Oh, Switzerland, we shall meet again!

We didn't have enough time in bountiful Switzerland. We had two nights (well, really like one and a half- I'll explain later) and one full, quietly glorious day. Getting to Switzerland from Venice was a bit tricky. The rude train ticket guy apparently had no patience for us and just booked us on a train arriving in Interlaken at 11:30 p.m. We had been hoping for a night train since we had no reservations in Switzerland until the next night. We started to worry, but knew God would help us. At the worst, we would sleep in the train station again. Ughh... sleep is a generous term to describe how one passes the night in a train station.
     Anyway, we arrived in chilly, wet Interlakin to discover that of all the train stations in Europe, the one that's in a town blanketed in snow 3/4s of the year is an outdoor train network. Yeah! Passing the night under an awning in the rain sounded exhilarating! *note the sarcasm*. At that point even Aaron's resilient opptomism wasn't enough to keep us warm outdoors all night. We walked about 100 yards and came upon a Youth Hostel. It was modern, clean and actually not very "youthy". Our hopes began to rise as we walked to the reception desk. Then they plummeted as we were told there was no vacancy and the likelihood of finding any room in Interlaken was very small. But, God bless Aaron, with no chagrin he quickly asked if we could crash on the couches in the lobby. The young hotel clerk seemed a little incredulous and told us he would ask his manager, but he suspected we couldn't, because "then the couches would be full every night with people who didn't make reservations". We really appreciated that last bit ;). Well he asked his manager and a very sweet lady said we could sleep on the couches in the T.V room, because that would be quieter than the lobby and more private. She felt sheepish about offering us such meager accommodations, but we felt as if we were getting the President's suite! She ended up only charging us 10 Swiss Franks apiece, plus five for breakfast (which is a steal for food in Switzerland).
     That night ended up being a huge blessing in disguise, because we spent far less for the night than we would have elsewhere, we had a great meal, and we got an early start to Gimmelwald, our alpine village destination. After taking the train, the bus, then the funicular (a hanging cable car) we arrived at the sleepy, car-free, old-school village of Gimmelwald.
     We felt as if we were entering a postcard. Our little village was situated between the lush, green valley below us and the slopes reaching into the clouds. What blissful silence surrounded and welcomed our overstimulated minds. Here there were no museums, no lines, no must-see sights. Just the languid rhythm of daily life and hippy-hikers. Upon arriving to our hostel (the only one we stayed in) we found we were sleeping in the Lovers' Dorm. Yes, a dorm of bunk beds made for two all stacked sides-touching. That night we had to be villagent lest we accidentally snuggle up to someone else's "lover". We got quite the kick out of sleeping side-by-side with complete strangers- we only hoped that nobody would take the "lovers" name too literally.
     We hiked from Gimmewald further up the mountain to Murren. The walk itself was quite a sight for (literally) sore eyes. Even among the misty clouds, the welcome view of wildflowers and bell-laden cows clinging to steep hillsides made me feel like Hiedi. In Murren we bought a huge sausage dog (I think I now love sausage) from a woman and her blonde daughter. We found about a Folk Festival going on further up the mountain, so we traveled in the nearly- vertical train to check it out. What we found was a nearly tourist-free gathering of Swiss heritage. There was plenty of beer, delicious cheese toast, old men, and even a few Yodeling groups. We watched these groups perform their talented and surprisingly somber songs, as well as saw a few Alpine Horn players. What an experience to stumble upon!
   I now know all the hype about Switzerland is well waranted. I just can't imagine what it would be like with the sun out. It would probably explode your brain with too much beauty.

A Floating City! Thats crazy, or it is just Venice.

What a cool thing it is to get off of a train and know exactly which direction you should go.  That was our experience in Venice.  We went straight to the tourist information center.  I would recommend this to anyone travelling to a big city.  You get a map of the city and a description of the local transportation, bus or metro.  The man at this kiosk spoke very good English, and for the first time in weeks, someone joked around with is.  It is amazing how refreshing and nice that is.  We got our map and a three day pass for discounts and unlimited public transport.  We were set.
     We have gotten pretty used to metros and buses by now.  When you can't drive and have any sort of distance to travel, public transportation is the only way.  I guess there are taxis, but they are super expensive.  The funny thing about Venice is there are no trams or buses, in fact, no vehicles at all.  They have vaporettos, buses of the sea.  Everyone crams onto a boat that is way too crowded and then it splashes through the canals till the next stop.  The redeeming part of vaporettos that buses can't offer is fresh air.  I'm sure the water isn't clean, but the air coming off of it is cool and refreshing, especially compared to the air we are used to on buses and trams.
     We didn't actual stay in Venice.  We stayed on the heavenly island of Lido.  We didn't really know what to expect.  All we knew was it was close to Venice and boatloads of money cheaper.  Little did we know that there was a glorious beach just five minutes from our hotel.  Our first evening was spent floating in the warm, calm sea and watching the sunset.  A very pleasant change from the city of Florence that consisted of people, cement, and buildings.
     Only having two nights in a city is sort of a bummer.  That means you only get one day in the city.  There is a lot more to most cities then just one day's worth.  Venice has enough to see for at least two full days!
     The nice thing about Venice to us was that there were only two buildings we felt we needed to go into, St. Marks Cathedral and the Doges Palace.  The rest of our time we wanted to just get lost and admire the gondolas and the fact that the city is floating.
     We took the vaparetto into St. Marks square which is where the Doges palace is as well.  The lines were more than an hour long so we decided on getting lost first and then checking back in on the lines.
     The city is absolutely extraordinary!  There are no cars, just people and boats.  There are so many bridges and alleys that nobody knows exactly how many there are.  It is a big maze that every once in a while will have a sign back to St. Mark's.  We didn't stray to far from there in order to try and make it back in time to get back to the lines.
     We did stray far enough to have an amazing picnic with our feet dangling over the edge of a dock looking over a canal.  Watching the boats navigate around eachother was a little scary.  I imagine there are a few boats that have sunk due to collisions.  The water is so murky there is no way to know.
     We wandered our way back through shops and corridors that are only wide enough to walk through.  It was nice not worrying about a scooter running us over.  St. Marks still had a line,so we walked next door to the Doges palace.
     It was well worth our eight euros to get inside.  We found congress rooms with every inch of wall and ceiling covered with vibrant frescoes and woodwork that doesn't seem possible.  There were thrones and secret passageways, grand dining and ballrooms.
     While all of the dancing and fine dining was going on upstairs, there were prisoners rotting away in dungeons in the basement.  What a sharp contrast from paintings by Titian, Vernose and other famous Venetians to drawings scribbled and scratched on dirty cell walls.  The content was similar though: big-busted and big-haired ladies.  The dungeons portion also had a weapons exibit with items ranging from original armor to some of the first guns used.  It was pretty neat to see the battle aspect of life.
     Traveling throughout the third part of the palace led us to the royal apartments.  Seeing the bedrooms and dining rooms made me miss home, so many similarities to our accomodations in Elmira.  Just kidding.  They had beds with canopies and marble tables.  Paintings of themselves hanging out with the gods and even musical instruments with special rooms for musicians to be able to serenade them as they went about their tasks.
     It was weird to think all of those things could be under one roof.  Such a huge building and complex that was decorated to make other countries feel weak and powerless.  It was over the top and amazing.  But I have come to the conclusion that decorating ceilings is not the best.  It strains your neck and it makes you look silly when your jaw drops in amazement with your head tilted as far as it can go.
     We missed out on St. Mark's for the day and hoped our train schedule would work itself out to be able to catch it before we had to leave town.
     After getting no help from a rude man at the train station, we ended up with tickets on a train we didn't want.  It was so frustrating , because the man spoke English but wouldn't even let me finish my question about other options before yelling through the microphone, "no tickets!"  We went to talk to information after realizing this guy had set us up to arrive in a Swiss city at 11pm where we had nowhere to stay.  We had planned on taking a night train which would give us another day to get to St. Mark's and a place to stay for the night.  We now had three hours and no idea what we were going to do for lodging.
     We decided to just head towards St. Mark's and prayed for no lines.  We had favor again when it came to the line. For all of the museums and such that we have visited, we have only had to wait more then twenty minutes one time.  Pretty fortunate in that regard.  Right when we got to the front of the line, Kayla said, "look at how tall that guy is."  I looked and saw a floppy haired man in a Stanford shirt.  Then I saw another Man matching in height and hair floppiness.  I knew them! They were the Lopez brothers who play in the NBA.
     I debated leaving the line to get a photo with them, but we were getting ushered in at the same time they turned the corner.  We were headed into St. Mark's.  A little history lesson.  Venice wanted to rival the Vatican when it came to being the church of the country, and they went all out to match if not exceed in splender.  I have been before, but I was just a Freshman in college and was in a very me-centric stage of my life.  I couldn't grasp what I was looking at.  I still couldn't grasp the splendor of it all.  There was gold everywhere.  It was not necessarily shiny gold due to age, but it was magnificent.  There also was a lot more mosaics and illustrations of Biblical stories rather then the history of the Catholic church.  It was incredible.  The slight bummer was that to get to certain portions of the church to see things you have to pay a few Euros.  I almost never do that, because there is already enough to look at, and I never feel right about paying to go to church.
     We raised our jaws back into the upright position and exited the church thrilled to have gotten to see the two monuments we really wanted to see.  We still had a few hours, so we decided to get lost in the city some more.
     A little while later I spotted the Sideshow Bob hair of the Lopez twins.  They stick out due to the fact they are both over seven feet tall.  I got over my nerves of talking to someone famous and asked for a picture. Brooke, the brother  who just signed a four year, forty-eight million dollar contract looked down at me and said, "Naww man."  I was shocked, but undetered.  I followed them long enough for Kayla to get my picture behind them.  It surprised me a little when they denied my photo-op, and I wonder if they thought I just wanted their picture because they are tall enough to be in a circus.  Do tall people get asked for pictures a lot?  Do pro-athletes not have to appreciate fans in their off season when they are oversees?  I plan on writing them and asking these questions and hope to get a prompt response.
     It was time to return to the station to get on a train trip we didn't know anything about.  I could have used another day there!  Next trip I guess.

Historic Figures, check. Amazing Art, check. Loads of tourists, check. Florence, check.

Florence, or Firenze, as its called in Italy (speaking of, why are names of countries different in different languages? For easiness' sake, the names should be the same in every language... in my humble opinion.), is overflowing with eye-candy. Actually, the city itself is not so beautiful, not ugly by any means, but not spectacularly good-looking. The real glitz of Florence is inside the churches and museums. Though I should mention the outside of the Duomo is, without a doubt, outrageously sumptuous. It's covered in white, green and pink marble and draped in statuary, so much so that its hard to even see what the statues are. The babtistry right next door is clad in the same decor as the Duomo, only it also has some very famous gilded doors. These are the babtistry doors made by Ghiberti. These golden iron doors, depicting carved Biblical scenes, were christened the "gates of paradise" by Michaelangelo, and they really do live up to their nickname!
   Speaking of Michelangelo, we feel a little as though we know him personally. I mean, we've seen oodles of his work, even his unfinished work, we've met his artist friends, been to one his fave restaurants, gone to his house, and visited his grave. So will all due respect to the man, I think I can call him Mike now. So, of all Mike's sculptural work, my favorites are probably his lesser known Day and Night and Dawn and Dusk. They are housed in the Medici Chapel which was conveniently located right across the street from us. Which also made it so that we got there early, and got to see these phenomenal statues (as well as the Medici crypt- which was really cool) relatively alone. No wait in line, no crowds, just us and Mike's sculpteral masterpieces.
   Also really amazing, was the Uffizi Gallery. Honestly, my face hurt afterword. There were just far too many jaw dropping moments and eye-dazzeling pieces. By far, the best, most beautiful work, was that by Botticceli. Again, his was art that I studied in college, not only for its visual appeal, but its cultural impact. In fact, as much as I love religious art, after seeing hundreds of Marys and Bimbi and Crucified Christs, it was a welcome break to see a different theme. I'm fairly certain Boticceli's contemporaries silently felt the same way. Let me just say, standing in front of his Birth of Venus and La Primavera, I was incredibly enraptured. For those precious minutes in front of his work, I felt as though the crowds were not even there, sweaty and jockeying for a better view.
   Florence itself was a nice city, no racing mopeds or dodgy taxis, but swollen with camera-toting spectators. But, this was what we expected. We had the priveledge, and also the inconveniance, of staying right in the center of town. It was great for getting around, but not so great given the hordes of college partiers that passed below our apartment all night long. Oh well, again, this was what we expected and just part of travel. However, the entire time we were in Florence, we felt a palpable gloom hovering, like a shadow on our periphery. We realized, for the first time on our trip, we were homesick. Not to say we were ready to pack up and head home, but its remarkable that all the worlds most precious and rare sights cannot replace the most precious things of all: family, friends, community...trees. Sadly, with all the beauty Florence held, it was a city of cobblestones, statues and old buildings, devoid of trees and green spaces. I really did miss those glimpses of God's works of art amidst all the handiwork of men.
   To wrap up (sorry I get so long winded), Florence held many delights, and I'm happy we went, but it wasn't so hard to say goodbye.

Orvieto: A Resting Place...

At least for a night  After taking in big city after big city, it was time for something different. We had read about a place called Chivita that could only be accessed by foot. A bus can get you within 20 minutes, but then you walk. There you find a medieval hill town that has not been modernized and is similar to how it was in the 1200s.
     We never made it all the way to the town, because we only had booked our place for one night. The train schedule and the fact that you can only catch the bus near Chivita four times a day did not mesh well for our plans.  I guess we will have to go back someday.  Oh well.
     We took the bus up to another small hill town.  It was gorgeous up there overlooking vinyards and other fields.  It was just a little taste of back home in Elmira.  Actually it was better, because there were not any trailers and scary dogs on the loose.
     We ate outside at a little restaraunt.  It was delicious.  Kayla ordered ravioli with spinach and a type of cheese.  I ordered a meal that seemed strange, refreshing, and delicious all at once.  There were no pictures on the menu, but I have been trying to be a little more adventurous when it comes to trying new foods.  That is what you do on vacation, and I knew I liked both of the ingredients; melon and bacon!  It was spectacular.
     Both of our plates came with three of the items we ordered.  Kayla got three massive ravioles, and I got just what I wanted, three big pieces of cantelope with thin sliced meat on top of it.  What a fantastic combo!  I knew meat goes well with bacon, because my sister-in-law once made pears wrapped in bacon, but this combo was so refreshing and nice that we have since ordered it a few other times.  The cantelope, and on a side note, nectarines, are so juicy and sweet here.  They are messy as well, squirting all over the place when you bite them. 
     Afterwards, we got a gelato, because that is one of our staple foods. We got mint which has done well for us in the past, but this time, yikes!  It was like sucking on freezing cold halls menthols.  It was gross,  but in the spirit of not wanting to waste a purchase, I (Aaron) preceded to eat the whole thing.  It was sort of miserable, but it cleared up my nasal passages, and I finished just in time to take the bus back to the hotel. 
     In the morning we were able to go on a walk in the countryside and ended it just in time to catch our train to the next big city, Florence!

Rome wasn't built in two blogs...

O.k... the Vatican City was...vast. I guess that's why they call it a city. We split up the city into two days; one for the incredibly huge museum, and one for St. Peter's Basilica.
The museum was awesome in its rather excessive collection of art and statuary. Though awe-inspiring, the collection is somewhat maddening in that few pieces are labeled, and even fewer, if any, are labeled in English. *Note: if you intend to visit the vatican museum, purchase the audioguide or bring a vatican-specific guidebook or do both. Do not attempt it on your college history course knowledge; you will drown in a puddle of idiocy, frusteration and regret... which is bad, because they don't allow liquids in the museum.* However, with our guide in ear, we managed to bask in the glory of Raphael's Transfiguration (which we saw a copy, though still by Raphael, in the Prado in Madrid). The painting is humongous and vibrant... which is surprising considering the age (though it has undergone restoration).
     In fact, that was a theme we encountered many times when viewing Renaissance art; it's quite sizable and beautifully bright-colored. We saw a few masterfully done Caravaggios, as well as a fascinating statue called Laocoon, which depicts snakes devouring the man (I forget who, sorry) who warns his fellow Trojans to distrust a gift from the Greeks, the gift in this case being the Trojan horse. The gods, angered by his lack of trust (rightfully so) in the Greeks, sentence him and his two sons to death by snake eating.
     Among this art-hoarder's paradise, we were able to find Leonardo's St. Jerome, as well as many, many awesome but unlabeled statues from antiquity, many prudishly outfitted later with fig leaves. But the icing on the cake, of course, was the Sistene Chapel. Everyone always talks about Adam touching God's finger, and while that's certainly moving, there is SO much more to it than that. The entire ceiling, as well as ever square inch of wall is covered in enchantingly beautiful frescoes (though the frescoes on the side walls are not Michelangelo's and they date earlier- still breathtaking in their own right.)
     I (Kayla) was most impressed, and moved to tears, by Mike's Last Judgment on the front wall. It's chock full of allegory, theology, history, humanism, artistic mastery and the artist's own internal struggle. In his terrible depiction of hell, you can see the darkness of doubt that apparently hovered over Michealangelo in his later years. However, in the upper center of this enormous work, is the pinnacle of hope: Jesus and the faithful in their new, glorified (and unnaturally muscular) bodies. Though these are not my original insights, its clear enough through Michealangelo's depictions of demons that he indeed had his own, but just as his painting illustrates, in the end hope and light and the justness of God prevail.
     I (Aaron) also was quite impressed with the Sistine chapel.  Anybody who cares about a project enough to work singlehandedly on it for four years should be given a prize. I was also challenged by these paintings to make sure I put all of my energies into glorifying God.  The artists had such devotion to thier work, and it showed greatly in how their works demonstrated God' greatness.
     The next morning we went to church at St Peter's Basilica.  What an amazing place.  Every inch is covered in one of three things: gold, marble, or mosaics.  Talk about eye-boggling.  Seriously, I had to make up a saying to describe it.  Visually it hurts a little, and your eyeballs get A.D.D. and they aren't sure what to focus on.  A lot of the same feelings about art and dedication to a craft remained, but a new feeling was creeping into me, sadness.
     Let me explain.  The churches are incredible to look at and tell an amazing history.  The only thing is that Jesus was a small portion of what was being displayed.  I missed Jesus.  Sure Kayla's and my favorite paintings were of grace and Jesus conquering death, but there was much more glorifying of old popes and saints then of Jesus.  We still got to see one of the most glorious statues ever, Michaelangelo's Pieta, which is Mary holding a dead Jesus, and that was just as stunning as all of the other things. 
     And that ends our Rome adventure.  A new theme started to develop towards the end: a realization that we really love our family and community that we have around us.  And most of all, we, just like everyone else, need Jesus.

Rome wasn't built in a day...

Probably my (Kayla) favorite sight in Rome was Ostia Antica. After taking the sweltering, graffiti clad tram 30 minutes outside of Rome, we arrived at the miles and miles of Roman ruins. These ruins dated as far back as 700 B.C. The ruins are said to be better for understanding Roman life than Pompey. The craziest thing was that these ruins are not roped off, policed or crowded. We walked along the rims of ancient and crumbled walls, stood in the middle of exquisite, centuries-old mosaic floors, and explored weed infested alleys and rooms. It was simply fantastic! To touch the same brick and mortar that people painstakingly placed centuries before Christ, is unbelievable. Even as I write this, its hard to believe I was there, walking among the ghost homes and shops of a once bustling and pivotal part of Rome. Anyway, enough of my gushing. The highlights of Ostia were the "snack bar" with a bar still in place, the latrine room with rows of holes over a once-open sewer, and a bath house with mostly intact mosaics of body-builders. The mosaics were not labeled or roped off with any decorum, but just found in different "shops". They were mostly of people swimming, but some of our favorites were dolphins and horses being attacked by panthers (why? We don't know. Apparently nobody does... nothing was marked... note to self: buy the audio tour). We mostly enjoyed just walking through the old homes, sitting on the staircases leading to nowhere, and "exploring" among the rocks and bricks and weeds covering a good portion of Ostia. It's remarkable how little is actually uncovered and well-preserved looking. That about covers ancient pagan Rome. More to come on St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican!

When in Rome!

First off followers: sorry for not posting more frequently. "When in Rome, update your bog frequently," is not the saying.  Instead we did as the Romans did: visit ancient sights and eat lots of pizza and gelato. Wait, thats not right either. 
     We had a very full four days in Rome.  I'll try and get the order right to coincide with the pictures. There are huge old churches and buildings every direction you turn, very much like Madrid.  in the evenings everyone hangs out in plazas.  They are super crowded but still very worth it. The fountains and statues were created centuries ago by Bernini and his peers.  They are incredible and huge. The size of all of the things are so much bigger then you think they are when you research and see pictures about them.
    We started at the Roman forum next to the Colosseum. This place had acres of crumbled buildings that were originally shrines and dedications to the Greek gods.  It was neat to see there are still many archaeologists digging around discovering new revelations about how the people lived back then.  After a wonderful picnic on the hill where Romulus fought Remus which led to Rome being named Rome, we walked a short distance to where Russell Crowe intertained us all.
     What do you say about the Colosseum?  It is stunning. It also gave me the heebee jeebees a bit.  When you look down and see all of the little rooms that stored the fighters and animals, you realize that it was not all glorious fun and games. It was quite gruesome.  Only around one hundred of the gladiators fighting for their freedom ever got it.  Hundreds of thousands tried and failed.  To look where all of the fighting took place and think of those numbers gets to you a bit.  It was also chilling to realize that the structure in which we stood was the prime location for grusome executions of christians. Then you add in the cheering of thousands of fans and it makes you think humans are gross.
    All of that aside, it was still marvelous to look at, and again, the size of it could not be understood unless you have seen it in person.  What a truly memorable experience.