All posts in Europe

Turning our backs on the Abbey & Big Ben

by noel.piper on February 3, 2013 in Europe, Recommended with 3 Comments

Florence Nightingale: Gods Servant at the Battlefield (The Sowers)Several years ago, Talitha was interested in Florence Nightingale after reading her biography. So having the homeschooling mother’s determination to take advantage of every opportunity, I searched my travel guidebooks and the Internet to see what we might find in London.

In St. Thomas’ Hospital is the Florence Nightingale Museum. Appropriate place, because St. Thomas’ was where Miss Nightingale worked, struggling for reformation in nursing care, after her return from the Crimea.

Big churches and fine buildings have their places, but we were tired of them at the moment, so we turned our backs on Westminster Abbey and the tower of Big Ben to stroll across the Westminster Bridge. Couldn’t help noticing the rosy red cheeks of the little children, but none of the bobbies were on bicycles two by two. (Sorry, Roger Miller, I got carried away.)

Anyway, just on the other side of the Thames was the museum. It was the kind of place I can really enjoy. I wouldn’t have come to London just to visit the Florence Nightingale museum, but it was a small treasure worth seeing while I was there already.

Since then, it’s been renovated and what I read about it looks wonderful. Here’s a description of what you’ll find there now–better organization of exhibits, interactive experiences for both adults and children, digital opportunities to pursue topics more deeply, and the museum is physically accessible.

If you have the London Pass, the museum’s entrance fee is covered. Visit the museum’s website for closest public transportation.

Now, unless you’re in London at the moment, it’ll be a while before you go to the museum. So in the meantime, you can get a biography of Florence Nightingale (vol. 1 and vol. 2) and Notes on Nursing, What It Is, and What It Is Not, by Miss Nightingale, all free for Kindle.

One more thing. At the Florence Nightingale Museum I made a discovery that’s relevant this month, Black History month. You can read about it at my general blog, NoelPiper.com.

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Free app, free ibook, free pdf download

by noel.piper on July 25, 2012 in Europe with 1 Comment

The Olympics begin this weekend. I’m not going, but I surely am taking advantage of free London stuff I can use later.

Lonely Planet is offering a free iPhone app (#2.99), a free iBook for kids download for iPad ($9.99), and a free pdf book download ($2.99)–all London-related. The offer is good only through July 31.

Even if you don’t know whether London is in your future, these will be fun for armchair traveling, especially knowing you’re getting more than you paid for. Lonely Planet is one of my standby travel guide resources–both online and their loads of books.

Lonely Planet Not For Parents LondonI’ve downloaded all of the free London items, and am especially looking forward to Not for Parents London. Don’t tell the kids, but I’m a sucker for:

. . . the real, inside story about one of the world’s most famous cities — London. In this book you’ll hear fascinating tales about famous and infamous people, creepy underground places, dark history and strange characters galore.

Check out cool stories about graffiti artists, murdered princes and people from all over. You’ll find royalty, punks and sleuths, and some amazingly weird food.

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Love sung between Romania and America (video)

by noel.piper on May 20, 2012 in Europe with 1 Comment

Larry & Alice Agnew

 

Back when it was the hippie generation, it was also the Jesus People days. About that time Larry and Alice Agnew recognized the call of Jesus to be his.

Then, in the amazing mysterious way God works, he made sure that they in small-town Minnesota heard about faraway, mysterious Romania in a way that grabbed them and has held them for life.

 

They moved to Los Angeles to live in a Romanian neighborhood so they could learn the language and culture.

Silvia Tarniceriu, a recent refugee from Romania, became a friend and frequent companion.

Silvia helped them fill a tiny notebook with hymns, and she recorded herself singing the songs. Larry and Alice listened and sang along for hours, days, months. This music became a key part of their learning Romanian.

Silvia Tarniceriu

 

Larry’s first trip to Romania was a couple of years before Communism fell. Since then, he’s been back many times, and Alice has traveled with him or supported him from home. All these years they have been missionaries to Romania who happened to live in America. They are known and loved by many Christians in Romania.

That same little notebook still travels to Romania in Larry’s pocket. So when he was invited to sing in the Sunday morning service at Holy Trinity Baptist, he had the words at hand.

Here are Larry Agnew and Silvia Tarniceriu singing “Ibiti! Ibiti!” (Love! Love!).

And don’t miss another music video of Romanian worship that I posted at NoelPiper.com.

 

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My travel photos from Romania and elsewhere may be viewed at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

Being reformed in the land of the reformation

by noel.piper on May 17, 2012 in Europe with No comments

We are at the end of our time in Europe. We’ve been in Hamburg since Saturday. Johnny preached Sunday morning at The Arche Church.

Then, that evening in the church was the opening session of Evangelium 21 Conference 2012. My pictures are posted now from the service and the conference. Once again, you’ll see some great interpreter shots. This time the interpreter was Christian Wegert, pastor of Arche.

As the statement about Evangelium 21 (The Gospel for the 21st Century) implies, they are a relatively new Gospel Coalition type organization for Germany. Ironically, this land of the Reformation is not an easy place to be a Reformed pastor.

Thanks for your prayers for us while we were here and for your brothers and sisters here as you think of them in the future.

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

What I said in Hamburg

by noel.piper on May 15, 2012 in Europe with No comments

A few days ago, I asked for help from fellow ministry women. Their answers were tremendously challenging to me as I tried to prepare for my presentation yesterday to women here in Hamburg.

One of the challenges was what to do in a short session with so many heartfelt questions and so much wise advice. So how did it all turn out? Find out at NoelPiper.com. There’s a link to audio and photos too.

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this Europe trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

Moving on too soon

by noel.piper on May 15, 2012 in Europe with No comments

I haven’t had time to tell you all I wanted to about Geneva, and now we’ve been in Hamburg since Saturday evening.

At least, I’ve uploaded all the Geneva photos for you to see.

Flying Bucharest to Geneva, via Munich

Around Geneva

Geneva Bible Institute / Conference

Lunch by Lake Geneva

Walking around the village of Veigy-Foncenex

Calvin’s old city of Geneva

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this Europe trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

Mothers day here and there

by noel.piper on May 13, 2012 in Europe with No comments

It’s Mothers Day at home in Minneapolis and here in Germany, where we are in Hamburg.

Today I think, of course, of my own mother and of our daughters-in-law, the mothers of our grandchildren. And my heart is soft toward the ones for whom Mothers Day has a large measure of sadness.

You can see some thoughts at my other blog.

What I Learned by Being My Mother’s Daughter

When Mothers Day Isn’t a Celebration

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this Europe trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

How shall they hear without an interpreter?

by noel.piper on May 11, 2012 in Europe with 2 Comments

Once again, we are thanking God and the conference organizers for the choice of an interpreter who is in tune with Johnny’s theology, energy, and language.

It’s an amazing thing to me to watch a person who can simultaneously hear English and turn it into French so the second there’s a pause in the English, he can immediately begin to communicate the same thought in French, as close to the English that was spoken as French allows. In other words, he’s not delivering a paraphrase, but what was originally spoken.

I’m all the more aware what a gift that is because of an experience I had yesterday. Bill and Cindi and I were at a museum. We had handheld audio devices that guided us in English. For some reason theirs wouldn’t work at one video station. Since we were the only ones there, I listened and relayed aloud what I heard. I could hardly remember from one second to the next what I’d just heard in English so I could repeat it in English.

I was out of breath by the end of the 10-minute film. And to think that Florent Varak is interpreting for an hour or more at a time–not just repeating what he heard, but translating it.

Florent Varak is a pastor in the village of Villeurbanne, France, near Lyon. We’ve enjoyed having a bit of time to visit with Florent and Lori.

 

 

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this Europe trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

East meets west

by noel.piper on May 10, 2012 in Asia, Europe with No comments

You may have thought that when I came to Europe, I was leaving the  Esther Expedition behind for a while. Not possible. Esther’s world seems to follow me wherever I go.

Joann, my travel companion in China in March, had been fascinated to discover that the Lutheran World Federation in the 1940s operated a charter plane, which they named the St. Paul. Ever since then, she’s been researching the history and story of the Lutheran Airline, as she called it.

Now here’s where east meets west (if you use your imagination). Earlier this week for the second leg of our flight to Geneva, the carrier was a regional affiliate of Lufthansa.

After we arrived, as soon as I had Internet, I emailed Joann: “There is a Lutheran airline–Augsburg Airways–and here’s the plan of salvation they make available to each passenger.” (Augsburg is to Lutherans as Westminster is to Presbyterians–Lutheran churches, colleges, publishers, nursing homes named Augsburg, and now apparently an airline!)

Some discussion of the name followed. Augsburg Airways is obviously ELCA, because LCMS would have been Concordia. Air is good–it’s appropriate that Christians should meet in the air, doncha think? But why Airways when we know there’s just one way?

Enough!

Here’s the scoop Joann just posted on the real flying Lutherans–the ones in China.

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this Europe trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
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Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
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If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
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I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

Beauty spot in my soul

by noel.piper on May 10, 2012 in Europe with 2 Comments

View from our apartment

I love maps (though not as much as my friend Joann, who’d rather watch the plane’s flight path than a movie during a long flight).

One of the pleasures of travel is experiencing geography. Often there are surprises–usually things I could have realized easily, but just haven’t. This trip, for example, I was surprised that Geneva is so close to France that our countryside hotel actually is in France, within sight of the village of Veigy-Foncenex.

There’s a glimpse of Veigy-Foncenex in the photo at the left. When I walked around in the village, I kept asking myself, Am I taking this picture because it touches the beauty spot in my soul or because I’ve seen such a prototypical village in a travel book and I’m copying it? But who cares. I had a great time and came back with a happy soul.

The Geneva Bible Institute , conducted in the French language, is in the town of Cologny, Switzerland, about a 10-15 minute drive from our accommodations, and even closer to the border with France. So it’s easy to see why many of the Institute’s students and teachers are French.

It’s also a short flight from Algeria and Tunisia, where French is a common 2nd language. So the Institute is in a strategic location.

Please pray for the Gospel-Centered Ministry conference, which began this morning. The 750 attenders include about 250 theological students from schools around Switzerland and France, as well as Francophone people from many other countries.

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Don’t miss the giveaways for this trip:

You can see photos from this trip, as they’re uploaded, at my Shutterfly Share Site.
__________
Subscribe to Tell Me When To Pack. Use the links to the right or click here.
__________
If you make a purchase after you click on some of the product links in a post or after you use an on-line shopping link in the sidebar, I receive a small commission, which costs you nothing extra. I recommend only items that I think will be of interest to my readers and that I probably have used personally or wish I had.
__________
I hope you’ll also visit my other blog–NoelPiper.com

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