Valfart 6 fredag -- Pilgrimage 6, Friday

     I dag var en anden stor dag på turen. Vi havde jo tilbragt selve jubilæumsdagen for saligkåringen med generalaudiens på Peterspladsen. I dag skulle vi så til Firenze, hvor Streensens jordiske rester befinder sig i en antik sarkofag i San Lorenzo-kirken.
     Niels Steensen døde i Schwerin i Nordtyskland, men Fyrsten af Toscana ville have hans jordiske rester, og fik ham sejlet til Firenze forklædt som en kasse bøger.
     Vi mødtes der med de tyske pilgrimsgrupper og fejrede en højtidelig messe. Bagefter stimlede vi sammen om Steensens grav, fik en særlig velsignelse og en lejlighed til at bede ved graven. 
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Today was another big day. We were going to Florence, where Bl. Niels Steensen lays buried. He died in Schwerin in northern Germany, but the duke of Tuscany had a soft spot for Steensen and had his earthly remains carted to Florence, disguised as a crate of books. He was buried in the Medicean burial chapel, and in 1953 moved to an ancient sarcophagus in a chapel inside the church of San Lorenzo. We met there with the German pilgrim groups and celebrated mass there. After the mass we crowded around Bl. Steensens grave, had a special blessing and a chance to pray at his grave.

 

•      Først et billede fra vores bustur fra Rom til Firenze. Vores chauffør var småtræt, sad og pillede ved sin musik-dims meget af tiden og kunne ikke finde på at tænde for udluftningen. Det var hårdt for os (alle) med sarte nerver, hvilket førte til mange bønner, især fra folk længst fremme i bussen, og for flere med sarte maver. Vi nåede dog Firenzes udkant uden uheld - så blev vi opholdt en times tid, for bussen havde ingen tilladelse til at køre ind i centrum. Vi sad først i busserne, men blev så sluppet ud. Øverst står Skribenten uden for vores "røde bus", den anden var blå. Piraten og Minimax leger under et johannesbrødstræ. Sådan ét havde de aldrig set før. Spirillen har fundet sig et godt sted til at sidde og læse
• First of all a picture form the bus ride Rome-Florence. Our driver was tired, had problems with his music player and generally drove terribly. He also did not want to turn on the air blowers. This trip was hard on our nerves - leading to many prayers - and out stomachs - not leading to any accidents, phew. As we reached the outskirts of Florence we were stopped for an hour, waiting for our permission to enter the city by bus. The topmost picture shows the Writer outside our "red bus" - the one with the terrible driver - the other one was blue. Pirate and Minimax play beneath a carob tree. They were fascinated by the big pods, which they used as swords. Marsupilami found a nice place in the shade and enjoyed his book. (Harry Potter 3)

 

 

•  Messen i San Lorenzo. Steensens portræt er meget symbolsk gemt bag korset. Messen blev holdt på tysk, dansk og lidt latin.  Vores biskop prædikede på tysk, men vi havde fået teksten udleveret ved staren af messen.

• Mass in San Lorenzo Bl. Niesl Steensen's portrait is almost hidden behind the cross. The mass was celebrated in a mixture of German, Danish and Latin. Out Bishop gave the sermon in German (we had a translation handed out)

•  Bøn ved Niels Steensens grav. Det er skik at lægge små sedler med bønner på hans grav. Det gjorde vi også næste dag.

• Praying at the grave. The placing of slips of paper containing prayers or thanks to Bl. Steensen is a local costume. We placed out prayers the next day.

•  Niels Steensens alter. Hjertet fra hans bispevåben er som han selv tegnede det, asymmetrisk. Sådan ser et hjerte ud, og Steensen var jo også anatom. 
• Bl. Steensen's altar. The symbol is from his episcopal coat of arms.The heart is asymmetrical, as a real heart is, and Steensen was an anatomist before he became a priest.

• Dette er orgelet i basilikaen. Minimax er jo lige så nysgerrig som et desmerdyr, hvis motto ifølge Kipling er "løb hen og se" Så han kunne naturligvis ikke holde fingrene fra de flotte knapper på orgelet. Det inkasserede ham en skideballe fra den kvindelige organist, men det afskrækkede ham nu ikke fra at tage dette billede af det fristende orgel, hvorefter organisten stak ham et stort, venligt smil. 
•   This is the organ of the basilica. Minimax is a mongoose, or at least as curious as a mongoose, and he just had to go and touch the buttons on this organ. The organist scolded him, but he was not more subdues than he pulled out his camera. And had a big smile from the organist.

•  Vi havde ikke regnet med at Uglemor ville få ret meget mad, eftersom hun ikke kan spise hverken mælkesukker eller hvedemel. Men det gik faktisk godt. Dette var dagens aftensmad på et nærliggende pizzeria. Carpaccio, tynde skiver råt kød med olivenolie, citronsaft, rucola og parmesanost (der er så lagret, at det ikke indeholder mælkesukker) var en god og mættende spise.
• We had not counted on MotherOwl being able to eat very much in Italy as milk and wheat is off limits. But surprisingly many thing were dairy-free, or at least without milk sugars. Friday evening's dinner was this decorative plate of carpaccio, thin slices raw meat with olive oil and lemon juice, served with rucola and parma cheese. Nice, tasty, and filling.

•  Et stemningsbillede fra aftenslentretur i Firenze, Vi er stoppet på en af broerne over Arno-floden. Det gyldne tårn er Santa Croces tårn. 
• Florence by night, crossing the Arno. The golden tower is the belfry of Santa Croce, the Franciscan church.