Hello from Goose Creek!

"Open mind, open heart, God will take care of the rest."

                  "We are a pilgrim people and 'Where the heck are we?' is our song. " --JPII

                                

     We just finished day four of WYD (it officially started after the opening Mass Tuesday night, which we missed), and it's been a wonderful adventure so far. On Wednesday we finally began to be able to participate in events and get where we intended to go without too much difficulty, but our feet are as sore as ever!

Help?

     On Tuesday, we got up and headed to the main square in search of our registration and "pilgrim pack." It was very exciting to see so many people from around the world and the beautiful St. Mary's Basilica where JPII regularly heard confessions. Unfortunately (or so it would seem), we had some difficulty figuring out exactly where to get our registration. Everywhere we went a friendly volunteer would inform us that we were supposed to go somewhere else. "Somewhere else" often turned out to be across the city, and several times it was where we had just been sent from. So we ended up tramming from here to there and back again for a long five hours, with no success and not a little discouragement. We were on our way to a church where we had been told we'd find our packs and registration (without which we were not allowed into WYD events) and we were about ready to just be tourists in Krakow without our registrations if this didn't end up being where to find them. (Of course, that would have meant not being able to see the Pope, so I'm sure we would have persevered a little longer....) We came to the church, it had big banners of St. Faustina and JPII just like every other church around, but we never could find out what it was called. Anyway, we went in and prayed for a while (it was stunning) and right out back we found everything we'd been looking for. Praise God! Yet again, we hadn't eaten or drunk water for far too long, so we finally found somewhere around six and had lunch. (This is why we missed the opening Mass.) We seem to be trying to keep up the happy tradition of one meal a day. We also ran into the TAC group, and some students of Thomas' from St. Monicas.  

     On Wednesday Rosie and I went and got some coffee and breakfast from a neat coffee shop called Columbus Coffee, and then took the tram to the Tauron Arena where the English catechesis was taking place. It's a huge indoor sports arena, and it was packed with people who wanted to hear about God's mercy.

Tauron Arena

Not a bad place to be! I loved the talks that we got to hear, Cardinal Sean O'Mally gave the main one, but there were lots of other, shorter ones as well. Then there was Mass (lovely music,) and Rosie and I managed to find the restaurant where George Weigel was giving his talk on the soul of John Paul II. SO MUCH good stuff to hear and think about, can't quite be summed up. Later we met up with Rosalie and Joseph and went into St. Mary's and visited the Jewish quarter of the city. That night we went back to the arena for "Night of Mercy," basically lots of singing worship music and some more good talks and adoration. Bishop Barron gave one of the talks. It was rather impossible to get back to our airbnb after that, every single tram was jam packed and there were people everywhere. 

     Thursday was another fun but long day: catechesis, Mass, and more interesting talks this morning, and then the welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis. That was really neat because it was our first experience of the whole lot of pilgrims meeting in one place, and there are SO MANY. With such a huge number of pilgrims walking around the city, all of whom are probably tired and hot and hungry and in need of a bathroom and transportation (all at the same time) it is definitely striking and beautiful to observe the kindness and joy they show to each other! I haven't heard a harsh word or a seen an impatient shove all week (although I may have wished to give one at certain points. Some groups find it really fun to scream a national song or motivational chant all together, even if their group happens to be on a small tram full of people who don't know their language and who want to be asleep, and are literally having trouble breathing for lack of room...But they keep it up. For the whole ride. And when the last words of the song are, "so we say it louder..." you get the picture.) But the point still stands, everybody seems to be good-willed, loving and happy. And 'everybody' is a lot of people. 

Outside St. Joseph's Church

     It was easy to think at the beginning of this trip, with the hours and hours of walking and searching and confusing directions, that it would have been better had we been able to find such and such place, get what we were looking for, not be so tired, know exactly what was going on and where we should be, not miss any buses, not be so delayed, and really be able to get on track and participate in WYD. However, it seems to me that if that were the case, we'd be participating less. John Paul II, one of the official WYD saints, who lived in this very city and who most of the things we're learning about and talking about are inspired by, had a life filled with many similar, and many worse sufferings than these. Yet he lived that trust in God's mercy every minute and told us to do that too. It seems like it would be such a contradiction to not try to actually live the trust he preached if we're here to understand and learn how to live it better. So I am very grateful for these frustrating situations, what's the point of WYD if we didn't experience them? They're opportunities to "practice what we preach," and we still have it pretty easy because our days also happen to be filled with scheduled public inspirational talks about trusting in God every minute of the day no matter how we feel and seeing what he does, and we're surrounded by others trying to do the same. That's more than JPII had in this city when he was our age! 

Just saw the Pope! 

     Also, it's kind of fun to look at a missed bus as a random adventure that God allowed to happen so that we could have a different experience than we expected, and then to find a little treasure that we wouldn't have received had things gone the way we wanted! On Tuesday looking for our pilgrim packs, instead of finding them easily and getting lunch on time, we asked a Polish volunteer named

We're gonna cross this street. And find lunch.
   On three. 

Hubert for help, and he ended up walking with us, helping us ask people who might know, and then guiding us to the bus station and explaining how to buy tickets and where to go. (Turned out to be the wrong place, but still.) It was a very enjoyable time, not wasted in any sense. It was another little surprise like our car ride in Sweden with Michael. We keep missing buses and making new friends instead! Jesus, I trust in you!

Lunch outside JPII shrine

     Today we got to go to the John Paul II and the Divine Mercy shrines. We weren't able to go into either because of the crowd, but we got to go to adoration at the divine Mercy shrine and eat lunch outside of JPII, which is still being built. Tomorrow is the long pilgrimage to the vigil site, but we don't really know how long that will be. I heard somewhere that it's a nine mile walk each way, so we'll see. If so that shouldn't be a problem because we are SUPER TOUGH after all the walking we've been doing so far. All the same, wish us luck.

Safe at last.

                                                                           Krakow!

     We finally made it to our airbnb! After about five hours of trekking on foot through Krakow with our two giant packs, four carry-ons and two back-packs, it's definitely a relief to be settled down.
     We had a lovely time in Stockholm, we walked about the city and enjoyed the colorful buildings and sunlight that lasted until 10 pm. The late light meant we had time for a long nap at our hotel before heading to the city, and still got to sit by the water and watch the sunset (at 9.) We had a little adventure a the end of our visit; we were mistaken about the time for the last bus heading from Stockholm to the airport where we could then catch a shuttle to out hotel, so we arrived at the station at about 11, and were told there were no buses left. That was a little alarming, but of course it all worked out because our competent navigators, Joseph and Rosalie, figured out how to get an "Uber" car and we had a cheerful drive back with a kind Swedish man named Michael. Much more fun than a bus!
     We caught our flight to Poland without much to report, except for being impressed by how quiet the airport in Sweden was. We've been trying to talk quieter and be "less animated," apparently loud conversation is a striking (and annoying?) characteristic of Americans... I don't know what I think about that. But that airport was definitely full and very quiet.

     In Poland we got some Polish money and Rosalie figured out which bus to get on, but we couldn't connect to wifi and our phones were all dead, and so thus began our Krakow adventure. We ended up getting off the bus when we came across the park where WYD is, but the bus stopped at each stop for about 7 seconds and then continued. With the crowded bus and our giant packs, only Rosalie managed to get off in that time and so we got separated for a bit. When we were reunited we began our search for airbnb. To make a long story short, we were hot, tired, hungry, thirsty, achy and at least I was pretty thrilled to be lost in Krakow. We eventually split up, Rosalie and Joseph found wifi and we finally made it to the right building, lucky enough to walk right through the heart of the city and see a ton of old beautiful buildings and happy people on the way. There were lots of WYD groups walking around and yelling things and generally celebrating, so we smiled and decided to ditch the idea that Polish people think you're laughing at them when you smile (that was another random fact we found on the internet,) and that if we were worried about being too loud the Italians had us beat. We found our airbnb, but there was nobody here to tell us which room or give us a key, so we looked and looked and wandered about, and eventually split up again, found wifi and at about 6:30 made it into our room. It is the nicest little spot, plenty big, and it's at the top of four or five story building. It has a slanty roof like an attic, (poor Joseph's head may be a bit bruised by the end of this,) and windows out the roof so if you stand on a chair you can look out the top and see part of the city.
     After our adventure we took a nap, and Rosalie went grocery shopping. We just got back from a delicious (and inexpensive) Polish dinner, about a ten minute walk away. We see no reason to eat anywhere else all week. After dinner our waiter brought us all cherry vodka or something, and Rosie and I (BECAUSE WE CAN DRINK HERE) thought it was delicious and fun but tasted a bit like benedril.
       The cars here park on the sidewalk, all the way or half on half off. It looks rather funny, but they just sort of drive onto the curb and stop on one side of a white line that is there for that purpose.
       Tomorrow will begin WYD exploration.
                                                           
                                                                    Our Polish Dinner. :)

Homemade lemonade with
oranges and cucumber. :)

Rosie's Duck yumminess plus flower

Cheers!

                                                                     

Is this where you're going to dinner?!?!?

Hello Sweden!

                          Börk Börk Börk

   

We've arrived at our hotel in Sweden! Our flight was long and rather uneventful except for the fact that somehow all that sitting meant now we're on the other side of the world and are thoroughly confused about what time it is or when food is meant to be had.
    Our plan at the moment is to take a nap, and then head to Stockholm for dinner. That should be about an hour bus ride and will cost 119 Swedish cranks. They're actually called something different but I forget what and my travel companions are asleep, so cranks will have to do. Joseph says that comes to about $15.
     Rosie and I sat next to a man from Russia on the plane who had lost his passport, and so was going to be sent right back to the US when we landed. He said he had been planning to go on a 12 day cruise in Europe, but he didn't seem too worried because his cruise was insured so he'd just go another time instead. Still, I'm glad we don't have another 10 hour trip ahead of us just yet.

Goodbye Rosie and Gemma

We are all in tears here at the Quackenbush meadow estate.  Just said goodbye to the World Youth Day travelers Joseph and Rosalie, Rosie, and Gemma.  But as it turned out, Mom had just left to take Jakie and Irene to the beach and Madeleine, Rachel, and Claire hopped in the van to drive down to LAX with the WYD crowd (and driver Dad).  And with Margaret far away in Goose Creek, that left only Elizabeth and Thomas and I (Baby Gianna somehow slept through all the drama) to say our tearful goodbyes and send off the gang with the traditional driveway kick line.

Tomorrow Thomas and Baby and I say goodbye to the remainder of the Austria Quacks: Mom, Dad, Rachel, Claire, Jakie, and Irene.  They don't leave for another week, but we won't see them before then because on Wednesday we head to Goose Creek to see Margaret.

A New Adventure!

Day before first contingent departure!

     The summer has flown by, and now Rosie, Joseph, his girlfriend Rosalie and I are making final preparations for our flight to Krakow for World Youth Day. We have a layover in Stokholm, Sweden, where we'll get to stay for a day in a hotel near the airport, and then head out on an hour-long flight that will take us straight to the John Paul II airport in Krakow. Mom, Dad, Rachel, Claire, Jacinta and Irene have one more week of preparation before they fly to Austria with a layover in Moscow. 

     It's been a busy week--with final goodbyes to all our favorite places and people, as well as packing and completing last touches on the house projects. Last night Joseph, Madeleine, Rosie and I had a pizza goodbye party at Java and Joe with one of the wonderful shop owners, Lorraine. Goodbye to the Quack dynasty at Java! Margaret would have been there to celebrate as well, of course, if she weren't off in South Carolina wowing us all with her high scores and funny stories from Nuclear Power School. 

We'll miss you, Lorraine!

That Old Rugged Cross