Storm in the mountains

Posted on August 21, 2014 by admin

After our fantastic experience with Sommerrodelbahn, we did the only thing we really could have the next day — we went back! This time, we did 5 whole round trips, and we were becoming pretty well expert at the whole process. Liam still wanted to ride with me, and B wanted to ride with Dan, so that’s how we did it again the second day. We all got braver and went even faster — I only used the brakes when Liam told me to, and Dan actually let B drive for several of their trips down. It was just as much fun the second time.

This time, though, I opted not to bring my phone (I spent much of the first day worried that it would skip out of my pocket on either the way up on the lift, or on the way down in the sled), so instead I’ll share a few pictures of the big thunderstorms that came through later that afternoon . . . and a picture of B playing with a cat, because it’s cute. (I’m really grateful that we didn’t get caught up on the chairlift in that weather!)

It was quite an experience to watch the storm roll in to the northwestern edge of the valley, and then move across towards us at the southeastern end. At first we could see the rain falling as it approached, but as the storm moved closer, we gradually lost sight of more and more of the distant mountains, then the valley, and then everything that wasn’t right in front of us. Behind the storm, the air got cold, so unlike our first few days in Sankt Koloman, where we were trying to keep cool in the evenings by staying out on the balcony, this night I had to come inside after just a little while, because I couldn’t keep warm.

Sommerrodelbahn

Posted on August 20, 2014 by admin

The first time I heard about “summer sledding” (Sommerrodelbahn) was before I came to Austria. Back when we were preparing to move here (and I knew nothing about Austria other than apple strudel and ‘The Sound of Music’), we watched a Rick Steves show about Vienna and the surrounding areas, and he mentioned it. I really knew nothing about it, and I came away with the impression of it being something done on luge tracks or something, but during the summer months.

Then we moved here, and I remember reading something about it again. Whatever it was that I read about it gave me a slightly better idea of what it was about (and I remember reading that it was “fun for the whole family!” or something like that), but it still sounded very fast and a little scary, and I came away with the idea that it was something we might be able to do with the kids one day, if we stayed here long enough for them to be a bit bigger.

Then, last spring, during a visit with our pediatrician, we were chatting about our respective plans for the summer, and I mentioned that we were going back (again) to one of our favorite places near Salzburg. “You’ve done Sommerrodelbahn, right?”, she asked. I was surprised, because I had a definite impression of it being for bigger kids, but my pediatrician obviously knows how old my kids are, and she told me that she’s taken her 4 year old twins summer sledding before, too. She assured me that it was age-appropriate, and that we would all love it. Based on that recommendation, I decided we should give it a try.

I knew that the area in the mountains near Salzburg was well known for good summer sledding locations, and I looked up 2 places near where we were staying. I still really had no idea what to expect, but when I looked it up, it seemed a little expensive for what I expected it to be. Still, I thought we’d give it a try.

Ski lifts in the summer are weird

We drove over to the other side of the valley, very nearly to the German border (as in, it was a few hundred yards away down that same road) to the place we had chosen. We waited in line and bought our tickets. I had no idea whether we were going to like it, and since it was a little expensive, we just bought a single trip up and down for each of us. I still really didn’t know what was going on, what to expect or what to do next. But, it looked like everyone else was waiting in line for the ski lift, so that was what we did, too. (You’d be amazed at how many of your actions are determined by what other people are doing when you live in a foreign country.) I’ve never ridden on an open-style chair lift with my kids, so that was intimidating enough (we’ve done lots of cable car/gondola style lifts, and once a drag lift when we were skiing, but never a chair lift). I spent the first trip up with my arms wrapped around Benjamin, fearful that he’d slip out, or that he’d do something crazy, not understanding the potential danger. (Neither of those things happened. We had a lovely — if a little sunny — ride up and got an amazing view of the valley. I’m guessing that a sunny ski lift is a bonus in January. In July, it’s just 20 minutes of sitting in the sun without any shade, which I had never thought about.) On the way up, we got a few quick glimpses of people “sledding” down, and I began to see why I hadn’t really understood the concept before. Sommerrodelbahn translates as ‘summer toboggan run’, and the little sleds do look a lot like large, plastic toboggans, so I see where the “sledding” part comes in. But the “sleds” run on a metal track (so there’s no need to steer), which is, I think, where the “luge” concept kind of comes in. I was thoroughly intrigued, and a little freaked out — they looked like they got going pretty fast!

We got to the top and were treated to an amazing view. We followed some signs which led us (oddly) into and through a restaurant, down some stairs, and out the bottom of the restaurant, where we waited in another line, and where we could watch as other people climbed aboard their sleds. The sleds came down the line, and an operator collected the sled and helped to park it while the rider (or riders — it was very common for small children to sit on their parent’s lap, which was what we intended to do) climbed in. The rider got seatbelted in, waited for the green light to signal that there was enough free space between them and the rider ahead, and off they went!

I was grateful that we’d gotten to see a few people go through the process before it was our turn. We decided that Dan would go down first, because there was no question that he’d be going faster than I would be. B chose who he wanted to ride with (Dan, and I figured the boys would both prefer to ride with him, because he’d probably go faster), so he & Dan were up first. They climbed in, got seatbelted (there was even a special double seatbelt for kids riding in laps!) and headed off down the hill. Liam and I followed right behind.

I was nervous, and overly cautious. The only control we had was a lever that we pushed forward to go faster and pulled on to slow down. At periodic intervals along the track, there were signs that signaled that it was time to apply the brakes, and I dutifully followed the directions (although I didn’t get going fast enough to really need them on that first run). Though it looked like a cross between a sled and a luge, the sensation was most similar to being on a very small, individually controlled roller coaster. We snaked down the hill, through the woods and then out into the clearings again, under the ski lift, down some steep drops and through a tunnel.

It was fantastic.

Benjamin and Dan greeted us excitedly at the bottom of the hill. Benjamin’s exclamation of, “Holy schnitzel, that was fun!” was maybe the most perfect description possible for the experience. Without question, we waited in line for another round of tickets — and this time, we bought 3 round trips. Again, B & I rode up together (I felt safer having Dan ride with Liam, who is wigglier) but, I was pleasantly surprised (actually, I was thrilled) that when it was Liam’s turn to pick a riding partner for the next trip down, he elected to stay with me. We went down for the second time, and it was even better — in part because I was less fearful, and actually let it go a bit on the straight sections. (We did end up stuck behind a REALLY cautious woman and her daughter on one trip down, which was both a little frustrating and a little dangerous — she didn’t just slow down, but came to frequent complete stops on the track, leading to a bit of a pileup behind her.) The sleds are limited to a certain speed, so you can’t get going too fast, but they go fast enough to get a bit of a thrill.

(After our second trip, we decided to actually stop in the restaurant at the top to get some lunch. I knew we were close to the German border, so I looked it up while we were waiting for our food . . . and discovered that we were, quite literally, ON the border. I actually don’t know which country we had lunch in. That is a pretty strange sensation, as is the fact that crossing international borders has become completely routine. When we first moved here, I was attached to my passport like it was some kind of life preserver. I didn’t leave the house without it . . . no kidding. I remember that when mine expired, after we’d been here about a year, I had some massive anxiety about being without it for a few days while it was being replaced. Now, though I do travel with it — because you never know — I don’t worry about it all that much, and I’ve made several international border crossings without it. Including, it seems, a few times on foot.)

We made our last few trips down (each time, I rode up with B, and down with Liam), and each time, we went a little faster. We got pretty brave about it. This definitely goes on the list of great experiences we’ve had while living in Austria, and I would say that it’s something not to be missed if you ever get the chance to do it. No exaggeration, it was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

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!)

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.)

Lipizzaner tour — Piber

Posted on August 8, 2014 by admin

Day 2 of our vacation was all about horses. I had wanted to visit the Lipizzaner Stud at Piber since coming to Vienna, but I didn’t know exactly what to expect. The farm is in a beautiful spot with a great view, so that was a good start. We arrived, got our tickets, and followed the suggested self-guided tour, even though I was anxious to actually spend some time near the world famous Lipizzaners!

Here in Vienna, I’d already been to a performance of the Lipizzaners, been to see the babies and their moms when they grazed in the Burggarten last summer, and, most recently, taken the “behind the scenes” stable tour. I was excited to see this last remaining part — the brood mares, the stallions, the young horses and the foals.

The tour was mildly interesting for the kids, but otherwise not really noteworthy. But getting to visit the horses was FANTASTIC. Unlike in Vienna, where there are many rules and physical barriers designed to keep visitors at a distance from the horses, there’s nothing like that at Piber. We were allowed to wander through the stables at our leisure, visiting, photographing, and even patting the horses. Liam decided that every single horse we met was named “Willow”. (I have no idea where he got that.) It was absolutely worth the trip. (Though the boys liked meeting the horses, their favorite parts of the day were the ice cream and the playground.)

After spending several hours at the stud farm, and seeing all there was to see, we waffled on whether to spend the extra time and money on the other available tour — a visit to the mountain pastures where the young stallions (ages 1-3) are turned out to frolic and roam for the summer. It was a wet and chilly day, and the temperature was only about 6 degrees Celsius at the mountain pasture, which was also a half an hour drive from the main farm. But, I figured, if not now, when? So, we bought our tickets and trekked up to the meeting spot on the mountain.

We ran into a bit of trouble, though. First, the signs were a bit confusing and just enough different from what we were told to expect that we nearly missed the spot entirely. Second, there was no good place to park, which was a little confusing. The directions lead to a gravel driveway on a tiny mountain road, far from anything, and the driveway has a chain and barbed wire across it. We left the car on a narrow gravel strip along the road. (t was only big enough for one car, so I have to wonder what they do when more than one family signs up for the tour!) We weren’t really sure we were in the right place … and of course there was no cell signal, so we couldn’t call and ask. It was our best bet, though, so we waited at the “meeting point”, as it was called in our printed directions.

I’m waiting by the sign

We arrived about 10 minutes before the tour was supposed to start. Our directions had brought us to this spot, and they had also mentioned that after arriving at the meeting point, we were still a 10 minute walk from the mountain pastures. So, we waited. And we waited. And waited. In the cold and the wind, on the side of the mountain, with 2 tired kids. I eventually sent Dan and the boys back to wait in the car. After half an hour, we had to decide — give up, or assume that our directions were wrong and hike on up the driveway for 10 minutes to see if we could find anyone.

I was determined, and figured we were already invested. We’d waited half an hour in the cold, and we’d paid for our tickets. The main office was already closed for the day, and we were leaving town the next morning. So, it was continue on, or give the money and time up for lost. So, we walked past the uninviting barbed wired gate and started to climb up the driveway, uncertain as to whether we were even in the right place.

We walked for about 10-15 minutes, very much steeply uphill. We found a summer camp, and then, a large barn. We were met by a barking dog, and saw a few people from a distance, but nothing that looked too promising. Not easily thwarted, we asked (in our sub-par German), and discovered that we were, unbelievably, actually in the right place.

The main draw of the “mountain pastures” tour is to be able to watch the young horses running and playing in relative freedom in the huge mountain pastures. By the time we arrived, they had all been brought in to a large barn for the night. So, we pretty much missed the main reason to have gone, and instead, for our ticket price, we got to stand in the cold for half an hour, hike up a cold mountain and NOT see the horses in the mountain pastures. BUT . . . we did get to visit with the horses for a bit. The kids were allowed to climb up on the gate and pat the horses that happily came over for some love and attention. It wasn’t at all the moment I expected it to be, but seeing the boys pat and talk with these beautiful horses, some of whom will be performing around the world in a few years, was pretty special. (B in particular was truly captivated. The horses’ caretaker even commented that B had the “spirit” of horses in him.)

After a little while, we trekked back down the mountain and managed a much needed and very hectic 6 minute grocery shopping trip (we got there just before closing) — extra impressive in an unfamiliar store. What a day!

It was great to visit with the horses at Piber. It was pretty cool to get to spend some time with them up on the mountain, too, though not exactly what we signed up for. But we’ll certainly never forget it.

For anyone who reads this who is thinking about going — I would recommend the whole thing — the stable tour and the mountain tour. Just know that the English directions are wrong. The place that you’re told to “meet” is not a meeting point, just the end of the driveway you’re meant to walk up. Don’t wait — no one is coming. Just walk on up and see the horses. Take the driveway all the way to the end — past where it looks like you’re supposed to — and you’ll get there.

The directions we were given . . .

Maria Lankowitz

Posted on August 7, 2014 by admin

We got back from our summer vacation nearly 4 weeks ago. Since then, we’ve had a family-wide bout of miserable stomach illness and 3 of the 4 of us have had birthdays. We’ve been busy. But here I am, less than a month later, writing my first post about our trip. Based on my track record (I still have posts to write about last year’s summer vacation — more from that trip soon), this is pretty great.

So, it was the last Sunday in June, we had just had B’s birthday party the day before and we were ready to embark on our 2 week Austrian vacation. The plan was to see some parts of Austria that we hadn’t yet seen, and to visit some of our favorites again. We opted to take this trip by car. Our first stop was the tiny town of Maria Lankowitz in Styria (Steiermark).

The main purpose of going to that particular piece of Austria was to visit the Lipizzaner stud farm in Piber, the neighboring town (get it . . . NEIGHboring???). But, on the way, we got to drive into the beginnings of the southern Austrian mountains, which was just lovely. My kids, who love car trips (since we don’t have a car and only ride in cars when we’re traveling) spent the first bit of the nearly 3 hour trip happily looking out of the windows. But after about an hour, they resorted to frequently asking their own adaptation of every kid’s favorite road trip question (in our case, they went with “When will we be there?” instead of “Are we there yet?”, which at least allowed our answers to change as we got closer and closer). We did finally arrive in the cute but VERY tiny town of Maria Lankowitz.

We got settled in to our apartment and went for a stroll around the town . . . which took about 10 minutes (20, if you count the run the boys took through a field). Then, we went to find a place for dinner. We were lucky enough to find a great place, with seating outdoors so we could enjoy the lovely evening and the scenery of the cute town. The absolute best part for the boys was that there was a little plastic picnic table just for kids, and they decided they were going to eat their meal there (it didn’t last though the whole meal — it was a nice idea, but they needed help cutting their schnitzel). I tried a “radler” for the first time (a mix of beer and soda — the type of soda varies by region) which is a brilliant invention, and we all had a nice meal and finished up our great evening by walking back to the apartment and listening to the cowbells from the cows grazing on the mountainside. Our Austrian road trip had begun!

Summer schedule

Posted on June 23, 2014 by admin

Most of my time as a parent has been spent either feeling overwhelmed, trying to figure out how to get a handle on things or being pretty certain I’m screwing everything up. (I do other stuff, too, that’s just in the background.) This is a part of parenting that I didn’t anticipate before I became a mom. I knew that the early days with a new baby would be hard (though I didn’t know how hard), but I didn’t know that I would never really get things “figured out” — that I would never get past feeling like a rookie at something I’d been doing for years. The thing is, this game is constantly changing. Every time I emerge from the tunnel of confusion brought on by new schedules, preferences, temperaments, questions, developmental stages, personality changes, and just life in general, I get knocked sideways by a whole new, different set of circumstances that requires a completely new approach. I’m always behind the curve because the rules are always changing. That’s just how it is. Although it’s tough, the upside is the knowledge that however hard a particular stage as a parent is, it will be over soon. The downside is that when things are finally smooth, they’re guaranteed not to stay that way for long.

We’ve been in a surprisingly long period of stability around here recently. Liam has mostly adjusted to school, outgrown his phase of night terrors (more or less — he no longer gets them every night) and it has become almost possible to reason with him sometimes. B has gotten the potty thing mastered, and has gained a surprising amount of independence lately. Most of the time, a family outing no longer requires a stroller, and dinners don’t always end with something being thrown, worn, or dumped on the floor. We’re able to brush teeth at night without major fits (occasionally) and the boys require only constant reminders (and not being chased through the house) to get ready for school. Things have been pretty easy around here for a little while (and by “a little while”, I mean since sometime after Easter).

So, of course, everything is about to change. Today is the first day of the last week of B’s time in preschool. Starting on Friday, I’ll have the boys home until August. And when they do go back to school, Liam will go back to this same school, while B starts at a new school. In the meantime, B, who still takes an afternoon nap most days, needs to get used to not having one, because he starts full-day school in August. But Liam, who turns into Mr. Hyde if he doesn’t nap (and whose night terrors come back if he sleeps too soundly at night, which is well mitigated by not going to bed over tired), still needs a daily nap. And, their shared nap time has historically been when I get a lot of stuff done every day … like writing this blog … so that’s going to require some rethinking. (And, as demonstrated by the fact that I’m still blogging about last year’s summer vacation, taking an extended blogging break doesn’t work too well for me.)

So, later this week, everything changes. (Again.) We’ll go on vacation for a bit, come home, and sort out a summer schedule for the 6 weeks before school starts up again. I’ll convince Liam to nap even though B won’t be, keep B quiet but busy so I can get a little done around the house and sort out an hour or so each day to find time to work on this blog. It might be a challenge, but, in exchange, I get to have my guys home every day for a few months, and that’s going to be great. It’ll be a bit overwhelming, but I’ll get it sorted out. It always is, and I always do.

Summer vacation plans

Posted on May 20, 2014 by admin

I talk a lot about how great our experience has been with our preschool here in Vienna. I think we got exceptionally lucky when we signed B up for school that first year. We didn’t yet know where we’d be living, so we requested a place near Dan’s work (which has turned out to be far less convenient than we imagined it would be) but the 40 minute commute each way is completely worth the level of instruction and kindness the kids have received at their school. Vienna runs many preschools throughout the city, all free or at very low cost (if the kids eat meals at school, there is a charge), and all run on the Montessori model (more or less — we’ve heard that this varies greatly). It’s pretty much the Shangri-La of preschools around here. Putting our kids into preschools of this caliber most likely would not have been possible for us in the US — and certainly not without me going back to work. We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity that we’ve had here in terms of the kids and school.

But then … we have some interesting situations pop up, that I don’t think we ever would have encountered back at home.

Late last month, the teachers sent home the annual summer vacation forms. The idea is for parents to fill them out to let the school know which weeks the kids will be at school or on vacation so that they can plan staffing for the summer months when many families are away. Makes sense, especially given that vacations here in the summer are almost always at least 2 weeks long, and often as much as 6-8 weeks. We know quite a few people who leave Vienna in late June and don’t come back until late August.

We’d been thinking that we would probably be home in the US (permanently) by summer vacation time this year, so we hadn’t given our summer plans a lot of thought (even though it’s becoming increasingly likely that we’ll be here for a while yet). Getting the vacation form was a bit of a wake up call that we needed to plan for a summer still spent in Austria. So, we sat down, came up with a rough idea, and returned our forms to the school. Our plan was to take a few weeks of vacation in July (to see some of Austria that we haven’t yet seen … and to see some of our favorite parts again), then to send the kids to school for a few weeks mid-summer (to give me some summer time without the kids to enjoy Vienna, to keep them from getting entirely out of the habit of going to school, and to give B a few more leisurely weeks of preschool before “real” school starts in the fall), and then take a few more weeks off mid-August (to take a break before getting back into the swing of things at school again). It was a little different than anything we’ve done before — because Liam was previously always home with me, we took previous summers as a chance to take a break from the 40-minute-each-way commute every weekday and kept both boys home together with me all summer. And although I’ve loved that, I was looking forward to being able to do it differently this year — our only chance to do it this way, because next summer, and all subsequent summers, B will have regular summer school holidays, so he’ll be home and we’ll probably keep Liam home as well.

Then, just yesterday, they told us no.

No, the boys can’t come in for a few weeks mid-summer — could we please keep them home all summer instead? We said that of course they could stay home, but because this was in German and Dan didn’t completely understand, we didn’t really understand why. As it turns out, they’re going to be very short-staffed for those weeks, so they’ve asked that all of the families that have at least one stay-at-home parent to keep their kids home. And though I don’t mind, I can’t help but find the whole situation a little funny … and I don’t think it’s something we’d be as likely to run into back in the States.

So, new plan for the summer: as of June 27, the boys will be home with me until B starts elementary school in late August. And I am truly and sincerely happy to have them. We’ll have a great time, just like we have our other summers here.

Riesenrad, together

Posted on February 10, 2014 by admin

We had a great “stay-cation” in Vienna last week. We skied, we skated, we swam, we did touristy stuff, we visited the animals at the zoo and we took some time to just rest and be at home. It’s great fun living in a city that’s worthy of a European vacation in its own right and which we haven’t nearly finished exploring. Plus, there was no packing required.

Our first stop on this trip was the Riesenrad, the giant Ferris wheel in Vienna’s Prater. (If you’ve seen “The Third Man”, that’s the one.) I went once with a friend, but Dan and the boys had never been, and it was one of the things on our “must do in Vienna” list.

As often happens, our day kind of got away from away from us, and we weren’t ready to trek over there (3 whole U-Bahn stops away) until after nap time. It was cold, dark and raining when we left the house, but if we waited to do everything in perfect conditions, we’d never get to do anything. So off we went.

The bonus to going on a dark, cold, drizzly February evening is that there was absolutely no line, and we even got our very own car, all to ourselves. We didn’t have to worry that the boys’ exclamations or their desire to run from one side of the car to another was bothering anyone else (although with only 4 of us in there, every time they did switch sides, the car tilted, which was a little disconcerting). The rain obscured the view somewhat (more of an issue for the pictures than for the actual view), but the darkness created a lovely scene of Vienna all lit up at night. It was a worthwhile visit, especially being such an iconic piece of Vienna. The boys enjoyed their view from the top, and we all enjoyed sharing it as the first piece of our 2014 Vienna stay-cation.

Semester break

Posted on January 31, 2014 by admin

It’s our third winter here, and for the first time, we’re going to be taking advantage of the Austrian “semester break”. Semester break is just that — a break between school semesters. Here in Austria, it’s a whole week, typically in early February. All of the school children are out of school at the same time, and it’s traditionally a popular time for the whole family to take a week’s skiing holiday in the mountains.

The boys’ preschool stays open during this time, so our first two winters here we never knew it was coming until it was already happening. At some point in February we would turn up to drop B off at school and be confused about where so many of his classmates had gone. It was no big deal, though — B would have a small class for the week, and we went on with life as usual (and if we wanted to go skiing, we just went whenever we wanted to).

This year, though, B is allowed a limited number of days off, and although that number (3 weeks . . . not including sick days, 2 weeks for Christmas vacation, a week for Easter and a week for the semester break) seems generous in comparison to the number of vacation days an American child could take, this restriction has kind of hindered our holiday planning this year. So this year, we decided to take full advantage of the “free” days off he’s allowed during semester break — though the school is open, he isn’t required to be there, and these days off won’t count towards his 3 week limit of days off — and we’ve planned to “go on holiday” (my kids “go on holiday” now, they don’t “take a vacation”).

So, we’re taking a week, starting today. We have no specific plans, but lots of good ideas. With the busy pace of the holiday season, we thought we’d take a week and just relax, and maybe enjoy some of Vienna. We may go skating, go to the zoo, take a day trip out of the city for some skiing … or maybe not. We might just snuggle up on the couch, watch movies and play video games. Whatever we do, I’m looking forward to the week spent together, doing whatever fun stuff we might choose. (And yes, we’ve been totally converted to the European attitude towards time off — more is definitely better.)

A Mommy Abroad

Our big adventure, as a family of three.

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