Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Bringing the Cows Home


It is now November here and the cold weather has settled in for a long stay. We had a beautiful summer and a brief but gorgeous fall- it already feels like winter! We had snow one day in October- there was snow on the colorful flowers in my flowerboxes! Oh well, the Christmas markets are coming and that makes winter something to look forward to.
Oh, and also we have Drew's wedding to anticipate....and friends and family to see, however briefly. We will fly in on Dec. 26 and fly back here on Jan. 3, so it is really a lightning visit.
At the end of September, we drove down to the Alps in Austria, to an area called Alpbachtal. There we witnessed the Almabtrieb, or bringing down from the mountains, of the Austrian cows herds to their winter pastures. It is a big festival in Austria and so unique! The cows of Austria really wear those big cow bells- we woke up on Saturday am to that clanging as the local cows were herded into their barns. The cows coming down from their mountain pastures are led down by the families who own them, and they (the cows) are decorated with brightly-colored headdresses with pictures of the Madonna and other saints. So cool! We would like to go back every year now.
In my last blog, I mentioned wanting to take a motorcycle ride to a gasthaus in Kastl and watching the sun go down- well, we did do that with our friends, Beth and Mark Fitzgerald, and it was great! The ride home was a little cold, but Ben turned on the seat heater so I was fine. Now that the weather has turned colder, Ben may not get too many more good rides in, but he sure will try! Here is a photo of us with Ben's bike.
My job is becoming more challenging- not the library parts, but the managing of people part. I am not a natural manager, I don't think, so I am having to learn some new skillsets and attitudes. But it is good for me...stretching me and growing me. Painful, sometimes, though.
We have a new chaplain at our post chapel who is very different from our first one here. The hard part is that we are so limited as to worship choices here, at least in English. But we are still attending a home group on Monday nights which is very good and provides more opportunity to learn from the Word and fellowship with other believers more intimately. The food is delicious too! We are studying the book of John- very interesting.
We miss you all and hope to see some of you at Drew and Kelsey's wedding in December. For the rest, again, come visit us!

Nan and Ben