Hard to believe, but this first day of the new year has been the last full day of our family trip. Tomorrow Carrie and Theo will be flying back to the US around the same time that Hilde, Jonah, and I will be arriving in Berlin via the ICE (fast train) to join a seminary trip to historical sites around eastern Germany. I got choked up talking about the end of our trip together during dinner. Traveling as a family with kids at three very different ages can be challenging. Doing it during the pandemic adds several other layers, but it has been a very rich and meaningful time for me and--I hope--the rest of my family.
After sleeping in this morning, we headed back to the museum district to check out the Pinakothek der Moderne (modern art museum). The family really got into a mixed media installation by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. It was a blast for me to see works by Warhol, Picasso, and Max Beckman, among others.
From there, we caught a street car to a covid test site, so that Carrie and Theo could get tested before their return trips. It was nice to find a free test center that didn't require reservations. But it was also really hard to navigate the website in German. Both of them tested negative. We received electronic versions of the test results and hung around a while longer to get some paper copies in English and German. Again: if being a foreigner and traveling internationally can be hard in the best times, then this trip has had some added extra challenge and foreignness. To this point, things have worked out, and I pray that it remains that way tomorrow.
I also pray for all the seminary students who are traveling and for a rich and safe time of learning and journeying together. Traveling mercies and lifelong learning are good prayers for the whole year, too! Amen
After sleeping in this morning, we headed back to the museum district to check out the Pinakothek der Moderne (modern art museum). The family really got into a mixed media installation by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. It was a blast for me to see works by Warhol, Picasso, and Max Beckman, among others.
From there, we caught a street car to a covid test site, so that Carrie and Theo could get tested before their return trips. It was nice to find a free test center that didn't require reservations. But it was also really hard to navigate the website in German. Both of them tested negative. We received electronic versions of the test results and hung around a while longer to get some paper copies in English and German. Again: if being a foreigner and traveling internationally can be hard in the best times, then this trip has had some added extra challenge and foreignness. To this point, things have worked out, and I pray that it remains that way tomorrow.
I also pray for all the seminary students who are traveling and for a rich and safe time of learning and journeying together. Traveling mercies and lifelong learning are good prayers for the whole year, too! Amen