4 Oct Home again!

We are praising God for being home safely and for all our 'bed' experiences, finding the best one in the world!

We do not wish to dwell on our trip home except to say it was harrowing. One big lesson learnt is that there are other things to consider when booking long flights than merely price, layovers being a major one to try to avoid (especially if it is India). Pete was unwell before we left, the near drowning experience at the Colliseum on Monday not helping. Apparently there is such a thing as plane flu, but whatever, the long flights would have exacerbated his symptoms, and I got it too. So we're both somewhat under the weather today - I think it is Friday.

Getting back to our last flight which was Taipei to Sydney: Pete had got up to stretch his legs and after awhile came and asked me to come to the back of the plane! What sort of a request is that! I didn't know what to think. In real time it was about 4 am so it was dark and quiet in the cabin, but when we got to where we could stand, there was Ruth Biggs - also on her way home from a conference in Taiwan. How exciting - none of us could believe it and it was just so lovely to be able to catch up a bit together.

Then when we sailed through Customs etc., and appeared outside wondering where we had to run to to get the bus, there were Markie and Shell, Harry, Sammy and Eddie, who had already worked it all out for us. What a joy to see them and a bit sad to have to leave straight away, but we did get 1/2 an hour together in the freezing cold.

It took us over an hour to get out of Sydney with the traffic in gridlock at times. Not sure why, however we eventually got on the way, being blessed with contact from all of you (Sime, Cate and Jen) as we drove. Thank you all so much for your love and care for us - the best thing about being away has been the blessing of being with special people, and the best thing about coming home is about being 'with' you and our church family.

Arriving back in a freezy Canberra, Ron came and delivered us home, and then came back with a really delicious meal that Lyn had prepared for us. What a blessing! Despite being up at 3.30am eating apple we got lots of sleep and are looking forward to being less discombobulated! Thank you to all of you who have 'shared' our journey with us through this blog; we have really enjoyed the comments too. In essence, we thank God for the wonderful world he has made for us, for his precious people, for caring for and providing for us in every detail, and for bringing us home in safety. We are also conscious of your prayers for us and thank you for them and for God's wonderful answers. May he continue to bless us all and use us for his glory in the future.

30 Sept Roma

Just to complete the all-round experience, today we were very thankful for umbrellas and ponchos. The forecast was for about 24° and .7ml of rain. We reckon we had about 20° and maybe 3 inches of big fat rain! I can't remember what Forrest Gump called the rain that came in at you sideways, but we also had that and it came with huge force. I was amazed at the happy attitude of the masses of tourists stuck in this weather and just being content to wait it out.

So we were dressed for a warmish day and in fine sunshine, as we awaited the bus number 44. If your teeth weren't too secure, they'd be in a much worse state after a Rome bus ride! The buses rattle over the cobble stones and poor roads, as well as careening down narrow two way roads with cars parked each side and delivery trucks randomly stopped in the way.

We found the walk up past Marcus Aureleus on his horse...

This led us to a fine view of The Forum (thanks to Colin Orr for the tip on location):

There are ruins of various temples, etc. covering a period of hundreds of years. Some are in better repair than others; some look like piles of rock. Here is the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, "dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194/195 and 197-199" (Wikipedia):

A single ticket, costing 24euro, gave us access to the Forum, the Palatine Hill (site of several emperors' palaces, and patricians' houses in past times) and, of course, the Colosseum. We had only just entered the Forum when it started raining, and we donned our complementary [sic] ponchos, and put up out 'brollies.' The rain was a signal for swarthy men to appear, laden with these items for sale to the unprepared, no doubt at exorbitant prices!

While sheltering from the downpour, we caught sight of someone who looked vaguely familiar, but the guy with her didn't look anything like Rob... The resemblance was even better than this photo suggests, and it was hard not to stare!

We dutifully trekked around the mouldering remains of this ancient, cruel culture, ascending the Palatine Hill, before jumping puddles on our way down to the Colosseum. As we approached it, the skies "literally" opened, and the rain bucketted down. As the wind rose, the water blew in from the side, drenching our legs and getting under our ponchos. When we finally gained entry to the building, we stopped to regroup, wring out socks, etc. before undertaking an exploration of this remarkable structure, in the company of hundreds of others. The following photo was taken as we were leaving,  the rain gone, and sun shining.

We had the benefit of an audio commentary by one Rick Steves, and listened to it as we waited for the storm to pass (as it eventually did with much donner und some blitzen). Then we could explore the interior, indulging in some 'selfies' as we did.

Originally, the passages you can see were covered in boards, and a layer of sand (arena is Latin for sand), and this provided the basis for various vile blood sports to delight the emperor, and the crowds (50,000-80,000) who came to gawp and cheer.

It was mid-afternoon before we departed and bought some fruit for lunch (ripped off by a street stall seller). Then after some shopping, we boarded our #44 bus back to the BnB. Giorgia provided another delicious, Italian-style 4-course meal, and we spent the rest of the evening reorganising and packing our cases for the Big Trip Home tomorrow night. There is a strike of transport workers tomorrow, so even if we wanted to do something else in Rome, it would mean travelling by taxi. As it is, we'll be walking - cases in tow - to the Villa Bonelli railway station to catch a train to the airport, as the Trenitalia railway is not affected by the strike (we hope).

Despite a couple of highlights (Sistine Chapel, Colosseum), we were pretty underwhelmed by Rome. It is dirty, there are graffiti everywhere, and many of the denizens are loud and unpleasant. The bus system barely works on weekends, and compared to other European cities, they are uncomfortable and poorly equipped. In sum, if you are thinking of visiting Rome, unless you have a very good reason, don't bother. It's better visited in books or on the web. 

Even though we've not been overly excited about Rome, our whole experience over this last 6 weeks has been truly wonderful and we have already reflected on the fact that our greatest pleasure has come from being with friends and family. We have seen amazing and wonderful things made by the hand of God that have caused us to give him much praise, but the joy and fellowship he has afforded us as we've met with his people in far off places has been the icing on the cake! Perhaps our time in Balestrand was the most emotional visit and we will always remember the kindness of those who remembered Grandma.

29 Sept Roma

We had hopes of getting into see the Sistine Chapel and maybe find a church afterwards. That was the first big 'joke' of the day. We left 'home' soon after 8am and eventually realised the bus we'd hoped for did not run on Sundays. So a girl who didn't speak English but seemed to understand what we needed directed us down the road to another cross street and there we waited, ... and waited. Another girl told us where to buy tickets so that was one good step forward, and when a bus came she helped us with Metro (train) instructions as well. I wanted to tell her that she was the first kind person we'd met on the streets of Rome.

As we neared the Vatican it seemed that a million people were also pressing forward en masse to visit the Sistine Chapel. We joined a queue and were accosted by hawkers trying to get us to join their tours and so avoid the wait. But as the queue was moving quickly we stuck with it and eventually made the door where we had to go through security and numerous rooms (called museums) containing statues, massive tapestries, and other 'stuff.' Actually getting to the Sistine Chapel took forever as we were forced past trading tables (reminds you of Jesus' day) and other ante-rooms with opulent ceilings. Eventually we got there, pressing in with the crowds, and being exhorted over a loud speaker system to keep quiet, and refrain from taking photos. Those caught doing the latter were escorted out, or required to delete the images. Why? Because on the way out, there were shops selling books, posters, cards, etc. with images of the Chapel.

The ceiling frescoes were done by Michelangelo Buonarotti over a four year period from 1508.

We were struck by the fact that the nine panels running along the centre of the ceiling cover history from creation to Noah's drunken stupour, and end there.

Michelangelo completed the  end wall of the chapel - the final judgment - twenty-three years later (1537-41):

What was particularly striking about these portrayals of creation, fall, sin and judgment was the absence of grace and salvation! The overall impression of the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine, was of a caricature of Christianity, focusing on man and his achievements, and particularly those of the Roman Catholic Church. It was not an edifying visit...

We walked for ages to gain entrance to St Peter's Square - Pope Francis had conducted a special mass, and the police (and Swiss Guards) had blocked most of the entrances until it was over.

Making our way into the Square, (along with thousands of people coming and going) we glimpsed St Peter's, a building constructed in part from the sale of "indulgences" - a practice which so incensed Martin Luther that he posted his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door in 1517, and sparked the Reformation.

We retraced our steps to the train, stopping on the way for a light lunch of fruit, and travelled one stop to wait for our #31 bus.  Notice the graffiti behind us.

50 minutes later, we were on our way again, arriving back at our BnB quite "done in."

 It is hard to express what this visit today has meant to us - I think ultimately it is a feeling of great sadness to see so many thousands of people somehow comforted by their 'pilgrimage' to see the Pope and Vatican City, and outwardly anyway, clinging to a religion of bondage. It also struck me that it was no wonder the reformers wanted the churches and her leaders to have no adornments - that would have been reaction to the incredible opulence we saw today.

We're looking forward to our chef-cooked dinner again, and hopefully some recouped energy for seeing the ancient town ruins tomorrow.

28 Sept Geneva to Milan to Rome (!)

Well, it was quite a day today, mostly taken up with the dramas of travel in foreign lands.

It started with a bang -- we were having breakfast at the B&B, using the coffee machine. When we turned on the microwave, Bang. All the power went off. The power drain had been too much for the fuse or circuit breaker. It was 6:15am, and we needed to catch a bus into the central station, so couldn't spend time trying to work out how to restore power. Thankfully, we had a little torch, and were able to pack and leave.

We found the bus stop, on Rue des Philosophes, and travelled in to Gare Cornavin, the main railway station. Got to our platform in good time, and were about first into our carriage. That turned out to be a blessing too, as we were able to stow our sizeable cases in the very limited space provided. There was a deal of chaos at the next stop, with people weighed down with luggage trying to sort themselves and it out. We just sat and were thankful...

The trip to Milan took about four hours, and it was great to see more of the Alps as we travelled through the western edge of Switzerland.

 The train goes through a valley with mountains including snow topped ones on either side and every square metre of land has crops on it, mostly grapes and maize. There is a lot of terracing with stone fences so that more of the land can be used. It looks very pretty with the neat houses nestled among the grape vines.

We reached Brig and then went through a very long tunnel (like about 10 minutes at 200kph) and then we were in Italy. Well, the contrast couldn't have been greater. Suddenly there was graffiti on every wall visible; houses were cement rendered and painted gaudy colours, buildings looked to be in poor repair and towns seemed uncared for. I have to say that I did wonder if this was evidence of a difference between the out working of Catholicism compared to the Protestant work ethic evident in Switzerland. Anyway, our first impressions of Italy did not improve as we alighted at Milan central, and decided to walk to the connecting railway station, Milano Porta Garibaldi. Every step dragging our laden cases tended to confirm our impression of Italy being a dirty, smelly and visitor-unfriendly place. We finally found a place to wait over an hour for our train, anxiously checking the display to find out which platform. It was still not showing 20 minutes before departure, so Dad went downstairs to check there. Ah, platform 13! Raced back to Mum, and we wasted valuable minutes trying to locate the platform, finally arriving breathless at our assigned seats only minutes before departure. Phew! (I think it was actually Platform 13 3/4 and was only visible for a short time!!)

This train raced towards Roma at speeds of up to 300kph! The countryside did improve after leaving Milano. Although flat it was cultivated again with grapes and maize mostly. It became more mountainous again as we neared Rome but the graffitied walls and dirty surroundings returned too. It is certainly not a visitor friendly place and we had great difficulty finding where the buses go from. While Dad was off trying to find where we needed to be, I was standing with our luggage when a man collapsed, falling forward on an escalator right in front of me. I had to pull him off the escalator; he seemed to be unconscious, and bleeding from wounds to his head. Numerous people rang for an ambulance and Dad was helping to make him more comfortable. Anyway, we left in time to see our bus leaving but thankfully didn't have long to wait for another despite it being Saturday. We saw the ambo's arrive too. I think drink may have played a part in his fall!

The bus ride was horrendous. Thankfully a lady told us she'd tell us where to get off as there was no notification of where you were in the bus like the Swiss busses. We found Giorgia with great relief and she told us she'd sent another email suggesting we take a taxi as the bus goes on an extremely circuitous route and she knew we'd be tired. Ho hum! (The "free wi-fi" on the train didn't include connection to the internet!) We are very thankful for this lovely place which is a completely separate little haven with bathroom attached. We also had a very beautiful 4-course dinner prepared by Andrea (chef husband)! They have 17 month old twin boys - very cute.

Bed news! You won't believe it but we have a top sheet and one full size doona! Not sure we'll cope!

27 Sept Genève

We had to go and visit a supermarket before we could eat this morning and that was a bit of a trial; trying to find things when they look different and have French all over them was fun! But we got some goodies for 5 meals for half of what we paid for our small dinner last night.

A few comments about Switzerland! They like to be different: eg. the power plugs. Even the locals say how expensive it is to live here. The Funks drive an hour to the German border along with many Swiss to buy groceries. The Government has put a 300 CHF (Swiss francs) per person limit on what you can bring back though but with a family of 6 that is no problem. The costs are massively less in Germany. Drivers are required by law to use headlights at all times day or night. You get the feeling that every second person smokes. The pet dog goes everywhere... in the car and on the trains; along with bicycles on the buses and trains. There are quaint horse troughs all over the place with water running out of weird shaped spouts - not many horses; maybe bikes have replaced horses and the riders need water! We've found the people friendly though when we've needed help in the supermarket or regarding travel and buying tickets - it can be tricky when the instructions are in French, German and Italian!

The nephew of our hostess (who is not here and whom we've not met) is living here so we chatted to Arturo over breakfast. He is from Bolivia and doing his 3rd year of an Economics degree here, his family thinking it unwise in the present political environment of Bolivia for him to stay there. 

We walked down to the waterfront and bought Geneva passes which entitled us to various rides and museum entrance. So we started with the Solar Electric Mini Train Tour which took us around the southern shore of Geneva Lake, otherwise called Lac Léman. (Another new mode of transport!)

We were shown various monuments and gardens, including the Flower Clock which is composed of 6500 plants.

One of the icons of Geneva is Le Jet d'Eau - the Fountain sends 500 litres of water per second into the air to a height of 140m. It is quite spectacular.

We sat in the English Garden park on our return and ate our sandwiches.

There was just enough time to take another small train to the Old Town before going on the ferry boat. It was quite informative and also pleasing to discover that we'd actually seen most of the important things yesterday on our own. We had a 'loud' American girl keeping us from hearing the commentary at times - I think she must have thought hers was better!

Wandering back along the Rhône River which flows (amazingly fast) out of the lake and eventually reaches the Mediterranean, we arrived at the dock and awaited to board the ferry.

This was an hour long cruise around some of the lake which is the biggest lake in Western Europe. 2/3 of the lake is in Switzerland and 1/3 in France. It is 72 by 14km, has 187km of shoreline, and is up to 310m deep...a pretty big expanse of water. We saw many of the big world organization buildings so many of which are based here, like the UN and WTO. Also of course the 130 or so banks which is probably the major industry in Switzerland.

We decided to revisit the cathedral and go underneath it where there have been massive excavations carried out revealing the very early building on this site. There are about 5 different levels revealed by excavations beginning in 1976, going back to Roman times. In a terrific display of engineering, they have preserved much of the original archaeology in situ, and constructed walkways that take you to the various levels. Particularly impressive was the mosaic floor of the bishop's reception room, dating from the fourth century cathedral. Here is a sample from an area of maybe 10 metres square.

I'm sure that John Calvin had no idea of what lay beneath his feet, as he faithfully preached God's Word from the church's pulpit!

Emerging from the crypt, we proceeded next door to the Musée international de la Réforme (International Museum of the Reformation). 

There was a load of information and displays, but one can't help but observe that the central rediscovery of Luther and the other Reformers was overlooked: the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone! Not surprising, I suppose, given that the whole approach was 'history of religions' and social history of Geneva. One can imagine M. Calvin rotating rapidly in his grave, wherever that may be!

By this time, we were once again quite exhausted, and made our way back past the Parc de Bastions to our lodging on Rue de Carouge. It's an early start tomorrow, as we set off for Rome by train.

26 Sept Bern to Genève

Last morning with the Funks. We sat and chatted over breakfast which included another special Swiss Cordula-creation. It had apricots, berries, bread chopped up, and a custardy type consistency made from quark - a very German cheesy product which has a yoghurt consistency. Whatever, it was super-delicious.

The US Funks were biking into Bern this morning and then training to Stuttgart to see more family (there are 8 siblings!), so it was time for family photos and farewells.

We then had to say goodbye to a lovely family who had gone to so much effort on our behalf and treated us royally. It has been a highlight for us. I will miss Theo giving me instructions in rapid German with a great big smile on how to play a game! We did manage to succeed at a few games. Markus took us into the railway station where we said farewell. We were moved by his appreciation of our coming - how precious is the Lord's family.

We managed to buy our tickets out of the machine - a bit nerve-racking, and also to find the right platform. The trip was again very comfortable in these lovely quiet trains. It took about an hour and a half to do the 160 km, and as we neared Geneva the crops changed from maize and beets to grapes - masses of them the vines look lovely on the hillsides.

Finding the right bus was a challenge but we are now 'speaking' French so we're working things out a little more easily. We found our apartment behind a shoe shop and through two coded doors. After dumping our stuff we went wandering and found the Reformation monument...

Calvin's house...

and St Peter's Cathedral where he preached...

and his chair!

It all got too much for us, so we found some food at a pavement cafe which revived us despite being hugely expensive (as everything is here), and then we found our way 'home.'

25 Sept The Alps with Funks

Today we trekked in the Swiss Alps.

Did you read that...? US, in the Alps! It has been an absolutely amazing time and we had to keep pinching ourselves to realise the reality! 

Here we are posing in front of the north face of the Eiger, a mountain that has claimed many lives.

Markus and Thomas left by bike at 7am to pick up a vehicle that would fit us all in but being unavailable came home with 2 hatchback cars (99.9% of cars here are hatchbacks). So with the 3 cars in convoy we set off towards Interlaken, and the railway that would take us aloft. Dad and I were quite excited to see the country in which the 3 books by Liftin (The Sword, The Gift, and The Kingdom) were set. He called it the country of Chiveis and Markus told us that is the German word for Switzerland. He speaks much of the twin lakes and we had lovely views of these as we travelled; Lake Thun und Lake Brienz.

We arrived at Wilderswil (584m) where we got the train to Schynige Platte, at 1968m above sea level. We reckon the rack and pinion line must be about 1:2 at times. It was opened in 1893 for steam and electrified in 1914. The track gauge is 800mm and it goes through 4 tunnels and over 8 bridges at a top speed of 12kph. I'm not sure how long the line is but it took us over 1/2 an hour.

Reaching the top, the view of the Eiger at well over 4000m is magnificent.

We saw (and heard) cows with bells on on the way up, and the hills were alive with the sound of music as someone was playing an accordion somewhere. We also saw some Edelweiss which along with many other lovely wild flowers had been planted, but we saw none out on our trek. There are paths all over the area and we did quite a long walk to another high point, probably another 200m up, to Oberberghorn. We had our picnic lunch here and Cordula had excelled yet again with our yummy bun with German sausage and a massive cake which the 13 of us managed to devour without any difficulty.

Some of the Funk families.

It was just below here that we had our lunch and Dad called this the 4 sisters! Jennifer and I sang 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow!' I don't have words for the awesomeness of the mountains.

We walked a steep path with more stunning views.

Back at the station we were't all able to fit on the first train and the U.S. Funks had to wait a long time for the next one then got lost coming home. We were a very tired family but enjoyed delicious soup for dinner with another Cordula-created Black Forest cake. It was a wonderful day.