German Bowl Part 11: Alpine Turkey Time

Another month has come and gone in this time warp called Germany. James and I are slowly becoming more used to living in another country but it is not an easy process. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity and I continually remind myself of that when I have the urge for Chipotle or am missing King Soopers produce. Living in Colorado has given me a strong sense of God within nature but to be in Europe gives a strong sense of God in history, structure, and culture.

James and I spent our Thanksgiving holiday in the Austrian Alps skiing/snowboarding and enjoying Bavarian culture. 

We rode with the Outdoor Recreation group on an 8 hour van ride including many pit stops for potty (pissoir...fancy word for, well, do I have to say it?) breaks and yummy German snacks.

We arrived at our cute hotel and were sooo excited to finally see the snow! Us Coloradans enjoy the lovely winter frostiness from October to May so not seeing snow until the end of November was new for us. It was so magical first thing in the morning with a dusting of snow and the mountains peaking ominously through the fog.

Since there wasn't much snow, we skied at the Kaprun Glacier instead of the Zell am See resort.

The best part of getting to the glacier was taking the gondolas from waaaayyy down the mountain all the way to the top (we gained about 5,000 feet!).  And at the top there was an amazing view of the jagged, pointed Alps as far as the eye can see. The mountains are much different than we are used to in Colorado. Here they are steep and pointed just like in the "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" movie where the abominable snowman lives. It makes for a drastic and breathtaking view.  We even enjoyed an AMAZING lunch at the top of the mountain complete with authentic Bavarian dessert pastries and beer.

We also enjoyed a truly AmeriCAN Thanksgiving dinner at our hotel, complete with a sparkling turkey!!

The final nights or our trip were spent exploring the local night scene (aka. a little log cabin with beer) and we even left a little note behind in the Austrian pub to come back and see sometime again.

I am thankful for the many opportunities and blessing that God has given me throughout my life and today. Mostly, I am thankful for Jesus, my savior, best friend, and unfailing fan.