getting to the castle (6/5/11)

(Okay, to help with clarification, I'm going to date these entries, since they're all starting from last week...at least until I can catch up >.<) Today was the most confusing morning of my life... For starters, the bus that my hostelkeeper told me to take, #91, wasn't running (even though it was supposed to run specifically on Sundays), so I had to wander around for a bit, until I found another bus stop that looked like it could work. Thankfully, I met a nice Aussie couple (with Italian roots) at that bus stop who were also headed for the train station. As we talked, we saw a bike race pass by--they had police escorts and everything! It was pretty intense. Once I got to the train station, the ticket validation machines weren't working, and when I tried to ask the train officer what to do, he wasn't very clear and just told me to get on train. Once again, I cried a little out of frustration while trying to calm down--I was mostly just scared of getting a fine again. (It reminded me of something Daphne was telling me the night before: when she had been waiting for the bus to the hostel, it had also taken forever, and she had gotten worried, so she just "put on her shades and cried a little bit." That's how I felt, minus the shades.) It turns out that the same officer I'd talked to was the one checking tickets, so I was good to go (why do I always have such little faith?...sigh) When I got to Bolzano, I realized that the signs were now all in either Italian or German, neither of which I know well enough to survive, so that was a little nerve-wracking. I made it to Merano without any other obstacles, thankfully, and I was able to find the bus up to Dorf Tirol almost immediately after getting off my train. Buying my ticket on the bus was a little confusing and embarrassing, but it wasn't too bad. I was just glad to be on the bus. Once the bus dropped us all off in Dorf Tirol, it was a little hard to navigate to Schloss Brunnenburg, but it ended up alright...just a really steep slope down to the castle (something we're still dealing with every day! haha). Man, I was so thankful to finally make it to the castle. Praise God--that's all I can say :) As the first one there, I got a mini-tour from Dr. Redman and then just relaxed. To pass the time, I found some old "yearbooks" from St. Andrews students (they come here in the fall for a three-month program), and those were interesting, to say the least. Since there's also a farm here at the castle, I went to explore the animals' cages for a bit (bunnies!), and then around 4 p.m., half of the group showed up, which was pretty exciting. Due to a lottery drawing, we all ended up with single rooms, even though some of us were supposed to be in doubles, so that was kind of funny (it looked like we were doing it first come, first serve, but it was a fair draw!). After another mini-tour, we had a delicious cold buffet (our first taste of Brigitte's cooking!), after which the rest of the group arrived, and then we went downhill to play with the goats and pigs for a bit, hehe. Since it was still relatively early after we finished dinner, we went up to the village and got gelato before coming back, settling in, and just chatting with each other and finishing up reading. First (and compiled) thoughts on the castle: It is so, so beautiful here. It's not just the nature, it's not just the view, it's not just the castle itself, it's not just the people/family who own the castle and live here...it's all of it together. This is such a unique place (I still get slightly weirded out when I tell people where I am, haha), and it's just so different from anywhere I've ever lived. I love the rusticness of our rooms (but we're not lacking anything modern at all), the view of the mountains and Merano in the valley every time I step outside or look out my window, the farm animals, the cute German/Austrian accent the family members have, the amazing food we're being fed by Brigitte (and even breakfast! Bread is somehow super amazing here), the vineyards and greenery everywhere...mm. Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me a glimpse into a completely different world for a month. I'm trying to make the most of every day and really take it all in, because I really won't be here for very long at all.