1000 days

Posted on December 12, 2013 by admin

It recently occurred to me (because these are the things that my brain runs in the background during diaper changes) that we must be coming up on our 1000th day of this adventure, and, in fact, when I looked it up, it turns out that New Year’s Eve of this year will be our 1000th day here. (Pretty neat. Happy New Year! Happy 1000 days! Woo hoo! Also, we won’t actually be here — we’ll be “celebrating” our 1000th day while home in the US for the holidays, which is a little ironic.) That’s quite a milestone, especially because when we first left to come here, I expected that we’d be home in 1-2 years.

1000 days is not quite 1/13 of my life so far, or, thought of another way, it is very nearly equivalent to all of the Februaries I’ve lived thus far. That’s a lot of time. If I imagine that instead of having lived here for the past 2.5+ years, I had spent every February of my life living in Austria, it makes it easier to see what a profound effect this adventure has had on me. On all of us. For the kids, who have spent roughly 55% and 85% of their lives here, the impact is naturally even more significant. (Liam lived in the US for only 191 days before we left. Wow. I’d never done that math before.) No wonder we feel so connected with this place. No wonder we feel so changed by this experience. No wonder that it feels like we’ve been gone for so long — we have been.

The day the sun didn’t rise

Posted on December 11, 2013 by admin

Living at a more northern latitude this time of year really messes with you. The sun rises after we’ve all gotten up for the day and sets well before Dan is home from work. If he didn’t bring the kids home at lunchtime, Dan would never see our apartment in the daylight during the week. It’s even worse for the kids, who still take mid-day naps. They wake up twice every day, in the morning and in the afternoon, but both times in complete darkness. It does a number on their body clocks. The other day, Liam woke up at 4:00 a.m., ready to go for the day — this from a kid that I have to pull out of bed at 7:00 every morning.

Yesterday was a profoundly cloudy day. There were heavy, gray clouds with intermittent rain all day. Liam woke up after nap time (in the dark), and asked, as he often does this time of year, if it was morning or night. I told him it was night (B corrected me and told me it was evening) and Liam asked me, a little sadly, “Why didn’t the sun come up today?”

I get it. That’s totally how it feels. Living here is very dark in the winter, and the days when the sun doesn’t come up at all are a bit of a bummer. We’re in to the darkest two weeks of the year now, though, and then things will be getting a little brighter. (Another plus to going home for Christmas — we’ll spend two weeks of the darkest month of the year much further south, with more daylight!)

This year at the Christmas markets

Posted on December 10, 2013 by admin

Odd as it may seem, with both of the boys in school each morning, I’m finding that I have less time to visit the Christmas markets than I have in years past. In fact, I’ve only been a few times so far this year, and only to 4 of the markets (which might sound like a lot, but it isn’t for me).

I wish I had more time to see them, but with our schedule the way that it is right now, my mornings are packed full of dropping off the kids, running errands, going to the grocery store and exciting stuff like showering. But, each time I’ve gotten to go so far this year has been as great as ever. I love the Christmas markets. I love how laid back and festive they are. I love getting to go for a walk outside and shop at the same time. I love not having to find a parking space and not having to deal with massive crowds. I love getting to buy gifts from small shops, and often directly from the artists or artisans. I just love Christmas shopping in Vienna.

My plan is to do some more shopping at the markets over the next few days, and to take the kids to the Rathaus market for the rides and lights one evening very soon. 10 days from today, we leave to go home, which I am immensely excited about. But that also means we’re in a 10 day countdown to enjoy as much of Vienna’s Christmassy goodness as we can before we go. I want to enjoy this lovely part of living in Vienna. It’s my most favorite time of the year!

Nikolaustag

Posted on December 9, 2013 by admin

Of all of the new holidays we’ve experienced since we came to Vienna, St. Nikolaus’ Day is the one we’ve adopted the most whole-heartedly. At school, St. Nikolaus’ Day is built up and celebrated well, so, of course we’ve followed suit at home.

On the night of the 5th of December, children organize and set out their shoes, and while they sleep, St. Nikolaus comes and fills them with treats and small toys. It’s a tradition much like Santa Claus filling stockings (though in Austria, it is the Christ child who brings the tree and gifts on Christmas Eve). For naughty children, St. Nikolaus does not come (or leaves only sticks), but instead there is the worry that the Krampus (a kind of demon) might come and carry them off instead. (We don’t talk much about Krampus, and the school doesn’t mention him at all, as far as I can tell.) I kind of picture St. Nikolaus’ Day as a pre-Christmas report card — are you doing well enough to get a visit from St. Nikolaus, or will it be the Krampus instead? — while there’s still time to make a change before Christmas. (We don’t use it that way, though — no threats of Krampus.)

The kids love it, and so do I. They wake up to a little bit of chocolate and a small toy or two, then go to school for a big party and another visit from Nikolaus (he brings chocolate, fruit and nuts to school). It’s a magical day for them, and a part of the fun and enthusiasm of the way Austria celebrates Advent. So much of the holidays here are not about Christmas Day, but about the whole season, and that’s a change we really enjoy. We’ve explained to the kids that St. Nikolaus pretty much only visits the children who life in Europe (which is why their friends and family in the US don’t know too much about it) but I suspect that he’ll make a special exception to visit our house, even after we’re living in the States again.

Skating with a view

Posted on December 3, 2013 by admin

There is a restaurant that we like up in the hills on the west side of Vienna. The city slopes steeply upward on that end, before ending and becoming Lower Austria. We’ve been up there a few times, in the summer and the winter. The food is good but the view is amazing, and it gives the feeling of being out of the city without having left at all.

Nearly next door to the restaurant is an old palace which has been converted into a hotel. We’ve wandered over there a few times to stroll around the grounds and enjoy the beautiful view of Vienna. Last winter, I heard that there was a skating rink in the winter alongside a tiny Christmas market in November and December, but by the time I’d decided to go up and check it out, it was too late — the skating was finished for the season.

Last weekend, though, my in-laws suggested a visit to the restaurant up in the hills. B has been excitedly asking when we can go skating again, ever since it got cold outside. It occurred to me that these things would go well together, so on Saturday, we went to check out Wilhelminenberg on Ice.

The skating rink was very small (as was the very little Christmas market alongside). They only had a few pairs of children’s skates for rent, so we had to wait for someone else to return theirs before we could borrow some for the boys. We only had to wait a few minutes, though, and it was worth it. The boys had a great time sliding, skating (and falling) all around the little skating area. And the view was really amazing — all of Vienna lit up down below. It was just a little skating rink, and obviously not a super busy operation (even on a Saturday evening), but a nice spot with a great view.

Being up on the hill, it was cold and windy, so we didn’t last long (which was ok, because other kids were waiting for our skates, and we had dinner reservation). But we definitely had a good time. It was worth the trip up there just to skate around and enjoy the view.

Breaking with tradition

Posted on December 2, 2013 by admin

Well, that didn’t go how we expected.

I love Dan. Really, I do. But, if he had a middle name (which he doesn’t) it might well be “flaky”. He had one job. His parents were visiting, it was Thanksgiving, and the only thing he had to do was to make a dinner reservation. The first time I brought it up was Halloween. (I remember because I’d had it on my mind for weeks even before that and I thought that bringing it up more than 4 weeks ahead might be counterproductive — he might not be able to make the reservation that far ahead, and I imagined that if he tried and wasn’t successful, he might forget to call back.)

Halloween. In October. 4 weeks ago.

I reminded him, several times. I tried not to harp on it, but I’d ask, once a week or so, if he’d gotten the reservation. No luck. He kept telling me he’d do it, that we had plenty of time, and that we didn’t need to make the reservation so far ahead.

But, as happens with these kinds of things, we suddenly went from “having plenty of time” to having almost no time. He didn’t get around to emailing the restaurant until the night before, and when he didn’t hear back, he finally called around lunchtime on Thanksgiving. But then it was too late — they didn’t have room for us. We tried a few of the other restaurants around here. They couldn’t find a spot for us, either.

So. There we were, with Dan’s parents visiting, with no plans for dinner on Thanksgiving. Yikes.

So, we made a plan B. Dan went to the store, bought some food and made a very nice dinner. We had roast pork with sweet potatoes and pears. It was great, and really very Thanksgiving-y. After dinner, we still did go out for our “traditional” evening trip to a Christmas market. We had a lovely, festive meal, and a nice day. It wasn’t what we had planned, it wasn’t quite what we’d expected, but it was still a good day.

Österreichisch Danke Tag

Posted on November 27, 2013 by admin

Thanksgiving is an odd day, and sometimes a tough one, for an expat. To everyone else here, tomorrow is nothing special — a busy work day early in the Christmas season. Sunday is the first day of Advent, and for Austrians that’s the focus at the moment.

But for an American family living abroad, tomorrow is an important day. A day for being together with friends and family, a day to take time out to be together, a day to enjoy and relax and be festive. Except that here, it isn’t. It would feel wrong to ignore Thanksgiving, but it feels weird (for me) to try to create an American Thanksgiving in our Austrian home (I know others who do exactly that, though, and love it).

So, what to do? We want to mark the day, but we don’t want to force it to be something it isn’t. So, we’ve come up with our own Austrian-Thanksgiving traditions.

Dan takes the day off of work, and the boys don’t go to school, so we make it into a real holiday. Actually, in order to help us all feel properly festive, they take off Thursday and Friday, too, so we can all enjoy a good, long weekend. We sleep in (as best we can) spend a quiet morning, and then go out to celebrate.

I’m not much of a cook. I can make a few things pretty well, but it’s not a strength or a passion of mine. Attempting to assemble a big meal using our tiny Austrian oven would be a chore for me, not a joy, so it’s no surprise that our Austrian Thanksgiving means going out, not staying in. We go to one of our favorite Viennese restaurants, and have turkey, potatoes and cranberry sauce — turkey schnitzel, potato salad and cranberry sauce, actually. It’s our Austrian Thanksgiving feast.

After our meal, we head out to a Christmas market for treats, rides (for the kids) and general festivity.

And, to end our day in the true spirit of the holiday, we finish up with a Skype with family back home. We get to say hello, chat a bit with everyone and be, just a little, part of Thanksgiving at home.

We love our Austrian Thanksgiving traditions. They’ve served us well, and it’s become a fun celebration of the holiday. I feel like we honor the day, but do it in a way that works in our current surroundings. I’m looking forward to another great Austrian Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, here and at home.

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 26, 2013 by admin

I never really appreciated Thanksgiving. I’ve always been a bigger fan of Christmas and Halloween. Thanksgiving has always been nice, but I don’t think I ever figured it out.

Thanksgiving, in my mind, has always mostly been the unofficial gateway to Christmas — the time to break out the Christmas sweaters and holiday music. The time to start decorating and counting down the days until Christmas. It’s the first day that it’s socially acceptable to wish someone a happy holiday, the first day Christmas lights would start popping up all around. For that, I’ve always loved Thanksgiving.

Other than that, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving was spending the day with my family. The bountiful feast is fun, but it was the company of my family I enjoyed most of all. In a family whose members rarely worked typical business hours, a shared day off for all of us was a very rare thing, and that was what I always liked best — spending the day together. No matter how crazy all of our schedules were, we would all have at least some part of Thanksgiving off from work, and we would get to be together.

This will be my third year not being home for Thanksgiving, and (like so many other things) being away from it for so long has finally helped me realize how important it is. I miss the traditions — the cooking, the favorite dishes, the football game. But mostly, I miss the together time. I miss the time with my family. I miss the shared decision to take a collective pause in our over busy lives to spend the day together. To cook together, to pass down traditions, to visit, to share, just to be together.

That is what I hadn’t really figured out about it before. I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it, but, other than as is stated in the name (a day to reflect and be thankful for what we have), I hadn’t ever really figured out what the day is all supposed to be about. But, now I know. It isn’t about the meal. I don’t think it’s even about being thankful for WHAT we have. It is about being together — about being thankful for WHO we have.

Christmas shares that purpose, a little. We take time to be together on Christmas, too. But while Christmas is also about being together, our attention is divided — shopping, gifts, decorating AND cooking. Thanksgiving, having less fanfare, lets us spend our energy appreciating our company, allows us to be grateful that we are together. Whatever meal we share, however grand or simple, we share it together, with the people we love the most.

I miss it. I miss planning the meal with my mom. I miss Thanksgiving breakfast with my dad. I miss sitting with my brothers while they watch football. I miss “helping” with the cooking with my mom and sister (and always suspecting I was causing more trouble than anything). I miss the conversations and the debates we’d all get into during or after the meal. I miss it all. I didn’t get it before. I didn’t appreciate any of those things enough. Spending the past 3 years without a Thanksgiving has, surprisingly, transformed into one of my favorite holidays.

First snow

Posted on November 25, 2013 by admin

It’s been chilly for a while here in Vienna. Highs in the 40s, lows just above freezing. Perfectly normal, of course, for this time of year in this part of the world. Because we spend a fair bit of time outside (not having a car means that our daily routines involve a lot of walking and/or waiting for public transportation), it’s easy to lose perspective and feel like 42 with a good breeze is cold.

Vienna was happy to remind us today that THAT is not cold and that we’ve actually been very lucky this year (last year, we had snow before Halloween). We woke up to 34, snow and real wind. NOW it’s winter. Now we remember what cold feels like! Today (as the temperature fell through the morning — thank you, Vienna) we had the kind of wind that takes your breath away and can, when it gusts, literally move your feet sideways on their way to their intended destination or make forward progress literally impossible. And that’s for me — the kids are lucky to not actually be blown over.

So it is now really, properly cold here (it’ll get worse, but the forecast for the week indicates that our days of coasting in the 40s are probably over for the season). We only got a few festive flurries and a light dusting on the grass today, but I’m glad to have had a little snow today. (If we’re going to be frozen, it might as well feel festive!) With a strong, cold wind, a little snow, and dusk that falls around 3:30 in the afternoon, it truly feels like winter in Vienna again. (And, it feels like it really is almost Christmas!)

Christmas shopping block

Posted on November 21, 2013 by admin

From a philosophical point of view, I do realize, and truly believe, that Christmas is about much more than gifts. But, from a practical perspective, as the main Christmas-gift-shopper in the family, they do occupy a great deal of my time and mental energy in the months leading up to Christmas. That’s just how it is.

Every year, I find the process of Christmas shopping somewhat overwhelming … especially getting started. This year, it is even more so, because in addition to balancing the wish lists against the budget, thinking of the “right” things to get, and then actually making the purchases, I also want to keep in mind the limited space in our luggage for our return back to Austria after the holidays.

So I’ve been stuck. I’ve had a list of ideas of things to look and shop for for at least a month, I’ve stopped in to toy stores, and added and deleted items from my Amazon cart at least a dozen times. But I haven’t actually bought anything. We leave for the US in less than a month. The pressure of time has been starting to become as strong as the pressure to choose the “right” gifts.

Today, I stopped by our local toy store (again), not to shop for Christmas but to see if they had a particular toy that B wants to give a friend for his birthday this weekend. While I was there, I saw something I’d been thinking of getting the boys for Christmas. I hesitated and debated. But then I remembered that this is Austria, and there is no back room stock of extra things. Typically, they have what they have, and when they run out, it’s gone. If I decide to think about it, and go back later, it may well be gone. I went ahead and bought it. I looked around a little longer and got some other ideas, too.

And, at last, I feel like I’m unstuck. I feel so much better now. Just buying a little thing for the boys seems to have broken my mental block. I walked home, feeling enthusiastic and motivated about Christmas shopping, rather than feeling overwhelmed and stuck. Now, instead of it feeling like a massive chore to shop for Christmas gifts, it feels like fun again. I’m really glad, because I’ve got to get to work!

A Mommy Abroad

Our big adventure, as a family of three.

Category Archives: Adventure in Vienna