Our trip to Europe ended in Holland. We spent a couple of days with the Strengholts where we had a nice walking tour of Utrecht and a nice long bike ride around some little villages. Then we took a train to Delft where we stayed with Ineke and her husband and saw The Hague. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone and the cities in Holland were very quaint and cozy. I ate my share of stroopwaffles and brought some back to Cairo to share. We arrived back in Egypt on the 19th and have been taking our malaria pills since then. A friend from Vanguard just moved here so we have been showing her around as well as an old friend who used to live here. So we have been exploring Maadi with new eyes and getting our last minute mosquito nets together as we prepare for Ghana. We leave tomorrow evening! My mom has a friend in Ghana who's husband works for the embassy there who we have connected with. We're hoping to try out their international church there. Hopefully we will have regular internet access there so we can keep the updates coming. We shall see. Next time we write we'll be in Ghana, insha'allah. Prayers gratefully accepted.

Heaven must look a bit like Norway. We woke up on the night train to Trondheim to a mix of fog and mountains. It felt surreal and took a few groggy minutes to figure out where we were. We spent our first two nights with some of John's relatives there. They were so hospitable and Jomar even drove us to town and too k a whole day to take us to the Thun farm to see some other relatives. The people are so good natured and humorous. We brought some Swedish liquor, as requested, which was recieved with great delight. We tried some of it and now I know why they drink it in cold places. It burned everything going down, including my nostrils.
Next we took a train to Otta and from there a bus to Rodane National Park. The bus ride ranked in my top 5 scarriest drives ever (the Siwa drive takes 1st). The mountain was so steep and I really panicked a few times as the bus was swaying. Once we got above the tree line there was a huge plateau and some peaks where we hiked around for 3 days. On the second day our packs started feeling really heavy. We hiked for almost 7 hours that day due to a 4 hour detour. So the last day we took it easy and just did the 5 km hike out to the bus. The weather was pretty rainy and cold, but the sun did make a few glorious appearances.
The train rides here are really incredible. When we left for Norway I was halfway through my final book that I brought for the trip. I got a bit worried that I should have brought another, but there's really no need because the scenery is so beautiful you don't spend much time reading. John enjoys looking up every city where we stop in his lonely planet.
We took a night train next to the most famous fjord, which I can't spell or pronounce. A ferry through the fjord was 2 hours long and then you end up in a tiny tourist town with no way out except through an exorbitantly priced train ride with a stop at a beautiful waterfall ruined by a ridiculously cheesy dancing viking woman. John and I couldn't stop laughing though I think we were supposed to be impressed. We were sitting across from a British couple who were equally horrified by the scene, while the other tourists snapped away.
Our final stop was in Oslo where we stayed with more relatives who showed us a great time, taking us to museums and their cabin where we ate amazing amounts of food which more than made up for our camping meals and long hikes. The cabin was on a gorgeous lake and was a wonderful way to end our time in Norway.I can't get these pictures in order but they are from camping, the cathedral in Trondheim, and the the ferry ride through the fjord. We both left Sweden carrying a lighter load, not just on our backs but we got some serious hair chopped off. I was very thankful ( to Linnea who cut mine) for the short hair, especially when I, shamelessly, washed my hair in a train station bathroom. After 3 days of camping and a few nights on the train I was desperate.

The wedding was amazing! It was so interesting and unique. The ceremony was about an hour long but it didn't seem like it. There was a great group of friends leading the singing and playing instruments and the music was so good. It was the best wedding music I've ever heard. Andreas surprised everyone, especially Anna ,with a special song too. Most of the ceremony was in Swedish except for a few verses, one of which I read, in English, and one in German (which I didn't read) - and the Lord's prayer in English. Then there was the reception which they just call "the party". It was held next to an old castle from 1629 in one of the old store houses turned banquet hall. So many people contributed including some of Andreas' friends who made the first course, dessert and all the cakes, it was amazing and you would have never guessed that it wasn't professionally catered. They also had a team of servers who were volunteers from their church. After dinner and some speeches we moved downstairs to experience a slew of songs, presentations, embarrassing memories, including videos and pictures, quiz shows and competitions for the bride and groom. Everyone put so much work into each presentation it was really incredible. My personal favorite was the Malortie's parody of a bunch of songs which they changed all the words to tell Anna's life story. It was hilarious and so sweet. Anna's sister, Julia and Andreas' sister, Karin, were the evenings hosts and put an incredible amount of thought and effort into every detail of the evening- most of which were a surprise for Anna and Andreas. The whole thing went on for almost 11 hours! Unbelievable! We got home at about 2:30 in the morning and then spent the next hour trying to get the hairspray and teasing out of my hair. Of course there are many more details and pictures to share, but all in all it was really lovely and we were so thankful to be a part of it. What an experience.