During any choir tour we have (sometimes) luxurious evenings at hotels, but often the most cozy, awkward or hilarious stories come from the nights when we stay with members of the host congregations.The past week was night after night of these stays in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The first evening in France was delightful. I had dinner with 3 charming French women. My host “mom” Liz spoke excellent English and I learned that she worked in Wayland, IA, just 40 minutes from where I grew up, in the ’60s. After our concert in Wuppertal, Germany, my modmates (6 of the women I live with) and I were blessed to meet the family of another modmate, our German student Jackie who is in the exchange program between Wuppertal and Bethel. She is so much like her mom, and her brother and father were exactly as she describes them to us in stories. They took us in and loved us like we were their daughters. When else would we have such awesome opportunities?On the 20th we sang in Krefeld, Germany. Two other girls and I stayed with Eva, and her cousin Carl and friend Babbett visited with us for the evening. They were hilariously entertaining and warm. Discussions occurred on cost of education and health care–I didn’t realize it was a more recent development in Germany to pay for university studies! Oh to have free access to education. Who came up with the idea that you had to pay for that anyway??? Other wild events of the evening included learning to run a German washing machine so it doesn’t sound like a rocket about to take off… And always we are wishing we could stay longer. Babbett so wanted us to skip our tour this morning so she could take us shopping in Dusseldorf!After a concert in Espelkamp, Germany, I stayed with a couple of guys with a lovely host family. Caroline, the mother, was eager to chat and share secrets with me, and Willy, the pastor of the church, indulged us in Mennonite church history, discussion, and future outlooks–seriously one of my favorite topics, though I’m not always sure what to say. But I love to listen to the discussion. Willy was as concerned about the future of the church in Europe as I sometimes am for the church in the U.S. PLUS Caroline was a dang good baker and we went to bed well fed on the most amazing soft pretzels I have ever tasted. Other observations of Europe: European streets are glorious. I really, really love them. I love how cities are built around the old streets and buildings, no matter how crazy confusing the winding cobblestones turn out. I’d much prefer them to the 4 lane highways we tear down history and trees in order to build. The Cologne Dom (cathedral) is an amazing structure. (You’ll have to look up how tall it is, I forget at the moment, but it’s an IMPRESSIVE height, and I climbed 530+ stairs to get there!) My hour spent climbing and standing at the very top will be an experience I won’t forget. To be at such great heights in a structure so magnificently intricate and strong at once, closer to heaven in a place of worship, once made simply for the glory of God–even if it is just a bit too touristy now…Well, my time is up. These fancy hotels don’t offer us Internet for nothing! Don’t forget to check out the Concert Choir photos on the website! We’ve got some members doing a great job keeping those updated.Until I write again…