Pictures from Scandinavia

This is easier than going back and adding them - but look at the Switzerland ones too!

Gimmelwald

The guys and I just before they took off: Blake, Matt, Josh, Jonathan, Ben and me


Playing on the "Children's Adventure trail"

On the mountain, coming down: Matt, Blake, Ben and I


Going up!

I have so much I want to say about my time in Gimmelwald - it was amazing and gorgeous and special, and probably my favorite days out of this whole trip. I know I keep saying that, but it really does just keep getting better. I have met the most amazing people, and made friends that I hope I will keep for a lifetime. Yesterday I climbed the Schilthorn with three guys, all in their early twenties, named Blake, Ben, and Matt. We had the most brilliant day, for so many reasons: we all appreciated the beauty so much and openly said so; we had the best conversation on the way up (5.5 hours) about books we've read (mostly about classic Christian works) and how we see God - which was the best part because we are all Christians coming from different backgrounds but loving Jesus just the same, and about anything and everything from funny school stories to all the different wonderful (and not so wonderful) places we've been; we all were wanting to take breaks pretty often because its so steep and we would sit and talk for five or ten minutes each one; the last part of the hike was so grueling that it was fun to endure it together; Ben and I reached the top first and found these Japaneese businessmen in full suits who had come up the gondola and were now clapping and cheering for us, shook our hands, and then proceeded to each take a picture with us; eating really expensive fries at the top and not caring; finding that the way down was so much easier than the way up and we were no longer cold and tired; frolicking (actually, not just me - they started it) and running down the hills that were not as steep and laughing so hard I can't believe I was still standing; Blake chasing this entire herd of sheep up a hill; coming across a kids playground complete with rope swing and zipline that was more like being in Neverland with Peter Pan or in Robin Hood's lair than anything else - and loving every crazy childlike minute; getting back after 10 hours of hiking and jumping in a hot tub heated by a wood stove; making nectarine tarts with sugar that I poured out of a canister at the restaurant on the top of the Schilthorn (I carried it back in a bag that had once contained gummy bears); gazing at a sky just gorgeous with stars for two hours; having the guys decide they were going to create an "I hate Michelle Forbes Fan Club" on Facebook when they got back, because part of the hike wasn't flat, the tarts were too hot, and I forget why else. What wasn't fun was saying goodbye to all five guys (Josh and Jonathan included) this morning - because it feels like we've been good friends for a long time.

I wanted to post about the things I learned in Sweden, so I thought I would copy some of what I wrote in my journal on the train from Hamburg. I hope it makes sense, because it has really been eye-opening for me.

I was driving from Karlstad to Stockholm while Trish slept, and "I saw this sign off the road... When I read it at first, being the American that I am, I read "God Is." And it took me by surprise, but immediately "I Am" came to mind; right before I realized that "God Is" was actually "Godis," and I have no clue what it meant. But maybe that sign was there for me, so that I could be reminded that God Is - and nothing else compares. The truth of that statement is self-sufficient.
God delights in giving good gifts to his children...if God is anything, He is good. There would be no point, no hope, no joy in worshipping a god who was not good...even if everything in this world were painfully wrong, there would still be proof that God is good. because the world He made reflects his glory even in its fallen state. This world is a beautiful place - all one has to do is look at the sky to know that. I have seen many skies the last few weeks - gray and overcast, stunningly blue, dark with wisps of light breaking through. I have seen sheets of rain moving across waters and waves responding to the impulse of the wind. I have sen rainbows, written across mountains and beneath waterfalls, peaking their heads out of the most unexpected places..."The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the works of His hand." The earth is given to man - a gift to care for and enjoy.
So many times on this trip I have been graced by a gift from my heavenly Father - gifts of friendship, beauty, provision, safety, and by the astounding gift of His presence...And He gave me a sign, literally, to remind me that He Is.
Daddy was a gift. God gave me an earthly father who, in all his fun-lovign and crazy ways, showed me who my heavenly father was every day of his life. Dad was fun - and showed me that God isn't stoic or boring. Dad was creative - and showed me God as Master of all that is special and brilliant. Dad was easy to forgive, and showed me a Savior who spreads our sins as far as the East is from the West. Dad was playful - and showed me a God who delights in seeing us full of joy. Dad was brilliant - and showed me a God who created intelligence and masterminded everything that could ever be learned - who made the human body Dad was so adept at learning about and fixing - who gave Dad the skills he needed to work in an intricate way that which God "skillfully and wonderfully made." Dad was generous, and whowed me a Father who gives beyond our capability to comprehend - who is the giver of all good things...Dad showed respect to everyone, and showed me a God who never judges by the outward appearance, but looks to the heart. Dad was active, and showed me a God who created not only our souls and minds but our bodies as well...Dad was adorable - and showed me that God delights in those who come to Him as a little child in faith...Dad was beautiful - and showed me that God made man in His image. Dad loved us so much - and showed me how God loved me more.
...Daddy was a precious, precious gift. God knew exactly what I needed in a father (and mother, for Mom is a priceless gift as well) and filled my life with someone I wouldn't have known how to ask for if I could. That's the nature of God - to give gloriously, wonderful, abundant and extravagent gifts. I have wondered so often this past year, why was Daddy taken away when he was so needed here? But maybe the question should have been, why did I deserve to have Dad in the first place? I didn't earn the gift of having Alvis Forbes as my father - it was freely given long before I could have earned it or not. And maybe in my finite mind Dad was taken away undeservedly - but that has to be looking at it the wrong way. Maybe getting to heaven now was God's gift to Dad.
Until I reach heaven's shores, I am never going to know why God saw that it was good to bring Dad to be with Him. Its so harsh to try to accept, but ... I cannot know the answer - just as I cannot understand how I was given the wonderful gift of having Dad while others are given fathers who chose not to love, or arn't around, or are taken away earlier on in life than mine was. Its not for me to compare, and its not for me to understand. But these things I do know: God Is, and God is good; and He gives freely and in great measure. He gives, and gives, and gives, and when He takes away it is still to our good - blessed be the name of the Lord!
We are not our own - we are His. We belong to the Almighty Father, and it is into His arms that we can always, always, find rest and comfort. Gifts are never given so that we ignore or forget about or replace the giver - they are always given from, in love. And our response should be. "Allelulia, Lord! You are awesome, and I give You thanks and praise. I want to give you my heart because I know that's where it belongs." The gift cannot be greater than the giver, and God is the ultimate Giver.
Cling to the Father of the heavenly lights, for every good and perfect gift comes from above. Learn from the things Dad showed, and join in the message God is writing across the earth. Join in the dance, sing with the stars, rejoice because you are fearfully and wonderfully made to bring God glory."

If you stuck with me through that, thank you - and I hope it touches you in some way, as it did me. It's amazing what not reading Swedish correctly can do for you! :)

Cool people and a very cool place

Keeley, Natalie, Ben, Katie, and Matt

On the glacier at the end of the hike!

so beautiful

So, yesterday on my birthday it started out cloudy and rainy but ended up getting a little nicer in the afternoon. Earlier in the day I headed up to Murren with a group that included Natalie (a 21 year old who had been studying in Italy and was traveling around); Josh, Jonathan, and Blake (two brothers and a friend who were helping at an inner-city mission in Dublin and are now traveling around), and Ben and Matt (two friends making their way through Europe together for the summer). We are an interesting mix of backgrounds, philosophies, ideas of fun, and temperments but have been having a blast hanging out and hiking around. Its weird how a place like this can bring people together. Natalie, Ben, Matt, two other girls and I hiked up to a glacier this afternoon - absolutely beautiful but cold after being around the snow for a while in a T-shirt. The views through the valley - again, with countless waterfalls - was amazing; and it was so much fun to be there with people who were just as completely amazed as I was at the wonder of it all.

Happy Birthday to me!

So it is now the afternoon of July 7, and I am enjoying being in Gimmelwald and being 25. Wow that's weird to say! A quarter century seems so grown-up, like I should be a complete adult without any of my old childish tendancies - and yet I still like to frolic around like a kid when I get the chance.
Today I was hoping to climb the Schilthorn, but there are deep clouds enveloping the whole area so I will hold off till tomorrow. I have met a bunch of people my age - this is actually the first hostel I've been to where the majority of the people here are Americans and under 30.
This is a gorgeous place, even with the clouds. Yesterday the skies opened up and we could see the mountains surrounding us - and yet we are so high up to begin with (I think about 4600 feet - higher than the top of Ben Nevis already). We walked up to a slightly bigger town with a grocery store, which had peanut butter - exciting since I just ran out of my supply. Now we are contemplating going hiking somewhere closer to here this afternoon. It is fun to have a group of people to hang out with, especially on my birthdy. One of the girls is baking me a cake as we speak - though it was supposed to be a surprise; one of the other guys accidently told me.
I had an interesting conversation with a couple of girls and guys last night, about politics and people and cultures and everything in between. One of the girls made a comment in passing about how she was frightened by "fundamentalist Christians" - she's actually the one who is baking the cake. I know she knows I'm a Christian, because it came up last night when I was reading Orthodoxy by Chesterton, but I hope I can show her that people who believe the Bible is true can be just as caring, open, and welcoming to to people as anyone else. I wouldn't call myself a fundamentalist in the way she was using it, but at heart I believe the Bible fundamentally and will always hold to that. Anyway, there are a couple of people that I would love to show how living for Jesus is freeing and full of hope - and not the way they perceive "narrowminded" Christians to be.
I sent a package home today, though we'll see how long it takes to get there. Included is a bunch of postcards for a lot of you - don't feel bad if you're left out because I only had 11 to send and soon I will get more. But I really do appreciate everybody taking the time to read this and travel with me on this journey.
I learned some amazing things while in route from Sweden to here, and I really want to share them - but my internet time is almost up. So I promise I'll get back to them soon! I love you guys and I know you are sending me birthday wishes from wherever you are.

Made it to Switzerland (or, how many times can one cross the Baltic Sea in a day?)

I have so much I want to write about my journey the last few days, but I have limited time on the internet so some will have to wait till later. Just a few highlights, though:
- Stockholm!! Beautiful, wise, stately city with old buildings sitting write on the canal. We took a boat ride (part of my abundant birthday present from Trish) and it was wonderful. We also ate at an open air cafe: paninis and a raspberry (birthday) cake.
-getting on the night train to Malmo - my first time on one, and it was nice except I didn't sleep that much.
-stop in Malmo, eat breakfast. Stop in Copenhagen, go to a park, write in journal, take a nap, see the Mermaid, eat a waffle. Back to Malmo, feet in the harbor, eat raspberry sorbet. Back to Copenhagen, collect luggage, get on train. :)
-the train got on a ferry!! unexcpected and very cool - my first taste of Germany was from the sea.
-meeting guy from Finland and mom and daughter from Danmark on the train
-making it to Interlaken, finding a store that was open after lots of walking, getting to Gimmelwald after meeting a missionary to Hungary on the bus (who offered to put me up the night before I fly out of Budapest.)

-more to come!!

Hello from Sweden (or, Hello Lillehammer, goodbye fjords)

As you probably guessed, Aunt Trish and i have arrived in Sweden, land of many lakes and more red barns. It was an uneventful transistion from Norway to Sweden, as the only obvious difference is the inside of road signs being colored yellow instead of white (although we weren't sure whether or not to stop at the entrance to Sweden - it was not well marked so let's just hope that Trish doesn't end up with a ticket of some sort). However, once we got to Karlstad, it just felt a little different. I think people take life a little slower here than they seem to in Norway. We saw a lot of people strolling through town, riding their bikes (all equipped with baskets or platforms), sitting at open air cafes, and enjoying the riverside parks. We joined right in, strolling through this stately old city and its quiet river, eating pizza at one of the cafes (mine came with tomato sauce, ham, pinapple, bananas, and curry), and finishing by staring out the window of our cute hotel towards the river below.
Yesterday we left the fjords, and both of us were fairly sad - it felt like leaving a different world, and being half afraid that once gone we would never find the keys to get back. We left Hellesylt by ferry, through the Geirangerfjorden - one of the most amazing places I've ever been. You are probably getting tired of my saying that, but its true! Our hostel had looked out over the fjord, so we had had an incredible view anyway for the past two days. But once on the ferry, we turned a corner into a canyon with steep walls rising on either side, with thin misty falls gracing many of the rock faces, and farms popping out in the oddest of places. There was one collection of falls called the "Seven Sisters," across from which was a more powerful waterfall called the "Woo-er" (or Suitor). The story is that the woo-er had continually proposed to the sisters, but none of them would take him - so he turned to the bottle instead; and it looks like the fall is holding a bottle somehow. When I can get pictures up again you will see what I mean.
Leaving the Geirangerfjord we climbed this road around 38 hairpin turns to a mountain valley that was every bit as stunning as the fjord we left. Then we followed the river that flowed from the valley all the way to Lillehammer. I wish I could adequately describe the color of that river - I know I didn't ever catch its purity with my camera. It was turquoise, but more blue - brighter, lighter, stunningly blue. I have never seen that color in nature before. It most resembled the sky on a perfect day, but it was moving and flowing and alive with color. I won't forget the beauty of yesterday.
Lillehammer itself was great too. We found our hotel and then went up to see the ski jump that overlooks the town and lake - and once again were pleasantly surprised that they just let you walk around! We even saw four guys make jumps - they just wet down the plastic that covers the landing area so that the skis will slide easier, and wet down the tracks, and then the guy goes - it was so cool!! We climbed up the stairs and I was standing right by the edge of the jump when one of them went - that was pretty neat. The view from up there over the lake and town was amazing - especially with the Olympic torch platform right up front.
Some of you may know this about me, but I have this thing about water - I always want to jump in. I jumped in at the lake at Preikestolen, and at the fjord in Hellesylt, and I wanted to jump in the lake at Lillehammer too. So we found this little park, and I got in, did two turns in the water, and got out. It was much warmer than the fjord, and the other lake, but not warm enough to stay in for long - even though it was probably high seventies yesterday. However, tonight I decdided to get in the river by our hotel (it had been 80 or more today) and even though it was after 10:00, it was warm enough that I swam around for a little while before getting out. I feel like seeing a place from the water's point of view makes me feel like I am a part of it - like I understand it and it understands me - that I belong. I love the way the going under and the coming up makes me feel clean and pure, and reminds me of the feeling of baptism and the beauty of how Christ makes us free.
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and I admit it is a little strange to be in another country on my favorite holday. But, if i am honest, it is porobably easier to be in Sweden than to be in the US and not be in Jackson. I would miss the fireworks at Snow King and the trip to Warm Springs too much. I will think of you all, having picnics and maybe going boating, and some of you climbing the hill to be in the thick of the action and I will try not to be jealous (since, after all, I am in Sweden). :)
Trish and I decided to go over to Stockholm tomorrow, and then we separate - she goes back to Oslo, and I start meandering my way down to Switzerland - where I shall hopefully be on the top of the Schilthorn for my birthday present to myself. I don't know if I will be able to post before I get to Gimmelwald, so Happy 4th of July and enjoy the fireworks and the lake for me!

July 1

Today I woke up to real sunshine for the first time on the trip. Sharing my glorious morning were two HUGE cruise ships that had snuck up on Hellesylt during the night. They were kind of fun to see, because they really did take up so much of the space available in this small fjord.
I tried to hike another mountain today (or big hill, whichever way you take it), and was only partially successful. It was steep going (to the point where every step took me up about a foot, and large portions of the hike were along a cliff face - but protected by a dense forrest at the same time) but offered great views of the fjord - or so I was told. The bottom half did, when I could see through the trees, but the top was basically just trees. When I could see out I had a bird's eye view of Hellesylt and its waterfall, and was about even with a great snowfield across the fjord - so the trip to the top was well worth it. However, I somehow became a tourist attraction for a great swarm of flies, who followed me to the top and decided they liked me so much they'd stay with me till I reached the bottom. I gradually learned to accept their presence, although I can't say I made any friends. We'll see if any of my pictures turned out or if I was too busy slapping at the flies that landed every time I stayed still too really get a good shot. I also got lost near the top - the trail, marked by painted red stripes and "V"s - disapeared at a most inconvenient time: through a forest of birch trees. I found my way up but lost it again on the way down, and got pretty scared for a few minutes until that beautiful Norwegian red showed itself again. On my way down I also managed to pass off my flies to a fellow traveler on his way up, so that turned out swell! =)

Trish and I are now in Lillehammer - more to come!