gofarther.me

I got to eat my favorite pizza today in Chicago–from Lou Malnati’s. I’m not the only one who thinks it is the best pizza. It regularly gets voted the best by various rating groups. Think butter crust that is flaky and crisp and deep dish style without being thick and gooey. Think Italian sausage that is cooked and sliced length wise and chopped tomatoes and specialty cheese and roasted garlic and sweet onions. I enjoyed every last bite! What made it even better for Kathy and me was that we were joined by Chuck and Karen Mueller, our good Chicago (Roselle) friends.

We enjoyed our entire day–walking around the “loop” area of downtown Chicago. We just walked and enjoyed the weather and the stunning architecture of the city with big shoulders. Huge gargoyles adorn the city library; a Target store has an amazing ironwork facade; huge skyscrapers jut heavenward in every direction; flower plantings line sidewalks, softening the urban landscape; the Chicago River crisscrosses the city spanned by wonderful pedestrian bridges; Macy’s flagship store has a subway stop in its basement; Union Station is still a traffic hub and is wonderfully restored; magnificent sculptures pop up in front of buildings; restaurants sport comfy outdoor seating and the “el” runs around the city core on elevated tracks that are an Art Deco masterpiece. Chicago is a pedestrian city, easy to walk, although quite large, and easy to love. It is hustle and bustle, and it has a large downtown population, so it feels alive and vibrant. It was a good day in a great American city.

We trained, trammed, subwayed, ferried, taxied and walked our way across Spain, Italy and France during the past few months. We got to Chicago and immediately began to think of how to use a rent car to get around–then we thought of it, Chicago has very good public transportation, so we took the rent car back to the airport and took the train from the airport to our hotel. ( We did use the car to go to worship first.) Once at the hotel, we took the CTA (subway train) to downtown, made the transfer to another, got out and walked up to the Magnificent Mile area and had a delightful afternoon/early evening. Trees and flowers are abundant in Chicago and the streets were busy with lots of tourists out and about. We went into Bloomingdales and got no farther. We realized we had not been in a US store for quite some time and Bloomies is quite nice. Since Kathy loves coffee, we scoped out all the alternatives.

We headed over to my favorite chop house in Chicago, one I have eaten in several times–Harry Careys. Harry was the iconic sports announcer for the Chicago Cubs and popularized the 7th inning song, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Amongst all that sports paraphernalia, Harry’s serves really good steaks in an Italian subway station atmosphere–white tile and dark wood. Kathy and I had a great time. We love walking in a city atmosphere and we figured if we could maneuver around Europe without a car, we could certainly do so in Chicago. WEG

You know you are in the US Midwest when you see churches like this popping up.

Ft. Wayne was in the midst of spring–lilac, pear, apple and cherry trees in full bloom and flowers everywhere. The seminary campus, designed by Eero Saarinen, was crisp and manicured. It was hard to believe that 12 years ago I began my service on the Board of Regents, the last nine as chair. Now, I was chairing my last meeting and participating my last time officially in the graduation events. Throughout the day, the old bell rang out in the campus upper plaza, as graduates who had finished all their requirements rang it out to the applause of friends and family, as is campus tradition.

My tenure has seen many advancements at the seminary. Two great presidents, Wenthe and Rast, had ably led these advancements forward–a ten year accreditation pin, the highest achievement; a new library; the complete upgrade to the infrastructure of the campus; a new curriculum; distance learning; technological advancements; hugely increased endowment fund; worldwide mission efforts and a great balance sheet. I was privileged to support them and cheer them on. And now that season of my life is over.

I was honored that a wonderful dinner was held in my honor and the after graduation faculty, staff and invited guest hors d’oeuvres fellowship was Texas themed in my honor. I also delivered the commencement address. Enough kind words were spoken to me that they will last for quite some time in my memory.

Now we are in Chicago and it is “my kind of town.” WEG

Perspective and angle are important in getting a full picture. You get a different perspective of a place by looking at it from the sea, rather than from the land. Ferries that hug the coastline are great for giving a new perspective of a historic site. We took the ferry from Lerici, Italy, to see the Cinque Terre (five lands) along the Italian Rivera. Along the way the ferry stopped in Porta Venera. It was a place of which I had never heard. It turned out to be a beautiful and wonderful place to visit. Surrounded by the Mediterranean and located at the opening of a beautiful bay, with three small but mountainous islands just off the shore, the cities pastel-colored buildings were overlooked by a large castle on one side and a historic church complex (over 1000 years) on the other. That was the magical perspective from the ferry. Once on shore, the walk along the ocean was flower-filled and refreshing. The narrow side streets were filled with shops and restaurants. Ancient rock walls and walkways led to higher streets. The church dedicated to St. Peter was all white flower bedecked in preparation for a wedding, and outer balconies offered commanding views of the majestic coastline that stretched northward toward the Cinque Terre. Porta Venera was an unexpected pleasure. WEG

Have you ever known a person, who at first glance did not seem interesting, certainly not popular, but when you got to know them, they turned out to be tremendously interesting and quite beautiful? That person represents Lucca, Italy, a hill town north of Florence and east of Pisa.

Lucca is not one of the tourist packed hill towns for which Tuscany is well known nor is it well publicized in the tourist guides. Geographically, it is in north Tuscany while most attention is focused on south Tuscany. Historically, the city was a pawn in the ever changing city state wars and maneuverings between Florence and Pisa, Florence and Genoa and Florence and about everyone else, never gaining enough power to fend off its ambitious neighbor, Florence. Religiously, however, Lucca was important, ever since the city became the first city in Europe where the whole population converted to Christianity.

Once you arrive in Lucca, with its high wall completely encircling the old town and its imposing towers reaching skyward, you begin to be surprised by what lies in store within the walls. First, the wall is walkable and people with baby strollers and bicyclers and strollers do just that. The old duomo (cathedral) is stately with a beautiful painting of the last supper by Tintoretto and a majestic cross dating from the 11th century with a legend that says it was made by Nicodemus (the man who allowed Jesus to be buried in his tomb) and angels before arriving in Lucca. St. Martin’s Church lies right across the square from the duomo. Below it, reachable by a stairway, are extensive Roman ruins and a large baptismal fount from the 5th century. Old Christian mosaics have also been uncovered. In the city itself, squares and narrow streets lead to more beautiful churches and one of Europe’s oldest clock towers. Relaxed and inviting, Lucca quickly becomes your friend, one you will keep for life. WEG

They told us the duomo was closed for the day, but when we arrived the door was able to be opened and we went in. Rehearsal was in session for a concert and it was lovely. Verona, with its intact Roman Coliseum (third largest in the Roman world) and elegant churches is much more than Romeo and Juliet of Shakespeare fame. Yes, we did see the balcony where Romeo spied his Juliet, but we enjoyed walking the bustling city streets to see the other major sites as well. Our time on this second leg of our encore journey is quickly winding down. WEG

This was the day I let our friend Ken Hancock drive our manual rental. Ken’s career was in the trucking industry and he started out driving a manual rig and worked his way up to management. Driver safety was in his area of management. Obviously Ken drives differently than I. The trip from Bozen (Bolzano), Italy–where the famous ice man is housed in an anthropological museum–he is really crinkly and still frozen in ice–to our destination–Funes, in the Dolomites (Italian Alps) was supposed to be about 30 minutes. It took three and one half hours. How can that be? You will understand how when you drive using Ken’s safety rules.

Rule One–Never ever leave second gear. Using other gears wastes gas and ruins the transmission. Yes, you will be driving only 30 in a 90 zone, but you will be safe.

Rule Two–Take the high road. Not that Ken wanted to do this, but he repeatedly did. As he so colorfully put it, “It seems as if we are following this lady to hell!” This was because our GPS female guide repeatedly took us on harrowing trails. One laners at the top of mountain peaks seemed to be the only route GPS lady knew. Literally, we were driving on gravel paths on the top of narrow mountain passes. That was bad enough but when we met another vehicle and no room to pass and backing up was out of the question (Ken had very descriptive words about this–ask him to repeat it when you see him) and steep drops offs on both sides, we did what anyone from Texas on the top of a mountain in Italy would do. We waited and waited until the other vehicle backed up.

Rule Three–Honk loudly and slow way down to a crawl before going around switchbacks. There were many, many switchbacks. Also, have your traveling companion get out of the car and walk around the curve to make sure no one is coming. That goes along with having your traveling companion get out when you need to back up to give you directions.

Rule Four–Stop occasionally to develop new vocabulary to describe the experience you are having. I needed time for this, but for Ken it came naturally. I’m coming home with a whole new set of phrases.

Rule Five–Thank God when you get to your destination safely and remember the absolute beauty of God’s creation you were privileged to see on your three and one half hour journey. And be amazed that you have traveled the road less traveled and had vantage points that a very minuscule number of people have witnessed.

So far on this “encore” journey, amazing car rides have played a major part in our experiences. Each has been priceless and thank you, Ken, for driving so carefully and safely on this Dolomite drive. WEG

Lake Garda is beautiful to say the least. Limone is across the lake from Malcesine and a ferry transports people between the two villages. Limone is famous for its limoncello, a lemon based liqueur. Limone is hard pressed between the sheer cliffs of the mountains and the lake–it is three streets wide and about a mile long alone the lake. Yellow, rust, gold, beige and green buildings with red tile roofs line the streets with lush flowers of every description in baskets and plantings everywhere. Restaurants with patio arbors sported old growth wisteria now in full bloom. Lemon themed products predominated in the shops. It was amazing to look up to the mountains while standing amongst the quaint buildings and turning to see the baby blue waters of the lake lapping the shore.

A gondola ride close to our hotel in Malcesine took us over 10,000 feet to the top of Mt. Baldo. The weather was glorious and hang gliders were running off the cliff. Sitting in an outdoor restaurant on a snow covered peak with other peaks in view in short sleeves while looking out over the massive mountain rimmed lake below was more than refreshing and invigorating. Could there be a more impressive sight? WEG

“If you don’t watch out you’re going to knock him on his ass and then jump out of the car and pray for him.” Yes, bicyclers and motor scooters are omnipresent in Italy, just like gelato. They dart in and out of traffic and own the road, as it were. Ken Hancock was sitting beside me, helping navigate, as I drove us out of Florence to the Lake District of Italy. One daring motorcyclist came flying in from the side, cutting right in front of me, and I swerved to miss hitting him, thus bringing Ken’s retort. We laughed about this the rest of the day–a pastor first running someone down and then praying over him. The drive through the north Italian countryside towards Verona was beautiful and uneventful. Mountains and mountain tunnels were our big sights.

Then we arrived in Sirmione, built on a narrow peninsula jutting out into Lake Garda. An imposing castle guarded the entrance to the old town. We heard a choir singing and church bells ringing amidst the storybook Italian buildings surrounded by crystal clear baby blue lake waters on three sides. What beauty! Then we drove north along side the lake towards Malcesine, another lake town. The further we drove, the more beautiful it became. Immaculate and postcard pretty villages crowded along the lake and then the mountains began to rise up and surround us, squeezing the road towards the lake. We saw the snow capped mountains that signaled we had arrived at Malcesine. Amazing beauty. Mid sized but dramatic ridged mountains stood across the lake (its west side), with it baby blue water shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Cobblestoned Malcesine with its pastel buildings and castle perched on a cliff above the village was pressed between the water and the imposing and snowcapped mountains on the west side of the lake. We took deep breaths of clean and cool lake air and we tried to impress into our minds the beauty of that which we beheld. WEG

Through the narrowest of streets we whizzed; up steep gravel paths we stormed; around sharp one lane curves we zoomed; round round-abouts we rounded and across one lane bridges we forded. The Hancock’s, Ken and Paula, professed that they had never been on such an adventure before.

“You’ve never driven a manual transmission car,” Ken asserted. I told him that, indeed, I had. For over ten years in Tomball and recently in Spain, in fact. “The clutch won’t last the day the way you ride it and the way you change gears,” was his reply. I really could not hear everything he said as I grinded gears between 2nd and 4th, never really finding 3rd. “This is a family car you know–did you take lessons from Doug Dommer–this isn’t a sports car–these are gravel roads and steep drop offs.” “Arn’t those vineyards down in the valley beautiful,” said I, as we rounded the curve. “And, by the way, I taught Doug how to drive.” Ken found none of this reassuring.

Paula had other colorful ways of describing the trip.

I loved the trip through the Chianti wine region of Italy and to the hill towns with majestic towers and walls. We passed through the middle of vineyards, budding out with bright lime green leaves. Wisteria was in full bloom and graced rock walls and hung from arbors. Wild flowers were in bloom in fields and the rows upon rows of grape vines up steep hill sides provided manicured and organized symmetry to the high hills and rock outcrops in the landscape. We were on one lane gravel paths at times and we drove miles on roads bordered by rock walls and we felt all alone on country lanes shaded by high trees and Italian cypress and we passed though tiny villages with rock homes and churches and we experienced Italy the way it was at one time nationwide and still is in this magical region south of Florence and north of Sienna.

At the end of the day, wine in hand, back safely at our hotel, we all professed what a wonderful day it turned out to be. Just wait till we get to the Italian Alps, known as the Dolomites. The Hancock’s have no idea what a ride that will be. I do. WEG