TravelStream™ news feed for member bluebells on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bluebells en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:16:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238420700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238420700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238420700/tpod.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:16:26 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We started the day with a late breakfast and noon Mass.  In between, I started pricing and mapping out my gift-buying strategy.After Mass, we had lunch at Viktor's, and visited the community of Cenacolo, which is pronounced Chin AH ku lo.It is a community started by Sister Elvira which takes in young men with drug addictions or other problems, and helps them turn their lives around.  We listened to the story of a man named Joe, who went from being his high school's big sports hero to selling drugs to federal prison to turning his life around at Cenacolo three years ago.  The men there live Mary's messages: they pray daily, go to Mass three times a week, fast, work hard, and serve others.  They have beautiful grounds and an incredibly gorgeous chapel featuring an icon made by three of the men.  Cenacolo has, if I remember correctly, 57 houses around the world, including three in the States.  After dinner, someone pulled out a guitar and there was singing until Mate gave us a geography and history lesson on Bosnia-Herzegovenia and Croatia. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238702580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238702580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238702580/tpod.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:11:11 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

April 2 really started for most of us around 7 a.m. April 1.  No kidding.  With breakfast being served at 2 a.m., it didn't seem worth it to go to sleep.  I talked for awhile on the porch with various people, and eventually came in where a group of women was playing Golf, a card game.  I played for awhile, it was lots of fun, and then went up for my shower.We at breakfast, and at 2:30, boarded the bus for the 2-1/2 hour ride to Dubrovnik.  Our flights were Dubrovnik to Zagreb, Zagreb to Amsterdam, and then the long trek home from Amsterdam to Minneapolis.  Those who joined the group as pairs or pairs were seated together.  I was the only one who joined all by myself, so I ended up sitting alone on all the flights.  However, I enjoyed the time to read, and on the long flight home, sat next to a very interesting Australian who told me a lot about Australia and was very interested in Minneapolis.At one point during the trip, I saw a plane flying next to us.  Very interesting.  I was on the north side of the plane, and could see a whole field of icebergs below us, but my camera didn't focus enough to capture them.We got home at 3:20 p.m. Minneapolis time.  I gave the kids their gifts and went to sleep for the next 12 hours.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238615580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238615580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238615580/tpod.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:56:41 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Wednesday morning, we visited Sister Janja (pronounced YAN ya).  We had mass at her small chapel in her convent.  She spoke a little about the broken crucifix on the wall.  Although the communists broke it, she and her nuns take the symbolism that we all break Christ.Sister Janja is one of the people who originally helped the children 28 years ago, and one of the few to whom Mary, in her apparitions, has given specific messages and mentioned by name.The rest of Wednesday was free.  I bought a few more things for people, and spent a great deal of time at the Risen Christ.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166780/tpod.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:59:49 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Today we climbed Apparition Hill.Apparition Hill is where the children first saw Mary.  It was their job to watch their families' sheep here, but it first happened as two of them were taking a walk on a path at the base of the hill.  In the 28 years since the events started, the village has added a wonderful display of the 15 original decades of the Rosary.  The five Joyful Mysteries lead to the site of the appartion.  At the site we found a statue of Mary and another large crucifix.  We didn't follow the path that day, but the Sorrowful Mysteries wrap behind the actual spot of the apparitions and back to that spot, and the Glorious Mysteries lead away from the site, back down the mountain.We said the Joyful Mysteries as a group.  Mattie told us how each display (I think they're made of stone, maybe metal of some sort, though) weighs 300 pounds.  The men of the village carried each one up the mountain, while the children, including him, carried buckets of cement and other materials to mount the displays.The members of our group included a number of women in their 70's, including one who is almost 80.  Every one of us made it up to the site of the apparition.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237948320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237948320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237948320/tpod.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:20:12 -0400 Medjugorje

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Split, Croatia

We landed in Split around 2 p.m. local time.  We passed through passport control, collected our luggage, and went out to the bus.  The airport was very small.  No boarding ramps at all.  Once again, we got off via stairs wheeled out to the plane.  There was a bathroom, passport control, and the baggage belt.  Outside was beautiful.  The mountains have a much more rugged and bare feel to them than those in Scotland, and MUCH more so than those in Brooklyn Park or anywhere in Minnesota.  There were palm trees and olive trees-- things I've never seen despite the places I've been.We met our guide for the next 10 days, Matti.  He apologized for his English, said he was rusty, but I thought he spoke wonderful English.  The drive to Medjugorje was about 2 hours on the new highway.  We passed under a couple of castles, learned a lot about the area's history and industries on the way.  Herzegovenia is named after the knight who built one of those castles:  Herz's country.  I'd have to go look up his exact name, but something to that effect.We passed from Croatia into Bosnia- Herzegovenia only shortly before reaching Medjugorje.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238526420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238526420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238526420/tpod.html Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:24:41 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We had a choice today of a complete free day or taking a trip into a place pronounced something like Ta-ah-eena to see a very famous statue of Mary and then look at some waterfalls on the way back.  I chose to stay here.I chose a statue at the St. Francis bookstore after morning Mass, and they very kindly held it for me until I could get back, as it was the last one, and I'd already planned to go climb Apparition Hill.  The group I expected turned out to be me and Larry.  We ended up taking an extremely long way around, and finally getting picked up by the rest of the group in the van, on their way to the Oasis of Peace.The Oasis of Peace is next to, and I think part of, the Cenacolo Community.  The path leads between two white statues on high stone pedestals-- one of the archangel Michael slaying the dragon, and one of Joseph with Jesus.  From their, silence is requested, and a beautiful wooded path eventually leads to a small chapel.  No photos are allowed in this chapel, so words will have to suffice.  There were stained glass windows, and an icon of Jesus on the cross.  But really, I hardly noticed the rest, for looking at the life-size and life-like Jesus on the Cross.  This was not a 'life-like' wooden depiction.  It was more like Madame Tussaud's, a figure with hair, a beard, hair on the arms and legs.  Very realistic looking nailsLarry and I left and walked on to Apparition Hill.  We said the entire 15 decades of the Rosary.  Larry told me on the way up that he does not believe in miracles, but the fact remains, his arthritis is bad enough that he doesn't even go up or down the stairs in his house.  Yet he has felt so good since coming to Medjugorje that he had already climbed Cross Mountain and Apparition Hill once.  (Photos are coming-- Apparition Hill is steep, rugged, and rocky-- and Cross Mountain makes it look tame.)  Now he was climbing Apparition Hill a second time, and felt fine all the way.  I will add that though my 'miracle' is not quite so dramatic, I have also climbed 3 mountains in addition to making constant walks of one to three miles, and I am not even a little bit sore.  When I climbed just one mountain in Scotland, I was in pain for three days.  So this is very unusual.  The Joyful Mysteries lead to the site where Mary appeared to the children.  The Sorrowful Mysteries wrap around behind the site and lead back to it from the other side.  We stopped there on the way back down.  And the Glorious Mysteries lead back to the bottom of the hill.We stopped at a store, which tried to charge significantly above the going exchange rate, and left without purchasing, had coffee, and headed back to the St. Francis store to collect my statue.  They didn't have a box, so we headed home for dinner, joining another member of our group on the way.After dinner, I walked the mile or to St. Francis while several others went to admire our host's wine cellar, got the statue, picked up one other thing on the way home, and got back on time for the blessing of all religious articles.I am now packed and ready for tomorrow night's post-midnight (that would be Thursday morning, technically) departure for the Dubrovnik airport.Pictures will be posted when I get home.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238421000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238421000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238421000/tpod.html Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:56:26 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Once again, we started the day with breakfast and 10:00 a.m. Mass, then lunch at Viktor's.  Afterwards, we visited Mother's Village, which was started for the orphans of the war here in the 90's.  They have a park, a small zoo, a gift shop with items made by the children, and seven homes for children.  The community includes another house for women, pregnant women, women escaping abuse, and so on.  We heard a touching story of one man whose wife fled with her children.  She stayed for 2 months before he realized he was losing his family and straightened up.  Today, he is a model father and husband, and comes each month to work for Mother's Village.Since there is now no war going on, the Village also takes in children whose parents may be alive but unable to care for them for one reason or another.Afterwards, we visited the 'home,' or Castle, or Patrick and Nancy.  Patrick, too, has an interesting story of living his life chasting money, building up a huge car dealership in Canada, while his marriages fell apart due to adultery.  When his third wife's brother sent them a book about the messages of Medjugorje, he was struck hard by the words, "I am calling you to conversion for the last time."  He has entirely changed his life, sold everything and moved to Medjugorje, where he has built this castle as a monument to Mary for saving him, and a retreat center for nuns and priests.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238247660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238247660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238247660/tpod.html Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:44:42 -0400 Medjugorje

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Dubrovnik, Croatia

We went to the old walled city of Dubrovnik today.  What a fascinating and neat place if you ever get a chance to visit!  It's full of twisting, narrow streets, and surrounded by a wall that varies between 6 and 30 feet thick.  I went up on the walls with Vickie and Angie, and did the 2 mile walk around the city, taking dozens of pictures of the Adriatic Sea on one side and the mountains on the other, and also the city in between.It was quite windy up there, easy to imagine the Turkish soldiers of centuries ago climbing those walls on narrow, steep stone stairs to look out over the sea.We had mass at the Church of St. Blaise, and a blessing of the throats.  A highlight of Dubrovnik is the Relic Room behind the Cathedral, which features the world's second largest piece of the True Cross.  Unfortunately, they locked it up right after mass, and we never got in.I will be updating this entry (and others) with more details and pictures later.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1238166900/tpod.html Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:21:30 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Today started with breakfast at 8:30, followed by the mile walk into town, through vineyards and a cemetery, to St. James' Church for mass.  I stopped at the Risen Christ.  It is quite amazing to see the oil flow from solid brass, day after day, hour after hour, never stopping.After Mass, most of the group went to lunch, where the restaurants actually serve "fasting bread" on Wednesdays and Fridays, in accordance with Mary's request to fast on those days.  I went to a couple of bookstores.  I love seeing the shelves full of books in foreign languages.  Even Russian (if you're reading, Jeryl!)Following lunch, we climbed Cross Mountain.  On this mountain, a cross was erected in 1933 in commemoration of Jesus' crucifixion.  Embedded within it is a piece of the true Cross on which Jesus was crucified.  The path is quite steep and rugged.  Amazingly, some groups manage to carry people all the way up who could not go any other way.Along the way are 300 pound bronze depictions of the 15 Stations of the Cross.  Pilgrims typically pray at each one-- as did we.  Ahead of us was a group from Germany playing a harmonica and singing, in addition to praying, at each station, and behind us was the group of villagers doing their regular Friday afternoon Stations.It took an hour and a half for us to do the Stations.  The local people do it in 40 minutes!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237993920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237993920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bluebells/2/1237993920/tpod.html Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:13:18 -0400 Medjugorje

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Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

I'll come back and edit this entry.
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