N.Irish paramilitary charged with Adams murder bid

After being in Northern Ireland, this has become near and dear to my heart.

BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Irish paramilitary Michael Stone was charged on Saturday with the attempted murder of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams after he stormed into Belfast's parliament building with a bag of homemade explosives.

Stone, a supporter of British rule, lobbed a smoking and fizzing package into the entrance of Belfast's Stormont parliament buildings on Friday as pro-Irish and pro-British political parties were debating self-rule for the province.

Stormont was evacuated and Stone arrested. The army later defused between six and eight devices, which police Chief Constable Hugh Orde described as "amateurish in design."

Stone, who gained notoriety after an attack on an

Irish Republican Army

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Irish Republican Army (IRA) funeral nearly 20 years ago, was charged on Saturday with a total of five counts of attempted murder, including that of Martin McGuinness, Sinn Fein chief negotiator.

Stone was also charged with possessing items likely to be used for terrorist purposes including nail bombs, explosives, an axe and a garrotte, and of possessing a firearm or imitation firearm. He was remanded in custody until December 22.

As he left court, Stone shouted: "Ulster is not for sale! No surrender!"

Sinn Fein, political ally of the IRA, ultimately wants to unite the province with Ireland but is in talks on sharing power with pro-British opponents in a devolved local government.

Friday's incident disrupted fraught discussions on that assembly, which would unite in government parties with starkly opposing political and religious views after decades of sectarian conflict in which some 3,600 people died.

The debate had to be suspended just 40 minutes in and without a clear indication from pro-British hardliners, the Democratic Unionist party, as to who they would nominate to leade a power-sharing assembly.

But London and Dublin still plan to push on with a timetable agreed last month that envisages assembly elections in March.

Stone was jailed for life following his 1988 cemetery attack, in which three people died and scores were injured, but was released six years ago under Northern Ireland's Good Friday peace agreement. He vowed then his days as a gunman were over.

Police told the court that Stone had indicated he acted alone in Friday's attack.

Eurojournal - 23 November 2006

Today I have been on my juice fast. I declared to James that HE will take the laundry to Esthi Neni’s. No wine! I am fasting because I have been feeling toxic from the smoke from the woodstove. I thought it was worth a try. The kids keep referring to it as my juice fest and they would like to be invited tot my juice fest.

The children announced that today was Teddy and Wendy’s birthday. Teddy is Liam’s very special stuffed bear, Wendy is Luna’s favorite doll. When they announce a birthday that means I need to make a treat. In Paris this is when we had pudding. Today I cut bananas and oranges per Luna’s suggestion. The kids poured me a big cup of juice knowing I was fasting. It was fun. We all sat around and talked about for what we were thankful. Afterall it is american thanksgiving. James is thankful that we are together (and for my girlish figure! Ha!). I am thankful that we are living the life we are. Byron is thankful for traveling to Europe. Liam is thankful for the puppies. Luna is thankful for Andie.

Both James and I are ready to go home. We love it here but we know we are almost finished here. We talk of our home and friends everyday. Now that I have a job I am planning our lives accordingly. We joke about getting our flights earlier and just heading home. James will be a stay at home dad with Liam and attend school in Berkeley once a week. I will work nights 4 nights a week and sleep in the first half of the day. I am thrilled that life will be easier than when I was in grad school. My income is the same as James was at his job so no change in finances. There will be so much more time together as a family. I had worried that when I started working it would be a significant adjustment after being together 7/24 in Europe. I am away enough to get my own space yet close to home. My job will be in Willits, so no more driving. Now we are ready to start that part of our lives! Looking forward to beloved family in San Diego and especially our dog! Our friends. Long, deep conversations.

Eurojournal - 22 November 2006

It has been an interesting week. Earlier in the week we were splitting wood and kindling. All of us. James, Byron and I split while Luna and Liam stacked. It was fun. We split with axes, no automatic log splitters here. Alex and his father came over to use the chainsaw on the wood to make logs. When we purchased our wood this summer, the people drop it by whole. Then we have to saw it into smaller pieces. Alex and his father cut a lot of wood and we still have a giant stack of what resembles whole trees left in our yard. We got chopping and were almost finished when Domi Basci arrives with his saw and starts cutting even more logs into rounds. I loved the novelty of splitting wood. I loved the exercise. I attempted to keep perspective that while it is necessary for our heat here it is a novelty. We will eventually go back to our centrally heated home. For everyone else in the village this is life. Byron likes this life. In fact, he decided he liked it so much that he wants to have a job at home splitting wood.

Today we planned to go for a hike to the cemetery up the hill. James wanted to show us what the traditional funeral is like here. James started talking with Esthi Neni about using her washer. She invited us in. We thought she was going to show us how to use it. She gives us a tour of her house. I hadn’t been inside yet. We sit down and she communicates to us to take off our coats and stay. I am relying on body language and rough translation from James here. She offers us palinka. I say no. James tries to say no but it is already on the tray ready to serve. I started a juice fast for the day and had no idea where wine or palinka fit into this. James tries to communicate that I am drinking only fruit juice. So she goes into another room and brings us some homemade wine with the fruits in the jar to take home. She brings the same wine out for me. It is very strong wine. I again try to say no as well as James and she pours it for us and tells us to drink. Meanwhile the kids are loving her place. She already gave them a big box of chocolate and they could have as many as they wanted. She begins to tell me about her health issues showing me her legs and medications. She tells us she had what may have been a MI when we were in Spain. I try to ask her questions through James.

I try to ask how long she has lived in the village. She says since 1989. This was when the revolution happened and Communism ended. Many Hungarians were forced out of the villages and replaced by Romanians, a sort of ethnic cleansing of sorts, to live in Udvarhely, the closest “city.” We go here for our groceries. Esthi Neni lived there prior to the village and was unable to move to the village until after the revolution. She showed us photos of her parents, herself and Domi Basci and her son. What a privilege. She tells us she is overwhelmed with life. Too much to do and she is tired.

We then talk about Christmas and advent. She immediately measures James neck and motions that she wants to get him a new minister shirt for Christmas. She is excited that he is doing the sermon this Sunday. Csaba is out of town and James will fill in for him with Eva translating. She says she really doesn’t attend church but has been since he has been here. She will be at church this Sunday.

It is time to go. The children were getting squirrly and I was feeling a little like I had too much wine. Having two glasses on virtually an empty stomach from my fast was too much for me. I tried to leave my first cup half full, a way to avoid the obligatory second filling. But she would see it and tell me to drink more. I was honored to have had the chance to really sit with Esthi Neni. I had wanted to talk with her and ask about her life since we arrived. It is amazing how we can communicate despite the language barrier. We made our way out and she offered us some of her sauerkraut from her cellar. She gave me some sauerkraut water. I was hesitant at first but we needed to try it at her urging to be polite. I loved it. She kept telling us to drink it as she read that there were a lot of vitamins in it. She gives us hugs as she always does and tells me that she likes James, he is good. I agree with her and we both hug James.

We start our walk. James talks with Micsi Basci, Atilla and Bella’s grandfather. Atilla and Bella are Luna and Liam’s good friends next door. Misci Basci is in good form today. He is drunk but pleasant and friendly. He is usually pretty gruff. James and he have a connection. He walked with us a bit. He told us that he knows some Russian. He likes the idea of learning English but will never travel to the US. He took the kids and I to see if Bella and Atilla were at their mother’s house while James dropped the modem off at Csaba’s house. No one was home. He went back home and we were on our way to our hike.

We hiked up a muddy road, really almost all roads are muddy here. We passed a tractor tilling a field and made it to the first cemetery. James explained how the casket is driven up to the cemetery in the horse drawn cart. The minister, or Csaba here, leads and the people follow him. Everyone walks regardless of their age or health status. When they arrive the grave has been dug and the casket is placed inside. The casket is sealed and lowered. The family can throw the first dirt on while prayers are being said.

We passed graves from the 1800’s with beautiful headstones. Almost all the graves are well cared for. It is common to see family plots. We walked past a beautiful pasture to the other cemetery. This is where James was present for the last funeral. He showed me the gravesite. The children were very interested in reading the names of the people and when they lived. They wanted to know if anyone famous was here. A piece of their visit form Pere Lachaise in Paris, I suppose. We admired the view from atop the hill. We could see all of San Paul, Reczenyd and San Martin, three villages.We saw the line of steeples from the village churches. In our village was our very bright house in the middle. Such a nice hike. Such a nice day. I ended my day and ended my fast. I already had too much to drink and James made a fabulous dinner. So I ate. I decided to try again tomorrow.

Eurojournal - 18 Nov 2006

Today I spent the day making vegan veggie pot pie but in a big pan to last us through lunch, dinner and lunch tomorrow. Our neighbor Alex dropped by and had some. We were introduced to him the first day we arrived in the village. He heard we were coming and wanted to practice his English with us. He speaks some English and wants to visit the US after he saves up some money which may take about 5 years for him. He is about our age. He and James spent some time together while the children and I were away. They like to trade movies. We looked at pictures and James and he talked about internet connections. He was asking about American culture like drive through fast food and family dinners. We talked about bedroom communities and the decline of family dinners in the US. He could not fathom that. James described what a tv dinner was. That was funny. When Alex first arrived we invited him to stay for lunch. He was clear that he was not a vegetarian and while there may be a few he just isn’t one. But he wanted to eat with us anyway. He loved the pot pie and wanted a recipe so his mom could make it for him. After he ate he asked why more people in Romania aren’t vegetarians. This of course led into a discussion of comparisons of food politics here and in the US. All produce is organic here and no one pays extra. Everything is fresh even the meat. No hormones and people know exactly where there food originates. In fact, we were invited by Csaba to his parents for the pig slaughter where they slaughter the pig for the Christmas dinner. They do it several weeks early to allow the meat to cure. We had to decline but were honored to have been invited. Point being that those here are deeply connected to their food and land in a way that most Americans, myself included, are not.

British Accidents

The children are playing right now pretending they are from Britain. Liam always uses the word "accident" in place of "accent." He just told Luna, "Hey Luna! We ahhr frome Lone done ahhnd we hahhve british ahhccidents!

Eurojournal - 3-4 November 2006 Boat to Italy

Today was the day we said goodbye to Barcelona. We spent the day packing and cleaning. We said good bye to Antonia our next door neighbor who adored the children and Merce in the office. I have been so impressed with the warmth we received where we stayed. We stayed at Banys De Mar apartments. I can’t recommend them enough! It is a family run office. Each day as we passed the office the children would pop in and say Hola and receive a warm greeting in return. Today we felt sad to leave. But all good things come to an end and onto the next part of our journey.

Liam has been excited about riding the ferry all week and counting the days. Finally today is the day. We got on board easily. Again we were welcomed with so much warmth and service. It was like a hotel. Someone showed us to our cabin, something we never expected as we got the cheapest possible cabin! The cabin was bigger than any hostel room and we had our own bathroom! We went outside to watch the boat set sail and see Barcelona. We waited a few hours. The boat was late. The children enjoyed watching the trucks get loaded onto the boat. It was 2 hours past bedtime. James and I went out and walked around after the children fell asleep. It was fun. The boat finally left shore around 11pm, about 5 hours late.

We woke up to a gorgeous sunny but cool day on the blue Mediterranean. We could see a glimpse of Corsica and Sardinia off. They announced the boat would be arriving around 8pm, 5 hours past the scheduled 3pm. I was a little pnicked as we had a reservation at a hostel in Rome. They expected us at 7pm nd could bump us if we do not show up then. I worked pretty hard to find this place and did not want to lose it. We had no cell phone signl, no py phones on bord. The only communication was internet. Who would be up right now? It was 10 am in the Mediterranean making it 1am in California. So we emailed friends and family asking if they could call the hostel. Luckily our dear friend Heidi saved the day and happened to be up late. She made the call and everything was good.

The children made two sets of friends on the boat. One was a girl who was about 12. She played with Luna and Liam. Another were two girls maybe one was younger and one was older. At one point we were all playing tic tac toe in multiple languages. James met a nice Australian couple on the boat with whom we later rode the train to Rome.

Most of the afternoon was spent sailing between Corsica and Sardinia. It was gorgeous. To our North was Corsica which was more rocky and full of cliffs. To the South was Sardinia which was more green and mountainous. We were running low on food so we bought lunch on the boat. I was hoping it would be easy to get pasta and marinara on an Italian boat and it was.

We arrived in Civitavecchia, a port about an hour from Roma. We waited for the shuttle to take us to the train. It was a quaint town with stands selling souvenirs and produce, even at 9pm. Finally on our way to Roma. We arrived, made it to our hostel with no problems, though we did wander Rome late at night which was a bit uncomfortable. Our room was big which was really nice.

Eurojournal -5 November 2006 Roma!

Here we are in Rome. We made it to Vatican city easily for the weekly Papal blessing. On the way we foraged for breakfast and got some rolls. I went in to a café and it was great to watch the interactions. The Italian server was loud and silly. The exchange of conversations was fun. A great energy. On the side was a gelato spot. I read somewhere that there was in fact soy gelato in Roma and even a place where we can get pistachio flavored vegan gelato. We have had an easy time getting sorbet in Europe so I was only expecting sorbet. In that gelato spot in the cafe, there were four, yes four! flavors of soya gelato.

Chocolate.
Vanilla.
Cappacino.
Hazlenut.

My jaw dropped. This was a regular café, not a vegan or even organic hippie place. And there was soy! I ran out and told James and the mission for the day was to get soy gelato after lunch.

We ate our rolls on the way to the Vatican. We reached the walls and arrived in St Peter’s square a little early. I felt this rush of emotion wash over me as we entered. I grew up seeing this place on television. We are in the Vatican! I grew up Catholic and have kept some of the influences in my life. While I do not like Benedict as he is extremely conservative, I appreciate that we were there. I could not put words on my emotions. I even felt some tears. How interesting. I did feel a sadness for the loss of Pope John Paul II as he was the pope during my childhood and most of my life. I wished I had been here when he did the blessings. Either way I was glad to be there.

We tried to figure out where Benedict would do his blessing. On a nondescript building was a window. It opened and someone dropped a red carpet/tapestry and the crowd cheered. That’s it. Not as far away as I thought it would be. I could see his face with my camera a bit zoomed in on him. He came out to a cheering crowd. I didn’t know what to think. He spoke.

That was interesting as any cynicism or contempt I had washed away. His voice and demeanor was so soft. I never expected that. I hung onto every syllable and listened (as if I knew Latin!) I gave a brief explanation of Catholicism and his place in the religion to the kids. After his blessing he gave a brief blessing in various languages. French, Spanish, German, Italian, English, etc. The blessing concluded and we walked around.

We looked for lunch and found a nice Italian place near the Vatican. It was cold outside but we sat outside anyway with heaters. We had a yummy pasta and pizza lunch. Here’s the interesting part. Someone attempted to pickpocket me! I was sitting on the inside chair with my bag on the inside. Someone sits at the table behind me. The chairs are close in proximity. I feel a bump and instinctually move my chair in and move my bag under the table to my feet. The man gets up and leaves looking back at me. I get a strange feeling and check my bag. My zippers were open! They were closed before this. Only we put the important stuff in a hard to reach spot. Only the tour book was in the easy unzipped spot.

James was pickpocketed twice in Spain. I think I mentioned that a while ago. One day my wallet was missing and the bag was unzipped. I assumed that it fell out. The Metro in Barcelona had my wallet in lost and found the next day. My passport, ID and credit cards were there. No charges on my cards. My gift card was gone and money. I still assumed it fell out and dropped. No one would actually take it! A few days later James and I are out late around 11pm. We get on the Metro. Later both James and I identified that we experienced a very bad intuition prior to getting on the train. I get on first and James is delayed. I look over and there are three younger men all over him, feeling his legs and body on the doorway of the metro where the cameras can not see. He is standing still holding the bag tightly. I walk over and yell at them telling them NO! I make eye contact with one as I am punching him on the shoulder and off they all go. Unsuccessful! We had passports and train tickets as we had to get tickets that day. Our life was in that bag! I still could not imagine. It must have been because we were out late or James is an easy target. Later I insensitively school James on his body language and how he should be carrying himself to avoid being a target! I have felt safe most of our travels and nothing has happened until now. Denial.

So after this guy tries in Rome, on ME, my feelings are hurt. Again I thought I was not a target and I had conflicting feelings. If he is poor and needs money, I obviously have more than he does and should share. No one would go so low unless they really needed it. I still believe that. Yet James saw more than one of these guys and said it was a planned scam. He said he looked well off. I thought he didn’t. I felt like I had a deep overall trust in the goodness of people and that everyone had their reasons for doing bad things. I do believe that everyone is inherently good. Yet someone tried to rip me off. In that moment I lost all trust in humanity. I felt betrayed. I could take those feelings and become reactionary and trust no one, blame the poor, etc. but I choose not to do that. I will sit with those feelings and allow myself to trust everyone but perhaps understand that good people will still rip people off. I have to understand that I am also a rich American traveling and that in itself opens this situation up. I choose to travel. That is the consequences of being privileged. And in Europe it is just pick pockets. It is not violent like in the States.

It was hard being in this holy city and knowing that Rome is known for pickpockets. I saw more homelessness and poverty here than anywhere else in Europe! (except for parts of Romania). When we arrived I saw rows of people lined up in sleeping bags at the post at night. I saw the beggars that are hunched over with missing limbs juxtaposed against priests walking by in their neatly pressed robes and perfect hair. We are at a palace where the pope lives and there are beggars everywhere. Some of my strongest beliefs and reasons for being an activist come from Catholicism.
Do good.
Care for the poor.
The meek and humble shall inherit the Earth.
Live charity.
Yet the Catholic church has so much money. I wouldn’t be surprised if a small percentage of their profits could end the poverty just in the Vatican city area. Rome is such a city of contradiction. The holiest city with poverty, pickpockets and homeless people lines up at the post. Here I am a rich American tourist. The true Catholic in me would have donated the money we borrowed for this trip before we even left. I do feel twinges of guilt for such extravagance. And perhaps in times when I stop caring or lose humbleness which I certainly have lately the pick pocket reminds me. I am reminded.

…the rest of the day…we got soy gelato. Hazelnut is absolutely divine. The vanilla was real vanilla. We will return for more. We went to the Colisseum and saw the ruins. Amazing how old this is! I tried in many ways tot explain to Luna and Liam how old this place is. Older than anything we have seen. All of it was breathtaking.

Eurojournal - 6 November 2006

Today we had a few hours to see the Sistine Chapel before boarding a train to Venice at lunchtime. Byron decided he would rather go into the Roman Forum than see the Sistine Chapel. I was committed to the chapel as the younger children have been on this journey exploring the artwork of ceilings. They love lying down and looking at everything happening in a painting. This was the one we had all waited for. So we let Byron go on his own knowing that we may end up meeting him there if there is a long line to get into the chapel.

We arrived at The Vatican to a very long line. A friend of Byron’s in Spain warned him that it would take 3 hours. We planned for 2 and had to leave to get the train if it went longer. Arriving an hour before opening, we stood in line. The kids tried to haggle with people selling scarves. Luna and Liam offered their 30 Euro cents for a scarf. The seller thought about it and then realized how absurd it would be to sell a 10 Euro scarf for 30 Euro cents. It was so funny though watching them. They did this with al the sellers passing. It was cute. They have been getting free candy and toys since the beginning of Spain everyday. I think they decided to up the odds now.

We made it in even bout 10 minutes ahead of my schedule. Great! We went tot eh chapel and saw some of the works along the way. The chapel was crowded but there was some room on the floor for the children to lie down. They saw “Creation” and I was explaining things tot them I never dreamed I would. They look at the rest of the work along the walls. Liam interpreted one as people making a big pot of stew and having a party.

We attempted to get more gelato after and they only had cappacino. We ran out of time and had to get our bags ofrm the hostel and go. I grabbed some samosas for lunch on the train and Byron and James brought the bags down. We made it on time.

We had a 5 hour ride to Venice. We saw Italy’s countryside. The children made friends with al little girl named Lily from Colorado. We enjoyed talking with her mom who was visiting Europe for a month. They rode their bikes everywhere. That is what I want to do next time. The ride went fast and we arrived after dinner. We came out from the train station and it was magnificent. The station was at the grand canal. The buildings were lit up. Again our jaws dropped. Venice at night is gorgeous and quaint. Quite the opposite of the grungy Rome we just saw.

We walked to our room and got lost few times. I enjoyed going into shops and asking directions. Everyone was so nice. We made it to our place in Campo Santa Margarita which is the student area. There were fruit stands still open at 9pm. It was vibrant yet quiet. We looked around and went to bed excited to see this city in the morning.

Eurojournal - 7 November 2006 Venice!

We rode the vaporetto around Venice. We went out to Lido island and explored. Since we didn’t get the second gelato in Roma we were looking at every gelato stand for soya here. Nothing. Must have been a Roma thing. Later we found a place with rice milk gelato. No dairy just rice milk. We were desperate. We took it and loved it. It was better than any rice milk ice cream in the states. It was a beautiful sunny day on the canals…the beauty of Venice and vegan ice cream.
We wandered the city passing glass and mask shops. We passed the shop where Stanley Kubrick bought the masks for the movie “Eyes Wide Shut.” We passed several places with graffiti or signs against the war in Iraq and US imperialism. I tried to get some pictures there. Just outside the train station is a sculpture by Michael Angel of Mary holding Jesus after he was taken off the cross (La Pieta?). Under him lies an american flag barely touching the ground. We could not translate the artist’s interpretation other than Jesus died for the US sins, perhaps.

After wandering Venice, the kids asked me for some money. Byron said their plan was legitimate. James and I waited at St Mark’s square for them and they returned with gifts for me. Earrings and a Venetian glass pendant necklace. Wow! I cried. They were so proud.

James and I flip flopped about riding the gondola. Byron had been telling us all day we should and he would watch the kids for us. It cost more money than we had and it was cold outside. We decided not to go because the romantic energy would be replaced by the stress of “we spent how much for this and we are freezing?” We decided we will return to Venice later.

We went back to collect our bags and eat dinner at our favorite Italian spot in Campo Santa Margarita. Off to the train for an overnight to Vienna.

Eurojournal - 8 November 2006 Vienna!

We woke up near Vienna on the train. It was a bit dreary and looked really COLD. We were still looking forward to wandering Vienna for the day until our next train at 8pm. We had great service on this train and breakfast which was unexpected.

We made our game plan and headed out to the Oberes Belvedere museum. They have Gustav Klimpt’s “The Kiss” painting which is one of James and my absolute favorites. It was a pleasant surprise to find out form our tour book it was here and open.

We arrived and were impressed at how immaculate the city was. Every building was clean, sidewalks, streets. It reminded me of Budapest or Paris but much cleaner. I felt safe there. It was quiet.

We went in to the Oberes Belvedere and viewed other Impressionist works including German impressionists and a Monet and Van Gogh.

Then we make it to “The Kiss.” Larger than I expected. I gazed at it and kissed James. The couple embraces on some sort of ledge with the dark paint in the background symbolizing and abyss of some sort, a danger almost. They are protected by a shimmering gold aura in their embrace. The masculine figure’s robe is decorated in rectangles and squares, more hardened forms. While the feminine figure is softer circular forms. Each of the designs of the robes come together and meld into one another as the couple does.

After our visit we left for lunch. As we were waiting for the metro, a man approaches us. He was friendly and spoke English. My initial thought was he needed money but the energy was different. He asked where we were from, his brother owned a restaurant in Seattle. We connected. He asks if we would like to eat at his Greek restaurant across the street. We tell him we are vegans and he enthusiastically promises to make a great dish for us. An adventure, why not?

He brings out an elaborate Greek salad minus the feta along with some eggplant, hummus, pita, garbanzos and many other dishes. This was a lot of food. More that I even Byron could eat! We ate and ate and ate. They kept bringing more bread.

The man fell in love with Liam. Liam has that effect on most. He declared Liam as his best buddy. He was from Greece and his wife is Austrian. They have a child. We talked about schooling here. His daughter is already fluent in Greek and German and learning English in school. She is 6.

After 2 hours of this feast, much like a greek father (according to Byron) he asks us what kind of dessert we want. Oh we can’t do that. We are all stuffed. But there IS baklava. Okay a little baklava to SHARE that means like 2 pieces and we cut them up. He brings a giant plate of 15 baklava, apple streudal, and fruit.

We make it through most and realize we need to leave now before he gives us more food. Oh yeah and uh… the bill. Well you know that gondola ride we didn’t go on last night? Yep, that much. But everyone including Byron was stuffed. It will be a very light dinner and none for me. And the experience was great. We got the name of his brother’s restaurant in Seattle should we ever be there. I think we get a discount too.

We roll our bellies out of there onto the Metro heading to Museumquartier. The kids did not want to go into another museum so we admired the buildings and welcomed walking around after lunch. It was really beautiful. Again, pristine buildings and people. We rode the tram around the ring and saw the remainder of the city. We passed OPEC, a vegn gourmet restaurant, the Danube, etc. We stepped off and walked along the Danube at dusk. The children picked up some sticks and started playing music. Luna was plying the violin and Liam the French horn. I was wishing we were there longer for the children to see a Viennese symphony. I thought it was cute that we were in Vienna along the Danube and they were playing music.

It was time to make it back to the station to catch our train. We boarded our train easily and got ready for bed. In the night the border patrol came and checked passports. James was pretty anxious about this. Throughout the EU no one really checks passports on trains but in Austria, Hungary and Romania they do. It was more of a challenge on the Hungary/Romania border as they came at 2am. For some reason they looked at our middle names. One seemingly stern guard said, “Adrienne?” We pointed to Luna and he says, “Adrienne is Romanian, very nice name.” It worked out well and went back to sleep.

We woke up to a very cold looking Transylvania. I thought to myself, what have I gotten us into? I was just in the Mediterranean last week! Liam woke up and snuggled with me as we stared out the window together as the passing leafless trees and brown fields with frost.

Eurojournal - Back in Transylvania!

Back in the village! We arrived by train at 9 am warmly and excitedly greeted by Eva and her friend at the train station. We stepped out and it was COLD. It felt like snow. We stopped to get some groceries, winter gloves and hats for everyone. I forgot all about the money conversion here. The new and old Romanian lei game. Eva helped me out translating as my Hungarian or what little feeling I had for it was gone. We arrived to the village. The children were excited asking every few minutes how much longer. We passed Recsenyed the village before ours and Liam saw our church. He yells out in unison with Luna, “We’re in San Pal!” Driving down a very muddy street we reach our yellow house. Liam sees Domi Baci in his yard and runs over yelling “Domi Baci!” Esthi Neni comes over and hugs everyone tight thrilled to see us all.

It is not as cold as the train station but still cold. The village has changed drastically since we left when it was warm. The storks are long gone along with the leaves. It feels like snow and in fact snowed last week. The cows stay in and no longer go out to pasture. We can see more mountains with the leaves fallen and fields plowed. The children are bundled up. We barely recognized Atilla and Bella, Luna and Liam’s friends when they walked home from school today. They were bundled in their winter coats and hats.

Our house hadn’t been heated since October and James brought the keys otherwise Esthi Neni would have heated it up for us. James started the fires and one of the stoves is malfunctioning and smokes the whole house. Eva invites us to her house for the night where we can shower and do laundry while Esthi Neni and Domi Baci fix the stove and heat up the house for us.

We spent the remainder of the day at Eva and Csaba’s. We bathed and napped and again were welcomed with a nice lunch. Luna and Liam were thrilled to be back and have some space. Luna, Liam and Eszter played all day. The three of them have developed a chemistry since Barcelona. It was nice to relax and spend some time with Eva. We showed pictures from our trip since they left Barcelona. I had a great conversation about the differences in family in the village and the US. I asked Eva why there was no homelessness here after seeing so much in Rome. She said that if a brother is having a hard time, no matter what the family will take him in and care for him. That is just how it is. Older parents are cared for by their children. It is considered shameful to send an older relative to a nursing home. She said it is only acceptable if the parent really wants to go. Csaba thought about having church members over the age of 80 pay half of their church dues. The people said that it was not necessary as the older relative is on retirement. If they can not afford it their children will help. It is just expected that family will care for each other here. We too are treated like family here.

We are back home. The house is heating up. I am worried that the children’s room is too cold as there is no stove in there. We are hoping the wood stove in the kitchen along with an electric heater in their room will keep them warm. They are bundled up in a lot of blankets and warm pj’s. Luna wanted to wear her new winter hat too. We may have to move everyone to our room or the kitchen. Honestly I am concerned and having doubts if we can endure this cold for 7 weeks. I rapidly grew accustomed to our nice central heating once we stopped using the woodstove in Willits. Even when we did use the stove at home we had a system and knew how to warm up to rooms. Hopefully we will get it figured out fast here. Despite all of this it is nice to be back, to have some sort of roots, to be “home.” James and I were snuggling up and I asked, “Now what?” No more trip planning (except home and side trips). We have seen so much and are so thankful. We are all ready to be back. We can unpack tomorrow. Monday, I start my job search and phone calls.

Eurojournal - 11 November 2006

We are adjusting to the village well. Our house is heating up and the children staying warm at night. James taught English today as he usually does on Saturdays. He teaches the 1-4 graders in the morning and the older students in the evening. Luna went with him and had a great time. Byron was asked to help teach English to the 15 year olds.
I am realizing how little time we have left here. 7 weeks (now 6) seemed so far off yet it is so soon that we will depart Transylvania.

Eurojournal - 13 November 2006

Yesterday we attended church. It was nice to be back in the familiarity of the church here and be with the community. The children are now accustomed to sitting quietly in church. Something they never knew in the States. We had lunch and spent the day with Csaba and Eva which was fun. Luna and Liam love playing with Eszter and her toys. We had some Palinka (not too much!) and discussed the possibility of a road trip (yep driving to Poland!) together to Auschwitz. We’ll see if we can all afford it.

Today was a lazy day. James went to Csaba’s for work and Hungarian. I stayed home and cooked a yummy 2 course lunch. I made stuffed paprika with vegan cheese and TVP and a second course of pasta and fresh tomato sauce.

We are back in the routine of school. Luna has progressed well in math from complex addition and subtraction to multiplication. At first she had a hard time but then something clicked and she got it and wanted to do more and more problems until *I* was exhausted! Liam is writing numbers and letters and observing. Byron is almost 60% finished with his Algebra II homework. James is working on reading with Luna. She is reading a chapter book called the “Pony Mad Princess.” All three have a strong grasp of geography. Byron knows every European country, capital, location, major mountain ranges and seas and now flags. Luna knows several countries, the ones we visited. Liam can easily point out on a map Spain, Portugal, France, Norway, Italy and Romania. And of course languages. Everyone has received a taste of languages (French, Italian, German, Dutch, Norsk, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Romanian and Hungarian). Liam has an ear for the sounds and pronounces perfectly. Luna and Liam have switched to Hungarian easily. Byron feels like he has forgotten much. I feel like I know nothing but am comfortable with the sounds. Byron and I are still in Spanish mode. We talked at lunch today about continuing language study when we return. After traveling and realizing how little Americans know, I am committed to establishing fluency in Spanish and another language. Luna is already learning Chinese and we will add Spanish. Byron is learning Spanish and will continue with Hungarian. Liam will learn Spanish and something else. Today he said he wanted to learn German.

Eurojournal - 15 November 2006

(Note-having issues with blogger and uploading so photos to come later...)
We went to Udvarhely to repair Luna’s glasses. We will get her new glasses. She has an eye exam scheduled for tomorrow. It will cost us a little over $11 for the exam. I made a dentist appointment for Byron and myself for two weeks. Dentistry is also inexpensive here and the quality is excellent. James had a wisdom tooth pulled a while ago for almost nothing and had great service and care. People are coming form western Europe and Hungary for dental care here because of the prices and quality.

Later we went on a nice walk around own. The first few days were a challenge as I was accustomed to walking everywhere , thus getting regular exercise each day. Here I was not brave enough to get cold and muddy. Last night James and I went on a nice walk along the road avoiding much of the mud. I felt great and realized how much I missed walking outside. So today we all went. I found some rubber boots. Now I can go in the mud. Woohoo! I started working out inside doing sit ups and push ups and some yoga. Liam and Luna exercised with me today. Luna is so strong. She can do sit ups easily and lift heavy things. I think it was from lugging her own backpack around Europe. Liam was thrilled to be doing yoga and would stop playing with Luna and Byron to take a break. He ran to our bedroom saying in his serious voice, “wait guys, I have to do some yoga for a while.”

Byron has been responsible for bringing the wood in from outside. Twice a day he fills a large rubbish bin with wood from the barn. He starts Aikido tonight and I will go to town where the free wifi is. A much better connection.

Leaving Barcelona

It's been a busy week. Sunday we went to Montserrat which was amazing. I will write more about it another time. For now, we are leaving Barcelona to take an overnight ferry to Rome. We will be in Italy for 3 days. I heard that there was soya gelato all over Rome. After Rome and Venice, we will train back to the village. James decided to stay with us so we are all traveling back together!


These are some of the many pictures from Montserrat. We took a beautiful hike there.