Mini-Me s

Oh man, i have many small thoughts::: It would be easy to write if I could show you some photos - but we haven't had the chance to upload photos in a while. So, we will have to catch up on visual effects later. Here are some samples of my would-be-blog-titles-if-i-had-the-time-to-blog:::


The Hours Inbetween::
It has been, believe it or not, difficult to embrace this present stage of life, traveling around Europe because I feel so torn about saying goodbye to people in Denver and I am apprehensive about what life (and relationships) will be like in Guatemala. So, as much as traveling around Europe with my Love is a dream - it is also still "life." We still have struggles and I still get sad sometimes. I totally buy into the philosophy of "embrace the MOMENT, don't fight it" but for some reason I've been fighting this "moment in time" - this chance to enjoy traveling and exploring new places with Matt...


Under the Olive Trees::
Italy really is a place for the five senses. In Florence we camped under a row of olive trees, looking out over the valley below, complete with the most lovely of Duomos and skylines. Matt and I are both suckers for the lovely culinary fragrances, peeping out around every corner. Matt has quite the sense of how far away the next wood-fired pizzeria is. And so did one of the local cats, who crawled under our tent and dragged away our leftover wood-fired pizza. I would have never known a sweet little kitty would do something like that! Matt is still a bit torn-up over it.


Thresholds:::
We are currently staying at a Seminario (an old monestary) in Volterra, Italy. Above our door is a fresco of an old monch, who presumably used to live in our room. It reminds me of this adorable little Inn in Twin Lakes, Colorado: ((Anyone who is in-love in Colorado should ask me about this romantic getaway.)) At the Inn in Twin Lakes, there was also a picture of a woman who used to live and
"work" in our room - if you know what i mean. And I just smile at the contrast of Ancestrial-thresholds in ancient Italy and the mining days of Colorado.

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Anyways, we've rented a little super old FIAT Panda for the day and we are looking forward to exploring the Chianti region of Tuscany. Ciao, ciao and much love to all.

East of Eden = Five Stars

The book starts off with a letter from John Steinback, the author, to someone named Pat.


it goes:::




Dear Pat,
You came upon me carving some kind of little figure out of wood and you said, "Why don't you make something for me?"
I asked you what you wanted, and you said, "A box."
"What for?"
"To put things in."
"What things?"
"Whatever you have," you said.
Well, here's your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.
And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.
And still, the box is not full.

- John


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I've really enjoyed reading this book and it has got me excited to try more classics in the near future. This is an excellent book by an incredible writer - the kind that shines through time. I will always remember the plot line intertwined with the places we were as we were reading this novel. (Matt and I have been reading it together). Riding the train in the Swiss Alps through tunnels and valleys, we read about forgiveness and brotherhood. Lying in the tent outside of Venice in the rain, we read of the terrible foreboding union of Cathy and Adam. and so on. Thanks for the recommendation: Jon and Emily.

Wieder-zu-sehen = To See Again

It's been great to see-everything & everyone - again. I haven't been back to Germany since my year abroad back in '04 - '05. So it was great everything wiederzusehen (to see again).



Here is a classic shot of the Heidelberg Castle, it's actually quite small - but look for it in the background.
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Here we are on the bridge - we really enjoyed strolling around this super charming old part of the city.
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Here we are biking in the Black Forest with my old neighbor, Matthias, from the dorms, he grew up in the Black Forest and always was and still is SO nice and hospitable.
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Here we are being tourists in Karlsruhe, walking around the palace gardens.
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Here is another shot of the Karlruhe Castle. I lived in a dorm 2 blocks from the Castle and the surrounding gardens. I will always treasure having had so much unique and antique beauty at my door step while living in Germany.






We asked for a recommendation from a local and we were SO delighted with the beauty and quaintness. At night all of the stores and cafés set out candles to set the most romantic mood.
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Here is more of romantically, charming and beautifully cobble-stoned Ladenburg, i believe it was.

Germany ~ Switzerland

Grusse, Grusse from Switzerland and earlier from Germany!

Unfortunately we have not had much time to be on the internet = it's complicated in Europe and when we've been with friends, well, we've been with friends and then we've spent most of our time trying to figure out how to get to the next town and what to do when we get there. Here's our itinerary so far:::


Day 1: PERSON: Steffi! PLACE: Mainz and Kolonge
highlight: eating a traditional German meal with fried potatoes and Fleischkaese in a big dark wood, timber restaurant and drinking the local Kologne beer: Koelsch


Day 2: PERSON: sweet Esther and her new husband Manu; PLACE: Heidelberg!!

Day 3: PERSON: me and Matt; PLACE: Heidelberg and exploring the ruins of the castle

Day 4: PERSON: Matthias & Oli; PLACE:: all of our old hangouts in Karlsruhe, Germany where I studied abroad four years ago

Day 5: PERSON: Matthias & Miri & Dennis; PLACE: biking around the Black Forest and sampling local wines

Day 6: trainride through the Black Forest with Matty!

Day 7: PERSON: Dina (old coworker and friend from the Swiss grocery store where i worked Summer '03); PLACE: Basel, Switzerland on the border of Germany, France and Switzerland

Day 8: PLACE: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland = the most beautiful valley in the Swiss Alps for sure!! We hiked through the lush mountain faces for about 7 hours!

Day 9: PLACE: Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald in the same wonderful valley + an optional trip to the top of Schilthorn - a viewing point of the highest Swiss Alp peaks

Day 10: PLACE: Gimmelwald - Langnau (where my old Swiss host family lives!)


the Rest: TBD

Thank You and We Love You

Here is a full of LOVE video, that our dear friend, Kate Cremisino, put together for us. It captures many precious moments with our church community over the past two years = this is one of the most special gifts I have ever received. Kate is so good about capturing moments: through photography, video and words. She has inspired me to be a better memory keeper myself, which is why I now have a simple video recorder via my ipod. And I hope to share some of the videos of our Europe trip so far whenever we have a good enough Internet connection. So, thank you, Kate, for this wonderful tribute - our hearts are full to overflowing for sure.

A Tribute to Matt + Molly Orr from Kate Cremisino on Vimeo.

Bittersweet pretty much just means Bitter

This was the same title I used on my first ever Blog Entry. I wrote it as i was moving from Germany and saying good-bye to all the friends and the life I had made. Everyone would ask me then, "Are you excited to return home to America?" And I would think - "excited? of course not - saying goodbye is so hard to do."

And it's the same thing this time. People have asked, "ARe you excited for Guatemala and even Europe??" And i think, "of course not - saying goodbye is so hard to do."

But like my friend, Kate, had said as soon as we actually DID the thing I feared the most (leaving friends and a comfortable life) and after we actually loaded up the car and drove out of Denver - it did get easier and I was able to crack a bit of a smile thinking about what lies ahead for us.

I miss everyone reading this for sure! Much love to you all!