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| breathtaking view of the vineyards in Rüdesheim |
Conclusion- all of our neighboring cities along the Rhein are true gems. I know I will look back in time to come with longing for my days here, so I am trying to soak it up and will hopefully have many more days of exploring the area. (hint hint friends!!)
Sunday morning we awoke ready for our travels. First, we were off to Hamm, Luxembourg to visit the grave of General Patton (Brooks's request, of course). He was buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, which was almost a miniature Arlington. It was sobering to visit the men who fought for the freedom of world, never returning home.
We spent the evening touring the city, eating dinner, and biking. The following day, Monday, we began our drive to Amsterdam, about a five hour drive. On the way we stopped at a gas station and two young guys asked us if we could take them to Amsterdam. We only had room for one but they said that was fine so we took Charly with us for the remainder of the ride and enjoyed some interesting conversation.
Upon arrival in Amsterdam we got situated in our terrific hotel rooms and went out to explore the city. The remainder of our five days there were spent doing just that- bike riding, admiring the beautiful canals and buildings, and eating scrumptious meals. Amsterdam is a quaint, historic town that immediately gave me the feeling of colonial American. It is well known, and traveled, today for it's legal prostitution and soft drugs. The Dutch government thought they could decrease and monitor the use of these two sin mediums by legalizing them. However, the sad truth is that the Netherlands have become the number one country in the world for human trafficking. Some reports have found that over 80% of the prostitutes in Amsterdam are from abroad- these women are led to believe, by organized criminals, that they will be taken to the Netherlands and given jobs as waitresses, nannies, or in hotels, then forced by threats and brutal violence into prostitution. It has been discovered that up to 7,000 women are trafficked EACH YEAR into the country. When I first heard about modern day slavery, which by the way is bigger than slavery has EVER BEEN in the history of the world, with over 27 million people being forced into sex, labor, and trade, I was stunned. It is something you almost don't believe until you hear it enough. The media is everywhere! At politicians' doorsteps, at the outbreak of every disease, and like flies on natural disasters... how can we not know about something so huge? Now you may be one of those who believes every woman in such a profession is just a wh*re, and there are plenty of women who think it is easy money, but you cannot for a second believe they remain happy after years of giving their bodies and hearts away over and over. The human was not created for this behavior and it is literally impossible to go a lifetime living like this happily. But more than this, is the fact that the majority of women today are FORCED into the "profession", if you can call it that, because they are not receiving the "easy money" or even freedom to live outside of their "job". My heart breaks for these women and for the millions of other men and children who are stuck in seemingly hopeless situations. It is surprising that such a travesty could occur on the streets of Europe- not a third world country but the routes of our very nation. However, it is even more alarming to know that this is going on in America, as well. In fact, Atlanta is one of the largest reported cities for sex trafficking in America. Not just for young women, but children as well. And I'm not talking about abuse in homes, there are people being sold for sex this minute in illegal brothels miles from the places we pass so often. God's people have begun a revolution, and with Him this indescribable injustice can be broken. I encourage you to watch the following video series to get a small glimpse at what the media is not covering. In Amsterdam, the organization "Not for Sale" has begun a ministry of bringing soups to women directly in the brothels, forming relationships, rescuing women, and training and giving them jobs at the catering company. There are loads of ministries in Atlanta fighting this crime, and a special task force of police have gotten involved as well. There are countless opportunities to combat the horrific modern day slavery, and the most obvious is prayer. I'll get back to my fun travel adventures now, but it was just not possible for me to discuss my time in Amsterdam without touching on the truth that so many of us have been in the dark about. If you don't have the means to get involved, at least inform yourself!
As stated previously, Amsterdam was one heck of a city, gleaming with charm and delicious food. We took a canal tour one afternoon and loved seeing the buildings from a new perspective. We ate some of the best food i've had in a while at a tiny italian restaurant and classic, dark Dutch place. One thing you have to understand about Amsterdam is that you cannot survive without a bike- and without being very experienced on it. There are riders on all sides and in all forms of bikes: cruisers, mountain bikes, tandems, babies in baskets, dogs in baskets, flippin front cars for children and groceries, and plenty of people sharing one single-seater. We even saw a few bikes where a parent had THREEE children in the wooden "side car" located in front of the bike?! Basically imagine the Quad on gameday with bikes. Madness, but oh so fun. The museums were fabulous as well. My favorite was definitely our visit to the Anne Frank House. It is the original house that she hid in, with a small museum built around it. It had been years since we had all read her diary so we had to do a little guessing to figure out all of the elements but it was incredible to step foot in such a piece of history and to imagine for a moment how her life in hiding could have been.
On our final day in Amsterdam, Friday, mom and Brooks left early for their flight. We awoke and said our goodbyes then headed straight back to sleep. Our checkout was at 12 so we enjoyed our final delicious breakfast, returned all the bikes, and got all of our bags organized and heading to the bus station. We made it over to the train station area and found a canal restaurant to camp out at until our train departed. We were concerned all week that we would be trekking around with our luggage the last day in the rain but the weather turned out perfect, even warm! PTL!
We watched movies and the sunset on our journey to Hamburg. We arrived Friday evening and left Wednesday morning. The highlights were climbing at a climbing hall, catching up with Simi's sister Lydia, and seeing our friends Miri and Tobi for the first time in 2 years! You may recall the pair from my adventure on Montgo, when we got lost on that dreadfully beautiful mountain for 10 hours. Tobi was the reason Simeon and I met and we fell in love the same summer that Miri and Tobi did, so they will always have a special place in our hearts.
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| Me, Miri, and Tobi on Montgo Summer of 2010 |
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| reunited in Hamburg this August |
On our return from Hamburg, we made a stop in Cologne for a few hours. The cathedral was breathtakingly large, but I was disappointed to find the city so touristy. Maybe we didn't see the right areas but we sure did walk around a lot and everything seemed the same. It was pleasant by the Rhein, where we enjoyed lunch, but I think the peacefulness and views of Bingen are 200x as stunning.
After 2 days at home, we picked up again and headed to Luxembourg for the weekend. We grilled in Simeon's grandparents' backyard with his extended family there- 2 aunts, and 3 uncles with their families. It was great catching up with his aunts and uncles and showing them pictures from the wedding, which they seemed to enjoy. Sunday morning we attended the small church they belong to, a third of which is occupied by Simeon's family :) Amazingly the Sunday we picked to travel there, was the Sunday a missionary from Spain (and his wife who grew up in the church) were visiting. The man gave the message in Spanish and in the afternoon told about their ministry of building evangelical churches in Spain. I was thankful to be there on a week in which I could understand the message and also found it a treat to hear a church sermon in Spanish and German (as the wife translated)- something I may never experience again! I loved talking with the man about their experiences in Spain and was excited to hear that they had visited Alfa y Omega in Denia- where I was in the summer of 2010. I was also thankful that my spanish stood the test of conversation, which I have not engaged in, in over a year. During lunch Simeon's cousins and some other young German girls at the church were so eager to ask me questions (since after all, I'm an American girl.. mega cool) but I am not yet equipped to respond in German, only understand.. so the son of the Spanish couple (about 10 years old) served as the translator. I was so impressed by how quickly he switched between German and Spanish and I think he enjoyed the attention from the girls :) Anyways, it was a successful day learning about the Spanish ministry, enjoying fellowship and good food, and a stunningly beautiful car ride home through the countryside.
Now we have been home for a full 3 days- woo hoo! In that time we have rollerbladed several times, Simeon finished up his summer class (which only lasted 3 days), and today we plan to spend a few hours climbing at a nearby ropes course! Tomorrow we are off to Strasbourg, Titisee, Lindau, Oberammergau, Munich, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Dresden (and many others) for our 12 day road trip! Hoping our spirits stay high as travels tend to make us (me) a bit restless. Be back in a couple of weeks for the final update before heading to Berlin for 3 months!
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