The invisible mountain

Today was our last day in Salzburg. We set out on the city bus to a Untersberg so that we could ride their cable car to the top of the peak. This is rumored to provide stellar views of the city and the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, the rain that had been promised for days had rolled in and although no drops had fallen in the morning, the sky was dark with clouds. We went up on the cable car and at about the halfway point we entered a cloud. Mark the optimist was pretty sure we'd come out above the clouds and that he could see the sun trying to break through.

I, however, knew the truth.  When we first got out of the cable car at the top there was a little break between clouds so that the visibility was at least 100 yards or so but it quickly closed up and began raining. Meanwhile we had begun to hike up the trail to see what we could see. Because, hey, we weren't going to pass up a chance to actually hike in the Alps, because how often do you ever get to do that?

There was a grave of a German airman, and a monument to all the German soldiers of WW I and II.  There was even a memorial for an American pilot who died in 2013 - Bill Estes. A little googling revealed that he was a retired pilot living in Salzburg who's ashes were scattered there. We turned around before reaching the summit cross on since visibility was again reduced and it had begun to rain. By the time we reached the shelter again, we were a little more than damp. There were tiny patches of meadow, and I did finally twirl in an Alpine meadow. Although calling it a meadow is a bit of a stretch.

Strolling through Salzburg with umbrellas and tour groups (Japanese, American, college students, and high school students) was even more terrifying than usual. At one point we began to cross the street and nearly got carried backward by umbrella bearing tourists looking anywhere but foward. It was kinda funny except that umbrellas have 8 different ways to poke your eye out.

We went to a section of old town today where the shops are among the oldest and most original. Throughout Salzburg the shop and hotel signs are old style - hanging off the side of the building. In this area, however, the signs are more older and often have an image of the service offered instead of just the words. Early branding at it's best! Hope you enjoy them. I'll just put in a few here - the rest will be on facebook where it's easier to upload.

Opulence, nature, Disney - and a rant on the abuse of power.

Can I just say that I love hearing church bells? Or that at least I did before staying in old town Salzburg. They don't begin until 7am, and there are three churches we can hear from our room. The problem isn't the occasional DONG! It's when three churches at once lay into those bells like they are saying the town is on fire. For five minutes solid.  At 7:50 in the morning!  . . . . Ok, got that out of my system.

it was 8am when we walked out of our hotel this morning, and the street was deserted. Normally it is full of tables from restaurants and lots of people - not to mention the kamikaze bikes zipping down the narrow lane. Today, nada. Completely quiet.

We met up with our tour group, loaded on a bus (first time for a bus tour on this trip - and all I have to say is, just shoot me if I start thinking bus tours are a thing in my life) and headed out of Salzburg. Our Aussie tour guide did a great job chatting about what we saw as we drove, and soon the mountains which had been dim and distant became clearer and larger. And LARGER! 

Our destination for the day was Berchtesgaden, Germany and Hitler's Eagles Nest. We picked this tour because it is a quick trip to a high peak with great views. The knowledge that Hitler used slave labor to build it, and plotted evil within it appeared to be a distant memory for most. In the museums we have visited here, and even up at the Eagle's nest, you don't see or hear his name hardly at all. We did not see any image of him there, either. None of the souvenir shops have anything remotely connected to that time. Still, it was a creepy background to an otherwise stunning location. 

Our pictures of the mountains simply do not do them justice. We were just 100 yards from the nearest one, and it was absolutely stunning. 

One of the downsides to our tour is that on tours you live by their schedule. We had less than an hour to wander the trail to the highest lookout point and by the time we got up there, hoards of other tourists  had arrived - all chattering away in different languages and grinning at their selfie sticks. 

Back on the bus we headed down to the little town of Berchtesgaden for lunch. We avoided the recommended restaurant and found a little braut shop and had delicious brauts and pommes (fries). My favorite thing about this guy's little place was that he gave me a LARGE coke light with at least 8 pieces of ice. Wow! We also got to chat with a really nice young guy stationed somewhere nearby and travelling on his own. 

Again, we only had a short time in Berchtesgaden and then back on the bus and back to Salzburg. Totally worth it, though. We've now been to Germany and seen the Alps! For Mark, this was a bucket list kind of thing - check that one off!

Berchtesgaden

Back in Salzburg, we visited the home Mozart grew up in and went through the museum. We previously visited Beethoven's home in Baden. Mozart is pretty much a god in Salzburg. We spent some time later in the afternoon sitting on a bench near the Mozart statue and it appeared to be a pilgrimage of sorts. Selfie sticks were everywhere. In fact, they sell selfie sticks in the Mozart gift store.

Next was the Dom, which was the residential palace of the prince archbishops. They were also the ones who built and expanded the castle fort over the years, and controlled all the trade in the region. I have to admit, this whole "spiritual leader is also the political leader" thing has been a real challenge to get my mind around. Salzburg was a bit of a boom town, and its salt mines made it rich very quickly - and that partially explains why the Dom, the home of those in control of the wealth, was a palace in every sense of the word. Gilded details, murals on all ceilings, statues, golden crowns, jewels, inlaid everything, and on and on. So if a guy wanted to, say, put in the only toilet in the castle, he could. Or if he wanted stars in his ceiling, no problem. Last year's golden hat going out of style? Add rubys to this year's model. And if that pesky peasant threw off your groove, there's always the dungeon and torture chamber. And by the way, when you get out of the dungeon, be sure to show up at the cathedral for church on Sunday. 

I realize I sound cynical, but room after roomful of gold wears on you, especially when you consider the church tie-in and the general living conditions of the time. The entire thing has me thinking of the nature of power and its abuse. It does put into perspective the whole separation of church and state value that the states have attempted. Imperfectly, of course. And yes there are abuses of power everywhere including the states. And yes, we ourselves are in the top .5% of the world's wealthy, so there is our own abuse of power to consider - and believe me, after this trip I am considering it.

There's so much of the history of this part of the world I don't understand well - I feel the need for some additional reading! The Austrians and Germans have a lot to be proud of - this a beautiful area of the world, and they have kept it so. Their houses are a beautiful addition to the landscape, their homes and farms are neat and well kept, and they recycle like madmen. Seriously - at the Haus we recycled EVERYTHING - even orange juice containers that are paper except for the plastic pour spout? We pulled those off and recycled them separately. They don't do air conditioning - at all - anywhere -and so consume less energy. The one place I have found air conditioning was at the museum today where items needed to be stored at a proper humidity.

At many points in this trip, we have found ourselves realizing how well Disney captured the look and feel of old Europe in some of their attractions, and how some of the places we visited have been a little Disney-fied. Case in point was leaving the tour of the castle yesterday and ending in a gift shop. What ride at Disney does not end in a gift shop? And then this evening as we strolled we saw that a concert was about to begin and we sat down in the courtyard to listen - it turned out to be a local choral group - A barbershop style men's group and a Sweet Adeline group. Here we are in the land of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, and Strauss and the only live music we hear isn't a symphony, it's a barbershop quartet singing American tunes in German.

And, just like Disney, Salzburg has it's own Starbucks. Of course it does. We will have to see what the weather does tomorrow. We'd like a highwire cable ride, but rain is promised. We'll see how it goes. We couldn't have asked for a better trip or better weather so far, so no matter what we get, we can't complain!

First Salzburg day

We started out the day tired, saying farewell to newly made friends and the staff and the Haus. We were driven to the underground which took us to the train station in Vienna. We did pretty well finding the ticket place and purchasing our tickets, but then had a little trouble finding the train we wanted- the first train was the right one, but it was full. Second train not full, but not the right train. Third train was the one - not crowded and very nice. We watched to men load high priced bikes onto the train, and they ended up sitting across the table from us on the train. It turns out that they were from Chekoslavakia and were on their way to bike from Salzburg to Italy - across the alps. It would take five days of riding 80 miles per day. Mark was in awe :)

The train ride was long, with many stops, but finally the alps came into view and we began to perk up. Thanks to our Rick Steve's guide we new what bus to take from the train station and only had to haul our luggage a few blocks to the hotel in old town. Our luggage has gotten a little heavier at the Haus since Mark's students gave him a traditional/ceremonial robe which is full length velvet and embroidered. Yes, I do have a picture.

The minute we hit Salzburg I loved it. The old town is truly quaint with unique shops, narrow streets, cafe's - everything you think of as old Europe. We were hungry but couldn't stop taking side streets and oohing and aahing at every turn. It is beautiful. It is also very HOT. This whole trip has been unseasonably warm here, and we packed for cooler weather. So much for packing light - now I'm buying clothes.

We came back to our room at 7:30, hot and tired. But then we saw the forcast and realized that it might be our only sunny day - so we jumped back up to go see the sunset. It was worth it! The river was illuminated by a beautiful sunset and people were strolling along both sides -and so did we! We cut through a park to come back to our hotel and found the Mirabel, which is one of the locations for the Sound of Music movie - remember when they hopped up and down steps and sang Do Re Me? And walked along the edge of the fountain holding their arms out? Yep, saw that. And no we did not recreate the moment :)

Finally back again in our room, which was built in 1512 as a metal smith's home and shop. Really looking forward to a good night's sleep and hoping for good weather for tomorrow - thinking we'll do the fort tomorrow!
 (pictures are on facebook- too many to upload here)

When I grow up, I want to be just like them.

Mark doing grading while we enjoy a thank you box of chocolates. In my opinion, there is no better way to say thank you than with Austrian chocolate. Or really, no better way to say just about anything!

We have one more full day at the Haus. As we sit in our apartment this evening, Mark is grading papers and tests, and I'm dealing with laundry and responding to a few emails. I can hear the voices outside of other short term works laughing about experiences and trading stories - what a great group of people we have been here with. Christ Church at Mason, Ohio and Villages Christian Church in Florida each brought groups to this session and what fun it has been to work with them. Everyone has had a great sense of humor and laughter has kept us going on many days.

It is such a small world. Several of the retirees from Florida have Indianapolis ties, an Ohio volunteer is a race fan with a son in the racing business, and all of us have that unique bit in common of attending similar churches. They are passionate and compassionate. They look you in the eye and smile. Even with the people we have met from other countries, there is still that commonality. A spark of fellowship that lets you know right away that if you had the time, you would really get along with these people. And you wish you did have the time. 

We said goodbye today to many of the students as they hopped in cars or got on planes to travel home, back to their day jobs (mostly leading churches). Often, these folks are already highly educated, many on a second master's degree here at TCM. Mark has been impressed with the level of their work as he grades tests and papers. The students all seem to be very eager for education. In the graduate courses Mark has taught in the States, students have more often been entitled and impatient. Here they want all the education they can get. They soak it up. Many speak more than two languages and may be accomplished in other fields. They are inspiring.  

It has been heart-rending to hear some of the student's stories. All of them face challenges we do not in the west. One country represented has passed a law that churches cannot hold meetings until they have 50 members. Not even in homes. Unfortunately, it's a pretty effective way to stop the formation of congregations. Others have been personally touched by wars, including having refugee status at times in their lives. So many stories, and so many reasons to be grateful every day for what we have, and so many reasons to pray every day for these bright leaders as they go back to work. 

Tomorrow we clean and clean and clean - the whole campus must be cleaned from top to bottom and readied for the next session. And then everyone will leave. In truth it feels a little bit like the end of camp is coming - except that this camp was full of truly fascinating people, willing to travel 4,000 miles in order to serve in the most menial ways. These are retired teachers, CEO's, counselors, pilots, and philanthropists. I know some will say - why travel 4,000 miles? There are needs right here! Very true - and I was not surprised to find out how much each of these folks are already involved in serving in neighborhoods and making a difference. It's a way of life for them, and coming to the Haus to serve is just one more expression of it. 

For the last few years I've witnessed the volunteers in the city of Greenwood and talked a lot about how impressed I am by them, and here I am again inspired by volunteers. Giving is contagious. When I go home, I will have some new role models. People who are courageous and faithful in the face of opposition. People who are authentic and transparent. People who have suffered and yet love deeply again and again. When I grow up, I want to be like them.

Hiking

Without a car here at the Haus, there aren't many options for the evening's entertainment. We can walk to the Stift for dessert or a drink, but we've done that, and frankly don't need any more desserts! So tonight we decided to go hiking with the Snells up into hills through Preinsfeld, a little village not far from us. It was a gorgeous hike, although it was straight up!

Preinsfeld is a very small little enclave of homes with a cute little chapel. There are rolling hills and farmland, horses, sheep, and barns. If you keep hiking straight through, there are woods above the village where there are the graves of five Nazi soldiers. These soldiers were reportedly killed vigilante style at the end of WWII and buried in the woods. We were losing light but decided to plunge into the woods to search for the graves, which are marked by iron crosses. Miraculously none of us were lost as we tramped through the woods off trail. Unfortunately, try as we might, we did not find the graves. But we did find beautiful views, a dark and moody forest, and a sprinkling of wildflowers in every meadow. What a GREAT end to the day. Oh, and I got to make baklava today - bonus!

I love seeing new things, and Vienna and Baden were certainly new, but hiking in the countryside may be my favorite thing so far, I think. The air is fresh, everything is green, the farms and farmhouses are immaculate . . . just wonderful. I hope people who visit the states from other countries take time to visit our countrysides and byways as well - not just the parks (although those are beautiful) but also the natural beauty around us every day.

Translation: Here I Watch!

Just another Sunday

While Saturday was just another work day at the Haus, Sunday was a day off of our regular duties. We began with a worship service where the music portion was lead by the students from Kazakhstan - some in Russian, some in English. The sermon was preached by a minister from Ohio and translated into Russian. With thirteen countries represented here this week, Russian and English are the languages understood by most. Our translators are amazing and interesting people in their own right, many of whom are professionals in other fields (attorneys, doctors, etc). I have been so impressed by all of the students and staff here. The church service was a little bit of heaven, where political and language barriers will be gone for good.

In the afternoon we went to Baden for a few hours, which was fun, but HOT! Baden is a resort town known for it's mineral baths. Since it was Sunday many of the stores were closed but there were a few open. There was one cute little store open and I almost bought a top until I realized I had seen that top before - at the Irish Fair in Indy . . . and then I saw that it was made in Peru. So other than the pictures, we took nothing home. Their rose garden was absolutely beautiful, however, and the cobblestone streets were smaller and quainter than Vienna.

We visited one church, which was the church where Mozart was once a music director. On the was a page of framed music with his signature. In front was a beautiful statue commemorating WWI and WWII.

Sunday evening we came back and had a light dinner and a campfire night - evidently a tradition at the Haus. There were many stories told by our students and short term workers alike, which I won't share here - but it was a pretty great evening. One I will share was the moment when two of the group (one a student and one a worker from Ohio) realized that they had been opposing pilots in a war. Each were so trained to kill, so trained to hate, that moving past it was a challenge.  It was touching and inspiring to see the two soldiers (both of whom had been very good at their jobs - soldier's soldiers) become friends.

We have four days of work at the Haus left and in his spare time Mark is madly grading papers. So it may be quiet for a while until we hit Salzburg on Friday. But the work days are satisfying and fun, and we are so glad to be here to serve!~ Back to the kitchen for me. I certainly hope Mark isn't going to expect this kind of cooking at home when we get back!

Dedication, fish pond, and Gregorian chants

What a busy day! We worked all day, as usual. Mark taught his class with the help of his interpreter, and I sliced and diced and managed not to cut off a finger. I am actually pretty pleased that we've had several minor nicks and cuts on the kitchen team and so far I am unscathed :)

Mid-day we paused to dedicate a building that has undergone renovation from a cow barn to a three story student housing building. These sorts of renovations are a challenge for any non-profit, and TCM is no different. The two church groups who are here working were instrumental in funding this work and it was fun to see it dedicated. We all wrote blessings and scripture verses on the timbers of the top two floors which are about to be finished. Being here has us both remembering Mark's Dad and Mom's years with TCM and so we included them on the timber we signed, with Howard's customary "Shalom!" (peace)

From the top floor of the new building, we could look down at the fish pond which volunteers are currently scouring out. We walked by the work on the way back and I thought, "What does this smell remind me of?" And I realized that it was the smell of Amy's fishtank when it really needed cleaning. :)  It's been a dirty, slimey, physically demanding job and they've done a great job. It DOES make me glad that I work in the kitchen where it smells better, though!

At dinner we had a table full of people who spoke Russian. For part of the dinner they talked loudly and intensley on some subject, and I wondered if it was a deep theological discussion, or politics, or what it was they were so passionate about. When we became involved in the conversation with those who spoke some english, it turned out they were talking about dieting and about how they use their iphone's fitness app to count calories and exercise. It is so fun to get to know these folks and realize again and again how much we have in common.

After dinner, some of us walked down to the Stift to attend Compline in their 800 year old church. The ancient Gregorian chants sung by the monks echoed on the stone walls and made time stand still. This daily service is one that has been performed there continuously for almost 1000 years. Although we are not Catholic, the monks are welcoming, as are those who attend there. I am always inspired to hear people worship the same God I do, even if in a different language and with a different tradition than mine. I had this pleasure in Mexico City years ago, and now here in the Vienna Woods in an ancient abbey. What a blessing to me.

Afterwards, we went to the restaurant on the grounds of the stift for a dessert. And what a dessert it was - it was as big as my head!! Fortunately it was a few miles there and back and so just maybe,  I walked off a few of the calories I took in.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when we get to sleep in a teeny bit, attend a multi-lingual worship service, and stroll through the city of Baden. It will be a nice break from days where the work doesn't end until 7:30.