Pursued by a Bear

Luxembourg City - part 2

Day two in Luxembourg City, we went to the casemates.

You can read the link to get more info. They are caves built into the side of a cliff that served as a fortress for many, many years. Very cool stuff.

Ready? Down we go!

eek!

 

This is supposed to be an air shaft. The casemates were like a little city and had kitchens and barns and all sorts of self-sustaining rooms. The caves could house thousands of people. Wow!

Oh...just sitting on a 400 year old canon. As you do.

The stairs inside the cave were steep and tiny. This made for some interesting "passing thru" with other guests. Lots of squeezing up against strangers. I don't recommend it if you get easily squicked out.

("Il n'est pas bon!")

After the casemates, we went to the American Military Cemetary...

...which is ajacent to the German Military Cemetary.

Sobering to think that these people fought and had no idea they'd be buried next to each other. Whew. I don't mean to end the blog entry on a downer. I just think about these kind of things sometimes. What's the point in fighting? Dust to dust.

Luxembourg City is really lovely. We had a great time. It was my second time visiting and I hope not the last.

Luxembourg City - part 1

We're in a "work hard/play hard" situation over here in Germany. We both work all week and then we go off on a trip together (somewhere) on the weekends. 

This past weekend, we went to Luxembourg City.

The goal of the trip was to participate in the ING Half Marathon. I did not run the half. Are you kidding me? Fred would love it if I could run longer races, but I'm just not built for it. I ran the "mini" marathon, which started a half hour after Fred's race and was mostly little kids, parents, charity runners and packs of ladies. It was a 4.2km race and it was not timed. I was kinda bummed when I got to the Expo and found out my race wasn't "chipped" but now I understand why the 4.2 isn't timed - it's clearly a Fun Run. Little kids were often running 4 or 5 abreast, blocking the entire running path. I was dodging back and forth and up and over the curbways to get around slower packs of runners.

My goal was to run the whole thing. I hadn't set a time for myself because I had been out of practice. I hadn't been running since...oh...November, maybe? I finished in exactly 22 minutes. Not too bad, considering I had to weave around lots of people who were not in it for a personal record.

Here's Fred, getting ready for his race:

This was a night race - Fred's race started at 7pm. However, based on this picture, it does not look like it is 7pm! It stays light until 9:30pm these days. It was just getting dark when he finished his race.

My race started at 7:30pm. I scored a "gimme" hat from a promoter when I was waiting in my corral at the start-line. I was very grateful for that because the sun was in my eyes. I forgot how strong the sun can be in the summer evenings.

I paced myself with this guy the entire time...

 ...then I gave myself a burst of energy right at the end of the race and finished 50 yards in front of him. I wish the back of my shirt said, "If you can read this - thanks for pacing me - but you can eat my dust!"

Sometimes, I'm a little competitive.

Also...? At the finish line, I got my first medal! And a beer!

I had some time to kill before the end of Fred's race. Earlier in the day, I signed up to be his "Go Go Girl" -- I gave 5 euros to a children's hospital charity and that got me a blue shirt that identified me as a cheerleader for Fred. It also meant that I could join him for the last 2.5km of his race and run it in to the finish line with him.

Lest you take it the wrong way, I feel compelled to let you know there was an equal number of "Go Go Boys" out and about during the race. And, yes, I'm aware that it sounds vaguely objectifying to be a Go Go Anything. (hrmph.)

When my race was done, I started walking back to the "Go Go pick up spot". I never made it to the pre-arranged spot, however, because it started to rain. I stayed under some trees and waited for Fred to get a bit closer to me and my dry spot under the trees. We tried to stay in touch via texting, but it was somewhat difficult because the kilometer markers were sparse. I'd text, 

"I'm next to an orange arch"

and he'd text back,

"Really? I just passed three of those"

and then I'd text,

"I'm near the Samba music stage"

and he'd text,

"E - U aren't aware, but MANY of those on the route!"

I wanted SO BAD to just CALL him, but he had somehow rigged the phones so we could text for a much smaller fee than calling...Luxembourg being a different country and all...you know, roaming charges. I finally found him and the rain finally ceased and we ran the end of the race together. I was so glad to be able to cheer him on. Having just finished the course myself, I was able to say things like,

"See the blinking amber light 200 yards ahead? That's the top of the last hill!"

and

"As soon as you turn the corner, you'll see the Expo building - almost done!"

I can't wait to see the professional pictures of two of us running over the finish line. I don't usually buy professional photos at races, but I might buy this time if it's cute. Who knows: I was super smiley and fresh as a daisy.

(Go Go Girl! WOO!)

Fred had just finished 13 miles - replete with rain - and was less amused. So I don't know. We'll see.

After we walked through the finisher gaunlet, I asked Fred to take my picture with my medal. He was all,

"YOU GOT A MEDAL? ...for running 4.2km?"

and when I showed it to him, he was all,

"YOU GOT THE SAME MEDAL THAT I GOT FOR RUNNING 13.1 MILES?!"

Hells yeah!

I got a WHOLE medal and I didn't even have to run the HALF.

 

Prague

Last weekend, we went to Prague. I've wanted to go to Prague the last few times I've visited overseas, but we always ran out of time. I'm glad we waited until Spring. It was cold last week, so I can only imagine how cold it would be in the Fall or Winter. Still, I can't complain -- I got to go to Prague! 

This is Wenceslas Square:

The architecture in the Old Town area is fantastic.

Here, of course, is the Charles Bridge:

We walked over another bridge to the Castle side of the city. We walked a big loop on the first afternoon that we were there. It had us back over the Charles Bridge on the way back to the hotel. By that time, the sun came out (finally!) and it was setting and absolutely lovely. Sorry - I didn't take any pictures because the first few I took just didn't do it justice, so I decided to put away my camera and enjoy the time across the bridge instead. I'm pretty sure you've seen it captured better than my photographic skills. It's pretty famous:

Hollywood movies set in Prague include Mission Impossible, xXx, Blade II, Alien vs. Predator, Doom,Chronicles of Narnia and Van Helsing. Also, the music video to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West was shot in Prague, and features shots of the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock, among other famous landmarks. (Wikipedia)

Here's some random art on Kampa Island near the Charles Bridge:

I was feeling art-y.

If you go down this road and turn left and then turn right...

...you'll come upon the John Lennon wall. This is a graffiti wall that changes as people add to it. It's alot of Beatles lyrics and peace messages. We love that someone spray-painted "FRED" -- talk about random art! -- I wonder how long it will stay up on the wall?

The John Lennon wall is near a bridge on which couples  can "lock" their love. I've seen this kind of thing in other places, so it's not necessarily "special" to the city of Prague, but I'm sure it's special to the people who put their locks on the bridge.

(It makes for a cool picture, anyway!)

Okay, here's the base of the Castle side of the Charles Bridge. I felt like I was at Disneyland.  Doesn't it look like that?

Here's the Astronomical Clock:

If you have the time to spare, CLICK HERE to see the recent 600th anniversary laser/light show. It's a 10 minute clip. I know that sounds too long, but it's really amazing on You Tube, so I can only IMAGINE how crazy mind-blowing it must have been in real life. I especially like how you can hear an American guy say "That's so anti-climatic!" at the 15 second mark...and then he gets schooled and has to concede: "...that's awesome." Hah!

On our second day in Prague, we went to the zoo.  There was a very bad flood at the zoo in 2002. Sadly, half the park was lost. The zoo is just now recovering. It's situated on a hill...and, well...sometimes the fastest way to get from one exhibit to another is on the chair lift.

I CANNOT BELIEVE I LET FRED TALK ME INTO THIS.

I'm scared of heights. This was - what? - A CHAIR. Just a chair hanging for a cable. No big whoop. A chair with a loose chain across the front that was supposed to keep you from falling to your death?!

I was terrified.

The most alarming thing for me is that IT'S SCARY ENOUGH to just ride the damn thing, but they allow children up to the age of six to ride in an adult's lap. Does this chair thing-y look SAFE ENOUGH for those kinds of shenanigans? 

I think not. But, hey...

...it's the adventure of a lifetime.

Trier

On Monday, we drove to the southwest border of Germany to see the Heilig Rock at the Cathedral in Trier. Fred has been to Trier many times. This was my third visit and the first time for me to enjoy it in the sunshine - we had some really lovely weather on Monday!

My favorite attraction in the city is the cathedral. You can click the link and read about it at length, if you wish, but I think I can set up the wonder I feel in this one fact: construction began in 329 and was completed (after a set back in 882 - the Normans destroyed it) in 1512. FIFTEEN TWELVE!

Stuff like that just blows my mind.

So, like most churches in Europe, this one has a relic.

I have mixed feelings about relics because...well, you can't really PROVE they are the real. The skeptic in me wants to scoff at relics. On the other hand, the philosophical part of me says that maybe it's not really about the object. Maybe you just gotta take it on faith and/or maybe you'll never know if it's real or not. And that's okay. Sometimes, I think, it's just lovely to walk past a (so-called) relic and simply reflect on my life and how humbly I fit into a story that's not really mine.

Here's one example of a thought that goes thru my brain whenever I visit really old sites: in this case, "they" started building this church in 329. It's really hard for me to wrap my brain around a bunch of lives that were happening so many centuries ago - people who ate and pooped and cried and laughed and made love and buried loved ones and...fill in any other activity of your choice...all on this same ground that I am walking on in 2012.

See? Mind blown.

Anyway, the relic at this church is the Seamless Robe of Christ - the one that is referred to in John 19:22-24 and (nerd alert!) is often cross-referenced as a fulfillment of prophesy through Psalm 22:18.

Now, I can't tell you whether or not this robe is the real thing. The story is that Roman Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was given the robe as a gift in the late 320's. She bequeathed it to the Cathedral in Trier.

It is rarely on display. In fact, in the last 100 years, it has only been available for a look-see by the public a handful of times: in 1933, 1959, 1996 -- and now in 2012.

Well, we HAD to go!

I don't have any pictures. There was a sense of reverence in the space and a tacit agreement by all that it would be tacky to pull out your iphone inside the church.

Here's a link from a news report in 1996 with a good picture, though:

CLICK HERE

The line wasn't very long when we went on Monday. We were lucky. I have heard that the wait can be up to 2 or 3 hours sometimes! We waited about 20 minutes. You shuffle down the center aisle of the church and file past the robe on either side and then you "exit through the gift shop"...

...no, I'm not kidding.

At first, I was put off by that. And I have to confess, I had a liiiiittle judgemental chuckle about it. However, then I got to thinking about the hiring process and wages of extra security guards and maintenance/janitorial work during the brief time that the robe is on display. There's no admission cost to see the robe. Where does the money to support this event come from? The regular operating budget for the church? Hmmm. I decided to change my mind set: perhaps the gift shop makes the event self-funding, or at least off-sets the cost somewhat.

We bought a magnet for our kitchen fridge.

(hah!)

Here's two things that I appreciate about my experience:

1) The brochure that was given to us upon entering the cathedral said this:

"...the robe itself (doesn't) lie at the center of the journey. Rather, the Holy Robe stands as a symbol of its Wearer."

I like focusing on the idea behind the relic instead of the actual relic itself. Dare I say it? ...Let's not get nuts off drinking the cool-aid. It may be the actual robe Jesus wore when He prayed so fervently in Gethsemane that He sweated blood, and He was arrested and brought to trial and stripped and beaten and crucified....? But perhaps the bigger idea is that He was briefly human and very brave to go through with this outrageous plan for the salvation of mankind, eh? I'm not gonna piddle over whether or not the robe in front of me in real or not when I think about that. Perspective.

2) The Holy Robe is only on display for a month (thru May 13) and in this time, the church is also putting on an Arts Festival:

"The Church and the Arts enjoy a close and exciting relationship. The Holy Robe pilgrimage has stimulated lively exchange between the spiritual and creative worlds. Working with the motto << and join together what is separated >> artists have prepared an attractive programme including architecture, fine arts, music, literature, dance and theatre."

WOW.

Mind blown in a personal way on that one. Some of the program is "church-y art" and you know what? Some of it isn't. I am really touched when church people acknowledge secular art as "worthy". Also, I wish that I didn't have to put the word worthy in quotes so that readers get the ridiculousness of that statement.

Without getting too soapbox-y about it, the Arts Festival in tandem with the pilgrimage makes me feel very happy.

--------------------------------------------------------

Other activities in Trier included eating ice cream out of a freshly made waffle cone, buying some new cigars and eating a cone of crispy (and piping hot!) pomme frites.

Yup, that's a big ol' glop of mayo.

Gluttony! And right after CHURCH, y'all.

#80 - Easter Parade

Last weekend, I went to the Easter Parade.

I've always been fond of the song: "On the Avenuuuuue! Fifth Avenuuuuue!" -- I didn't know that the Parade existed for REAL (outside of the movie and song) until I moved to the city.

Most Easter mornings, I have been busy performing or producing.  This year, however, I wasn't booked on Easter morning. The subway trains were all wonky and I had to take a detour to church, which dumped me out on the Midtown East part of town. Perfect accident. I decided to walk up Fifth Avenue and enjoy the parade.

I had to elbow my way in - lots of photographers. I didn't get GREAT pictures, but I managed to get a few that capture the whimsy of the event.

Here's my favorite picture:


Perhaps next year I will design a hat for myself!