Last leg of the journey!

                                                 "We've eaten all the other legs." --Rachel      August 22, 2016    
     We are at our second to last bnb before home, and like each one before it, it is the best of them all and "we should stay here forever."
     We walked in and Mom stated that is is literally her dream house, the one she invented in her head as a kid back in Minnesota. It's all wooden and cabin-like, in a little Polish farm village.

There are spiral stairs that lead up to the loft, which has all but one of the beds. There are cute curtains hanging in all the windows, a very dead fish head sticking out of the wall with a light bulb in his mouth, some sort of boar skin or something hung on the wall and a chandelier-like light made out of antlers. It has the coziest spacious main room with a long, wooden dining table, a fireplace and a stiff couch.

The happy little kitchen.

Looking at old WWII bunkers in the forest!
Our host showed us about five separate ones,
mostly pretty blown up, but this one was still intact and
we got to walk around inside.

Our host showed us in and then went outside to chop some wood for a fire, since it's rather cold and rainy here. We're right next to a big corn field but the cabin is surrounded by a bunch of trees. Out the back door is a gate that leads onto more open grassy fields, and about a quarter mile away is a big, lovely, still river. I went on a run along it this evening, and got to watch a magnificent sunset reflected in the water, and eat plenty of gnats along the way. A combination of old farm houses and cottages, little hills and dips and soaking wet, GREEN grass, and random bits of forests spread all around.  Tomorrow our host is going to show us where in 1939, a thousand Polish soldiers held off several times that many Germans right here where we're staying. I think I found one of the bunkers by the river, it's kind of built into the bank. It was all stone and metal and closed off, but the perfect place to perch on top of and watch the sunset.
     We spent yesterday (Sunday) in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the Saturday night in a town in Poland, right next to a Cathedral. Our host was the priest there, and he seemed to be in charge of the bnb as well as his regular "Cathedral duties..." He was Polish, and spoke more German than English, so we mostly communicated in German. It was fun hearing him, Mom and Dad switch back and forth--English, German, with a little Polish in between that nobody understood. We went to the vigil Mass when we arrived on Saturday evening, and then climbed the 51 stairs to the top floor of the old building next door (it's nice just having our little packs to carry, and not our giant ones that we brought overseas...), plopped our stuff down and went to find dinner. We found dinner at a hotel restaurant down the street--menu in Polish, but very kind, helpful, patient waiters.

Marching band!

     The next morning we were again served breakfast--quite the feast-- in a big church hall in the same building, and then we went out to explore the city. This involved about 10 minutes of watching some official military band marching and playing all the way to the cathedral where they were going for Mass (it was really neat to see all the different, well dressed groups go so reverently in--the church was packed)  and then another 15 minutes buying ice-cream across the road, and then it was time to go.

Lody lady didn't speak English, but we were
happy with what we got.

Covered the basics.  Mom found the old Jewish synagogue that had gone out of use during the war (except for storage I think?) and where now some artists do displays and events.

Family picture in Lithuania

     In Vilnius we had another long while to hang about and wait to find out where our host was, but when we did we were let into another charming (top story) bnb, with another loft place (which is always more exciting than a ground floor) with most of the beds and a pretty little window and reading area. We went out that evening and got dinner at what seemed to be the Lithuanian Burger King... felt slightly scarred by the not so welcoming service, but pretty soon scoodled out of there and looked around. We took a picture of us all to send to Viltis, the Lithuanian librarian at TAC, and enjoyed listening to several street musicians that Dad described as "The towns Junior High and some losers..." We walked up a steep hill to an old fort of some sort, (a little like our ruined castles) and got to watch the beginning of another beautiful sunset with a fantastic view of the city.

The fort we climbed up to in Vilnius.

After that we managed to find our car and ice-cream before heading back to eat some watermelon and get a good night's sleep.
     Next morning (today) Rosie, Rachel and I snuck away to find some coffee and explore a bit. We spent the
typical Quackenbush girl amount of time (lots) in a neat little market on the main road, debating about what to get to eat along with our coffee. Once we were agreed, we found a nice little coffee place, ordered some pastries and coffee like big kids and made fools of ourselves spitting grape seeds at each other and reading our books. After that, we walked two stores down, saw another coffee shop and, since it had been a while since our last cup, walked in and got more. (We also remembered Mom had wanted us to bring her some, so it made a bit more sense....) We were about to head home, but feeling like perhaps we should be a bit more explortative we walked down a small, unremarkable (except for the fact that all the allies here are in a way remarkable, I never get tired of the stones) ally and came upon THE BEST PLAYGROUND EVER. Rachel and I tried out all the available structures and laughed way too hard, while Rosie babysat us and gave us and everybody around the "I'm not actually related to them," look.
     The biggest treat of the day, however, came with ten minutes left before takeoff. We got back to our bnb after getting a little bit lost (Rosie got us out of that with her supreme navigation skills, while Rachel and I commented on our lack of capability in that respect given that Rosie, or somebody else responsible is always around to take over) to find out that apparently the actual, original Divine Mercy image that had been painted under St. Faustina's direction was on our street, five minutes walk away from our bnb!

I didn't realize this, but apparently St. Faustina lived in Vilnius for a few years, and that (not the Divine Mercy shrine in Krakow where Joseph, Rosalie, Rosie and I just visited during World Youth Day) is where the painting is kept and where her confessor is buried. So with just a few minutes, we walked quickly down the street to the shrine where they there was adoration going on. There was a big plaque on the wall with the words, "Jesus, I trust in you!" in many different languages. I know it in German, English, Polish and Italian now! :) We said hello to Jesus, saw the painting, thanked God for the happy surprise and headed to the car. On to the Czech Republic!

Back to Poland!

                                                 
                                                                         Road Trip!                    August 19, 2016
Here's the link to our album of pictures from our day trips in Austria.  :)
https://goo.gl/photos/vJthpgKeqTBJmcbn6

And the unsorted lot from our Road trip: https://goo.gl/photos/d9X4bnW3iKFCcSAMA

Since pictures won't upload at an acceptable pace, and Rosie tells me that pictures are necessary, I'm going to wait to post these until the internet is better in Trumau.

     We're all here in Poland, in a little town called Biesal. (I think.) We arrived around 5pm yesterday evening, after about a six hour drive from Olsztyn. Our airbnb in Olsztyn was a neat, two-story house (we had the entire top floor) right on a little walkway/street with lots of little outdoor souvenir shops and lody (ice-cream) stands. It had the feel of a sort of permanent festival, or perhaps a tourist spot, except we seemed to be the only non Polish people there. We were stuck for a while one door over from our airbnb, wondering where to go and with no way of contacting our host. Dad attempted to communicate with a young shopkeeper there, but didn't make much headway. In the end we found our host, although my job had been to find an ATM and so I missed how they actually managed it. I think Jenny's Ipad thingie had come in handy though.

Our place to stay was worth the wait!
View of the castle from the window!

Our street.

Exploring all the rooms...

9pm lody run! At the little shop
basically right outside our door.

     The house was right next to a beautiful ruined castle up on the hill, about 200 meters from our door. We had a clear view of it from the window, and after getting settled in our new spot and having a delicious Polish dinner at a place next door, (Our host worked there and so explained the menu and ordered for us,) we went up to explore the castle. From the top we could see for miles all around, and saw how tiny the town was! Rachel and I discussed for a while whether we could fit everybody we knew from home in it; I don't remember exactly what we decided. It was very small, though, kinda plopped in the middle of nowhere. We spent plenty of time up there; for all the fun of being in a city and exploring the neat buildings and old streets, for me nothing beats climbing around a castle and sitting on top of a tower while watching the sunset.

Walk around the Monestary

     The next day, Thursday, we drove about 25 minutes to Jasna Gora, the monastery where Our Lady of Czestochowa is kept. It was really crowded there, but we managed to get a glimpse of the icon after some shoving and exploring. They cover it up for some reason for a few hours at a time, and whenever they cover or uncover her there's a big ceremony and people play drums and trumpets. Although so many people from around the world come there, we discovered that everything was still only in Polish. We found an English map/guide so we could find out what the different buildings, chapels and museum-like things were, but once we were in we had not much of an idea what we were looking at. Still, it was neat to look around, and after we saw the icon we walked away from the crowds and around the monastery, and got to see the stations of the Cross that surrounded it.
     After we left Jasna Gora we went to see if we could find the old town and explore. We didn't end up finding it, but walking up a steep street toward a church, I looked back at the rest of the slow-moving family to see that the reason for their pace was that Mom was helping an elderly Polish woman up the street. She was speaking Polish to Mom, and Mom was patting her arm and smiling. When they got to the top the woman kissed Mom's arm several times and pulled out her rosary, clearly expressing her gratitude and no doubt assuring us all that we'd be in her prayers!

Rachel: "Let's go storm the castle!"
Rosie: "ZipadeedooDA!"

     We got back to our airbnb, and some people plopped down for a quick nap, others went out to explore,
and after a few hours the family headed up to the castle again since we'd gotten a late start the night before, and had to leave before quite satisfied. (Also, you can never really get too much of that castle.) I went for a run and decided to meet them up there later, and after hesitatingly examining the unfamiliar streets busy with people and cars (not a very happy prospect for a peaceful run), I found a beautiful forest path about a block from our house, and in I went! It was a little alarming how easy it would be to get lost in there, so many trees and so many different paths. But I kept track and had fun exploring. I turned down a pathway and suddenly came upon a collection of huge sand dunes. They were super tall, and the sand spread out for a ways through the trees. If we had stayed longer I would have brought the other girls and something to slide on; they were plenty steep and tall. They seemed to me an odd thing to find in the middle of a forest, but if you get a chance to add skiing down sand mountains into your daily run I'd always suggest you take it! (Only problem is I got sand in my shoes and so there wasn't really any room for my toes anymore...)

     After that I went up to the castle and found Rachel sitting up on a tall, lone, rock tower thing, and the rest of the family scattered about enjoying the BEAUTIFUL sunset, breeze and wildflowers! We stayed up there for a while, climbing over the rocks and taking dramatic pictures, and then headed down for a pizza dinner a few doors from our bnb. Again the menu was only Polish, and this time we had no helpful guide. So we did our best, and of course it was more than satisfactory!
     Friday morning we packed up and began the drive to our next stop. Not too much to report; we enjoyed listening to P.G. Wodehouse, and looking at little Polish cottages and fields along the way. We stopped in a little town to buy lunch, and then brought it with us to a gas station next to a huge cornfield.

Evening at the farm.

Irene and I went to say hello to
these lovely fellows, and they
charged and bellowed at us.
I guess they were kinda hungry or just
extra friendly!

      When we got to where we were supposed to meet our host, we again had trouble connecting because of the lack of wifi, but eventually Dad sent a message and a kind, Polish man came and met us and guided us to his farm. When we arrived, a smiley woman came out of the house holding her phone and spoke into it in Polish. "A warmly welcome!" said the phone, and in we came. There is another Polish couple staying in the bnb here, and they know English, and so Mom and Dad had a nice conversation with them last night, and this morning our hosts served us all breakfast together--crepes, cheese, meat, tomatoes, plum jam, tea, and rolls.

Front view of the house, we had
the top floor.

     There are horses and sheep here, a trampoline and a little playground, many flowers and a beautiful garden. Last night Claire, Jacinta, Irene and I had fun jumping on the trampoline--it's been a long time since we've done that! Although nine people in one car for hours can sometimes be a little trying, I think it's a wonderful thing that we are all here together, learning how to enjoy where we are with who we're with!

Photos from the trip thus far!!!!!!!!

Day Trips

                                                                   Ruined Castles

We found a ruined castle on our way to Bratislava, about an hour drive from Trumau. It was a steep climb, but worth it. We could look down on the town we had just driven through, which was surrounded by an old wall and towers.

We managed to get a picture of us all, with the camera propped up on my bag. A little (or actually quite a ways...) further back and it would have toppled off a steep cliff. 

ONE of the many, neat areas of the castle at the top or our climb!

We got to Bratislava, found some lunch and proceeded to focus our attention on blending in and really experiencing the culture. How'd we do?

This castle is in Baden, only about 20 minutes from Trumau. It was really steep getting to the top, but one of my favorite spots we've found yet. I wanted to climb all over the walls, and the only restriction is Mom, and a sign that says, "Enter at your own risk." I plan on many more visits and study sessions here.

We went to Baden again and arrived in the park where all the Nobles used to go when they went to Baden from Vienna for the hot spring baths. (Baden means Baths in German) We arrived just in time for a lovely concert, and then explored the old town for a bit and found a water fountain. :)

Hi from Seattle!

The Quackenbush family in Grandma's garden

In the Old Spaghetti Factory in Seattle 

Chihuly Bridge in Tacoma

After our adventure through the air from LA through muggy Mosc stayed at a German hotel and saw our first burka, on a fellow traveller with gold bracelets.

We drove to northern Germany through rolling green hills and little red roofed villages, each with it's own church.

Brilon was so lovely, rainy on and off with beautiful big clouds and fresh air, ancient sturdy farmhouses and the best part: our friends from my stay in 1981. They seemed not changed a bit as far as I could tell, though the two girls are no longer 9 and 12 but rather married with children, all really delightful, intelligent people who spoke excellent English and were the most loving hosts.  Somehow they squeezed 19 people into their home, with attention to the tiniest details of our comfort.   The kids were pretty off-kilter from the time change, so we did a lot of lying around, but went to a fun concert in the town square in the evening, and also looked inside the Propsteikirche, built in the 1200's.  It has deep grooves on the outside pillars from sword sharpening during the various wars.

We are ' resting' today from our 10 hour drive to Trumau from Brilon.  We were welcomed by Gemma, Rosie, Joseph and Rosalie, who prepared the flat with flowers and beds all ready, and full to the brim with travel stories.  And puns.  Well that part is Joseph. This morning we went to a "Grossheurige", a festival where one can try out all the local "new " wines, to which Pater Edmund Waldstein invited us after Mass at the little church here. Laterwe walked a little distance from our flat to a creek to go swimmming (very cold) and for further rest Gemma and Rosalie are immitating crazy dancing rabbis from a movie they saw in Poland.

Family in Trumau!

                                                         Goodbye Rosalie and Joseph!

 

 Yesterday we said goodbye to the TACers, and had our first day with just the nine of us who will be here till next summer. Before the family arrived here in Trumau we had a few relaxed, quiet days with just the four of us WYD travelers, and we had a few skype sessions with the family, with faces from, Trumau, Brilon, New Hampshire and Pasadena. With Margaret in South Carolina we had family in BASICALLY every country in the world. (Not quite.)
     The day before Rosalie and Joseph had to leave for Paris we took a trip to Vienna with all but Jenny, Irene and Jakie. We walked about the "ring" that surrounds the old city, and saw lots of beautiful, old buildings. Of course Dad has been reading all about Vienna and the places we saw, and so did a wonderful job as leader/tour guide.

On our way to Vienna!

     After some confusion and exploration, we found out that our car is in fact barely short enough to fit in the parking garages right in the middle of the city, and that it is fairly inexpensive to park it there. Hurray! Many more Vienna visits to come. We parked right near the Parliament building where apparently Hitler used to go and listen to...whatever they did there...when he was a street artist in Vienna. 

Beautiful statues!

We went looking for St. Stephens, and it didn't take us too long.  It was a little hard to miss. 

Here it is!

Rosalie thought it was grand, but....

       

The rest of us expected it to
be bigger. 

   We got some ice-cream, or Eis, (Now we know how to say that in at least five languages,) and walked back to the car, stopping now and then, and then and again, and every minute or so to admire. There were horses and buggies everywhere, and once we made it to our car, the GPS brought us right back to horse and buggy central. Of all the slow moving vehicles to get stuck behind, it really wasn't a bad option. 

Trying to find the way back

Our day is complete. 

     We drove back to our apartment in time to walk to a little Austrian restaurant that Dad found on one of his exploration walks. It was a lovely evening, and we got to walk next to the beautiful river that runs by the ITI to get there. It was definitely an adventure--Mom and Dad did a great job speaking German to the waitress and the rest of us looked on in blissful ignorance. I find that it's rather nice to not have any idea what the menu says, because it's no easier to decide what to order when you can read it. Just cover your eyes and point!  Everyone was pleased with what they got, and we hope to return there many more times before our stay here is ended. 

Good find, Dad!

I was there too. :)

"How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?"

                                             
                                                            Hurray for Grandmas!
   
This is from several days ago, but the internet was being dumb so here it is now. :)

     Today was our second full day in Prague, and it has been such a blessed time! Unfortunately Rosalie finally came down with a fairly bad cold/fever that she's felt coming on for a few days, so she wasn't able to join us for our city explorations today, and Joseph has a feeling tomorrow may be the same for him. So Rosie and I locked them up in their respective rooms, figuring a few days on bread and water and no contact with us should cure them of their irresponsible ideas of getting sick on vacation. (Not quite all of that is true.)
     Saturday in Poland was the "pilgrimage to the vigil site," which was just about like it sounds! We walked about seven miles to a giant field where we had a vigil with the Pope. There were so many policemen along the way; when a spot got too backed up they would form a wall and not let anybody pass for a little while. They looked super cool and serious in their uniforms and funny hats, and it's really neat having so many people working together to keep everybody safe.

On our way! Rosalie took us a slightly longer,
but prettier way by the water. 

     Most people stayed overnight at the vigil site, but we came back to our airbnb because we had to leave the next morning. The vigil was really beautiful; we got to hear beautiful music and some testimonies from people around the world. One woman was from Syria and asked for prayers, sharing a little about the orphanage she works at there and what their life is like, and emphasizing how their trust in God is what keeps them going. Joseph found out how we could listen to the radio from our phones so we could hear the translation of the talks, and so this time we were able to understand the Pope and his message.

Near the end they passed out candles to the entire crowd and then sang the Chaplet of Mercy, each decade in a different language. Also, now we know how to say "Jesus, I trust in you" in Polish: "Jezu, ufam tobie." We sang that a lot, too. It was a little sad to have to leave before the vigil was over, but to comfort ourselves Rosie and I carried our lit candles with us as long as they lasted and threw balls of wax at Joseph on the way. I'm sure that comforted him, too.

      We arrived here in Prague Sunday afternoon. We weren't able to go to the final Mass with the Pope because our bus left at about the same time, but that also meant travelling here was smooth and not crowded--I'm sure it would have been a nightmare trying to leave at the same time as all the other pilgrims. We successfully caught our bus AND train without any difficulty, and had a lovely train trip through the Czech Republic to Prague. It rained off and on all the way, and was raining and cool when we arrived (a happy change from muggy/hot/rainy Poland.) We left some baggage at the train station and walked about the city a little bit, found dinner (a slightly less cheerful place than we were used to from our week in Poland, but still good,) and bought some ice-cream--always a necessary first move when getting used to a new country. After that we waited in a mall, (amusing ourselves by either exploring, reading, or knitting a hat,) and then met up with our wonderful friend from TAC, Misha. Misha is fluent in Czech and is spending part of her summer, as usual, with her grandma in Prague. Misha and her grandma have made a world of difference for us clueless Americans. As Joseph put it while we were sitting outside in the beautiful fresh weather, in their large, well-tended garden (where Misha's grandma, Eva, grows all the vegetables and fruit that make up every meal,) "Guys, it seems we have traveled to Europe, found a European house and a European grandma who wants to cook all our meals for us. I think we're well taken care of." In all our searches for "authentic--(enter country)--food," I think this wins the prize. We had plum dumplings for lunch yesterday, from the plum tree right outside our door.

     Besides wonderful hospitality, comfy beds, and delicious food, we also have a free tour guide. Misha has spent much of her life here in Prague and so knows her way about and has all sorts of fun, interesting historical facts to share about the city.  Following her lead we've been able to see much, much more (with a lot less walking because of her ease using the metro) than we were able to in Poland. Thank God for Misha! We've also been able to catch up on sleep (desperately needed,) and still have time for peaceful and beautiful walks with magnificent views of the city, and to see lots of beautiful and famous buildings and churches. (But not so many that it's overwhelming!) All that, and time to be back for meals and relaxing. I find that I manage to forget rather quickly exactly where we went and when, but some highlights were the walks I mentioned--today we spent some time in a rose garden above the city-- Mass at the church with the Infant of Prague on Monday, and Mass this evening at the Norbertine Abby nearby. We also got to cross the Charles bridge and watch the astronomical clock ring and change (I don't really know what it was doing... just that it does it every hour, and people come to see. ) Of course we made snarky comments the whole time and thoroughly enjoyed it. Misha says that the man who built it had his eyes poked out because the people of Prague liked it so much they didn't want him to build anything like it anywhere else. So after it finished moving, dinging and crowing... (I didn't notice the golden rooster crow but apparently it did,) Joseph said, "Yup. Definitely worth the eye-poking." I"m not so sure. But it was fun to watch!

On top of the St. Nicholas Tower
Joseph found the perfect Rosie catcher.

     Rosie and I have been practicing the Czech word for ice-cream, and we've almost gotten to the point where we can say it without ANY hints. Zmrzlina. I think that's it. Anyway, every hour or so Rosie informs us that it's time to get more of it, so I'm certain that by the end of our trip we'll have no trouble.

We found the narrowest street in Prague!

     One of my favorite things about being in Europe so far is the cobblestone streets. They make me feel like I'm in a Dickens story or something, and they look so beautiful, especially in the rain. Joseph, Rosie and I found our way to the Charles bridge again today, walked across it in the rain and then met Misha at a coffee shop on the other side. We got to walk for a while on a rainy, cheerful, narrow street full of people and fun shops on the way. We stopped to get some postcards, and the man who was selling them to us randomly gave us some for free (because of our beautiful smiles...or something like that.) That was a fun--and perhaps, as Rosie would say, creepy--little surprise!

     Tomorrow,  (Wednesday), we're going to get up early (for the first time since we got here) and go to Mass at the Prague Castle, and we're praying that Rosalie and Joseph will feel up to joining us after that for some more adventures.