Travel updates and occasional commentary
I took the night train to Berlin, sharing a compartment of 6 beds (3 on each wall) with men and women. I didn't sleep more than about three hours. The day did not improve on that start, between a chilly rain, pickpockets and a firsthand look at one of mankind's darkest eras.
Read MoreI spent yesterday in Eindhoven and Helmond, neighboring towns in the eastern part of the Netherlands, where I wanted to see an exhibit by Yinka Shonibare, MBE. Perhaps my favorite living artist, he works in multiple media and frequently uses these incredible Dutch wax fabrics.
Read MoreToday we continued the trip west into Alsatian France, driving through the Black Forest to meet my brother's and my college Sunday school teachers. Thanks to email, the husband has remained a bit of a spiritual father to me.
Read MoreAfter taking a night train to Vienna, I came to the home of a long-time friend from my New York days, with whom I'm staying until Friday morning
Read MoreI had a fun, full 10 hours in Krakow yesterday (mostly the old town), but it was not without some drama.
Read MoreSo far this trip, my lack of Polish hasn't been an issue, but I knew that could change on my visit to Zuromin, the town from which one of my paternal great grandfathers immigrated more than 100 years ago. Unfortunately, my apprehension proved warranted.
Read MoreAfter yesterday's post, I went to a museum of Jewish history in Poland. I have always been interested in the period of history around WWII, but I'd either forgotten or didn't know the particular role of Poland in the Holocaust - particularly that Hitler built all the death camps in occupied Poland.
I had another taste of that history when I went to church this morning, because the congregation met in a building on the historic Jewish street of Próżna, part of the former Warsaw ghetto.
Read MoreToday was my first full day in Warsaw, Poland. It's raining here today, so I had to go back to change shoes. When I got back to the main street, to walk to Old Town, a protest of some kind had begun.
Read MoreThe sequel to youthful rebellion against one's elders is often a quieter rite of passage that comes later, when you start shaking your head about "kids these days." Other times you wonder: Are they doing OK? Have they known true joy? For the past decade, sociologist Christian Smith has sought answers to questions like that through the National Study of Youth and Religion. For the latest book in the series, 2011's Lost in Transition, Smith et al. examine what they call the "dark side" of emerging adulthood.
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