Brom goes to church

Coocoo

Well, we didn't just go to church once. Or twice, or thrice. In fact we went four times! We visited four different churches and actually attended a service in one of them as well!

The first three Popes
Saint Peter, Saint Linus and Saint Cletus

The very first church we visited on Saturday was Saint Paul's outside the gates. It is a Vatican basilica, but outside the city gates. In fact it isn't even that close to the Vatican itself and it took us nearly an hour by bus to get there! 

The last four Popes
Pope John Paul, Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis

Inside the church there were pictures of all the Popes right up to now, starting with Saint Peter who is generally accepted as being the first Pope and ending with the current one: Pope Francis who originally hails from Argentina. As there were mostly no pictures of Popes during the early years, or at least none have survived, those Popes were all modeled on Saint Peter, with little differences between each. We even found our 'own' Dutch Pope: Adrian IV.

The Friesian flag in the Friesian Church

On Sunday we went to visit the church of Saint Michael and Saint Magnus, for the Dutch more commonly known as the Friesian Church. It is located within the Vatican and we attended the service there, which was a Roman Catholic service, but in Dutch. Afterwards we wanted to see the Pope, but we only heard the last words of his blessing, the square being chock-a-block and impossible to get onto.

Saint Bonifacius, one of the missionaries who tried to bring Christianity to the Friesians.
They killed him in 685 aD

On Monday we were not planning on visiting a church at all, but the tour through the catacombs of Saint Sebastian on the Via Appia ended in the church itself and it was a lovely church. They are always completely different from what Mara and Gera are used to. Having always attended Protestant churches, they are quite austere compared to Roman Catholic ones. 

Part of the ceiling in the Basilica of Saint Sebastian

The last church or basilica we visited wasn't on our list either and even when we were right in front of it, we nearly didn't enter. Until I told those two girls, they had better get in, despite their aching legs and knees and toes. This time it was the Basilica of Saint Peter, right in the middle of the Vatican. We had visited the Necropolis underneath to see where Saint Peter had been buried way back when and now we went into the big church on top.

Basilica of Saint Peter
The five people on the front were canonized on October 13th

It was beautiful. It was big, like really really really big. There were statues everywhere, paintings and people. Mara said to me just now how it didn't feel like a place for quiet contemplation though, which she had felt more in the other three churches. It was just too much of everything. 

This image was repeated quite often on the marble pillars

Well, too much or not, I loved to see all those churches. As I loved to see everything else as well, because you know I love traveling and seeing new things. Another time I will tell you more about what else we saw...

This image of the Road to Crucifixion was found in the Pantheon

PS: I nearly forgot, we didn't just see four churches on the inside, we saw five! The Pantheon is another one we visited. It started off as a temple of Pagan Gods, but once Christianity took hold, it was modified to a church. I just never want to visit it when it rains, as it has a big hole in the roof! Mara says that is how it's supposed to be, but I am not so sure. 

The Altar in the Pantheon

Brom flies solo

Coocoo

You will never guess where I am! I am in Northern Ireland with Gera! It is so exciting. I will tell you all about it.

When we were all on our holiday in September, Gera told Mara again of the teddy bear festival her church was organising. She had talked about it before, but the dates got changed a few times I think. But now they were really going to have the festival. 

Then, a few weeks after we got back to Norway, Gera posted a little poster of it on Facebook. Mara asked for fun whether they needed another bear and Gera said they could always use more! Well, that got Mara thinking. She knew I had to look my best, so I had my snout operation and then...

Do you see the purple owl?
Mara made that last year during our holiday together in Northern Ireland

She found my nicest clothes and a few sheep and she helped me write a little letter for the teddy bear church people. And then, she PACKED ME IN A BOX!!! Because Mara didn't have the time to take me there, I was going all by myself. I think I was in a car and on a plane, but I am not sure. But yesterday, a week after Mara sent me away, I had arrived in Northern Ireland. 

I thought I was going to be okay in the box, but I must admit it was a bit tight for a whole seven days. And I don't know what Gera does, but she looks at a computer screen all day and types and types and types! There's not even a cat there!!!

Anyway, after she finished working, we went to Starbucks and (don't tell Mara) I had a little sip of Gera's coffee. Tomorrow (Sunday) I will meet the teddy bear church people and I hope they let me be in the festival. 

'Rich'

Years ago I was doing a tour in Germany. We stayed in a hotel on the former border between East and West Germany and visited several towns and smaller cities in both East and West Germany. We also visited a church. A large Roman Catholic church: the Vierzehnheiligen Basilikum (the basilica of the fourteen holy helpers).

The first thing you noticed when coming in was the opulence, the wealth and the shimmer of the place. There is a saying in Dutch: everything is not gold that shimmers. In that church? It was! At least it seemed to be. And it made me uncomfortable. Because even though the area surrounding that church weren't rocky and barren fields, I can't imagine the majority of the people living in the vicinity of that church were well to do in any way. Which meant the church was disproportionately rich. 

It was a beautiful church though and the immediate surroundings were really pretty too. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the outside of the church, but the inside is the more stunning of the two I feel.

This is my 47th entry to Photo Team for Thursday. Why not join?

Glorious!

I was parked!!!

Do you remember how yesterday was just a glorious day in the capital of Norway? Well, today was another one. If you are a duck that is and liked rain, because it rained almost all morning and beginning of the afternoon. And when it finally stopped raining: it started snowing!!!

I only had to do about 140 km today, which isn't that much, but of course I couldn't even find my way out of Oslo properly. I blame it on the roadworks and the rain clouds, which prevented me from seeing the sun and any shadows, which in turn prevented me from knowing what direction I was heading in. I found my way out in the end though, not to worry. When I finally got out of Oslo, the roads were actually pretty decent. Until we came to Drammen and from there on the maximum speed was only 70km/hour. If you were lucky! 

Heddal Stave Church

Since I would have arrived quite early at the site, I had decided to visit a church first. The biggest 'Stave church' in Norway! So, I was of course expecting something along the lines of Westminster Cathedral, but in wood. Alas, it was a bit smaller. Remember the church next to Westminster Cathedral? Oh, you know the one, I am sure. Well, it's about half that size again!! But very beautiful, despite the rain. Unfortunately I wasn't able to look in (unless I had been there at 10 am for the regular service), because the tourist season hasn't started yet: June. So, I took some outside photos and went on my merry way. 

The bell tower

There were two routes to where I am now: one on a nice big wide and quite straight road, the other on a not so nice narrower and bendier mountain road. I chose the latter. And everytime I could see snow on the mountains in the distance. Very pretty, but I didn't really want to stop for photos. I was sure I would see them some more. Boy was I right in that! As I took my last turning to my 'hotel', the road went up again. And up some more and more and more! And it started snowing a little and then a bit more. It stayed on the road a little which was not that much fun. But, then it cleared a little as well and all of a sudden I saw where I was supposed to stay for the rest of this week: on the top of a snow-capped mountain. Not in a hotel (there weren't any left in my price range), but in a cabin for four people! Of course I knew that in advance, so don't worry too much. And no, I am not sharing the cabin with anyone. It's just for myself!

The dining area

The only thing lacking now is the linen. I only have one teatowel and two towels I brought from home. No bedlinen though which is quite annoying, since there doesn't seem to be anybody here to get me some. Perhaps I need to phone somebody. 

View from the dining area

Anyway, the cabin is okay, the views really good and I think I don't have to worry about drunk folk out on the town tonight. 

S is for...

Basilique du Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica)

This basilica was built in honour of 58,000 French dead in the Franco-Prussian war (France-Germany) of 1870/1871. It was built on top of Montmartre, whose name was originally used for the village on top of the hill, but is now also used for the quarter below. The build lasted from 1876 to 1914, but the church wasn't consecrated until 1919, due to World War I.

The area of Montmartre in Paris used to be somewhat of an artists' quarter. Many (now) famous artists lived and worked there: Toulouse Lautrec, Pisarro, Van Gogh and Picasso, to name but a few. Some of those artists would have lived there while the build of this beautiful church was going on! If you stand in front of the Sacré Coeur, you have a wonderful view over Montmartre and the rest of Paris (although the Eiffel Tower was hidden behind the trees).

For more S-words from all over the world, check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

M is for...

Most

This is one of the few remaining historic buildings of the small town of Most in the Czech Republic. During the 1960's most of the town's old and historic buildings were destroyed to make way for the lignite mines. However, one building was saved: The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a Gothic church built in the 16th century.

The building remains, however the site changed. 'Prior to moving the building, the peripheral masonry, the bearing and supporting pillars were reinforced, and the remainder of the western tower was demolished. The church circumference was reinforced by a concrete ring and the church was gripped by a steel framework construction on the inner as well as outer sides. 53 transport trucks were set on special rails, which were inserted under all statically important points of the church. These transport trucks worked using computer controlled hydraulics, as were four booms used to pull the church. During movement of the church on the road section, rails which had already been passed over were moved from behind the building to in front of it, allowing them to be used again.' All houses that stood between the old and the new site had to be demolished as well, to make way for the convoy.

It took seven years of preparation and 28 days of actually moving the church 841 meters (920 yards) to its new site. They moved at a snail's pace: 1-3 centimeters per minute or about 30 meters per day. After the move they continued restoring the church until it was finally finished in 1988. In 1993 the church was solemnly blessed again. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the heaviest building ever to be moved.

This photo was taken (not by me, but one of my colleagues) during a 'learning trip' through Europe several years ago. It was the start of my career as an international driver and we saw Paris, Trier, Prague and Berlin in about four days. Needless to say I don't remember much. It was however great fun and since then I've had the opportunity to go to Italy, Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany and of course the Netherlands with varying groups of people, a chance I wouldn't have had if I hadn't been on that course.

For more M words please check out: ABC Wednesday

Oh, and here is my L word for last week. Since I wasn't even fashionably late anymore!