Brotherly Love

So the 1200 year old legend goes like this: the town of Cieszyn was founded after the long separation of the Kings sons ended. Apparently the three sons--Bolko, Lesko, and Cieszko--met at this spot  and, out of great joy and brotherly love over their reunion, founded the town.


"Is that really true or just a legend," I asked. "That's the story and I'm sticking to it" said the grandma at the Tourist Information Center.

I'm not going to argue with a Polish Grandma. Are you?

Die Fledermaus - The Bat

On a rainy night what do you do?  I enjoyed a trip to Bratislava and the opera. The program mwas Die Fledermaus, By Johann Strauss II, but in Slovank it is titled Netopier--The Bat.

It was really great entertainment and just plain fun. The set was marvelous and the dancers really caught the audience by surprise. My seat was about 18 rows back and  it made for wonderful viewing.  This opera was humours and the actors really sold their lines. Their expressions and comedic connections were on the mark. It's the first opera I have attended but it sure won't be the last.

Life Is Good, Good, Gut in Erlangen

New Friend...Old Friend...Little Friend

Slovak Smiles

One of these women is an elementary teacher and one is a Lutheran youth leader.You choose who is who!

Professor Mom

Slovak Mom's in Martin wear many hats: Pastor, Professor, Parent, Teacher, Spouse, Executive, Hugger, Encourager, Wife and Tennis Coach.

Katka's life is busy. She is all of the above and more! Along with her colleagues at the Center for Christian Education and the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Zilina, she juggles her life, vocation and calling with grace-filled finesse.

Martin, Slovakia

If you had come to Martin, Slovakia three hundred years ago, you would have found a small village similar to most in Slovakia.

History changed in 1848 when the village began it's transformation as a unique center for Slovak language, historical and cultural life.

Today Martin is a metropolis of 70,000 people and serves the region with economic development. While the square and city center's not large, it is noteworthy. This building, titled "millennium" is made of glass celebrates a merger of old with new.

My Students

My college English students are a fun group.
I know them by name: Mimo, Martin, Jan, Barbara, Maruska, Michel, Lenka. I have nick names for them too: Hollywood, Trouble, Tennis star, Professor and Teach!

They work like lots of students do who go to college. I see them in sports shops or stores or coffee shops. They are the espresso baristas and  clothing clerks and smiling faces of  Slovak's youth. Most importantly, they are the future of the church in this time and place!

Lunch Time

Lunch time in Martin is a high point in my day. They serve the meal for two hours beginning at 11:00. Every child, staff person, teacher and guest is fed.

You can't beat that kind of hospitality. They look at me funny when I want two scoops of rice and not five. "Are you well?"  Sure, I feel great, but I'm loosing weight and feeling terrific, and there is just know way I'm going to eat five ice cream size scoops of rice with my two pieces of beef or pork and gravy

Contemporary Norske Architecture in Poland

Walking along Market Square in Krakow I noticed this exhibition advertisement in the museum window: Contemporary Norwegian Architecture 2005-2012.

I did a double take. In Poland? I turned around. I opened the door of the Cultural Museum, stepped into the elevator and traveled to the third floor. In the midst of midnight blue, white and black paint rested a remarkable five room collection. It was a feast for your eyes. Marvelous photographs, models and refreshing film clips of award winning Norse architecture.   I looked for some herring but didn't find it.

St. Mary's Church, Market Square, Krakow

It's my favorite church. I think the intensity of colors is the reason I like it so much.

I lit candles and shared a prayer for my family before I walked inside the main sanctuary. A service was about to begin. The bell was toned and the priest entered. The community gathered. An invocation began the worship liturgy and the people spoke it from memory.

I followed along in the missal. I listened mostly. I watched the faces and bodies and gestures of the faithfully assembled.

They knelt. I knelt. They prayed. I prayed. In this holy space people have done that same very act for seven hundred years.

Let It Be

  Not all the church windows in Krakow are centuries old. This one is of the Art Nouveau style. As you enter the sanctuary from the back this image catches your eye and your attention.

  The creator of this window in St. Francis Basilica,  Krakow, Poland is native son and artist Stanislaw Wyspianki. Born in 1876 he was a poet, playwright and painter.

  He is renown for his ability to merge modernism with the more folksy style of Polish art in his day. Along with paintings, of which some are identified below, he worked on 36 different stain glass window projects for churches. This one is titled God The Father Let It Be.
The colors beneath the Creator change from yellows and oranges (fire) to soothing blues (water), depending on the light.Wyspianki used a street beggar to model the specific features of God.

Self-portrait      1902                              
Planty Park at Dawn     1894
Motherhood        1905

Tracks

This photograph reveals the infamous railway line leading through the main gate of Birkenau death camp. Constructed to be fifteen times larger than Auschwitz just a few kilometers down the road, it was completed in May of 1944 and used primarily for the transportation of Hungarian Jews to the camp.

Arrival & Selection was a term used at Auschwitz -Birkenau that sorted the fate of the more than 1.2 million men, women and children transported to the camp in cattle rail cars. As the people left the cars a physician would select the ones to go to their death--most women and children and older or ailing men and women-- and those who would be sent to work to their death.

Krakow Street Mimes

They get your attention. They don't move. Then they do move. Then you jump!  This little boy is just one of the crowd who was drawn in by the knight. He learned!


Designed in 1257, the public square, called Market Square in English, is the largest in all of Europe. On Saturday morning I saw half a dozen Street Mimes: Yoda was my favorite, but the Golden Mime was a close runner up.

You can find them in different locations around the square. Some are in front of cafes where customers enjoy their espresso and the mime. Others stand in corners or side streets and catch the action of crowds walking by them all morning long.

They put on quite a show. The crowds applaud and some even drop some polish zloty into the coffers! It's something you can really loose your head over.

Where does a two hour drive take you from Martin? 

Here!

Zakopane, Poland. This piece of paradise is on the

north side of the Tatra Mountains.

What can I tell you? 

    It is magical and magnificent. 

   Resting against the Carpathian Mountains the ragged peaks and gentle valleys invite you to step into a new and wonderful space of Polish culture. 

It wont be my last step for sure!

What's Happening at Home???

It's fun to be on sabbatical but I wonder what's happening at home.

Paula has a way of creating amazing creatures and costumes for Sophie's excursions. The truth is her friends are an eclectic group and not shy about donning costumes to entertain themselves.

This is one of my favorites: Alice in Wonderland. Makes me long for all the fun I'm missing back home!

Baptism in Martin, Slovakia

Baptism in Martin is special.  Kids come to watch.
Pastor comes to celebrate with sponsors, parents and family. Mom and Dad don't hold the baby--even if you are a  pastor. Good friends--teachers in the school--do that for you and with you!
We wear our coats! The church is cold in March.
Kids take it all in, even if they are not sure about this water on the baby's head stuff. Then we feast!

Mikulov - Czech Republic

Mikulov: a Moravian gem on a hill. 

The town and surroundings attract visitors with an active approach to life. Cycling enthusiasts enjoy the countryside busy with vineyards. Hikers find paths from market to castles. Lakes are close to serve sailors, swimmers and fisher folk. And wine cellars surround the very heart of this city on a hill hosting families to wonderful tasting centers. 

Moravian Vineyards - Southeastern Czech Republic

It was a beautiful weekend for a car trip and I took full advantage of the opportunity. I left at dawn on  Saturday morning to visit the wine country of the Moravian country in Czech Republic--about a three hour drive. The sky was clear and the country was beautiful.  I drove through sylvan hills with conifer woods to reach the lower valleys home to the marvelous vineyards of Moravia.

They don't look like this photograph yet. In fact, they are not yet budding out with grape or leafs. However, it was the weekend for the all the grape farmers to prune their vines. It was beautiful to watch and you could see how they orderly piled their pruned branches into neat piles.  I stayed in a wonderful village called Mikulov--with many tasting rooms and eateries. It sits on Holy Hill where a Chateau Castle--founded by a Czech King--looms over the beautiful valley. Wine's been produced here since Roman times and the hillsides and valleys are beautiful with mature vines and orchards. I stayed at the Eat Art Gallery and Pension. The food and decor was terrific and I enjoyed the folks very much. They couldn't speak English but  they had great wine to pour for guests.


Mikulov is the Napa Valley of the Czech Republic. The village square was busy as a film crew was directing actors in the town square and monument. I enjoyed myself and it was good fun to sit outside in the sunshine with a class of wine and some cheese watching the director, on a loudspeaker, keep her actors and crew moving along at a brisk pace.  The weather was warm and  the first spring day for many people. I bought some honey and wine home for me to enjoy long after the weekend is over.

7:00 AM - Service of the Word

The Břevnov Monastery was founded in 993 by St. Adalbert and the duke Boleslav II. St.Adalbert brought the monks of the St.Benedict order from the Roman monastery at Aventine. The monastery was consecrated to St.Benedict and so the more than thousand-year history of the oldest contemporary friary began in Bohemia.

The medieval configuration of the monastery was totally supressed by later modifications. Today’s monastery is a vast two-storey complex with three yards in the high-baroque style.

Many areas modified in the baroque or classicism style were preserved in the interior. Of them, the Theresian Hall excels with its beautiful frescos on the ceiling and two marble fireplaces.

In 993, St.Adalbert as the Prague archbishop and Boleslav II as the Czech duke founded the Břevnov monastery. In the years 1035-1089, under the abbot Menhart, a stone church was built the patrons of which were St. Albert, St.Boniface  and St.Benedict). The remains of its crypt have been preserved up to the present time. In Břevnov, hermit Vintíř (Guntherus, died 1045) was buried and his local cult started to develop. 

Charles Bridge Prague

Construction of the Charles Bridge began in 1357 and took fifty years to complete. When finished it was the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841. The Charles Bridge shares great history and noteriety because it provided the only "solid land" route between  Eastern and Western Europe. Today it's crowded with pedestrian tourists. The bridge is 516 meters long and 10 meters wide.  Considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic style buildings in the world it has 30 statues and statuaries on the bridge, Today the original statues are in museums and replicas stand as their replacement.

SK SLAVIA FOTBALL

The  match was a tie at 0-0 but the action was definitely on the side of the home team: SK SLAVIA PRAHA. 


Taking the tram from my hotel was a snap. A simple trip on route 22 that travels through lovely neighborhoods and crosses the bridge east of the Charles Bridge was terrific. For a moment I could see five bridges across the river. The ride lasted 42 minutes, about the time of a half of fotbal.


My ticket was cheap  but perfect!  I was placed nine rows back from the goal of the defending team. We had 11 shots on goal the first half. One of the shots went high of the net and over my head by about a foot. 


A young man next to me, named Dominik,  was Matt's age and his father had been the keeper for the SK Slavia. Since I was in the end zone, everyone was standing up and singing their songs, waving their hands, and jumping around like  the UW games at third quarter. It was really a lot of  fun and although the stadium seats 22,000 there were probably only two thousand people at the game--and they all sat with me, behind the keeper!

Hotel Adalbert-Prague

On the west side of Prague rests the 1000 year old Brevnov Monastery. This garden of green in the middle of an urban city is the setting for the Hotel Adalbert. Yep, I'm staying inside a room that's been here for a millennium. Pretty neat.

Honestly, it's the nicest place I've stayed since arriving in Europe. I'm a bit sheepish about showing you this place but you must put it on your list if you visit this enjoyable city.

Thanks to Rick Steve's travel books it's half price for me during the month of March. The setting is fantastic and they have worship next door on Sunday.  

Across a cobble stone path, just twenty steps, is the rustic Klasterni Senk restaurant. I ate there Friday night and enjoyed chicken, pork and vegetables skewered and grilled over an open fire.The meal was served on a wood plate.  The salad was delicious. The dark beer perfect. The coffee and apple strudel with ice cream was a complete surprise but fitting end to the meal. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

He was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was born February 4, 1906 and died April 9, 1945.  Dietrich  Bonhoeffer was also a participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism, a founding member of the Confessing Church.  His involvement in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging at Flossenburg concentration camp in April 1945, shortly before the war's end.  His view of Christianity's role in the secular word has become very influential.

This weekend I will journey from Prague to Flossenburg concentration camp just over the Czech Republic border in Germany.  I expect that I will complete the  biography of his life that I have been reading, and  then I go to the place where he, along with two hundred thousand other human beings were murdered.

Dietrich  Bonhoeffer made an impact in my life. His words,
read over and over again, created a  desire within me to become a pastor and theologian.

When I was in my twenties I read his book Life Together. It was  about a secret seminary of the Confessing Church to train pastors for German congregations during the oppressive regime of National Socialists. When Hitler was demanding the Old Testament be stripped from the Bible, and Paul's letter's favorable to Jews be stricken, a small minority of Christian theologians went underground, and preserved the teachings of their Lutheran identity.  In Life Together he wrote words and ideas that captivated me with their power and clarity. As a result of this single book, I continued to I read all the books that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, as well as others written about his life.

This weekend I will visit the place where he died and place a flower near the memorial of those who stood beside him in life and death.

Ski Day on Saturday

Saturday morning was beautiful. I ate breakfast and walked to the train station.  I purchased my ticket to the mountains 90 minutes away.

For $8 bucks I had a round trip rail ticket to Poprad. The train stops in Strba, a  ski resort, immediately across from the station.  Folks get off the train, walk about a 100 yards, stop at the canteen for that last minute candy bar,  buy their lift ticket, and put on their skies. I think it is wonderful!  No problems. It is so easy  to get up to the mountain.

Inside the train families, couples and kids were all heading up the mountain to enjoy the afternoon. Some people had their skies, and stacked them in the racks for that very purpose, others would simply rent. A couple boys were talking about their para-sail, that is something that looks like about a quarter of a parachute. As it fills with air it carries the skier along by the power of the wind. Kids were digging into the food packs to see what they could eat while they rode the train. Some children were hanging onto to their cool bobsleds. These are neat plastic sleds that looked like a miniature snowmobile with a steering wheel. Parents were enjoying coffee and tea and holding their children as they grew antsy.

Down below in the valley of Martin the weather was warming--about 45 degrees--and the snow was melting. Not so on the mountain. With higher elevations and lower temperatures the snow was great, and so was the day.

Martin Students

In most ways they are like any group of young 20 somethings: they like music, sports, cinema, travel and hanging out with friends. Yet, they are different, too.

Each one is studying at the Center for Christian Education. They are learning about the Old and New Testaments, Bible History, Ethics, and more. Some will become teachers, others youth workers and others have plans that are still unfolding.

What I do know for sure is that when I work with them in conversational English they are delightful. They respond to my questions. Question my methods. And together, move forward as they discover and speak a second language: English.

Sophie's Snow Mobile

I think this is perfect for my daughter. Room inside for four people--maybe five if you squeeze.  A large propeller on the back with a simple guard to protect your fingers, hands, arms, upper torso and head. Manufactured during World War II it's tested, proven and snow worthy. Lights help you see where you are going--and the only direction you drive is forward.

The color is terrific and matches her ski coat.  The two-tone paint job offers a special racy style and the interior is leather, with wooden steering wheel. There is room for a cooler in the back and a map holder in the side pocket of the driver's door panel. What more could she want?

Bank + Coffee

Out of money I walked down the street searching for a cash machine. It was morning. I wanted coffee. Hot, rich, wake me up in the morning coffee. But I was out of cash. I needed some money so I could buy the coffee.

Imagine my response when I saw this sign on the building. A bank? A coffee shop? In one building. Starbucks should catch on to this gig.

I opened the door. I smelled the coffee aroma. I heard the swirling sound of the barista steaming the milk. I watched as he poured it over the carmel colored espresso. Yum!

It was too good to be true. I was a customer. No other bank for me. No sir. This bank was MY bank. I walked up to the clerk and withdrew some euros. Then I walked 9 steps to the barista. I ordered a bagel, cream cheese and cappuccino. I paid for it with my crisp, clean money.  I slipped into a bar chair near a high top table.  It was perfect.

In some ways it reflects the new Europe. No borders and barriers with the new European Union. You travel seamlessly across borders without the necessity of changing passports or currency. I like it, just like my coffee.

I