Washington and Virginia
I had an uneventful flight to Washington, DC, where my friend Phil picked me up at National Airport. I stayed with Phil and Rita just around the corner from where I lived in 1995-97. Mennonite Central Committee sold the old voluntary service house and moved to another part of the city, but I enjoyed walking around Mt. Pleasant, through Adams Morgan and to Dupont Circle. I stopped in at my old office and spent several hours at the zoo, which is a short walk from Phil's apartment. The neighborhood hasn't changed too much. I was still able to buy pupusas, a Salvadoran food. Columbia Heights, on the other hand, has changed dramatically since a Metro stop was built there about 8 years ago. As expected, retail stores, restaurants and condos moved into what was a poor neighborhood. Still it was very convenient to have a Metro stop so close. When I was there, we had to take Bus 42 a mile and a half to Dupont Circle to catch the Metro.
On Sunday, we went to Hyattsville Mennonite Church and went out for Ethiopean food for lunch. The Ethiopean restaurant was a very small place. The only person who seemed to be working there was an older woman who didn't speak a word the entire time we were there. I also thought it odd that she had loud Ethiopean music playing and bass fishing on the TV. But the food was good. I stayed with Phil and Rita for two nights. On Tuesday morning, I took an hour-long bus ride to Dulles Airport and rented a car to drive down to Harrisonburg, Virginia.
In Virginia, we had a Prince of Peace Mennonite reunion. Dwight and Susan Huyard, Russ and Cheryl Buckwalter, and Bruce Buckwalter all lived in Anchorage before moving to Virginia. Joe and Sera Buckwalter, who currently attend POPMC, were also in town, so, including all the children, 17 of us got together for dinner at the Huyard's new home in the country.
On Thursday, some of the grown-ups met for lunch at the Blue Nile in Harrisonburg. Yes, more Ethiopean food. It was Ethiopean New Years so the owner and his family were there celebrating. He is a friend of the Buckwalter clan, so we got a tour of this recently re-opened restaurant. It's a nice place, so if you are living in Virginia and looking for some good injera and wat, try the Blue Nile. I spent the first two nights with Bruce. Then I moved south about 30 minutes to visit the Huyards.
While with the Huyard 6 I got to read some stories to Ben and Luke, listen to a story read by Isaac, watch hummingbirds at the feeder, eat some oatmeal pancakes, and awaken to the sound of roosters crowing. At 6 am. The Huyards live out in the country and have two miniature horses, 4 cows, two dogs, and a dozen chickens. While I was there, they added some goats. On Sunday, we worshipped at Springdale Mennonite Church and then went for a walk at some local wetlands. Then it was time to drive back to the airport. I enjoyed seeing Dwight and Susan and the kids, who, curiously enough, have grown in the past year. The visit went by very quickly.
My trip to the airport went very well. I didn't have any trouble returning the car; I breezed right through check-in and security and had plenty of time to wait for my 6.5 hour flight to London. I flew on British Airways and I was impressed. The seats were comfortable enough to sleep well and they even fed us supper and breakfast! When we got to Heathrow, I had to switch terminals and go through security. I received a warm welcome to England when I was patted down and felt up by a security guard. I almost felt guilty for not buying him dinner.
I had four hours to while away in Teminal 4. Fortunately, they offered an abundance of duty-free shopping. Unfortunately, I have no interest in liquor, cigarettes or perfume. You know you've left the U.S. when women in evening dress are handing out free samples of vodka. It's the ultimate Mennonite dilemma: free alcohol. All the cartons of cigarettes were emblazoned with warnings that read: "Smoking causes serious harm to you and those around you." and "Smokers die." Judging from the stock on hand, few people care. Tax-free smokes!
The flight to Basel was little more than an hour. The test of my international travel skills would soon begin. EuroAirport is actually in France and is a bi-national airport, so the first challenge is to go to the right country. That was easy: just follow the sign that says "Schweiz." A man in a glass booth glanced at my passport and waved me past and I was in Switzerland. I didn't check a bag, so now I just need to have my train pass validated. The Swiss Railway office right past customs should be able to do that. I hand it over to the woman at the desk and she fills it out without any input from me. So far so good.
I'm supposed to take a bus to the Basel Bahnhof (train station). Maybe it's the same bus that everyone else is waiting for. Yep. Before I have even forged through the cloud of cigarette smoke, a bus pulls up. The sign says "Basel SBB Bahnhof". I crowd on with everyone else. An older woman in front of me is struggling to get her luggage into the bus without the doors closing on her. I hand up her second suitcase and she says, "Danke schön." I say, "Bitte schön." My first conversation in German!
The bus ride takes about 15 minutes. Then the bus stops. The driver turns off the engine and everyone gets off. We must be at the Bahnhof, and I'll bet it's this big building with all the train schedules on the wall. These make it easy to find a train to Liestal. I see that there is a train going to Liestal and several other towns. It is on Gleis 8 and it leaves in 15 minutes. Finding platform Acht is easy and there is a train that says "Liestal" so I get on it and have a seat. After a short wait, it begins moving and announcements in German, French and English proclaim Liestal to be the first stop. Ten minutes later, the train rolls to a stop and I get off. I have a train pass, but no one asked to see it. This is all very easy so far, but now I have to find the Bienenberg campus.
They had told me that I could call for a ride if I arrived before 8pm, and it was 6:30, but I took one look at the payphones and decided to walk. I didn't have any Swiss Francs and I didn't mind a little exercise. I had found walking directions from the same place I got the public transportation directions: Google Maps. Try it; just go to Google maps and ask for directions from EuroAirport to Bienenberg. Then select public transportation. Amazing.
"Bienenberg" means "Bee Mountain." I didn't see any bees but I did walk uphill for about 30 minutes, past some cows (with cowbells), and to the seminary/restaurant/conference center/hotel. I was glad that I packed light. As if the directions weren't enough, there were signs pointing me to Bienenberg at every turning. The reception area was closed, but there was a note, a map and a room key waiting for me. Sorry it couldn't have been more exciting. I'm usually a little anxious before a big trip, but this was actually very simple. I'm settling down into life here at Bienenberg. More on that later....
While with the Huyard 6 I got to read some stories to Ben and Luke, listen to a story read by Isaac, watch hummingbirds at the feeder, eat some oatmeal pancakes, and awaken to the sound of roosters crowing. At 6 am. The Huyards live out in the country and have two miniature horses, 4 cows, two dogs, and a dozen chickens. While I was there, they added some goats. On Sunday, we worshipped at Springdale Mennonite Church and then went for a walk at some local wetlands. Then it was time to drive back to the airport. I enjoyed seeing Dwight and Susan and the kids, who, curiously enough, have grown in the past year. The visit went by very quickly.
My trip to the airport went very well. I didn't have any trouble returning the car; I breezed right through check-in and security and had plenty of time to wait for my 6.5 hour flight to London. I flew on British Airways and I was impressed. The seats were comfortable enough to sleep well and they even fed us supper and breakfast! When we got to Heathrow, I had to switch terminals and go through security. I received a warm welcome to England when I was patted down and felt up by a security guard. I almost felt guilty for not buying him dinner.
I had four hours to while away in Teminal 4. Fortunately, they offered an abundance of duty-free shopping. Unfortunately, I have no interest in liquor, cigarettes or perfume. You know you've left the U.S. when women in evening dress are handing out free samples of vodka. It's the ultimate Mennonite dilemma: free alcohol. All the cartons of cigarettes were emblazoned with warnings that read: "Smoking causes serious harm to you and those around you." and "Smokers die." Judging from the stock on hand, few people care. Tax-free smokes!
The flight to Basel was little more than an hour. The test of my international travel skills would soon begin. EuroAirport is actually in France and is a bi-national airport, so the first challenge is to go to the right country. That was easy: just follow the sign that says "Schweiz." A man in a glass booth glanced at my passport and waved me past and I was in Switzerland. I didn't check a bag, so now I just need to have my train pass validated. The Swiss Railway office right past customs should be able to do that. I hand it over to the woman at the desk and she fills it out without any input from me. So far so good.
I'm supposed to take a bus to the Basel Bahnhof (train station). Maybe it's the same bus that everyone else is waiting for. Yep. Before I have even forged through the cloud of cigarette smoke, a bus pulls up. The sign says "Basel SBB Bahnhof". I crowd on with everyone else. An older woman in front of me is struggling to get her luggage into the bus without the doors closing on her. I hand up her second suitcase and she says, "Danke schön." I say, "Bitte schön." My first conversation in German!
The bus ride takes about 15 minutes. Then the bus stops. The driver turns off the engine and everyone gets off. We must be at the Bahnhof, and I'll bet it's this big building with all the train schedules on the wall. These make it easy to find a train to Liestal. I see that there is a train going to Liestal and several other towns. It is on Gleis 8 and it leaves in 15 minutes. Finding platform Acht is easy and there is a train that says "Liestal" so I get on it and have a seat. After a short wait, it begins moving and announcements in German, French and English proclaim Liestal to be the first stop. Ten minutes later, the train rolls to a stop and I get off. I have a train pass, but no one asked to see it. This is all very easy so far, but now I have to find the Bienenberg campus.
They had told me that I could call for a ride if I arrived before 8pm, and it was 6:30, but I took one look at the payphones and decided to walk. I didn't have any Swiss Francs and I didn't mind a little exercise. I had found walking directions from the same place I got the public transportation directions: Google Maps. Try it; just go to Google maps and ask for directions from EuroAirport to Bienenberg. Then select public transportation. Amazing.
"Bienenberg" means "Bee Mountain." I didn't see any bees but I did walk uphill for about 30 minutes, past some cows (with cowbells), and to the seminary/restaurant/conference center/hotel. I was glad that I packed light. As if the directions weren't enough, there were signs pointing me to Bienenberg at every turning. The reception area was closed, but there was a note, a map and a room key waiting for me. Sorry it couldn't have been more exciting. I'm usually a little anxious before a big trip, but this was actually very simple. I'm settling down into life here at Bienenberg. More on that later....
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Sabbatical
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