Headed Home

Right now I’m sitting in the main train station in Feldkirch listening to Deadmau5 – Faxing Berlin. Just purchased my ticket for Zurich. It’s about 7:00am, woke up at 4:50am…not cool, and should arrive at the airport by 9:38pm. My flight is at 11:55am and should get me to Dulles by about 3:35pm (the flight looks like it’s only a few hours because of the time change).

What a great couple of last days in Dornbirn. So many people to say bye to which is not easy. Everyone here is a friend…there were no really easy good byes. Yesterday (Wednesday) was especially busy but really good. I was on a mission to ski the alps and I did. My friend Tom (who’s probably getting up now to go again) and I went to Montafone. It consists of about 4 or 5 mountains and is massive. I mean the ski resorts that I have been to on the east coast pale in comparison. For the times I’ve skied there were about 4 different levels of difficulty. Green being the easiest, Blue for intermediate, Black for advanced, and double black (moguls and very advanced skiing). Well the slopes here start at blue…lol there is no green…you do not pass go nor do you collect 200 dollars. But you can catch your breath when you get to the bottom of the slope (or Piste). We hit a blue right off the bat and my body was like holy shit, this is the easiest!? I can’t remember the last time I’ve been skiing. I used to go with my sister and her Girl Scout troop since my mom was the Troop Leader. That had to be at least 6-8 years ago. But I conquered the slopes here …no worries. By the end of the day I had my act together and hit one black slope just for the hell of it. I’m not going to be back for sometime…so go big or go home. I didn’t want to go too big though and wind up in the hospital which would not be cool. So I took it easy and all was good.

The ski rentals here are also on a whole different level than when I’ve gone in the states. The boots were extremely nice, the place was very clean, and there were 4 different level / types of ski’s you could choose from. If my memory serves me right it was just one type of ski and it only differed by size in the states. The local owner of Kraftstoff pulled through for me and let me borrow a pair of his ski’s and poles. But the ski’s were a bit small for me and the boot fitting couldn’t be adjusted to my size (45 in Europe…or about 10 – 10.5). So no worries, just rented ski’s and boots and I was on my way. I knew I was at a whole different level of skiing just by the initial 10 minute gondola ride straight up the mountain. The most I’d been on were chair lifts lol.

But all in all it was a good day to ski…but my day didn’t end there. The family that owns the sawmill had asked me to dinner that night. So, I had to make sure I was home in time to get over to their house. I DIDN’T HAVE MY CAMERA!!!! But if you’ve read any of the other posts (God bless you for doing so) then you might have some photos for reference. Everything was freshly made and baked…it was unreal, really. I asked Mattias how it was that he’s not like 300 lbs with the way she cooks. I will really miss this family. They have invited me into their home and their lives with open arms. Those are the types of people you return to visit. Not only this but they had a pair of work pants that I had wanted for some time, as a present for me. I was like a kid in a candy store. They were perfect. After an amazing dinner and a freshly baked dessert Mattias drove me home. He told me he needed to stop by the office to give me something. He came out with a 100 Euro bill. I was like !! As he gave it too me he told me why. He told me that the guys really enjoyed it when I was around, I made some changes to the place and that was needed and definitely appreciated, and for sweeping all the time. This is coming from a guy that doesn’t just hand out nice comments on a whim. I really had no idea that the work and stuff I did was that appreciated and that my simply being there and joking around and having fun was a thing that he really appreciated. It meant a lot to me to hear this. Thanks Mattias!

 

I also go a shirt from Pavi….now I’m official. What an honor. I had to work hard for that shirt but I am really and truly a part of the family. All the guys in Pavi / girlfriends were there for my final night. I spread my goodbyes over two days because some of them had work etc. But by the end I had seen everyone and everyone had come out to have a beer and say more kind things to me than I really can recount. It was unreal to see Pavi for the last time. Chris (the big chief) told me that I have 2 weeks for holidays, ha-ha. To say hi to mom and the family…but that he expects me back here. So cool. Benni and all the guys at Pavi have taught and helped me learn a lot. Mostly through observation. When you’re not able to talk the language and all things sound foreign you start to really become in tune with body language and actions. You really can judge by actions and attitudes. I’ve always had a very good sense of other peoples body language but this took it to another level. You learn quickly to think like that person, to watch what they do and the order that they do it in.