Finding Beauty in the Journey

I am writing this as I travel home from eleven amazing days in Europe, and the theme that caught my heart from the beginning was beauty, in different manifestations. Europe certainly has many beautiful sights, but to reduce it to architecture or mountains would be to lose the translation of a deeper beauty. The beauty of this trip transcends physical limitations, and it all began in Paris.

Paris: An Invitation to Beauty

We arrived in Paris after an overnight flight, tired and uncertain what we would find. We were assaulted with beauty from the beginning. Our hotel room overlooked the Louvre, the Tuileries Gardens and the Eiffel Tower, which sparkled at night over the city through our window. A boat ride on the Seine revealed stunning views on either side.

Nothing was built in haste, and always with beauty in mind. We strolled through manicured gardens filled with color-coded groupings of purple iris and yellow daffodils. The Arc d’Triomphe could have been a utilitarian monument to victory, but instead it is a stunning gate to the Champs Elysees, which is lined with towering trees and filled with glittering shops and parks. No beautiful detail is overlooked in Paris, and the effect is jaw dropping. We were so filled to the brim with the overwhelming sights that the Louvre was lost on us as a huge collection of art pieces we could not possibly soak into our full sponge brains. We were sad to leave. What could be better than Paris?

Solingen: The Beauty of Connection

I’m not going to lie, when I pulled up to the home of my German cousin I had never met, I was nervous. He invited us to stay with him—for two nights. What was I thinking? The house was a crisp, freshly-painted white with a lush green lawn out front. I walked up the steps to the unknown, and the door opened. A smile filled his face and he greeted me with a warm double cheek-to-cheek European hug, and all was well. His wife Andrea chatted with me while he got our bags, and her humor matched mine. We laughed at the same things. Within an hour, we were all sharing our lives with each other.

The time went by quickly as they toured us to the places of their childhood and family life—their hometown. The German word for hospitality is Gastfreundschaft, which literally translates to "guest friendship," and they live and breathe it. I wrote a blog the day after about our encounter and its meaning in my life (see it here). More than a week later, we are still messaging back and forth and they are planning a visit to the States to see us. The connection is real, and it is beautiful.

Berlin: Restored Beauty

On the wings of our time with new friends more than family, we rode into Berlin with zero expectations. It’s the capitol of Germany, formerly divided, and we had to see it. The first day was rough. We were bombarded with the ugly past of the city: the terror of the SS, the ugly block buildings of the East, the stark city streets. The Tiergarten is wild, not manicured like the Tuileries of Paris, and still bears gunshot wounds on its monuments where German soldiers fought to the death, losing the city foot by foot.

We were surprised to discover that the gorgeous Brandenburg Gate which our hotel overlooked, was trapped behind the Berlin Wall for more than forty years. The beautiful hotel had lost its shine in the stoic East. Then the wall came down, and East and West were united again and beauty has slowly, foot by foot, been restored. On the second day, we discovered the Unter den Linden, which has been brought back to its full, undivided glory. Building after building captivated us both inside and out, and the restored beauty of the wounded, now healed, city came to life.

Munich: Joyful Beauty

Our trip to Munich began with sorrow, not joy. We stopped at Dachau, and our hearts were crushed by the inhumanity of it all. The grey, rainy day was fitting for the gloomy setting, and there were no words. We drove in silence through traffic and heavy rain into Munich.

Our hearts began to lift as we stumbled into an obligatory visit to the Hofbrauhaus and a German band filled the hall with oompah music. After a much-needed good night’s rest, we attacked Munich the next day. The sun was shining. The people were smiling. The mood was light. We laughed. We made new friends along the way. Our eyes and smiles were wide with the joy that permeates the city. We stood in the Platz filled to the brim with people, and a new friend, and marveled at the playfulness of the Glockenspiel music and dancers. The joy restored our souls.

Switzerland: Timeless Beauty

We had planned a different route through Switzerland, but we met two lovely Swiss women at a pizza shop in Munich (more on that later), and we entered a new destination into our French-speaking navigation system: Stein am Rhein. But first, coffee. We got out of Munich early, and the Autobahn buzzed along with few stops. We needed coffee, so we exited at a little town in search of some liquid elixir to fuel our day’s trip. The town wasn’t very big, and as we drove slowly through a sight caught our eye: a line of people flowing out of a local bakery. We peeked inside—there was coffee behind the glass shelves filled with delightful pastries and breads. We stood in the line with the locals, blending into their lives. Two women chatted in German ahead of us as men, women and children came out one by one with their bread and sweets for the weekend. Most biked or walked. It was a time warp of small village life. The croissants and coffee were delicious, and would have been enough.

We stumbled into Stein am Rhein with no idea what awaited us. Cobblestone streets, walls filled with watercolor murals, half-timbered buildings, and brightly painted signs invited us to explore. A farmer’s market down the center of the street—which is only wide enough for walkers—added to the ageless charm of the city, which dates back to the 1200s. The Rhine flowed steadily by on the edge of town. We were transported back hundreds of years to simple, Swiss life. Invigorated by our find, we went on to our final destination for the day: Schaffhausen. Our tiny hotel had a rooftop terrace overlooking the church tower, where bells rang every hour as they have forever, and a medieval fort guarded the town. A bell keeper still lives in the old fortress and rings the bells by hand each night at bedtime. It was a timeless combination of sight, sound and meaning.

Schlosshotel Kronberg: Romantic Beauty

My expectations were pretty low when we rolled into Kronberg. I mean, we had already seen enough beauty to overflow our tanks, and websites can be deceiving. Could this castle hotel honestly be as good as it seemed online? The answer: a thousand times yes.

The Schloss itself was built by Princess Victoria—the daughter of her namesake Queen—as a monument to her love for her husband Friedrich who had passed away. No detail was spared, from the beautiful mix of architecture to the dark wood stairs and hallways filled with art to the leaded-glass windows overlooking the lush grounds. The wind rustled through the trees and made the blossoming rhododendrons and azaleas quiver in its wake. Wildflowers dotted the bright green lawns. Tall canopies of trees left room for bright sunlight to shine through and dapple the grass with light. The room itself bore antique furnishings and floral wallpaper. Wisteria hung from trees and the aroma of honeysuckle filled the air. This is the model for a huge part of the love story of the main character of my books (link) Lili, and her husband Karl, and it is the real-life site of many weddings and celebrations. The Schloss, forest, mountains and village all dripped with romance, and we hope to bring our husbands back someday.

The Beauty of Proclaiming Jesus through Handiwork

Throughout Europe, we came across churches built to declare the word of God. Artisans spent decades working with their hands to perfect sculptures and paintings and stained glass and woodwork, as an act of worship. Each region had a different feel and creativity, from simple white walls to elaborately painted murals, but all instilled a sense of awe in creating for the Creator of all things. Are the people of God flawed? Yes. But imperfect people can still proclaim a perfect God through beauty.

The Beauty of Friendship

My friend Jibs came along on this journey with me, and I couldn’t have done it without her. She immersed herself into my story, and went down every back road with me looking for the places my characters would live and see. She gasped with me when we found wild Forget-Me-Nots outside the Schloss. (The name of my second book is “The Forget-Me-Nots of the Angels” and the wildflowers are a key element.) We laughed until we almost peed in our pants trying to get out of the enormous maze of the Louvre. She was game to stay with a cousin I’d never met, and embraced them as new friends along with me.

We cussed in German together when our rental car would only speak French. She drove most of the way, tackling the Autobahn like a race car driver. We ate more croissants than I can count, and searched for Kaffee und Kuchen each afternoon, planning our next stop as a delicious apple strudel melted in our mouths, washed down with enough caffeine to get us to bedtime. She drove to the top of a mountain, then hiked with me to find Karl and Lili’s view of the Taunus Mountains. True friendship is a reminder that we are never meant to be alone, and when someone comes alongside you on the journey and takes the time to know you there is a beauty you cannot find on your own.

The Beauty of Home

Germans have a word for home that we Americans should add to our vocabularies. The word is Heimat (Hi-mat). It is more than the dwelling you live in, or the town you are from. It means belonging, and it encompasses the landscapes and people that have molded you. It is the exhale when you pull into your driveway, or return to the place of your youth. It is the people who have loved you into being. It can be nationalized, as in what it means to be American, but at its core it is much more personal than that. Each person’s Heimat is unique, even if they are from the same town or nation. Last night, I returned to my Heimat, and although I will miss Europe and the adventures, there is a beauty to my place and my people. My husband’s embrace and welcome is Heimat, and it is good. It is where we share our adventures and invite our loved ones into them.

I am filled with beauty, and resolved to find more in my everyday life. I hear the birds singing outside this morning. I see the beauty of my own sunrise. Beauty inspires a quest for more beauty. Each place on our journey brings a new and unexpected beauty that will live eternally as God’s handwriting on our hearts.