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