For Such a Time as This

Hey everyone!

So this post includes our travels in three different places encompassing a total of 11 days. My experience overall has been amazing, it took a little while to get used to constantly moving around but now I feel like I am getting into the swing of things.

Below is a quick video I made of some experiences in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland then the remainder of the post will include photos.

The map on the train from Interlaken up to Lauterbrunnen

Take a moment to really grasp what this picture is displaying...is this really a common problem here?

Famous Staubbach Falls at night after hiking up underneath it.

Entering the village of Wengen. 

A picture just captures a fragment of the beauty in this area

Viewing Monch and Jungfrau hidden behind it in the clouds.

Austria

We stayed in Salzburg for 4 nights. From here we took two day trips; the first was to Werfen to view the worlds largest ice caves and the second to Schladming to visit Lexi's cousin at Torchbearers bible school. 

One of my favorite parts about this trip is the spontaneous nature of it. Some logistics, such as sleeping accommodations are essential for us to know ahead of time but as far as activities when we are somewhere, we mainly just figure it out as we go. Such was the case with this photo to the right. Lexi and I decided to go for a walk once we arrived in Salzburg and we ended up close to the castle and decided to see if we could get in. It was later in the evening so the attendant let us in for free and we were greeted with not only a spectacular view of the city but a majestic sunset as well.  We were surprised to find that our hostel had such a  nice view of the castle.  A funny story about this hostel, we booked a 8 room dorm but when we opened our door we only saw two beds and our  own private bathroom, we were actually jumping up and down seeing as we each paid   about 18 euro WITH breakfast included. However, the best part of the story  occurred around midnight I hear someone open our door and it is another fellow backpacker. We were both very confused but we soon found out there is a fold out bed on the wall...who knew? Anyways, it all turned out well and we actually ended up booking our hostel with this girl in Prague as well.  Her name is Yvonne and I will introduce her more later in the blog.

For the sake of my personal sanity, I have been trying to go to church every Sunday regardless of location, there is generally an English church somewhere nearby. Even though the expression of faith may be different God is God no matter language, geographical location, or time. 

 In Salzburg we went to SICC (Salzburg International Christian Church). During this service we heard a sermon on the story of Esther in the Old Testament, titled 'For such a time as this'.

The story is a story of hope against all hope. God's hand and perfect timing are seen despite the fact God is never directly mentioned. It is the choices of the individuals highlighted in this story that makes the difference. They are placed into situations where they are faced to stand up and say 'No', where they could have easily chose to go along with the norm.  

Perhaps we ourselves are placed in situations for 'such a time as this' (Esther 4:14). God is working in each of our lives whether we recognize it or not. We are placed in specific situations not by chance but as with the  characters in Esther, we are always faced with a choice.

There was quite a bit of walking to make it up to the caves.

However, thankfully there was an available cable car
for the steepest regions.

The only lighting in the caves is by these old torches
they give out and magnesium strips that the guides
light in order to explain the different ice formations.

We were so glad that Yvonne decided to join us on our outing. She is a sweetheart and made the day even more enjoyable. Yvonne is originally from Hong Kong but she is currently living and working in Dublin for the year. She took some time off to backpack around Europe and is one of the memorable travelers that have joined us for a portion of our journey.

The Eisriesenwelt (German for "World of the Ice Giants") is a natural limestone icecave located in the village of Werfen Austria, about 40 km south of Salzburg. The cave is inside the Hochkogel mountain in the Tennengebirge section of the Alps. It is the largest ice cave in the workd extending more than 42 km (wiki).

On a new note, our final day in Austria was spent in Schladming with Alssya, Lexi's cousin. Alyssa lives in Chillawack, BC but is over studying a bible school for 3 months in Austria. It so happened that the day we visited her was the day of a soccer game with SportsReach, an organization from the UK that travels the world playing soccer and sharing the gospel of Christ.

Pictured above: Lexi preps Alyssa for some intense football.
Pictured right: Alyssa did amazing in the game and even got the MVP award at the end, nice going Alyssa! :)

The walk back from the soccer fields to the school.

   

Saying goodbye.

 Lexi received a free book mark at a store, and I thoroughly enjoy her choice, wouldn't you agree?

Munich & Augsburg, Germany

We were only able to stay in Augsburg (40 mins. outside of Munich) for a few nights, but we had a lot of fun while we were here.

It was quite convenient because Joni had just moved to Augsburg several days prior, so we were able to meet up and go to Oktoberfest with him.

A processional of horses carrying beer barrels parades through Oktoberfest. 

This one is for you Mom, look at what is on the menu! Schweinshaxe is indeed pig elbow, mhmmm! 

Nothing like some tasty Ox! 

Relaxing in a park away from the crowds after Oktoberfest.

Lexi and I went back the next day for a second dose of Oktoberfest, which was definitely enough for me. Pictured above are some Irishmen we met.

Splendid Southern Germany

We arrived in Karlsrhue, Germany train station to meet our friend Joni (pronounced yo knee), whom we met at Trinity Western when he came over for an exchange program the previous fall semester. The Lange family was kind enough to open up their home to us for one week. Our time with this beautiful family went by way too fast, but during these moments I can attest that I have experienced the love of Christ through them and their unfailing hospitality. 

Here is a short recap on our adventures:

Our first stop was in Baden-Baden.

Joni's sister, Katharina was kind enough to accompany us on our trip.

 The first day we went for a mini road trip through the black forest, and stopped in cute little towns.

Everything was so picturesque, I could not stop taking photos!

Found this amazingly ironic store, and we just had to take a photo :)

This photo was taken at the top of a mountain in the Black Forest. There is even a some small slopes to ski on here in the winter. Also, don't let the shorts fool you, the temperature change at this altitude was shocking to us all, so we snapped this quick photo than qucikly made our way back to the warm vehicle.

A very beautiful river!

Next stop on our journey was Bad Wildbad. Great name right?

We stopped and got some very tasty hot chocolate.

The second day we took a day trip to Heidelberg. " Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelburg castle and the baroque style Old Town" (wiki).

After climbing 315 stairs, we finally made it up to the castle.

This place was magical.

Another view of the castle, with 'the gang'

Here is a view from inside the castle

There was something so endearing about this tree...

Ah Heidelberg...so picturesque

I blame this on my parents for my sense of humor. I do admit I instantly thought of my mom when I saw this poster that read, 'Aus Grosser Fahrt'.

An amazing Turkish creation in Germany, the Döner Kebab.

The third day we went to the Mercedes-Benz Museum located in Stuttgart.

The group on our way into the museum. Today we gained another in our group, Dominik, Joni's younger brother.

A really awesome old fire truck! The description is below.

This was the famous vehicle section of the museum. The SUV was the vehicle used in Jurassic Park, and the bus was driving the German national soccer team when they won the World Cup in 1974.

The group in the innovative section.

On our next outing we went to Maulbronn, an old Monastery built in the 1300’s.

We brought some life into this quiet place ;)

Lexi was eager to share her sermon.

In every room the ceilings had beautiful hand paintings.

An epic picture of an epic person. About this photo: our great friend Joni thought that it would be funny to drive off without us, so I took this photo while sitting on the fence waiting for our ride to return.

Some random photos:

The beautiful host family (minus the father who was at work). Pictured (left front to back & right back to front): Katharina, Jo, Heidi, Joni, Dominik, Lexi, Mom, Nico. We had a wonderful lunch out on the patio.

On one of our walks after dinner we came across this sign. It reads: They say the Wanderer is a sinner because he doesn't go to church. However,  standing in the field and raising his eyes to the sky, is better than an untrue prayer.

On a morning walk I was blessed with this amazing view.