More of Trier: Abbey highlights, the charming square, and wienerschnitzel

I almost forgot to share one of my favorite experiences while inside of Saint Matthias' Abbey!  After visiting the tomb of Saint Matthias, we spent a little extra time visiting the two side chapels.  First, we visited the Blessed Sacrament chapel.  Dan showed Peter how to kneel in front of Jesus in the tabernacle while I said some silent prayers to our Eucharistic Lord as well.  How refreshing it is to be in a Catholic Church after living in a Muslim country for 7 months.  It was completely rejuvenating to sit in Christ's presence and soak up His graces.  Peter's prayers were not so silent, so we soon moved on to the other side chapel. 

The other chapel was in honor of Mary.  It was a very simple chapel with a beautiful painting of Our Lady hanging on the front wall.  Two German ladies, one elderly and one very young, were softly praying the Rosary together.  Though we cannot speak German, Dan and I quietly prayed the Hail Mary with them in English.  We were able to pick out enough of their words to match their German with our English.  What a beautiful reminder of our universal Church!  Both Dan and I have German grandparents, so it was incredible to listen to the words of the Rosary in German and know that our ancestors spoke those same words in prayer! 

After our visit to Saint Matthias' Abbey, we explored a little more of the charming town of Trier.  We stumbled upon several other churches and then found ourselves in a quaint, beautiful town square.  I could've spent a whole day in this square, shopping in the colorful, trendy shops, tasting coffee and patries at the adorable cafes, and taking in all of the sights and sounds.  It was lovely.

We found a cute little yellow restaurant for dinner.  We feasted on Wienerschnitzel, mushroom strudel, and German beer.  Peter spent his dinner nibbling on food, coloring, and smiling at the German waitresses.  It was a relaxing, cozy end to a fantastic day!

Dan feasting on wienerschnitzel!  Yum!

Saint Matthias Abbey (Trier, Germany)

After a morning of pre-op appointments, we were able to take a little day trip to Trier, Germany the afternooon before Peter's surgery.  Trier is only an hour away from our hotel in Ramstein, so it was the perfect afternoon destination.  Our first stop was Saint Matthias' Abbey.  This beautiful Romanesque basilica contains the tomb of Saint Matthias, the apostle that took Judas' place after Jesus' death and Resurrection!  It is also a Benedictine monastery- which made this Benedictine College Alum feel right at home!

Beautiful Saint Matthias Abbey

A beautifully carved statue of Saint Matthias inside of the Abbey
Beneath the statue, in the Abbey Crypt, is the tomb of Saint Matthias. 



We descended the stairs leading down to the abbey crypt.  The crypt was dim, quiet, and peaceful.  The crypt held a large, stone tomb which housed the relics of Saint Matthias.  St. Helena (the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine) left a portion of St. Matthias' relics in Trier and brought the rest to Rome.  We stopped and prayed quietly near the tomb of this heroic Apostle and friend of Christ.  I got goosebumps as I laid my hand on the stone tomb and asked for his intercession.

Surgery at Landstuhl

Last Wednesday, the Beaudoin's boarded a plane for Germany.  After 3 hours of stickers, books, play-do, crayons, and snacks, (I can only vaguely remember the days of leisurly looking through a magazine during a flight- plane rides are so much more active now that we have a toddler!) we arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.  Ramstein is the headquarters of United States Air Forces in Europe.  It is a huge, beautiful base with lots of American restarants and shopping.  It was a refreshing taste of "home".

Our great little traveler and his new stickers

We spent our first full day in Germany at pre-op appointments.  After speaking with Peter's surgeon (an Army major), I was completely at ease. I knew Peter was in great hands.  We checked in bright and early on Friday morning and Peter's surgery began soon after that.  All of the doctors and nurses were very helpful and reassuring.  Peter's surgery lasted about 1.5 hours, and the doctor called us into the recovery room when Peter began waking up.  Everything went so smoothly and we were able to leave the hospital that afternoon.  Peter was sore and tired, so we spent the rest of the day in our hotel room watching cartoons and reading books in bed.  Peter has been such a tough little man.  Praise God for such a great recovery!

Our Tough Little Man

Since our arrival in Turkey, we have spent quite a bit of time inside of hospitals.  With an infected bug bite trip to the Turkish ER, back-to-back ear infections, and a three night hospital stay for Roseola, Peter has extensive experience with doctors and nurses.  We feel so richly blessed because with each experience, God always surrounds us with amazing friends and skilled doctors.  We have felt God's healing presence so intensely with each experience, Peter always recovers very quickly and seems stronger than ever.  Our experiences have helped us to not take our sweet little boy for granted. 

When Peter was hospitalized for Roseola in February, we discovered another unrelated medical concern.  After a quick trip to the ultrasound section of the hospital, we discovered that Peter had a hydrocele/hernia.  It was purely coincidental that we were in the hospital for one medical issue and another one popped up.  The doctors reassured us that it was not urgent, but that he would have to have surgery.  At the time, my heart sank like a rock, dreading more IV's, more medications, more hospital stays. 

Since Incirlik Air Base is so small, we do not have a hospital here (just a clinic).  So if we wanted to have the surgery in Turkey, we would have to go to a Turkish hospital.  We were happy with the care Peter received at the Turkish hospital in February, however, being in a place where little English is spoken and everything is done differently adds some stress when your little baby isn't well. 
Fortunately, our doctors on base made arrangements for our little guy to have his hernia surgery at one of the best hospitals in the military, Landstuhl Hospital located on an Army Base in Germany.  Most servicemembers who are injured while deployed are sent here.

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Peter to a hospital with such an outstanding reputation.  The military helped us make travel arrangments and schedule Peter's appointment.  We felt very blessed that Peter would receive such extraordinary care and that we would be able to spend some time relaxing together in Europe.

Cappadocia: the Land of Fairy Chimneys and Blizzards

Last weekend, we decided to take a road trip to Cappadocia.  The Cappadocia region is a favorite spot among many of our friends who are stationed here at Incirlik, so we were eager to experience it for ourselves.

The unique landscape of Cappadocia was formed about 30 million years ago from erupting volcanoes.  The volcanic eruptions formed "fairy chimneys": tall, cone-shaped rock formations that early inhabitants believed were the chimneys of underground fairy homes. 

The 3 1/2 hour drive to Cappadocia was beautiful.  We drove up, up, up....into breathtaking mountains and clear, sunny skies.  Our arrival into the area of Cappadocia was even more unbelievable.  The fairy chimneys dotting the landscape were so unique and hauntingly beautiful, it felt like we had just landed on another planet. 

 

We snapped some photos and checked into our hotel.  In the past, inhabitants of Cappadocia carved their homes into the fairy chimneys and volcanic rock formations.  Visitors have the opportunity to experience these cave dwellings for themselves in the local cave hotels.  We stayed at a charming little cave hotel in the Goreme region.  My boys and I had so much fun relaxing in our cozy little cave!

We spent our first day in Cappadocia at the Open Air Museum.  In this outdoor museum, we explored the many chapels and monasteries from the 9th-11th centuries cut out of the volcanic rock formations.  Inside of the chapel were still vibrantly colorful Byzantine frescoes of scenes from the Old and New Testaments.   We finished the day with dinner at a cozy little cafe with meatball soup, Turkish tortellini, and tea.  (The waiter gave Peter "chocolate tea" aka hot cocoa.)

This was a monastery!

 

The next morning we munched on a Turkish breakfast at our hotel.  When we first arrived here, the idea of  dry bread, fruit, olives, cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes for breakfast did not sound appealing to me.  But I must admit that it has really grown on me and I truly enjoy it now!  It feels much healthier and lighter than an American breakfast. 

We went off the tourist path to the big city of Kayseri about an hour down the road.  Kayseri is the ancient city of Ceasarea Marza, the home of Saint Basil the Great, bishop and doctor of the Church.  Though the city is now a bustling, busy city, Dan hoped that a pilgrimage there would lead us to find something associated Saint Basil and his life there.  We visited a humble archeological museum and then wandered the town a bit.  We eventually got a little lost and were found by a friendly Turkish college student who offered to show us around so he could practice his English.  We soon found that our new friend had alterior motives when he lead us to his "friend's" carpet shop and they started their sales routine.  Annoyed that we had fallen for his trick and unwilling to buy a $700 dollar carpet, we told them "no".  And after about 300 "no's" later, they finally let us go.  We decided that this day ended up being devoted to our "Turkish street smarts education" and vowed that we would never fall for these tricks again. 

After our adventures in Kayseri, we started our drive home.  Soon, we saw big, puffy snowflakes drifting from the sky!  We were thrilled!  We have missed snow while being in this tropical climate.  Soon, the light, puffy snowfall turned into an intense mountain blizzard and our initial elation transformed into nervousness.  Nightfall came early and we found ourselves driving through the mountains in a white-out blizzard at night.  We realized that in Turkey, you cannot just stop at a Holiday Inn off of the interstate (there was not a hotel to be found in the little mountain villages), so we slowly and carefully trudged through the snow.  There was even lightning in this snow storm!  It was the worst blizzard that Dan and I have ever experienced.  It took us 7 hours and lots of prayers to make it home that night.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, this February has been an unforgettable month.  And after an ambulance ride, a hospital stay, and driving through a crazy mountain blizzard, I'm hoping for a calmer, low key month of March.

This is when the blizzard first started.  It was so cold and WINDY!
 I had to hold on to the door so I wouldn't blow away!

February, oh, February

Oh, Februrary 2011.  I will not soon forget you. 

This has been a crazy, unforgettable month and, I must admit, I am very excited to wrap it all up and turn the page to a new month.

I don't want to complain in this post.  There have been so many blessings and graces that have accompanied the challenges of this month and I am truly grateful for it all.  However, this month has been so eventful, such an opportunity for growth for Dan and I, that it is impossible not to document it with a blog post. 

Peter started off the month with a mysterious fever.  He had no other symptoms, so it didn't seem worrisome at first.  But when his fever climbed to 102...103...104.4 degrees...we started to worry.  After a little over 24 hours of high fevers and several very short febrile seizures, we reached a point where we did not feel like we could safely monitor Peter at home and took an ambulance ride off base to a downtown Turkish hospital. 

We ended up staying three nights in the hospital with Peter so he could be monitored.  The hospital's pediatrition was puzzled by the mysterious fever because Peter had no other symptoms and his white blood cell count was normal (indicating that he did not have an infection).  On the third day, Peter's fever disappeared and he developed a rash all over his torso and face.  The rash was the clue we were waiting for to diagnose Peter.  Peter ended up having Roseola (or some virus similar to it).  The rash cleared up within a couple of days and our little man has recovered 110 percent!  Praise God! 

It was very difficult to be so far away from home, so far away from American hospitals, and so far away from family when Peter was so sick.  However, I felt God's presence with us in such an unbelievably real way- both through the grace He granted us to persevere and through the support of some of the most incredible friends I have ever known. 

I have to share with you some of the amazing blessings received during this time:

*One of our dear friends, Tina, is fluent in Turkish.  After getting a frantic phone call at 8:30 pm, she rushed to our house within minutes and followed the ambulance to the Emergency Room to be our friend, support, and translator.  She has five children of her own, but offered to stay as long as we needed her.  She dug through the seats in her minivan and found lots of fun toys to keep Peter entertained, as well as a Bible for Dan and I.  She came back to the hospital the next two days (once with her daughter, and once with her husband) bringing food, more toys, and books(*This is an amazing sacrifice!  The drive to the hospital takes about 30 minutes in stressful, crazy traffic.  It is not easy.)  They read to Peter while Dan and I ate a little hospital food and relaxed.  When we returned home from the hospital, we found a Welcome Home sign and balloons on our door from their family.  They brought us a delicious dinner that evening. 

*Another very good friend, Linda, also just happens to be Peter's peditatrition on base.  We are so blessed!  She has done so much for us!  When Peter first got sick, she advised me on the phone at 2:00 am, made a house call the next day, and phoned the ambulance for us.  The following day, she drove all the way to the hospital with her husband, Shane, to visit us, check up on Peter, and speak with the Turkish doctor about his blood tests.

*Our wonderful friends, Wendi, John, Sarah and Ryan drove all the way to the hospital bringing toys and a portable dvd player for Peter (Peter was attached to an IV for 3 days, so anything to entertain him was hugely appreciated! Another generous friend, Angelica, sent a box of fun toys for Peter!).  They also brought magazines, snacks and pizza for Dan and I!  It was so good to see our friends!  None of the nurses spoke any English and the television was in Turkish so it was wonderful to have conversations with familiar faces.  It rejuvenated us so much! 

*When we got home, we received many meals, phone calls, prayers and gifts from our dear friends.  It was such an amazing experience of God's love!  We are so blessed!

*Our families back home- I know it was very difficult for them because we could not contact them from the hospital and they had very little information.  But we felt their love and prayers so much (and all of the prayers from our wonderful friends in the States)!  It's what kept us going.



In Peter's hospital bed with his IV.  It must've been around 11 pm and we had just done blood tests in the ER.
 I'm not sure why we're smiling so big!  I guess we're just relieved he's okay! : )

 *And last but not least- PETER!  I can't brag enough about how good he was through it all!  Other than during the sponge bath, blood draw, and insertion of the IV in the ER, Peter did not cry at all the entire time!  He was so tough!  He watched Turkish cartoons and read books in bed, walked the hallway with his IV following him, and sat on the couch in our room looking out the big window at the buses and trucks driving on the busy street.  I am so blessed to be his mom!



Our little sweetie taking a big nap.



Anavarsa: Roman Ruins, a Castle, & a Flock of Sheep

Turkey is a country so rich in history that it seems we are never short on ideas for our next big adventure.  We have been enjoying little day trips on Dan's days off lately.  Several weeks ago, we explored the ruins of an Armenian castle made entirely out of black volcanic rock.  This castle is called Toprakkale (which means "dirt castle", otherwise known as Black Castle to the Americans on Base).  We had fun exploring the rooms of this unique castle with the help of a local guide who insisted on showing us his favorite parts.  The castle was built in the top of a mountain and the view on that clear, sunny day was magnificent!

Last week, we recruited a couple of our friends to join us on our latest day trip.  We ventured about an hour down the road to Anavarsa.  This ancient Roman city now sits nestled in a quiet field, surrounded by farms.  A steep mountain with a glorious castle on top of it overlooks the ruins of this old city.  Luckily our friends, Erin and Nate, were feeling as adventurous as we were as we approached the ancient city and rain started pouring from the sky.  We bundled up with coats, ponchos, & umbrellas and started our journey to the ancient Roman city of Anavarsa. 

Thankfully, the rain let up soon after we started trekking through the muddy field and it wasn't long before we were dry again.  We spent all morning walking through the never ending field of ruins.  Anavarsa must have been an incredible city.  We explored ancient bathhouses, Byzantine churches, roads, archways and columns as we stood in awe of the dramatic cliff that hovered near us.  The overcast sky added to the drama of the atmosphere around us.  We were not alone as we explored the field.  We shared the land with a large flock of sheep, an even larger herd of cows, and some Turkish shepherds.  At times, the cows were a little too close for my comfort level, but my traveling companions assured me that we were just fine. (Someone has to be the cautious one, right?  It might as well have been the mom of the group.)  Peter, who had only seen cows in books, was absolutely thrilled.  He mooed excitedly for about 30 minutes straight.  The atmosphere was absolutely unforgettable.  We all stood still for a moment, just soaking it all in.  The only sound heard for miles was the soft ringing of the sheep's bells that rolled through the quiet, still field.

We went back to the car to have some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, string cheese, and almonds for lunch before our climb up the mountain.  We drove to the base of the mountain, strapped Peter in the backpack, and started our climb.  There was not a trail to be found, so we climbed up large porous rocks (the large holes in the rocks made them look like moon rocks!) and through thick greenery.  Halfway up the mountain, we discovered an ancient graveyard with large open tombs.  After a bit more climbing, we approached the castle.  It was beautiful.

It took us several hours to walk through the entire castle.  It was massive.  One of the highlights of this castle was discovering the ruins of a church.  We could see the remnants of frescoes painted on the arch of the church's ceiling.  We saw 11 halos with faint faces.  Part of the ceiling was gone, so we suspected that at one time this may have been the 12 apostles.  Above the halos, were traces of angel wings.  Amazing!

After lots of climbing we made it to the top of the castle.  The view was absolutely incredible.  We were up so high!  We looked down on the field of ruins that we explored that morning.  The sun had peaked out after lunch and it ended up being a beautiful, sunny, clear day.  Dan and I took in the magnificent view of the mountains, little villages, and fields stretching for miles.  Dan read my mind as he said, "We'll never be able to capture this view with words or pictures". 

We hiked back to our car and drove home as dusk was approaching.  It had been a long, satisfying day.  I've definitely found my new favorite castle in Turkey!