Under the 'Weather'

Hello everybody...sorry it has been so long since we have last written. No we have not been crushed by the earthquake in Southern Italy or overtaken by the volcano down there.

We have been, however, down with colds and not nearby a computer for the last five days.

So, here is the update:

We last left you in Rome. We left there for the Cinque Terre, a set of 5 small towns along the northern Italian coast. We got off the train in the first town, Riomaggiore, and were met by a guy who asked if we needed housing...which we did. (We were expecting someone to ask us this...we were told that people meet you at the train station and do this). So, we followed him to his rooms and ended up staying 2 nights there for a good price. During our stay in the Cinque Terre, we ate more pizza...Trevor actually has gotten tired of pizza which should tell you something. But it was the cheapest thing to eat! You can hike from town to town, so that is what we did. Hiking from Riomaggiore to the fourth town, Vicenza...beautiful scenery and warm weather! Great hike! Then we enjoyed the 4th town and a boat ride back to home base. The towns all are built up on a cliff and are brilliantly colored pastels. Alison finally used her nice camera for the first time to capture the bright colors against a deep blue sky.

We left the Cinque Terre on Wednesday, Oct. 30 and took 4 different trains across the country to Venice. We walked around Venice all day (luckily, leaving our heavy packs at the train station). We enjoyed our last Italian cappacino...something we came to love while in Italy! Thoughts about Venice: trevor does not have much love for it, as it is all cement and stinky water. Alison, however, enjoyed walking around and seeing the multi colored houses and narrow walkways. We actually did not have a map and got pretty lost... But, both agree that 1 day in Venice is enough. Glad we did not stay the night.

Instead, we hopped on a train at 8:45pm for Vienna. That was quite an experience: we were in a 6 person sleeper car. VERY small and cozy, with a German couple and Italian couple. As we turned out the lights to sleep, we felt like saying 'goodnight john boy. Goodnight Mary Ellen!'

We were awoken Thursday morning by the train conductor opening our door and turning on the overhead light and telling us we had about 5 minutes till our destination. All six of us quickly scrambled up and got out of there...definitely the fastest we've moved in the morning in a long time!

Once off the train in Vienna, we took a while to figure out how to find the 'Lokalbahn' to take us out to 'suburban' Vienna...but finally we made it to the small town of Gutramsdorf, where we are currently staying at the International Teams Hospitality Haus. The accomidations have been GREAT...wonderful breakfast each morning that we eat enough at so we don't have to eat lunch.

The weather, however, has been another story. Lets just say, weather shock...and back to the real world. Italy was sunny, clear, and beautiful...not the type of fall weather we get in Chicago. Here in austria, we have yet to see the sun, literally. It has been cloudy and rainy and FREEZING since we have been here. Not very conducive to doing ANYTHING except staying inside and sleeping. Which is what we have been doing a lot of...since we have both been recuperating from colds.

But, we have done a few fun things...including going to the Vienna Opera on opening night to see Romeo and Juliet. We paid 2 dollars each for standing room tickets...and we got what we paid for. We saw about 1/3 of the stage, and most of the action was taking place on the 2/3 we could not see. Plus, it was VERY hot. But, it was a fun experience and not many can say they've been to one of the most famous opera houses in the world for $4!

We have also taken some nice walks around the countryside (in the few moments where it has not rained.) Sunday we walked into a nearby town that is full of wineries and found one run by the Krug Family... (alison's maiden name). Can someone find out if its our long lost relatives living here in Gumpoldskirchen?

Sunday night we went into Vienna to a English speaking church. That was really neat. The guy who preached was an Italian-born French man who is a missionary to the country of Togo. He spoke in english, not his first language, and it was translated into German. It got a little confusing at times, but a great message.

We stay here until Thursday when we will take a train to Romania.

We will try to update once before we leave or soon after we arrive there. Hopefully we can add photos to the updates there...

Love you all!

Thank you for your many prayers and thoughts!

Trevor and alison