Rainy days.

Summer is slowly tapering off here in Austria, and we've been having a nice bout of cooler weather, some wind and rain. One can stay in our small apartment only so long :) so we haven't let the rainy weather deter us from stretching our legs and poking around Trumau. On Sunday we took a family walk to the other side of town to the river, which a bike path parallels.

Almost 30 weeks.

We stopped under the bridge for some shelter at one point.

Michael loves throwing rocks in water.

Michael and I go out for a little walk around campus every day.

 Stopping to blow Mama Mary a kiss.

The field adjacent to the apartments where the children often play.

 The community garden which was planted by one family...seems not to be too much interest in it other then by them, so I will definitely participate next year.

 Huge yellow zucchini

 Beautiful rainbow chard which I have already used in a curry dish - delicious!

Michael was thrilled to find this mini tractor in the field one day as he loves tractors and this was a perfect fit for him. 

The sandbox is fun too!

We have seen some pretty large snails out during the rainy season.

 

This week has seen us preoccupied with more paperwork (Austrian bank account, health insurance, residence permit) and Andrew has been doing some work around campus to help offset our housing costs. It's not much, but every little bit helps. I have also been approached about helping with the ITI choir, so I'm hoping that will also provide a means to deduct from living expenses. Tomorrow, Andrew registers for classes and then we are hoping to go into Vienna for a day or two. Time for a little break before the grind of the semester begins! Andrew will have a big class load, so I am trying to prepare myself for handling more on my own...isn't the easiest timing with Michael being more adventurous (and fast) and me being towards the end of my pregnancy. Will have to come up with some good activities for him and I with limited supplies and space. Hmm.

 

"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered."

~ G. K. Chesterton



Thanks, Mr. Chesterton. Fortunately, this particular adventure is all for God, and so I trust He will make it work in all areas of inconvenience.  



Where we live.

Trumau is a small town in lower Austria, highlighted by its Schloss (castle) which is the home of the International Theological Institute. Now for a bit of history on the castle adapted from Wikipedia... Below is Schloss Trumau in 1672.

The castle of Trumau is a moated castle in Trumau in Lower Austria. From the beginning it has been in the ownership of the Zisterzienserstift Heiligenkreuz (a nearby Cistercian monastery). The castle was a present from the Babenberg’s Margrave Leopold IV in 1138. In the 12th century, a grange was built by the Zisterzienser at the place where the castle is standing nowadays. At that time there has also probably been a water ditch, an overflow spillway and a mill with a mill stream. The Zisterziensers practiced agriculture, viniculture and sheep-breeding there. The courtyard was rebuilt from 1548 to 1558 because the estate had been totally destroyed in 1548. The building was burnt down by Hungarian rebels in 1621 during an anti-Habsburg riot. In 1650, abbot Michael Schnabel arranged the rebuilding, which was finished in 1667. Emperor Leopold I. lingered several times at Castle Trumau. Since 1959, the castle also has a sundial. During the 5th Austrian Türkenkrieg the castle was heavily damaged in 1683. In course of the rebuilding, the towers were gravely changed. Further fires like in 1811 and 1880 damaged the castle again and again. The last restorations took place from 1993 until 1995. Two sundials were discovered in the inner yard. In 2009, the Internationale Theologische Institut für Studien zu Ehe and Familie moved into the castle Trumau.

The entrance to the Schloss where classrooms/administration offices are located.

The chapel in the Schloss where daily Mass is said.

The courtyard of the castle followed by one of the sundials found on the inner walls.

One of the classrooms.

The path leading from the Schloss to the student apartments.

 Our building, St. Therese of Lisieux, which catty-corners the path to the Schloss.

Facing the courtyard from our patio. Often there will be many children running about here.

Every corner of the residence plot is filled with herbs for student use.

The foyer of our building with our room (door open) on the far left. We are fortunate to be housed on the ground floor of the seminarian/single men's dorm, so it is pretty quiet. Now the challenge is to keep our family quiet... In our half of the building on the ground floor are only 2 guest rooms and the chapel, which is located directly to the left of our door. Farther down the hall is the laundry room.

Chapel next to our apartment.

Andrew's study area

Bathroom w/shower

 Our bedroom

Michael's room

Michael has been doing very well in his regular size bed, as we had no other option (or side railing) for him here. We have a large pillow on the ground should he fall; fortunately he is not a big mover during sleep. We are still looking for options to stuff something on the other side of the bed, as the frame leaves a gap between itself and the wall.

 Kitchen

 Second half of kitchen - dining area

 We have sampled some of the regional sweets.

Very seriously, I might add.

 We were fortunate to find some useful items in the storage building...just need some cleaning and tune-up's.





1st week in Austria survived.

Well, we have come to the conclusion of our first week in Austria, and it has been a week of much absorption to say the least, but there is oh so much more to learn. We have shopped at some local grocery stores and completed a successful trip to IKEA, with Andrew driving a long Volkswagen van with manual transmission, which he handled well...although, we won't comment on the number of people who sped around us. Andrew is good about getting out the German handbook to be prepared with his questions, and most Austrians are forgiving and either speak English or can understand enough combined with our broken German.

 

Some things we have learned about Austrian living thus far...

 

: No right turns on a red light.
: People walk slow but drive fast even around these small towns.

: The local church bells ring continuously for 15 minutes before Mass on Sunday and holy days.

: Shops and businesses are closed on Sundays, and holy days are considered holidays.

: Crosses and saint statue columns (picture below) are a normal sight in the small towns, with almost every town having its own Catholic church. 

: At grocery stores, shopping cart placement is controlled. One inserts a 50 cent Euro to use the cart, and in order to get the money back, must return it to the cart area and lock it back into the line of carts.
: Food is packaged in smaller sizes - use as you go to reduce food waste. And there are only 10 eggs instead of 12 in a carton.

: Absolutely no bags are provided for free for shopping. Either bring your own or purchase as you need.
: Everyday trash must be separated into 4 groups - bio (food waste), plastic, paper, and restmull (meat/diary scraps, diapers, dirty containers) and then disposed into the appropriate trash bins sans the plastic bag. Make-up, cleaners, hair products, etc. are labeled as "problem trash." They sure do take trash seriously here.

: To own/maintain a car here is extremely expensive. For example, a simple oil change costs around $250. 

 

On Sunday, we attended the local parish church in Trumau at the Katholische Pfarrkirche hl. Johannes der Täuferfor (Catholic parish church of St. John the Baptist) along with other people from the ITI; all in German, of course, but very pleasant. We are starting to work on learning the Mass parts in German.



After a long hiatus...

...we definitely do have news! And more news. Initially, this blogging hiatus resulted from pregnancy nausea, as during the duration of that, I have little energy or desire to do anything besides the necessary.  We discovered I was pregnant the day after my birthday, on February 25. I am now almost 29 weeks, due around November 6 with our second boy! Nausea has passed as of 19 weeks, praised be God, and I am feeling quite well. Baby boy is doing well and kicking non-stop, it seems. We are so happy that Michael will have a robust playmate!

 

In other BIG news, the Steele family is now living in Austria (you'll note the blog title change reflects this)! I am still getting over the shock of it myself. :) Andrew was unexpectedly laid off from his job in early May, and after going back and forth between job prospects and the idea of returning to school, this is the course he has chosen. He has been accepted to the International Theological Institute located in Trumau, which is about 20 minutes south of Vienna. After the decision was made in mid-June, it was a rush to have a big garage sale and exit our rental home. We then spent a week camping on the Olympic Peninsula with my Mom's side of the family for our annual family reunion and then spent a few weeks with my family in Dallas before we flew out last week. We were able to see my paternal grandparents, and finally introduce them to Michael. It was so lovely to be able to spend quality time with everyone before we departed. All the 7 Stone siblings were even in 1 place at 1 time for a few evenings! Michael loved spending time with his aunties and uncles.

Our flight from Dallas to Amsterdam was about 9 hours and went very smooth. Michael was extremely well behaved and slept twice. We were fortunate to have a row of 4 seats to ourselves. We arrived in Amsterdam 7:30am local time and after we used the internet and phone to confirm our pick-up ride, we went right to sleep in something called the "Yotel-Motel." It is basically a hotel located inside the airport, and is comprised of small cubicle rooms which include a bed and bathroom. We all slept deeply for 5 hours and felt much better.

After, we walked about the airport, picked up some coffee and sat down to eat a meal. Michael enjoyed waving and calling out loud hellos to almost everyone who passed; he also enjoyed watching the movement of the airplanes.

We boarded our flight to Vienna around 8pm; a quick 2 hour flight with Michael sleeping the whole time. Upon our arrival, we were dismayed to see that my suitcase was not anywhere to be found. All other 5 pieces of luggage had arrived. I filed a claim while we waited for our ride from ITI. Unfortunately, the guy waited inside the airport for us, while we were waiting curbside for 1.5 hours. We did not yet have a working cell phone for Europe, and were quite exhausted trying to juggle the stroller, car seat, 4 pieces of luggage, plus 4 carry-on's, and keep Michael's spirits up. Thankfully, we found each other and after a short ride, we arrived in Trumau. And 4 days later my suitcase arrived - this pregnant woman had been getting very anxious...thank the Lord!

 

Our first few days here have been mainly filled with grocery shopping, unpacking, and lots of sleep. We have walked around the town a bit, and rode into a larger town nearby with some other students for shopping. More updates soon...we miss our family and friends! And learning more about complete trust in God every day...