It’s been almost a month since I last posted and that month has been filled with the many details of preparing to leave for such a long time.   Saying ‘auf Wiedersehen’  to my fifteen preschoolers was hard.  We talked about experiences they had had traveling, and how I was going on a long trip, but not coming back real soon.  One little guy said, ‘why would you ever want to leave us?’  Oh my.  But I am leaving them in great hands with the teacher we hired to take over.  They will have a loving and dedicated leader and they will have each other.

We’re just about ready and as soon as I finish this, the computer will be stored in its carry-on and we will just need to try and sleep before getting up at 4 am.  I’ve been checking the Graz weather daily and see little snowflakes and temperatures only slightly warmer than here in Missoula…little wonder it’s almost at the same latitude.  So, we’ve got winter clothes, spring clothes and summer clothes, crammed into all our suitcases. Voluntary Simplicity is queued up on my Kindle so maybe the number of suitcases will change coming home.  (hee hee)

Our trip will take us through Denver, Washington DC (Dulles) and Frankfurt to Graz, if all goes according to plan.

The next time you hear anything from me, I hope it will be from Austrian soil.  First order of business will be to open a bank account and get registered at the Graz Rathaus.  Then I imagine we’ll provision the flat (thank goodness it is furnished) and explore our surroundings.

Thank you for the many well-wishes and comments, and thank you for reading!