Gorn-ski

My time here in Varen, Switzerland (google it) has been amazing thus far. Each day I am able to sit on a balcony overlooking the Alps while I drink tea and read. I feel really rested. You might not think it but while traveling it is easy to forget to rest. Truly, I praise God for the time he has given me here thus far.

The area where I am staying is a village of about 600 people. The village is more than 700 years old and some of the families have been living here that long. So far I have planted potatoes, hiked through some mountains, road a bike down a mountain and learned to ski.

Skiing is now on the list of things I really enjoy doing.

Skiiing, not hard, but hard to get really good at. Learning to turn and do little jumps comes easily but I do not think I am quite to the "jump out of a helicopter onto a mountain face" stage of skiing. Maybe day two.

Today the family I am staying with is taking me to the local hot springs. I am pretty excited for the whole hot springs in the alps deal.

Next up is Germany. I will meet up with my friend Brooks in the Airport and we hope to do a tour through some of the smaller villages. So Ciao from Switzerland and next I will post from Germany!

p.s. I will put photos up from skiing soon. Need to eat lunch.

RICCOLA!!!!

Well hello from Switzerland! Right now I am staying with another amazing family. The view from my window here in the Alps is awe inspiring to say the least. Photos to follow.

I know last post I said I would update more, I am trying. It is hard when day to day you are place to place. But here it goes. This post is Venice and Zurich. Next time I will get into Switzerland, possibly the best place I have ever been.






San Marco Square. Venice.








First impression of Venice: worst, most rainy place ever. Water above, water below.

Second, day two, impression: Wonderful! Gustavo the Gondolier says Ciao! I ended up meeting four other americans and we five traveled all day together. And yes, we really road a gondola. Our driver had even been a previous Italian Bronze metalist. I guess there is not too much money in olympic rowing.

Gondola style.

I even ran into, believe it or not, fellow Jayhawks. A group of travel abroads students were visiting Venice and were wearing Jayhawk shirts. They saw my hat, we hugged, joy overflowed and all rejoiced.

Zurich, way over rated. Do not ask why I decided to go to one of the most expensive cities in the world. It is beyond me. On the plus side I got to have the best chocolate I have ever had, see watches that cost more than my college education and meet a bunch of cool aussies.

Still though, unless you are rich avoid Zurich. Just my opinion.





Zurich Morning. Reflective moment.
(look, a nice shirt, I triedto fit in with the locals.)









Know that I miss all of you with all of my heart. It bring tears to my eyes when I remember how much I miss seeing and being with everyone. God has surely blessed me with friends and family strong and loving.

When I find my heart sad and down I continue to be encouraged and renewed by God's spirit. He has sustained me more than I could have ever believed. I pray and ask God for traveling companions and then no sooner do I run into people and we spend days together!

God is so good. He is so good to us.

Yesterday as I sat on a Swiss bound train I really felt my heart renewed and refreshed. As I travel from place to place I often think of everyone at home. On the train I was reminded that truly, this world is not our home at all. Our hearts cry out for goodness, justice, love and peace because our hearts were made for heaven, our true home. These things are but shadows of the true goodness awaiting us who call God Father.

And so my heart feels full. God is in Heaven. Jesus died and rose to cover my sin. And the Holy Spirit lives in us. What could we possibly find to worry about?

Alright, I love you all and miss you. I promise, for real this time, that time permitting I will update tomorrow with photos from the home of the Swiss Family Robinson. And believe it or not, everyone here carries huge mountain horns to chase away goats. Who knew. They are hard to carry on bikes though, the horns I mean, not the goats. It would be impossible to get a goat on a bike.

Italy: three cities, one post. sorry.

Hello and Ciao from Florence, Italy! Well actually, I am outside of Florence by about forty-five minutes. Currently I am being hosted by some of the most wonderful people I have met journeying thus far. This family has made me really feel comfortable and at home. Whether it is harvesting their own honey, painting and designing, or even cooking, they do it with all of their hearts. I will miss them and remember them when I leave.

That being said, you can be certain that the food here is awesome. Italy has shown me some of the best food on my journey. I even enjoy eating olives here!

Sorry France.

Alright, down to business. Last time I updates I was trying to get a few quick words in about my plans. The past few days have been, to say the least, interesting.


Let us start in Cinque Terra.

This has been one of the most magical places I have visited. As you train through the tunnel laden mountain side you catch quick glimspes of small villages. Finally I came to rest at my place of interest, the village of Vernazza. I stayed here three days and spent my time hiking between the five villages, or terras.

I could not begin to describe the views, smells and people. I did finally have real italian coffee and I love it! However fears have begun to grow in me concerning my new ability to drink espresso so quickly and feel no affec ts...to be continued. I will return to this place, and I hope to bring my family. I know they would fall in love with the place, even you Mom.

Hiker-Gorn









NEXT TO ROME!

Dear Rome,

How are you? I am well. So rry I only could stay for a few days. You offer so much to see and I felt overwelmed w ith the history. You do not smell as bad as Paris though, so cheers to that.

The Colloseum was awe inspiring. The Forum, not so great . I am glad I had a free ticket. The people I met in my hostel though were great. Tha nks to you Rome I was able to travel with folks from Washington, Boston, Hong Kong and Israel. Not to mention I did in fact meet a recently retired Dipolmat of Isra el.

All in all, thanks Rome for a great few days. Next time I visit. Perhaps there will not be so much Easter going on, that way the crowds will be less.

Love,
Euro-Gorn

Ok, here is the most recent, FLORENCE!

The start of my trip here was interesting. I decided to make a day trip to Naples to try pizza. I did not have enough time to find the classic "we invented pizza here" type pizzaria so I did my best. Not bad, but not great.

When I finally arrived to Florence my goal was to catch a bus leaving the city to meet up with my hosts. I was suppose to get off at the Casa Rossa, or the red house. I surmized this to mean Street Casa Rossa, or a specific stop named, Casa Rossa. I was way off. Literally, I was suppose to get off at the big red house. This could be classified as dumb traveling move number 36.

To make things more fun, my cell phone died. So please, for your viewing enjoyment, see the following photo called "Chris Gorney lost in Italy with a bus driver who speaks no english and a dead cell phone." Long name, but you get the idea.


The whole thing ended well with my feeling like a five-year-old lost in a Walmart toy section right before Christmas. As the bus driver let me use his phone, he ended up talking to my host so he could figure out when to tell me to get off the bus as we made the return journey towards Florence. Well, at least it is a good story.






The rest of Florence was not as eventful but no less enjoyable. I spent the whole day wandering through streets looking for back roads and hidden shops. I was able today just to slow down and appreciate what was around me. I really enjoy Florence. To return here would be a pleasure.

Gorn-Seige of the Castle.

Over the past few days I have been blessed with lots of time to think. As you can see from my posts I have walked around a lot. The thing that keeps coming to my mind is the idea of quantifiable looks into how Jesus saves and changes us.

Then I was brought back to something I read in Ezekial. God talks about how when we are saved He actually removes our hearts and replaces them with new ones. He takes our sinful hearts of stone and puts in new flesh beating hearts now beating full of the understanding of His love for us.

Simply, God loves us like a perfect Father loves his son. He knows what we need, we need not repeat mantra and penance to redeem ourselves. Just remember who He is.

I can remember feeling as though I had a heart of stone. Even though I would have said I was a good person, deep down I knew that I was missing something, that I was off the mark and hurting.

Now though, I see and feel more each day how God has changed me. When I remember and look back God shines large and mighty as the one true God, as the one who began this whole crazy thing called life. And when I remember who He is, it is a lot easier to know who I am. And that is Loved, by a Dad. One great and awesome Dad willing to do anything to get His children's hearts back.

Well sorry for the long post. But from here on I will try to update more frequently so as not to extend a little into a lot.

Love you all.

Ciao from Italy.

quick update, post soon with better description

Ok, here it goes.

Got to Rome! It was pretty awesome but I wish I had more time here, next time, next time.

Stayed in an awesome Hostel with people from all over the world. We cooked each night and I traveled with folks from Virginia, Boston and Hong Kong.

I met the recently retired diplomat from Israel...very funny. Yea he is friends with Nelson Mandela

Found couches to stay on in Florence! Actually outside of Florence...it is going to be beautiful.

I saw so much in Rome that it is a bit overwelming, will have to spend time writing it all down.

Today I am off to Naples in the morning. They invented Pizza here. I am going to have lunch. Then I am off to Florence to stay for a few days. It is going to be wonderful. Then Venice. Then Switzerland. I get to learn to ski!

Ok that is about it for the re-cap. I saw the Colloseum and it was awe inspiring too. Photos soon.

God continues to provide. This hostel, couch surfing, great coffee and people everywhere to spend time with. If I step back and look at his provision I have to wonder why I ever worry!

Alright, to naples. Pizza is waiting.

haggling hotels and motorcycle adventure

Currently: Cinque Terre Region, Italy. 2 days

Next up: Roma, Italy.

Well hello and Buongiorno from Italy. The last few days have been crazy. I got to tour the French Rivera by motorcycle! With the gentleman I couchsurfed with we road the coast during a beautiful day. The best part of couchsurfing is that you get to meet local people and experience local life void of typical tourism. I had the best meal I have had in a while.

motor-gorn, french style

Long story short, do not trust a French train station information attendant. They could for instance tell you a train exisits at the next stop for your desired destination when in reaity one did not appear for eight hours. Yep, eight, one more than seven and less than nine. Luckily though I other lost Americnas and local characters to bid my time. Five in the morning never could come quicker than this past morning.

Currently I am in the "five terras" region. I would put my photos up but lets be real, they would not do justice. So do yourself a favor, google Cinque Terra and click on images. This is where I will be sleeping tonight. After some haggling I was able to find a great single hotel room for less than half the price. If even has a shower, which when compared to the number of times I have showered thus far, is cause for celebration.

Once again, God sends people to lighten my heart and renew my spirit. Today at five in the morning a random Christian man came up to me and started talking to me. I do not even know how he knew I spoke english. And after a sleepless night sitting on the beach God gave me sweet rest on the train. I ended up having almost an entire sleeper cabin to myself! Amazing. I sprawled out and sleep sold for a few hundres miles along the coast here.

More and more I am able to see how Jesus is supplying my every need. The sad thing is that I had to come here to begin to rely on God in more of the way we should everyday. Sometimes the very act of finding food or a train station is cause for prayer. Yet God has been taking care of me his often faithless foolhearty son.

The truth is that God cares much more for us than all of creation put together. If God takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, much more will he care for us his children. As I travel I see purpose put front row. Everywhere I go people are living for one thing or another. Each country I go to I see the same disatisfied lives. People are all running, all around the world, after joy and peace but save Jesus come up empty.

God has given me opportunities to talk about his love with every person I have stayed with thus far. I pray that my words are backed by his spirit. Please pray that God continues to use me and give me a humble spirit conscious of my reliance on his grace and provision.

God knows every hair on our heads. This understanding requires active response. It also lets us sleep at night knowing our lives rest firmly in the hands of a God that is much greater than any problems of this world.

Enjoy some photos. Welcome to Italy. I am super pumped for great pizza.

Nice, France

Dear France, au revoir.

Well the time has come. I should be leaving France tomorrow. First off I am excited because the keyboard here are different. Typing takes much longer. It beco,es qt leqst ,ilkdly qnooying. (that was typing as if on a normal keyboard)

The past few days have been a whirlwind. I spent time visiting Normandy, the region where the D-Day invasion happened. I saw the American cemetery, battered German emplacements, Omaha Beach and the site where the American Rangers had to climb 150 foot tall cliffs. It was awe inspiring for me to be where so many men my age gave their lives for the sake of an ideal. Every step taken by allied forces pushed liberation one step closer to the oppressed and imprisoned. The type of man created in those times of turmoil does not often exist today. Plus, it was just awesome to see the impact of naval bombardments, even 70 years later. Photos to follow.

I was not only kindly hosted by a French couple in Caen but I was invited out to meet many of their friends, most of whom spoke at least some English. They were very warm and welcoming to me making me feel right at home. I also spent a whole day traveling again with two random Americans. We met in Bayeaux. This is the city closest to the D=Day invasion sites as an entity. Chris, another one, is from South Dakota and Richard is from Atlanta.

Personally this was a point of praise for me. I have been praying that God would encourage my spirit and send believers for me to spend time with. Once again God is so faithful. Meeting Richard at the hotel where our tour was based I find out that he is a strong believer. His family could not come so just Richard traveled this time. It was such a blessing being about to be encouraged in faith by an older Christian. And in of all places, Caen, France! God is truly good.

Today I am in Nice, pronounced neece. I met the Mediterranean today. He is nice. One thing is for sure, people here are terrible at skipping rocks. Perhaps there is a business opportunity here for Americans to come teach French people how to throw a rock in the water. I know it would be more outsourcing but perhaps in could help the economy somehow.

After a wonderful French dinner at a hidden local restaurant and some Gelato I am ready to go to bed. The folks I am staying with tonight, Julian and Maria, have been more then kind. I like them a lot. Everywhere I seem to meet the most wonderful people. Tomorrow may include crossing the Alps on my way to Italy, who knows.

I promise that my next post will be much more full of witty quips and funny stories but I will leave the communist rallies and clothes wearing dogs for next time.


Meeting the Mediterranean

















My backpack home.

Paris = done town, USA

Well here I am, tired, smelly and ready for sleep. Paris has been a whirlwind. I have a lot of new friends. These past three days have introduced me many people I hope to keep in contact with for a long while. Couchsurfing is proving to be more than expected. Sharing life with these folks means seeing the cities for their true selves and having insight and advice to the musts and must nots.

I am learning some key phrases in French. Very important. So far I can say "Hello. Pardon me but my French is not very good. Do you speak English? Thank you." This phrase has allowed me passage to the very rarely viewed nice side of Parisians. They can be nice, you just have to search a bit.

I have spent the past three days traveling by foot through Paris with two other guys. Chris, from Philly, and Graham from the UK. Both are great guys to spend time with. Both are traveling solo as well. Yesterday we covered everything from the Eiffle Tower to the Notre Dame capping the day off with a sunset from the best view in the city. Cobble stone street with espresso cafes have been breakfast and an afternoon rest. Paris is wonderful. Today, after the Louvre, seeing the Mona Lisa and friends, we went to a Paris CouchSurfers picnic at a castle. This may be the most amazing place I have ever been. This park/garden/lawn was massice and beautiful. It was almost like a dream. We played frisbee, drank coffee and ate french pastries.

Note: Metric system: not bad. Celcius Temperature readings: so annoying.

Tomorrow I am off to Caen. I will see where the American Allied forces landed during D-Day. This is a part of my trip I have been looking forward to for years. Please pray that God continues to encourage my heart and give me the right words to speak. People here all seem to be searching for something. Jesus is the only answer that will bring joy and purpose. Those seem to be two things lacking so far. Here is where I am at, tomorrow is where I will be. I hope to show photos.

Things I miss. (the now to be semi-regularly updated list)
1. The universally understood knowledge of the awe inspiring nature of KU Basketball.
2. The ability of people to play sports that involve throwing, not kicking.

The Louvre's newest and best sculpture.


















Coolest place i have every thrown a Frisbee.