Eastern Adventures

Although I was and am disappointed about not being at home for the Holidays, sticking around this part of the world has its advantages as well. We don't have to deal with airports, lots of jet lag in a short amount of time, and expensive plane tickets. Instead, we have traveled Eastward to visit Naomi's mom (Alies) and a couple of our German friends in Essen. Tomorrow we will head back to Rotterdam to finish a few projects, start a few new ones, and get some much needed relaxation before the teaching begins again.

Our journey started out nicely. We stopped in Utrecht for a Christmas service at the church were Naomi used to go. The building is about 800 years old and has a lot of character. The people seem quite nice and down to earth. The minister was even wearing a piece of history - a robe from the Middle Ages. In the end, the shocking price of 15 Euros to keep our things in a locker at the train station, was worth it.

Christmas service at the Geertekerk in Utrecht.

We arrived in Almelo and Alies took us to a Christmas concert in the town's big church. The choir was travelling all around the country. After driving circles around the center of town, we eventually found a place to park and made it just before the show started. After this we spent a few relaxing days in Goor. We really enjoyed breathing in the clean, fresh air during our many walks that exists outside the smoggy region where we live. It was also fun to give Alies a massaging chair. Hopefully it helps with some of her back pain.

Christmas service at the Grote Kerk in Almelo.

Trying out the new massage chair.

Preparing for Christmas Dinner.

The train connections to Essen were a bit rough. The trip would take an hour and a half by car, but it took 4.5 hours by train. We had to take six different trains! The long trip, along with the fact that we were having such a nice time with our friends, persuaded us to stay for an extra day. It was well worth it, because we were able to see Cologne...and Essen doesn't have too much to offer.

Cologne is a little more than an hour away by train. The ride consisted mostly of industrial buildings, but as soon as we crossed the Rhine we found ourselves in the city center. Upon walking out of the station, our beings were dominated by a massive Gothic Cathedral. It was started in 1248 but wasn't finished until 1880. The spire stretches for nearly 160 meters (515 feet) above the ground. It is Germany's most popular landmark and attracts on average 20,000 visitors per day. We wanted to climb it but ended up arriving just as they were locking the doors for the day. Bummer. We also saw an old Roman city gateway next to the Cathedral along with a replica of one of the spire-tops whose size was quite hard to believe.

Cologne Cathedral.

This monument is a replica of the top of the spires - the size is hard to imagine - find the real thing on the previous picture.

Roman archway from the ancient city wall.

Inside was no less impressive - the windows were beautiful, but after 70 bombs hit the Cathedral during WWII, not all were original. Amazing that the structure withstood such a beating.

After spending some time inside this impressive structure, we found a nice little German restaurant that offered some great food. Oven dishes were their specialty for good reason. I also tried to local beer which gets made fun of for its bland flavor and effeminate glasses. After teaching our German friends the German game of Euchre, we did a small bit of shopping and went down to inspect the Rhine. It was quite a few meters above normal. We had previously seen plenty flooding from the train.

The local brew.

The sight was impressive. If the river rose one extra meter, they were going to shut down the old city along the banks. Some flood walls were already in place. Tour boats were stuck in place because they could not get under the bridges. It will be interesting to see if it gets much worse in the coming days...but the persistant clouds and rain don't seem to be diminishing any time soon.

Steps down to the original waterfront.

Only one meter to go...

Trapped by the bridges.

After another nice dinner and a movie, we got some rest and spent our last morning with our German friends. Then, after nearly 5 hours of travelling, we arrived back in Goor. After a quick snack we hopped in the car to go buy the video recorder that Alies needed our help setting up. We had done all the research already, but were quite disappointed to find out that the store was out of stock. Strange, as this was the only such machine they sold, and as such, it didn't seem to be very popular.

The next morning (this morning) we took Alies to a nearby Church. She has been having a rough time with her health lately and we figured a Church community could do a lot of good. She enjoyed it at we hope she will continue to go. The rest of the day was relaxing, albiet quite stormy, and tomorrow we are really looking forward to coming home.

Cologne's waterfront at night.

One last look on the way back to the train.