A Visit From a Friend and a Desert Safari!

What a fun time we had! It was so fun showing Lara the favorite activities we have, favorite places we visit, and our home...for the time being! It was also special to spend time with Christi and Andy and their sweet family! The "Desert" Safari was such fun! The dune-bashing was like being on a very long roller-coaster ride! The driver would stop for a view and pictures, and then we would go "bashing" again! I was in the very back corner...and I didnt even get sick! Before we did the dune-bashing, the driver let air out of the tires. He could then roll up and down and over the dunes. Awesome! We then rode the camel. I loved the way the camel knelt down so that we could climb on, then stood up, and we immediately were high above everything on his back! There was, of course, the belly dancer and then a "whirly dervish"! It was a male dancer who spun in one spot very quickly while making "skirts" go up and down and over. HARD to explain, but way cool! When he stopped, he didn't even waver! It was neat having the henna done! It goes on very thick, dries about thirty minutes, flakes off, and leaves the design. It lasted about one week! The sunset was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded me of a West Texas sunset. You can watch it set all the way down to the sandy horizon!

We went to the fountains, malls, souks, and the Antique Museum...places I have blogged about before. It was so fun to take Lara to all these places...Christi and I got to be the tour guides!  We also went to the Dubai Museum. It is interesting, and depicts life in past bedouin villages. Oh, Lara also rode the bus with me! We only got a little bit lost! :)

Lara helped me with LiveWire, our church children's program. What a privilege to spend time teaching with her again...even if only a short time! :)

It was a special experience to share our new adventures with someone else. I love to visit someone in a new place because then when you think of them, you imagine them in their new surroundings that you have seen and experienced. You can see where God is leading them One Step at a Time, while He's leading you One Step at a Time! Please come visit, we would love to have you!

"All of us" on the Safari

You can see the grains of sand!

The sunset was BEAUTIFUL!

WAY up high!

Henna!

Lara and Christi toured the Burj, and then we met at the fountains for dinner.

So pretty at night!

Our "hop on-hop off" bus!

Lara on the "cruise."

We HAD to go to the spice souks! One of my favorite places!

Munich...What Fun!

Germany was a wonderful trip! It was so different from Dubai, and such a great holiday! 

It reminded us of fall in New York! We went to the English Garden, which was a huge park! It was beautiful; complete with a sun-shiny day, autumn trees, running springs, benches, and even The China Tower! We spent such a relaxing time there! We also climbed a very old, winding staircase in the tower of St. Luke’s Church to get a spectacular view of Munich...absolutely gorgeous! We visited the Market! This also reminded us of our Farmers’ Market days in New York! The produce was so pretty, and looked so yummy and fresh! The oldest German museum, Deutsches Museum, was so interesting, and HUGE! It had four floors, and had many displays of all kinds of things that the German people had discovered and invented. All of this was done on our first full day!

The next day, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. It is about ten miles outside of Munich. It was such an interesting day! We took a tour which used public transportation. We rode the “suburb” train to the town of Dachau, then took the bus out to the camp. It was not my favorite thing we did in Munich, but I was so glad we went! My friend says that traveling is an education in itself! This was true of that day! The trip to the camp made the history lessons I had been taught, come alive! We “walked the path” of the prisoners brought into the camp. Dachau was a work camp, where prisoners worked in fields, laundries, and mines. They were literally worked to death, or starved to death. Most did not survive! It was haunting, and made an impression that I will never forget. We also walked where Hitler’s soldiers gathered and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the plaza of Munich. I felt like I had been dropped into Hitler’s world! We wondered, as we saw tourists and residents scurrying about, what it would have looked like during Hitler’s time. Would residents have stayed indoors, only coming out to buy food, or go to school? It was not something Larry or I will ever forget! 

After that, we needed a break! That night, we visited the Haufbrauhaus! It is one of the oldest beer halls in Munich, and Hitler held meetings of the Nazi Party there. Now, it is just a FUN place to visit! Some of the tables have wood tops that have names carved in that are over 100 years old. There is an ompah band, beautiful ceilings and one liter mugs of beer...oh and sausage and sauerkraut! We liked it so much, we had to go two nights! :) 

The last morning, we visited the beautiful Residence Palace. It seemed each family of royalty had added another wing...it went on and on....very elaborate! Up in the top of the Town Hall, is the life-size glockenspiel! Each day at 11:00 and 12:00, the clock chimes, plays German songs, and the figures--including life-size horses--revolve in the clock! The architecture in Munich is amazing! I had heard that the city was beautiful, I completely agree! 

As we visited the city chock-full of history, I was awed by the fact that as God led these precious people, He leads us One Step at a Time!

glockenspiel 

Train Station

Town Hall

St. Luke's Cathedral where we climbed the stairs!

View of Town Hall/Plaza from church tower

View of Munich from "up top"

Market

What kind of hen lays RED EGGS?

Radishes!

Artichokes!

Gorgeous Strawberries!

Market Shops

Can you tell we liked the market? :)

English Garden

China Tower

Ceiling of Hafbrauhaus

Dachau Concentration Camp entry gate sign, "Work Shall Make You Free"

Memorial Statue at the camp

"Unknown" prisoner statue

AWESOME sign at the camp!

Ompah Band!

Residence Palace

Ceiling in Residence Palace...isn't it beautiful?

Oman...An Awesome Trip!

Wow! We had a really good time this Thursday! We took a bus tour to Oman, the country west of the UAE. It was beautiful! We went to the Oman Gulf, which feeds into the Indian Ocean. However, there are also mountains! So different than our landscape here! But, let me start at the beginning!

We left home at 6:00 A.M., as we were to meet our tour bus at 7:00. And...the bus came at 8:00, typical “Dubai” time! The bus held fourteen people, and a driver. We rode on the bus for about three hours. For that three hours, we were the only English speakers on the bus! All of the others spoke English, but it was their second language, so Larry and I couldn’t  help but giggle, as we sat and listened to Urdu from a family of six from Pakistan, as well as our bus driver. The couple in front of us were from the Philippines, and then the woman tour guide was from Dubai, speaking Arabic. 

When we arrived at the Gulf, we got off the bus, and climbed onto a boat! There were about thirty visitors on the boat. Again, we were the only Americans. :) Now, when we “joined” this tour, I think that we had a certain expectation from our trip...not AT ALL what it was like! The tour offered snorkeling, fishing, swimming, playing on the beach, drinks, and a lunch buffet. We were thinking that we would take the bus to the beach, and all of these things would be on the shore to choose what we would like to do. We even mentioned finding a coffee shop! Not QUITE the way it happened! But, it was way better, just in a much more non-commercial, authentic way.

There were cushions all over the floor, and we were greeted by men from Oman, “tour guides” who spoke little English. Everything was done by, “Here’s what I’m doing, you follow, and do the same thing!” We had coffee, and enjoyed the beautiful landscape! The boat motor then started, and we went out into the Gulf. After a bit, we stopped, and a big box of snorkeling equipment and life jackets were open on the deck. There was a smaller boat that was brought alongside our boat. We decided that meant that we could swim, snorkel, or take the boat to shore! Sure enough, that’s what we all did! 

Larry swam, and I went to the beach! On the beach, was a herd of goats. I am assuming that it is where they stay. There is no grass, but some shade from scattered trees, and food in buckets. I took lots of pictures, and collected a few shells, and enjoyed the amazing view!

When we arrived back at the boat, lunch was served! Again, they set it out, and so we decided it was time to eat! It was good, but laden with curry! We had chicken, vegetables, rice, fresh vegetable salad, and cole slaw. 

The boat then headed back, stopped again, and spools of fishing line were offered. No dialogue, just a spool with two little fish for bait, and a weight on the end. We didn’t fish, but watched and enjoyed the sun. A local fisherman came alongside our boat. I love the pictures of him!

As we were on the boat, we got to know our fellow passengers, especially the ones that were on our bus.  The couple from the Philippines were Ex-pats, and had been in Dubai for seven years. The six friends from Pakistan were a family. They were two sisters and four brothers, about the age of our own kids. They were very nice, and very friendly.

On the way home, I believe they coerced (in Urdu) our driver :) to stop at a Pakistan restaurant. You can see from this picture that Larry and I looked quite different than the locals! This area of Oman is not full of Ex-pats, and definitely not Americans! They treated us to traditional tea and a deep-fried vegetable snack from Pakistan.

We FINALLY arrived back at our destination at 8:00 P.M., and rode on home on the Metro!

We have had a good time deciding which of our friends and children would have enjoyed this trip! :)

God’s beauty was so apparent this day! The mountains, the beautiful Gulf, the goats, the customs of the country, and our sweet new friends from Pakistan. Through it all, we know that God leads One Step at a Time!

Taken from the tour bus!

Taken from the boat!

Enjoying a cup of coffee (of course!) right after we arrived on the boat.

Leaving where the boat was parked, going out into the Gulf.

Larry swimming!

My favorite! The goats on the beach!

Our boat taken from the beach.

Our new friends from Pakistan.

Another sweet young girl on our tour!

I LOVE this picture! This man was a fisherman that pulled his boat alongside of us.

Pakistan restaurant where we stopped for a snack!