There... I finished our trip journal. Finally... it only took me almost 3 months.
So now I can write about other things without feeling guilty for not finishing about the trip.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Switzerland Relaxation
On Saturday, we took a long train ride north, to Interloken, Switzerland. It was dark when we arrived, but after some wrong turns, we found our hotel, and ate cheese fondue for dinner.
In the morning, we were quite stunned by the view from our balcony. The small river ran right next to our hotel, then more of the city, and then there were the huge Alps, right there. (I'll put some pictures up later.) They were just gorgeous and seemed very close.
This was the "vacation" part of our vacation. We didn't do much for the next 2 days except take some scenic train rides and walk around the city and enjoy the peace.
We did go to a chocolate show at a local shop where they showed a video about how the chocolate was produced from the cocoa beans, and then showed us different ways to use chocolates in molds or to make truffles. It was a neat experience, and the very expensive chocolate we purchased was absolutely delicious.
On Monday, we took the train all the way back to the Netherlands... exhausted and full of memories.
In the morning, we were quite stunned by the view from our balcony. The small river ran right next to our hotel, then more of the city, and then there were the huge Alps, right there. (I'll put some pictures up later.) They were just gorgeous and seemed very close.
This was the "vacation" part of our vacation. We didn't do much for the next 2 days except take some scenic train rides and walk around the city and enjoy the peace.
We did go to a chocolate show at a local shop where they showed a video about how the chocolate was produced from the cocoa beans, and then showed us different ways to use chocolates in molds or to make truffles. It was a neat experience, and the very expensive chocolate we purchased was absolutely delicious.
On Monday, we took the train all the way back to the Netherlands... exhausted and full of memories.
Roman Holiday: Part 4 - Even More Sites
Rome is a large and beautiful city, and there was even more to see on our final day there.
We started the day near the Vatican again, this time going into the Vatican museums. It's a series of hallways with art, artifacts, and of course, murals on every wall and ceiling. There were some moving pieces of art depicting different biblical scenes.
The Sistine Chapel is one of the rooms in the museum, and it was not quite what we were expecting after visiting all the cathedrals in Italy. It is just a room about the size of a typical fellowship hall at an American church building. It had a raised cieling, and a wooden divider in the middle that went about 1/2 way to the ceiling and divided the front of the chapel from the back. The room was void of any furniture, and in America only about 150 people maximum would be allowed in at a time. There were at least twice that many when we went in, and it was the off-season. The only impressive features in the room are the murals on the walls and ceilings. The ceiling is the famous fresco by Michaelangelo depicting the creation and fall of man. On one wall are scenes from the life of Moses, and on the opposite wall are scenes from the life of Jesus... in parallel. It was an interesting teaching moment in itself, to see someone else's perspective on the historical significance of the life of Moses in God's plan for true salvation through Christ.
We then took the metro down to the southern part of the city to St. Paul's Basillica. I almost enjoyed seeing this building more than St. Peter's because there was no crowd, and I felt I could sit and contemplate the art, history, and architecture involved in the building. Inside the cathedral was a monument standing on what is supposedly St. Paul's burial site. There were large murals on the front wall above the altar area, and on the sides in the smaller chapel areas. The main part of the building was filled with marble columns. All along the walls above the columns were pictures of every official pope there has ever been. An interesting thing we noted is that they only have room for about 7 more pictures, and then they'll have to think of somewhere else to put the pictures. The entire cathedral was already covered with them.
The southern part of Rome was a lot dirtier than the central, east and west portions. Presumably they have newly renovated the metro and improved the other areas because they are bigger tourist spots.
We then walked back towards the central part of the city so that we could see more of the Roman ruins.
For dinner, we again ate Turkish Kebabs and got dessert before returning to the hotel and crashing.
I have to say that Rome was my favorite place we visited on our whole vacation.
We started the day near the Vatican again, this time going into the Vatican museums. It's a series of hallways with art, artifacts, and of course, murals on every wall and ceiling. There were some moving pieces of art depicting different biblical scenes.
The Sistine Chapel is one of the rooms in the museum, and it was not quite what we were expecting after visiting all the cathedrals in Italy. It is just a room about the size of a typical fellowship hall at an American church building. It had a raised cieling, and a wooden divider in the middle that went about 1/2 way to the ceiling and divided the front of the chapel from the back. The room was void of any furniture, and in America only about 150 people maximum would be allowed in at a time. There were at least twice that many when we went in, and it was the off-season. The only impressive features in the room are the murals on the walls and ceilings. The ceiling is the famous fresco by Michaelangelo depicting the creation and fall of man. On one wall are scenes from the life of Moses, and on the opposite wall are scenes from the life of Jesus... in parallel. It was an interesting teaching moment in itself, to see someone else's perspective on the historical significance of the life of Moses in God's plan for true salvation through Christ.
We then took the metro down to the southern part of the city to St. Paul's Basillica. I almost enjoyed seeing this building more than St. Peter's because there was no crowd, and I felt I could sit and contemplate the art, history, and architecture involved in the building. Inside the cathedral was a monument standing on what is supposedly St. Paul's burial site. There were large murals on the front wall above the altar area, and on the sides in the smaller chapel areas. The main part of the building was filled with marble columns. All along the walls above the columns were pictures of every official pope there has ever been. An interesting thing we noted is that they only have room for about 7 more pictures, and then they'll have to think of somewhere else to put the pictures. The entire cathedral was already covered with them.
The southern part of Rome was a lot dirtier than the central, east and west portions. Presumably they have newly renovated the metro and improved the other areas because they are bigger tourist spots.
We then walked back towards the central part of the city so that we could see more of the Roman ruins.
For dinner, we again ate Turkish Kebabs and got dessert before returning to the hotel and crashing.
I have to say that Rome was my favorite place we visited on our whole vacation.
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