my last day of vacation and traveling pretty much ended the same way as it all started, perfectly. I woke up just outside of cleveland (more about my stay there later) at 3.15 am, after having slept for about 3.5 hours. my flight was at 6 am (what was I thinking???) and I arrived at chicago about 6.30 (timezone diff). my bag was the first one out, and now I had about 10 hours until my flight back home. my plan? to visit the House of Worship in wilmette. check out my two previous posts about it: here and here. here's a nice picture:
a few problems presented themselves here. first of all, it'd take me about two hours to get there, despited there being only about 30 km to go. why? train goes into town, and then back out.
then I of course had my huge suitcase with me, weighing about 20 kg. not too fun to have it carrying around with me all the way, so I wanted to leave it somewhere. unfortunately, the check-in didn't open until about 6 hours later, and due to security regulations, there were no lockers at the airport. I'd have to keep it with me all the time.
I took a bit of a chance, going into the hotel by the airport - which just happened to be hilton. went up to the desk, not hoping for much, especially not as I was dressed (very comfy), and asked. naturally they said no, but suggested I could go to the UPS store downstairs and ask. they said they'd do it for $5, and that was definitely worth it. one problem solved, now it was just time to get going. this was about 7.30...
I arrived at almost exactly 10, and went into the visitors' center. I prepared myself by washing my hands and face, and then also visit the cornerstone room:
the cornerstone was laid by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912. I said the Tablet of Visitation for 'Abdu'l-Bahá in there (I was all by myself), and then went into the actual temple to pray. it was just me and another man there, so I decided to try and sit right in the middle, and look straight up at the wonderful dome. looked up at it quite a few times to gather my thoughts and meditate.
as I got out, I was a bit unsure if I wanted to walk out in the gardens to take a few pictures or go into the visitors' center and check out the bookshop. as the weather was a bit cloudy, I went inside, and was surprised to see a couple of friends who had just arrived. we got a bit of a tour of the insides with some very interesting stories, saw a short dvd about the temple (in spanish), and were shown the model architect louis bourgeois built. took him and his wife 8 years to do it:
it's absolutely amazing with all the details, although the actual temple is a bit smaller than the model shows, as it would simply be too big and costly to build.
as I was in a bit of a more rush than they were, I decided to say good bye, go out in the gardens for a last look and a few pictures. here are two that I'm quite happy about:
and then it was time to go to the airport, with a big smile on my face... the temple is absolutely amazing with all the small details and artwork, all over. and with details and symbols from all previous religions, it's really a unifying experience. everyone is welcome :)
check out my gallery of pictures from there.
there were also some interesting experiences from the airport in chicago on my way back, but that's for later...
a few problems presented themselves here. first of all, it'd take me about two hours to get there, despited there being only about 30 km to go. why? train goes into town, and then back out.
then I of course had my huge suitcase with me, weighing about 20 kg. not too fun to have it carrying around with me all the way, so I wanted to leave it somewhere. unfortunately, the check-in didn't open until about 6 hours later, and due to security regulations, there were no lockers at the airport. I'd have to keep it with me all the time.
I took a bit of a chance, going into the hotel by the airport - which just happened to be hilton. went up to the desk, not hoping for much, especially not as I was dressed (very comfy), and asked. naturally they said no, but suggested I could go to the UPS store downstairs and ask. they said they'd do it for $5, and that was definitely worth it. one problem solved, now it was just time to get going. this was about 7.30...
I arrived at almost exactly 10, and went into the visitors' center. I prepared myself by washing my hands and face, and then also visit the cornerstone room:
the cornerstone was laid by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912. I said the Tablet of Visitation for 'Abdu'l-Bahá in there (I was all by myself), and then went into the actual temple to pray. it was just me and another man there, so I decided to try and sit right in the middle, and look straight up at the wonderful dome. looked up at it quite a few times to gather my thoughts and meditate.
as I got out, I was a bit unsure if I wanted to walk out in the gardens to take a few pictures or go into the visitors' center and check out the bookshop. as the weather was a bit cloudy, I went inside, and was surprised to see a couple of friends who had just arrived. we got a bit of a tour of the insides with some very interesting stories, saw a short dvd about the temple (in spanish), and were shown the model architect louis bourgeois built. took him and his wife 8 years to do it:
it's absolutely amazing with all the details, although the actual temple is a bit smaller than the model shows, as it would simply be too big and costly to build.
as I was in a bit of a more rush than they were, I decided to say good bye, go out in the gardens for a last look and a few pictures. here are two that I'm quite happy about:
and then it was time to go to the airport, with a big smile on my face... the temple is absolutely amazing with all the small details and artwork, all over. and with details and symbols from all previous religions, it's really a unifying experience. everyone is welcome :)
check out my gallery of pictures from there.
there were also some interesting experiences from the airport in chicago on my way back, but that's for later...
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