To Prague! (Finally!)

Posted on February 2, 2016 by admin

It was our last hold out. Of all the places we’d had on our “must visit” list before we came to Vienna, Prague was the only one we hadn’t been to. It’s supposed to be lovely, it’s close to Vienna, and everyone who goes just loves it, so of course we were planning to go.

In fact, we’d planned to go 4 different times since we’ve been here. I no longer remember all the reasons our previous trips have been cancelled. I know that at least one was because the boys were sick, and I’m fairly certain another was because Dan had something come up at work and we couldn’t go away. I vaguely remember that one time there was an issue with train tickets being sold out on the dates that we had planned to travel, but that might have been a different trip. Regardless, it was past time for us to make a trip to Prague.

And so, last June, we finally went. We found an apartment, booked our train tickets, did a minimal amount of research (I hadn’t realized where, geographically, Prague actually is until about 2 years ago — it’s actually WEST of Vienna). And we were off, on another travel adventure, to a new country.

We traveled by train, which was something we hadn’t done over a significant distance in quite a while, and we found it, again, to be fun and easy compared to our more recent air trips. I love the train, because we don’t have to be there 2 hours early, we don’t have to worry about which luggage gets checked or carried on, we don’t have to wait in line for security checks (though that might not always be a good thing, I suppose). All we have to do is show up and get on. We got a spot in the “family friendly” carriage, so we were not the loudest or the crankiest passengers, and our table top at our seats had a board game built into it. (The conductor dropped off the playing pieces when he checked our tickets.) The trip from Vienna to Prague was uneventful and pleasant, and no one was interested in checking our travel documents (which is what we’ve gotten used to within the EU . . . though that may be different these days). Our plan for getting from the train station to our rented apartment involved taking the tram, which was slightly complicated, because we don’t speak Czech, and were completely unfamiliar with the tram system, but we sorted it out once we arrived in Prague, and it was actually incredibly easy and relatively user friendly. (Though we struggled, throughout the weekend, with figuring out how to use the automated ticket machines for the tram system.) We managed to pick an unusually hot weekend for June, which was slightly inconvenient, because we had also selected an apartment without air conditioning or ceiling fans.

Once we arrived and were settled in, though, the heat provided extra motivation to get out and explore the city (since it was hotter inside than outside). Our first destination was the Prague castle, high on the hill overlooking the city, and we got there (again) by tram (though at this point we were mostly catching on and we found it progressively easier and extremely convenient to navigate the city this way).

We were struck, almost immediately, by how friendly people are in Prague. People actually smiled to us at they passed (which I found unnerving, initially, until I realized just how much I’ve adapted to living in Vienna). When we had trouble with the ticket machines for the tram, passersby stopped to help. And in addition to being generally friendly and outgoing, almost everyone we encountered spoke truly excellent English. We were worried that since we were traveling to a country where we spoke not a word of the language (apart from what we studied in the Rick Steves guidebook on the train on the way there) that we would have trouble communicating, but we absolutely did not. It wasn’t an issue at all.

Now what WAS an issue was that, by the time we sorted out where we were going, got off a stop early accidentally, and walked the rest of the way up the hill, we had one very, very cranky and tired 4 year old with us. He fell asleep on the tram, and by the time he got up, he didn’t want to walk, he didn’t want to see anything, he didn’t want to be there. We found a quiet place at the top of the hill (behind a monastery) and sat to check out the view and give Liam a chance to rest.

Prague really IS as beautiful as everyone says. The bridges over the river are picturesque, the winding, cobbled streets are romantic, the view from the hill down over the city is lovely. As we abandoned our post overlooking the city, and began to walk down towards the castle, we came upon a procession in celebration of Corpus Christi (which was apparently the day we were there).

By the time we got into the actual castle grounds, many of the buildings were closed for the day (it was late afternoon), but that was actually ok, because the kids wouldn’t have been up for much historical study at that point. Instead, we explored the grounds in near privacy, the kids got to run around a bit, and we found a spot to enjoy the view from a slightly different perspective. We took the tram back to the center of town, and went for a quick stroll to the Old Town Square after a lovely Czech dinner, but we were all tired at that point, and a more extensive investigation would have to wait until the next evening.

Our first day in Prague, though tiring, was just as lovely as we’d come to expect from other travelers’ stories. So often, when people enjoy a place so much, it doesn’t quite live up to its reputation. (Plus, we’ve become a bit jaded with our extensive travel history. We’ve seen a lot, and we’re getting a bit harder to impress these days.) Prague, if anything, exceeded our expectations. Journeys are always a bit more tiring than we expect, and the heat certainly took some of our energy out of us, but we got to see an impressive part of the city just in our first afternoon, and we were very much looking forward to our further explorations.

Bratislava

Posted on November 18, 2015 by admin

Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, is just a short trip from Vienna — the closest capital city to where we are. (I also recently learned that it’s the only capital city in the world that borders two independent countries — Austria and Hungary — so that’s pretty neat.) It’s an easy trip, and we’ve always meant to go, but somehow, in our years of travels, we’ve never gone. We’ve planned to go many times, gotten as far as booking hotel rooms and transportation, but never actually made it happen.

This past May, we finally went. It’s close enough, and small enough, that we made a day trip of it (after some degree of deliberation) and opted to travel by boat, rather than by train or car. The idea of a boat trip seemed really fun, and we did a bit of research to try to find the best (and most cost-effective) way to get there by boat. (The MOST cost-effective would have actually been the train, but we were set on the idea of the boat.) We settled on taking a Slovakian hydrofoil boat (rather than the more expensive, and more centrally located, Austrian boat). The Slovakian boat would leave from a pier on the Danube, while the Austrian boat went from a spot on the Danube canal (much closer to where we live). The Austrian boat had several daily departures and returns, while the Slovakian boat had only one. The Austrian boat definitely would have been more convenient, but we decided to be adventurous (plus save a few Euros) and try the Slovakian boat. Though we had planned to buy the tickets ahead of time, we didn’t, and so our goal was to arrive a few minutes before departure and (hopefully) buy our tickets there.

Of course, we’ve pretty much never been early for anything, so instead of arriving early, we got to the boat just minutes before the scheduled departure, without tickets and without time to stop for cash. We were hoping we could pay with a card, and when we arrived at the dock, out of breath from our jog from the train station, we tried to enquire about purchasing tickets. While Dan tried to find out about tickets, I questionably eyed the boat, which looked a bit more worn than the pictures we’d seen online. Time was short, though, and one of the staff waved us inside. We thought we were going in to get tickets, but no. There was no way to buy tickets on the boat, so we were to ride to Bratislava, and then buy tickets at the boat station on that end! This was all a bit hard to understand, though, because none of the crew spoke German or English (and we don’t speak Slovak), but we eventually got it sorted out, and we were on our way down the Danube!

At first, we were slightly disappointed that there was no outdoor seating (which we had seen on advertisements for the Austrian boat), but once we got underway, it was clear why — we got going WAY too fast for it to be safe for anyone to sit outside. The boat was comfy enough, with a little snack shop (we got some coffee and some Slovakian treats), and there was a protected outside spot to stand and see the scenery. Our choice of boat (and route) was completely affirmed, though, when we got to ride through one of the gigantic locks on the Danube. (The Austrian boat, which moors on the canal, comes out downstream of the locks. Thus, that boat has a 15 minute shorter trip, but the long way was totally worth it.)

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Our boat pulled up into a giant holding area, a massive set of gates rolled closed behind us, and, very gradually, the water leaked out of the holding area and we watched as the walls of the lock, at first level with our eyes, gradually rose far above our heads. Finally at the lower level, the huge doors in front of us opened, and we got underway again.

After that, our 90 minute journey was pretty uneventful, and we were soon in Bratislava, Slovakia. (A new country for all of us, and, for three of us, our first time behind the former iron curtain.) Our first task was to purchase our tickets for our trip, but other than that, we just wandered around the city. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect. We saw a very old-fashioned looking tram system, some very interesting urban art, and a group of Hare Krishnas parading through the streets. We loved Bratislava’s winding streets, enjoyed some fantastic hot chocolate, and tried a very Slovakian lunch (well, Dan & I did — the boys had schnitzel). We indulged the boys in ice cream, as is our travel tradition (even though it was chilly and rainy), walked by the American embassy and played in a park. I liked the feel of the city — a bit smaller and less opulent than Vienna, but definitely European . . . and not as “Eastern European” feeling as I was expecting. My favorite thing was the series of birdhouses stationed throughout the green space in the city center. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the boat (by way of a Slovakian grocery store to check out the local treats).

We saw a lot of Bratislava, and definitely enjoyed our time, but our day there was not quite long enough. I think we may have to go back another time, to see the castle and explore some more (and maybe to do some shopping, since I believe there are some British and American shops there that we don’t have here). Our trip back to Vienna was lovely, and slightly more peaceful (our kids were worn out a bit from our day), and we got to go through the lock again, this time watching our boat lift up to the shoreline from far below. Though there wasn’t a lot to DO in Bratislava, we certainly spent a lovely day there, and I expect we will return. It’s a fun and easy day trip, and honestly, I think the journey alone was worth the effort.

Back at it

Posted on August 13, 2015 by admin

Getting back into the swing of things after a long vacation is always hard. We’ve just recently done it once (getting back from our summer vacation, which I have yet to write about) and we’re facing our next round of it (because school starts in less than 2 weeks, which is a bummer). But it’s worse when the whole family is battling jet lag, as we were after our trip home over Christmas. Making matters even worse was that we had a really short turn-around before getting back to our usual routine.

We had planned to have the boys skip school for the first two days after we got back, returning to Vienna on Wednesday but not sending the boys back to school until the following Monday. But B ended up sick for large parts of November and December, and he missed so much school that we were worried about him missing more than is allowed, so we lost the option of keeping him home for any extra days. So instead, we left the US on Tuesday, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday, and B went back to school on Thursday. (L, who is still in preschool, can miss pretty much as much as we want, so he did stay home until the following Monday.)

We were all exhausted and felt totally dysfunctional.

The frist night we were back, L woke up 3 times overnight. The first time, I had no idea where I was and was worried I was going to wake my mom . . . who was still awake, because she was at home in Maryland. At 1:10 in the morning, B got up, out of bed, on his own (which is odd for him in any circumstances — he usually waits for us to come and tell him it’s time to get up), went through the entirely dark house to the living room, turned on all the lights, scared himself with thoughts of a giant, sinister snowman, and came running into our room crying. It took 2 hours to get him back to sleep.

After that charming night’s sleep, I found I had forgotten how to do EVERYTHING. I couldn’t remember how to pack B’s snack for school. I couldn’t remember how to get the boys dressed and out the door in any reasonable kind of time. I couldn’t remember what time I needed to leave the house to pick B up on time. And I certainly couldn’t remember how to communicate in German. My first attempt at post-vacation German resulted in the coffee guy immediately failing over to English despite my continued attempts to communicate in German.

It’s always a bumpy road back to “normal” after a long trip away. And sleep deprivation never helped anyone adjust any faster. Next time, I will do whatever I can to NOT have us jump right back into things as soon as we get back!

Another visit ends

Posted on August 12, 2015 by admin

All good things must come to an end, and so it was with our trip home for Christmas last year. Just like the year before, we got treated to a significant snowstorm the morning of our flight out, but unlike last year, I was mentally prepared for the possibility, so I was able to enjoy it a bit with the kids instead if just stressing about how wet everyone’s snow pants were getting. (Good thing, too, because we had another disappointing snow year in Vienna this past winter, so it was nice to get some kind of chance to play in the snow together.) And again, our flight was delayed (though not as badly as the previous year), but before too long we were trekking through the snow to the airport to return to Vienna.

I hate leaving. Every time. Doing it repeatedly does not make it easier. Our time here has gotten long — longer than any of us counted on — so leaving is hard, because part of me feels like we shouldn’t be leaving at all. But we did. With help from our family, clear and safe roads, and our boys, we collected up our things and prepared for another transatlantic journey.

Because of a different seating configuration on the plane, we sat differently than we usually do. Whenever possible, we sit in the middle of the plane, 4 across. When that isn’t possible, we sit 3 across at the window with one on the neighboring aisle. This particular plane had only 2 seats near the window, though, so Dan & B sat there, and L and I sat across the aisle in the middle section. No problem.

Except that it was a red-eye, and when it came time for sleeping, we had a problem. It’s never easy to do a red-eye with kids. No one ever enjoys sleeping on a plane, and kids can get progressively less adaptable as they get more tired. When my guys are a bit older, they might think it’s fun to stay up all night and watch movies as we fly over the ocean, but not yet. B leaned up against the window and fell asleep. Dan dozed next to him. Liam, with no window to lean on and no family member to bookend the other side of him, could just not get comfortable. We tried putting him on the aisle with me in the middle seat, and we tried me on the aisle and him in the middle. Whatever we tried, he ended up either sticking an appendage into the aisle or kicking the woman sitting next to him (the one that wasn’t me). He was so tired. He cried. He tried to lay on the floor of the plane. He could not get comfortable and he could not sleep. He finally dozed off, laying across me, for maybe 20 minutes when it was nearly “morning” (meaning it was still very much the middle of the night for us). I didn’t sleep at all. It was a rough flight.

But, it was at least fast. We didn’t know why at the time, but despite taking off about 15 minutes late, we landed in London over an hour early. (We later discovered that our flight was able to take advantage of unusually strong upper level tail winds — we were traveling at over 700 mph!) Arriving early in London wasn’t as much of a benefit as it might have been, though — we were to have had a 5 hour layover at Heathrow, which would now be over 6. With a very tired family, it was a bit of a daunting proposition.

Other than rare occasions when we get a direct flight to the US, we usually connect through Heathrow or Charles du Gaulle. I don’t love either option. Both are huge airports which require commuting between distant terminals for international connections. I don’t mind flying TO those airports, but I don’t like flying THROUGH either one. This time, though, I learned to love Heathrow a little more.

We were lucky to discover that in the terminal we’d be flying out of (some 6+ hours after we arrived) there was a “Family Lounge”. We didn’t know exactly what that meant, but we decided to find out. It turns out that it was a spacious set of rooms outfitted for kids of all ages, and only accessible to people actually travelling with children. They had comfy places to sit, an indoor play area (full of foam-rubber covered obstacles to play on), a nap/quiet room and a game room with TV and foosball (for older kids). There was also a coffee machine for the grown ups. It was EXACTLY what we needed. Not only were the kids able to both run around and rest as they needed, but we were free from the typical airport worry that we were bothering any of the other travellers.

The kids started out by running around, climbing on the equipment and playing with the other kids who were waiting. Eventually, Liam layed down in the nap room for some much needed rest, and we were able to charge our phones, connect to the wi-fi, and let the kids play games on the iPad while we waited. It gave us some peace and relaxation during a very long day of travel (and has bumped Heathrow up to my most favorite airport to connect through).

The best part about flying back to Vienna from the States is that by the time we get on that second flight back to Vienna, we’re almost home. That last little flight feels so short in the overall scheme of the entire trip, so it’s not so daunting. It was another long day of travel, with another transatlantic journey accomplished, but we made it back “home” from another great trip Home.

To Grandmother’s House

Posted on July 9, 2015 by admin

I’ve completely lost count of our transatlantic journeys as a family. I actually just tried to count, and can’t quite resolve the trips in my head anymore. I *think* we’ve taken 4 round-trip transatlantic trips together, plus the one-way trip that brought us here (or, if you like, you can think of that as the round-trip we just haven’t completed yet) but I could be missing one. So, we’ve done at least 9 transatlantic flights together as a family, and though I’m not sure we’re experts, we’re certainly pretty well experienced. (I mean, seriously. My kids have each made at least 9 transatlantic flights so far. I was 37 before I could say that.) But all of our experience does very little to mitigate the unscripted insanity that invariably awaits us every time we do it. Every trip has been a little different, and each one has presented its own challenges. It is, as I often say, always an adventure.

In the past, we’ve usually (always?) flown direct from Vienna to Washington or stopped in Paris. Direct is great, but pricey, and though Austrian Airlines is pretty wonderful, their planes are not always the most comfortable. Last year, we opted to fly through Charles de Gaulle in Paris so that we could fly to Washington on the new A380 — the gigantic, double-decker plane. I said I wanted to try it out because I thought it would be fun for the kids, but the truth is that my years working in aviation left me as kind of a plane nerd and *I* really wanted to try it out.

It was great — comfortable, quiet and convenient, and Air France has stellar service. But Charles de Gaulle is a headache of an airport, and no matter how long we allow for a connection there (we’ve connected through Paris in the past, flying to other European destinations) we always end up running for the plane, which is a crummy beginning to a trip. (Last year was no exception.)

So this year, I thought we’d try something a little different. I was fine with connecting through Paris, but I wanted to allow more time than last year, and I wasn’t set on it being anywhere in particular. As it turned out, the A380 now flies between Washington and Heathrow, too. We’ve had some decent experiences at Heathrow before, and it’s a bonus that people in London speak English. Sold! We booked our tickets with a connection through Heathrow.

We had no delays getting from Vienna to Heathrow, so I expected than having nearly 2 hours to get to our next plane would be no problem. Ha! I had never realized that connecting from intra-European travel to transatlantic travel at Heathrow makes it every bit as much of a headache as connecting through Charles de Gaulle. It was not pleasant.

We had to wait for a shuttle bus which ran only every 15 minutes, and which took 20 minutes to get to its destination. Which sounds fine, except that the entire flight of people from Vienna had to get on the shuttle, and we had to wait through 3 rounds of shuttle buses before we got on. Then we had to go through security again, and there were insanely long lines. When we finally got to the front of the line, we were told that Liam’s antibiotic (remember how we were all sick for most of December?) couldn’t clear security. Huh??? No, really. It couldn’t go through because nowhere on the bottle did it say how bit it was (though it was, quite clearly, the same 100 mL size as the children’s ibuprofen we had — which DID say 100 mL on the bottle, so that was clear to go). Apparently, it would have been ok if we’d had the doctor’s written prescription with us (but we didn’t), even though it was in its original bottle from the pharmacy, all official-looking and everything. I explained that antibiotics are the kind of medicine where it’s very bad if you miss a dose. I offered to take some of the medicine. I offered to let them gas chromatograph it. I asked Dan to find someone to call our gate and tell them we were coming while I pleaded with the (not unsympathetic, but unbudging) security guy. Our flight was due to take off in less than 15 minutes, and we still had a shuttle train to take. We had to choose between leaving the medicine and running for our flight, or staying to argue about the medicine and getting on a later plane. We ran. (Again.)

I’m not exaggerating when I say that by the time we left security, we had just over 10 minutes to get to our gate. I was 95% certain we were going to miss our plane. I figured that, at least, our seats had been given away to someone on standby at this point. We ran, flat out, to the train terminal. We ran, flat out to the gate. We arrived, with about 90 seconds to spare before departure time. The gate agent said that the only reason our seats weren’t given away is that so many people had missed their connections that there were more open seats than standby passengers. He told us that if we hadn’t called from security to say we were coming, they would have left without us. We were the last people across the jetway, they closed the door as soon as we were through it, and we were still walking down the (admittedly very long) aisle when the plane pushed back. We were red-faced, sweaty, stressed, exhausted and without antibiotic, but we made our flight. (So much for not repeating the experience we had the year before!) I wanted to email our pediatrician, to ask if she could email or fax a replacement prescription, but between the dash for the plane and the actual takeoff, there was not a single moment to do it.

The kids were great. Though it’s not great that we keep ending up in that situation, they’re at least getting used to it, and they know that it’s not a calamity. (Besides, they’re getting bigger, so they’re getting pretty fast!) The rest of the flight was relatively uneventful. The boys are definitely getting more and more accustomed to long flights. The service on British Airways was as good as Air France (though the configuration of the plane was slightly less comfortable).

And it was so, so wonderful to see our family again when we arrived. That is the absolute BEST feeling about being abroad — how magical it feels to come home again. There are all of these wonderful people that you miss SO much, and then you get to see them, and they’re just as happy to see you as you are to see them, and they don’t care too much what state you’re in when you arrive. It is the BEST. (And, we got to meet our new nephew/cousin!!!!)

But after we gave hugs and kisses, collected our things, packed everything up, got to my mom’s house and got semi-settled in . . . we still had the antibiotic to deal with.

By the time we got to Maryland, it was late at night in Vienna, so I couldn’t reach our pediatrician (though I left her a message). We had no recourse, except to go to a 24 hour pharmacy and beg for them to give us a single dose of amoxicillin (we figured we could come back with an emailed prescription in the morning, but we didn’t want him to miss a dose). If at all possible, we didn’t want to have to take poor, exhausted Liam to the ER or an urgent care place to get them to write a new prescription that night. I discovered that, randomly, I’d taken a picture of the prescription when the doctor gave it to us (I have no idea why — I never do that) so Dan was able to take that with him to the pharmacy. (It’s too bad that I didn’t realize I had that at Heathrow — he might have let us through with that.)

When Dan went to the pharmacy, he explained the situation. We were fortunate that the pharmacist was as outraged by the fact that the antibiotic had been confiscated as we were, and he refilled the entire prescription for us, based just on the picture from my phone. And so, just 22 hours after leaving our apartment in Vienna, after running through the airport, going over the ocean and through the hassle of getting Liam’s medicine, we were, finally, tucked in, safe and sound, at Grandma’s house.

Posted on April 29, 2015 by admin

I’m horribly behind on blogging (I’m still writing about November!) but luckily my friend, Elaine, isn’t! She wrote up our recent trip to London. Good times.

Leaving Heiligenblut

Posted on August 19, 2014 by admin

Back to our adventures from our summer vacation …

We had spent 4 lovely days in Heiligenblut. We had ridden on cable cars, seen Austria’s tallest mountain, visited a shrinking glacier, had several snowball fights, driven through the high Alps and generally fallen in love with the beautiful town. We were sad to be leaving, but excited to go to one of our favorite vacation spots in Austria — a tranquil mountainside farm, just outside of Salzburg. Besides, to get there, we’d have to drive on the High Alpine Road one more time.

We finished packing, said goodbye to an overcast Heiligenblut, and headed up the mountain once more. But, what started as a cloudy morning in the valley became an intensely foggy one up in the higher elevations. Like, “I really hope there’s a road out there somewhere” foggy. So, we weren’t treated to any of the spectacular views we’d enjoyed earlier in the week, but we did discover our favorite playground ever (well, my favorite, at least) when we were almost down the other side.

It had swings, climbing ropes and other normal stuff, but it also had stuff to dig and “pan for gold” (something that the area is known for) and, in one corner of the playground, a little spring-fed mountain stream trickled in. The playground had all of these great basins, drains, chutes and canals to contain, redirect and channel the water. The boys and I spent a few hours sending the water through a house, under a bridge and through a water wheel. It was a ton of fun, and the whole setup encouraged the boys to plan and strategize, and then to be patient as the water filled up the basins enough to follow whatever route they had chosen. I absolutely loved it. (And, like everything in that area, the view was amazing.)

After finally getting under way again, and stopping for lunch at the only food truck I’ve ever seen in Austria (Der Burger Baron), we made our way though the mountains towards Salzburg. The mountains, though still large and imposing, looked different from those we’d grown accustomed to in our few days along the High Alpine Road — as B said, “If there’s no snow, it’s not a mountain.” (Even though it was early July! Our perspective had definitely been altered.)

We finally made our way to Sankt Koloman, our destination. We had made it back to one of our favorite spots in all of Austria, and we were truly happy to be there again. (I even got to see a fireworks display down in the valley that night, like a slightly delayed July 4th celebration!)

High Alpine Road — day 1

Posted on August 13, 2014 by admin

Our next morning in Heiligenblut started out with sunshine instead of rain, so we decided it was finally time to finally drive up the High Alpine Road, to see what there was to see. Since the first time I’d heard about this place, I was eager to check it out — 30 miles through the high Alps, with information stops, playground, restaurants, overlooks, and even a glacier! We truly didn’t know how it was going to go, though — how many spots along the road would we want to stop at, how long would we visit the various sites, how much would we really enjoy it, would there be fun stuff for the kids?

We headed out to find out. The High Alpine Road is only open for a few months every year, because keeping it free of snow would be an impossible task, though some parts are accessible to skiers through the winter. In the summer, you pay a fee to drive along the road, unless you have a Kärtnen card (which we did, thanks to our hotel) which makes entrance to the road, the cable cars, and lots of other things completely free.

Right away, we knew we were not going to be disappointed. The views along the road were beautiful. We passed through mountain meadows and along steep cliff faces. We passed under the cable car we’d ridden in the day before and saw several gorgeous waterfalls. It was spectacular.

Our first actual stop was at the Pasterze glacier. We had heard, from our hosts at the hotel, that the glacier had really melted a lot in recent years. They weren’t kidding. Although the view of the top of the Großglockner was truly impressive (as were the tracks we could see in the snow from the brave people who had climbed to the summit recently), seeing the size of the glacier, and beginning to understand the volume of ice that has been lost, was shocking and very sad. Back in the 1960s, a funicular was constructed to allow tourists easy access to the actual glacier — you could take the funicular down from the parking lot area off of the High Alpine Road and actually walk right up to the glacier. We only hiked down a little way, but a lot has changed in the last 50+ years. Now, it takes a couple of hours of hiking from the end of the funicular in order to reach the actual glacier. This little bit of ice, off in the distance, reached to where I was standing to take this picture only 44 years ago. It used to fill up the entire valley, and now it has retreated to just one end. The loss of ice and water in this one spot is absolutely stunning. (And the pictures don’t even really convey the scope of the situation. This valley is HUGE. The little “puddle” down in the bottom is a massive lake. I invite anyone who disbelieves human-cased climate change to visit a place like this, see the extent of ice loss, and see if it doesn’t change your mind.)

It was beyond our energy and ability to hike down to the glacier with the kids (actually, I think we could have hiked DOWN just fine, but getting back might have been a challenge, because I think we would have had to carry them most of the way back up), so we satisfied ourselves with a quick walk down to get a good view of the glacier, and then we moved on along down the road.

Our next stop for the day was at a great Alpine playground (which was co-located with a lovely restaurant, where we had lunch). It was everything I love about Austrian playgrounds — lots of physical challenges for the boys, like zip lines, rope bridges and slides — but with an amazing view (we seem to find a lot of playgrounds with great views in our travels)!

After wearing ourselves out for a few hours at the beautiful playground, we made a stop by our favorite snow spot (the same one from the day before, but this time we reached it by car) for another snowball fight.

We drove on a bit further (as far as the kids’ patience allowed — it had already been a long day) and got the chance to stop at some overlooks and scenic viewpoints with absolutely unbelievable vistas. It was an amazing place. Everywhere we looked, there was another beautiful view that didn’t quite seem real.

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After a bit, we headed back to Heiligenblut, and then back out, far up the side of the valley, for a wonderful dinner (the best meal we had on our whole trip) with an amazing view of the town and the mountains. After our first day on the High Alpine Road, I was thrilled with what we’d seen . . . and we’d only seen about 12 miles of the road so far!

Cable car!

Posted on August 12, 2014 by admin

From our hotel room window in picturesque Heiligenblut, we could see most of the town, including the 600 year old church and the summit of the Großglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain. We could also see the cable cars filing up the hill towards the summit of Schareck, which sits on the opposite side of the valley from the Großglockner. Liam was completely entranced. Every time he saw one, he shouted, “Cable car!” Every time. (It was lucky for us and for the one other hotel guest that the cable cars didn’t start running until about 9:30 in the morning, so at least we all got some rest.)

After breakfast our first morning in Heiligenblut (during which we learned that the Dutch put chocolate sprinkles and butter on their morning bread), there was no question about what Liam wanted to do with his day. He was just so excited. So, despite the drizzle and the fog and the knowledge that there would be zero view from the top, we decided to head up the mountain in the “cable car!”

The town was really quite small, so we opted to walk through town to the base of the cable car line. We got a nice (if rainy) tour of the little town. When we got to the cable car, Liam did not seem to be disappointed by the rain or the fog — he was delighted to be there. (B was happy and excited, too, though not quite as thoroughly as Liam.) As we went up and up, we passed over grazing cows and horses, crossed over part of the High Alpine Road, ascended through a thick cloud layer and went up above the tree line. I’d seen snow at the tops of the highest mountains as we drove into town, but I was surprised by how much of it we passed over as we went up … and by how cold it was at the top.

And, we were right — lots of fog and no view. But, on the plus side, there were only two families up there at the top while we were there. With not much to see, and a cold rain falling (that was very nearly snow), we opted for a quick stop and visit to the restaurant at the top of the mountain . . . and the kids wanted ice cream, of all things (I went for hot chocolate instead). After a quick snack, we decided to visit the other cable car, which took us from the top of the mountain and then more across than down the other side. Our destination was alongside the High Alpine Road (which we hadn’t yet gotten a chance to explore) and is in a spot that is only accessible by skiing (and, I guess, by cable car) from mid-October until May 1 of every year.

At the base of that cable car line, we were able to fulfill one wish the kids had had, but which I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to deliver on — we found enough snow for a snowball fight. The whole hillside was covered with large patches of unmelted snow — very slightly slushy, but still frozen enough to walk on top of (which was good, because we’d brought warm clothes, but not warm enough for the near-winter scenario we were faced with). At one point during out snowball fight, I actually had the thought, “It’s really beautiful here. Maybe we should come back in summer . . . wait . . . ” I had completely forgotten that it was July 2nd, and this was, quite literally, as “summer” as it gets in the high Alps!

After making our way back up to the summit, and then back down to the valley, we all had an awesome nap. We didn’t get to enjoy the typical view from the summit, but we had gotten the mountain almost entirely to ourselves, and had a snowball fight in July. It was a great day.

(And then, when we got back, after our splinter removing debacle from the evening before, B offered to check Liam’s feet for splinters. These guys are just so sweet to each other.)

Heiligenblut

Posted on August 11, 2014 by admin

After our overly eventful day spent with horses the day before, we departed Maria Lankowitz to drive to one of my most anticipated destinations in all of Austria. We were headed to the little town of Heiligenblut, nestled at the base of Austria’s highest mountain, at the edge of the massive Hohe Tauern National Park, and at the beginning of the High Alpine Road. We’ve travelled to a few spots in the Austrian Alps before — Innsbruck, Reutte and Alpbach — but I was particularly excited to see Austria’s tallest mountain, the Großglockner, and to travel along the High Alpine Road.

“We’re halfway there!”

But our task for this day was to simply get to Heiligenblut, a 3 hour mountainous drive from Maria Lankowitz. Unlike our first travel day to Maria Lankowitz, the novelty of being in the car had somewhat worn off, and though the kids were remarkably patient, they weren’t quite as enthusiastic as they had been the first day. It was a beautiful drive, with lots of mountain views, some rain, some sun, and a little getting lost (not too badly, though).We did well. Road trips in Europe are different than at home. Every single time we travel in Europe (not counting the UK, which is very slightly more similar to travelling in the US), the most challenging part of our trip is finding a place to eat. In the U.S., this is not a problem. Major highways are well populated with fast food drive through restaurants and rest areas to stop. Large and medium sized towns can also be counted on to be full of drive through fast food, or at least quick-service chain restaurants. None of that exists here. (There are drive through fast food restaurants in Austria, but they are extremely rare and I’ve never been through one. We did go to one in Germany, once, and we were so excited about it.) When it’s time for lunch on the road, we have to figure out which local Gasthaus we’d like to stop at. Inevitably, even a “simple” lunch will take an hour (more likely two) and there’s very little way to tell, before we stop, whether the meal will be any good (though most are). Seriously, I love the fact that Austrians are less obsessed with fast food than Americans are . . . except when we’re on a road trip.

By the time we had gotten ourselves some lunch, and taken a trip through some very long tunnels through the mountains (the longest one we went through, the Oswaldiberg tunnel, was over 4km — about 2.5 miles — which is long enough to be a bit disconcerting), we were almost there. We started to see snow-covered mountaintops nearby (even though it was July 1), and we impulsively stopped at a beautiful waterfall just a few miles from our destination. THIS is the kind of thing I was excited to go see! Waterfalls and snow in the mountains in July!

But, even given the amazing scenery along the way, Heiligenblut managed to be even more beautiful than I had expected. It looked exactly like every single postcard I’d ever seen (or even imagined) from the Austrian Alps. The little town is loosely arranged around a 600 year old church, with ski lifts and cow fields peppered on the hillsides. The Großglockner iteself stands imposing and snow covered just behind the town. I was instantly in love, and only happier to find that our hotel (Hotel Kaiservilla) was gorgeous and run by a very kind and friendly Dutch couple who absolutely adore kids. Even better — the hotel was to be nearly empty for the days we were staying there, and they had given us a huge room with the best view in the place. It was everything I wanted it to be!

After getting settled and enjoying the view for a bit (the kids got out their binoculars to give it a closer inspection), we headed out for dinner (getting slightly lost along the way — Heiligenblut is a tiny town, but there are lots of equally tiny mountain roads winding through and around the area . . . and very few of them have signs . . . and several didn’t exist according to our GPS). We ate in a little restaurant/hotel combination across the valley from where we were staying. We had a lovely, simple Austrian meal, and while we waited for the food to arrive (and then after we had finished) the boys played outside in the playground on the edge of the forest, and visited with the resident bunny rabbit. As they were finishing their playtime, I noticed some animals grazing high up on the steep mountainside. I watched them, trying to figure out what they might be (remembering our wild mountain goat experience from last fall) when I finally realized that they were horses! I was trying to imagine how anyone ever got up there to get them down when they suddenly decided to make their way down the mountain and into the neighboring field. (Looks like a pretty great place to be a horse, but I wouldn’t want the job of bringing one in that didn’t want to be caught!)

It was a great day. I was so excited to get on with exploring this part of Austria, and so thrilled to be exactly where I was. (Unfortunately, we finished our evening out by attempting . . . and failing . . . to remove a splinter from poor Liam’s finger. That’s the down side to all of the great, rustic, wooden playground equipment in Austria.)

A Mommy Abroad

Our big adventure, as a family of three.

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