Sooo, we got this nifty little app on Ana's Iphone that helps us a lot when trying to figure out where we are going and how we are getting there. You put in the train station that you'll be leaving from, the time you want to leave and where you want to go and it will give you all the times, trains and connections you need to get there. That being said, sometimes it is really just better to go to the information booth at the train station and double-check your stuff. Case and point - the trip we took to Stockholm gave us issues when we didn't realize we needed a reservation for the last leg of the journey / when we left Sweden and ended up in a train station for 4 hours (during the night, of course). Versus this last trip - Ana and I had it figured out, 5 transferrs with a 5 hour wait in a train station in Germany (again, at night). We talked to a nice gentleman in the train station in Bruges and he went over other options with us - we ended up taking a train from Bruges to Brussels, Brussels to Cologne (and had to make a reservation for that one) and then a night train from Cologne to Prague (after a 6 hour wait in the train station in Cologne during the day, we read the time away at a coffee shop in the station - definitly better than sharing a nap and a bench with some bums). We did decide to take the train in the sitting car instead of the sleeping car and ended up trying to sleep with 5 people in a 6-person enclosure until we got to Berlin at which point all of our fellow travelers left, leaving Ana and I with benches to oursleves. The naps we got last night were pretty good, but I think we are both looking forward to a real bed tonight.
Another good thing about where we are today... it was laundry day! The hostel offers laundry facilities so we were able to drop off all of our stinky clothes (in the other hostel we figured out that the funky smell in the room was being caused by us - not a good feeling, lemme tell ya). So after showers and lunch and laundry we may just feel like ourselves again... now we just need razors and shaving gel... : )
As for our adventures the days before we left Bruges - we took a day trip up to Haarlem (in the Netherlands, right next to Amsterdam - yeah, we're geniuses) to see the Ten Boom museum. If you don't know about the Ten Booms, they were a family of a father and 2 daughters who worked with the Dutch resistance during WW2 and smuggled Jews through their house to the countryside or other countries. Someone built a hinding place in their house where people could hide if the Nazi's came. Casper ten Boom (the dad) was in his 80's and his daughters (Corrie and Betsy) were in their 50's. They were betrayed and imprisoned, Casper died in prison but Corrie and Betsy were shipped off to a concentration camp. They were all Christians and they were able to smuggle a Bible in with them, and they were able to share the word of God in the concentration camp. Betsy died there but Corrie survived and went around the world teaching about the love of Christ for his people and sharing her experiences in the camp. She wrote a book called "The Hiding Place" that Ana had me read sometime last year, so we were both excited to see the house. We didn't think that we'd have someone also tell the story, with bits that were not in the book. It was an incredible experience that spoke to both of us about trusting in the Lord and always walking with him. So if you are ever in Amsterdam, I highly suggest finding your way to Haarlem and visiting the ten Boom Museum. Their message, to me, is of a light shining in the darkness - no matter how strong the darkness is, no matter how deep, it's never so deep that the light of Christ can't penetrate it. I broke my no-buying-new-books rule, but rules are there to make you think before you break them! I will carry the book for the next 5 months and be happy about it!
You know, I sit here in an empty bar in the hostel with the clock ticking on the wall, Ana in the room (hopefully napping) knowing that I have to go and get my laundry and knowing that we're here for a week and I just feel at peace... like I am following the path that I'm supposed to. The path is not well lit, I can't see too far ahead, but I am where I am meant to be and I intend to enjoy every second of it! So here's to a week in and around Prague and the Czech Republic! Much love to all those at home, MUAH!
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