One year ago today we went to Dulles airport, accompanied by most of our family.  We had 7 suitcases, a stroller, our dog and our little family.  When we departed, we had only arranged for a place to stay for 8 days.  We spoke no German.  We had only a little money saved, which had to cover our Austrian expenses as well as our home in Virginia.  We really had no idea what we were doing or what we were in for.

I am still surprised and impressed with myself that I got on that plane.  I’m even more surprised by what we’ve accomplished since we’ve been here.

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One thing (among many) that I’ve had to get used to while living here is the sensation of looking at a very real sight and having to fight with my mind to convince myself that what I’m looking at is real.  I’d had this sensation from time to time before living in Vienna — I’d look at a sunset, or some clouds, or even a particularly picturesque pastoral scene, and have an instinctive reaction that I was looking at a painted backdrop, rather than real life.

But here, it happens all the time.  Showing the city to my sister last week, and having her react the same way, reminded me of how often I see things that way.

I mean, really, that could be a backdrop.

Vienna is strikingly beautiful, and it’s lovely in a different way than the rolling hills and bucolic scenery that I know so well from Maryland and Virginia.  It’s so common to see one of the beautiful buildings — a church, a palace, a museum, a library, a theater — and have to remind myself that it’s really real and I’m really here.  The views deceive me even more often than they did at home — I think it’s the fact that the hills and the mountains are unfamiliar to me, making them harder to believe.  Even the skies here are different than I’m used to and are more likely to look like painted scenes to me.  Just this evening, I was sitting outside, drinking coffee, looking up at the facade of the northeastern face of the Hofburg, with a blue sky and barely detectable gauzy white clouds.  It didn’t look believable — too grand, impressive and undeniably European to be part of my Wednesday evening.

I guess, after nearly a year, I’m still not really used to living here.  I enjoy seeing the beauty all around me and I love having to remind myself that I’m really experiencing what I see.

Mina went home yesterday.  The boys and I escorted her to the airport, partly to make it easier for her to find her way, but mostly because I wanted to be able to be with her for as long as we could.  It was hard to say goodbye to her.  We had a wonderful time visiting with her.  I am so grateful that she came to see us, and I’m so glad that we got to share some of the things that we’re enjoying the most about living here.  I miss her.  I wish she was still here.

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I hate it, but of course it had to come — today was Mina’s last day in Vienna.  (Technically, she doesn’t leave until tomorrow, but we’ll leave for the airport before 7:30 in the morning, so that doesn’t really count.)  I don’t want to focus on the sadness of her leaving, but I am sad.  It has been wonderful and amazing having her here.  I don’t want her to go.

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Yesterday was a big day of sightseeing.  I actually didn’t realize how much we had accomplished yesterday until I sat down last night to go through all the pictures I had taken throughout the day.  We saw and did a lot — we hit all of the major 1st district spots in one day, with two kids it tow.  Impressive.

But it meant that today we were all worn out.  We had designs on taking the Strassenbahn out to Schonbrunn to see the Easter market and the palace, but there was no way that was happening.  We *could* have done it, but we lacked the motivation.  So, instead, we went to the park.  We took the boys to the Rathauspark playground and let them swing, slide and play in the sand.  They got a chance to run around and stretch their legs and just do kid stuff, without taking too much out of the grown ups, which was perfect.

This evening, though, we were feeling up for a little more adventure and took my neighbor up on her offer of a walking tour of the oldest parts of Vienna.  She grew up here, attended school here, and is raising a family here, so she has a lot of information and a neat perspective on the city.  We didn’t start our tour until after dinner, and we weren’t planning on taking the boys (Dan was going to stay home and put them to bed while Mina and I went on the tour) but after our late and enthusiastic trip to the park, their naps were late and long.  Since they had only woken up a little while before dinner, we opted to take them with us instead.

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