My weekend trip to Beijing and Tainjin was an incredible experience filled with wonders and faith building experiences. There were two stages to my trip, one in Beijing and one in Tainjin.
I arrived in Beijing late Friday evening, took a taxi to the hotel and went straight to bed. On Saturday morning, I got up and Skyped Liz and the girls. By the time I got down to the front desk, I found out that the tour to the Great Wall left before I even got up... So, I pleaded with the lady at the front desk to help me find another way to get there. She gave me directions to a bus stop where I caught a bus to the Great Wall. However, I got the wrong bus... I still made it to the Wall, but not until the bus had stopped at what seemed like dozens of stops, cramming people in at every stop. Oh, and I think I was the only one who spoke English on the bus. :-0 Well, the frustrating trip was definitely worth it! As you can see from the pics below, there is a reason it is one of the Seven Wonders. When I returned from walking the Wall, I thought I would just walk to the Forbidden City and Tianamen's Square (remember I am Dutch and didn't want to pay a Taxi). I should have paid the Taxi! I ended up lost wandering around some of the most “interesting” areas of Beijing. I must say, that I received a real education on the “real” Beijing. Although some of the poorest areas, they were completely safe as I was walking around through nightfall. I never feared for my safety, just that I might never find my way to the train in time to get to Tainjin. I arrived at the back side of the Forbidden City well after nightfall, and exhausted. I took a few pics of the backside that was lit up, and headed back to get my bags, took the subway to the train station, and caught my train to Tainjin.
In Tainjin, I met up with Seth and Jeanine. This was the first time I met Seth, but Jeanine had been in our Youth Group at Nortonville Gospel Chapel. They took my back to their appartment, and after talking for a bit, went to sleep. The next morning came early, but it never seems so early when you are awakened by the sun. After breakfast and a Skype call with Jeanine's parents, we attended 2 church services. One service was completely Chinese, the other was only expats. Again, it was a great (multi)cultural experience! Seth and Jeanine treated me to some great Chinese food. Then through the afternoon, we sat and talked. It was great catching up with them and getting to know Seth! It was a wonderful time of Christian fellowship, and very encouraging to my spirit! I then took the train back to Beijing and the subway to the airport - just in time to miss my plane back to Shanghai. :-( Yes, I made it back, they put me on the next flight, 30 min. later. I was very tired, but very fulfilled after that weekend. :-)
Now that I have rambled on, and you should be congratulated for reading through all of this, here is a sampling (you know I take tons of pics) of pics from the weekend, mostly the Great Wall. The last pic is of Tainjin when I got off the train.
