Just like that!

Just like that, my trip to Austria ends and I am hit with responsibility back in the States.  Pair that with disorienting jet lag, pictures to download, a trip to process and a bum knee to get checked out, one can imagine why writing here isn't the top priority - though perhaps the healthy one!

The last days of my time in Tirol were just stunning!  More beautiful weather, a church retreat and just oodles of time with friends.  It was literally as if I had never left all of those years ago.  Innsbruck will be my vacation spot in years to come.  I found that it was so easy to get there.  I mean, when I left for Innsbruck the first time, it felt pretty laborious... I was moving physically, emotionally and mentally for a whole year. There was a new language, transportation system, city, and culture. It just seemed like a big task and it was!  All I had to do this time around was pack a bag (full of way too much stuff!) and hop on a plane for a few hours. Yes, some have vacation homes on a lake... my vacation home is in the Austrian Alps with some very dear souls :)

A lot of people have asked me what the highlight of my trip was... It's hard to pick just one experience since they were all so special and varied.  Each could have been my favorite in a different category.  However, a big highlight for me was being able to share a story of God's provision in prayer with the Baptist Church at a retreat, speaking in German!  I was completely terrified by nerves, but I knew that I wouldn't have this opportunity often so I challenged myself to share in German.  There were about 80 native German speakers in front of me as I got up to share about what God had done.  As soon as I got up there, I knew I was among friends and family.  They had to shout out a few words (in unison even!) when I was a little stuck, but honestly, to be able to share in a language of another truly left me... well, speechless, I guess. Language is such a connector!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from my travels.  I hope to write more soon about some family history, life in my now, and the next big adventure for this lady!

On top of the Hafelekarspitze 2234 m

Julia, Lydia and me

In the old city of Innsbruck

On a hike above Rum with Julie

With Judith in Munich

Halltal

Yesterday, I was up on the top of a mountain (2200 m) via cable car.  Today, I was at 1500 m with my feet... and my good friend, Christoph!  We began at about 8a.m. this morning in Absam, maybe 700 m.  As we entered the valley opening to Hall in Tirol, it looked and felt like spring.  The flowers were in blume, the air smelled warm, the trees and everything was alive with energy.  We continued up along the way and as my energy ended quickly, we had to stop for some little breaks.  St. Magdalena was one place we sat and enjoyed the aussicht (view). 
Just above St. Magdalena, we began trudging through snow, and it smelled like fall/winter... the air was cooler too.  The Weißenbach (the creek I "bought" last time I was here becuase I loved it so much!) was running really fast down into Hall/Mils.  There was SO much snow in Tirol this winter, and a lot of it is still there in the upper parts of this valley.

We reached the Herrenhäuser (1500 m) and I was ready for a long break.  It was pretty cool that even though I was tired, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, and then it got easier.  I guess I got my second wind or something.  The Herrenhäuser was a hotel/restuarant that has been closed about 12 years because an avalanche destroyed part of the hotel.  Because it has historical significance when the salt was mined in the valley, there is no possibility to rebuild it.  There is also not really a road that would support all of the machines needed to repair or rebuild... so, there we sat, by the old and dilapidated Herrenhäuser and enjoyed the most wonderful view of the whole valley.


After a bit, we "skied" down the snow with our feet and then walked a long way before we hitched a ride with a government vehicle to get us back down to Absam.  That little hitch hike cut about 1 hour off of our hike.  SWEET deal!  My feet are truly grateful!

Tonight: The Avengers in English!!

Daily.

Normal, daily life has kind of set in here in Tyrol.  I have one or two people that I meet each day.  Today, I am meeting one of the youth (now all grown up and married!) that I knew well when I was here.  In the evening, I will go to the family that I lived with when I was au-pairing.  It will be a sweet reunion, as I am sure that all of the boys have grown so much!


Tomorrow, I will get to ride up the mountain I lived on in a cable car... For all of those months that I saw people going up beside my house, I never had a desire to go up there.  But, this year, I do.  So, my friend from Luxembourg and I will go up to see the Inntal in all of its glory!  I also hope to make it to a special forest tomorrow with Fabian.  It is the National Holiday tomorrow so many people have off.  These next few days will be rather full of meetings, a BBQ, a movie perhaps, and lots of friends.

This update is nothing super special, but I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to.  I have been so enjoying the language and culture again.  I think this might have to be an annual visit in the coming years!  More stories to come!  And hopefully pictures too!

The Valley at Night

Even as the wordsmith that I am, I cannot begin to put into words the beauty of this night in the Inntal. I sat for awhile with Mum Grander as the night crept in. Houses across the valley turned on their lights like we had. The snow-topped mountains shown brightly, even with the dim moon. She with her sudoku and me with my journal, we sat in relative silence for a little while. As twilight hit the mountains, epic-ness ensued. We began a long conversation (spoke primarily in German) about ancestors, letter writing, and the activities of our days. It was during this time that I realized the reason I (and I think many people) get such a rush from language learning. There is some sort of unspoken awesomeness that comes with speaking a different language and being understood. Being able to share thoughts in a way that the other is completely comfortable with... it is truly stunning! Do you know a language that well? One besides English, I mean? I am completely grateful that God gave me to opportunity to undertake this language... because of the people it allows me to know and be known by.


Tomorrow, there is more bopping about Innsbruck. Sunday is church and hopefully more people. more German. Gotta soak it up while I can!

Transplanted from Tyrol

Greetings out of Tirol!

I arrived yesterday in the early afternoon, but I don't remember much about yesterday except for the two Austrian meals I was fed and the wobbly bike I was put on!  Talk about an adventure... it felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment, but it was just a warpped wheel or two.  It will get me around town for sure.

After 15 hours of sleep, I woke up to the most beautiful view...



This is the view I am seeing right now from my computer!  The Bettelwurf in all of his glory.

It is rather strange to me that this does not feel like a vacation to be here... it feels like home... or like, just another day in Tirol.  I do not feel a rush to go out and see a bunch of things or anything... I just like to relax on the veranda, see the mountains and enjoy breakfast (or as it is, lunch!).  I will go out later to meet a friend or two, but I don't see my time here as limited... it is simply a stop of many stops in my life as a transplanted Tyrolean!

The Now

Some of you probably thought that I have been sick or dead or unable to type in these last months, but alas, that is not true.  I've found other outlets for writing, but some big news has prompted me to fire this baby back up!  I'm heading back to Austria for a visit this next Tuesday!!

I'll be spending about 15 days in and about Innsbruck, seeings lots of old friends, visiting old haunts, hiking, traveling with friends, etc... I'm SO excited!  It will be the first time that I'm back in the country since I left it 4.5 years ago!  My hope is to be able to blog some stories of the adventures either while I'm there or very soon afterward.  The plans for the trip are coming together and I'm filling every moment I can with people.

Be praying for me as I go.  My goals are to encourage each person that I see as well as be rejuvenated myself by being back in this place that I've spend a very impacting year of my life.  Thanks! 

Pictures and updates to follow... :)

Write to my Health

It's been awhile since I've been here and I can tell I need to spend more time in my life writing.  Writing is one of those things that makes me healthy, like exercise.  It is my release after a long day or week, the friend who will always listen and not talk back, only allowing me to see my thoughts and feelings in a row so I can learn from them.  That's my plan for today.  I'm going to whip up a pot of tea and sit and write.  Write to my health.

You  might see some of it here :)