Back From Heritage Tour

We are home, safe and sound from our tour.  Ten days seemed like forever and no time at all at the same time.  I feel like I know so much more about europe now.  I'm not sure if I actually do know that much, but it seems as though I learned a lot. Even in the simple experiences of being in Europe you learn something.  I'm going to leave the deep things that I've learned for when I have my pictures ready to go with it.  So instead I'll kinda explain the trip for you.

So this was a Heritage Tour, which essentially is a tour to explore and learn about our Christian heritage.  And because we are in Europe, that works great because so many things happened here!  It is where most of the interesting stuff happened right?  Well, maybe not, but I know alot more about Christian history in Europe than anywhere else so I'm going to say it is very important!

So some YWAM groups go on Reformation tours, just to see sights and learn about the reformation, but I think they are totally missing out.  We have a group of Catholics and Protestants so we were sure to see historic sites from all eras in Christianity.  And we looked at the history in a very even way... It wasn't about bashing the Catholics because of indulgences or the Protestants because they did such dumb things themselves. And I appreciated that so much. 

So to recap: We drove from Slovakia, to Assisi in Italy, then to Rome, then to Switzerland, South and Eastern Germany, and through the Czech Republic.  Eleven Days. Many kilometers.  But we are all closer because of it.  We actually only had five of us in a van for seven, so that made things easier.  So there were five students and Steve, our very brave DTS leader.  It worked out really well with Steve and Art driving us and taking turns.  I was in charge of finances of the trip.  I don't think I have a very good understanding of the worth of a euro right now after seeing how expensive everything was in Rome and Switzerland.  I can't believe how much money I was often walking around with to pay for our accommodations and food and tickets for museums.  

So what kind of general things can I type now? Well it costs alot to drive around in Europe.  Gas is not cheap.  It makes Alberta seem very cheap.  1.24 EURO for a liter of Diesel! But that isn't all.  The roads are toll roads. So we would pay up to 50 euro for a day of driving.  In Switzerland they have a sticker that you buy to have the privilege of driving on the motorway or whatever they call it.  40 Euro minus 8 swiss francs... (a Swiss Franc essentially is a Canadian or American Dollar in value).  See I told you I understand european economics better now!  I also had to deal with Czech crowns, which are four Euro cents each.  So that is much more mental math.  I actually broke down and got a Starbucks coffee in Prague.  It was 99 crowns for a Grande... Which is roughly four euro. That is pretty steep for a latte. Even for Starbucks.  But I hadn't had Starbucks in a month and a half, so it was a little gift to myself.

And for all my dutch friends, they sold Stropwaffles in the Starbucks! I even took a picture to prove it.

But those aren't cheap... 60Kc is more than 2 euro.

So I'll sign off for now and hopefully be able to share stories of martyrs and other important people and moments to Christianity with you over the next few blog posts.