Day 40: Rome

Ed and I have been in Rome now for a few days and it is kind of difficult to describe all the things we have done and all the feelings resulting therefrom. I could go on and on about all the churches and historical Roman buildings or the Vatican, etc., but I'm not certain I can really effectively communicate any idea about my experience that isn't simply a shadow. 

To be sure, we have been walking a bit, though it is nice to be done with our packs. Upon first reaching St. Peter's Square and viewing it from a distance, Ed and I ran with joy to cross over the border. After some prayers and pictures, I made sure to blow the vuvuzela, though quickly, to avoid being arrested by the Swiss guards. 

Our new Danish Via Francigena friend arrived in Rome yesterday, and today the three of us visited some ancient Roman ruins and St. John Lateran, which his the parish church of the pope. 

The main highlight for me today was to visit the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is in this church that the major shrine of St. Aloysius Gonzaga is located, along with his remains below the altar. I guess you could say that St. Aloysius and St. Gemma are my two main patron saints, so getting to go to Mass and pray at both of their shrines was quite a blessing. 

Visiting the shrines of my very favorite saints has led me to want to renew my devotions which have more recently fallen by the wayside. 

On a related note, seeing all the papal stuff around here has made me kind of want to try again to memorize all the popes. But maybe that's not the best use of my time. But the last time I tried, I did discover that there is a Pope Lando. Now that he's in heaven (hopefully), one could say that he lives in Cloud City. Sorry, couldn't resist a terrible Catholic Star Wars pun. What a great way to end this post. 

Day 36: One Day Away from Rome

Ed and I will be in Rome tomorrow. If you have been following the blog, you might wonder how we got here so fast considering where we were a few days ago. We must admit that we took the train and the bus a few times for various reasons, most importantly that we decided that being in Rome and enjoying it for four or five days is more important to us than trying to walk the whole way, especially since we have already been obliged to take public transit. We did wak through most of Tuscany. 

We were prepared to make a good long walk today, but what should have been a good night's sleep camping was prevented by several barking dogs, whose homes we were not really close to at all. After waiting a good 20 minutes for the dogs to just give up their incessant barking, we finally decided to leave. After walking for ten minutes, the dogs had continued barking on and off. We searched in vain for another suitable spot. Finally, we arrived at a tiny town with a church. We decided to sleep in an alcove behind the church, but it was too late to get a decent amount of sleep, especially since we had to wake up early to make sure no one from the town happened upon us. 

After a morning of having to walk on a moderately busy road with and then having to climb an unpleasant hill to Acquapendente, all the while being harassed by even more dogs. Not to mention that it started to rain and that Acquapendente was not a particularly enchanting town. So distressed and tired were we that we decided to take the bus all the way to Montefiascone, where we had booked a hostel. Sure we 'could have' walked there, but I blame the dogs. This trip has determined that Ed and I will never be dog owners but that we may be donkey owners. Aw, Baracuda!

But the day before yesterday, we had a great day because we made some new friends. Ed and I met two Italian guys doing the Via Francigena from Siena to Rome. We walked with them from Ponte d'Arbia to San Quirico d'Orcia and talked about many things. We all enjoyed the Tuscan landscape together. Along the way we met a young lady from Denmark who joined our party for the rest of the day. She is an engineer, which was cool because it made me remember my own engineering days. She and Ed and I talked about differences between Europe and the US and she also taught me to count to ten in Danish. Together the five of us enjoyed a splendid meal in San Quirico. 

So though there have been difficult days like today and yesterday, but meeting new friends along the way makes it all worth it. 

Day 33: Saints Alive: Visiting Lucca and Siena

This will unfortunately have to be a somewhat short post since I have to be moving soon. Ed and I have just finished our time in Siena, where the shrine of St. Catherine of Siena is located. A few days before this, we were in Lucca, where the shrine of St. Gemma Galgani is, as you already know. 

Being able to visit the shrines of these saints has been an extraordinary grace for me. To be able to see the places important tithe lives of these saints who I so admire really lifts my heart up to God and makes me want to rededicate my life to God. Whenever I hear a great violinist play, it makes me want to go home and start practicing my violin again. And likewise, when I contemplate the lives of the saints, it makes me want to grow closer to God. 

The cities here are beautiful, but more beautiful are those whose lives reflect the light of God. 

Day 27: Friends Visit in Parma and One Day Away from Lucca

It has been a while since I have given a substantial post. Ed and I have enjoyed our time in Italy so far, though we have taken public transit more often than I would like. There are not convenient walking paths here in Italy like there were in Switzerland. Thus we have been reduced to walking on roads, which is difficult and sometimes slightly dangerous. 

A recent highlight for us was a visit we had with some friends in Parma. One of my former colleagues from St. Joe's now lives near Venice, and she and her family were able to come out and visit us for Saturday evening and Sunday morning, including Mass. In their immense generosity, they treated us to dinner, brunch, and they offered to ship some of our unnecessaries back to the states, and they brought us a little care package of various energy bars, etc. It was very nice to spend some time with them. We experienced some authentic Parmasean cuisine while we were there as well, and of course Mass in the crypt chapel of the Duomo was beautiful. 

After Parma, we went roughly south through the Appenines, our last significant mountain range. We are still on our way out, but we are officially in Tuscany, which has prompted a few Seinfeld and The Office references. The quiet forests move one to prayer, though the narrow shoulders and Italian drivers snap one out of it. 

Right now we are in the town of Fivazzano. You Bellocians out there will be well aware that this is not on Belloc's route and indeed you would be correct. We have decided to take a little detour via the coast. We wil still end up in Lucca like Belloc, but we will miss Castelnuovo. This is for various reasons, and though I would like to remain mostly faithful to Belloc's route, it seems that the route via Castelnuovo involves somewhat dangerous roads, and also, this will essentially be our only opportunity to visit the coast. 

Regardless of the means by which we arrive there, I am very excited to go to Lucca. Many people, including Belloc, have spoken very highly of this city, but is important to me primarily because it is where my very favorite saint is from and where there is currently a shrine to her. We are taking a full day here, and much of my time will be spent at the Monastery of St. Gemma. I am almost more excited to go here than to Rome. 

Those of you who know me have perhaps heard my St. Gemma stories, but for those of you who don't, here is a link to a St. Gemma story that inspired my devotion to her: http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/2008/10/st-gemma-pleads-for-sinner-and-obtains.html?m=1

I love this picture of St. Gemma because of a quote I once read. It said, "Man is truly man when the light of God is reflected in a face upturned in prayer."

When next you hear from me, I will have been to Lucca. I can only hope I will be able to communicate the joy I am sure to experience there. 

Day 23: Italian Joy

This post will be short because my battery is low. But Italy is great. Today, at least 6 different people stopped us and talked to us. One of them even told me how good my Italian was, even though I know very very little. 

My only thought for now is how happy I am that many people do not peg us as Americans at first. In fact, I think we've been asked more often if we are German than English or American. Hooray! Someone did point out that Ed and I are both blonde haired and blue eyed, so maybe that has something to do with it. Nevertheless, it means we do not meet the typical American stereotype, whatever that is. The Italian folks we have met have been very genial people. It is a very interesting change from Switzerland. But I can say that the Italian part of Switzerland is quite like Italy itself, except for the prices. Everything in Italy is soooo much cheaper. We are eating much better for less money. 

Italy is a great place. I am very happy to be here. 

Day 20: Difficulty, Failure, and Respite

The past few days have contained many ups and downs on our journey to Rome. Our Sunday began very well with a wonderful Mass at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Quinto. 

Afterward, I managed to find the priest and tell him we were on a pilgrimage, and I asked him if he could give us a blessing. He gave us the blessing in Italian but we spoke in French. We talked and he told us that he was the parochial vicar at a parish in the south of Switzerland in the town of Morbio Inferiore. He told us that if we came that way, we could stay at the rectory and we could have some food. Later on I consulted the map and discovered that Morbio was pretty much on our way to Italy so we made plans to go through there. 

That day was the day of Federer's tragic loss in the Wimbledon final. That night, we experienced much difficulty, which felt like it was a continuation of the disappointment of the loss. We got to a road that looked dangerous because of its lack of a decent shoulder. There were no alternatives, and we were too upset to go so far back, so after much deliberation, we decided to take the bus just past the dangerous part. It was a difficult concession to make, but it was for the sake of safety. That night, we experienced many mishaps which caused us to get very little sleep. Ed posted a Facebook status alluding to this, and that for now, is all we can say on the matter (we want to save it for the book). 

The next day I learned the importance of a good night's sleep for a decent day of hiking. I had very little energy and I could not keep up with Ed very well. We had a clear and safe path. It was frustrating because when we had had energy to hike a long time the night before, we had horrible luck finding a safe path and we got stuck, but when we finally had a clear and safe path, we had no energy. The other problem we had was that it rained relentlessly all day and had been for several days. That night in Bellinzona, we decided to get a hotel. I had a great night's sleep that night. We decided to go to Morbio Inferiore the next day to find Don Marco and take him up in his offer of hospitality. 

Unfortunately, I discovered from my maps and from two additional accounts of authors who have also recreated Belloc's journey (Peter Francis Browne (1990) and Bob Johnson (2008 ebook)), that the road Lugano might not work out the way we wanted. We tried one way and were met with the same kind of dangerous road as before, while also enduring unceasing pouring rain for several hours. And so, like Peter Francis Browne before us, we took the train to Lugano and then to Morbio Inferiore. This gave us time to actually enjoy our time in Lugano and actually visit several churches. In the course of our train taking, we met some American students from Virginia Tech and University of Virginia who were on a study abroad program. We talked about our respective journeys. It was nice to speak in English for a change. 

And now here we are at the rectory in Morbio Inferiore, enjoying the hospitality of Italian priests. We are washing our clothes for real for the first time on this journey It will be nice to wear something that doesn't smell absolutely horrible. It's been depressing to take a shower and then put on the same disgusting clothes. 

And tomorrow, Italy!

Day 18: Shared Favorites

Sometimes in life, one of your friends might show you a cool book or a movie. Soon enough, that book or movie might become your favorite, and you and your friend may enjoy talking about it as a shared favorite of sorts. 

Today, Ed and I are watching our shared favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, play in the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic. Ed told me about Federer many years ago, and he has become my favorite tennis player. Together, Ed and I watched him take his first French Open title. And now, we have the joy of watching him play in the Wimbledon 2014 final while we are in Switzerland, which is Federer's home country. I suppose that it's not the same as watching a Federer match live, but it sure is something. 

We haven't gone very far since my last post, but we had the joy of going to Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Quinto this morning and receiving a blessing from the priest there. Then we hiked to Faido, where we are now watching the Federer match. We should be out of Switzerland in two days. I don't know much Italian, but it's slightly better than my German. 

Day 17: Buongiorno

We have arrived in the Italian part of Switzerland, so it will be Italian from here on out. We have climbed SIX mountains/ridges to get here. Three in the Jura and three in the alps. I should make some notches in my walking stick to indicate this, like kills on the fuselage of a fighter jet. Also, there was the Ballon d'Alsace, so seven total. Phew. 

We have had some rough days struggling in the rain and the heat, but we are here in Ariolo, with full bellies and restored spirits. We should be in Italy proper in two or three days. 

We have been singing songs and discussing all manner of things, including fantasy novels, history, music, theology, memories, hopes, dreams, homestarrunner cartoons, and girls. At other times we have been silent, taking in with awe the beauty and grandeur of the beautiful European countryside and contemplating the peregrine nature of our pilgrimage. 

Ever at the forefront of our minds are the prayer intentions entrusted to us as well as those who are praying for us. 

I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post, but follow me on Twitter or Instagram, both with the handle lukestager. 

Please continue to pray for us. 

Day 13: The Most Dangerous Thing

One time, one of my students asked me what was the most dangerous thing I'd done. I didn't really know how to answer them because I couldn't think of anything particularly dangerous in my life. If that same student asked me today, I'd definitely have an answer. 

I'd like to add a disclaimer at this point that dangerous is not synonymous with careless. One may drink to much and put himself in a dangerous situation as a result of carelessness, but in the case I am about to describe, great care indeed was taken. While the situation was dangerous, we took great care that no harm would come to either of us. 

The most dangerous thing I have done is this. Yesterday I, along with Ed, climbed the Brienzergrat, the most difficult mountain I have ever had to climb. South Sister pales in comparison to this peak, nay, this nearly insurmountable ridge. Firstly, it was a long road. It wasn't bad at first, but there were a lot of miles to log before even getting to the tough part. The tough part was a great steep incline, which Ed and I immensely struggled with for over an hour (after three hours of moderately difficult climbing). Not only was it steep, but it was also not an easy path. One wrong step could send you tumbling over, and the mud did not make it any easier to find decent footing. Ed and I did have a decent amount of water and food, but as we got closer to the top, the more likely it became that we might have to turn back or that we might even get stuck up there with few options. 

When we finally reached the 'pass,' which was practically a peak all its own, we now had to face going down just as steep of an incline down the other side. The path was practically nonexistent. Though there was no snow, the mud and the wet grass made it somewhat difficult. I myself fell down twice, which was a bit rattling, but in the end, we finally made it to Breinz. 

Before this intense hike, we enjoyed time in Solothurn after the Jura. From there we found a very clear and direct, albeit at times boring, route across the valley, passing through Burgdorf, Lutzelfluh, Langnau, and Shangnau. The journey has been quite wonderful so far, despite the few difficulties we have encountered. 

Today it rained, and we took it easy today, watching Roger Federer play in the Wimbledon quarter finals and win. Tomorrow we face the Grimselpass, the last big climb for us for most of the rest of the trip.