Sunday in Heidelberg... Enchanting... Blessed...

I was up early and enjoyed having my time while the gals slept... But we had an early start as church was at 11:15 and we had a walk...

We had our breakfast in the room and packed up and checked out... 

We walked with our luggage to the Goldener Falke which was about 100 meters away! They let us drop off the luggage right in the restaurant... very safe! And we took off... I had brought my laundry thinking that the laundromat right next to the church would be opened. But it turned out that the supermarkets and the laundromats all closed on Sunday. 

We arrived at the church by 10:50 and it was nice to just sit. The service was one hour and the worship team was a group of young adults.

After the service, we found a Bakerei and bought these delicious sandwiches and ate at a table set up right on the Haupstrasse. Pam used her phone to buy the Nekar River Cruise tickets... 45euro per person. And it started at 2:30. The cruise went about 15 kilometers down and then back, taking about three hours. Drinks were free... and we had nice bread with us to munch on!

After getting off, we walked to our hotel, which was right on the Haupstrasse... VERY VERY NICE... and we get a full on breakfast tomorrow morning from 7-10am. That's going to be so enjoyable!

The room is absolutely fabulous. We opened the windows and can hear the bells from the Holy Ghost Church and a violin player right on the streets below. 

Stevie, Suz's son, wanted to treat us to dinner for our Mother's Day Celebration. We are going to have dinner at a place with table cloth... that means it's going to be super super super NICE! We also want to walk up to the Schloss for an evening view...

I'm so glad we extended our stay in Heidelberg... 

I will go for another run tomorrow morning... and there is no rush as our train is at 13:56.

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Funicle & Castle Courtyard...

 I was up early... and did go out for a nice 10K run... Absolutely enjoyable...The path was much nicer with fewer obstacles... I still had some stairs but overall, it was delightful!

I got back and the gals were up... and getting ready. But still... we took our time before taking off at around 11am to take the funicle up to the castle and go inside the courtyard and see a few 'museums' before taking the funicle up to the highest point. The cost of everything was 17euro per person. We didn't get back down until 4pm and had Doner for our "lunch". We ate the whole thing and could not imagine eating more for dinner. We decided to go to the bakery and buy a few desserts for our evening 'meal'. Then we walked back to our hotel room to rest. There were so many tourists around that it was quite crowded... and the weather got really warm.

So... it was nice to be in our room... but we plan to go out again for another walk on the other side of the Nekar River.

We will check out and be in another hotel on Sunday... which includes breakfast for Monday. It's a great treat... as we head to Tubingen on Monday afternoon... it will be our final day in Heidelberg at a fancy hotel with our breakfast at the hotel.

I hope to get another run in on Monday...

So, we did leave at around 6:30 to walk across the Old Bridge and through the Winding Walled Path that comes out on Philosophen Weg and we sat there and talked until we had to go back down as it's difficult to walk down in the dark.

We were back around HaupStrasse and Suz and Pam got Eis (Gelato) but I'm not into sweets... and there are no pomme frites stands... We sat at the ice cream shop and finally walked back to our hotel at around 10pm. The place was still filled with people eating at outdoor cafes...

Walking by the Schloss is always special... no matter what time of day it might be...

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Moore Haus & More...

I was not up too early... as I was up a few times with diarrhea... I think I ate too much at dinner time... and I have not had a full slice of pork chop or so many fries... 

So... I had my time with Jesus and did not go for a run even though the weather was so perfect.

At around 9am, we went out for breakfast. I just had some delicious bread and soup... and I bought extra delicious bread that I chewed on throughout the morning.

We then went up to Moore Haus as the lady in charge had time to give us a full tour. To get to Moore Haus, we walked the "Killer Stairs". We had a full two plus hours tour... It was delightful!

We then went to the castle and walked around some more... 

On the way down, we stopped at a gift shop and I bought two magnets. I realized that in all these years, I never had a magnet from Heidelberg. 

We dropped everything off at our hotel room and went out to walk the Haupstrasse... and do more shopping. I bought more Haribo candies... and we stopped at the supermarket as I wanted some sparkling water... it felt great on my tummy!

We found a great garden cafe and stopped to have cake and coffee... and I finally felt good enough to have some coffee... and we're talking about coffee topped with a great huge spoonful of fresh whipped cream. It's not coffee... it's a dessert!

We came back to the hotel room and it was already 4:30pm. I missed the Prayer Time... 

We finally went out to dinner at 8:30... and had Italian food... I had a salad and a baked potato. 

We also bought more dessert to bring back to our room but we were all too full to eat... 

We walked at least 19,000 steps. And we will walk more tomorrow.

The weather has been fantastic!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

One Year...

I did not sleep well... It wasn't the bed... I just tossed and turned... but I still got up before dawn and had my time with Jesus... 

I drank the rest of the carrot juice... had my coffee... ate the bread with cheese... and at around 7:45, I went out to run. I had charted the path... but I couldn't just run without thinking... It was unfamiliar... Yet the weather was fabulous... I warmed up quite quickly... 

The 10K went fast... I was hoping to finish in 63 minutes, but with the few obstacles that I encountered, I couldn't... obstacles such as men cutting the grass and trees... having to go up some stairs... crossing this plank style steel bridge...  

I got back and took a shower and made myself a mug of milk tea (from the packets I brought) and proceeded to finish the second bread with slices of gouda cheese.

I wanted to figure out a way to charge my computer and while waiting for it to charge, I fell asleep... it was fabulous! I napped for two hours. 

When I woke up, I got a message from Pam and Suz. They've arrived and will take the 13:51 train from Frankfurt Airport to Heidelberg Altstadt and I'll be there to meet up with them! 

I blogged for House of Praise. I finished the discussion questions from the Sunday sermon! I checked my emails. It was just a very 'chill' morning... which flew by so fast. I feel that way about this whole year. 

As for Pam and Suz, I think they might want to rest a bit... but we will eat out this evening... and they will most likely sleep early. Tomorrow we will go up to Moore Haus!

I am going to hit publish... even though the day is not done!

Today was to be a day of Reflection... and it is Thursday, which is also my usual PR Day (my Sabbath Rest Day). I didn't get on to write more of my reflection about this year... Perhaps at the end of my trip I will do that... 

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First

!

I Made It...

I was up early and enjoyed being alone... in what I call the "Upper Room"... 

I went down at 6:30 and had my three in one coffee packet and my breakfast... delicious!

Serge and Nancy came down at around 7:15 and their friend, Hegette, came down around 7:45am. We sat and chatted and the time flew by. 

Serge and Nancy drove me to the local station and I took the 'tram' to Brussels and got on the train to Koln Main Station. I didn't have to rush and at Koln Station, I bought my favorite pretzel rolls and a cheese and veggie sandwich and got on the train. The ride was great... the scenery... the seats... I didn't go and sit in a cart... I just sat at a place with a table. At 2:45 I joined the HOP Prayer time!

The train arrived a bit late but at around 15:52, I was at Heidelberg Haupbanhof. The map said it was a 3.1km walk to Haupstrasse and I decided to walk... why not? It just felt right... the weather had forecast rain, but the sun was peaking through the clouds... and it just felt good to walk. It was a walk down memory lane!

I passed the Aldi Sud... the mall where the Chinese restaurant used to be... the McDonald's... The Kaufhaus (which is no longer there) and the Mueller (that is a great place to buy fizzy vitamins and China Oil). 

I got to Hotel Sudpfanne at around 5pm and checked in. I dumped my stuff and took the items to mail... found the nearest post office and walked over! The package is on its way to the UK. 18.88Euro!

Then I walked to Penny, the Supermarket... passing lots of bookstores... and the churches... and I heard organ music and walked in. I wasn't in any hurry... 

At Penny, I saw Haribo Candies... and so many great desserts... the kind that Alan would love... I decided to get some now... no desserts... just the candies. I also decided that I wasn't going to run but just meander and walk around... I also bought my favorite carrot juice, soybean milk, special German rolls and cheese! YIPPY! 100% carrot juice for 60NT$! That was my dinner!

I slowly walked back to the hotel and made some tea, drank the carrot juice (it was a good size carton) and a glass of soybean milk!

It was still light outside... so I went out again... this time with my jacket. The wind was picking up! I walked to the bridge, took some more pictures and came back to the hotel.

I wanted to sleep early... and wake up early... 

I will go for a run tomorrow morning after my quiet time...

Tonight at 9:33 (which is May 7th, 3:33 Taiwan time) Mom passed away... 

It is a gift that I am here in Heidelberg... Tomorrow will be a reflection day... A whole year has flew by!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Nice and Chilly!

I was up early... and just had a nice relaxing morning. 

We had breakfast together... for me, two eggs, and cheese! And coffee...

Nancy took me to this great park. She sat and sketched while I ran my 10K! It was so nice and chilly... no rain, even though rain was predicted. It was 11 degrees, but the real feel was like 6! Wow...

We came home for lunch and she made a huge salad and steak! Wow... so delicious!

At 4:45, we went out to dinner... Pomme frites mit mayo... it was one of the most famous places in Antwerp!

We walked around the area and that was so nice... and came home at 7:30. I blogged and checked my emails and packed. 

They will take me to the train station and I will head out to Heidelberg tomorrow!

This has been an amazing vacation! And it's only started!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

And I'm Here...

What a day... 

The flight from Beijing to Frankfurt was super crowded... the food was great... I'm not too picky and the flight attendants were all super attentive... I guess that's why they are called Flight Attendants???

I drank lots of coconut water, which was super refreshing. And they had delicious tea. But I did not have any coffee or Coca Cola... For the 'midnight snack' I had a chicken bun. Then for breakfast, I had congee. The mid-flight snack was just chocolate cookies. I took three as they'd be good before a run!  

The fight landed and the airport seemed so huge... I'm thinking: Have I been to this airport before? It was like a maze and not very many restrooms... and no hot water dispensers... I finally found a restroom and then went through customs and got my bag... That was all done very efficiently. 

I tried to ask about the donation box. No one knew where it was located, although they all knew that there was one: somewhere. I found the post... but it doesn't open until 9am. DARN IT!

So I proceeded to find the long distance train ticket counter... wow... it was in an 'office'. And the train ticket to Antwerp was not 'cheap', more than if someone buys it via the internet. I got the ticket for the 8:48 train from Track 7. So, I walked down and stood on the platform. A train came at 8:39 and I got on... and in two minutes, it took off. And I was thinking: something is wrong! I looked at the seats and they showed that they were reserved from one point to another point and the destination point said: Dusseldorf! What? I said out loud: is this train going to Dusseldorf? The passengers all looked and three or four of them actually responded with a nod! In utter shock and disbelief, I said: I need to be going to Brussels!

One lady said: Let me see if I can help! She got on her phone and started typing! "The best thing you can do is take this train and get off at Koln. BUT, this train is going to Koln South. You need to take a "S" train to Koln Main! And then...perhaps you can catch the train to Brussels." She wrote down everything, including the track number and the time. If not, what would be the next train from Koln Main to Brussels! And from Brussels to Antwerp! The worst case scenario: I'd get to Antwerp at 3:34 instead of 12:03! 

Well... I stood all the way to Koln South... and before getting off, I thanked her. I run to catch the S Bahn (train). I took the train one stop to Koln Main. I run to the track... WOW... ICE 316 was late! By 12 minutes! But now, I might not catch the 11:33 from Brussels to Antwerp as the train now is delayed and won't arrive to Brussels until 11:38! The train to Brussels was so packed... The conductor said that if the seat has a green light, it is available. But every seat had a red light! It turned out that several trains were cancelled and the lights were all jumbled! Thus, everything was showing RED! I sat down as the aisle was packed with people. And soon, people came who had the reservation for the seat I was sitting in. I walked down to the next cart... no seat... And I walked down to the next cart: now the lights were changed! GREEN was appearing quite often. I found a seat and sat down and read my Bible and prayed, just giving thanks!

The train arrived in Brussels and I run to Track 11 from Track 5, where the train to Antwerp Central was to be... but it is already 'late'. I looked up at the sign on Track 11: Antwerp Central, 11:33. What??? A train pulled up... I asked several people before just hopping on: Antwerp Central. And they all nodded! I get on... I arrived at Antwerp Central at the original time of my original purchased ticket! 12:03!!!! 

The station looked huge... Again... I'm thinking: was this station like this some four years ago when I came with Isaiah and Abby??? 

Nancy and Serge were there already... and they took me to the coffee shop where I had sparkling water! I was so thirsty!

We drove to their place and I'm amazed! "Is this the place I was at where it was only a shell and nothing much was built up around the area?"

Their place is beautiful! They took out a delicious spread of cheese and cold cuts and we sat and talked and talked and talked. At 2:45 (which was 8:45 Taiwan time), I got on and prayed with those at House of Praise. And after that,  I got a tour of their place and they put me up in their huge guest room with my own bathroom!

I unpacked and then went out for a walk about... I didn't find a running route.

I didn't want dinner... I came back up and changed into my pajamas. I blogged and I went to bed by 7pm.

Wow... what an amazing day!

The Lord did it... He carried me through! 

He can redeem all our mistakes. 

He provides people who are so very helpful on this journey when we take a 'wrong turn' or in my case, hop on a 'wrong train'!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!