Slide show of 2014 trip to Europe

1. Highlights of
Dave and Nila’s
Excellent European Adventure
2014

2. • The first 10 days are with our
50-voice choir from Lake Grove
Presbyterian Church

3. • June 13 (Friday, no less) we ooze out
of bed at 3:45am for our 7:00 flight
• First leg to Minneapolis airport is
uneventful

5. • From MSP to Paris, however, Nila has an
low blood pressure episode with labored
breathing, but gets over it shortly after
being tended to by a physician in our
choir.

6. Unexpected light show
over the polar region

7. Coming in to Paris

8. Saturday, June 14
We land, bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived at
Paris, 8:30 am local time
Dutifully, we pile onto the bus for a quick and
dirty tour of old-town Paris

9. Our tour bus – a familiar
view for 10 days

12. We go through the Louvre – literally –
The tour bus drives through the center courtyard
(I wonder what’s inside??)

13. And yes, that IS real gold up there

17. Lots of
wrought iron
everywhere
in the old city

20. … and of course, the Eiffel Tower

23. The choir shared a sumptuous
meal at a Parisian restaurant
festooned with wall paintings
and wood carvings

25. Sunday, June 15
We slept 17 hours straight, nearly
missing the tour bus to the concert

26. The choir was wowed by the resonance of the
“White Church”, site of our first concert.

27. An early evening walk took us to
one of the world’s famous
churches: the Cathedral of Notre
Dame, followed by a boat tour on
the River Seine

31. Next day, a stop at
the huge Cathedral
at Chartres
(notice the difference
between the two spires,
built in two different
centuries)

34. Tuesday – Thursday, June 17 - 19
Bayeux and Normandy, France

35. The world famous 13th
century Bayeux tapestry,
depicting the
Battle of Hastings

38. Our second concert, at the Bayeux
Cathedral, ended in a very holy moment,
with our gospel singer, Pam Baker, closing
the program with an extemporaneous
a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace”
before a packed sanctuary.

42. Afterwards, the cathedral
exterior lit up and a
venerable old tree trunk
served as a unique video
screen.

48. Wednesday, June 18
A sobering experience:
The American Cemetery, Utah Beach,
Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc

52. Imagine scaling
these cliffs
under enemy
fire

53. Remains of a German bunker

54. Omaha Beach

55. Every LST like this carried 32 soldiers – each one
carrying packs of 60-70 pounds

56. The monument reads:
“The Allied forces landing on
this shore which they call
Omaha Beach liberate
Europe – June 6th 1944”
People in this area have not
forgotten.

58. Thursday, June 19
Travel day
Midday stop at Honfleur, an
old seaport town

61. Friday, June 20
Bruges, Belgium
Our third concert, at St. Giles
Church, promoted a local
mission dedicated to helping
street people in practical ways

63. Notice the intense colors. They used to be black,
from centuries of candle smoke, etc. St. Giles had
recently restored these ancient wood carvings
representing the stations of the cross.

64. Bruges is also known for its
chocolate, lace-making,
carriages and canals.
Especially the chocolate.

65. (reads: “YES!!! – THIS IS
CHOCOLATE”)

69. Sunday June 22
Amsterdam
A very full day:
Singing
Touring
Final choir dinner together

70. We sang at Singelkerk, a Mennonite church

71. A very staid and reserved worship service ended
with Pam’s rhythmic gospel music – and this
gentleman started dancing (…in the Spirit??)

72. No rest on
Sunday
afternoon,
but rather a
whirlwind tour
of the world-famous
Rijksmuseum

73. Their most famous painting, Rembrandt’s
[misnamed] Night Watch always draws large crowds.
It was also much bigger than I had imagined.

74. Some more Dutch sights:
A typical Dutch-style drawbridge

75. Some Dutch windmills –
OK, only half kidding

76. Maybe this one
in Haarlem was
more of what
you were
thinking

77. Nila is fine to get up close and friendly
with these iguanas (i.e., metal ones)

78. An upscale old
house on the
canal – and it’s
for sale, even
(for a very
modest price
I’m sure)

79. The canal houseboats are actually more expensive
than the houses behind them.

80. Monday, June 23
• Choir goes home, we’re on our own!
• We start to learn the bus and train
system
• Walk around Amsterdam
• Go through the Amsterdam Museum

82. David and
Goliath, in
case you were
wondering

83. So many bikes . . .

84. . . .and so many styles --
Saw one man carrying 3 kids and
groceries on a bike like this

85. Not many SUVs, and some
unusual small cars

87. Orange fever as The Netherlands advances in the World Cup

88. Tuesday, June 24
Haarlem, The Netherlands

89. Corrie ten Boom House
(Christian Holocaust survivor
who hid Jews in her home)

90. Imagine 5-6 Jews
hidden in the
space behind our
guide.

91. When the alarm
sounded everybody
had to crawl through
this secret entrance in
less than 40 seconds .

92. A late-night
concert on the
huge pipe
organ in the
Haarlem
cathedral

93. Wednesday, June 25
Zwolle, The Netherlands
A family ancestry site for Dave
We met Ineke, Dave’s aunt’s niece, and her
husband Jan, who gave us an
all-day grand tour of Zwolle.

95. Dave’s grandparents, father and uncle
once lived in this residence (Vechtkamp)

96. Note the
cannonball still
embedded in
the wall from
some old battle

97. Zwolle’s city gate

98. We tracked down the regional historical archive
containing records for the de Vidal de St.
Germain family, including these folders, which
we were able to copy with their scanner.

99. Thursday-Friday, June 26-27
Next morning, on to the
beautiful Rhine River
Many castles, both ruined and
restored, seemed to float by
our seats on the sun deck of a
river cruiser.

103. Our 100 year old
paddlewheel river boat

105. We walked up to these massive
Rheinfelds castle ruins the next morning.

109. Some views from the tower

110. About 300 boats a day pass by here.

111. Note the near-vertical vineyards

112. Friday-Saturday, June 27-28
Bacharach, Germany
Home to some of Nila’s Pilger
ancestors
We searched in vain for the
Pilger winery which had been
there previously

113. Our gracious host at the hotel, who helped us search for
some Pilger connections in the area

114. No winery, but we did find a Pilger home
repair service

115. A typical winery near Bacharach

116. This fortress
perched atop
Bacharach has
been converted
into a youth
hostel.

117. After a long climb . . .

118. Sunday, June 29
On the way to Rothenburg a brief
stopover in Frankfurt results in a
serendipitous visit to a folk mass
at the crowded Frankfurt
Cathedral

120. The ornate Frankfurt rail station
(Hauptbonhof)

121. Something
old and
something
new…

122. Evidences of
the “new
Germany”

123. Monday, June 30
Rotherburg, Germany
Old Rothenburg is a medieval town (many 15th
cent. buildings) well-preserved because it
narrowly escaped bombing in WW II

126. We learned some history amidst the fun of the
“Night Watchman” tour of the town

127. Famous for
Christmas shopping

128. Tuesday-Wednesday, July 1-2
Hallstatt, Austria
This almost-last-minute addition to our
itinerary proved to be a scenic highlight.
Hallstatt hangs on the edge of steep
mountain cliffs on the shore of a
sparkling lake.

134. Then there are the 1500-year-old Roman ruins found
by accident underneath a sporting goods store.

135. Thursday – Sunday, July 3-6
Salzburg, Austria
Music, Mozart, Masses,
Museums, [Sound of Music]
Memorials and More

137. Street musicians abounded

138. A replica of Mozart’s pianoforte,
in his birth and early childhood home

139. A huge Italian-inspired
fountain in
Residenzplatz

141. Elegant furnishings
from the residence
of Austria’s one-time
Prince/Archbishop,
who ruled as a
virtual dictator

143. Hovering over the old city is the huge
Hohensalzburg Fortress,
never successfully attacked

144. Inside the perimeter walls
lived a small city

145. View from the fortress tower – old city wall in
foreground, beginning of Austrian Alps behind

146. July 4
We spent the evening, not watching
fireworks, but listening to a Mozart
concert done by musicians in period
costumes and eating a feast
[allegedly] prepared from 17th
century recipes

151. We passed on the “Sound of Music”
bus tours, but did see a few
filming sights in the area

152. “You are 16, going on 17. . .”

153. Mirabell Palace and Gardens

154. Remember these steps?

157. Remember the
cemetery scene
where the family
is betrayed – it
was based on
this actual site

158. On a different
note, the Hellbrun
“trick fountains”
where a bored
monarch amused
himself by drench-ing
his unsuspect-ing
(and often
inebriated) guests
with sprays of
water coming from
unexpected places

159. This “living
statue”
twitched his
finger as Nila
passed by
and startled
her half out
of her wits!

160. Sunday we attended Sunday Mass in the ornate
Salzburg Cathedral and heard Mozart’s Missa
Solemnis followed by another Mass by Bruckner

161. One of the four
smaller organs in
the cathedral (not
counting the main
one which Mozart
played on for two
years)

163. Monday, July 7
Fussen, Germany
King’s Castles

164. The misnamed “Mad King of
Bavaria” was many things – a
visionary, an incompetent
administrator, a profligate
spender of public moneys, but
not insane, even though his
political enemies had him
confined on that charge.

165. He grew up in this castle, probably more than
adequate for most folks – but . . .

166. . . . he had much bigger things in mind, such as
building his own castle across the valley:

167. like this, for example

168. Neuschwanstein
castle, inspiration for
the Disneyland
Sleeping Beauty
castle
Fourteen years in the
building (and only
partially finished), he
lived in it less than
half a year before
dying under very
mysterious
circumstances.

169. View from the Castle

170. Tuesday – Thursday, July 8 – 10
Interlaken, Switzerland
Tuesday – Rain
Wednesday – Rain
Thursday a.m. – More Rain

171. Backyard pond in our B and B (ironically named Sunny Days)

172. The river Aare and medieval locks which
regulate the water levels between the two
lakes surrounding the aptly named
Interlaken

173. Thursday – Saturday, July 10 – 12
Gimmelwald (plus Lauterbrunnen and
Murren)
Thursday p.m. – Still More Rain
Friday a.m. – Etc., etc.

174. In the Alps above Interlaken,
Gimmelwald is a tiny isolated village
relatively untouched by the modern
world (except maybe for tourism)

176. Our beyond-rustic Hotel (but a place where we met
some wonderful people at the communal dinner)

177. Most houses have a little garden

178. The main form of transportation in and out
of Gimmelwald

180. One of the watering
troughs for the animals

181. In spite of the
rain, bits of
beauty poked
out from
everywhere

183. Staubbach
Falls, plunging
900’ into the
village of
Lauterbrunnen

184. Lauterbrunnen Valley is said to
contain 72 waterfalls. We could
see over 20 from our hotel
room, some plunging more
than a mile from rim
to valley floor

188. Friday afternoon –
a little rain, but some clearing

190. Friday evening – Rain Again

191. A Folklore Festival is announced by
men parading down the main street
clanging very loud cowbells

192. A men’s chorus with yodeling
(held in the church
Because of the rain)

193. And of course, alpenhorns

194. And then . . .
Just before we had to leave
Saturday morning . . .

195. . . . breakfast stopped while
everybody ran for their cameras

199. Wow!
Thank you,
God!

200. Saturday - Sunday, July 12 - 13
Lucerne, Switzerland

201. We walk across the world-famous 13th century
Chapel Bridge, but failed to notice the foreboding
clouds in the background

202. Sprinkles turned to rain, which
turned to heavy rain

203. which turned into
a complete gully-washer
and
lightning/thunder
a few yards away
(those shadowy
spires are about 3
blocks away)

204. We drag our soaked bodies over to see Lucerne’s
other iconic feature: the Lion monument, carved in
memory of betrayed and massacred Swiss soldiers

205. I am in total awe of how such grief can be portrayed in stone

206. With time
running short the
next morning, we
take a quick hike
on the medieval
protective wall
around the old
city.

207. View from the city wall

208. Sunday, July 13
Zurich
After studying the Marc Chagall stained
glass windows in the Fraumunster
church, and a long flight home facing us
the next day, we top off our trip with a
delightful meal and dessert to Café Felix

211. POSTSCRIPT
Our planned 19-hour trip from Zurich to
New York to Portland turned into a
26-hour endurance contest – but that’s
a whole different story . . .