Big Al and management are chilling out in Maryville, Tennessee

14th - 17th June Lake Junaluska

2010-02-07T16:55:00.001Z

Sunday 14th June
Lake Junaluska here we come. Mid morning and we load the car and set off. The journey takes us over the mountains and through some beautiful countryside, and we arrive at our destination. Ron and Alan register us and armed with our room keys we make our way to the Terrace Hotel.
We have a rest and then take our seats in the Stuart Auditorium for the opening service. We had been warned that the auditorium can get very hot and sticky, but extra air conditioning had been installed and we were close to an exit so it was fairly comfortable.

The preacher is Revd Dr Tyrone D Gordon who is Senior Pastor at St Luke “Community” UMC in Dallas Texas. We heard some good southern preaching on the subject of ‘So you want to be a Great Church’.

Monday 15th June
Ron has to attend a staff breakfast so Pat, Alan and I go to breakfast separately.

All the sessions of the conference are broadcast on CCTV so we can watch them in our room, if we want to.

Lunch for Pat and I is at Waynesville UMC. Every year at conference there is a lunch for Spouses of ministers and this year I was invited to attend. We had a lovely meal and it was good to meet up with old friends and met new people.

We made our way back to the conference centre to get ready for the evening service which was the annual ordination service. The preacher was retired Bishop Marion M Edwards whose subject was “Finishing the Race and Keeping the Faith”.
The ordination was different and similar to ordination services in the UK. There were sixteen ordinands, each going forward as they were called for the laying on of hands by Bishop Swanson. It was a very memorable and emotive service.

Tuesday 16th June

The same procedure for breakfast as yesterday, We didn’t feel like sitting in he auditorium for another service so we went back to our room to wait for Ron. He didn’t need to attend any meeting so as soon as he arrived we set off for Waynesville and had lunch in Bistro in the town and then had a look around a few of the shops.

Revd Adam Hamilton, Senior Pastor UMC of the Resurrection in Leawood Kansas City, was taking three sessions on Leading beyond the Walls. The sessions were on Tuesday afternoon and evening and then on Wednesday morning. We watched them on CCTV in our room. Very challenging and sensible ideas.

Wednesday 17th June

The Sending Forth Service was held at 11.00a.m in the Stuart Auditorium. This was a blessing for Boo and Phyllis Hankin as they were leaving for the Sudan. It also included the fixing of appointments of new pastors in the local churches.
The preacher was Bishop Swanson and his subject was “Leading fromWithin”.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Lake Junaluska and had our photograph taken by the cross, which is the last point on the sabbatical.

We have had three months of meeting fantastic people, seeing some awesome sights, and generally having a great time. We are now off to have two weeks holiday with our Yorkshire family and also our very dear Tennessee friends.

Alan's reflections Tuesday 9th June

2009-06-12T01:12:00.001+01:00

The Grand Canyon, Arizona

Tuesday 9^th June 2009

We’re almost there. My vision was to begin our great journey at an iconic Christian location and end the journey at another such place; so we started at Lindisfarne, a cradle of Christianity, in the north of England and in a few days we travel to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina for a Methodist conference. After the conference we will enjoy our stay in Tennessee with our very dear friends here and, of course, our Yorkshire family who are flying out for a holiday.

Dorothy and I will be forever indebted to a great team of people back in England who have taken on extra tasks over the sabbatical period so that we could enjoy this experience with the knowledge that everything back home is in capable hands. All the arrangements made through Thomas Cook and Imaginative Traveller have worked very well. There have been numerous occasions where communications both in language and culture have presented difficulties but nothing that couldn’t be surmounted. Dorothy’s meticulous attention to detail planning in the months leading up to the sabbatical have paid dividends over and over again.

Along the journey we have been privileged to meet many people who have offered friendship, help and hospitality. We have seen wonderful panoramas of the world, stood in places where major events in history were fashioned, experienced the different cultures and religious expressions of the countries we have visited, but it is the people we have met along the way that have made this experience so special.

As for me, I have yet to comprehend just how this sabbatical time will affect my future ministry. Our lap top computer, which has travelled with us, is loaded with enough projects to fill two sabbaticals but for the most part I have been content to listen, absorb and experience the variety of stimuli that each day has brought; from the snow of Siberia to the sultry heat of Tennessee, from chilling minutes standing in a Nazi gas chamber to the spectacular views from the rim of the Grand Canyon, from sleeping on the hard ground of the Mongolian desert to the luxury of American hotels, from endless hours waiting on trains at border crossings to the freedom of driving across America, from the warmth of Methodist hospitality to the mystery of Buddhism, from incomprehensible dining menus to real fish and chips in San Francisco – a kaleidoscope of experiences that will take who knows how long to assimilate.

I offer my deepest appreciation: to everyone who has played a part in this time, you know who you are; to the Methodist Church for making this space available; to Dorothy, my soul mate and travelling companion, to our heavenly Father who is forever with us wherever we are on this magnificent planet.

Alan

Dorothy's diary 4th - 10th June

2009-06-12T01:02:00.002+01:00

Cades Cove in the Smokie Mountains

Thursday 4^th June to Wednesday 10^th June

It was drizzling as we began the journey from Memphis to Maryville. It was quite uneventful until we reached the outskirts of Maryville and the heavens opened. I was driving and we needed to call at a supermarket. Fortunately we were following a white pickup truck that seemed to be going exactly the same way so I was able to follow it.

I had to sit in the car for a few minutes until the rain eased a little.

Back in the car with Alan driving. We made our way out of town towards Ron and Pat’s.

There are no edges to the road and it is very easy to verge off as one car travelling in the opposite direction had done.

We arrived at the house and Pat was at the door to meet us. We found out later that Ron had been following a car with a California plate and guessed that it was us. He had telephoned Pat to say that he thought it was us. He was right.

Friday 5th was just a chill out day. Pat and I went down to the church to meet up with Judy, the church administrator, then did some grocery shopping.

Saturday 6^th we had a shopping expedition and a visit to downtown Knoxville.

Sunday 7^th. Church to meet up with old friends and meet the new pastor Amy. It was a very good service and three young people were received into membership of the church. They then helped to dispense the elements in the communion service. Pat had a meeting back at the church at 1.00p.m. so we didn’t linger but went back home for lunch and for us a quiet rest.

In the evening we went to Terry and Judy’s for a barbeque.

Monday 8^th. Another day chilling out. Ron came home early to cut the grass and at 5.30p.m. we set off to go Bear hunting in Cades Cove. There were other people who had the same idea so it was quite frustrating when vehicles pulled up in front and we couldn’t get round them. We did manage to see 4 bears. I took photos but they are not very clear.

Tuesday 9^th.

Alan and I went shopping. Alan needed a decent pair of trousers as Bishop Swanson and his wife Delphine were coming to dinner.

We had a lovely evening and a very good meal. Good food, stimulating conversation and very good friends.

Wednesday 10^th

We had a reasonably early start. Ron and Pat were taking us to Greene County, where they came from. It was a lovely nostalgic journey and we were able to see the very rural area that they grew up in. We had lunch at the General Morgan Inn in Greeneville.

On the way back we called at the store where Pat’s sister, Sandy, works. It was closed when we arrived but Sandy was still there so we were able to have a quick conversation with her. It was raining at the time, so it was car to car.

Back to Maryville for a relaxing evening and an early night.

Dorothy's diary 3rd June

2009-06-11T17:15:00.002+01:00

Elvis has NOT left the building

Wednesday 3^rd June

Alan had discovered that the Peabody Ducks walk through the lobby at 11.00a.m. so we set off at 9.30 and made our way into downtown Memphis. We found a multi storey car park close to the waterfront. It only cost $5.00 for the whole day.

It wasn’t too far from the Peabody so we had a walk to the hotel. The Duckmaster was preparing the lobby with a red carpet. People were already gathering and as we waited ‘Elvis’ arrived to serenade us.

The ducks make their appearance every day at 11.00a.m. to swim in the lobby fountain and then return via the elevator to their roof top home at 5.00p.m.

I was able to have my photo taken with ‘Elvis’.

We caught a trolley bus down Main Street to visit the Museum of Civil Rights. We took an audio tour round the Museum which was much better than our last rushed visit 6 years ago.

We have decided not to call off at Nashville on our way to Maryville, so we are going to have an early night before the 400 mile journey across Tennessee.

Dorothy's diary 1st June

2009-06-11T17:08:00.001+01:00

Wishful thinking

Monday 1^st June

We had been told that there was a large cross at the side of the I – 40. It was not a lie. The cross is huge. Encircling it is a very moving depiction of the Stations of the Cross. There was also a replica of the Shroud of Turin and a film explaining all about it, using modern medical techniques. Obviously very Catholic but nonetheless very imotive.

Later on the journey we call at Elk City and the Museum of the historic Route 66. Very interesting.

Our hotel in Shawnee is right next door to Cracker Barrel so we don’t have far to walk to get a good meal.

Dorothy's diary 29th - 31st May

2009-06-11T17:03:00.002+01:00

Polk Street UMC Amarillo

Friday / Saturday / Sunday 29^th, 20^th, 31^st May

We have a 320mile journey in front of us across the Arizona desert. It is a desert, there is very little colour to the scenery, but there is a little greenery in places.

Albuquerque is nothing to write home about but we are staying at the Hampton and we have a good night’s rest and breakfast before we set off for Amarillo.

We decided that a two night stop would give us a good rest before our long haul towards Tennessee.

We have managed to find Polk Street Methodist church not too far away so we visit one of the Sunday school classes, and then stay for the morning service. We are made very welcome. The words of the hymns are not familiar but the tunes were, so we were able to have a good sing. The service was being filmed for television and will be screened next week. The preacher was Marty Hamrick who was an intern at Wesley’s Chapel in London a few years ago.

After church we needed to do some laundry and found one not too far away.

With clean laundry we went back to the hotel to pack ready for the journey to Shawnee, 30miles east of Oklahoma city.

Dorothy's diary 28th May

2009-06-11T16:53:00.002+01:00

Thursday 28^th May

On a lovely sunny and warm day, we set off on the 80 mile journey to the Grand Canyon.

Parts of the landscape resemble Mongolia, and we spy an old mobile home with a wooden cabin about 100 yards away from it, the Arizona version of a Mongolian Ghur.

There is only one word to describe the canyon AWESOME. It really is unbelievable, and a bit scary as it is very deep.

We spend our time visiting the viewing points and are awestruck at the vastness.

On our way back to Flagstaff we call off at a visitor centre where there is an Imax film of the Canyon. It is a good thing that we hadn’t had much for lunch. It was fantastic. We have bought a copy but haven’t had time to watch it yet. Perhaps we will get the chance when we reach Maryville.

Dorothy's diary 26th May

2009-06-11T16:35:00.004+01:00

Red rocks at Sedona

Tuesday 26th May

We are on the road again by 9.00a.m. We have a very long drive today. Through the desert, across the Colorado river and into Arizona. In places the road is so long and straight we can’t see the end of it. I take a turn at driving as it is very straight and I don’t have to navigate through towns.

We arrive in Flagstaff at 5.30p.m and check in to our next hotel, another Hampton, very comfortable and spacious.

Wednesday 27^th May

A visit to the visitor centre gives us an idea of what we can do. We have a wander around downtown for a while and then go back to the hotel. It is a good time to ring family, so we have a good talk with Rachel, Megan, Peter and also Richard.

We then set off for a 50mile trip to Sedona. The road is very steep and winding, varying from 7000ft down to 3000ft. This is where the red mountains are. Again it is very warm.

When we arrive back in Flagstaff it is a bit cooler. We visit a supermarket to buy provisions for tomorrow. We are going to the Grand Canyon and it is expected to be 71’F / 40’C

Dorothy's diary 25th May

2009-06-11T16:29:00.001+01:00

Luxury travel at last

Monday 25^th May

We got up early and checked out of the Halcyon and struggled with our luggage to the Alamo car rental place. It was very busy which seemed strange to us as it was Memorial Day and a Public Holiday. Alan sorted our car out and had opted for an upgrade to a bigger car. It will be much better for us with all our luggage and the long distance that we have to travel.

It is a white Nissan Altima, brand new, only got 2242 miles on the clock. All our luggage fits in the trunk (boot) which is great for security.

We are on our way by 9.45 and have no difficulty finding our way out of San Francisco.

Ironically it is brilliantly sunny and very warm. The roads are not too busy and we enjoy the driving.

The countryside is very dramatic, lush in places and then very arid.

We arrive in Bakersfield mid afternoon and check in to our hotel. King size bed, microwave, mini fridge, television and free wifi connection. No more slumming it for a while.

There is also a guest laundry so I can get our dirty clothes washed and dried.

Dorothy's diary 24th May

2009-06-11T16:17:00.001+01:00

Inside Alcatraz

Sunday 24^th May

We wanted to go to church but the only tour to Alcatraz was Sunday 24th at 10.30 so we booked for Alcatraz.

We managed to get a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf and arrived early at about 9.00a.m.

Shops weren’t open but we walked round the piers and saw the California Sea Lions. Boy do they make a noise.

At Pier 33 where we needed to catch the ferry there was the usual queue and the customary photo call with a photo of Alcatraz in the background. The boat was full and the trio across the bay only took 10 minutes. A Ranger was waiting for us and giving us an overview of the island.

We went to the theatre to watch an introductory film and then set off up the hill towards the cell block. We picked up and audio guide which took us on a conducted tour of the cell block. The sounds of slamming doors was very realistic.

After the tour we called in at the shop and a lady was there signing books that she had written. She had lived on Alcatraz as a child. There were quite a few families who lived on the island. It was very safe, the worst fear for their parents was that they would fall into the water and be carried away on the strong currents.

It didn’t seem like a Sunday as back in the city, shops were just bas busy as any other day.

We went back to the hotel hoping to do some washing before setting off across America. Unfortunately someone was using both the machines, so we will have to take our dirty clothes with us.

Dorothy's diary 23rd May

2009-06-11T16:11:00.001+01:00

Victorian Painted Ladies

Saturday 23^rd May

A cold day. We caught a trolley bus to Alamo Square to see the Painted ladies. A row of houses reminiscent of Mrs Doubtfire.

I think time changes are catching up with me. I am exhausted. We call at the Westfield Shopping centre for a coffee and some provisions for lunch then back to the hotel. I go to bed and sleep for three hours. We decide not to have lunch but to walk to Powell and catch a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf.

We have a walk round Ghirardelli Square, (A famous make of chocolate). It hasn’t warmed up at all. Alan buys a fleece and we call for a hot meal. We catch a trolley bus to Market and then transfer to another cable car up California and make our way back to the hotel.

Dorothy's diary Our longest day

2009-05-23T06:59:00.001+01:00

Our first ride on the cable car

Thursday 21^st May

Today is going to be very long.

We got up early and left the hotel at 7.15 a.m. We managed to get a Taxi easily. Laziz had written down our instructions for getting to the airport and they worked perfectly. Traffic was busy but we had given ourselves plenty of time and we arrived at the airport at 8.20. The desks opened just before 9.00a.m. and we got rid of our checked in bags and went through to the departure lounge. Beijing Airport is very modern, it was renovated for last year’s Olympic games.

We had to go by driverless train to our departure gate. We found a small restaurant that served an English Breakfast so we took advantage of having European food.

By the departure gate there was an American couple. The woman was being ill and staff were very concerned that she wouldn’t be able to fly. It appeared that she had visited a hospital in Beijing and had got paperwork to say hat she could fly. The staff needed to check it out but she wouldn’t let them have the paperwork so that they could ring the hospital. Another passenger helped, but we were then called to board the plane. A few minutes later and the couple were on the plane, so things must have been sorted. Fortunately they are not too near us so we won’t be disturbed.

The plane is not full so we are able to stretch out and use extra seats. We leave Beijing on time at 12.00noon. We settle down for a good flight. After our meal the lights are dimmed so we can rest easier. We are not quite sure what to expect as we cross he dateline. It seems just like a night flight, and we are given breakfast before we arrive in San Francisco at 8.40a.m. Thursday 21^st May.

Immigration was very pleasant. We had two officers as one was training. Both of them were extremely pleasant and we had a good conversation with them, best ever experience of US Homeland Security.

Once we found our luggage we went through customs but didn’t have to open our cases. We found a Taxi straight away and we had left the airport by 9.15a.m.

A lovely sunny day but much cooler than Beijing. On arrival at our hotel we were able to check in immediately, which was great, we could freshen up and have a rest before hitting the town.

We found an Irish Pub that served Fish and Chips, and the waitress understood us. We didn’t need help in translation.

The city is very easy to get around so we are looking forward to discovering all it has to offer.

Dorothy's diary The Forbidden City

2009-05-23T06:54:00.001+01:00

Dorothy in the Forbidden City

Tuesday 20^th May

Our tour guide arrived at 7.50a.m. It was Power, the same one as yesterday. We were the second people to get on the bus. Power said that there were to be more people than yesterday so we set off on the round of pick ups.

When everyone was on board we set off to the Summer Palace. It was very busy when we arrived and the temperature was up in the 30’s.The gardens and palaces are very beautiful. We had a boat ride back across the lake and then got on the bus again. Power explained that we were going to visit a Pearl Factory. The pearls are fresh water pearls from the lake in the Summer Palace. We had lunch which was typical Chinese at a round table with a lazy Susan.

Back on the bus and we travelled back towards the centre of Beijing to the Forbidden City. I was little disappointed as we went in through the back door. We still saw everything but it didn’t seem right. We didn’t get the Wow factor of the first sight inside the city. The temperature had now risen to 36’C, and Power was rushing us.

Our next stop was a silk factory where we were shown how the silk worm makes cocoons and then how the silk is extracted and made into silk duvets. It was very interesting, but I felt that we had been taken there under false pretences.

We paid to see the Summer Palace, The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven and we were rushed round the sights so that we could be taken to buy pearls and silk.

We left the tour before we got to the Temple of Heaven as we were exhausted from the heat.

We had a rest back at our hotel and when the heat had cooled we decided to go by Metro to Tiananmen Square. There were quite a lot of people but because the square is so big it didn’t seem too crowded.

Back at the hotel we packed ready for an early start tomorrow.

Dorothy's diary The Great Wall

2009-05-23T06:47:00.002+01:00

Alan on the Great Wall at Mutianyu

Tuesday 19^th May

The shower in our new room didn’t have any hot water as someone had turned the dial off, fortunately we had a shower last night so we managed with a wash.

We got up early as we wanted to say goodbye to Laziz. He should have been staying in Beijing for a few days but he had received an email to say he had to go to Cheng du for some training. The journey will take about 28hours on a hard sleeper train which isn’t very comfortable, 6 people to a carriage and no door.

Our tour to the great wall was due to start at 10.00a.m. and our guide arrived early at 9.45a.m. The mini bus arrived and we set off to pick up the other three people who were going with us. A couple from Reading were the first to join us. We started talking to them and discovered that John had lived in Hoyland as a baby, talk about a small world. (Hoyland is the town near Barnsley where I was brought up, and where we lived until 1994)

We then picked up a young Swedish man and we set off for Mu tian yu. The journey took about two hours. It was not very busy so we were able to take the cable car straight away.

I wanted to buy a fan as it was very hot. We had to barter and the lady was very insistent that she could do a good deal on two fans. Eventually we got what we wanted ONE FAN.

On to the cable car and up to the wall. It is quite a difficult climb as the ground is not very even. There are steps and slopes and even though we were climbing, some of the wall is a downward slope. We walked from stage 14 to stage 19. Up to stage 20 would have been very difficult, it was a very steep climb and we really didn’t have the time. Ewan had left us early and managed to get to stage 20. We were pleased with ourselves that we had managed as much as we had.

On the way back to the city, our guide said that included in the tour was a visit to a Chinese Health centre. We arrived and were given a talk about the difference between western and Chinese medicine. We were then offered a foot massage which four of us accepted. While having the foot massage a doctor came and gave us a free medical consultation. It was very interesting and both Alan and I took advantage of the advice and bought the products that were advised. We are going to start using them when we get to San Francisco.

Back to the hotel and then off for something to eat. We haven’t had a meal at all today.

It was easy to go to KFC.

Off to bed now as we have another early start tomorrow.

Dorothy's diary We have made it

2009-05-23T06:41:00.002+01:00

The Last Station Beijing

Monday 18^th May

We have made it. We have travelled by train from Amsterdam to Beijing.

We arrive in Beijing at 2.00p.m. and make our way from the station by taxi to our hotel. The Shindom near the Temple of Heaven. We are given room 219 which is in an annexe. We unpack a few things and have a shower to freshen up, then Laziz arrives and asks if we would like to move to a room in the main hotel. It will be better for us but is a bit of a nuisance packing up again. We sort ourselves out and go down to the lobby to meet everyone to go out for a meal.

Laziz is taking us to a restaurant on the other side of the city, so we have to use the subway. It is very easy as all the signs are in English as well as Chinese. Tickets are 2 yuan each, about 20pence. The subway is very modern as it was all updated for the Olympics.

The restaurant was very good. Laziz ordered a few items so we had a chance to try various dishes.

We had chosen two tours for our two days in Beijing, and the tickets were ready when we arrived back at the hotel. Tomorrow we are visiting the great wall.

Dorothy's diary Our last train across two continents

2009-05-23T06:35:00.001+01:00

Our train at the Mongolian / Chinese border

Sunday 17^th May

Our last train.

We have managed to travel from Amsterdam to Beijing by train, and apart from four small backtracks ie Newcastle to Lindisfarne and back, Daugavpils to Riga and back,

Irkutsk to Lake Baikal and back, and UB to Khogno Khan Moutains and back, it has been a continuous journey.

Our train arrived from Moscow and we boarded to find that our provadnitzas were Chinese males. We found our compartment and stored our luggage. It was a little easier as Joan was booked through to Beijing but stayed in UB to join another tour. There were only 3 of us in our compartment, Alan, Merrill and myself.

There are a lot of westerners on this train. We met a Finn who had travelled overnight from Finland to Moscow and then on this train continuously for six nights. Fine if travel is what you are about, but if you want to see and experience the country not too good.

We are travelling through th Gobi Desert. It is very dry and dusty, that is why we don’t open th window and we have a fan in the compartment. We must all be tired as we have all had a sleep and it is still only 1.00p.m.

We have now arrived at the border and have left Mongolia. We have gone through passport control and immigration and now we have been issued with thermometers. All of us in our compartment are OK but we have all been issued with face masks. What Charlies we look.

We will be here for some time as the bogies on the train have to be changed because of the different gauge from Russia/Mongolia to China. The carriages have to be lifted off the track, while we are all still on the train, and the new gauge bogies fitted. We are told that it can take four hours. It is 10.15p.m. so I don’t suppose that we will get much sleep.

Dorothy's dairy Mongolian Ghur and Barbeque

2009-05-23T06:27:00.002+01:00

Barnsley Fans outside a Mongolian Ghur

Friday 15^th and Saturday 16^th May

We travelled back towards the Khogno Khan Mountains. It stated to rain but I was only a shower and we were travelling so we didn’t get wet.We arrived at our accommodation which was a Mongolian Ghur.

The Ghur is a round tent and inside around the perimeter were six beds. In the middle was a wood burner which acted as a heater and cooker. Bayra soon got it going which was very good as it was still very windy and cold. Laziz started making some rice soup for lunch. We were supposed to be going horse riding but it was too windy so we declined. We all opted for a lazy afternoon instead. Fresh air and driving over rough terrain work wonders. The owner of the Ghur came in to stoke up the heater with dry dung. He didn’t use any tongs just his bare hands.We were amazed that it didn’t smell.

We weren’t sure where we were all going to sleep as the Ghur next door was supposed to be booked by someone else but after discussion with the owner it was decided to have a girls Ghur and a boys Ghur. The only problem was that next door was only for three people and there were four girls. I suggested that Joan Merrill and Bagi slept next door and I slept with the men. As it worked out Bayra and Mishka slept in the vans so there were only three men and me.

We didn’t have to dig our own facilities. There was a double facilty about two hundred metres from the Ghur. You could choose the shape of the hole one was rectangle and one was triangular. The rectangular one was better if you weren’t quite sure of your aim.

The whole thing was quite an experience.

We had a quick breakfast and the set off back to UB. The wind had dropped but it was still cold. Laziz had made sandwiches for lunch so that we didn’t have to stop on the way back. We wanted to get back to UB for shopping and Museum visits.

We are going out tonight to a Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant. Watch this space and I will enlighten you.

Fantastic Meal. All you could eat for 13.900 togrogs about £7.00. A salad and soup bar.

Meats and Veg were all arrayed in dishes you take a bowl and fill it with anything and then take niothr bowl and fill with the sauce of your choice eg. Lemon, Ginger, Peanut, Soy, then you can add some spices. You then take it to the barbeque, which is a circular hot stone. The chef will then cook your meat and veg and add your sauce and serve it on a plate. You can go back as many times as you please.

Bagi joined us. She has only worked for Imaginative Traveller for two months and is quite shy, so we hopefully encouraged her.

As we have an early start tomorrow we went back to the guesthouse to finish packing.

Dorothy's diary Kharakoum and Erden Zuu Monastery

2009-05-23T06:19:00.002+01:00

Temple at the Erdene Zuu Monastery Mongolian

Thursday 14^th May

We had another good breakfast and then packed up and set off across the desert again. We didn’t have to go too far before we were on a tarmac road which was much more comfortable. Kharakoum is called a city but it was just about the size of a large town.

The Erdene Zuu Monastery is on the edge of the city. It is walled and has 162 Stupas around the perimeter. A stupor is a white building that sometimes contains ashes or ancient manuscripts. This monastery was founded in the 15^th century by the second son of Chinnghis Khan. It is still a worshipping monastery so there were a number of monks wandering about.

In the monastery grounds there were quite a number of market stalls. The stallholders were very insistent that we buy souvenirs. We had to barter which I am not very keen to do but we got a few bargains. One stall holder was following us pestering us to buy.

We then set off into the desert to find our next camp site. This time it was by a river and surrounded by trees. Alan had difficulty finding the ideal spot for the facilities so we ended up with three.

We hadn’t been there very long when a herd of Yaks wandered by. Fortunately they didn’t linger.

The wind had started to blow and it was quite cool so we didn’t take too long before we were wrapped up for the night. It was still blowing strongly in the morning and we had quite a lot of bother getting all the tents and equipment stored away.

2009-05-16T23:44:00.003+01:00

Our transport in the desert - a Russian four wheel drive mpv

Tuesday 12^th May

Our Drivers Bayra and Mishka arrived with transport and we were also introduced to our guide Baggie. We helped to pack everything in to the two mini van type vehicles. Alan and I were in one van with Bayra and Baggie and everyone else was in the other with Mishka. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get out of UB as we had to stop for fuel and then we stopped for Bayra and Mishka to speak to friends who they saw in another vehicle. Apparently this is quite normal in Mongolia as the country is so vast that people donot see each other very often.

We finally set off, the road was a tarmac road but still very bumpy. After about an hour we set off across the desert. NO ROAD AT ALL just tracks across the desert. We thought the other road was bumpy, this was something else. We soon realised that the rule was relax and think that you are a rag doll and you should be OK. This track lasted about another hour and then we stopped at the side of a river for lunch.

Laziz said that we had another 2 – 2 ½ hours before we reached the camp site. Most of the journey on dirt tracks across the desert.

On arrival at the camp site we got stuck in and erected our six tents and sorted sleeping bags out. Our beds were just polystyrene foam mats. Alan was commandeered into digging our facilities. He did a good job but none of us relished the thought of using it.

When we had eaten dinner Alan, Patrick and I went for a short walk and then as the sun was setting we settled down for the night. We soon realised that our tent was on a slight slope so we didn’t sleep very well. The next morning we emptied the tent and turned it round which proved to be much better..

Wednesday 13^th May

Laziz and Baggie had prepared breakfast. Cereals, Bread and Jam and Fried Egg sandwiches. We all helped clear up and then we set off to visit Old Man Monastery. We expected it to be a fair walk but it was just about ½ stroll, where we had been the previous evening. It was very warm and part of the trail was a climb up a very stony path. A lady from the village gave us an explanation of the monastery and Buddhism in Mongolia.

One of the temples was highly decorated with banners and pictures. The significant colours of the banners are

White signifying Milk

Green signifying Earth

Red signifying Fire

Gold signifying Love

Blue signifying Sky.

These colours are the same in every monastery.

The old monastery was destroyed in 1937 by Stalin and all of the monks were killed. There are now only 5 or 6 monks who live in the area.

Laziz gave us the choice of walking further up into the mountains, but as it was very hot we all declined. We went back to camp and rested until dinner time. After dinner we had a game of President and Donkey and then retired as the sun went down.

Irkutsk to Ulan Bataar

2009-05-16T23:25:00.004+01:00

Victory Day Parade

Folk singers at the Victory Day parade

Saturday 9^th Sunday 10^th and Monday 11th May

Victory Day Parade in Irkutsk. After breakfast we left the hotel as the parade began to move past. The parade moved into the square to our right. The park opposite was filling up but we managed to get a good view on a wall. We couldn’t hear any of the speeches but it was a good experience to be part of.. We realised that we have now been part of memorial day celebrations in three continents. Our own in the UK. Veterans Day in America in 2007, and now 9^th May celebrations in Russia. We never expected this when we booked the tour.

The temperature is rising, the last time we checked it was 14’C, but it is probably higher this afternoon.

People have started to drift away from the park in front of the hotel and we are passing the time resting until 9.00p.m when we need to leave to catch the train to Ulan Bataar, Mongolia.

Our train left Irkutsk at 10.00p.m. and we arrived in plenty of time to get settled. We heard English voices and discovered Australian and English people were travelling to UB on the same train.

Alan had bought a bottle of vodka and some orange juice so we had a night cap for two nights.

The border crossing.

We arrived at the exit station from Russia at 1.00p.m on 10^th May. Laziz explained that we could leave the train but not to be surprised at the manoeuvres. The first few carriages were shunted off and placed on the next platform. Then the next carriage was shunted to follow the other carriages, this left our carriage on it’s own. The first carriages had formed a train that was going back to Irkutsk, when that was moved away, our carriage was then moved to the second platform. We then had to return to the carriage for passport control and customs declaration. The carriage was also searched while we stood in the passage. Mongolia is one hour behind Irkutsk time so we had to move our watches back one hour. The train was allowed to leave at 5.50p.m.

The train travelled for 40 minutes and then stopped at the Mongolian border town of Sukhbataar and we had to go through the whole procedure again. We finally got underway again at about 10.00p.m

Vodka and orange on the menu again.

We were met at Ulan Baatar at 6.00a.m by the owner of the Guest House which we were staying at. It is Youth Hostel type accommodation. We could not have our rooms until the previous occupants had left which was 9.00a.m. At that time we were able to have a shower and a rest before Laziz showed us the city.

It is quite a compact city, but both Laziz and David (The owner of the guest house) had warned us that UB is notorious for pickpockets, so not to carry more money than necessary and to keep hold of our bags at all times.

There is a good department store with a souvenir shop so there will be no need to go hunting all over the place for gifts.

Alan and I wandered up to the Gandan Khiid Monastery. The main monastery building has a statue that is 26 meters high, and there is a mass of prayers wheels surrounding it. We went to go into one of the buildings but had to drink something that some young monks gave us before we could enter. No idea what is was but it hasn’t poisoned us yet.

After a coffee and cake at an Amsterdam Bar we went back to the guest house for a rest before going out for a traditional Mongolian meal with Laziz.

Listvyanka Weds 6th and Thurs 7th May

2009-05-09T05:30:00.002+01:00

The group with our host.

A beautiful two storey house that Rita and Sasha are renovating, about 200m from the Lake.
Laziz had arranged for us to have a tour of the Museum of the lake. We walked to the museum which took us about ½ hour. Our tour guide spoke good English but with a very heavy accent so it was quite difficult to understand her. The last presentation was a simulation of a submarine which took us to the bottom of the lake. We couldn’t take any photographs in the museum and there were no guide books which was a little disappointing.
After lunch Alan, Patrick and Laziz set off on a hike. This turned out to be a long hike up very steep paths and through pine trees. Alan thoroughly enjoyed it but came back with sore feet. Whilst he was hiking I went to the craft market to bag some bargains but only managed to buy three stones to make earrings and a pendant.
Merrill walked part way to the market with me as she wanted to go to the post office to use the internet café. Unfortunately it was closed until 3.00p.m. She waited and was still there when I was on my way back. I waited with her until it opened as there was a very unsavoury old man outside the post office. I set off to walk back and when I was near our house I crossed the road and realised that Merrill was on her way back. She hadn’t managed to use the computer as there was no electricity. When we got back to the house we decided to have a nap.
At 6.00p.m. we were invited to take a Banya, this is a sauna I a wooden chalet. Sasha had built a two roomed cottage and turned it into a Banya. One room for changing and the other the sauna. Joan opted not to join us so Merrill and I had a sauna on our own. It was quite warm so we didn’t stay in too long. By the time we had finished Alan and Patrick had returned so they with Laziz had the use of the Banya. Apparently they had a whale of a time splashing water all over the place and making a lot of steam.
We had a smashing evening meal and then toasted Rita and Sasha with a bottle of Russian Vodka that Laziz had bought. The evening ended with a few rounds of President and Donkey. I won every round. Perhaps Laziz made the wrong decision to teach us the game.
Friday 8th May.
Omelettes for breakfast and then one last walk in the village. We walked up to the church. A small orthodox church dedicated to St Nicholay. A few women were there decorating it with flowers. There was a small shop so we bought and Icon of the Trinity by Rublev and a chain for the stone I had bought. A lady showed us a small pamphlet that was partly in English, about the church, so we have a little information to remind us of our visit.
11.00a.m. Off back to Irkutsk and our hotel for the night. Irkutsk was very busy but we arrived safely at the hotel Angara. We checked in immediately and went to our rooms to freshen up and then went on our orientation tour. After lunch at a pizza parlour we ha a quick look around a department store and then back to the hotel for a rest.
Dinner was at a restaurant above the pizza parlour. Back to the hotel to see if we can speak to our family back in the UK.

Sunday 3rd May

2009-05-09T05:28:00.001+01:00

On the shore of the lake Baikal.

We had the day to ourselves for looking around. We needed to shop for our journey on the train to Irkutsk. We had quite a lazy day. We booked out of our room and loaded all our luggage into Laziz’s room. In the evening we returned to the restaurant that we had visited on our first evening. It started snowing whilst we were there and we walked back to the hotel in a blizzard.
Fortunately it had stopped snowing for our walk to the railway station. Our train was due to leave at 11.15 p.m. so as soon as we boarded we stowed away our luggage and went to bed. It was to be a long journey of three nights and 2 ½ days. We had all put our journey luggage in small bags so that we were able to put our large baggage under the seats. The compartments are fairly compact but if you are careful they can work quite well.
We were in the carriage that was provided with complimentary meals so the food that we had bought will have to be saved until another time. We had never travelled for so long on a train, but we had plenty of books and Sudoku quizzes. Laziz had also brought a pack of cards and taught us a new game, President and Donkey. The time passed quite quickly and we arrived in Irkutsk at 10.45a.m. on Wednesday 6th May.
Our guide and Mini bus driver met us and took us to a hotel where Laziz could use the internet café to read his emails. This was to see if any of our arrangements had altered.
A couple of our companions needed some more money so we stopped at a bank and then we were on our way to Lake Baikal.
This journey to Listvyanka took about an hour. Our driver was Anatole and our guide was Yelena. The sun was shining and the reflection on the lake is beautiful. We are staying in a two storey house and our hosts are Rita and Alexander (Sasha). Lunch was ready for us and then we were all able to have a shower, the first since Sunday morning. After a rest we went for a stroll through the village in sunny warm weather. Back to our homestay for a substantial meal and a game of President and Donkey.

Langauge problems

2009-05-08T14:40:00.002+01:00

We are in an internet cafe in the hotel in Irkutsk and can't make sense of the
cyrillic alphabet on the computer, so blogging will have to wait until we can access wifi with our laptop.
all is going well

Dorothy's Diary - NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!

2009-05-03T10:51:00.003+01:00

Dorothy in Asia Alan in Europe

Ruby Grace Taylor has arrived. Richard rang us. We were on the border between Europe and Asia.

She was born at 5.20 on Saturday 2nd May, and weighed in at 6lbs 10ozs. Mother and daughter are doing well.

We have a photograph of Alan in Europe and Dorothy in Asia standing side by side. We will post it on the blog later. We are 5 hours infront of the UK and are due to catch our next train at 11.25p.m.

We will be on that train for three nights and two days. The snow has almost gone but it is still very cold.

Dorothy's dairy - Ekaterinburg 2nd May

2009-05-02T17:57:00.002+01:00

Church of the Blood - Ekaterinburg

Laziz took us all on an orientation tour, and told us where the supermarket was. We need supplies for 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners for the next train journey to Irkutsk.
Ipatiev House, where the Tsar and his family were murdered, was destroyed in 1977. A church has been built over the ruins. When we visited there was a service, so we were able to stand and watch for a few minutes. All the ladies have to cover their heads and even though we were wearing trousers we were given a cloth to put round our legs.
We continued our walk in the snow covered streets to Lenina Street. This is one of the main streets in Ekaterinburg, but there was no traffic. We soon learned that a marathon was due to begin at 11.00a.m. As we walked down the street a small parade led by a band had formed up. This was the victory parade for May 9th (Victory Day). This is to commemorate the victory in the Great Patriotic War ie World War 11.
We are into our fifth week and we have already slept in 14 different beds and travelled on 10 different trains.

Dorothy's diary - Moscow to Ekaterinburg 30th April

2009-05-02T17:50:00.003+01:00

View from train window - snow!!!

Merrill, Alan and I visited Lenin’s Mausoleum in Red Square. We couldn’t take large bags or any photographic equipment inside and we could not talk. It is quite dark and you are not allowed to stand for any length of time. Outside there are markers for other great dignitaries but the only one we could make out was Stalin. We wanted to find a supermarket to buy provisions for our train journey, but the shops didn’t open until 11.00a.m. so we made our way back to the hotel. Fortunately we found a little supermarket close to the hotel.
Our Mini Bus arrived at 2.30p.m. and we left for the Kazan Railway station to begin our epic journey to Ekaterinburg. We will be on the train 25 hours.
We are in coach 10. There are four berths so we are sharing with Joan and Merrill. Laziz and Patrick are next door sharing with a Russian Police Psychologist, Going to be some interesting conversations there.
The beds are quite comfortable. There is a toilet at each end of the carriage, but we have been told not to put any paper down them. I wouldn’t like to be the Provotniza. She has the job of keeping everything clean and tidy. She even has a vacuum cleaner that she uses to clean the carpets in each compartment. On the table in our cabin there is a tea pot and four cups and saucers and a selection of tea and coffee and a packet of biscuits. Laziz says that they are not complimentary, but we have our own so there is not a problem.
The Provotniza came round with a selection of souvenirs and we bought a set of coasters. They have the logos of all the trains that start from Ekaterinburg, going in different directions. We bought a set for 400 rubles, about £8.00.
At the first station that we stopped at there were people on the platform selling various items. We expected them to be sweets, food and drinks but no they were stuffed animals, large vases and chandeliers. I didn’t think I could get a chandelier in my luggage so we didn’t buy anything.
Before we settled down for the night Alan had his pot meal of mashed potato and chicken. The carriage is kept at a constant temperature of 20’C and is air conditioned so it doesn’t get too oppressive.
Wet wipes come in very handy as it is not easy to get washed in the cramped toilet area. We have also got plenty of sanitised hand gel. We have got used to cleaning our teeth with bottled water.
During the morning it starts to snow and I mean snow. We really know that we are now in Siberia.
We arrive in Ekaterinburg at (5.45 Moscow time) 7.45 Ekaterinburg. It is going to be very strange because when we get back ion the train in two days time we go back to Moscow time, as all the trains run on Moscow time.
We went to our rooms and dropped our luggage off and then went for a meal in a local restaurant. It was buffet style but we still had to ask Laziz what everything was. I had Chicken and Saute potatoes and Alan had pork, boiled potato and broccoli. Back to the hotel and a good nights sleep.

Dorothy's Diary A day in Moscow April 29th

2009-04-30T03:47:00.002+01:00

The river Moscow with the Kremlin in the background

Wednesday 29^th April

We met our companions and Laziz in the lobby for a little chat before setting off for central Moscow.

Joan hadn’t been well during the night so she went to Lenin’s Mausoleum and then said that she was going back to the hotel. Laziz took us to get tickets for the Armoury. It sounded very complicated so we all let him organise the tickets. They were very expensive, but we may never get the chance to visit again so we all paid up. It was about £21.00 each. In the armoury we had an audio set which helped but not all the displays were numbered so it was confusing. We did get to see the Faberge eggs.

The weather was very hot so we had to keep stopping in the shade. After lunch in the underground shopping mall Merrill left us for a wander round Red Square, and Patrick, Alan and I went down to the river. We walked towards the Church of Christ the Saviour. It is used as a place of worship, not a museum, so we didn’t have to pay, just leave a donation.

We would have liked to take a boat trip, but it would have taken 1 ½ hours and we didn’t have the time as we were meeting Laziz at 7.00p.m. for dinner. When we got back to Red Square it was still closed so we made our way around the back of the Gum store to as close to St Basil’s as possible. We waited for ages, but missed Laziz so went back to the hotel for a bath and an early night.

Dorothy's diary Red Square Moscow

2009-04-28T20:06:00.001+01:00

Lenin's Mausoleum Red Square

Monday 27^th April

Our last day in St Petersburg. After breakfast we packed our belongings and then went to find a bank so that we could get some more rubles and dollars. It proved to be a long drawn out affair as the cashier had to check Alan’s passport on the data base, but we got what we needed.

Our last wander down Nevsky Prospekt in glorious sunshine. We returned to the hotel and stocked up on supplies for the journey to Moscow. Our driver collected us at 2.20 and took us to the Moscow Station to wait for the 4.00p.m. train.

We had been led to believe that this was an overnight train which would arrive in Moscow early morning. However it was an express train that took 5 1/.2 hours. There were 14 carriages and ours was carriage 3, so we had a long walk to find our place. Hopefully this means that we will have a short walk when we arrive in Moscow.

Attendants walk up and down the train selling refreshments, but we didn’t buy anything.

We were surprised to see snow at the side of the track as we were very hot on the train. The photos that I took of the villages show that some people in Russia seem to be on a different planet to us. They live in abject poverty. “Fiddler on the roof” comes to mind.

Our driver was waiting when we arrived in Moscow and took us to our hotel. The journey took about 30minutes through horrific traffic conditions. I’m just glad that I wasn’t driving. Drivers in Russia have no patience whatsoever.

Our hotel is very posh, and it takes us about 30 minutes to register. We find our room on the top floor and I think we have arrived in heaven as there is a BATH, not just a shower.

Five minutes later and I am having a soak. It really is heaven.

Breakfast is much more relaxed and there is lots to choose from.

We need to check our reservation for the next two nights, as our instructions are not too clear. Fortunately we do not need to move rooms.

We manage to register our visas, and now we can set off into central Moscow.

At the Metro station we feel very pleased with ourselves as we have bought a card for 5 journeys each rather than just a ticket for every journey. It is true that the stations are very ornate, unfortunately we are not allowed to take any photographs, and there are guards so we don’t go against the rules.

We arrive at Revolution Square, just five stops on the same line, so it was very easy. We arrive in Red Square easier than expected. As we arrive in the square we pass an orthodox church and they are playing music straight out of “Dr Zhivago”. We have really arrived in Russia. There are a lot of people around but the square is large so it doesn’t appear crowded. We have decided not to go into the Kremlin today as we don’t really have the time, so we visit St Basil’s Cathedral instead. It is quite confusing as it is not cruciform in shape. There is a second floor and the steps are extremely deep, Alan had to push me up at one point. There was a four men choir performing so we stood and listened for a while. The acoustics are fantastic.

It was 12.00 noon and the bell in St Saviours tower rang out so we went across the square to the Gum store and ordered lunch. Blinis and Honey and a cup of coffee. We had just finished and were going to go into the store but some military men started moving everyone out of the square. Not understanding Russian we didn’t know why. We presumed that it could be that there was going to be a rehearsal for the May Day parade. It helped us get some fantastic photos in Red Square with no people to wait for.

On arrival back at the Bega, there was a notice for our group to meet in reception at 6.00p.m so we are soon going to meet the rest of our group for the next adventure across Siberia and Mongolia.

Our tour leader is called Laziz and our companions are Joan from Georgia, Merrill from Toronto and Patrick from Switzerland. We discussed the trip and paid the local euros an the tipping kitty. Laziz asked if any of us would like to go out with him for dinner. The two ladies declined as they were tired and Patrick wanted to finish watching the Russia, Switzerland match on TV. We went with Laziz. The restaurant we visited was rather seedy and if we had been on our own we wouldn’t have given it a second glance, but the meal was fine. Alan was quite shocked that I had an authentic Russian meal and ate most of it. It was really very good. Two courses for Alan and myself, one course for Laziz and beer for all three of us and the bill was about £25.00 very good value.

We have managed to get internet connection so were able to speak to and see Richard. We don’t know when we will be able to do that again for some while.

It is 22.48 here so I am going to go to bed. We are meeting Laziz at 9.00a.m tomorrow and we are going on a orientation tour of Moscow.

Dorothy's diary St Petersburg

2009-04-26T15:51:00.002+01:00

The Winter Palace / The Hermitage

Saturday 25th April
Breakfast at the Dostoyevsky was hit and miss. We had been told here the restaurant was but when we found it the door was closed and we had to go around to another door. It was very busy and a lot of the people were very rude, pushing and shoving like little children. We managed to get a couple of pancakes and I got a cup of coffee but Alan couldn’t find any tea.
After breakfast we walked up Nevsky Prospekt towards the Winter Palace. Twice we witnessed two sailors and one soldier walking across the square together. Don’t know if that is normal, or were they just friends.
We had to queue to get into the Hermitage and each ticket cost 350 roubles, about £7.00 each.
We couldn’t find an information leaflet so bought a guide book but it was very confusing. The place is enormous and we spent 5 hours in the museum. At one point we were looking out of a window at the river Neva and noticed that there were small icebergs floating down. Unfortunately we hadn’t paid for a photographic pass so we couldn’t take a photo to prove it. In another part of the museum a group of school children were taking part in a performance. They were dancing to “Memories”. We could have stayed a lot longer but felt that we needed some fresh air. Outside in the square there were some wedding limousines. We saw quite a few wedding parties in the course of our walk. We took it that they all went to various parts of the city to have photos taken.
We crossed the river and walked towards the Peter and Paul Fortress. By this time we were tired and footsore and we had a long walk back to our hotel so we didn’t visit the fortress or the cruiser Aurora. Perhaps we may go back again tomorrow. We arrived back at the hotel exhausted and ready for a rest.

Sunday 26th April
A brilliant sunny day and quite warm.
We had read that the Metro system was easy to use so we gave it a try. Vladimirskaya station was only a short walk away. We bought two tickets and got a coin each. They cost about 80 pence for both of us. The escalator was very long. I got told off for taking a photograph. We didn’t need to change lines which made it easy and in less than 15minutes we had arrived at the Finland Railway Station. This was the station where Lenin arrived in 1917 at the start of the Revolution. The famous engine was nowhere to be seen and Lenin’s monument outside was all covered up which was a bit disappointing.
We set off walking to find the Cruiser Aurora and were delighted to find that we could go aboard. On our way to the Peter and Paul Fortress we passed the museum that contains Peter 1st wooden palace. This was built in three days. It is now covered with a brick building to preserve it.
We went into the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress but not into the fortress itself.
Back across the river past the Rostrall Columns and into Palace Square. After lunch on Nevsky Prospekt we made our way to the Lutheran church of St Peter. The Methodist Bishop of St Petersburg had replied to Alan’s email and told us that there would be a Methodist service there at 5.00p.m. The man who we spoke to didn’t seem to have any knowledge of this. We said that we would return at 5.00.
Alan wanted to see the interior of St Isaacs Cathedral, so that was our next stop. It is now a museum and is very ornate. By this time we were again footsore and tired so we went straight back to our hotel instead of going to the Methodist service.
We still hadn’t received our laundry. When Alan checked we were told that it would cost €51.50 and had to be paid before we received it. The reception sorted it and we can pay with our bill when we leave. Communication isn’t very good in Russia.

Dorothy's diary. Journey to St Petersburg

2009-04-26T15:42:00.001+01:00

Daugavpils Railway Station

Thursday 23rd April
St Georges Day. Sent a text to Richard and Emma to wish them Happy Anniversary.
We had a leisurely drive through the countryside to Daugavpils, where Andrew met us to collect his Jetta. He stayed with us until the train arrived and helped us with our luggage. Our conversation with him revealed that he has three children a girl of 5 and twin 1 year old boys.
We boarded the train and found our sleeping compartment. We were sharing with an elderly couple, not sure whether they were Latvian or Russian. We had been allocated the top bunks and it was quite a struggle to reach them. We managed to store all our luggage and settled in. The attendant came with papers to fill in. After filling them in we realised that we had made mistakes (lower case, and I had crossed a date out) so Alan went to ask for replacements. Fortunately, she gave them without any hassle.
The train set off on time and we got settled in. At 12.00 midnight, the train pulled in to a station, all the lights were switched on and we were disturbed by border guards. They checked our passports and returned them to us. The train resumed its journey at about 12.30. Alan commented that perhaps that was just an exit check. He was correct because at 1.05a.m. the train stopped again and all the lights were switched on again. The young woman border guard wasn’t convinced that my passport photo was a good likeness but she eventually accepted it. She was very curt and slammed the unwanted papers on the bed. The passports and immigration papers were taken away but were finally returned to us at 1.45a.m. and the train was allowed to continue. This time the lights were extinguished fully so it was quite dark in the compartment.
Friday 24th April
6.00a.m. Our first sight of Russia, mile after mile of pine forest and occasional glimpses of frozen ponds and snow. We used the samovar to make a drink of coffee and tea. The sun is shining.
At the station we managed easily as there were some signs in English and we found a taxi straight outside the station. We gave the name and address of the hotel and the driver gave us a price of 500 rubles (ABOUT £10). We arrived at the hotel but couldn’t check in until 2.00p.m. We were able to leave our luggage and go to the 7th floor to the Raskolnikov Bar for a cup of coffee, very pleasant.
We checked in and were shown to our room on the 5th floor. A rest and a shower worked wonders so we set off for a wander up Nevsky Prospekt towards the Admiralty. This road is the most famous in all Russia and is very busy. We tried a Russian restaurant, Alan had Beef Stroganof and I had Chicken Kiev Sausage. Alan finished his meal with a typical Russian dessert of Guriev Kasha, which is a porridge pudding.
The weather is quite warm, and we had a pleasant evening walk by the river Neva.

Dorothy's diary Our last day in Latvia

2009-04-26T15:30:00.004+01:00

First Methodist Church Riga

Tuesday 21st April
After a leisurely breakfast of eggs and pancakes we had a wander to find the post office and bought a box to pack gifts and souvenirs so that we could post them home.
There is a shopping mall by the railway station which we visited to buy water and juice and other provisions.
We met our hosts at 1st Riga Methodist church. Dan and Courtney, Rihards, Gita and Rogeda from the Hope centre in Liepa. Lunch was at the buffet style restaurant that we had been to on Sunday.
On our own for the rest of the day. It is a beautiful sunny day but still very cold.

Wednesday 22nd April
Another gloriously sunny day and not so cold. We have decided to visit the Museum of the occupation.
Latvia has been occupied continuously from 1940 until 1991. First by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany and then again by the Soviet Union. The horrors of imprisonment, forced labour and exile do not just belong to the Jews and the holocaust during World War 11.
We had no idea that in our lifetime the Latvian people were living in such conditions.

The freedom monument was being guarded by two soldiers, and were we there when the guard was changed at 2.00 p.m.

We met Dan and Courtney and went to Dan’s favourite coffee shop. It was lovely to relax with like minded people and discuss the similarities and differences between church in the UK, the USA and Latvia.

Dorothy's Diary - We visit Liepa and Cesis

2009-04-25T18:36:00.002+01:00

Ilzite, Vera and Vilnus with Alan and Dorothy outside Liepa UMC

Monday 20th April

Today we take the road out of Riga and travel about 50 miles north east. We do not have a guide but have been given directions and we arrive early and meet Ilzite. She is a pastor of a Latvian congregation in Liepa. We follow her car and arrive at the church where we meet Vera and Vilnis. Vera is also a pastor in this church and she works with a Russian congregation. Vilnis is her husband. This building has been open 10 years and they are in the process of converting a section of the building into a new sanctuary. Vilnis is helping in this but work has stopped for the moment as they have run out of money. The old sanctuary will then become a fellowship hall and kitchen. Inta a young lady from Cesis arrived, she was to be our interpreter. We were served refreshments and then we went to Sarkami, a very poor village. The church building is in a very poor condition. The people who attend this church are usually given soup and bread here as they often cannot afford to feed themselves. In the soviet era the buildings in this area were used as army barracks. From Sarkami we went to Skangali. This is a building that is owned by the Salvation Army. It was owned by a Swedish aristrocrat, but was lost to them during the soviet occupation. After that era they got the building back but did not know what to do with it so they gave it to the Salvation Army. It is now an orphanage where children live here much more comfortably than in other children’s homes in Latvia. They are taught life skills here, which is unusual in children’s homes in this country. We did not meet any of them as they were at school. The place seemed a very good and happy place.
It is also used as a retreat and up to 22 visitors can stay. The furniture has been sourced from Sweden which is much more robust than any that could be bought locally. An unusual instrument that we saw was a Kokle (pronounced kurkela), the Latvian national instrument.
Our next visit was to see the old church building in Liepa that is now used for children after school. We met Vera’s mother, her aunt and another elderly lady who all work with the children and give them food each day.
We returned to the Liepa church. The Hope centre is housed upstairs and this is where unmarried mothers and their babies are helped. We met a few of the mothers and also a baby who has been abandoned. Ilzite and Vera are trying to find someone to adopt the baby rather than placing him in a children’s home.
Lunch was a buffet style restaurant in Cesis, and then we were taken on a tour of the town. Inta is a tour guide in the town and was able to give us lots of information about the history of the area. It is a very old town and has a medieval castle and also a modern castle. This is the first place in the country that flew the Latvian flag after the soviet era.
There is a tall monument in the centre of the town. The original monument was pulled down by the soviets and replaced by a statue of Lenin, when they left the towns people pulled that statue down and replaced it with the modern one that we saw.
We arrived back in Riga during rush hour and could not turn into the road we needed, so we had to make a detour but managed to find our way back to our parking place by the church.

Our visit to Liepaja

2009-04-19T19:30:00.002+01:00

Prayer candles at Kuldiga

Saturday 18^th April

Breakfast was much better than yesterday. Bacon, Eggs, Cheese and meat.

We packed our luggage into the car and were ready when Inga arrived to take us to Liepaja Methodist Church; a much larger building than Tasi or Matras. During the soviet years it had housed several families and the sanctuary was used as a sports hall. We met Arijs Viksna who was the Superintendent before Gita. The pastor at Liepaja is Inese Budnika, (Arijs’s daughter). She is married to Romans and they have a daughter Agatha who is 8years old. They are expecting another baby in September. Inese’s sister Ilze, is also a pastor. Around another refreshment table we met some of the members. One of them, Ruth, has visited East Anglia. She stayed in Bury St Edmunds and also with Barbara Garwood from Woodbridge.

From Liepaja Inga took us to Camp Wesley, a youth centre in the countryside that the church is renovating for youth work. We then travelled to Kuldiga and met four generations of one family. Dzintra was about 80 and had been a life long Methodist. She is thankful that now she can now worship freely after the soviet years between 1948 and 1993. We looked at old photographs of the members and the church.

It was very cold but we travelled back to Riga in blazing sunshine.

After a hot meal in a restaurant we found our hotel and managed to get on the internet and contacted family back in the UK.

Sunday 19^th April

Breakfast was Swedish style: hot eggs, sausages, cold meats and cheese. Also, Toast and Jam.

Inga was waiting for us and we walked to catch a tram which took us to the 2^nd Methodist Church in Riga. The pastors here are Milda (84 yrs old) and her son Andris. We were introduced to Janis who was to be our interpreter for the service. It was very much like the service in Krakow, we didn’t understand the language but we knew what was happening. Janis quietly spoke to us of what was being said. Alan was invited to tell the congregation why we were visiting. Janis interpreted for the congregation. Two of the hymns were modern choruses that we were able to sing in English while the congregation sang their Latvian words. We finished with “How great thou art”, and “The old rugged cross”. We were again invited to refreshments and were able to have a much more informal time with everyone.

We needed to visit the railway station to organise reservations for the train from Daugavpils to St Petersburg. The lady behind the counter was a little unhelpful. She said that we would have to wait until we got back to Daugavpils, but we told her that that wouldn’t be possible in the time frame that we had. She did manage to sort it out for us but got the date wrong so she had to do it all again.

Sunday lunch for me was Salmon and roast potatoes and for Alan, Pork and roast potatoes. We both finished with fruit.

Inga invited us to go with her to a different church at 4.00p.m. It is a church that meets in a hired room as they have no building. There were many young people there. The service was very informal. The pastor is Indian and speaks in English and has a translator into Latvian. We are now resting before our two hour journey tomorrow.

Daugavpils to Riga

2009-04-19T19:18:00.002+01:00

Edgers and the congregation at Tasi

Friday 17^th April

Breakfast

I only managed to eat one mouthful of my pancake as it was not just cheese and ham. We swapped over. The apple pancake was a little more edible but very sweet. Alan managed half of the cheese and ham.

Andrew brought our hire car to the hotel and took us to a supermarket where we could change some dollars into Lats as he didn’t take cards. He then took us through Daugavpils to the A6 which was the road we needed for Riga. The roads are not in good condition so we are going to have to be careful. The car is a VW Jetta, six forward gears, automatic lights air conditioning and cruise control. Speed limits are 50 KPH in town and 90 KPH on main roads. Alan takes the wheel. I drive for about an hour, the journey is uneventful until we reach Riga, where we take a wrong turning and get lost in traffic and roadworks. We turn round and retrace out steps, but we arrive one hour late.

When we get to the church office we are met by Inga and Courtney. Inga is the church treasurer and Courtney is an American from North Carolina who is working in Latvia with her husband Dan.

I am horrified to learn that instead of going to our hotel our schedule is to visit Leipaja about 3 hours drive. Inga was going with us and we were taking three packages of clothes. It turned out to be a fantastic experience.

Our first stop was a church in Tasi (Tashy). The church is a two storey building, we climbed stairs that wouldn’t have been out of place in a run down multi storey car park. The pastor, Edgers and his wife Gunter met us and showed us into a room with six women of various ages. The table was set with refreshments. We introduced ourselves and spoke about why we were visiting them. They asked questions, Gunter was a very good interpreter. We were made very welcome.

The church has only been operating for about 10 years and has a thriving congregation and about 25 children belong to the Sunday School. The ladies make craft items for fund raising and they wanted to give us something. They wouldn’t accept payment, but one of the ladies had lost her job that day, so later we managed to give Edgers some money to give to her, so at least we felt we had helped her a little.

Our next visit was to a church in Matras. We were following Edgers, but had to be careful as it was a dirt road and very dusty. We couldn’t follow too closely as we couldn’t see his car. This church was literally in the middle of a forest, no other building in sight. Again we were made extremely welcome with refreshments and hospitality. We sang some Taize songs in English, Latvian and Latin. We talked about similarities and differences between Latvia and the UK, both in church and secular ways.

The church congregation new met were all women, six again, and we didn’t leave until 10.00 p.m. It was very dark, one lady was lighting our way with her mobile phone and Alan had a small light too. If Inga hadn’t been with us we would have been totally lost. She directed us to our hotel and said that she would call at 10.40 in the morning to take us to the Methodist Church.

All in all a fantastic day. The Methodist welcome is the same everywhere.

Krakow to Daugavpils

2009-04-19T19:10:00.002+01:00

Sestokai Change of Railway Gauge

Wednesday 15^th April.

Instead of taking our luggage to the railway station left luggage lockers we were invited to take it to AAA Krakow apartment offices. We felt it would be safer even though it was in the opposite direction to the railway station.

We had about 8 hours to fill before our train was due to leave so we wandered round a little aimlessly. We did have a quite heavy bag each so didn’t feel like going too far.

When we went back to pick our luggage the taxi driver commented that it would only take about 20 minutes to get to the airport, we had to put him right that we needed the railway station not the airport. GOOD START to what could be a tortuous journey.

We found the platform and then decided to go to the loo. We felt safer sticking together so we both went with all our luggage, the loo was down 70 steps, no escalator or lift. Back on the platform at 8.00 p.m we found what we thought was a waiting room but what turned out to be a smoking area.

The electronic display board didn’t appear to be working and we couldn’t find a departure timetable to check that we had the correct platform. Plenty of arrival timetables but none for departures. Just to be on the safe side we went to the departure lounge. The route took us through the state of the art shopping mall adjacent to the station, but it did confirm that we had the correct platform. It is a very incongruous situation to have one of the most archaic stations ever right next door to a state of the art shopping mall.

The train arrived early so we were able to find our couchette quite easily. The guard had unfortunately taken our ticket and reservation slip. Alan went to ask for them and was told that we would be given them back in the morning. We were getting quite worried as the ticket was for our onward journey to Daugavpils. We had both privately been rehearsing calling the police but at about 4.00a.m the guard did return the ticket.

We had a 2 ½ hour wait at Warsaw. It is a much larger station than Krakow and even at that early hour was fairly busy. Our breakfast was lemon tartlets and when Alan went to dispose of the rubbish I was accosted by a vagrant, fortunately there was a very vigilant policeman who helped me.

Our train arrived on time but it left about 20 minutes late which left us wondering if we would catch our connection at Sestokai. I asked the ticket collector but he didn’t speak English so wasn’t very helpful. There was a polish gentleman who spoke English so he helped with the translation, but we still couldn’t find out about our connection. What did transpire was that we were sitting in the wrong part of the train as it divided when we reached Lithuania. We and a Chinese lady moved to the right carriage and met a young man from Torquay who was going to Vilnius so we were able to worry together.

The train kept stopping for no apparent reason which is rather annoying. It did make up the time and we arrived in Sestokai on time. The station is literally all there is at Sestokai, just a railway platform in the middle of nowhere. The seats on this train are very basic not much better than church pews and we have three hours of sitting on them.

We did bring drinks and snacks with us, good job, there has been no refreshment car on either train. We should be OK it is only a 10 hour journey, and then we have to travel on to Daugavpils for another 2 hours.

At Daugavpils we have 16 minute to find our next train, we made it with a few minutes to spare. It was the overnight train to St Petersburg, courtesy of the Russians. We presented the ticket to the guard who had to show it to two other people before they would let us on the train. She kept the ticket, but we weren’t too worried as it was the last time that we needed that particular ticket. We realised that this will be the same train that we will be travelling on next week. The traditional Samovar was at the end of our corridor, heated by a real fire. At 8.00 p.m. the guard came back with our ticket and told us that Daugavpils was the next stop. Total travelling time from Krakow 18 hours plus waiting time.

We then had to worry about getting as taxi to our hotel, fortunately there were three outside the station, and the hotel wasn’t too far away. Oh to soak in a lovely bath, NOT POSSIBLE, only a shower and one large towel and one small and nowhere to dry them so we had to wait until morning. The quilt on the bed only just covered the bed so I ended up wearing pyjamas and a shirt for warmth. We had to order our breakfast on arrival, I chose cheese and ham pancake and Alan chose apple pancake.

Kazimierz and Salt Mines

2009-04-19T18:58:00.003+01:00

Square to commemorate Ghetto Heroes

On Monday 13^th we had a relaxing day as we had planned a busy day on the Tuesday.

14^th April and we arrived in the market square at 9.45 to begin our walking tour of the Jewish District of Krakow. We met our guide and our companions on the tour, a couple from Austria. A small group which was very good. Our first stop was Kupa synagogue that is now disused as a prayer house. One of the walls of the building was originally the wall of the district. It was damaged in the war but has been renovated. It is now only used if there are a large number of visiting Jews, as the synagogue used for regular worship is very small and cannot accommodate large numbers. We walked to the market square where the butchers market still operates, and prepares kosher meat for local Jews. This area used to be quite dangerous for tourists, but since the filming of Schindler’s list, and Roman Polanski’s involvement the area has undergone a cultural revival, and is now the place to visit. We had a coffee in one of the local cafes and our guide pointed out the Isaac synagogue that had been built by a local Jew, apparently it is very beautiful inside, to rival the local catholic church. The Stara Boznica synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Poland, which we passed on our way to the square of the ghetto heroes. This is a large square where large chairs have been placed.

When the Jews were moved here during the war, they took all their furniture with them, as you would when you are moving house, of course there was no place for the furniture so it just got heaped up in piles in the street. These chairs are the memorial to the life that the Jews were forced to give up. Roman Polanski was instrumental in the organising of this memorial as he had been a child prisoner in Auschwitz and had survived. The ghetto scenes in Schindler’s list were filmed here. From this square we visited Schindler’s factory. It looks very modern as it is being renovated but is in fact much older than the surrounding buildings. Unfortunately we could not go inside.

To finish our tour we took a tram back into town and said goodbye to our guide and the Austrian couple.

At 4.00 p.m. we had planned a tour of the Salt mine which is about a 6km journey from Krakow. This was interesting as we had to descend 340 stairs. The caves are very large and we visited three chapels underground. One of them was enormous and the photographs do not do justice to the size. Unfortunately we had forgotten to change the battery in the camera so could not take any photos. We bought a DVD so we should have a good reminder of our visit. The whole time underground takes about 2 hours. The atmosphere is a pleasant 14’ Celsius.

On out return to Krakow and after a swift wash and brush up we went to visit the Methodist Pastor and his family. They made us very welcome and had prepared supper for us. Josef doesn’t speak much English and we don’t speak any Polish, but his daughter Alexandra is studying English and interpreted extremely well. Josef showed us a DVD about the history of Polish Methodism (in English) and then gave us a copy as a memento of our visit. We invited them to visit us in England and they may visit in August.

All in all a very good day which showed us very different aspects of life in Krakow in particular and Poland in general

Alan's reflection Easter Sunday 12th April

2009-04-12T20:03:00.002+01:00

Krakow Methodist Church

I have been known to suggest that every regular churchgoer should be given five pounds and asked to go to a bookmaker and place a bet on a horse. For most, this would be a new, strange and perhaps intimidating experience, though I’ve known at least one churchgoer for whom this would be quite normal! I flippantly make this suggestion to emphasise just how intimidating it may be for any new comer to our churches to experience the worship which is so familiar to the rest of the congregation.

My own version of this experience was to attend Easter Sunday worship at the Methodist Church in Krakow, my knowledge of Polish being effectively nil. However, once the service started and with the help of a Polish hymn book and service sheet it soon became clear what was happening even if the words were unintelligible. How frustrating to recognise the hymn tune and not be able to recall the first line of the English version!

What is so important in strange surroundings is to have a sense of welcome. In this simple yet beautiful church tucked away in a side street and set apart from the grandeur of the many Catholic churches in the city, the welcome was as warm as I’ve found in any Methodist church. Hospitality and welcome is not exclusive to Methodist communities but in my experience we certainly make a good job of it. I’ve said to my churches many times and will continue to remind them: visitors will remember your welcome long after they have forgotten my sermon.

Quotes from Saint Francis of Assisi; “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.”

“If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.”

Dorothy's diary A different sort of Easter

2009-04-12T19:35:00.004+01:00

A strange beginning to Easter Sunday. We did not have to get up at the crack of dawn to attend a sunrise service. We had a leisurely breakfast and the made our way to the Methodist Church in Krakow. We were greeted by the pastor Rev Josef Bartos and some of the congregation. Josef gave us an order of service, in Polish, even though we could not read the words we could follow what was happening and two of the hymns had tunes that we knew so we were able to take part. A group of four young girls sang two items, one was “He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead and He is Lord” We didn’t sing the usual “Christ the Lord is risen today” but we have celebrated the resurrection in a very different way. The congregation consisted of 29 people plus one baby, including the pastor and the organist.

A family of four, Mother, Father, Son and Daughter were received into membership of the church, again we couldn’t understand a word but we knew what was happening.

At one point in the service Josef welcomed us in faltering English and invited us to join in refreshments after the service. He introduced us to Barbara who spoke English, and she was able to tell us something of Polish Methodism. 100,000 polish people are Protestants and about 4,000 of those are Methodists. There are about 40 Methodist churches in Poland split into two sections (Districts) 1 East and 1 West. The conference is held in Warsaw annually.

Josef invited us to his home on Tuesday. We had to explain that we have two excursions planned for Tuesday so we are going to meet his family at about 8.30 Tuesday evening.

The big shopping mall and a lot of the restaurants were closed so we couldn’t get a meal as we had planned. We had another wander round the city and into the market square which was very busy. The stalls were all open so we managed to get potatoes and pork again, alfresco.

As I said at the beginning it has been a very different Easter Sunday. The most leisurely one for almost twenty years.

Easter Saturday in Krakow

Our first exercise for the day was to visit a travel agent and try to obtain reservations for our onward journey to Latvia. Unfortunately, being Easter Saturday the travel agent was closed. We walked to the Railway Station and managed to organize a couchette in a shared compartment for the journey to Warsaw. The lady at the station couldn’t do any other reservations, but at least we will have some sort of a bed on Wednesday night. We had a wander round the station and found out exactly which platform (Peron) we need so we hopefully won’t have any problems finding the correct train.

From there we shopped at the Carrefour (French Supermarket) that we had discovered earlier. After a lunch of Ham, Egg and Tomato sandwiches back at the apartment we went for a walk into the market square, following the Royal route. An ancient route through the town that the Royal Family followed. The market square was extremely busy, and everyone seemed to be carrying Easter baskets.

It will be easier for me to copy text from the internet to explain all the traditions and customs about Easter celebrations in Krakow.

The paramount Christian feast, has a special meaning and a distinct quality in springtime Krakow with its rich Catholic traditions and abundance of beautiful churches. In the ancient capital of Poland the festival spreads over four days.

Holy Saturday

On Easter Eve everybody, notably children, visits the parish church with a basket of the traditional Easter foodstuff–bread, eggs, ham, sausages, and a piece of horseradish–to have them consecrated by priest. It is also the occasion to see ‘the grave of the Lord Jesus’, arranged in a chapel or a crypt, by which scouts, firefighters, the military, etc. stand guard of honor. And the faithful keep long vigils.

Easter Sunday traditionally remains quiet and confined to the family and the church. First thing in the morning the faithful attend a predawn or very early Resurrection service. Then the whole family has the festive common breakfast featuring the victuals consecrated at the church on Holy Saturday, with the ‘pisanki’ Easter eggs–hardboiled and painted–as the highlight.

Easter Monday is a public holiday in Poland, customarily devoted to amusement and socializing. Krakow’s chief venue remains the centuries-old Emaus fair. Universal Poland’s tradition is ‘smingus-dyngus’, i.e. splashing water over one another on the Easter Monday; teenagers do it in the streets with zest and by the bucketful. At the same time you may come across the ‘smigusnicy’ masqueraders. Krakow’s Easter Monday’s Emaus fair has drawn since the Middle Ages joyful crowds to the Zwierzyniec area by the 800-year-old convent of St. Norbert's Premonstratensian order. The fair stems from the ancient celebration of the All Souls Day, moved later to November 2 in the church calendar. And not so long ago during the fiesta innumerable stands and stalls sold clay bells against evil spirits, magical wooden hatchets, and toy birds representing souls. Now they trade mostly in homely sweets and junk toys. Yet the Emaus fair remained for Krakow dwellers the family Easter outing of choice, mostly beloved by children. And teenagers find it perfect for drenching each other with water, which is Poland’s favorite Easter Monday sport.

Dorothy's diary Good Friday 10th April

2009-04-10T20:17:00.004+01:00

Good Friday 10^th April

We had a very disturbed night as one of our neighbours was still watching television at 4.00a.m. We were therefore quite tired. Had a good breakfast and packed a lunch and went to await our minibus to take us to Auschwitz (Oswiecim). The route through Krakow was rather tortuous through all the back streets to collect other passengers.

The journey to Auschwitz took us about 1 ½ hours and there we met with our tour guide, her English was very good and she made the tour very interesting and informative.

The weather was lovely and warm and the surroundings were clean and tidy which gave us a sanitised sense of the horrors that had occurred 60 odd years ago. Everyone was very quiet and respectful.

ARBEIT MACHT FREI

WORK MAKES FREEDOM

The only freedom that the prisoners who entered Auschwitz and Birkenau achieved was the final freedom of Death.

The most poignant things that we saw were the thousands of shoes and spectacles and the mountain of human hair. The facts and figures that our guide gave us were too awesome to take in at the time. At one point we were in a corridor in one of the blocks, the walls were lined with photographs of some of the prisoners and two had flowers placed by them, presumably by relatives.

I watched the film ‘The boy in the striped pyjamas’ before we left home and wondered if there was any truth that the commandant lived with his family in the camp. It was true. The commandant had a villa adjacent to the main camp and he lived there with his wife and five children

Birkenau is the other camp on the same site, about 3 kms away. This was much larger and the blocks were built of brick and wood. The gate to this camp is the very famous gateway with the railway running through the middle. You don’t realise how long the railway line is until you actually see it. We were quite out of breath when we reached the end and we are quite fit and healthy, so it made us realise a little of what the prisoners had to go through as soon as they reached the end of their long journey in cattle trucks.

We were told that some Greek prisoners even had to pay for a ticket for the journey.

I won’t say that I enjoyed the experience but both Alan and I are pleased that we made the effort to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau.

We had a pleasant drive back to Krakow and then went for a wander round to find the Post Office then got back to the flat and had baked beans on toast for tea.

Alan's reflection Good Friday 10th April

2009-04-10T20:06:00.003+01:00

It is said that the ancient Greeks valued a farm implement more than a slave, it was much easier and cheaper to replace the slave. The Romans devised horrific means of disposing of dissidents. For Christians, Good Friday is the most poignant reminder of their methods of execution.

In the twentieth century, when it ought to be argued that civilisation has come of age, the Nazi SS demonstrated one more time for history that humanity is for ever only a short step away from the obscenity of devaluing the potential of human life.

With a clear blue sky, a soft breeze blowing and coaches full of tourists, the Auschwitz of today is a world apart from the dehumanising horror of what took place over sixty years ago. The scale of the engineering project to devise and construct a death factory of this magnitude is mind boggling. The number of human souls who suffered here is incomprehensible. It is in the small detail that emotional responses are evoked.

Behind a glass screen is a mountain of shoes of all shapes and sizes. The eye falls onto one shoe, small and probably belonging to a young person. The worn down heel tells its own story of a life once lived and is now ashes spread somewhere on this vast killing field.

It is so easy to become sanitised to the sheer scale of the suffering endured, especially for those who were not immediately selected for the gas chamber. For the smallest deviation from the demands of a life sapping regime punishment was severe. Imagine, for example, a small cell in the cellar of the punishment block, a little over two feet square. Its entrance is no more than three feet high. In this dark and airless space inmates would be made to stand, sometimes four to a cell, for hour upon hour. Immediate execution was a less painful release from this living hell.

This is a place that must inspire every visitor to make our world free from the prejudices of misplaced ideologies that make one individual of more value than another. For the Christian, it is a pertinent reminder that our sojourn in this world is not for comfort and gain but for the acceptance and obedience of the teaching of the Jew whom we follow.

For more information on Auschwitz visit www.auschwitz.org.pl

“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose ones attitude in any given circumstance.” Viktor Frankl – prisoner of conscience of the Third Reich.

Dorothy's Diary April 8th Krakow

2009-04-09T16:31:00.004+01:00

Wednesday 8^th April

Berlin Hauptbahnhof is a very modern station with a lot of shops and eating places. We went to the ticket office to ask if we could reserve our seats on the Krakow –Daugavpils train, but were told that we had to do that in Krakow. We then found the platform for our journey as we had 45 minutes to wait. German trains run to time and ours was no exception. It looked quite an old train with only four carriages so it was a good thing that our seats had been reserved.

The train made its way through the suburbs of Berlin and out into open countryside. We crossed the border into Poland and entered a Pine Forest. We were in the forest for about two hours. It just went on for mile after mile. It reminded me very much of Dr Zhivago on his journey through the Ural Mountains, but there was no snow.

The weather is glorious and even on the train we are wearing sunspecs. The train does not travel very fast 40 MPH at most

There is no refreshment car on the train, fortunately we had bought provisions. A steward with a trolley did appear about 2.00p.m with hot drinks and snacks, so we had a coffee and Mars bar each. It cost 14 PLN ( about £3.00 ).

As we neared Krakow I had a thought that this journey has taken us 10 1/2 hours, more than the flying time for Rachel & Peter and the girls from Manchester to Knoxville.

372 miles….10 ½ hours……….average speed 37MPH.

We managed to get a taxi outside the station and arrived at our apartment at 9.05p.m. The representative arrived a few minutes later and showed us round. It is very clean and modern. Open plan in design with sliding doors so we can shut off the bedroom. There is a dishwasher and washing machine, iron and ironing board. The last two items will not be used.

It was still quite warm so we had a wander down to the main market square ( 2 mins ). It was still very busy even at 9.30 at night. We had a snack of potatoes, pork, mushrooms and veg, all piping hot. It was a little spicy but very enjoyable.

The apartment has internet access so we were able to speak to Rachel and Megan on SKYPE. Megan had difficulty understanding the time difference between Poland and England. We also managed to get through to Richard.

Polish is the 5^th most difficult language to learn. We can’t get the hang of it at all. It is so unlike any language that we have heard before. Alan reminded me that we will have to get used to that experience as Latvian, Russian, Mongolian and Chinese aren’t going to be any easier to understand.

Maundy Thursday

We had our first shopping expedition, to the supermarket. It was very small, more like a corner shop, but we managed to find everything that we needed.

Alan had been searching the internet for the Methodist church in Krakow and discovered that it is very close to our apartment, so it looks like we will be visiting on Easter Sunday.

I don’t suppose we will understand a word, but it will be an experience not to be missed.

We have arranged our visit to Auschwitz for Good Friday and then next Tuesday are hoping to visit the old Jewish Quarter and Schindler’s factory and also the salt mines.

Alan's reflection April 5th Lindisfarne

2009-04-07T19:54:00.002+01:00

My sabbatical begins thirteen hundred years ago on the windswept island of Lindisfarne. I want to ask the monk bishop Cuthbert, ‘What makes for effective church?’ This is the question I’ve set for myself as Dorothy and I begin our three month journey around the world. A short space on this beautiful island is an excellent opportunity to prayerfully reflect on my task. Cuthbert lived in the seventh century in a world far removed from the complexity of the twenty first century. Yet, there is a resonance in the experience of church that transcends both time and culture. What is this experience and how may it be expressed? It is something which is much deeper than custom and practice.

Cuthbert sought the monastic life of solitude and prayer which ironically led him to be appointed as bishop of Lindisfarne. Even though his term as bishop was brief, he is revered as a saint through the centuries. Today, the ‘holy island’ of Lindisfarne is a place of pilgrimage for Christians; it is a place of peace which touches the lives of both pilgrims and those whose interest is simply that of the tourist.

Who was St Cuthbert? (Extract from Lindisfarne Priory Museum) Cuthbert was a Northumbrian priest who travelled constantly, preaching and baptising vast numbers of men and women. In 664 he became Prior of Lindisfarne, living on St Cuthbert’s Isle, but seeking greater isolation, he moved to the island of Farne and lived as a hermit. After nearly ten years on Farne, Cuthbert reluctantly agreed to be consecrated bishop and resumed his missionary travels. He returned to Farne in 686 and died there on March 20th 687. He was made a saint in 698 and pilgrims flocked to visit his grave.

Dorothy's Diary April 5th Lindisfarne

2009-04-07T19:48:00.001+01:00

Sunday 5th April
The Palm Sunday Eucharist was at St Mary’s at 10.45. We arrived with a few minutes to spare. The church was quite full. The vicar said that this was always a well attended service. It was quite a long service as it included a narrative version of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, his scourging and Peter’s denial.

After a light snack at The Stable coffee shop we decided to go for a walk to the castle and then on in a circle past fields of sheep and lambs. The whole walk was about 2 ½ miles.

In the evening we had another good meal at the Crown and Anchor and then wandered down towards St Cuthbert’s Island. The water had receded so we clambered over the rocks on to the island. We took some lovely photos of the stark cross with the sunset behind.

Monday 6th April

Jamie cooked us another good English breakfast and we made contact with the other family who were staying at Bamburgh View. They were Norwegian from Trondheim. They had flown from Norway to Gatwick and then travelled north by train. A rather circuitous journey we thought but who are we to talk.

We said our goodbyes to Jamie and Carole, our hosts, and promised to recommend Bamburgh View to our friends. We had bought a few mementoes but didn’t want to carry them with us so we called at the Post Office and mailed them to Rachel. We then left Lindisfarne and travelled to North Shields Ferry Port at Newcastle.

Arriving at the ferry port at 1.00 p.m. we dropped the car off at security and headed into the terminal. Surprisingly we weren’t the first there. We couldn’t book in until 2.30 so we had our bread and cheese lunch and cracked open a bottle of Pol Remy ( cheap sparkling whit wine ). Alan sorted out all the straps on his rucksack so that when he had to carry it it would be reasonably comfortable.

We boarded the Princess of Norway at 3.30GMT and went straight to our cabin to off load the luggage. The ship travels on European time so we changed our watches. We had lost our first hour.

The evening meal was Buffet style and very substantial, and afterwards we decided that an early night wouldn’t go amiss. We were in bed by 9.30 (8.30 GMT)

Breakfast was again Buffet style. Full English or continental or both. I was naughty and made a couple of rolls up as sandwiches for our lunch.

The ship docked on time and our taxi was waiting for us. We weren’t sure which railway station in Amsterdam was the one we needed Central or Zuid. The ticket wasn’t too clear. As our driver didn’t know either he took us to the central one. It was the wrong one.
A very kind assistant gave us the information to take a train to Hilversum and then catch up with our correct train to Berlin. It worked perfectly.
We met Shaun, a Canadian, who was back packing around Europe. He was also going to Berlin and then taking the overnight train to Krakow. He wanted to visit Auschwitz. We told him our plans and said that we would look out for him.

Dorothy's Diary April 3rd Lindisfarne

2009-04-07T19:40:00.003+01:00

Friday 3rd April
The great adventure begins at 9.36 a.m. as we leaves Darfield in misty murky weather and travel towards the A1 to the sound of the overture to Tannhauser, one of our favourite pieces of music.
Within 30 minutes I have seen the three trucks that I always look out for when travelling ie.Eddie Stobart, Prestons of Potto and Norbert Dentressangle.
We reach Peterlee in Co Durham at 11.30 and have no difficulty in locating Steve and Jenny’s house. They take us to the Dun Cow in Sedgefield for lunch. This is the pub that Tony Blair took George Bush to when he visited the UK a few years ago. It was great to catch up with Steve and Jenny as we hadn’t seen them for quite a while.
From Peterlee we travelled north again and arrived on Lindisfarne at 6.00 p.m. Our guest house is very comfortable and the proprietors come from Wakefield so we feel very much at home.

Saturday 4th April

We have had a really good full English breakfast, consisting of local produce, which sets us up for the day. We had a wander round the island but as the weather wasn’t too good we mainly had a look around the craft shops and the English Heritage museum.

After a good meal in the Crown and Anchor we went to a reflective communion service for Palm Sunday Eve at St Cuthbert’s centre, which is a United Reformed church. We both felt that this was the right place to leave our candle. Just before the service began a couple arrived and I said to Alan that I knew the man. They came to sit by us and after the service we began a conversation with them. The lady said the same as me, that she felt that she had met us somewhere before. It turned out that we had both been on the same pilgrimage to Israel in 1999. Talk about a small world!

Our plans

2009-03-30T11:26:00.001+01:00

After checking and rechecking paperwork and clothing we are ready to leave home. Alan’s first stop is Dereham in Norfolk to attend Ministerial Synod, from there he will travel to Yorkshire where he will meet up with Dorothy. We are staying with our Yorkshire family for two nights before heading north to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) off the coast of Northumberland. Alan wanted to begin his sabbatical in an iconic place of retreat and what better place than Lindisfarne. We are staying in Bed and Breakfast accommodation on the island for three nights and are looking forward to a restful reflective time before travelling back down to Newcastle for our ferry across to Amsterdam. This is an overnight crossing so we should arrive in Holland refreshed ready to take the train to Berlin. We arrive in Berlin in the early evening so we won’t have much time for sightseeing. Our train next morning leaves fairly early so again no time to wander around the city. This train takes us all the way east across Germany and into Poland where we arrive in Krakow on Maundy Thursday. We are hoping to visit Auschwitz which we are expecting to be quite harrowing. In Krakow much is made of Easter so we are hoping to have a good time of celebration. We have self catering accommodation in Krakow very near the centre of the city. Apparently there are some very good restaurants in the city square so we will have some good meals in Poland.

The next stage of our journey is a very long train trek up to Latvia. We have four stops during the night and the next day, calling at Warsaw and Vilnius and a couple of other smaller towns. We arrive in Daugavpils in Latvia in the evening of the 16^th April. Our next adventure is taking charge of a car and driving north to Riga where we are hoping to meet up with some Methodist people. During the 23^rd April (St George’s Day and the anniversary of Richard and Emma’s wedding) we travel back to Daugavpils where we catch an overnight train to St Petersburg. I think I (Dorothy) will be in tears at this point. It has been a lifelong wish of mine to visit Russia and I have had to wait over 50 years, so I think that I may be a little overwhelmed.

We are booked into a hotel in St Petersburg for four nights, so we will have plenty of time to visit the Hermitage, Nevsky Prospekt and other tourist attractions. We have a tour guide for the next part of the journey south to Moscow. This is where we join the group who we are travelling with on the Trans Mongolian Railway. There are five people booked on the tour. A 73 yr old lady from Chicago, a 54yr old lady from Canada, a 24 yr old man from Switzerland and us. So we are not the oldest of the group. The tour leaves Moscow on the 28^th April and our first stop is Yekaterinburg where Tsar Nicholas 2^nd and his family were murdered in 1917, from there we spend two days travelling through the expanse of Siberia and then on to Lake Baikal where we will be staying with a Russian family for two nights. Back on the train and return to Irkutsk where we spend the night and then back on the train on to Ulan Bataar, the capital of Mongolia. We then travel by 4WD vehicles into the Mongolian Desert and visit Karakorum which is the capital built by Genghis Khan in the 13^th century. We camp in a Mongolian Ghur for two nights. We then travel back to Ulan Bataar for our final leg of the journey on the Trans Mongolian Railway arriving in Beijing where we stay for three nights.

On the 21^st May we leave Beijing at 12.00 noon and fly to San Francisco, arriving on 21^st May at 8.30 a.m. We arrive in America 3 ½ hours before we leave China. Fortunately we have self catering accommodation in S F for four nights so we will be able to crash out for a while before we explore San Francisco. We are lo0king forward to a ride on one of the trams and visiting Alcatraz. Hopefully we will get a bit of a rest and then pick up our hire car for the 3000 mile trek across America. Our first stop will be Flagstaff where we stay for a couple of days and visit the Grand Canyon. Dorothy hopes to take a walk on the glass horseshoe. From Flagstaff we travel on to Albuquerque and then on to Oklahoma. The Cherokee Indians were forced out of Tennessee and had to walk all the way to Oklahoma so that is the link that we want to look at.

We call in at Memphis and want to revisit the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. We visited in 2003 but had to rush as we didn’t have much time. Our next port of call is Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry. Then on to Knoxville and Maryville to stay with our Broadway family Ron and Pat.

Alan’s sabbatical finishes at the Holston Conference in Lake Junaluska in North Carolina

Rachel, Peter, Megan, Charlotte and Lauren arrive on Friday 12^th June and we are looking forward to a fortnight’s holiday.

2009-03-20T21:24:00.004Z

Preparations for our journey around the world are well under way. Two years it ago it was a dream and now the reality almost dawns. April 1st is the day we begin.