Urbs aeterna

Nike has the slogan "Just do it." I don't know exactly what the implication about this is, but it would seem that the question isn't whether you should or shouldn't do something, but rather that why you're not doing something. In other words, "Just do it" and get it done. Live the experience. Take that step. Risk it. You'll probably not regret it.

About two months ago, I "just did it" and purchased a ticket to Rome. I was hesitating and trying to justify not going and so forth. But then I just decided that the opportunity may never be as good as the present to "Just do it," so I bought the ticket and made the reservation. Last Wednesday was when I left for Rome, and I returned on Sunday evening. What an adventure.

Upon arrival in Rome, I went to my hotel and dropped off my bags there. I stayed at the Hotel Panda on the recommendation of Mark Snyder who had stayed there a few years ago. His advice was not bad at all - quite the opposite, actually. The room had air conditioning, which was fantastic. I had to try that out for about ten minutes when I got there. Then I decided to take a little walk about "town." The place was fantastic. Hotel Panda is about a 2-minute walk from the Spanish Steps.

Spanish steps - a 2-minute walk from my hotel

From there, I walked to Santa Maria della Vittoria, the church where the Bernini statue of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa is housed. It was a beautiful church. The artwork and architecture was fantastic. Thanks to Jeff Bonsell for encouraging me to go there!

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria

The next day, I headed to the Vatican. On the way there, you have to pass Castel Sant'Angelo, the tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was the emperor that was responsible for building Hadrian's wall between Scotland and England - the northern-most border of the Roman empire. His tomb was featured prominently in Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I unfortunately didn't have time to go inside Castel Sant'Angelo. The building was nonetheless impressive. It's situated close to the Vatican - so close, that there is a foot passageway that connects it with the old papal apartments that was used to conduct the pope to Castel Sant'Angelo when the Vatican was under attack. The story of the Swiss guards is that, as Charles V attacked Rome in 1527, a total of 147 of the 189 guards died keeping the hostile forces from getting to Pope Clement VII and assuring him safe conveyance to Castel Sant'Angelo. Since then, the Swiss guards have been the official "Defenders of the church's freedom."

Castel Sant'Angelo - Hadrian's tomb and refuge for distressed popes

In the Vatican is, of course, St. Peter's square and basilica. It's even more impressive than any pictures can show. I got in line and went inside and took in the grandeur. Absolutely a marvelous sight.

The Vatican - St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica

Afterwards, I went down to the papal crypts and walk through them. Tourists are not permitted to take pictures as it's a sacred site and, more simply, respectful of the dead not to commercialize their final resting places. People were kneeling and praying at the grave of Pope John Paul II. His was a solid white marble slab while most of the other popes had sarcophagi with likenesses of themselves. After leaving the crypt, I took a tour of the Vatican museums which ended in the Sistine chapel. Tourists aren't allowed to take photos there as the Vatican sold the exclusive rights to photograph and film to one company to pay for particular projects it was running. The Sistine chapel is home of the painting depicting God and Adam almost touching index fingers. I wonder if there is a theological and/or interpretive meaning behind the fact that Adam hasn't quite touched God's fingertip...or perhaps it's a depiction of the moment right after the two are no longer touching. I wonder what significance might be construed from that. Interesting things to think about.

Section of the ceiling from the Sistine Chapel depicting God and Adam reaching out to one another

On Friday, I went to the Colleseum and the Roman Forum. To be completely honest, the Colleseum was a bit of a disappointment. It's much more impressive in pictures, the hype and anticipation of seeing of it are bound to let a person (me, at least) disappointed after being there. It's not as big as most stadium's I've seen before (although that's no reason not to be impressed by it), and it's mostly, more or less, a pile of stones that are assembled in stadium-like form. Nonetheless, I can say I've seen it now.

The Colleseum was a bit of a disappointment and the anticipation of seeing it somewhat overrates its splendor

The forum was impressive enough. It was fascinating to be in the place where so much history was made. There really isn't much more to say about it other than it's the remains of a lot of temples (pillars and marble flooring). The Circus Maximus is not really there anymore - what I saw of it, they were driving around with excavating equipment and digging up on it. It seems a shame to have such a historical place be ripped apart by modern machinery. I can say it (the Circus Maximus) was a lot bigger than I had imagined, but the forum was much smaller. The forum was much more compact and almost more cramp, than I had envisioned in my mind's eye. Interesting to have preconceptions voided and reality step in to correct that.

Not much really to talk about on Saturday. I went shopping and bought myself a few things along with a few things for other people. My hotel was ideally located for touristy shopping, so that was nice.

On Sunday morning, I went back to the Vatican to worship at St. Peter's basilica. Worship at 10:30 was in Latin. It was really quite an experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. It would be interesting if the Lutheran service from time to time for special occasions could be held in Latin. It gives worship a new sense of awe, wonder, and mystery.

The chapel of the Chair inside St. Peter's Bascilica

Coming home was where I ran into some problems. I had, upon arrival in Rome, purchased a ticket with a taxi from Leonardo Da Vinci airport directly to my hotel since the man told me that going with the train to the station would cost me (the Roma pass I had intended to buy wouldn't work between the city and the airport for the Leonardo Express), and he told me they would drop me off right at my hotel door. He also told me that they would pick me up if I called a day before I wanted to depart for the airport. I had brought my phone from Germany along with in case of emergencies, and the difference between the cost of two train tickets from Leonardo Da Vinci to Rome and the cost of the taxi ride was less than €10, so I thought it was a good deal. A lot more convenient and so forth. As it turned out, the taxi never picked me up at my hotel. As such, I had to take the subway to the central train station, and from there figure out how to get to the airport. This is where the "Just do it" slogan began to get problematic. It was no longer a game of "just doing it," as each time I was moving a step forward, more and more time between me and my flight was falling away. I did finally get to the airport, but only had 15 minutes to check in and make it to my gate. (I had originally told the taxi driver a time that would have given me 2 hours at the airport.) Thankfully, I made it through security uneventfully and found my gate no problem. In Frankfurt, after rearriving in Germany, the trains going in the direction of Marburg were canceled specifically for that day because of construction, so I had to wait a bit longer there. I had been running on so much adrenaline to that point that it was hard to settle down. I was frustrated. Finally, though, I arrived back in Marburg at around 11 o'clock, checked my emails, and went to bed.

It was a great trip to Rome. I would love to go back again, and now I know where I can stay for a reasonable rate and have friendly service and nice accommodations. Perhaps some day in the future I'll get the chance to go again.

If you'd like to see more pictures, you can see them here.

An Aestival Advent

Today is June 24. On July 24 I'm flying home. Roughly four weeks, so I figured calling this an "aestival advent" seemed appropriate. I also liked the assonance - it's catchy. It's hard to imagine that in a month, I'll be on my way home. I've got a lot of do and accomplish before coming home in a month. The past few days are a good example of how busy I've been recently and how busy I'll be in the upcoming weeks ahead.

On Tuesday, I accompanied Amanda - a friend from Millersville - and a few other Millersville students to Cologne to visit her parents who are doing a cruise down the Rhein. Cologne is home to a magnificent cathedral, started in 1248 but not completely finished until 1880.

Der Kölner Dom - The Cologne Cathedral
The cathedral's claim to fame is the that it houses an ossuary shrine for the Three Kings. I remember reading a book about the golden box that allegedly contains their bones (fiction), and having the chance to visit made that seem a bit more "alive."

The Golden ossuary shrine of the Three Kings in the Kölner Dom
The cathedral wasn't as I pictured it in my mind, but it was nonetheless fantastic. And being so close to the bones of the magi was in and of itself a thrill - even if I don't get points in heaven for doing so. (It's hard to believe that the bones are actually interred there, but it's fun to think about anyhow.)

As for the rest of the city of Cologne, it was a bit of a disappointment. I find Marburg to be a lot nicer. The Allies bombed Cologne in WWII, and since it's been rebuilt. You can tell that from way the city looks today. It's rather "modern" and lacks the German charm that a lot of other cities have. Frankfurt is a lot nicer, in my opinion. Germans whom I tell that I find Frankfurt nicer that Cologne say that it's simply because the skyline in Frankfurt resembles an American skyline. As a play on this fact, Frankfurt is called Mainhatten, given the fact that it's full name is Frankfurt am Main and that it's the financial nerve center of Germany and has an "American" skyline. I can't particularly see the American skyline, but it's a nice city nonetheless. (Apropo: I'll be heading to Mainhatten on Saturday with Amanda and Mike from Millersville to do some shopping!)

Wednesday was a day for soccer, and I'll refer you to the post below to see how that all turned out. Because of yesterday's results, the United States will be playing Ghana on Saturday. My British friend Rob and I wanted to go for a drink and discuss politics, philosophy, theology, etc. on Saturday evening, but we decided we'll forgo the discussion and watch the game. It'll be shown wherever we go for a drink anyhow, we'll be doing half of what we planned. On Sunday, the Germans play England, and I'm going to Julia's house to watch the game with her and our friend Kate. I'm planning on wearing red, yellow, and black and a hat with the German flag. Of course, since it's Wednesday, I'll be having Erdbeerschnitten. I'm getting enough for us all at Julia's house and taking it to have Kaffee (see post below) with them. It'll be quite the institution!

I'm looking forward very much to coming home in a month, but I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to the friends that I've made here. If I could only take them along so that I could have my family and friends all in one place, it would be the best of both worlds - but alas, that is not to be...before coming home, I'm headed in Rome on July 7-11. That's less than two weeks away now...a week after that trip, I'm headed to Venice with some of the others from Millersville from July 19-22. Matteo wants to come visit us while we're there. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. He's already put in a request for Metterwurst (great spread on bread - seriously!!). After returning from Venice, I'll be in Marburg for one day to take care of a very long list of things before coming home on July 24. And of course, there is academia that has to be fitted into the cracks that are left in that travel schedule. On Monday I want to hand in a paper on Luther's hymn compositions and on Tuesday a paper about Heinrich Böll's "Anecdote for the Decrease in Work Morale." I'll also have a big test in Old Testament and have to give a presentation with another student on the Corinthians as a church community in New Testament during the week after returning from Rome. That's how the academic schedule looks for the remainder of my time here. Please keep me in your prayers for the remainder of my time here as I travel about and try to make some academic progress at the same time!

Yes, We can!!

I went to a biergarten yesterday with a contingent of other Americans - some of whom I got to know here in Marburg and others from Millersville - to watch the US vs. Algeria game of the World Cup. It was the last game in the qualifying round, and surprisingly the US was playing well this year. Normally, we are considered a poor team against the likes of other, "soccer" nations. But we were gifted a goal in our first game against England, and since, we're really picked up our game. If it wouldn't have been for that freebie goal from our good friends across the pond, we wouldn't be where we are now.

Anyhow...we went to the biergarten, and the game ran it's course of 90 minutes. Neither Algeria nor the US scored a goal in the whole game (Well, I lie. We scored a goal, but the ref wouldn't count it for the US - "offsides..."). But because of procedural stuff during the game, playtime was extended another four minutes. And then it happened!



In the first minute of additional playtime, the US scores a goal! The Americans erupted when they saw it happen. (Some beer might have gone flying too...) Screaming, shouting, clapping, laughter...it was great. It was a good moment to be an American. I was even a bit proud. Yes, we can!! The guy running the biergarten started to play "Born in the USA" a few moments after the goal - and the Americans started to join in with the chorus.

Good times. Good times. The Germans take the World Cup very seriously. They hosted it last time in 2006 and since then, they have been very patriotic about their country in matters of soccer. Last night, Germany played against Ghana. They scored too, so that means they'll advance to the next round. I went with Julia to watch the game at one of her friend's house, and we had a great time there as well. Julia and I had to take the bus to head back to Marburg, and the city was chaotic. Downtown was shut and the streets were blocked off - people were hanging out of car windows, waving German flags, blowing Vuvuzelas, playing bullhorns. Car horns honking, people screaming. You name, it was happening. Julia and I were waiting for her bus at the train station when we heard a car put on its breaks for the red light. It lost control and skidded onto the curb - sparks and all. Julia and I decided it was safer to move ourselves from the edge of the street back closer to a restaurant beside the train station. Along come the police after few minutes later to do whatever it is that they do when that happens. It looked like so many laws were being broken, the police just gave up and left it happen!

It was a good day - a US and German victory. Wouldn't it be ironic if we both proceeded to the finale?!

Kaffee mit Erdbeerschnitten!

I love to eat this for my Sunday routines here in Germany. I piece of this cake with a pot of Earl Grey is a fabulous way to spend Sunday afternoon!!

Erdbeerschnitten

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
6 TBSP hot water
1 TSP vanilla
1 TBSP baking powder
1 pint strawberries

Preparation
Mix egg yolks with 2/3 cup sugar until foamy. Add water a little bit at a time.
Beat egg whites until peaks form, add the rest of the sugar, and continue to beat until it becomes firm and sticky.
Sift flour, vanilla, and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture. Carefully fold egg whites into the entire mixture, and pour into a baking pan fitted with paper.
Halve strawberries and divide over the batter. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
Do not open the oven in the first 20 minutes.

A German tradition is to have Kaffee in the afternoons. Since that isn't always logistically possible for people during the week, Sundays tend be the time when people do it. It's when you sit down at about 4:00 and have a piece of cake with coffee - simple enough, I suppose. It's quite an institution here. One which we might think about adopting..!

Una visita a casa del mio amico Italiano Matteo!!

(Translation: A visit at home with my Italian friend Matteo!!)

This past Wednesday, I departed on an adventure - namely, on a little excursion to Milan, Italy to visit my friend Matteo and his family. Summed up simply, the experience was phenomenal, but I'd surmise that you all might like to know a bit more about what all Matteo and I undertook while I was on the other side of the Alps!

Adventure it was! I flew for the first and the last time with Ryanair...it's a discount airline based in Dublin, Ireland, and it's not known for it's customer service. I had a lot of stress predeparture (in Marburg!) that I had already made up my mind before even setting foot in the airport that I wasn't going to fly with Ryanair again. But anyhow...my flight was scheduled to depart at 8:35 PM from Frankfurt-Hahn, which isn't Frankfurt International Airport. From Marburg, I have to take the train to Frankfurt and then take a bus from the main train station to Frankfurt-Hahn. The bus ride is scheduled to take only one hour and forty-five minutes (That's longer than the flight from Hahn to Milano...), but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first problem happened pre-train-departure in Marburg. I left my room - after having a comfortable morning with friends in Marburg - with plenty of time to buy a stamp and put a postcard in the mailbox at the train station. I was strolling along thinking about what Italy might be like when it hit me - I had forgotten my camera. I thought, "Well, I guess I won't have pictures of Milano," but then I thought how much I'd hate myself for that in the end, and - more importantly - how much my father would wring my neck if I didn't document every moment. So...I turned around and bolted (This I really did...) back to Studentendorf. This means something because I had already descended the Pasternakstraße - a street that goes maybe a tenth of a mile at a 90-degree angle (okay...I exaggerate a bit there, but it is very, very steep...), and I did this all carrying my backpack and pull-along suitcase...My heart felt like it was going to explode when I got to the top of the hill, and then I had to climb up the six flights of stairs to my room, grab the camera, and get back to the train station...even when I'm going quickly and am unencumbered by luggage, it takes about 20 minutes to get to the train station from my room. I had 15 minutes left...God was with me though, and at the gate to Studentendorf there was a Minicar - a sort of taxi. I jumped in and made it to the train station in time...and the train was even 5 minutes late.

Everything went smashingly to Frankfurt. I found the bus to Frankfurt-Hahn, paid my €12 ticket, and boarded. Traffic was horrible - we were already late when we picked up the remaining passengers at the second stop in Frankfurt, and the traffic only got worse as we headed toward Hahn. And then things went still farther south...the driver takes the the bus into a rest stop, gets out, and doesn't tell us on the bus what's going on. We're all already worried we're going to miss flights because of traffic, but now we're stopped for no apparent reason - at least to us, that is. Someone gets out and asks what's going on and is told that the bus ran out of water...a replacement bus came about 20 minutes later, and we made it to Hahn just as the gates were closing for my flight...there were people who were on the bus for flights whose gates had already closed, and I don't know what happened with them. I was so shook up from the excitement about being almost late that the plane ride was making me sick - the interior of a Ryanair plane is a bright yellow, and it wasn't helping things either. And then we when we were starting our initial descent into Bergamo, the plane started to hit turbulence...and I was happy I hadn't had anything to eat for a couple of hours because I was really feeling sick. I'd never felt so happy to be out of a plane as I did that day. I normally like to fly...

After that series of mishaps, I met Matteo at the airport, and he took me to his home to meet his family and drop of my stuff. We went for pizza - original Italian pizza. It was great just to talk to him again, and his family was more than gracious. I can confirm that the stereotype about Italians being gracious hosts.

The following day, Matteo and I explored the city of Bergamo, the city where Matteo actually lives. In the evening we went for a walk (taking the opportunity to eat gelato..!) around the city at night. It's quite a site from the citta alta, which translates into Oberstadt, or "upper city."

The citta alta in Bergamo, Italy
I point out what it's called in German because Marburg has an Oberstadt, which makes it somewhat special in the whole scheme of German cities. The citta alta does the same for Bergamo.

On Friday, we took the train to Milan to see Matteo's university and to see the cathedral there. The cathedral is much nicer from the outside - inside it's actually rather drab, dark, and - for a Catholic church - barren.

The cathedral in Milano, Italy
I had gelato again while in Milano before heading home to have dinner a fresco with Matteo's family and his cousin who brought - guess... - gelato(!) for dessert.

On Saturday, Matteo and I took it easy in the morning, having exhausted ourselves in Milano the day before. In the afternoon, we went to the mall in Bergamo. People come from all over Europe to go shopping in the this particular mall. While I was there, I found some nice shoes with the stamp "Made in Italy" that I might have to look up online to get myself. It'd be nice to have something "classy" for my wardrobe "Made in Italy."

Sunday was my departure and return for Germany. The flight home was uneventful - Thanks be to God! The bus trip to Frankfurt main train station and the train trip back to Marburg were as well. When I got back to my room, I was so exhausted, I took a nap for about 2 hours...(Such isn't really much of a deviation from my normal Sunday activities, but this time I really needed it!)

You can see more pictures of the trip here. Just click on the image and the next one should come up automatically!!

Having spent time staying with Matteo and his family, I can say that I have a better idea of how Italians really live. A much better idea than I would have had I stayed in a hotel or hostel. I'm blessed to have had this opportunity, and I thank Matteo and his family for their kind hospitality in welcoming me into their home!

Changing Political Landscape

The United States is not the only country where political turmoil is happening - the financial crisis has people unsettled the globe over - well...at least in the major "first world" countries, that is.

Germany tends to be center-right country, and the current government reflects that. It is governed by coalition of the conservative CDU and the more liberal FDP. The FDP is a rather small party in the whole scheme of things in German politics, but in the last election at the end of last summer, they pulled off almost 16% of the vote - categorically making them kingmakers in a system where coalition building is more or less necessary in order to form a governable majority. In elections since the one at the end of the summer in several states across the country, the FDP has lost significantly...but so has the CDU. The other major party - the SPD - has lost as well, but it has been polling better than it had at the end of the summer. Enough about that...it's confusing, and I don't understand it all that too well to begin with. I just know that Germans are upset with the status quo...much like a lot of other people in the world too (cf. USA and Great Britain).

Last week political history was made in the state of Hessen when governor Roland Koch stepped aside.

Ex-Hessian governor Roland Koch

It was a blow to Berlin since he was a member of the governing CDU party. Like a lot of politicans, Koch wouldn't admit that it was because he had lost the goodwill of the people that he was quitting, but "'The time was ripe for Koch to resign,' said Oskar Niedermayer, political science professor at the Free University in Berlin. 'He was too much of a polarizing figure to make it further. And after losing his absolute majority in 2008 but managing to hold onto power, he was afraid about the next election.'" Read more here.

Today, another blow comes for Chancellor Angela Merkel when President Horst Köhler announces his resignation. Although the office is largely ceremonial, it's just another series of setbacks for the government in Berlin. One more issue that Merkel has to deal with. It will be interesting to see how things play out. Thirty days from now, Germany will have a new president, even though it doesn't mean too much in the whole scheme of things. The Chancellor is the true leader of the country. Nonetheless, it livens up the news a bit and makes life a bit less boring!

Seemless in Germany...Problematic at Home

So...things have been good as far as Germany is concerned, but "regular" life problems seem to have cropped up. It goes without saying that my current life situation will affect areas of my academic life in Millersville, but as of the present, things are slightly more complicated than they should be - as far as I'm concerned.

I filled out my FAFSA when I was home at Easter, and because Frank changed jobs a few times and got unemployment, and because my mother started to work this year, it wasn't as simple as it had been in previous years. That said, it was not new that the school wanted to audit my FAFSA since they've done it the past three times that I've filled it out. My inclination is that if your "Expected Family Contribution" (EFC) is below a specific amount, then you're automatically "randomly" selected to be audited. I can see that - we don't want people to cheat the system. It's just the fact that I didn't like being lumped into the "possibly dishonest" crowd simply because my family's income is a bit less than might be considered enough to foot the college bill. I wonder how many other people get audited...anyhow, that has been an ongoing project and has continued since I've come back to Germany. I forgot to sign paperwork for the audit - had to mail that from Germany. My parents needed to send specific stuff in - had to explain that to them. The school realized something else was needed - had to talk with my parents again. When all is said and done, because Frank receive unemployment income this past year, his regular income seemed inflated...and that makes my EFC higher...no matter it was unemployment income...it was income...and that's what is used to compute the EFC - my income and my parent's income.

More school problems related to study aboard have arisen as well. Directly after getting back from the US to Germany, I took care of my grades from last semester. The Office of Global Education at Millersville sent me an email a few days later to indicate they received my transcript. That was more than a month ago, and as of yesterday, there is no change to reflect this on my transcript at Millersville. I talked with the Registrar's office yesterday, and they weren't sure what's happening. They entered some grades from Germany a few days ago, but don't know why mine weren't entered. At any rate, mine aren't posted yet, and that bothers me because this affects my financial aid because I need to make "Academic Progress" in order for my aid to come through...if the grades don't get posted, that just means more paperwork for me.

But...life really is going well here in Germany. This semester is going a lot better than last. I'm busier, which is a huge plus and a huge positive! And the weather has massively improved - for the most part. Last Saturday, Elisa - a friend from Italy - and I went to Göttingen for the day. It rained the whole time we were there - of course. It was a nice trip though even though it rained for the second time that I'd been in Göttingen. I did take a picture of a fantastic pastry shop while I was there. It's not unusual for Germany, but the picture turned out better than most when I try to photograph through the glass.


A Konditerei in Göttingen

I trust and pray that everything is going well for people at home. I keep in touch my parents, sister, and - of course - Grandma regularly, and they haven't reported anything too horrible, so I assume that the little world of central Pennsylvania hasn't fallen to pieces without me to there to hold them together!!