Last Full Day...

I can't believe my vacation is almost over... How can that be??? The days have flown by... How I love the food, the weather... and the experiences I have had... Traveling to Heidelberg, being there on my Mom's one year passing anniversary... Having Pam and Suz there in Heidelberg and attending an English Service for Mother's Day in Heidelberg... Staying at Goldener Falkner right on the Haupstrasse and having that elaborate breakfast... Going to Tubingen, which was a new place for all three of us...as was Lautenbrunnen, Switzerland... and now being in Darmstadt... 

I was up early and had time with Jesus and then went to the self-service breakfast... Suz and Pam have safely arrived back in the States... 

After breakfast, I went out for a run in the forest area behind their facility... the path wasn't long, so I had to run back and forth a few times to make 10K.

I had a quick shower and went to lunch. It was so delicious... exactly what I had hoped for: a German sausage with mustard, potato salad, carrot salad, sweet rolls, coffee with milk that tasted like cream (I poured myself a cup and drank it!), sparkling apple cider, yogurt cups... It was just so fabulous... and we sat around the table with people who worked at the place... One gentleman came for 6 weeks and that was two and a half years ago... another gal came last October for two weeks and have stayed on... the stories just are endless. 

I walked back with another staff member as I wanted to encourage her. I met her yesterday and she has such a sweet soul... I felt the Lord wanted me to tell her that she was not to become a nun but the Lord has an "Adam" prepared for her. I asked her about her journey to this place and what a testimony she has... And then I told her what the Lord had put upon my heart. She started to cry.  She has been asking the LORD and felt that she was not to become a nun, but she wanted some sort of confirmation. The day that I came in to Canaan (that's what this place is called), she was driving out and thought I illuminated 'light'. She saw my smile and wondered who I was... and for me to talk to her just when she was asking the Lord about this very thing if marriage is in God's plan for her future was just astounding! So... being here has been very interesting... 

I then needed to go and find out if I can purchase ticket for tomorrow's bus to Frankfurt Airport. Another staff member said she was on her way out so we walked and talked... she showed me where to buy the ticket and how to do it... and pointed me to the local supermarket. And that's where I picked up a few more things to bring back to Taiwan.

I made it back for Prayer time with HOP at 2:45 and the 3pm Prayer time with the sisterhood! Wow...

After the prayer time, one of the sisters opened the receptionist area so that we can buy a couple of the books. And then I was back in the dorm, having a nice chat with Isaiah. He needed to find a tithes receipt... and Mom knows everything... 

I hung up with him and packed up the goods that I bought and all my stuff... My check in is pretty heavy! I will leave at 8:30 to buy the bus and tram tickets... and then come back to get my luggage and walk to the tram. I don't know if I will be able to blog tomorrow as my flight is at 2:15... and I won't have WiFi in Peking China. 

I will be back by Wednesday, May 20th...

Pam's daughter had a brilliant idea: Do a trip a year... I don't think I can do that... but I surely won't wait another 46 years to take a trip with Pam and Suz... I pray... God's plan and timing are the best... Pam will be turning 70... maybe as part of her birthday celebration, we can take another trip together... That's a wonderful thought!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Evangelistic Sisterhood...

I was up early and I slept so early last night that I did not make my step goal... I walked a lot but since I was towing stuff... the watch didn't register the steps... oh well... I broke my streak...

I had a delightful time... and didn't want to have breakfast... but just some coffee... and then went to church at 9:10. They had English programs and headsets as a sister translated the message.

The Evangelistic Sisterhood is an order of the Lutheran Church... so the service was very liturgical with a lot of standing up and sitting down. It went for almost two hours. Then there is lunch, but I didn't want to join the lunch. It's usually a variety of potatoes... I went back to my dorm and had my own simple lunch of bread and butter. It was delightful.

I came back to the room and looked over what I wanted to donate and then went out for a walk about. There are many 'stations' set up where there is a box with verses that you can read and think on. It's really quite nice... I walked around for about two hours...

Then there is the 3pm prayer time. I went to that and was invited to join the ladies from Taiwan to visit an elderly sister who lived in Taiwan for 25 years. She has now returned to Germany because of her health. But on Sunday afternoon, she enjoys a time of having visitors and she was especially happy since there were three of us from Taiwan. We sang songs and had snacks and just enjoyed a splendid time of fellowship. 

That went for an hour and I came back to the dorm. I wanted to take a shower before dinner at 6pm. Like yesterday, dinner was very simple: cold cuts, fruit, yogurt, etc. And by 7pm, I was back in the dorm room.

I could have gone out to walk more... but I will wait until tomorrow.

Now as for happenings in Taiwan, Isaiah is sick... Alan went to a wedding in Taichung... and so, the friends I had invited never got to see Alan... the guests had to leave at 5pm or earlier and Alan didn't get to church until 5pm. Oh well... 

Abby had a children's camp and I have yet to hear how that went...

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

A Very Long Day...

I was up early... and it was raining hard... but soon, while sitting in the lobby and having a mug of milk coffee, the rain stopped. The view was spectacular... what a place to have my quiet time!

I went up and packed and brought a roll and some cheese and my thermos with water and the pizza. I was off... It was difficult to say good bye to Pam and Suz. I had journal about what this trip has meant to me...

I made it to the train station and hopped on the train to Interlaken Ost and when that arrived, I found the platform for the train to Basel. 

The train was crowded... and there were people who were strangely dressed. It turned out that the BIG ComicCon was going on since Thursday... and people in Switzerland are really into this. I guess people come from all over to attend it! SO, the train station was packed... I didn't like the big city feel, especially after being in such wonderfully refreshing places... 

I had time so I walked around... as I had 5 Francs to spend. I didn't want to buy food for myself as I brought some great stuff... and I have plenty to drink. So at the end of this area, there was a candy shop. Isaiah wanted more sour candies... and I couldn't believe... there was a 50% off on some of the sour candies. So, I got four bags for 5 francs! Perfect!

The train arrived and I was on... and it was really packed too... as two trains were cancelled... making this train the only one that was heading up to all the different places from Basel to Hamburg Harbor! I got off at Mannheim and couldn't find my train... What's going on?

It turned out that there was construction going on and the train was cancelled and now, a bus was provided to shuttle people to another train station where the train will start!

I didn't look at it and thought the other train station that we were being bussed to was only 10 minutes away... NO... it was like a two hour bus ride! We finally got to the train station at 3:50 and the train took off at 3:54! I had to walk really fast... and as for catching the bus, I was sitting at the wrong place and almost missed that... God worked that out as a bus pulled in and the driver got out to stretch his leg and I asked... He pointed me to the other side of the road... WOW!!! I was only three minutes away from the time that the bus was set to depart. If I didn't catch that bus... I would never have made it.

So... the train arrived at Darmstadt at 4:07 and I wanted to walk to the Main Center, which was about 1.9kilometer away. On the way, I donated the clothes Pam gave me in the Red Cross collection clothes bins. That was great!

When I made it to the Platz, the signs for the trams were so confusing. I got out the coins and bought a ticket: 4.50Euro! Not cheap... and the tram finally came at 5:20... After getting on, I had to really pay attention when the stops were announced! In about 20 minutes I heard my stop... and I saw the yellow mailbox... After getting off, I walked about 100meters and pressed the door bell and someone buzzed me in. A dear nun walked out and greeted me... It was the same lady who I have been emailing... 

I feel so blessed to be here... Two other individuals are here from Taiwan as they are here to join the Pentecostal Retreat that will be taking place from May 22nd to the 25th. And another gal from Columbia/Germany has a brother in Taipei, serving with OMF... It was just amazing all the "Taiwan" connections!

Another sister greeted me and gave me a tour of the place as we walked to the building where my room is located.  On the way, she stopped at the big chapel and we sat in silence for more than half an hour. It was very special. 

My room is exactly what I was hoping for... I wanted a silent retreat... and this place is perfect... Of course, it won't be too silent as there are people who are here... but I get to have an extended quiet time. Tomorrow... I will join the service at 9:30. And as for meals... breakfast and dinner are help yourself... Everything is in the refrigerator. You can choose to eat or just stay in the room. Only lunch at 11am is a hot meal... again, you can decide to join or just stay in your room. They have the electric hot water thermos, so I can just go and make myself a cup of hot water and have my morning coffee... I can go and do my run on Monday and Tuesday if I want... Or I can just sit and walk around the grounds... They have a prayer garden... and many places to be alone. 

I will leave here on Tuesday to head back to Taiwan. I saw several of their books which I might like to buy. And I will give them clothes to donate... including my big jacket. I don't know when I'll leave, but my flight is on Tuesday afternoon.

This is a gift from God... Of course, I will leave a donation... 

So... overall... it was a long day of traveling... I left the hotel in Lautenbrunnen at 7:45 and arrived here at around 5:45. 

After the tour and settling in, I was immediately ushered into the breakfast/dinner room... and you can just help yourself. I had a banana and an apple and a slice of cheese. They had everything... but I still had pizza to finish. So... it was not too hungry. 

I came back into my room and unpacked and plugged in the phone to be charge and used the hot spot to blog and check my email.

Yes... I will go to bed early... 

And throughout the day, I was messaging Pam and Suz to find out what they were doing... They have safely arrived in Geneva and will fly back to the States tomorrow... I sure do miss them!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Why do you think this is significant?

Seek Him First!

Lautenbrunnen... Interlocken Ost...

I was up earlier and went out for my run and it was much colder... But no rain... I had my quiet time in the lobby and ate a banana and drank two cups of coffee and then went out to run my 10K.

It was so nice... I won't be running tomorrow... I'll be running to the train station... 

After our breakfast at the Chalet, we took the train to Interlaken Ost. Suz had asked chatGPT for a walking tour... and what an adventure we had. We should have said, "Walking tour when it rains"... because this walking tour that it sent us on would have been much better if it wasn't cloudy and raining and COLD! I don't mind the cold... but it wasn't ask scenic with the rain and the cloud. We walked and walked and walked... and it was an adventure... We were out in the middle of nowhere, roaming with the cows... mooing as we walked... We finally made it to Weissenau Ruins... and that's what we saw... three pieces of a ruined castle... ha, ha, ha... We then walked for another 5 minutes and stood at the view point to see the Thunsee... ha, ha, ha... 

I was running out of battery, so we used Pam's phone and charted a course to the nearest bus stop! It was a fast ride back into town! What were we thinking?

I had to pee... and many of the restaurants were closed... and weren't going to open until 5:30! One lady took pity on me and let me use their restroom. it was a very nice restroom!

We then looked at many of the shops and decided to buy Swiss army knives... One nail cutter for Isaiah... one classic for Fenny. Isaiah was going to pay for both... I think it's a nice gift for Fenny's birthday! We then found a great bakery/coffee shop that started in 1818 called Schuh. It was delicious and Pam treated us... I felt like a royalty... I got apple pie and milk coffee! And I was able to join the prayer time! When we left there, we went back to the Victornox. I was trying to find another one of our great carry-ons as the one we have is quite messed up and can't be fixed. And we were going to buy the knives. But it was going to be an hour wait to get the engraving done. So we went to another store and met Ignasio. He did the engraving for free. Suz also bought two. 

We were back on the train, heading back to Lautenbrunnen!

We went to the coop and I forgot to buy Rivella... so for dinner, I had some. I will buy some for Alan to try. I also could not find the hot spicy pizza oil... 

We had dinner at Hotel Overland as it was one of the only restaurants still opened. I had goulash soup and it was delicious... and Suz couldn't finish her Rosti, so I ate some... YUMMY. I love raclette cheese! I will bring some back to Taiwan. So, I will definitely go shopping in Darmstadt!

We were back at our hotel and getting ourselves organized as we check out tomorrow. 

What a vacation this has been... I have no adjectives to fully describe my heart... To see Nancy and the house that's finished... To be in Heidelberg on the one year anniversary of my Mom's passing... To have my best friends, Pam and Suz, join me there and travel around... We definitely have elevated our traveling style... we didn't sleep in any train stations... and we had nice meals every day... 

It's going to be hard to say goodbye... 

Who knows when we'd have the chance to do something like this again... Truly... like our travel some 46 years ago... these past 'few' days have been another 'once in a lifetime' chance... Life goes on... and our mind might not be so clear... and we surely don't think we will live for another 46 years... but for today, this moment, my heart overflows...

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Lautenbrunnen... Wengen...

I was up and did go out for a fantastic run... 

I run so much faster even though it was chilly... I did the 10K almost within an hour... I am going to try again tomorrow... 

I had two coffees and a bit to eat before I took off... I love this little Chalet Rosa!

I got back and Pam and Suz were up! Breakfast was already being served downstairs. The gal I met last night was down there and she gave me a hug and asked that I send her the verses for today. While talking about the Bible, a man behind me said, "Oh Psalm 23... my favorite verse is Psalm 23:4!" We started talking and he is from Portland but lives on the Washington side! He's a pilot and is here with his wife. They've been married for three years. 

I finally went up to the room and had a nice shower and Pam and I went down for breakfast.

What an amazing spread of food... I love everything... little packets of Nutella... three or four different flavors of yogurt... Wow... Again, the breads.. the fruit... the cheese and cold cuts... We sat right by the windows... and the sun came out... 

We decided to take the train to Wengen and walk around there... Wow... it was spectacular... we didn't take the tram all the way up to Kleinschindegg... but it was delightful just to walk around the village. It even started snowing... We found a little coffee shop and had apple pie with vanilla sauce. Goulash soup with bread and a couple of cups of coffee... What a treat!

I was able to join/lead the prayer time... and Alan was able to get on!

Well... we headed down and we got back to our hotel room and I packed up the laundry and went to the 'wash salon'. Before heading out, I needed coins... Gabby, the chalet manager didn't have any coins... so, when I got to the wash salon, I asked the two people who were there and they didn't have any extra coins to exchange with me. On the way down, I had tried to get a coin... but no such luck.

The guy said, "Try the train station." He had tried at five places and finally he got a place to give him some coins. I went and could not find a machine to give change and went to the ticket counter. The lady was so gracious to give me two 5 francs coins... I ran back and had to figure out how to get the machine to work. Another lady was there... and I finally decided to put the coin in to see if the door to the washer would open and it did!

There were soap 'pills' there for free... and while I waited, I chatted with the lady... She's from Utah and they seem to be quite wealthy. Anyhow, her husband and daughter came in and he is a runner... So I went back to the room and got the Soochow Ultra Running shirt and gave it to him! Another couple from Australia came in...They are from Brisbane... The waiting time went by very quickly. 

The laundry was finished and I packed everything up and ran back to the room. Pam and Suz helped me to hang everything around the room... and we were off to dinner.

We made a reservation for the restaurant at Camp Jungfrau... 6pm! I ordered the pizza with Raclett cheese and pickles. It's a local favorite... And it was so good... All the meals that we have had have been so delicious. 

We walked back, going into the cemetery and it was quite 'beautiful'. There were freshly planted flowers and the gravestones were so interesting... 

Oh... I forgot to mention that in Wengen there was a Hotel Regina with a sushi restaurant. It was as if Mom was right there. We had a hotel in Pomona called Chalet Lodge... She could have come to Switzerland and opened a Chalet Regina. People would have loved her!

After dinner, we came back to our hotel and just rested... 

What's on the plan for tomorrow? Well... I for sure will go for another run!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

A Day of Bus & Train... and Yes Lots of Walking!

I was up early and had breakfast after my time with Jesus.

It was going to be a day of travel...

We got a taxi to take us to the bus station and the FlexBus was late... and we were worried that we won't catch our train from Zurich to Interlaken Ost.

We barely made it... and the train was very crowded!

The Swiss train had no WiFi... so at 2:45 I used my data and had a call of prayer with House of Praise! Before 2:59 (which was the time that our train was to arrive to Interlaken Ost, Pam and Suz were getting their suitcases as people were getting off. The sign said Interlaken West and I kept asking, "Is Interlaken Ost the same as Interlaken West?" Pam kept saying, "I don't know what Ost mean..." 

Well... I should have just said "It is not the right station1" But my brain wasn't working... 

Anyhow, we got off one station too early and had to wait for the next train... but we were able to catch our original scheduled train from Interlaken Ost to Lautenbrunnen and we walked to our Chalet Rosa! It's a delightful place... with breakfast each morning. 

The room is so nice... 

After settling down, we got ready to hike as the weather was so splendid!

We hiked for more than 2 hours and had dinner at Hotel Overland. It was kind of expensive and I ordered Oberland Rosti... unfortunately, it was more cheese than potato pancake. Suz ordered curry rice and that was so good. I ate quite a bit of hers as I love basmati rice!

We walked back to our chalet and I noticed a gal reading her Bible. So, I went to talk to her. She lives in Geneva but is originally from Rio de Janiero Brazil. I shared with her the verses I love: Matthew 6:33 and Psalm 23 and John 15:5. After reading Matthew 6:33, she started to cry. I don't know why. But I think it was God. When we finished reading all the verses, I asked her about her children and her husband. And we pray... She hugged me and thanked me... and tears continued to flow... We exchanged our contact information as I went up to the room.

Pam and Suz were up in the room already... and after Pam took a bath, I went and had my shower. I will consider doing a load of clothes tomorrow. 

We were all exhausted. 

Tomorrow... I hope to go for a run! It will be the same trail we hiked today!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Tubingen... In A Day!

I was up and did not go for a run... I wanted to go and enjoy the splendid breakfast... BUFFET...

There were five different kinds of yogurt, fresh fruit, 10 different kinds of bread, hot dishes, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs... ratatouille (very delicious), bacon, sausage links, meatballs... And a coffee machine that had 10 different choices. They even provided soy bean milk or oat milk! Oh... and three different kinds of juice... And I'm sure I'm forgetting what else... like cheese and cold cuts and salad... Trust me... I ATE A LOT!

We sat and talked and enjoyed our breakfast! We finally left at around 10:30 and did our own walking tour! We hit all the spots and walked and shopped... We had a delightful time... and ended the evening at the best dinner restaurant! It was Stevie's treat for "Mother's Day".

I bought China Oel, more gummy candies, Ritter sports, and saw a pair of shoes at the second hand store: Doghammer... usually 180Euro for sale for 63Euro. The pair was completely brand new and my size. But I don't need a pair of shoes... even though it was in green. I'd spend the money for running shoes, but not for hiking shoes... plus, the arch was just not perfect! Maybe I will regret not buying them... but still... I'm glad I walked away!

We were back at the hotel by 7:30 and started packing... We have an early day tomorrow... Onward to Zurich and then to Lautenbrunnen via Interlaken!

I was able to join the prayer time this afternoon! YEAH!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!