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Over the last week we have had a leisurely jaunt from the end of our Camino walk at Logrono down through Portugal and into Spain. The national park at the north end of Portugal was our first stop and very attractive. By staying off the “freeway” system we have gone through many villages  … And saved money.

We loved driving along the Douro valley toward Porto.  The terraced grape vines on steep hills with the river below is spectacular. Lisbon too is a vibrant city. We attended the Story of Lisbon exhibition which gave us a good introduction to the city.  Lisbon celebrates its colonial past but is also a modern city looking to the future

We also explored the impression the Romans left in this part of the country. The ruins at Evora, Badajoz and Merida are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Roman influence. 

Next, we are going to look more closely at the impact of the Moors in this area.

Being a church-visitor-aholic I have become very aware of the manner in which famous and historic churches treat visitors. For some it it is simply a money making exercise. Other churches see visitors as a chore and there are those who see visitors as their contribution to the local tourist economy.

Parallel to these observations is another. Thousands of bemused Japanese and Chinese tourists visit these places extensively – I was tempted to write “religiously”. Most of these visitors know little of what the stories in the windows mean, why there are altars and crosses, who the statues represent and what the other paraphernalia such as baptismal fonts, really mean.

So today in Lyon I was greatly encouraged. At the unusual Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere, perched on a hill overlooking Lyon there were gospel pamphlets for Chinese tourists. Down the hill at Lyon Cathedral there was a large painting representing an open book quoting John 3:16. This could not be missed as you walked in. My schoolboy French served me well. I even heard a young couple quoting it aloud and being mesmerised by it.

I was encouraged because these two churches saw gospel opportunities and did not let them slip. 

When I was about 12 I was an unstoppable letter writer. I wrote to aircraft companies for pictures of planes but I also wrote to countries asking what it was like to live there. One such letter was sent to the, then, Soviet Union. It obviously ended up on the desk at the tourist bureau because a month or so later I received a pile of travel pamphlets from the Soviet Union. Two items particularly struck me: the Trans Siberia Railroad and, what was then, Leningrad. Well finally I am on my way to to one: St Petersburg. The name change itself reminds us how much the world has changed in those 53 years. 

Thursday 24th of September. Hetty and I are on the Princess Maria waiting to head to Russia!

We have now been in St Petersburg for three days. It is an amazing city of contrasts: wealth and poverty, old Ladas and brand new Range Rovers, smartly dressed people and the poor.

Highlights: the Hermitage Museum, The Peter Paul fortress, the Museum of Political History, the Church on the Spilled Blood and much much more.

Saturday: 

Our holiday has started … but we are stressed already. Our original flight to Sydney was delayed meaning we would miss all our connecting flights. So we were changed to another Sydney flight. Then at the last moment we were changed to a direct Singapore flight. We had to rush through customs because it was going to leave in 30 minutes. Arriving at the boarding gate, after going to the wrong one, we find our new flight delayed by 2 hours due to a tyre change.

In the whole scheme of things with all the refugees in the world -we can’t complain , and a plane with a better tyre can’t be bad thing.

Later Saturday:

After a 3 hour delay we finally got on our plane and arrived safely in Singapore. The warm fragrant air is striking as the plane doors open. Singapore airport is the revolving door of the world. People from all over the world coming in and going on to their next destination.

Early Sunday Morning:

We are in an aluminium tube travelling at 38,000 feet at about 855 kms per hour over Russia. There are still about 2000 kms and 3 hours to go before we get off in Helsinki.

  
  
My body is telling me it is 10:30 in the morning. But the pitch black outside the plane and my weary eyes tells me time has changed.

Once we arrived in foggy Helsinki, being Sunday, we looked for a worship service to attend. A few people had told me about a church built into a rock. So we went there – Temppeliaukio Church, a Lutheran church. We didn’t understand a word but the music was sublime. We took  an order of worship and asked one of the stewards what the Bible passages were. We promised to read them later … in English.