I'm tired of packing

My guest room doesn't look quite this bad, but it is getting very full of boxes. A German missionary couple will be staying in my apartment while I'm in the States and so I'm packing up everything from my bedroom (that I'm not taking home with me) and other personal items, as well as emptying one of my bookcases in case they need it.

I'm also trying to pack my suitcases for my journey home. I'm taking home some extra things this time (mostly clothes) to leave there as I don't need them all here. I'm hoping that will make my luggage much lighter in the future, but this time I will probably end up paying extra baggage fees. I'm flying Lufthansa and, for now, they still allow 2 bags per person on long-haul flights, but I'm anticipating that will change in the future so I'm trying to prepare for it now.

I'll be glad when all this packing is done and I'm on my way home.

A few England photos

I just realized that this is probably a silly exercise since you can go to my Picasa album and see all the photos, but it gives me an excuse to blog and I need all the help I can get in that area. So here are a few photos from the end of my trip and you can see the rest here.

One of the taller portions of Hadrian's wall, at least what's left of it. It is thought that it was originally about 15-20 ft. tall.

A very common sight in Cumbria.The remains of one of the buildings (the graineries) at the site of Housesteads Roman Fort.

One of the Starbucks in York (the one with the most character).

The Minster in York

Derwent Water, near Keswick, in the Lake District.

I am so grateful for the generosity of some folks in the States that made this trip possible. It was wonderful! I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

More Vacation Photos

I said I would post some more photos, so here are a few from my time in Poland. I had a great time hanging out with my friend, Alice. She showed me the sights and we watched movies and ate popcorn and enjoyed each other's company. Thanks, Alice!

The basilica in Katowice.

H2O - site of future English camps.

Auschwitz - a very sobering experience

The Church of the Virgin Mary (on the Market Square in Krakow)

The cathedral on the castle grounds on Wawel Hill in Krakow.

As I said in my last post, you can see the rest of my Poland photos in my Picasa web album. I'll try to get some photos of England up in the next couple of days.

Vacation

Due to the generosity of some friends in the States, I am enjoying a wonderful vacation. I was in Germany last week visiting missionary friends. I'll post a few photos here and you can go to my web album if you want to see more.

Wiesbaden Cathedral

Heidelberg Castle

One of many such bears in Berlin.

The Berlin Cathedral.

I'm in Poland now visiting another missionary friend. I will post some more photos soon.

Barcelona - The motorbike capital of Europe?

When I was in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago with a visitor from the U.S., we took the bus tour together. I had never done it and was curious about where it went and what kinds of things you could learn. Well, one of the things we learned is that Barcelona has the most motobikes, per capita, of any city in Europe. If you've ever been in Barcelona, you can believe it! This photo could be duplicated on almost every street in town. And as you can see by looking a little closer, there are lots of bikes on the street as well.