Italy Vernazza Pictures

Update from Jeff & Brenda:

Our trip has culminated in Vernazza, one of the little villages that cling to the rugged Italian coast. This is an amazing place. Many of the houses are hundreds of years old, but are still lived in. The peeling paint and stone walls add a special character. The streets are too narrow for cars, so people here have to do a lot of walking. Or, maybe we should say "stepping". There is more steps in this village than anywhere we have ever been. Thousands of stone steps, most of them placed by hand hundreds of years ago. Imagine our luggage bouncing up and down hundreds of steps. Then image us throwing that same luggage off that deck into the ocean. Tempting, huh?

As you can see, the weather was pleasant. Sunny, but not too hot. Along with the beautiful Mediterranean Sea water and it is truly an ancient paradise. Ahhh, what a way to end our trip.

We hope you have enjoyed following our experiences in Europe. This is our last entry. Ciao!

Jeff, Brenda, Kyle, Derek, Wayne, Patty

Italy Lake Como Pictures

These pictures were taken around Bellagio, on the shore of Lake Como. What a beautiful area! The weather was pretty stormy. We were dodging heavy downpours, but at times the sun came out.

From Jeff and Brenda

This entry was intended before Derek's last entry. We are disorganized, no?

Our arrival in Italy was a little crazy. Due to Jeff's quest for the most scenic route, we ended up making nine train transfers in one day. Remember, we are dragging around suitcases that weigh a ton. Is this stupid or what?

We were surprised that south Switzerland is just like Italy. As soon as we crossed the Alps the train captain started making announcements in Italian, not German. The houses no longer looked Swiss, but Mediteranean. And we saw palm trees! This is Switzerland?

Once across the border we got off the train at Lake Como, and boarded an overcrowded bus, standing room only. Now we felt like we were in India. The bus hurtled through narrow streets narrowly missing buildings and people. We were held in place by suitcases on once side and people on the other. What a relief to finally arrive at our hotel at 9:30pm.

The next day we took a ferry accross the lake to Bellagio. This is Italy's version of Rodeo Drive. It's the perfect shopping village where old women walk around with colored hair, dripping with jewelry, and wearing tight clothes. Eeeeoooouuuw! But, at the least the buildings are charming, at least.

As you see from Derek's entry we are now in Vernazza, but we are stuck using an internet cafe computer, so we cannot show you are Italy pictures yet. CHECK AGAIN FOR OUR ITALY PICTURES!!!

Ciao

Still Alive... In Italia

Hey! Long time! Sorry guys... but we havent had internet for a long time. Were now in Vernaza, safe and sound. Im at an internet cafe now and on the clock. This might be the last entry, and not my computer so no pictures sorry. But this place is stunning!!! Ill have pictures when I get back! Thank you for reading... hope you enjoyed it while it lasted! Will continue face to face when I get back. Miss you all! It will be nice to get home!

Switzerland... Not Just Great Chocolate

Sure the chocolate leaves Hershey's in the sewer... but the main reason why I love Switzerland and why people come here... is for the ALPS!! Good grief they're stunning... But allow me to backtrack a bit because I never read Kyle's posts... but I'm sure he didn't do a good enough job;)

I vaugly remember saying something about my room being full of wet, stinky clothes. Well I'm glad to report - I did laundry! Hurray! But not so fast... I had to wash Kyle's clothes as well - apparently he didn't buy me that liter stien of beer because he loves me... sad:( Everything was going good until the dryer, which cost 60 cents for every 15 minutes. Well my family likes to save money here and there - so instead of not drinking as much beer... we decided to only dry our clothes for 30 minutes. (Grandpa... and maybe myself would not compromise the beer) The washer there didn't really have a spin cycle, so after 30 minutes of drying - I got to skip six blocks back to the hotel with two bags of wet laundry... then I got to hang all of them up around the room! Then I got to do some really steamy ironing... it made my day. But after a liter at the Haughbrauhos I felt a little better hahaha! You all must think I'm a drunk haha:)

Then what's so far been our favorite part of Europe - we got to go on a train ride! So way early in the morning I woke up, packed, had breakfast, got ready for the subway and train ride... while Kyle slept for another hour - then delayed us all when his curling iron stopped working - and his tears made the mascara run... gosh that made us late. But finally we got on the train, closed my eyes for a bit - was nice. Then came the ICE train's last chance to make a good impression. We've had nothing but trouble with the German highspeed train - I really wanted to be able to forgive it... Maybe if I blame Kyle for everything. But anyways, the place where our car was supposed to stop, wasn't where it did. In fact, it whooshed past us at 30 mph and stopped at the other end of the station... We're pretty accustomed to running through crowded European train stations - so we made it... But Grandma ran more than she has in the past 40 years... and let me tell you - those white leather-laced shoes were only designed for pushing the pedals in a golf cart. She was weaving and dodging, might have even stif-armed some guy onto the tracts! But we didn't look back so I'm not sure... Finally though, at the end of a few hot train rides... we found ourselves in Switzerland.

It's so beautiful here - I don't know if it really registers. And sorry, megapixels don't give this place justice - but so you don't yap at me... there's more pictures. The first day we arrived around six, and it was the clearest then than it has been since then. But hey, the clouds add a different kind of beauty to it all... majestic I guess. Any way you turn in this tiny little town is pretty much a postcard. Twenty minutes after getting here I took a hike to the nearby waterfall - steep, rocky, wet trail with a bunch of stairs and caves brought me right up next to the falls. Thanks to my trusty Birkenstocks - I was able to conquer the terrain and enjoy the view.

This morning we decided to go up to Schilthorn. Which is a peak of about 10,000 feet with a restaurant and shop up top. I guess a James Bond movie was filmed there - which would explain why everything on the menu was called "James Bond... whatever - spagehtti, coffee, fies." It was pretty socked in though. But because we leave tomorrow, we had to go anyways. Another long tram ride through the clouds, like literally - pure white out the windows, we cames to another small village. We've been to three small villiages - they're all incredible. Then me and Kyle took the hike down to another (forgive me for forgetting the names - altitude and beer I guess haha!) But that was lovely... the whole place smelled like farm - and we bought some home made cheese and sausage from this lady in a tiny little shack. The place was so cute, small and non-touristy! A totally different existance than what I've ever seen. Making cheese in front of the Alps, with butterflies everywhere! Was pretty cool.

Back in the home town we got some delicious dinner. Grandpa sits down at the table and the only thing he says is "beer!" Cracks me up:) Mum and Dad got Fondue... expecting the cheese/wine stuff... but got raw meat that you fry yourself... for 108 bucks! Whoops:) But they said it was good so... If you come here - get some Rosti - I had it and it was pretty stinkin delicious. Well... the Swiss lady running the place is confused why the heck I'm still awake... turned the lights off and everything... I should go:) Enjoy the pics!

The Day After

Well, I admit it. I was too tired last night to do the blog entry for yesterday (Monday the 13th). So far Derek and myself have kept it consistent, alternating the blog each day, which usually meant one of us staying up late at the hotel, typing away and trying to keep y'all updated. Wow! The things we do for you folks back home... :-)

Anyway, I'm on the train to Switzerland right now, and just thought I'd give you a quick run-down of what happened yesterday then I'll shut up (finally!, you're thinking) and let some others (you mean it's not just Derek and Kyle?) who are on this trip write some stuff.

So Monday we went on a tour of the city and our first visit happened to be the München Assembly Hall, affectionately referred to by locals as "the Mushroom." You'll see why in the pictures. Inside was even more interesting; in fact, I'm not even going to try and describe it. We took some pictures and brought home some information about it that we can show you when we get home. Aesthetics aside, the people were very warm and welcoming and served us more food and drink (no beer this time) in the cafeteria.

Our next stop was Nymphenburg Palace. That place was pretty cool. Unlike the first palace we visited, I thought this one was more tastefully done, albeit extravagant at the same time. It wasn't a copy of Versailles; it had its own distinctive features that made an enjoyable visit.

After a traditional Bavarian-Franconian lunch at the Ratskeller (more sausage, potatoes, sauerkraut, and beer anyone?) we did some shopping and finally got to see the sights of München from the crowded sidewalks to the bustling squares. Our dinner included a stop to the famous Hofbrauhaus near Marienplatz. Yes it was sort of touristy, but hey! we are tourists!

And so after what seemed like too short of a night of sleep, packing, and dragging our luggage to the central station, here we are en route to Switzerland for a few days, then to Italy. I'm kind of doubtful that we will be able to continue the daily blog, actually. It's going to be a little difficult to get everything together each day, plus have a stable internet connection that is free or very cheap. We will still make an effort though to post entries when we can.

OK! I'm done! Now I'm turning over the computer to my parents...



The Parents speak:

What? You brought a computer on this trip? You guys have been hogging it the whole time!

We would like to comment on the International Convention. Wow, what an experience! It was like a spiritual festival. Much more social and lively than our normal district conventions. Here's an example: A "quick" visit to the restroom during the session went like this. Once our international badges were spotted, people in the corrider rushed up to meet us. We got fancy origami gifts from Japan, had our pictures taken several times, more gifts from German children, unintelligible conversations with Greeks ending with hugs and handshakes, etc. When was the last time your visit to the restroom was like that?

And we were impressed by the traditional dress from each delegation. Kimonos, liederhosen, sombreros, and on and on. What would we northwestern Americans wear? Paul Bunyon lumberjack outfits? Here's some advice for you all heading to Paris later this month...stockpile handfuls of Euro coins! You'll need hundreds of them for tips, train tickets, treats, etc. Trust us on this.

How's our German? Not very good. Once we botch our first German word, the people smile and immediately switch over to English. English is very accepted in Germany, unlike France. Munich is a very interesting city. There's a train or a street car every block. And yet they still they have traffic jams of BMWs and Mercedes every day. But, the bicycles rule everything. Step on a bike lane and you'll be run over in a New York minute.

Well, our train is nearing the station, so that's all for now. We will try to upload this entry as soon as we can find a wi-fi hotspot again. In the Swiss Alps? Hope we can find one!

Jeff and Brenda



EDIT from Kyle: So it's about twelve hours since we wrote the above and I'm happy to report that we arrived in Lauterbrunnen safe and sound. It's absolutely stunning here - think Yellowstone Valley on steroids! Derek will have more pics soon. (Oh yeah, and we have free wi-fi here...wahoo!)

Now some pics from our last day in München:

Standing in front of "the Mushroom"

Pretty interesting, eh?

The Palace

Where we ate lunch

I promise no more beer pictures! (taken at HB)

Hey what do you know? I thought your dad was into rocks and sand, not owning hotels?

A Day Like No Other

I can't believe it's over... but I have so many wonderful experiences and feelings just being with the brothers - that today's final goodbye was a festive and joyous one. These have been some of the best days of my life! Each day with it's own memories to take home and cherish. And even if the small details start to fade with time... I know this has been a life changing experience. My eyes have seen the expansive and yet tight knit brotherhood from an entirely new perspective... international conventions are unbelievable... jaw dropping... but still being able to smile at the same time:) Today was a fantastic day... I'm floored by this whole experience. I know it's expensive to go, but I'm determined to make sure this wasn't my last international - giving up some frills and living a simple life to save up for these occasions... It's just something you have to experience.

The day started out the same as the last four (tour day + half day Thursday), but there was a silent excitement knowing that this was the finale... it wouldn't remain silent however:) We sat in the Greek section today - no chance of understanding more than two words in a row, but they're an enthusiastic group so it was fun. Today was rumored to be the hottest, but it started out pretty cool with overcast skies. Eventually it even rained on us - not bad or anything, actually a pretty cool sight to see thousands of colorful umbrellas! During lunch, brother Lett gave a special talk to the Italian group which I kinda snuck in to... but hey! I'm dying for any bit of English I can get haha! It was a great talk, as was the concluding part he gave. Then he said the prayer. And then...

The post-convention celebration put our 10 second clap to shame back in the Memorial Collusium! Seriously... I've never seen anything like it... just WOW! Instead of 10 seconds, the applause lasted for over 30 minutes!!! And it wasn't just the ordinary applause you give after a talk - it was with a beat! You know - starts out slow till everyone gets the beat going then it get faster and faster until the resounding climax! It was so cool - and it went over and over again. Before the prayer the Greeks handed out blue and white napkins for us to wave at all the other delegates after amen... Everybody had some thing to wave so you could see each one - what a sight! 41,000 people waving napkins, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, whatever! And get this! The entire Italian group got together to sing an extra song for all the other nations!! All (7,000??) of them sang the acapella version of song 127 "Myriads of Brothers!" Afterwords the entire stadium let out a cheer of appreciation! Followed by a series of loud whistles that lasted for about 5 minutes! Then came the signs... that was really a sight to see. You'll have to enlarge the pictures to read them - and they were all over the stadium! "SEE YOU IN PARADISE!" "YOU'RE IN OUR LOVE!" "WE LOVE YOU!" On and on... I've never seen anything quite like it. The crowd was like the Rose Garden if the Blazers won the championship... and suddenly got an urge to be dignified in their celebration haha! So exciting... so beautiful... I can't wait to see it again.

And heres another thing! They put our post-convention parties to shame! "Hey, me and a couple friend are going to Applebees later... want to come along?" I mean that's nice... but...! How about an open invitation to a Beer Garden! We were going to go to the Haugbrahus with the Fedors and the Cloughs... but when we met there we all had heard about the huge party going on at the Beer Garden - so we just couldn't resist! A little subway ride, 15 minutes walk through graffitid tunnels and sidewalks, neighborhoods and the like... we ended up at a pretty amazing place! Too bad they don't have beer gardens in Oregon... not that I know off. So we walk in there (right next to a herd of live deer!) and there's no less than 1,000 convention delegates gorging on german food and drink these massive liter steins of very good beer! It was like nothing I've ever imagined... I had to pinch myself! Not really:) But it was a pretty incredible sight! So we bought our food, sat down next to Joe and Kelly, and listened to their bus captain and his wife tell us the most incredible story of how they came into the truth! Sparknotes version: he was drafted to Vietnam, his paperwork got all the number ID mixed up - so while his whole division went to Vietnam, he mistakenly got sent to Okinawa of the coast of Japan. His buddy had the same thing happen to him - whose family were witnesses and arranged for American missionaries on Okinawa to meet with them... Now they're at the International and she's been pioneering for 40 YEARS!!! All because of a "mistaken" assignment:) I'm thinking the angles had a little hand in things:)

An incredible day... too much to right! Hope the picture give you an idea... I'll have to explain more when I get back!

301 Baptized!!! And we were 1 of 5 international conventions going on in Germany this weekend!!!

P.S. Laundry! Sore straight in Munich:( I had to resort to washing clothes in the sink! Which didn't really work... had wet and still smelly clothes all over my room for a couple days... what a mess! Kyle did laundry through the hotel - 6 boxers and 2 undershirts = 37 euros... Whaaaat?! It would cost me around 200 euros to do all my laundry!!! Walking five blocks to a laundromat tomorrow so I can pay 13,50E a load! Yikes!

And one more thing... being around such loving brothers... just makes me miss you guys all the more... :)

Yeeeeeeaaah;)

A Bright and Sunshiny Day

It was a beautiful day today in more than one way. The sun decided to stay for more of the convention this day, more than any so far. But more beautiful than the weather was seeing the sun on people's faces. The beaming faces were particularly noticeable on the baptismal candidates. Not only were they happy on the most important day of their lives, but the rest of us were filled with joy that we could be able to see so many "slap Satan in the face," as Bro. Tripplet said. I'm not sure how many were baptized - that will be announced tomorrow - but I'd say probably 200 plus.

The cool thing about international conventions, among many cool things actually, is the additional experiences from other lands. Today, all international conventions in Germany (Frankfurt, Dortmund, Berlin, are the others I think) were tied into the Frankfurt convention by telephone for experiences from the delegates at that convention. The reports are from all over the world, and twenty minutes are spent sharing them after each song in the middle of each session. I won't bore you with all the experiences, but I'll share one I thought was interesting from Estonia:

So some brothers called on a lady who let them know that she was not interested at all in Jehovah's Witnesses because of their stand on blood. She shut the brothers down on any literature, and she wouldn't even allow them to read a scripture to explain our stand on blood. So sounds like a dead end, right? Time to say good day? These brothers didn't do that. They asked if the lady liked to watch DVD's. She said yes. Arrangements were then made for the brothers to drop off a DVD explaining our stand on blood. After she watched it, her heart condition was moved to the point that when the brothers returned, she said "I can't understand why anyone would accept a blood transfusion. You people should show this video to the doctors and nurses!" After the brothers explained how the bloodless surgery program worked, she agreed to learn more about Jehovah's Witnesses. She is now progressing toward baptism.

That is a small taste of what is going on over here in Munich. There are many more experiences to share, but I don't have time to write all them. When we get back we can share some.

We sat in the German section today and met some nice families, thought I might post a few pictures - hope they don't mind!!! First though, I'll try and upload some stuff from the baptism.

Dang. I had this really cool video of us all singing the last verse of song 13 but it is taking way to long to upload. I'll show you it when we get home.

We had great seats to watch the baptism.


We are not going anywhere anytime soon! Not with these kind of crowds in the hallways!


Very nice family from Strasburg.


The nice family we sat next to.