Want to know what isn't so great?

A week of temps above 80 in a southward-facing school with many windows. My answer to this sauna? Ice cream bars.

Lucerne

Sorry that it's taken me so long to post these pictures from Lucerne. I had a lovely, albeit short, time. I took the overnight train from Dresden and arrived in Lucerne around 10. I spent about 12 hours on the train. That's why I look so tired in these.

In front of the famous bridge and water tower in Lucerne. It was built in the 14th century.

Another shot of the bridge from the opposite side of the river.

On a boat ride around Lake Lucerne. We got off at a little village to walk around and had to run back to the boat. We almost missed it.

A view from the balcony of the hostel

Fondue!

One not so nice thing about Switzerland are these political advertisements. This is about foreigners getting Swiss citizenship. Notice the color of the hands. Here is a BBC article about an upcoming citizenship vote, and here is an interesting article about another poster.

Transitions

In less than two months, I will be home. My flight is booked for June 27, and Zoe is confirmed too. As I get ready to leave, I am going to share some things that I'll miss and some that I won't.

I'll miss spring in Dresden. It is so wonderful when the weather finally changes. I love being able to open all the windows. Eating outside, especially at Biergartens, is a real treat. Everyone's spirits seem lifted.

I'll also miss not having the expense of a car. I buy a tram/bus pass for 44 euros, and that is pretty much the extent of my transportation expenses for the month (unless I take a taxi, which is rare).

I won't miss seeing people drinking openly on the street. It's just odd to me to see someone drinking straight out of a wine, beer, or liquor bottle at anytime of the day or night anywhere, including the trams and buses.

I won't miss not having the convenience of having a car for grocery shopping. Yesterday, I misjudged and carried home close to 40 pounds of groceries for about half a mile. I weighed it when I got home. That's not even the heaviest grocery load that I've carried.

An unexpected trip!

In two weeks from right now, I will be boarding an overnight train to Lucerne, Switzerland. I've not been to Switzerland, and I'm very excited about going. A friend will be in Switzerland for a month and is meeting me there. I'm going to be sure to have some fondue and Rösti. Yummy. I'll only be there for a day, but I love unexpected trips!

Books

I've read some really interesting books lately and wanted to share some of the good ones.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy: This is the story of fraternal twins. It is set in India, which is one of my very favorite settings for a novel. The best part is Roy's writing style, which is really inventive and different.

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly: I picked this up in Dublin. It is about a female doctor around the turn of the century in London. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the East End, but I didn't think there was much depth to the book.

The White Mountains by John Christopher: I read this science fiction book to help one of my students write a book report. I liked it. It's about a boy who escapes from tripods that enslave humans.

A Painted House by John Grisham: I'm not really a John Grisham fan usually, but I really liked this book. It has no lawyers in it and is the story of a young boy growing up on a farm in Arkansas.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith: I loved this book. It is enchanting.

Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey: He is my favoriite Christian author. In this book, he profiles people, especially writers who have influenced him. I have a whole new list of books to read from this book!

My next book is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Easter (a little late)

This was the lovely view on Easter morning. I meant to post it on my blog, but I hadn't uploaded my pictures until recently.

Homeward Bound

Well, as many of you know, my father has been ill for quite some time. He has recently gotten worse. After much prayer, I have decided to move back after this school year to be closer to my parents. In many ways, I am torn by this decision. I am happy to be closer to friends and family and to be a country where I speak the language. I am also sad because I really enjoy working with my students here. I will miss my friends here and all the traveling I get to do. It's much easier to get to Italy when it's just a 3 hour flight away instead of a 10 hour one. It's also much cheaper. I feel totally at peace with my decision though despite the fact that I'll have to pay three times as much for good German chocolate.

I feel that it's important that I am Gadsden, but I also have to get a job. I already have some prospects in Birmingham. I really enjoyed living in Birmingham, and I definitely need a job, but is this best for my situation? I'm just not sure. I would really appreciate your prayers!

I also have to end all my contracts here, find someone to buy/take my furniture, move out, and fly back with Zoe. I am praying for another teacher to take over the apartment. That would be a blessing. I will keep you updated on what's happening.