Through the Fire - Notre Dame by Belle Calhoune

The post I intended to write was always meant to be about Notre Dame, but it wasn't supposed to be like this.  Never like this.  As we all know by now, Notre Dame suffered tremendous damage on Monday when a fiery blaze broke out in the upper portion of the cathedral.  Although Notre Dame suffered catastrophic damages, many parts of the cathedral, along with religious artifacts and symbols, were spared. God is good!

Three weeks ago I visited the sacred cathedral with my husband and two daughters on our epic London-Paris trip.  Having dealt with fear of flying that hindered my ability to get excited about the trip prior to it, I was awestruck by the presence of God on my trip.  It was most evident on my trip to Notre Dame.  The moment one walks into the cathedral, you know you are in the presence of God.  You feel Him surrounding you. You see Him all around you.

First, let me say that this was my third and most poignant visit to Notre Dame. The first time I was sixteen years old, and although I enjoyed the beauty and solemnity of it, I really was too young to fully comprehend what I was experiencing.  This most recent trip was special and my husband and I truly were awestruck by the beauty of the French gothic masterpiece.  Having studied French for ten years and traveled throughout France extensively, I am a Francophile.  I feel such a connection to the French people and I have ever since I took my first French lesson as a child. As a Catholic, there are few places as sacred and awe inspiring as Notre Dame.  Visually, I was mesmerized by the beautiful stained glass windows.  And how amazing that they survived the heat and flames!

We took a moment to light a candle and offer up prayers.  It was a serene and comforting experience.

The beautiful interior of the cathedtral.  A mass was being held as we visited.  Even though the priest spoke in French, you saw people of all nationalities worshiping and listening to his every word.

Priceless religious artifacts were on full display.  Irreplaceable artwork, ornate and intricate in their details.

I thought these two pieces were simply stunning in their beauty.

Notre Dame is still standing.  It survived, much as it has carried on through wars and revolutions. And the French people, and the entire world, will assist in the renovation of Notre Dame.  It is a symbol of hope and of God's love for all of us.  The glowing cross that was shown in the rubble is a powerful reminder of HOPE.

God was there when Notre Dame was consumed by flames.  He was there in the aftermath when people were outside singing and praying. He protected the pompiers (firemen) as they raced to extinguish the blaze.  He aided the French chaplain, Jean-Marc Fournier, as he entered the burning cathedral to salvage priceless religious artifacts. He was there, making sure all wasn't lost.

Sadly, Notre Dame won't be open to the public for six long years.  I feel humbled and grateful that we were able to make this visit.  I am thankful to God for guiding me on this journey.  There are no accidents in life, and I truly feel that God was showing me that something wonderful awaits you if you push past your fears and embrace all the world has to offer.

Blessings! Happy Easter!

Fun in Europe by Merrillee Whren

My husband and I recently took a vacation in Europe. We visited Germany, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We flew into Munich where we spent two days. One of the highlights in Munich was hearing the Glockenspiel and watching the carved figures move around in the giant clock.

Notice the sounds of foreign languages mixing with the sound of the Glockenspiel. 

From Munich we took a train to Passau, Germany, where we started out river cruise on the Danube. We did a lot of traveling by train, and most of the time it was a good experience, but the second leg of our trip to Passau was on a train without A/C. It was hot. We were expecting a relief from the hot Arizona temperatures, but the joke was on us as we encountered a heat wave. For the first dozen days of our trip, the temperatures ranged from 95 degrees to 102 degrees. The Cathedreal in Passau was my favorite church, and we saw a lot of churches.

Next we sailed from Passau to Linz, Austria. From there we took a bus tour to Salzburg, where we saw the place where Mozart once lived. 

From there we stopped in two small towns along the river, Melk and Dürnstein. Melk has a beautiful Abbey that you see in the photo below.

Our next stop was Vienna. We were disappointed not to be able to go to an opera, even though I'm not a big opera fan, but we did tour the Opera House, that doesn't have performances in August.

Bratislava was next on our itinerary. It is the capital of Slovakia. Our guide gave us a very thought-provoking talk about the differences in life there after the fall of the Soviet Union. Here is an very interesting photo I took there. People actually got down on the ground to have their picture taken with this. Not me.

The last stop on our cruise was Budapest, my favorite city on our trip. We sailed in at night and had this spectacular view of the buildings all lit up. Here's a photo of the Parliament.

After the river cruise, we spent another week traveling on our own. We took the train from Budapest back to Vienna, where we spent another day checking out the things we missed. The heat wave finally broke, and we had a pleasant day. Here was an interesting sculpture that was right outside our hotel.

The next day we took a train to Prague. We spent two days in the rain there. It was not fun trying to sight see in the rain. St. Vitus church had magnificent stained glass windows. This is only one of the dozen photos I took there.

After two rain-soaked days in Prague, we made our way to sunny Berlin. We were there a day and a half. It's a big city and not nearly as interesting as the other places we visited, but it does have a few remains of the Berlin Wall, the most fascinating thing, for me, in the tour of the city. You can see there were actually two parts of the wall with a no-man's land in between.

Our final stop before heading back to Munich and our flight home was Fussen, Germany. The Neuschwanstein Castle is located near there. It is said to be the model for the castle at Disney World. What do you think?

The only disappointment was not being able to take photos inside. It has some beautiful painting on the walls and ceiling, and the woodwork was spectacular.

These photos are only a few of the over seven hundred that I took. We had an amazing trip. If you would like to look at more of my photos, you can see them on my Facebook page.

If you could take a trip to any place in the world, where would you go?

I'll be giving away a copy of my latest book, Nursing a Soldier's Heart,  to one person who leaves a comment and an email address.