Austria, Revisited

   In my attempt to cover all of Christmas break, I really glazed over a lot of details. For my own benefit, as this is the only record of the happenings on this adventure, I want to backtrack and offer a few more details of our trip.

   We flew into Vienna in the late morning and discovered you can walk a crazy distance all completely indoors in the Vienna airport. Not so great with 3 young 'uns, one person with a bum knee, and one with sore hips. We made it, though! I think we were all really grateful that Dad arranged for a shuttle service between the airport and hotel. It is so reassuring to walk out of baggage claim and see someone with a sign that has your name and know you are taken care of.

    After settling in to the hotel, we went out in search of lunch. The hotel is owned by a friend of a friend, which meant a bit of a deal, but not close to the tourist/historical area. Only a couple blocks from a U-bahn station, so a fairly quick trip to food and sights. Lunch was traditional and a bit touristy. You can tell when a majority of the dishes on the menu have pictures. It's great being in places where weinerli (hot dogs) are traditional food. 

    We spent the afternoon doing the museum thing- checking out the armory, the royal dishes (yes, really) and the royal apartments of the Habsberg dynasty. We also learned more about Empress Sisi than was entirely necessary. (depressed royalty, made to look “mysterious”). Interesting connection to Switzerland, though- she was assassinated in Geneva.

    We ate dinner at the Gosser Bierklinik- a restaurant my dad and his friends frequented for when the occasion called for a step up from the University cafeteria food. Lukas Knoll joined us for dinner- he and server were enjoying quite the chuckle at our expense.

    Jackson, Kenny, Katie, and Henry watched the Lipizzaner horses (famous dancing horses) go through their morning exercises at the Spanish Riding School Saturday morning while Grandma, Grandpa, Johanna, Eli, Lukas, and I enjoyed a visit to a Viennese cafe (cafe's are a big deal in Vienna). More of us might have gone to see the horses but children under 3 are not allowed. We couldn't get tickets for a performance- although outside the ticket office they run a dvd of a performance on a loop and we stood and watched it enough to get the gist. The exercises were a bit of a let down, unfortunately.We hit Stephansdom, big, old Cathedral- always good for bird's eye view of wherever you are. Apparently, it is pretty rare to have a sunny day in Vienna, so we definitely had to take advantage.

    The afternoon brought another cafe at the Sacher Hotel to enjoy Sacher Torte ( chocolate cake with a raspberry filling). I found it a bit dry-it would be much improved with a little ice cream. The cafe served the cake with whipped cream. Lukas' mother also served cake with whipped cream- an Austrian/German cultural trait??

    We also rode a tour tram around the historical circle of town. We then did one more museum. The summer palace held an art museum with a special exhibit on Klimt. I have never been terribly impressed with his work (His most famous piece is “The Kiss”) but in person, it was breathtaking.

 He used real gold in that piece and several others- really lovely. It would have been nice to stop and enjoy it, but that is not how a 2 year old does a museum- we do NOT stop.

    Jackson walked through the museum with Grandma. He learned that a lot of people in paintings don't have clothes because they are angels or fairies and are really invisible so they don't have to wear clothes. This lesson was directly linked to learning that all the ceilings were very well decorated. (Well done, Grandma.)

     Lukas directed dinner, which brought us to an American style steakhouse. If you are going to eat American- steak is not a bad way to go. 

 We ended the evening with a Fiaker (horse drawn  enclosed carriage) ride.  Both tour guides (Dad and Lukas) were in the other carriage so it didn't mean too much to me, but we supposedly went past some of the buildings that Dad spent a great deal of time in when he stayed in Vienna.

    The rest of our trip was spent in Linz/St. Georgen with the Knoll's. We were well fed and well entertained. The Knoll's own a mill (as previously mentioned) and their house is connected to the mill. I can only imagine how much of a kick my dad would get out of that. He says he could never move out of T-town because he would miss the hum of the mill. My mom would not get a kick out of this arrangement- that much harder to get my dad to be “home.”

    Lukas has 2 younger brothers. The youngest is in his early teens. He spent quite a bit of time playing with my kids and they really enjoyed him. So much so that Johanna for several days kept asking to go to Felix's house.

Impressions of Austria

    Switzerland has ruined me- no place may ever seem clean and tidy again. I spent a little time in a park in Linz with the kids (who needs museums or historical architecture- give us a good park!) and I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Austria and not an Eastern European country. This was partly due to the immigrant population around me- definitely not speaking German, but also because of the litter and unkempt nature of the park. It was a really nice park in all actuality, but I was viewing it through Swiss tinted glasses.

   I also really noticed the difference in how Switzerland commemorates history, or really doesn't. If you have ever been to Europe (or any country older than the U.S.) you can be blown away by the sheer age of everything. I don't notice this as much in Switzerland because there are no statues of this king and that queen, barely any of that famous general, no castles or palaces. It's not all modern and new (in fact, mostly NOT), maybe just a lack of visible history.  

   What I really think of Austria, not just what seeing Austria made me realize about Switzerland- a good place to see proper history, congenial, really great architecture. I only wish we could have made it to Salzburg, too.

Things to eat in Vienna

Weinerschnitzel

Sacher Torte

Manner cookies (sugar wafer with filling)

Linzer Torte (although we did not get this accomplished)

  

The Winter Blah's

I wish I could say that the reason I've updated the blog in a while is because there has been so much going on. I cannot say that at all.  We had 12 straight days where at least one person in our family had a fever. And everyone of us got hit, too.  It wasn't flu- not that bad- just an icky viral thing with a cough.  I still have mine- treasuring it ;)
   Sick days were filled with nonstop tv and movies. Well, we did take time outs to play games on tablet computers. Saturday (the 19th) was close to some sort of breaking point for me. I finally felt better- really felt better. I believe that there is a level of healthy where I think I'm doing good and ready to re enter society. And then I leave my house and go out into the world and feel out of kilter and ready to crawl back into my bed.  Anyway, I felt better, but Jackson had an ear infection, there was snow on the ground, and Kenny had serious studying to do. No. where. to. go.  AAAHHH!!!

 One non tech activity we managed- non messy finger paints.

 We make up for our non-tech moments. *sigh*

  Sunday night I escaped for a little girl's night with Tina- a woman I was introduced to by a mutual friend. She moved here in June, We arrived in August and this was our first intentional meeting. We did run into each other on the bus near the toy library back in December, but that was a pretty brief exchange.  We went to a Tex-Mex restaurant (fajitas on sale for 25 CHF!) It was not bad- a Swiss approximation of an Americanized version of Tex-Mex. Yes, that is taking into consideration that Tex-Mex is already Americanized. It was great to get out of the house and I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to get together with Tina.  And to top it off, Kenny and the kids had a great night!
   Wouldn't it work out, that the one time we are really sick here, there are tenants in the house from the States with a four year old daughter?  They came from Atlanta and the daughter had never seen snow. We did play outside with her one time. Sophia's presence even convinced Johanna to go out and play in the snow, which she loved.  I don't think the Dad spent too much time in the snow either. When the first couple of inches were on the ground he asked me if I thought he needed chains on his tires.  This family gave me a great birthday present by inviting Jack and Jo over to play at the exact time Eli fell asleep for a nap. If only my sinuses had cooperated so I could have slept, too.  It was still a great rest.
  I am so thankful that Jackson was ready to head back to kindy on Monday and we could return to a bit of a routine. Johanna, Eli, and I went present shopping. That's right, we had a birthday to celebrate. Kenny turned 30 on Monday.  My birthday was the week before, but I was sick and I didn't get any presents so it doesn't count. (Kenny knows he still owes me.) We celebrated with homemade brownies and we gave him a sweater- he asked for one, really!
   Now it is Wednesday and I'm trying come up with a few activities for the kids and me for next week when there is no school-yes, the whole week. I think this is so people can get in one more solid week of winter sports. My goal is to work up the nerve to get me and all three kids to the indoor playground that is a town over-this will require getting on the train. I'm nervous.
  Speaking of goals- I did it! I lost the baby weight! My mom brought pre-baby jeans at Christmas. I could put them on then, but now they fit! (If I was going to be sick, at least I lost a few pounds). Thanks for holding me accountable.
  Eli is not only crawling, he is pulling up to his knees. He often sits on his knees to play, but won't sit on his butt- unable to go mobile fast enough.  And not only his he pulling up on to his knees, but a few times now he has made it up to his feet!  I think it would happen a lot more, but he pretty much only wears footed sleepers.
  And just in case you missed it on facebook- we are officially going home February 16.  We had originally planned to stay until the 28th. The vision was to travel, but we have realized that it would not be as enjoyable as envisioned and we are ready to head home. We are looking forward to home and the people that it holds.

Massive Christmas update

So what day is it anyway?  I'm a little out of it after the long holiday- still trying to get into the regular routine. Much like most of you, I suppose.
   In a nutshell- we have been spending the past 2 and half ish weeks with my family (Rick, Diane, Henry, Katie) and as of today, January 8, Katie is still with us. This was definitely good for me. I was in serious need of fraternization and time away from my lovely littles. I think having my family around didn't bother Kenny too much and maybe allowed him to get a little more studying in? maybe?
   So here are the highlights:
My folks took over the basement apartment so they were right handy. Kids especially loved that.
Dinner in an Alpine restaurant (pretty high up). Restaurant is located in a house/barn/school (all connected a la Swiss style) They still have a hog and piglets around for...ambiance... In the evening, they do a show where they fake the electricity going out and then bring lanterns to your table so you can experience old timey Swiss living.  It was really tasty and fun.

 The toilet! Once you moved the lid, it was a regular working toilet. This one was a 2 seater.

Traditional Appenzell singers

Making Sugar Cookies and Eggnog

 'Nog. We were able to invite Andrea and her family and our friends from Israel over for eggnog. Most everyone claimed to enjoy it. I discovered why i never care for it- the whiskey!  Just rum is just fine.

Christmas morning "around" the tree

 Jackson and Johanna LOVE these jammies- thanks Grandma Debbie!

 Our tree. really a great idea with so many littles and so very little space.

   A note on Swiss Christmas:  Advent really features big here. So much so, that Christmas isn't really geared up for until the 20th probably at the earliest.  Obviously Advent is preparation for Christmas, but putting up trees and decorating doesn't seem to happen until just before Christmas Day. Decorating is much more low key- a real tree with a few decorations- MAYBE electric lights, quite possibly real candles. And I get the impression that they are more likely to leave the tree up beyond Christmas, possibly to Jan 6, Feast of the Three Kings and the traditional 12th day of Christmas.
   Feast of the Three Kings is celebrated with Dreikonigkuchen (Three King cake) a sweet roll with a small plastic king in one piece. The person who finds the king gets to be king for a day and the bakeries include a crown with the purchase of your rolls. They had this at kindy and Jack got to be king!

Skiing at Flumseberg
   45 minutes in, Katie took an awesome spill (me watching: "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod"). Did a real number on her knee- no docs for her though. Ms. PT knew they wouldn't be able to do much more than she could.
   I went to get ski patrol, took one step up on slippery surface and fell and twisted my knee.  Much more minor than Katie's, but I opted out of skiing for the rest of the afternoon.  :(
  My injury did lead to taking Jackson out on skis.  He did pretty good at french fries, but needs to work more on pizza.  (Skis parallel and snow plowing).  Kenny remained uninjured and got to ski a bit more on his own.  Everyone else hung out in the cafeteria. The Swiss expect that if you are going to a ski location- you WILL be skiing. There was absolutely no other place to hang out indoors.

Swimming at the Santispark
   Something I've wanted to do with the kids since we found the place. A bunch of mostly indoor pools with water slides. Had a bit of a scare where I thought Jackson was drowning at the bottom of a water slide. But otherwise, it was a really nice time.
  Interesting set up- Dressing area is completely coed (with  little private dressing stalls) except for the showers (which you can pretty much see into as you walk by) and the toilets.
Trip to Vienna
   We traveled to a new country, and saw a lovely city. Dad spent 10 months in Vienna as a student so he acted the tour guide (along with family friend Lukas Knoll) and showed us a couple of favorite haunts.

   We then ventured on to St. Georgen, Austria, Lukas' hometown and location of his family's Mill. We spent time with Lukas' family and checked out his mill. The latter was a special time for Kenny- he's really missing work.
  We also took an afternoon to do something not so fun, but very worthwhile- visit a former Concentration Camp at Mauthausen.  So important to bear witness to this atrocity. It was a very appropriate day for it- cold, gray, bleak.
  We rang in the New Year with the Knoll's. Okay, we spent NYE at their house, I'm not sure if anyone made it to midnight other than Katie.

 The real tree with real candles. Just after the lit a sparkler hanging from a branch.

7 hour(!!!) train ride back to St. Gallen.
  I would much rather be on a train for 7 hours than a plane. *yay* flight back home...

Day trip to Zurich with everyone but Kenny.
    Classes began again Jan 2, so he had to miss out :(
  We took a bus tour (not the smartest idea with kids aged 4,2, and 6mos) We also took a boat ride on Lake Zurich- I think this was actually public transportation and we simply stayed with the boat for it's entire route. But it did allow us to see Mistletoe Mountain! This is what Johanna calls EVERY mountain. I think we were actually looking at the Alps. I enjoyed the stained glass windows by Marc Chegall in the Fraumunster (Church of our Lady).

  At the end of the day, Dad, Mom and Henry said good-bye and stayed in Zurich in order to catch their flight back to the States
 Week with Katie
     I wish I could say we did more extra fun stuff, but Jackson was due back at kindy on Monday and really I think the kids (and I) were ready to get back to a normal routine.  With Katie around, I was able to grocery shop alone, go to my Bible study without infringing on Kenny's study time, and Kenny and I were able to go out one night.  Katie and the kids participated in lots of games, painting, pajama partying.  Katie also took the opportunity to do a day trip to Munich.
   It took me all week to write this-it's now Friday and we have snow again!  What a cruel joke- no snow the whole time my family is here and as soon as they all depart, the snow comes back.
Here is what Eli is up to now!

 Yes, he did that himself. It's about all he does any more.

exploring avocadoes

Christmas Carol Sing Along

   Friday night was an exciting adventure. It was yet another learning lesson on what is reasonable to expect from children aged 0 to 4. That does not include sitting through a semi-church service/Christmas Carol sing along. This could have worked out okay, but I really think professional musicians (opera singers) have a very different concept of a sing along than I do. The words “sing along” to me, cannote a certain casualness or family friendliness. I should have known better when just before things got started and my kids were mildly running from one end of the church to the other (with a couple of other kids) and one of the leaders nervously asked me if maybe my kids needed to go downstairs to the play room.

I might have been more fully in mommy mode, but I had been asked to do a reading for the event. I was trying desperately to inch my way into functional adult mode, if only for a little while. And a little while is what it was. I was the first reader and as soon as I got back to my seat I was whisking Johanna to the back of the church in a desperate attempt to scrounge up a drink (come on, water fountain!!).

    The majority of the rest of the event was spent either in the basement (yes, all 5 of us- Jack can't bear to be left out and Eli started to get fussy just as I got up to read so he only survived a few more minutes in the church) or at the back of the church where the kids were moderately less interrupting. FINALLY, the service wrapped up (there was way more readings and messages than I would have anticipated) and we got to eat some snacks. Snacks always make kids happy. This was a gathering of English speaking people so I don't remember anything terribly Swiss. Johanna and Eli fell asleep on the way home and despite having to carry them, I think both Kenny and I were pretty happy with that ending.

    The next night we were invited out by some of Kenny's classmates to a Syrian restaurant. There are several students from various Arabic countries and they have claimed this restaurant as a piece of home and go there probably at least once a week. Leyla (student) even told me as much “when I am here, I feel like I am home.” I tried to learn a lesson from the previous night and fed the kids a snack at their normal supper time and packed activities (read-tablet computers). Things went so much more smoothly. And the best part: there was a bench so when Jo fell asleep an hour into the evening, there was a place for her to pass out :)

And as far as the restaurant, let me just say, if you are ever in St. Gallen and are tired of the traditional Swiss food, eat at Sahara. Sooooo good! Kebabs (meat on sword like skewers) hummus, stuffed grape leaves, tabbouleh, and all kinds of stuff that I have no idea what it was called. It was a really nice evening out with friends (who are kidless but get a kick out of our kids). I even saw more ice in one glass than I think I have seen my whole time here. It was someone's whiskey on the rocks.

A few other updates:

   Took Eli to the doctor for shots. 18 lbs! And 25.5 inches. We took the opportunity to allow the kids a lunch out at McDonald's. I'm getting more comfortable with it. We are not there very often but it is probably the place where I feel the most foreign- it's the crowds and the ordering at the register- no opportunity to connect with the employee and get their empathy so they don't mind putting up with my English.

   Eli is this close to crawling. As it is, he is doing the worm- going up on his knees and sliding down in the direction he wants to travel. (Update! Eli started crawling on Jan. 5 – yes, that is the day my parents went back to Illinois. I was talking to my sister and Kenny in the kitchen while looking at Eli who was on the floor in the living room. Mid-sentence I realize Eli is honest to goodness crawling!)


We also celebrated Christmas with Kenny's classmates at the Class Christmas party.  This was put on by the Swiss, but was not foreign- food, drinks, a gift exchange among the classmates. My kids thoroughly enjoyed running up and down the hallway of the school.

Table decorations- those are real branches, oranges, and chocolates

 Spinning in office chairs is so much fun!!

 Chocolate!

 Kenny receiving his gift from Danny, the Italian