SIS: Stranded in Switzerland?

It's our last travel day (or so we think) and we are all eager to get home to re-live our memories with our family and friends.  But first, we must get (1) out of Russia and (2) out of Switzerland.  Since we had no issues before, we didn't anticipate any issues on the way home.  Wrong (as the subject line of this post has already revealed).

First, at the airport in St. Pete, our tour guide tried diligently to keep our group together during the flight check-in process.  I don't know why that was a big deal for her, but she got into quite a spirited Russian exchange with an older woman who was trying to strong arm her way in the line.  Needless to say, it was a bit uncomfortable as we tried not to make eye contact while staying unusually close to the traveling partner in front or behind you.

And then we get to customs.  For some reason, I had the great idea to wear my hair all wrapped up - which I guess makes me look very different from the mulitple hairstyles shown on my passport and visa photos.  Here again led to a very uncomfortable point in our journey where the Russian passport control guard looked at my photo, looked at me, PICKED UP THE PHONE, typed on the computer, looked at me again - told me to look straight at him, PICKED UP THE PHONE AGAIN.  I could feel Stacy's eyes fill with worry as he and I were both thinking "what's taking so long?"  But, since the subject of this post is not Stranded in St. Petersburg, you know I got through that one.  Whew!

Then, we were off.  Trying not to start our good byes too soon but feeling a bit sad all the same.  Someone even suggested a reunion next year somewhere.  How we love to be with the friends!  So much so, that when we got to Switzerland and learned that our flight to the US was cancelled, we immediately started making plans for what we could do with our bonus day together.  And here's what we did in Zurich, Switzerland:

Met local friends doing cart witnessing near Old Town Zurich

Took a cruise around beautiful Lake Zurich for 8 Swiss Francs!

And found Jehovah's name prominently displayed in the artwork of an old church building - again!

The Hermitage Museum Tour

One of the largest museums in the world, the Hermitage is home to three million exhibits. If you looked at one piece for one minute each, it would take you 10 years to see everything.

Hermitage (er metage) - French meaning Hermit dwelling or place of solitude.  Founded in 18th century by Catherine the Great. She wrote in her diary "only I and the mice see the art".  The Winter Palace was designed by same architect who built Catherine's Palace.  It is the original structure. It was not destroyed during the war. Made into museum after the Revolution.

Don't follow Andria - she's just looking official today, but she's just a tourist!

All the art collections are divided by departments or countries.  Organized with the oldest collection first down through time.  The Hermitage includes only Western and European art. Russian art held in the Russian Art Museum. Only 10% of art is on display at any one time.  Tour highlights: 

The 300 year old Peacock Clock was created by Englishman James Cox.  It is on a mound with different animals underneath. The dial of the clock is a mushroom and shows hours only.  When the clock strikes at top of hour, all the animals come alive.

Leonardo DaVinci - Only 10 paintings by this artist has survived until today - the Hermitage museum has two of them. He was not a professional artist - he was a scientist- art was a hobby.  He was an innovator in art: used minerals mixed with oils and added windows.

The Raphael's Ledger or Bible. The pictures were scenes from the Vatican palace based on the Old Testament (mixed in with some mythology). Images created by special permission in the Vatican and then brought to Russia by order of Catherine the Great. 

The room of ancient knights. 

Rembrandt was known as the master of hands and faces. Most of the painting is dark, those features are lighter.  Notice this in the depiction of Abraham offering up Isaac.

The Prodigal Son was the very last painting by Rembrandt before he died.  My favorite piece of the day!!

Had to zoom in on this detail - reminds me of the new brochure Return to Jehovah. 

And of course it's always a treat to find Jehovah's name in this ancient art.  Ps 83:18 Good eye, Stacy!

. . .and a Razorback for all those Hog fans!

The largest vase in the exhibition is solid jasper. Took 1200 horses to move it. And the piece was moved into place first and then the room was built around it.

Just plain funny - thanks Joe!

Stroganoff - finally!

As soon as I learned that Beef Stroganoff was a 19th century Russian dish, I was on a quest to get some.  Of course, my group veto'd me and we had pizza last night (I know what you're thinking but I must admit it was really good).  But to my surprise, our last group lunch in Russia was at the famous Stroganoff Steakhouse!  And it was GOOD.  

All smiles now, but there was about to be a riot when we thought there were no more taters!

You just can't make this stuff up

Experiences shared by friends we met along the way

Don't knock it 'til you try it!

We met a single sister named Audilia.  She had moved to Virginia two years ago to serve where the need was greater.  She loved the ministry experienced from the recent Gilead graduation program so much that she taped the graduation and followed the presentations exactly in her ministry one month.  She went from having one bible study to starting 5 new bible studies - in a single month.  One of her responses was exactly as the sister's experience shared during the Gilead graduation where the householder asked her for a  bible study!

David and the Tuna caper

We got all kinds of great gifts from the friends we met in the many cities we have visited.  My favorite gifts were socks - hand made with love!  But our friend David got an unusal gift - a large can of tuna!  Like my socks, the tuna was a very practical gift.  Except when you are going through security and they tell you to remove all liquids from your carry-on bag and you don't even remember you have a large can of tuna in your bag.  Fortunately, David got to keep his tuna.

What do you mean we are not Jehovah's Witnesses?

Tannika and Justin (Detroit) shared their excitement about a new progressive study they are eager to get back to in the US. It is a family of 6 (4 children ages 3-12) who started studying in January. They are attending the meetings regularly and have already enjoyed their first assembly.

Most of the best stories came from the 6 yr old.  He was particularly distressed when there was a birthday party in his class.  He was so hurt that he could not convince his friend from going into the party.  But he was determined to avoid that party at all costs.  Even when the teacher came to get him from the library to return to class, he peeked inside the classroom and refused to enter.  Why?  He said that he saw cupcakes and decorations still sitting on the desk and he didn't want to fall for that trick!

During one of the studies, the sister was explaining how things might change when they become JW.  The boy was confused by this idea and exclaimed "What do you mean - we are not Jehovah's Witnesses?"  What appreciation for his Christian identity.  I love his enthusiasm - can't wait to hear about their progress.

We're going to have to talk about this when we get home

Final post of the blog. . .

Because our once-in-a-lifetime trip has come to an end, we know that we will be busting at the seams to try and share all that we've seen and experienced. The pictures, the blog posts, the memories will not do it justice! But we look forward to continuing to share these with you dear friends when we see you - sooner or forever in Paradise.

What this experience has meant for me:

It has shown me to never be anxious about the next day, to trust that Jehovah will keep his promises, provided a powerful reminder to store up treasures where neither moth nor rust consume and that real friends are always ready to love you wherever you might meet them in the world! - Andria

After lunch with friends currently serving at Russia Bethel - still smiling despite Satanic attacks

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What an experience. This was my first Special Convention as a US Delegate in another country. I didn’t know what to expect but what I got was more than I had hoped for. Learning the history of our dear friends in Estonia was heartwarming. These friends are true examples of faith and endurance. It made me think of my own faith and I asked myself if I have the kind of faith that would help me to endure losing contact with the organization for 20 years or being taken from my family or being sent to Siberia. I am forever changed after this experience and have expanded my spiritual family. I expect to step up my spiritual study routine in effort to strengthen my faith and help me to endure persecution that will come. I am glad to have been a part of Estonia’s history of having a Special Convention in the city of Tallinn. They have suffered much persecution but held strong to their faith and now they were able to experience this special gift from Jehovah. People who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses may never understand the significance of something like this. They don’t understand why they didn’t abort the mission of remaining loyal to Jehovah. But we understand, this is the best life ever. We receive rewards now and await much more in the future here on earth. Thank you to all the brothers and sisters. Your love and hospitality will never be forgotten. aitah , spasibo - Samone

Elise told me to go for my spiritual goals and enjoy my second life.  It's not too late!

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My favorite part of the trip was when we got to meet all the different friends from different places.  Meeting new people and getting to know them. - Kaitlyn

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A great reminder of the international brotherhood and how Jehovah's people are truly united.  I feel I received a glimpse of paradise.  My favorite picture is of the re-enactment of our Estonian brothers being sent to Siberia in the rail cars.  It is a good reminder for me of just how hard the brothers and sisters worked for us to give us such a real experience.  And it is also a good reminder that no matter what the situation, Jehovah will take care of his people.  And we can also stay close to and rely on our brothers and sisters. - April

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This trip reminded us that we can survive Armageddon as long as we rely on Jehovah and Jehovah also gives us the worldwide brotherhood for support and encouragement as well.  Although we didn't know them and they didn't know us, we now have good friends across the world.  It was great to engage in the cart witnessing for the first time in Estonia with our newfound friends. - Anthony

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Meeting brothers who were affected by government bans and were not deterred truly encouraged me. Brother Silliksaar is a beautiful example of integrity despite the frontal attack from Satan. Despite being banned by communist ruled Russia he was used by Jehovah to secretly copy the Watchtower even though it was extremely dangerous. With the tribulation fast approaching it was faith strengthening to know that Jehovah will take care of his people both physically and most importantly spiritually. I will never forget his example. - Stacy

For Pete's Sake (spoiler alert: this is a long one)

Pushkin Tour = Catherine's Palace

The palace was built by Peter the Great for his wife - thus named after Catherine I.  Their daughter, Elizabeth had the palace expanded and kept her mother's name on it.  Her expansion of the home is clearly evident by the gold guilded rooms that look like an illusion of mirrors as you look down the hall of doorways.  

We all had to wear special coverings on our shoes - clearly not designed for Stacy's size 13 feet.  He was forced to put the little paper bags over the front 1/2 of his shoes because that's all that could be covered.  Wish I had a picture of that!

The rooms were very small considering the large size of the palace.  And we could only find one women's bathroom - go figure.  

But there were a few rooms of very special note:

The Great Hall could seat 700 people.  The decorations were all made of carved wood painted in gold filigree.  It had 300 mirrors and 700 candles (now electric).  In it's day, it took an entire staff to watch the candles to keep them lit and ensure they didn't catch the wood carvings afire!  And this was no small task as the dinners could often last for 7 hours.  The other cool feature of this room was that the ceiling was flat but the painting on it gave the illusion of it being curved.

In the Amber Room there were no photos allowed.  Amber is an organic material and one cannot tell what color it will be as it ages. This room alone took over 33 years to complete - the work finished in 2003.  Many scientists worked on the restoration project bringing in 6 tons of amber (yielding 5 tons of waste).

At the end of the tour, there was an exhibit which showed us how the original palace looked before and after the war in which it was destroyed.  Another demonstration of mankind's relentless quest for dominance.  This truly brought to heart the words of Eccl 8:9 "man has dominated man to his harm."  Also made me appreciate all the effort it took to restore this treasure - as we look forward to the enjoyable work of restoring the entire earth to Paradise.

After the palace tour, we got to enjoy a little reflection time in the beautiful surrounding park.  One section was like one of those maze types with perfectly manicured rows of tall bushes lining the paths.  And, of course, beautiful floral arrangements!

Lunch Break

As I've mentioned in a prior post, the food venues have been spectacular!  And today's lunch certainly held up to that high standard.  We enjoyed a traditional Russian family style meal of borsch (beet soup) and Stuffed Cabbage followed by pancakes (crepes) with berries and ice cream.  And, of course, VODKA and wine.  The friends even got to take the left over vodka - cute bottles/souvenirs.

Nap time.  Why do we like to take pictures of each other while we are sleeping.  I must be having a good dream here - may have been the wine.  Or vodka.  Probably both!

Peterhof Gardens Tour

The fountains are spring fed and run using gravity.  Thus, there is no way to know when the fountains will come on.  Or when the rain will stop!  We got SOAKED on this portion of the trip.  Even with umbrellas and ponchos it was hard to really enjoy the beautiful scenery.  So Samone and I found a little cafe, had a spot of tea and shared some treats with some friends.  Even met a sweet little sister who invited me to visit her in Albuquerque to enjoy the Ballon Festival!  Road Trip!

April was the trouper in the group.  Stacy, Anthony and Kaitlyn went to the bus.  Samone and I went for tea (as mentioned above) but April stuck with the main group and went to see the fountains.  It would have been a perfect day to take a picture in the fountain (since we were wet anyway), but given the historical significance, April opted for the occasional selfie instead.

These last few pictures are of the Great Cascade - one of the biggest fountain ensembles in the world.  It includes more than 60 fountains, more than 250 statues and reliefs.  The center statue is of Samson slaying the lion and the water jet of this fountain is the highest in Peterhof (21m or almost 70 ft high)!

Everything that looks gold - is gold!  Not usually solid, but covered in pure gold nonetheless.  Imagine what we will be able to design in the future with proper use of earth's natural resources.  Thanks again April!