Castles and bongs

Trip continues to be great, every day containing meaningful sites or interactions. It's Monday evening, and I'm now in Zurich, staying with friends of a buddy of mine from Seminary. Zurich is a funny blend of very new/modern and very old. This is the most relaxed I've been all trip...went on a bike ride and relaxed by a beautiful lake yesterday. Today, wandered the city, checked out some Protestant Reformation-related sites (walked through Zwingli's old church).

Here are a couple new pics:




Pic One: This is a couple days ago, back in Germany. This scene was one of the most spectacular I've ever glimpsed...taken from a bridge high above a raging creek, surrounded by mountains, forest, and a village in the distance. This castle is actually relatively new (as far as castles go), built in the late 19th century by crazy king Ludwig in Bavaria. Crazy, really...but maybe "cool" crazy...he built a cave inside of his castle. I mean, one section of the castle is a cave.




Pic Two: My first experience smoking hooka (spelling?), with friends in Zurich. A bong yes, weed no...some sort of fruity flavored tobacco. The best part was that a group of us were passing it around, taking hits...actually kind of a cool, communal experience. Anybody think I could convince my future congregation to "pass the pipe" during a worship service as a corporate act of unity?