London greeting: Hiya, Haw ya goin den... ah roit?‏

What comes to mind when you read "LONDON?" Trifles? Big Ben? William and Kate? Perhaps many of you have visited, and your experience would probably be totally different from mine, for there's certainly much to do and see. Over the last two months, London and I have spent some quality time together, and here are a few stories:

First, I took a walking tour around London, and our tour guide Trevor-with-a-lisp revealed many interesting facts. Did you know that galoshes in England are now dubbed "Wellies" because of the Duke of Wellington's combat boots? They're all the craze here right now. Fashion has such a bandwagon effect doesn't it? I also learned that London tops the charts for the number of CCTV surveillance cameras. I may have been on CCTV 10 times every day, though I suppose it's still a far cry from Big Brother. Di you further know that St James Park has a resident Pelican population, begun as an exotic gift from the Russian ambassador in 1664? Silly history of politics... All in all, its great to walk 'round the streets of London, crowded though it may be.

One morning, Paul, Charlotte, and I got up in London and went to the nearby cafe for a "working man's breakfast," bacon, jumbo sausage, beans, mushrooms, fried egg, fries. *Burp* The waitress actually recognized Paul, and asked "will you be having the usual?" Then we drove in the afternoon to "Go Ape!" If any of you have been on my zipline over the pond, multiply that by twenty and imagine us climbing up rope ladders and across hanging ropes, swinging into nets (named the Tarzan Swing), and going down four ziplines! My hosts are so adventurous! Every high ropes feature is built on a series of pine trees in a beautiful English glade, an authentic atmosphere for a Nature Boy like me. I even read the novel Tarzan of the Apes last month. That evening, we finished off a splendid "Man's Day Out" with a medieval war film.

Upon arrival at Go Ape, we of course signed a release of liability, but this time they actually meant it because we were briefly trained and left on our own! Each feature had a three-clip system to remain safe at all times and we did it ourselves. As I mounted the final platform for a final line-zip, I glanced at the lightning in the distance and heard thunder, clipping my carrabeaners with rain-covered hands. Frankly, I was grateful to accept responsibility for my own self, rather than have someone over my shoulder worrying that the situation screamed 'Lawsuit' in ten different ways. Ha ha! (for the record, Go Ape was evacuating the course right behind us, and I wouldn't have sued them if a 300-pound attorney had struck me, let alone a mere lightning bolt) If the London Times reports a frivolous lawsuit, the Brits comment, "We're getting as bad as the Americans!" It seems to me that we can buy insurance to preserve our financial stability when bad things happen rather than suing. I hope we can learn to wisely discern what money is a suitable compensation for.

Charlotte and I watched "Yes, Prime Minister" in London's West End theatre district. Poking fun at nearly everything under the sun, especially the European Union and the humanity of politicians, it implied three other American stereotypes: 1 - Americans are independent, societally and individually 2 - Americans think prayer is the answer for everything 3 - If the answer isn't prayer, Americans probably just shoot somebody to solve it. So how true are these stereotypes?? Well, I try to pray without ceasing (rather unsuccessfully I might add), I took a defensive handgun course 4 months ago, and now I'm traveling on my own thru Europe. Sing with me... "Oh beautiful, for spacious skies..."

You probably know what the Americans do when they visit London, but what do the British do there?? Well, 40,000 of them go to the last night of the Proms in Hyde Park!! (and one American does as well) So I got a ticket and plopped down in the grass for a four-hour musical extravaganza. Here's the lineup: Classical musicians: Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson, Rolf Harris, pianist: Lang Lang, Pop Guys Group: Westlife, and the BBC Concert Orchestra and Royal Choral Society, which were great!

At the Last Night of the Proms, I was surrounded by British, English, Scottish, Australian, and Welch flags, and I was fortunate enough to make friends with 6 people close-by. To my left, Susanne, a huge fan of... Nascar of all things random, suddenly produced an American flag from her Mary Poppins bag for me to wave. So we all linked shoulders and swayed in the slight drizzle, singing "Rule, Brittania! Brittania rule the waves..." and me trying to sing the British Anthem "God Save the Queen" which, interestingly is the same tune as "My Country Tis of Thee." Even though it

wasn't my country, I relished the excitement, and appreciated the way that my flag and I were entirely welcome there, as my neighbors made clear. I can't help but esteem the USA's unity as a nation. Despite a civil war, terrorism, and political dissent, how terrific that we stand under only one flag! The next day, I spotted myself on catch-up television in the crowd shots, although I needed extra high definition to distinguish my facial features. Well, I'll check "appear on British Tele" off my to-do list.

Also entertaining on London's West End was the show The 39 Steps, a cast of only four playing lots of characters in a spin-off murder mystery. I also was a commoner in the yard of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre twice for All's Well That Ends Well, and Much Ado About Nothing! The excellent acting made Shakepeare ring with interest like never before in my experience. How gratifying to stand in line for last-minute returns and lean against the stage for five quid! (pounds). It's an authentic replication of the experience in the 1600s, with the exception of distant Jumbo Jets roaring across the open skies. And perhaps the crowd is a bit more respectful.

After standing so long at The Globe, a 25-mile bike ride along the Thames to central London is just the ticket to loosen the muscles. The Thames is a meandering river in the country, and a swift-flowing icon in downtown London, and the Thames Clipper boats provide an enjoyable alternative to the underground for commuters and 25-yr-old American tourists. I saw lots of 40-foot houseboats, which provide a charming escape from society for a cruise up the Thames and even along the canal behind Charlotte and Paul's house. I had to stop and take a picture when I saw one named, "Tell Me Tomorrow," a succinct description of the activity. I'd rather be playing Ultimate frisbee, myself, but they're cool boats.

And so I'll wrap up this note and my European experience with a ridiculously philosophical comment about experiencing things once: It seems to me that every new experience teaches us something about life. Those new experiences need not be in another country, nor even another county. I appreciate both the opportunity and learning, yet simultaneously it reinforced now naive I am about the big truths of life. It struck me the other day that knowledge of good and evil was even the downfall of Adam and Eve. So I shall return to Wichita tomorrow, and if God wills it, continue to live, work hard, pursue God's will. The next mini adventure is running the 5K Race for the Cure Sept 24! For now, God's will may be 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances."

Hope your not knackered, peckish, stitched up, or wound up. Wishing you all the best in your endeavors, challenges, and joys.

Seth Pro

Savoring Life.

Greetings friends! I was eating a British pastry the other day, supplemented by some Haribo gummy candy, speculating about the difference between "sweet" and "savory" when I had a culinary poetical moment. This trip is more savory than sweet. Things soak in when you explore in this way. Sweet would be one update, maybe two. But four??

So I hope you all have "sweet" moments, when your kids learn something for the first time, when you're enjoying your favorite leisure activity, when you have an "ah-ha!" moment at work, or when you enjoy the wide-horizon Kansas sunsets. And if you want to philosophize about savoring, have a tasty pastry.

Speaking of food, vacation is a time to try new cuisines. And while it's no exotic Abu Dhabi, I've put my taste buds to the test!

Of course, we had fish and chips! I love fish, though the batter fills me up quickly. As you may now, these "chips" are what we know as French Fries. I don't know why they're French, since the French would prefer cheese and wine with their Big Mac. Equally as delicious was the fish casserole that Paul and Charlotte make at their house.

A full-english breakfast, aka "fry-up,": First, there's Bacon, the epitome of breakfast world-wide, though the English usually have back bacon, halfway between ham and American bacon. Poached or fried eggs. (Have you ever tried to poach an egg?) Baked beans, fried tomato, fried bread, fried mushrooms (v good), and two kinds of fried sausages. *picture* Didn't Carol do a splendid job?!

Marmite, a "yeast extract." It's viscous like molasses, and I love jam, so I scooped up a spoonful to try on my toast. Fortunately, Carol and Dave said, "No no, it's quite strong. You only need a small amount. My cousin, Angie; she eats loads of it on her toast, but most people just put a thin layer." So I tried a thin layer, and my taste buds ran away and hid. It tasted like... the ashes of burnt hair follicles. (Rather, it was what I imagine burnt hair follicles would taste like, for they're not usually part of my breakfast) Highly recommended for practical jokes. In fairness, I am pleased that I've tried it; it's merely an acquired taste. So if I start feeding Marmite to my 1-yr-old neice Olivia, then by the time she's 17... she'll be able to eat barbed wire!

An English Creme Tea, a splendid treat. Dave showed me how. You take the warm, moist scone, and cut it in two. One side gets butter, the other gets jam. Then you put clotted creme (yellow, and even better than whipped creme) on each side, returning the sides to a sandwich style delicacy. And to drink, warm tea with milk, but then you already knew that bit...

In Scotland, I had Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. Haggis has a special meaning for me, as it was also the mascot of our Sterling College frisbee team, and what better mascot than a dish of sheep lungs, heart and stomach! It's meaty and salty, mixed with onion, suet, and oats, and I found it quite tasty when Charlotte's Aunt fixed it up! Later I even tried it out of a can from the grocery store, and was pleasantly surprised, the first ingredient being "lamb lungs, 38%". It smelled unappetizing coming out of the microwave, but I think that's because I'm only familiar with lamb lungs as the first ingredient in Sherman's cat food. Neeps, a cooked yellow vegetable, aka "swede" or "rutabaga" are also good. And the tatties were quite savory, nearly as good as my Mum's mashed potatoes.

Paul and I toured the Hog's Back Brewery, just down from Hogs Back hill, where we tasted various forms of the barley used to make beer. One was quite good, and one tasted like burnt toast. I have also had a few types of whisky, which is the drink of choice in Scotland. The single-malt ones can vary a lot in taste.

The growing season in England is good. Not as much sunshine, but plenty of rain, and a nice temperature all summer. So, between Charlotte, her mum, and Paul's folks, I've had some home-grown items. Green Runner-beans grow to the length of my hand on a vine and are quite good once cooked. Tomatoes and potatoes and cucumber, always better from the garden. Plums - Hilary told me "watch out for the maggots". Hmm, I don't know if there were any in the first 12 I ate, though I never found any... with my eyes. Hilary said she extracted some from the ones she cooked up for a sweet plum sauce, which she served with pudding for dessert. Tasty!!

By the way, in England "pudding" means dessert, and "custard" means pudding. This is because, in 1876, American General Custard was turned into pudding at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

As you may know, they do things differently here in Great Britain, driving on the left side of the road, eating with their fork upside down... The following are a few positive differences that I might suggest to my American compatriots. They're all small, miniscule suggestions, and if you agree, perhaps we could get a petition started.

~Roundabouts! - Left side or right, nothing beats zipping around the roundabouts on the Vespa, free from fumes.

~More diesel-powered small cars - and with roundabouts, no one would be waiting in the fumes.

~Grocery carts with four swiveled wheels. This brilliant invention awoke my inner 6-yr-old, drifting 'round the aisle corners.

~Double Decker busses. It gives a new meaning to "riding high."

~Toilets with a half-flush. It doesn't solve the worldwide energy crisis, but it would keep our septic tanks from filling up so fast. And since an old guy knocked a huge piece of concrete into my Grandpa's septic tank this year... That's a long amusing story for later.

So, other than eating, here are some impressions from Scotland and Bath! As Charlotte and I drove north, a huge sign greeted us "Welcome to Scotland!" As you may know, Scotland has been part of the UK since 1707, pretend to still be their own country. Our Scottish mini-bus guide clarified a few embellishments of the movie Braveheart, although the allure of the story and historic pride is very much alive in the country. In Stirling, I did see the Wallace Monument, the William Wallace pub, and I even stayed at the Willy Wallace Hostel. Aye, some of the stories are true! William Wallace wore a kilt so he was from the Highlands: Rocky coastlines, large, grass and heather-covered mountains, and annoying little "midge" gnats. It's still wild country up there, and the only big industry is tourists like myself staring open-mouthed at the "lochs" and "glens."

I also took a bike ride along the canal that starts in Edinburgh, which was a full couple days of DSL "Deep Scottish Love." I must have passed 6 aqueducts, one even going over the motorway! Back in the days when water was the most efficient mode of transporting heavy materials, canals were an important aspect of commerce. And now they're reminder of the past and a weekend getaway for longboats. After riding the canal, and up into the beginnings of the Scottish mountains, I finally stopped cycling when my knees were tired, and I found a beautiful open spot over a reservoir. My DSL paused for a half hour while I unravelled the mysterious Scottish tent design and fought off the biting midges, but eventually I had a good night sleep and made my way into Stirling the next morning.

In Edinburgh we found excitement watching shows like the a cappella group The Magnets at the fringe festival, and for contrast found serenity on top of one of the volcanic mountains that are mixed into the city center vistas. Edinburgh castle sits on one of them and I'll never forget looking up to see it as we walked out of the train station.

In fact, I have seen and toured about 10 castles so far, 5 in Scotland, and 2 Roman Remains. For example, Charlotte's uncle David and his wife Carol Ann took us to the remains of Sandstone Tantallon Castle, built on a Scottish coastal cliffs of Scotland facing toward Scandinavia. There's enough left to walk along the top of the main wall. It's so interesting to see something so imposing from a millennium earlier, and imagine the builders, the owners, and the lifestyle. Large castles have kitchen rooms and cellars with huge chimneys rising to the top. Some fancy bedrooms even have indoor plumbing, a stone "poop chute" which carries excrement at an angle to the outside of the wall. "One of the servants will get that..."

The Roman bath complex dates even further back to 60AD, and they've done a lot of work to recreate and preserve it. It's built on a hot spring, so there's a rich spiritual and medical history associated with the bath as well as its hygiene purposes. So much different than the untamed Yellowstone Hot springs! It's nostalgic to walk along the great bath, now 8 meters below the main city level, on the same limestone slabs that dripping roman feet trod daily when the world was so different. I didn't get to bathe in it, but later that evening, after a lovely and chilly scooter ride through the English countryside, a hot shower of perfectly clear water shot out at the touch of my fingertips at just the right temperature. Lucky.

Savor some of life today. Thanx for reading.

p.s. Feel free to invite anyone to read along. I've also added pictures on facebook.

Seth Pro

Tea, Trousers, and a Knackered Bloke

And now I'm in an English-speaking part of the world. Well, almost English. It's a long update, but I know most of you could write just as much about what's happened in your own lives the last two weeks. Though if you need a vicarious vacation, here are a few words intended in inspire and intrigue...

Ironically, I have not yet visited London downtown... So many other things to see! I arrived at Gatwick airport and went straight to York. It was fascinating to see how Charlotte went to school in downtown York, about two blocks from Yorkminster cathedral, which we visited. During an open lunch hour in high school, she could join the throngs of pedestrians shopping and eating in the charming little streets (though the overhanging buildings may not be quite up to code.) *pic1,2*

We had some tea too.

How appropriate to watch the final episode of Harry Potter in England! Ha, movie theatres are like airports, the same the world-round... But! Seeing England has enlightened me on the origins of JK Rowling's inspirations, including but not limited to: winding roads, trains, old architecture, an obsession with famous people, the word 'brilliant,' and 7 years of high school.

Then we had some Tea in white teacup.

Huby, the small town where Charlotte's parents live, has one 'fish and chips' shop and one pub, both of which we visited on foot to partake. We also visited the coastal town of Dymchurch, where her 'Grandy' lives, and rode a steam train just big enough for two side by side. I heard it serves in place of a school bus in the mornings and tourist attraction in the afternoon! Well back when I was a boy in 2011, we rode a steam train to school... Later on the beach, Jack, Tom, and I made a sand castle fortress, and watched the tide invade and destroy it. *pic3* Sand is the ultimate etch-a-sketch.

We also had some tea in Huby (with milk of course.)

Speaking of castles, Dover Castle *pic4* is on a huge hill just beyond the white cliffs of Dover, where WWII pilots could breathe a sigh of relief. I like the rustic grandeur of Dover Castle with its large halls and wide spiral staircases. More historically interesting was an exhibit in underground tunnels, in which officers organized the rescue of 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France in 1940. I'm getting so much WWII history!

Then we had tea (always hot.)

We also visited Windsor Castle near London, which I hear is one of the Queen's favorites. I was impressed with our British tour guide, who was so good that thousands of people were carrying him around on the little audio devices they provided for us. If I ever go back to being a 6-year-old, I might try out as a soprano for a UK boys choir, and sing in a castle like that.

We had tea afterwards.

My friends Charlotte and Paul live in a 'terrace' with the canal off the river wey in their backyard, where she cut my hair. Rowing the rowboat is good 'physio.' One of Charlotte's hobbies (other than traveling around with me) is typing up sermon's from her Grandfather, most of them during the 2nd World War. Apparently he wrote them all down on 6x8 pieces of paper in script handwriting, and it's been interesting to hear bits of them from Charlotte.

Charlotte's Grandfather liked tea as well.

I got to go to the Isle of Wight to visit Paul's family. We took the car on a ferry and saw the hovercrafts transporting people back and forth. No dock required right?! We had a bike ride, a swim and kayak in in the ocean, and a "Full English" breakfast. Paul's father Dave took me to a have a beautiful view of the Island, the Ocean, and Blity (English mainland), where he told me in a very fatherly way that it was time to get my life figured out. I pray that for all of us. *pic5*

Dave also bought me an official "English Creme Tea!"

I went to church one sunday here in Addlestone, and I marvelled at one point in the service the combination of ancient and modern. My eyes were perusing the beautiful stonework adorning the ceiling, walls, and front of the sanctuary, and my ears were distracted by the distant rumble of enormous international jets taking off from Heathrow. I am also now a temporary member of the choir at that church, and sang in a wedding yesterday! *pic6* The groom was Welch; you should hear the Welch language someday, very fun. For you choir buffs, we sang Zadok the Priest by Handel among others, and a song in Welch. "Ach!"

I wonder if the Welch like tea as much...

All right, just to prove that it's not all vacation, I helped out with Paul's construction company a week. I did whatever was needed, cleaning up, ripping out a kitchen, filling in a hole in the brick house (that was the most fun.) So far so good. It's funny that here where they have milder weather, they build all houses out of brick... Our wood houses in KS don't seem all that tornado-resistant. But then what is?

At work, Paul, Dean, Harry, Ben, Neal and I have tea three times a day.

With some encouragement from Paul, I asked our neighbor Liz if I could join her Mountain Biking, which we did today, and it was splendid. Some of the trails were overgrown a bit, and I did hit some "nettles" a couple times, but the variety and the rolling hills made the trip a blast. *pic7* We stopped for a pint near the end, and I was amused to find out that they're all originally from another English speaking country. When I told Charlotte, she said it sounded like a joke: "An American, a Scot, a South African, and a New Zealander walk into a bar..."

I didn't have ANY tea today!

We rode to the top of Leith Hill; yet so many things in life aren't about the destination, but the journey and people you're with right? I was reflecting on the bike ride, and really appreciated the opportunity, because I would have gotten totally lost on the trails. Though England may be a bit crowded, there is a LOT of "public right-of-way." Footpaths and bike paths are everywhere; I even had to swerve around a herd of cattle today, so the path was clearly on private land. So if you want to reflect with me, encourage somebody today today to do something... Cause I'm thankful to Paul, even though I'm "knackered."

I took the Vespa to Stonehenge yesterday, *pic8* which was lovely, though extra touristy... Still, I am so fortunate to be here with friends! There's a lot of speculation about the origin of Stonehenge, but I think Evolution put the stones there.

And so my UK adventure continues, but here I must to backtrack to Hamburg, Germany to tell about "Dialog in the Dark" or "Dialog im Dunkeln." ...A 90-minute "production." Any guesses? I'll give you a play-by-play:

Nele and I and about 7 others stepped into the room where Hans gave us an introduction and passed out walking sticks, like for the blind. Then we stepped thru the next door into pitch blackness, where Andre introduced himself and asked our names. Andre became blind through via cranial tumor when he was twelve, and this is his job now, or one of them. He led us by voice and touch over a bridge, where we could hear the water, then into a supermarket, where we felt for the fruit. Next we crossed a street, thank goodness it wasn't real, because the 9 of us moved far too slowly to have made it across in time! Of course, Andre knew the environment, and hopped about as fast as he normally would. At the end, he led us into a bar, became the bartender and brought us our drinks and our change! He tried to speak to me in English and Nele translated some too; it was enough to make me very much impressed with the idea and the thoroughness with which it was carried out. I'll gladly keep my eyes if God wills it but it's enlightening, mentally, to relate for and hour and a half with that way of life.

Thanx for reading. I hope this finds you all well. God be with you!

Seth Pro

Do you know anything about Denmark??

Greetings once again. I had some time... So I went to Denmark.

So let me start by asking, Why don't we know anything about Denmark? ...If you do know something about Denmark, pardon my ignorance. It seems a small, happy country, that tries to be neutral like Switzerland, and has good industry, and makes the most of it's long summer days. Here are my impressions of the capital, Copenhagen.

Copenhagen is a large city, rather expensive with a very bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly downtown. It's fun to wander around until sunset at 10:30pm, but I'm sure it's much different when it rains, or in winter when it's getting dark at 2pm.

One of the first things I saw after arriving in Denmark was "The Little Mermaid" statue, one of the most unimpressive, must-see sights of Europe I hear. People think it must be amazing or enormous to be so popular. Still, the cool part was that I sat down next to the mermaid at dusk and read the famous story by Hans Christian Anderson "The Little Mermaid." Yes, you can start singing now... "I wanna be where the people are... I wanna see, wanna see'em dancing..." Hans Christian Anderson is a permanent fixture here in Copenhagen with his own street and his grave near downtown. But then, the world does benefit from his book of fairy tales: "The Philosopher's Stone" and "The Ugly Duckling" are two more you may have heard of...

I went on a walking tour, put on by NewEuropeTours. They have young individuals in many European cities that give free tours each day on a tips basis. It was especially fun to find three other people to hang out with a bit that afternoon, so we had a bottle of wine on a small boat tour. Copenhagen is also famous for Carlsberg Beer and LEGO! Between the two, all men should have a good reason to thank the Danes. On the longest pedestrian street in the world (not that long actually, but Copenhagen seems to love records), called Stroget Street, I saw some break dancers and a guy making enormous bubbles with a big rope. Kids were making some too. I mean, kids other than myself.

I rode a city bike through Christiania, where the hippies were playing Backgammon and selling marijuana everywhere, smoking it too. I was unimpressed when I rode in, but fairly enthusiastic about it when I rode out ;) I guess the weirdos congregate somewhere in every city.

Danish kinda sounds like English spoken backward. Y'know, like you hiccup right in the middle of a word. Still, it would be nice to know how to speak it. "Skull" is the word for "Cheers!"

I heard that the metro system here is one of the nicest, so I subjected it to a critical evaluation. (If you've seen my Pontiac Sunfire, you'll know I settle for no transportation less than the best.) Besides slightly nicer cars and perhaps newer stations, I think the main difference is that it has elevators in many places, making the metro accessible to bicycles and strollers! It also gives stops a vaulted ceiling with a skylight at the top. That being said, there are many more families and stroller-borne kids downtown in the nation's capital than a person would expect, and I love seeing parents out and active with their young kids. (kudos, Rachel)

People-watching was fun, especially since the Danes seem a stereotypically beautiful people, meaning Blonde and fit. I wonder if Danes just love to jog or if there is an idealized image implied in society. Beautiful copper statues are all over the city, some of animals but many of naked women and men. It makes me wonder if people try to have a "perfect body" more when they are walking by naked statues every day...

There are a few things I can cross off my "to-do list" now: 1) On my way to Denmark, our train pulled onto the lower deck of a large ferry, and we got off to cross from Germany to Denmark, about 45 minutes. 2) I strolled around Malmo, Sweden. It's funny how you can cross a small line - in this case, a straight in the Baltic Sea - and the language, currency, and culture are different. Malmo is the size of Wichita, and even more kid friendly with lots of parks and playgrounds, and gave me a lovely walk. 3) Now have swam in the Baltic Sea! Today Charlotte told me the British refer to something frigid as "Baltic" and now I know why.

Tuesday morning I was trying to invite someone from the Hostel to join me on the tour, and instead arranged to meet a couple Australian girls that evening near Tivoli, the lights of which they wanted to see at sunset. After I met up with Sarah and Tamara, we found out through chatting that we are all Christians! As Sarah said, it was encouraging to all three of us. May our lives honor God, even while we travel Europe.

So, now you know something about Denmark! (Although you already know, Mr Downs. We'll share thoughts sometime) If you want to know more, look up the Dane WWII spy Tommy Sneum.

Thanx for Reading! Next update from the UK!

Seth Pro

Guten Tag!

Guten Tag, friends!

Here I am living life at the country abode (sorta) of my friend Nele Grasshoff and her family in Appen, Germany (Hamburg.) If you're interested I'll send some thoughts your way from time to time. I hope the European email causes as much appreciation of life as the experiences do for me. Isn't it ironic the way an email looks the same no matter what country it came from?

My first German experience was the neuapostoliche church, directly from the airport. Though I hadn't been to choir practice, I did attempt to sing with Nele and her mother Marin, very quietly so as not to pronounce a German word completely incorrectly. It would be like singing "a-moo-zing grac-ee... how swite the sand..." Ah, the acappella sound in an echoey hall is a beautiful thing! Since then I've done a lot of singing in German! I practiced with the chamber choir, which will be doing a concert of classical music with ochestra in a couple months. This is also through the New Apostolic Church and Nele's father directs the choir with a strong bass voice. Later the family's circle of friends got together to practice a traditional Hambur song to be sung at the 25th wedding anniversary of another couple. The musical circle of friends got together to practice a traditional Hamburg song by Hans Albers, but they changed the words to personalize it to the couple, and I think it was amusing for everyone.

The next day, Berndt, who had the 25th wedding anniversary, took us on a speedboat up the river Elbe. We had a lovely cruise, passing enormous barges following the tide on their way upriver to the ocean. I saw sheep and thatched roofs on the German countryside. Lovely. We even had some entertainment to eat lunch with: a large man was driving a remote control speedboat zipping around the dock. Inevitably it wiped out and started no more. We chuckled and joked about it as he deliberated. Finally the large man jumped in and swam the 20 meters to retrieve his beloved.

I'm surprised how much English they Germans here understand compared to how much they actually use. Most apologize for their terrible English, but I can have a conversation with them. I guess it infiltrates music and movies, products, news, advertisements, and business names. But actually using it becomes either a hobby, or a skill learned traveling.

We've seen many sights of Hamburg, but there's a lot to see. All around the Harbor are some beautiful areas to walk since things are exceedingly green here, and we even took a canoe all afternoon around the harbor and along houses only divided by the small channel of water. Nele says Hamburg has more bridges than Venice! We visited a Spice museum in Hafencity, which is the most modern part of town, and farthest out into the river. The contrast btwn these 21st century buildings and the huge 100-yr old architecture has been deliberately accentuated by strange angles, leaning walls and wave-shaped roofs. From the harbor we could see the Spire of St Nicolai, a cathedral from the mid 1800s that has clearly been burnt. From up close, an open square with parts of stone wall marks the bombed structure in July 1943. Only the spire is still able to stand, and we took a lift to the top at 75 meters.

The Reeperbahn is where the all-night action is, so Jana, Nele and I went out to dance and see all the people and places until night was nearly gone. It's an interesting part of the culture here, and I was happy to have someone who knew the ropes show me around.

The "countryside" where Nele lives begins only 20 km from Hamburg proper. It's like KS countryside with everything compressed to half-size: fields, cows, tractors, houses, quite charming. Since most of the structures are brick, Nele's house has an old brick barn connected to the house, and now not in use. It's 30 degrees Celcius here, calm, drizzly and smells good, though daylight lasts from 4:30 to 10:30! My sympathies to most of you for the 45 degrees Celcius temperatures of KS.

The New Apostolic Church in Germany is quiet and structured, although I learned that the pastorship is volunteer and they "speak from the heart" rather than prepare sermons. I think this propogates more reliance on the Holy spirit, but less delving into the bible. Nele has convinced her congregation to do a "reading the bible in 90 days" program. The new Apostolic Church has few young people and no contemporary worship music. I'm not sure which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Nele translated most of the sermon for me, and probably several old ladies pursed their lips and watched us the whole time. I love the experiences one cannot get as a tourist!

Today we went to the Neuengamme concentration camp southeast of Hamburg, which has extensive exhibits in the few remaining buildings. It opens my eyes in a new way to World War II History, and though it was rather depressing to Nele, I think we had an interesting discussion about life, politics, sociology, and where God is in the midst of atrocites... A society of independent individuals can appear so single-minded from the outside, yet be so complicated from the inside, and accomplish so much for either good or evil. That's one small conclusion, though putting the conversation into an organized series of logic in this email is nigh impossible. I'm so glad that space is preserved, though. If only we could remember everything God has shown us in our lives.

I attached a couple pictures, one of Nele's house, and one of us on the speedboat on the Elbe River. Proof! I really am here!

Thanx for reading and experiencing life in your own way. I pray that our experiences enrich our lives and others in the future. Until next time...

Seth Pro