..........Warsaw continued

a little more about my time in Warsaw.
i spent most days riding bicycles around the city. the hostel had free ones for us to borrow. i was able ride almost the entire city. most of it had to be rebuilt because intense destruction.  90% of the town was destroyed in the second world war. There was an uprising in 1944 by the Polish people, which was thwarted by almost total annihilation of the entire city. Warsaw was home to one of the largest Jewish ghettos during the war. all that is left is a 20 foot section of brick. the older generation doesn't want to talk about the war, the younger generation is ignorant to it. im not entirely sure what the political and economical situations are like in Poland but the gap between the wealthy and poor was very evident.

i had an interesting experience while i was in Warsaw. we went to church on Sunday morn. just a normal International church, so we could hear a sermon in English. there was about a dozen people in the pews. the pastor went up to the pulpit and, at least in my eyes, incorrectly presented the message of the Gospel. i have never been more frustrated with a sermon in my life. what if someone who had never heard the news of Jesus had come in and heard the sermon? i didnt know what to do so i walked (its what i do when i think). i walked into a Catholic church down the road, and sat and watched the Poles. the reverance everyone had was amazing. Polish people would walk up to the front, kneel, pray, and often cry. i wanted the God these Polish Catholics had, not the God of the church i just came from. i didnt know what to do, so i walked up to the people kneeling and begin praying for them. i speak English, they speak Polish; technically i was speaking in tongues. i felt alive, i felt happy. i knew i was being used by God.
from old women kneeling on pews to grown men kiss pictures of Mary and Jesus, i witnessed an evident love. candles were lit to commerate something im not really sure. but i watched them burn.

'like a dripping candle burning out before reaching the floor. yellow, hard, cold, the wax is no longer glowing and maleable'

will we burn out before reaching the floor? we must keep our wax glowing.
(sounds corny but i like the analogy)

Warsaw Was Raw

get it....

arriving in Warsaw, i realized that the city would be totally different than any of the previous ones. most of the train station was under construction and no one we could find spoke english, so the town had a rather incomplete feeling to it. i kind of felt this way the entire trime we were there. we had to locate our hostel though the confusion and the Iron Maiden fans (everyone seemed to be one). we finally arrived far past midnight and were greated by a very strange individual. he was the owner and he had an awesome Dreadhawk (jealousy) and the walls decked out in posters the screamed anarchy and veganism. some would say he was a hippie. the only thing i saw him wat the whole time was bread and organic butter.............................

Finishing Berlin

its been a while since Berlin but ill finish up with what happened there. the last day we were there, we went to on a walking tour of the city. at the end we went to a place called the East Side Gallery. it was a couple hundred yard long portion of the Berlin wall. on the east side, the once communist side, it was been graffitied to the extreme. on the west side, the free side, it is painted white like how the communists used to have it. the alternate depicting on each side shows how the people have been liberated. since it was out last night Berlin, a few of us went out to a German club. Germany is the electronic capitol of the world, they know how to robo boogie. we didnt get out of there until 2 and by then the trains had shut down so we had no way to get back to our hostel. we found two nice dressed German women and asked them for assistance. they spoke english well. summerized: we spent an hour and a half riding the German bus system totally trusting these Gereman women. as thanks we taught them cultural jargon of America. we didnt get back to our hostel until 4, by then the sun was beginning the raise its eyelids, so i decided i might as well watch the sun come up over this foreign city.
i managed to get 3 hours of sleep because we had to be at the train station at 8 to catch a train to Warsaw Poland (out last stop before Norway). the earlier train ended up being sold out, apparantly Warsaw is a popular place for pentecost. leaving around 17:00, we spent the train ride reading and discusing the mentalities of European people. we didnt realize how different Poland was going to be. we were in the country side by the time the sunset hit and it was a sight to behold. perhaps the best grand-finale to a day i have ever seen, it resembled a 3d Van Gogh painting. blue-pink-orange-purple all swirled like Italian dressing. its not every day you are able to watch the sun come up and go down in two seperate countries. it was one of the most memorable days i have had so far. there is more stories about Poland to come.

Thanks

to all my followers. you guys are very encouraging. smiley face

The Miner Details

thought of a joke earlier today; not sure if it is offensive
'why should you not ask Germans for directions?......because they always tell you to take the Third Right'

currently i am staying in the town of Berlin. one of the up and coming art capitals of the world. just yesterday a city wide art exibition opened up for the public to see. it uses the city as a media for the expression....mind bomb.
so i already mentioned Kitna Hora. but Prague is one of the seven mysterious mysteries of the world, self appointed. it is the most beautiful cities i have been to. the train ride from Prague to Berlin is also one of beauty expressed though nature and the adaptability of man. people found a way to buld century old cities right into the cliffs that drop straight to the river. its a good honey moon location,.....anybody? in Prague we met a wheaton alum that was working at a local christian school and hung out with us for two nights that last night we were there he had us over to his house and we made him spaghetti. mom i made you proud. dont underestimate the power combination of kindness and italian food. he had some very encouraging words for us as he did the same program we are currently on. Prague is actually in Bohemia.

today in Berlin, we happened across a breakdance movie being shot. i tried to sneak my way into the background. im a celebrity over here. i had to split  from the group for awhile as i needed to think and it is hard for me to do that with people around. God puts very odd things on your heart whenever you dont expect it. ah yes and we went to the jewish memorial today. makes u think about right and wrong and dreidels.
hey coleman and hannah
do you want anything

Dead Churches

today's adventure
Kitna Hora, a church designed with the bones of 50000 humans that died during the plague. About an hour outside Prague, this little town lead to many surprises. I met a fellow Dallas resident and an Arkansas man who tagged along for the day. People are very friendly and most embrace adventure. The church was mysterious and is meant to bring man back to his mortality. If i die please make me into a nighttable. But i wont mind being a TP holder either.

The city of inspiration

When traveling from Germany to Austria make an effort to look out the windows. You will glimpse the large bedded sandstone cliffs that have been home people for hundreds of years. The locals learned how to utilize the cliffs and built their houses into the cliffs and coves along the river which gives the area a feeling unlike that in most Europe. It's bonkers. Upon. Arival in Vienna and a quick gift of money to some lost vermont boys we went to our hostel. Walking the streets I could hear mozarts sweet symphonies forming in my head. Vienna has harbored the likes of mozart, beethoven, schubert, Brahms, Freud, and now a suburban goof from Texas. Basically, there are classy people in Vienna. Who else does a city wide waltz on new years eve. I spent most of the day at the natural history museum, which had great tourmaline specimins. Make note to buy a ticket for he subway or else you have to pay seventy euro to a man that is dressed like a normal citizen. He was legitimate but it was a frustrating experience. Made some improved spaghetti. Interaction with people is difficult because of the language barrier. The city is filled with tourists but moat places were closed because the church was celebrating the ascension of Jesus. Tomorrow we are off to Prague which everyone raves about.
Love you David

Destination Austria

about to board a trian to Austria. i get seven hours to watch a movie about the contry side. the beaty of Dresden was a surprise. I spent most of my time walking around and watching the German people, eat and drink and drink and eat. its a different life style over here. i tried speaking German at the grocery store we went to. i must be good at telling German jokes because every time i said something, someone would laugh at me. weathers great, feeling really warm. thanks Al Gore.