1st trip of the semester: Admont

A day after all the students arrived here in Gaming to blue skies and cold crisp air, all 170 of us boarded the big red Austrian busses and headed south to the monastery of Admont.

Admont is in the province of Styria or Steiermark and is a beautiful scenic region and a center for mountaineering and other outdoor sports such as canyoning and rafting. This area is also called the "Green March" because half of the area is covered with forests and one-quarter with meadows, grasslands, vineyards and orchards.

During the school trip, the students visited the famous library with secret passageway doors, the natural history musuem, and of course celebrated mass in the neo-Gothic church which still had their local Christmas creche open for viewing.

The trip wasn't without Austrian goodies either: a four course lunch which included, garlic cream soup, salad, cordon blue, and ending with a local Austrian cake for dessert.

Travels aren't about to slow up either. Tomorrow we are off to Vienna, next weekend to Salzburg and Munich, and then off on a ski trip.

The Ultimate Austrian Sport

For all those coming to Gaming who love skiing and snowboarding, you have come to the right place!

It is hard to overemphasive how much Austrians love their sking. If I had to make an anology, the passion is similar to Americans and our love of freedom, kids and their love for sugar, or grandparents and their love of naps, or perhaps bees and their love forflours, or saints and their love of God.

Fortunately, for all of us (and you too) avid skiers, Gaming is situated close to numerous ski resorts which are all relatively affordable and offer beautiful views and nice pistes.

Some of the closer and more famous resorts include:

Lackenhof: About 20 minute bus ride from Gaming.

Hochkar: About 45 minute drive from Gaming.

St. Sebastian: About 45 min - 1 hour bus ride from Gaming.

Muhlbach am Hochkonig: Several hundred kilometers of ski runs; ideal for intermediate skiers, this fantastic resort is just outside of Salzburg, about 3 1/2 hours from Gaming.

Ischgl: From this unique resort, one can ski in both Austria and Switzerland as it is on the border. Ischgl is considered one of the best (more famous) ski resorts in all of Austria. It is about 100 km from Innsbruck so it is quite a trek but would be perfect for a weekend trip. Reservations here are definitely needed as I tried to go several time and couldn't even find a place to sleep!

That supreme relic of Austrian Culture

On this first day of the year and feast day of our Lady, Mother of God, I believe it is fitting to point out to all who will be coming to Gaming the supreme relic of Austrian Catholic Culture: The CROSS.

I love it. There are literally crosses everywhere here in Austria...

There are crosses on the sides of roads, in little chapels and magnificent basilicas. They are in schools, restaurants, huts, city halls, on bridges, and placed in blessings over the doorways of homes.

One place in particular -- my favorite place (other than in a church) -- to find these crosses are on the tops of mountains. From there noble and lofty perch, they loom over the ridge with all their inherent glory and contradiction. After hiking miles and sometimes hours, the sight of that cross on the summit cannot be overestimated. Often famished, sweating, jubilant, triumphant, heart palpitating, and smiling, the cross is there to welcome you as if you were in paradise itself awaiting the crucified and risen savior. It is truly a sign of victory -- the victory of having conquered the mountain -- but also of the greatest victory there ever was and ever will be.

Nor can the sacrifice of the brave men who raised the cross be forgotten. I think of the men, who in erecting the cross, worked hours carrying, climbing, and building to give glory to their God and to celebrate the fact that he came into this world through a women like us, Mary--the mother of God. In other words, the cross is a reminder for me of our call to keep Christ as the focus of everything we do, be in work, leisure, or prayer.

As an avid hiker, I eagerly await the cross when I hike. It is usually a midpoint and an "high-point" in the trip as it signals the destination and the turnaround point. For all those who will be arriving in two weeks, I hope you too will enjoy these beautiful and meaningful crosses here on the roads, in the churches, and on the tips of mountains.

To end, I recount the fitting words from the eastern Liturgy:

O Virgin Mother and True Theotokos

without seed thou hast borne Christ our God

who was lifted in the flesh upon the cross

We and all the faithful, as is right,

magnify thee with thy Son.

The Secretary Babysits!

One of the wonderful people you will meet when you come to Gaming is our secretary, Mrs. Andrea Ritt. She lives in Gaming with her husband, three children, and infamous cat, Francis.

Andrea loves our boys and thus volunteered to watch them both for an afternoon while my wife and I went skiing. Not going to turn down a ski trip together, we readily agreed.

Below are some pics of the kids at Andrea's house and of course we had to include Francis the cat as well....

Austria: Coming and Going!

160+ students just left Gaming to all parts of the United States and the rest of the world. It is amazing to think that in only a few more weeks, another 160+ students from all over will arive and inhabit this former 14th century Carthusian monastery. Future posts will focus on the highlights of next semester, but for all those leaving and for all those coming, I thought it might be nice just to post some general pictures of Austria and Gaming.

Also, for those who have the time, I would definitely recommend reading the US State Department's info on Austria as it is concise, to the point, and very informative.