pack of two liter bottled water was only a dollar. We stocked up on both. The grocery store was huge and as Kaleb said, “It’s kind of like Fred Meyer meets Sam’s Club” as they had everything and lots of it. They also had a cafeteria so we all ordered a hot lunch and drink and it was under ten bucks. Can’t beat that. The bathroom there was different – there was one toilet paper dispenser by the sink so it was necessary to tear off some and take it along into the stall. I wish I would have known that beforehand.

The landscape we’ve seen so far in Czech Republic is very interesting. There are plenty of rolling hills covered in farmland, but there are also several cinder cone looking points sticking up here and there. A few hills we saw had castles at the top so that was interesting. And we are finally are back into billboard territory. Norway doesn’t allow them, but Czech Republic has them hanging from all the overpasses, so that’s different.

Once we got to the campground I was able to finally do some laundry and clean out the car. Kory took my spot in the water fight and he ended up using the car as his shield and somehow managed to lock both sets of keys inside as a result. I wasn’t too happy about that but after about an hour, and with the help of another camper from Denmark, he was able thankfully able to unlock the car. All the while a thunderstorm was rolling overhead and the sky looked threatening, but not much rain came down. It sure made for some dramatic sound effects however. Kaleb is glad to have kids to play with now – so our stay here should be a bit more kid friendly for him. And it’s nice for me as I love being out in the country. City life is good, but in small doses, I think.

A Day in Berlin

This was Kory’s day. He’s been wanting to see Berlin longer than I’ve been alive, I’m sure. Since he lived through the history of the Berlin Wall and has been intrigued by communism in general, this was the place for him. I’m sure he could stay here a week, but a day was enough to hit the highpoints and satisfy his curiosity about many things.

We took the tram into the city this morning. They have the public transportation system down to a science. I’m so jealous of the tram system because it’s efficient, cheap and extensive. We asked at the hotel how we pay for it and the woman just said “insert the coins and push the button” so we thought it would be easy. What we didn’t realize until we got on was there were at least 20 button options and all the information was in German. Fortunately a guy on the tram helped us out, but he also suggested we just play “dumb tourist” and not pay at all. I got the feeling many people ride the trams for free as I only saw one other person buy a ticket and no one swiped a monthly pass card on the scanner.

The last stop on our line was the TV tower in the center of Berlin. It was built to show off Berlin’s technological abilities but I guess the Swedes had to help them design it. As a little “thumbing the nose” at the communist system here, the Swedes designed it in such a way that when the sun shines on it, a cross is visible. Too funny. The view from up top can’t be beat. We then marched our way down Unter den Linden street – some famous road cutting through both East and West Berlin – and arrived at the Brandenburg Gate (see photo). Kory had to have the obligatory “Hallelujah” photo of him standing under it and of course, he couldn’t help but scream it out as well. There were a lot of police just hanging out at the gate as there were some mild protests going on in front of it. One guy in a chicken suit got arrested, for what, I don’t know, but it was pretty funny watching a half dozen young cops trying to cram this guy in a chicken suit into the paddy wagon. Kaleb and I had a good laugh thinking about his mug shot and what might happen if he tried to escape.

The whole downtown area is quite manageable on foot so it was an easy walk over to Checkpoint Charlie. There is a large section of the wall remaining near there, which satisfied Kory’s desire to see it in place. They’ve also set special stones into the streets and sidewalks around the city showing where the wall stood. The city has been completely redone in the last twenty years and it’s one of the hippest cities in all of Europe now for young people to be. There is a lot of nice new areas and some of the older buildings have been restored and it’s a wonderful blend. I didn’t know what to expect, but it felt clean, safe, and very alive. Tower cranes are everywhere so the recession hasn’t yet hit this town as construction is going on in every corner of the city.
At the intersection where Checkpoint Charlie once stood there is a sort of outdoor museum with placards and photos all along the sidewalks. We read them all and learned a lot, but Kory wanted to go to the Peaceful Resistance Museum near there so Kaleb and I found a place we could access the internet and I finally posted my blog (and photos) and Kaleb played on his favorite websites while we waited for Kory. (Kory was a bit surprised there was no mention anywhere that America and/or Ronald Regan contributed to the destruction of the wall.) We met back up then decided there was time for Kaleb to check out the Lego Discovery Center so we walked over to the Sony Center – an impressive piece of architecture – and Kaleb and I went in that “museum” while Kory walked around outside. The Lego place was like a children’s museum but everything was Legos. Kaleb loved it. I thought it was overpriced, but a good way to sit down and get out of the hot sun. Kory enjoyed checking out the car exhibit going on nearby with many high priced vehicles for sale. The city is definitely impressive with so many new buildings with whacko designs, it made for an interesting walk no matter what street we were on.

We have only one rule when we are on vacation – ice cream every day. Today we made four stops for ice cream because it was so hot. Thankfully the buildings are tall and provided enough shade while walking around, but we were all were fairly exhausted by day’s end. We spent about an hour sitting in front of a fountain after dinner, just to cool off. Kaleb found a dog to play with and a band was playing in the distance. Hundreds of people were lying around on the green grass taking in the warm summer evening. It felt like Southern California. We sat there watching the sun dip down out of sight, satisfied with all we saw and experienced today. Kaleb said he felt lucky to get three “unexpected pleasures” today – the Lego place, a nice park, and a dog. We all felt lucky.

A Lovely Drive Through the Countryside

Unfortunately we had to leave Lübeck this morning, as we have a schedule to keep. We could have made it to Berlin (our destination) in three hours, but again we chose the slower route as often the journey is better than the destination. Today that was certainly the case, as the drive was full of pleasant surprises, beautiful landscapes and gorgeous towns.

Nearly every road we traveled today had “tree tunnels” where either the forests on both sides of the road reached up and over the road, or there were stretches of farmland where trees were planted on both sides. It was the perfect route because it was so hot and humid, but driving so much under the shade of the trees was downright blissful. There were the funniest pictorial warning signs all along the roads to caution people not to hit the trees, but in most places there were guardrails built around the trunks of them and I’m not sure if it was to save a life, or save the tree.

The weird thing about all the farmland we saw (and there was a LOT of it) was there were no houses or barns anywhere in sight. Kory was sure it was from the days of communism where everything is state owned, but I don’t think we were in previous communist territory the whole day. Whatever the reason, it was strange to have no houses whatsoever from city to city. The bulk of the fields were growing wheat but we saw plenty of corn and even several sunflower fields, which were spectacular. Some of the cities we went through looked a lot like a Hollywood back lot set because they were so European looking and seemed totally deserted, but they weren’t. Nearly every city had pea patches on the outskirts of town (it must be a German thing) so I guess rather than sit outside on a hot sidewalk after work, people go out to their little garden to take in the evening sun, as we saw plenty of people in their pea patches.

We encountered two walled cities today that surely seemed like they would be hot tourist attractions, but weren’t – they were just normal towns where people lived and everywhere we looked was picture perfect. We also drove through the city of Güstrow and were surprised to see a castle in the middle of town, complete with a garden fit for a king. The entire garden was surrounded by something that looked like a massive hedge, but turns out, it was thousands of deciduous trees planted tightly in two rows about twelve feet apart. Someone, many years ago, built a rounded metal frame structure next to the trees that went the entire length of the garden, across the back and up the other side. As the trees grew, they were trimmed and woven into the metal frame so that now it’s possible to walk inside the “hedge” all the way around (it had a very high “ceiling”). At regular intervals there were windows and doors cut into the hedge so it’s possible to leave that thick tunnel of trees and go out into the garden. I’ve never seen anything like it and it was figuratively and literally, very cool. (See photo of the castle taken from inside the hedge.)

Getting around Germany has been a real challenge since none of the directional signs say “east” or “west,” “north” or “south” – they just have the number of the road and some city in the distance down that road. It takes me by surprise every time and usually there isn’t enough time while we are driving to check the map to see which city is in which direction, so today had plenty of wrong turns and backtracking. The worst time we had was once we arrived in the city of Berlin. It took over an hour and half to find the hotel – even with GPS and precise directions I got from a website I checked this morning. The problem was, as we found out later, there are five places in this city with the exact same address. The only way to tell them apart is the zip code, but neither the computer nor the GPS asked about that. After we showed up at one of the addresses and realized it was wrong, it took quite a while to figure out where we were in order to find our way out. We were all so thankful to be done with driving for the day and to have a room to call home for the night. (I had previously request Kory NOT use the GPS on this trip because he tries to program it while driving and it causes me too much tension. We needed it for a few minutes tonight so I was thankful it was a good backup system, even though it couldn’t find our street either but it got us close enough. Berlin is bigger than Paris!)

Kaleb was a trooper today, not complaining about a thing, just reading and playing his Nintendo. Kory and I were talking about the history of East and West Germany and Berlin, and Kory said something that Kaleb piped up and corrected. We both were shocked. I asked how he knew that information and he said, “From reading the history of the world books.” And just when we were thinking he’s not paying attention….