Day 4

Night of the 4th Jan…
Today was a long day. After getting the last of my purchases on my list, i.e. lots of Milka, I went around taking photos of various things, mainly the snow.
Oh, I bumped into Jack, who was visiting for the day from Schloss Klaus which was weird. Hey, remember when he sang Viva Forever by the Spice Girls? Heh.
This afternoon, I went with Christian to Tanja and Joel’s house for their Bible Study. Tanja is Heli’s sister and Joel is Canadian. His parents visited T-Hof when we were there, if you remember. Anyway, that was awesome. The group consisted of an Aussie, and Irish, an American, a Canadian, me, and 3 Austrians. It was such a good Bible Study. After it was done, we just sat and talked for ages about past Capernwray experiences, as a few of them had been a number of years back.
Anyway, when that was done, a few of us went back to Christian’s for snow decking. I didn’t know what this was, so for those like me, snow decking is like skateboarding, but on snow. It is pretty much a skateboard deck on a ski. There was a huge hill of snow by the side of Christian’s house and we made that into a few runs to go down on. It’s pretty much like skateboarding, only it doesn’t hurt when you fall. I soon got the hang of it and it was sooo much fun. For the record, I can’t skateboard, ski or snowboard, and tonight was my first snow ‘sport’.
Tomorrow, Christian gets up early and goes down to work at T-Hof and I’m gonna hike it down to Schladming from Ramsau. Part of the journey is the hike from HP’s Farm, only longer, and through an abundance of snow. For a lot of the way I will be wading through the snow which will be above my waist. To hike it on a nice spring day would take about an hour, but I reckon this will take 2 hours. We’ll see.
First however, I’m gonna be trying my hand at snow decking again sometime in the morning. I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes. I have the feeling it’s gonna be more than hard.

Day 3

Night of the 3rd Jan…
This morning I woke up and Dawn had already gone to nanny (upstairs). It was my goal to walk to Hofer and Kik to buy some more things on my list of things to get. I knew it was a long hike, and I was ready for it, but I forgot to take into account the copious amounts of snow, which had been cleared off the roads by special machines and onto the pavements! Seriously, it was piled in heaps about 4 foot high and so I had to walk most of the way on the road! I didn’t get run over, but I did realise by my fresh footprints that I was the only person silly enough to walk to Hofer. It was totally worth it though, even if they weren’t selling those Maoam sweets I had wanted to bring back.
I got back triumphant, and Dawn and I went to Tauernhof to see Christian. I got to see Martin again and we talked for a little while which was good. He’s such an awesome guy.
We then went out walking with Dawn to Billa and the craft shop where Ryan, Jimmy T and I got the material for our Jedi Knights costumes. We checked our mail in the Eagle’s nest, and this time I managed to hook my laptop into the system, enabling me to post the last three blogs, and then we pretty much chilled for most of the day at Dawn’s. This is the Living room of Dawn's appartment. Look how good she has it!
Tonight I went for another walk with God through the streets of Schladming. The snow is so beautiful. It’s truly magical at night. There are no people about and the snow isn’t so bright that it hurts your eyes because it’s reflecting the light. I realised how fortunate I was to be here and to have experienced what I have, what we all have. Even though I loved Spring School, I don’t think I appreciated Austria as much as I could have done. And I only really realised this after I had left. So I’ve been determined not to take this experience for granted, and not to care whether I look like a tourist or not, but to experience life here at it’s fullest. I love how I can come away from studying the bible at theological college and learn more about my relationship with God at night in a mountain town in mainland Europe. I’m enjoying life so much right now.
Oh, yah, I also rolled another snowball tonight. Here’s a picture of the two.

Revisiting places

The night of the 2nd Jan...
So, I’ve had my first day in Schladming.
I forgot quite how long it is from the Bahnhof to Tauernhof. I almost died walking to Dawn’s with the suitcase. The wheels didn’t work, because of all the snow, but my suitcase did serve as a kind of snow shovel as I dragged it through the streets of Schladming. I don’t think I’ve ever been in this much snow. It’s pretty awesome.
Today Dawn and I walked around town and I picked up a few things on my list of things to get, from shops such as DM, Spar, and Libro. Tomorrow I’ll hit up Billa, Hofer and the likes. It’ll be fun. I also bumped into Christian, Eis and Maja, and Heidi. I’ll be hanging out with Christian this week for sure.
Dawn and I also went for a Kebab, although only I got a kebab. I know it’s really unhealthy, but compared to the ones in my hometown, it seemed good for me, somehow. We looked through my T-Hof photos and also went up to the Eagle’s Nest to use the internet on those crappy computers.

Tonight, Dawn was tired and is nannying in the morning, so I decided to go for a walk through Schladming by myself. I absolutely love the snow and walked around for ages, just passing places to muster up nostalgia. I walked by the Schladming Brauerei, (where they make Schladminger beer of course) and also the river where some of us used to jump in, and where I nearly drowned. After that I decided to make a giant snowball as I walked along. I packed it pretty good, and it’s as big as a football at the moment, but I think I’ll make it bigger tomorrow.I left it outside the front door, so hopefully there’s a chance that Dawn might fall over it in the morning.
Anyway, I’m currently sitting in Dawn’s apartment, whilst she sleeps, eating Mayonnaise flavoured crisps. Good times.

It’s white, it starts with SN and ends in OW.

Give up? It’s snow, and it’s in Austria.

Midday on the 2nd Jan...
So, my 2 hour flight left 2 hours late from London Stansted, which I was less than pleased about. I arrived in Salzburg to find light rain, watering away the piles of snow. I was told that it had been raining for the last few days, so the snow had really gone down.
Luckily my friend from college had brought two of her friends along to keep her company whilst she waited for my plane to arrive.
On the drive to her house at about 11 O’clock, we stopped at a bar for a drink. I wanted to order something atypically Austrian, but was told that I was no longer in Austria, but in Germany! The drive from Salzburg to her house involved driving through part of Germany, my third country of the day. So I ordered a beer.
I got back to her house and she had given up her room and her bed for me, which was really nice, especially since it was the first time I’ve slept in a bed since leaving school.

I woke up this morning to find it snowing, and that it had snowed over half a foot overnight. Needless to say, I was thrilled.Breakfast this morning was great. A nice Austrian roll with a variety of Austrian Salami, and a nice cup of Austrian coffee. Oh, I found out something else. Last time I was in Schaldming, I bought this thick milky Austrian drink called Maresi. It looked really yummy, so I bought the 750ml bottle. I found it to be quite strong. Potent even. This morning I found out I found out that Maresi is not a drink, but a coffee creamer. Boy, did I feel stoopid!Before leaving for the train station, Regina (my friend from college) and I found we had 20 or so minutes to spare, so we went outside for a snowball fight. The snow was perfect. Soft, but very ‘packable’, and perfect for snowball fights. I’d almost forgotten how it feels to throw really good snow, and how satisfying it is when you hit someone with it.
Then we made snow angels, which I haven’t done in the longest time. It was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

I’m sitting here on a train from Salzburg to Schladming, watching the snow gently fall to the ground and not disappear. The snow on the roofs is pure, fluffy and over two foot thick. It is truly breathtaking.
So far, I’ve managed to get all (both) of my train tickets, with my sufficient use of German, and without using English (which I am quietly pleased with).
I heard a kid speaking English in the next carriage, so I went over to talk with this family, who turn out to be from Hampsted Heath in London, about an hour from where I live. They are also going to Schladming, so I got to give them a few tips and told them of some places to eat at or visit.

If anyone in Seattle reads this, then keep on checking whether I am on Skype, because Dawn and I would really, really like to talk with you. I’m guessing I will be posting on here again, as Dawn has wireless at her place, where I’ll be staying.
Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years also!

New Year’s Eve

So, on New Year’s Eve I had a wedding. Not my own, but a couple of my friends’.
It was just perfect. Tansye (the bride) looked breathtakingly beautiful, and the groom, Pavey shaved (for once). The whole ceremony was truly magical.
For the meal, there was a ‘Mad Hatters’ theme and all the food was like kids’ food. It was awesome. The sandwiches were cut into triangles and contained honey, or chocolate or the likes. Most of the food laid out was sweets, lollipops, or some kind of sugary confectionary. It was awesome. We were all told to bring crazy hats and some people’s were soo funny. The whole thing was awesome, and after that, most of the people stayed for the New Years’ party. We welcomed in 2006 with lots of dancing, and general misdemeanant fun, eight hours before most of you.
Went home, slept, woke up and packed my suitcase and hour before leaving for the airport.

Back in Kent for Christmas

So after finishing my exams on the 21st, I came home from my college to my nice own comfortable... sofa. Yeah, my cousin from Malaysia is sleeping in my room. But what the hey, it was good to get away and spend time with family. There have been some real family moments, which is surprising, and good. Me and my sister get along really well, and there have been no major bust ups in the family so far, phew!
Anyway, tomorrow, well today, I have a wedding to attend, where I hope to take some good shots, but in truth, the wedding is not all about the photography. It's about the bonding of a man and woman of God and two friends also. Hmm, I wonder if there will be a free bar...
Anyways, after that, there's the reception, the after party, and the New Years' Party. Yayyy!!! So coming back in the late early hours of the morning, I plan to sleep until the early afternoon when I will awake to catch a plane to Salzburg and stay with a girl from college, and then off to Schladming to stay with Dawn on the mornign of the second. Yayyyyyy!!!
I know it has been a while, but I hope to post when I'm in Austria! Maybe with pics!
Miss you all and hope you all had a great Christmas. I guess I'll be in 2006 before most of you, so Happy New Year in advance!

This Time Last Year...

...I was in London, at Paden's dad's appartment in Victoria.
Now those were good times.
It was Paden, her dad, Kaylie, Olya, Lisa, and myself. And then we hung out with BJ and Austin most of the time, and Ben and his cousin. (Ben, what's your cousin's name again?)
I can't remember who I waited with outside the appartment in the freezing cold that time we got there and nobody was in. Someone remind me.
I got a few good pics of the changing of the guard. But that kind of bores me.
Oh, something I remember was how amazed Paden was with the Rosetta Stone that time we went to the British Museum. Actually it totally changed my view of it and how amazing that piece of rock really is.
What else... oh yah, Paden cooking for us! She was awesome. And Paden and Austin Swing dancing in Trafalgar Square at the top of the stairs!
Oh, no, wait, I remember!!!!!

For those of you that weren't there, I'll tell the story.
Dorman (Paden's dad), has this company appartment, which we were staying in, but also had this one across the hallway. Anyway, sometime in the afternoon, One of Dorman's work colleagues was supposed to arrive in London and move into the appartment, so we moved all our stuff into the other appartment.
When we came back from a day out in London, Dorman was in the other appartment still waiting for that guy. We all moved into the orignal appartment because it had wireless, and we started eating bananas and just chilling. Paden started making a video of the appartment for her family, and was adding a running commentary to the footage, when she suddenly comes out of the main bedroom into the lounge where we all were, and is white as a sheet.
She's like, "Get out! Get out now!"
So we all move into the second appartment and she explains that there was someone in the bedroom, in the bed! Apparently that guy had showed up, but had his own key! Oh how we laughed. Then somebody stopped amidst all the laughter, and said, "Did anyone buy bananas?" And we all cracked up again because we realised we had eaten this guy's bananas!
Ha fun times.

Anyway, above are some pics of those days. Oh, what fun!

Christmas Spirit

My roommate found this pic whilst randomly scrolling through blogs. Some mum and her daughter put it up on their garage door.It made us both laugh.

Jonathan Elvis Marie Wilson!!!

Yes, our favourite Northern Irish brother now has a blog!
Hooray for this side of the pond!
The link is on the side.

Mike's Limericks

My Liverpudlian roommate has just made me laugh with a variety of limericks. I thought I'd share them with you...


There was a young lady named Perkins
Who was very fond of small gherkins.
One evening at tea
She ate thirty-three
And pickled her internal workings.

There was a young martian from space
Who entered a three-legged race.
He wasn't that fast
In fact he came last
Because he was a bag of frozen potato chips.

There was a young lady from Gloucester
Whose parents thought they had lost her.
From the fridge came a sound
And at last she was found
But the trouble was how to defrost her.

There was an old man from Esser
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser.
It soon grew so small
He knew knothing at all
And now he's a college professor.

There was a young girl from Madras
Who had a magnificent ass.
Not large round and pink
As you might think
But was grey with big ears and ate grass.

There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks never would span.
When they said it was so
He replied, "Yes I know,
But I try and get as many words and syllables into the last line and go on and on until it is just crap."


And no, I didn't get these from the internet. Mike rolled them all out one by one. If only he could do the same with Greek vocab... (J slash K, Mike!)