Enjoy! Smile!

"A smile is a beautiful thing. It attracts. It heals. It can even touch. Smiles are born from deep inside. And we need to nourish them. Give them plenty of exercise. Then watch them grow."

And maybe even laugh. Laughing really is the best medicine.

I dare say, that's pretty sound advice.

"I remember thinking in school how I would grow up and would protect my students from unpleasant impressions, from uncertainty, from scrappy learning," Friedl Dicker-Brandeis wrote to a friend in 1940. "Today only one thing seems important — to rouse the desire towards creative work, to make it a habit, and to teach how to overcome difficulties that are insignificant in comparison with the goal to which you are striving."

...I've been thinking about this wonderful Austrian woman today. She taught art classes in a transit Concentration Camp called Terezin and filled two suitcases full of 4, 500 pieces of Children's art during the Holocaust.

London-"if you're tired of london then you're tired of life" as I read at the national gallery this afternoon. Really a lovely place full of flare.


For instance, just got back from king's cross. You know, platform 9 3/4. Everyone who loves Ron was there, so of course that had to be my very last tube stop.


Which brings me to the next magical thing of London, the tube! Underground then suddenly in a brand new place exactly where you want to be or even where you didn't even know where you wanted to be! Today we got lost for one moment in our group of friends. We decided to find her by what we were feeling. We turned a wrong corner and with many silent prayers in our hearts, we found our missing friend-within seconds of leaving on the tube to search for her at the next stop. Now that is not magical. That is a blessing.


Conclusion: London is full of blessings. And on that note no one is really lucky- their blessed.


Quote of the day: "For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness, For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people, For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry, For Beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day,
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."
— Audrey Hepburn

Wittenberg is wonderful. As soon saw we started to get closer I got more and more excited. Strange as it sounds- I was excited for how I'd feel in this little town of Wittenberg. As we got closer I loved seeing the forests of poplar trees and oaks with our ladies of the valley flowers at their trunks. It reminded me of home. And it felt good. So peaceful. Wittenberg is filled with potted plants in the windows and red and green leaves crawling up the colourful walls. It's also full of something special that cannot be explained- but rather felt. I can't wait to talk to my family in person about it and to write in my journal.


Tender moment of the day that will make you smile: I was invited to sit by a little German man at lunch today. He was by himself eating fried egg and potato. We talked to each other as best we could, took a photo and both knew we had become dear friends.




Carly-you are called the fairy godmother of the tour! We find so many delights with your notes! The potato house was so wonderful!!!

Today I did three possibly unexpected things.
1. Ate a sausage not at breakfast. Just for fun.
2. Enjoyed mustard. Must have been straight from heaven.
3. Went up a very high mountain on a steep little tram. Very unexpected.


Conclusion: do things out of the ordinary. You'll smile more.


And afterall, to smile is the way to communicate with everyone no matter which language a person may speak.

Austria: lush green rolling hills, dense forests painted with fall red, wispy clouds climbing down from the sun filled sky, goats walking down their steep pastures. Simplicity and grandeur all at once.


I was asked by a friend what some of my favorite things are yesterday on our bus. I replied "picking flowers, having tea parties, baking and cooking, my old rowboat..."


There are plenty more like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...but I didn't want to overwhelm my new friend! 


But now, for you, I'll add a few more. Flower boxes, windows with shutters, colorful homes, and tunnels through mountains or other secretive locations leading to magical places.