God blessed the broken road...

Currently, I'm sitting outside of the beautiful Blue Mountain Lodge where Jess and I just finished all of our cleaning duties for the morning.  But holy cow, it was quite the ordeal to get here.  Our train ride from Villach to Vienna was wonderful, filled with beautiful mountains, very cute villages, and even a few castles. We also chatted up a very nice Austrian in our carriage who was studying architecture and heading back home from a holiday in Vienna.  By the time we arrived in Villach, ominous clouds had gathered in the sky and the first few rain drops started to fall.  Villach itself was very quaint with fabulous churches, yet we didn't have much time to explore before we had to board our bus to Afitz.  We were told by the hotel owners to take a bus from Villach to the Strobles Bakery in Afitz, call them when we got there, and someone would come pick us up and take us up the mountain to the hotel.  We arrived at the bakery around 7:30 PM and after already calling them on the bus and leaving a message, we thought it would be a good idea to give them another ring.  Answering machine again.  Then, my phone died.  We waited patiently in the bakery for a car to arrive while eating some horribly stale, bland pastry.  The bakery closed at 7 and at this point, it was raining pretty hard.  Of course an umbrella was one of the things I nixed from my original suitcase.  I was also without a raincoat.  Jess and I were at a loss and figured we would have to stay in a hotel for the night and try to contact the blue mountain lodge the next day.  I had tried to get to someone who spoke English by walking a little ways to an information building, but it closed at 5.   Things were not looking good.  We trouped down the main road, with bags in hand, in the pouring rain, to the nearest hotel.    We entered the hotel lobby with a look of desperation on our faces.  We explained our situation to the receptionist, and she called over the owner and they were both very helpful in getting us in contact with the staff at BML  (Blue Mountain Lodge).  They used a phone book to find the number, which I got a kick out of because I haven't seen anyone use a phone book in ages.  We spoke with someone at the BML and they said they would send a car to come get us.    The receptionist offered for us to wait in their bar, which we of course accepted graciously.   One beer later, and there our ride was.  He was a nice man from Holland on holiday with his girlfriend, who was one of the owner's sisters.  The ride up the mountain was about 15 minures and not unlike any ride up an Appalachian mountain.  Hairpin turns on a very narrow road.  The hotel was bustling with activity and it was about 9:30 PM at this point.  We met the owners, got settled in our room, and then went back downstairs and played jenga with a few of the guests and had some dinner (i had gulash.  it's like vegatable soup, but SOOOO much better).   There was an Austrian girl studying American business and two Israeli children on holiday with their parents.  Jess and I were absolutely exhausted, so we crashed early, but not before I took a glorious shower.   Last night was definitely one of the best nights of sleep I've ever had.  The view from our room is amazing, but it's very misty, so it looks like we're just in the middle of a cloud.  I promise to post pictures soon! We woke up this morning, had a fabulous breakfast with some fabulous bread and then met the others workers, who showed us the ins and outs of the hotel and cleaning duties (stripping beds, making beds, sweeping, mopping, etc).  They aren't so bad and should only take a few hours a day.  There's an American couple from Idaho who are retired police officers who have been extra helpful and there's also a girl from Italy who has been here for a couple of months.  The hotel has very recently switched ownership and the new owners seem a little overwhelmed by the hotel business, so it's a little crazy.  But the people are very nice and it's in a beautiful location with lots of hiking, so I think Jess and I will quite enjoy this place.  Despite being stranded at a bakery with sub par pastries, walking in the rain sans umbrella/rain coat, and worried we might have to sleep in a church, our trip to Afitz has been an exciting adventure and we look forward to the week ahead!