Notes from Taize...

I have arrived safely at my final destination. (If you're unfamiliar with Taize, check out taize.org)

I was welcomed with a warm, simple meal and the company of people from different parts of the world (albeit, most people come from Germany or The Netherlands).

We gather for prayer 3 times a day, and in between we share meals, conversation and reflections on Bible passages as well as our own faith journeys.

Thus far, my impression is a positive one.

At times it seems like summer camp.
At times it seems like home.

I am taken by and thankful for the opportunity to gather so often in prayer, and I am inspired by the form in which it is carried out.

One of the brothers here said that he came to Taize many years ago searching for answers, and he ended up with even more questions. Of course, this seems to be the natural progression of a spiritual journey and I am thankful to be at this point on the road.
The dialogue that exists between us is what seems to keep us moving forward.

Many blessings!

Alles Richtig Gemacht.

It`s quite difficult to properly describe the last week.

It has been filled with a joy that certainly matches the trouble that I experienced throughout the fall. And it truly proves that we need darkness in order to appreciate the light.

During the past week I spent a great deal of my time smiling - feeling truly incredulous about all of the blessings in my life.

On Tuesday I ate breakfast by a glacier lake with Thorsten.

And then I had pizza for lunch.

In Italy.

Unbelievable.

In the afternooon I met up with Lucia in Bad Tolz... we then headed to Munich for dinner and an incredible jazz tango show with Joachim, Tobias, Corrinne and Nick.

The wonder of it all continued with a lovely stay at Corrinne and Nick`s apartment, and then of course a German sauna.

German saunas are completely different from Canadian saunas and they don`t involve bathing suits.

And then of course, we had to have a candlelight swim, complete with an outdoor pool and champagne in the middle of Alps.

Life is beautiful.

On Thursday I headed to Zurich and met up with a colleague who quickly became a friend.

My last year of high school I headed to New York City with my friend Stephanie. We toured the United Nations and met a lovely young man from Switzerland.

He and I kept in touch over the last few years, he translated my German and Italian songs and I tried to keep him updated on life in Canada.

Of course, I`m not someone to miss out on a chance to visit someone in Zurich...

So, Manuel engineered a brilliant plan to try to ensure that I saw as much of Switzerland as possible.

Zurich, Lucern, Interlaken, Wengen, Bern...mountains and lakes, traditional Swiss food and Swiss banking...

But I think that perhaps I enjoyed the company the most!

Oh yes...the breathtaking moment for Friday goes to Jungfrau, the highest peak in Europe.

Friday evening I met up with Anna. She kept me up until very late watching a rock concert.

Today we toured Basel, happened upon a rehearsal for a choral concert, stood in 3 different countries at once and ate at the Blinde Kuh.

Unbelievable. All of the servers are blind and you eat in total darkness. I think that it will take me a little more time to reflect on such an experience. For now, all that I can say is unbelievable.

As has been the case throughout my travels, my welcome in Switzerland has been incredibly warm and I will be sorry to leave. I`m so thankful for the opportunity to visit and get a taste of where other people `come from`.

And tonight I`ve kept Anna up late so that I can post to my blog and post pictures to webshots (webshots.com, search for haleystravels).

Tomorrow. Retreat.

Guten Nacht.

Haley.

...never met a Joachim I didn`t like...

Since my last post, I`ve traveled from

Amsterdam (where I finished up my tour of the red light district and shared a lovely Valentine`s dinner with my host Ramon)

to Munster (where I delighted in the company of Jenny, Joana and Daniel -we drank Jack`s homemade dandelion wine -imported all the way from Cape Breton, we celebrated a birthday and we danced and danced and danced)

to Munich (where I took the train to because I slept through the station where I was supposed to get off the night train...)

to Schwabmunchen (for plenty of good food -as usual- with Lucia`s family)

to Kochel (a small town in Bavaria that has proven to be absolutely amazing! Lucia and I are staying with friends Angi and Bene. Last night Ange invited me to tag a long with her to her choir practice. It`s something very special to realize that singing is such a universal art, and I felt very welcomed and content as we sang together. Afterwards we sang and drank beer at a local Bavarian restaurant, I chatted with a cabinet maker who has been to Canada over 10 times- mostly hiking in such northern places as the MacKenzie Trail, and a man who makes window blinds-I`ve never met a person who makes window blinds before!
They both paid for my beer and apfelkuchen, and then another of the choir members offered to show me around the region today! Unbelievable!!

The weather has been beautiful since I arrived in Germany, and I`m so thankful for the generosity and kindness that I`ve encountered.

Life is rich!

Alleluia!!

"In Amsterdam the water is the mistress and the land the vassal..."

..."throughout the city there are as many canals and drawbridges as bracelets on a Gypsy's bronzed arms..."

I arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon.
Since then it seems as though I have been doing a "sketchy pub crawl" through this interesting city...
Please forgive my naivete...this afternoon as I was meandering through the streets and between the canals, I looked up and noticed a very-close-to-naked woman standing in her window.
"That's funny..." I thought "...she must have forgotten to close her curtains..." I continued on, and yet another woman was standing in her window very-close-to-naked.
"That's funny..." I thought "...perhaps they don't have curtains in Amsterdam..."
And. Then. I. Noticed. The. Red. Lights.

Riiiiiiight. Of course. The red lights. Very rarely does my meandering take me into such sordid districts, but seeing as a great deal of Amsterdam is taken up by the Red Light District , I believe it was an honest mistake.
Still... I think that my mother would insist that we buy those poor girls some curtains for their windows...and perhaps some housecoats!

The weather here has been dreary, and while I saw an interesting exhibit at the Nieuwe Kerk called "Hidden Afghanistan" and toured through the Anne Frank House, I'm incredibly thankful to have a 'home' to return to at the end of the day.
This is my first attempt at couchsurfing, and my host is amazing!
Several years ago, he did a tour around the world under the guise ''Let me stay for a day'' (you can check out the website). So now he's paying back the favour, and aside from his one crazy cat (the other just sits next to me while the crazy one runs around) the stay is perfect.
A beautiful flat that overlooks the water, my own key, and a very comfy couch.

Now that I've oriented myself I think that tomorrow will be filled with even more adventure!

tot ziens
Haley

Paris. Jour 2 et 3

-Sunday morning mass at St. Eustache (beautiful classical music with organ and full choir!)

-a looooong walk with a 23kg backpack, and finally arrival at my hostel!

-meander through the streets of Paris

-Mosque de Paris (just the outside)

-Jardin des Plantes (not too many plants this time of year!)

-Le Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes -that's right! A zoo!! And there were big cats, and alligators, and lots of chevres (that's goats!)

-meander along the Seine

-crepe with chocolat au maison

-more meandering, and then I met up with an Algerian computer technician.

We wandered to...

-the Pantheon

-le quartier Latin

-back and forth along the bridges, and finally watched the light show on the Eiffel tower

-crepe dinner in the Latin Quarter

-and then home to my hostel, with Julene, Marcello, and Lucas (a Venezulan choir director, a Chilean doctor and a Brazilian student)

Monday, Monday....

-tried to visit the Catacombs, but they were closed :(

-walked, and walked and walked...

-Eglise St. Sulpice

-Eglise St. Germain de pres

-all the way along the Seine


-Seine boat tour



-Eiffel Tower!!!!!!







-a delicious crepe with Nutella


-back home to my lovely hostel mates!

Paris. 1 Jour.

(In point form, because I couldn't find a cybercafe yesterday!)

-Longest line EVER for the RER from the airport.

-Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

-Great hotel (thanks for the recommendation Melissa!)

-As per many of my travels, I walked and walked and walked.

-St. Eustache

-La Louvre (just the outside, because they say that you need 9 months straight to see the entire museum)

-Champs d'Elysses (where I sat on a bench to eat a baguette and was accosted by a Parisian Jehovah's witness. 'Do you know Jesus?' she asked. 'Yes' I replied. 'Do you read the bible?' 'Yes' I replied. 'Do you know that one of God's names is Jehovah?' 'Yes' I replied. 'Au revoir' she said. I suppose I wasn't a very good audience for her)

-bought a mobile phone. Ooooh!! Now I have a mobile phone from Paris!!

-L'Arc de Triomphe (of course, I didn't go to the top, because I would have had to pass back by the guy selling paintings who tried to hit on me the first time through)

-and then I wandered (that's usually my favourite part)

I had walked all the way from the 1eme rondissement to the 17eme. Then I took the metro to Montmartre, looked at Sacre Coeur from a distance, wandered a bit more, and headed back to my hotel.

As usual, the most interesting part of the first day was all of the people I met. Parisians who helped me find my way, corrected my pronounciation of 'tartelette aux framboises',

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.”

And so it is.

The latest journey begins, here is the tentative itinerary:

8Feb-12Feb Paris
12Feb-14Feb Amsterdam
14Feb-16Feb Munster
17Feb-20Feb Munchen
20Feb-22Feb Zurich
22Feb-24Feb Basel
Then Geneva and
24 Feb -2 Mar Taize

Whew.