Travel Home

Wednesday was our day for traveling home. It began with wake-up calls for all at 4:30 a.m., and a departure by bus - one more trip with Eduardo, who had been so effective at getting us from one place to another. We arrived at Rome's airport with plenty of time for check-in. There we separated, and others will have to tell you about the trip from Rome via Munich and Chicago to Minneapolis. My travels took me to Frankfurt (and a real adventure, where I got to do what OJ Simpson did in the old commercials and run the length of the airport - but made it in just before they closed the door of the aircraft).

Our travels are over, so now begins the opportunity to reflect, pull out the important details and learning experiences. It was a wonderful trip; everyone said they were glad to have gone.
(Sister Edith)

In Flight: Chicago to Munich, and past the Alps

After our long layover in Chicago, we were ready and eager to go. Finally! Europe! The flight was large, so there was plenty of time to snap pictures around the cabin after we got settled. Even to catch each other in the process of boarding.

We have a Flickr! account - a few random photos show up in the sidebar to the right. To see more of our photos, click on the Flickr! badge. We'll keep uploading as we go, and sharing our best shots.

Our flight took us over Boston, up the coast towards Bangor ME and and St. John's, Newfoundland - then across the Atlantic. United Airlines now has an in-flight map in the chairback video screens. We could watch our progress across Europe, track how many miles we had flown, and read how far and how long it was until our landing.

Our route across Europe skirted the boundary of Switzerland. Night had passed and the sun was rising on the Alps. One of our students had the bright idea of capturing some photos of the mountains. Through the wonders of digital cameras and the application of Photoshop Elements, our travelogue includes aerial photography of the alps.

Next stop: Rome!
(Sr. Edith)

one step closer

We successfully made it to Chicago, and now have a looong layover to deal with. Congratulations are due to those travelers among us who successfully survived their first plane ride, problem-free! The anticipation is definitely growing, especially since we just got our final itineraries to look over as we wait. So much amazing stuff awaits us.. only 21 more hours of travel..

We're Off!

The official first leg of our pilgrimage together began with our 12:30 p.m. flight from Minneapolis to Chicago. With no set plan, we converged on our gate at the airport, and were glad to find other familiar faces.

For those of us in Duluth, the pilgrimage began quite a bit earlier - and provided the occasion for fervent prayer. A soft rain fell throughout the night and froze, smooth and slick, on all the roadways in the city. Drivers crept along, carefully keeping their distance; a few cars had already hit the ditch. The 150-mile drive to the airport took us through snow and fog. No wonder we were happy to see each other when we arrived at the gate.

After an uneventful first flight, we're stretching our limbs for the next leg: a 9-hour flight to Munich leaving around 6 p.m. With the seven hour time zone shift, it will be full daylight when we arrive. We have a few hours here in Chicago, time to explore (especially for those who have never flown before) and work out the kinks.

For the students, this is part of the holiday side of the course, but blogmasters and professors keep on working. The 20 students in the course have already written several papers, considering particular works of art which we will see in Rome. Those papers don't grade themselves, so the layover is work time as well.

Look for us again, further along the road.