I phoned my Mom last night from clunky old phone attached to our laptop in the lobby of the hotel down the street. I decided I didn't care if I cried in the lobby, I needed to talk to my Mom! Anyway, it sure was nice to talk to her and it did wonders for my spirits - Thanks Mom! I even held it together in the lobby! Something I did not do at the park yesterday morning while Eric and I were trying to do a crossfit type workout. I decided to have one of my pity parties in the park -- poor Eric!
Went to a newcomers coffee this morning at AIS. The school is very nice and welcoming which is a nice thing. I have chit chatted with a few people. Of course I talked to the PTO person who is in charge of room mother coordination... :) - I asked to help in both the kids classes. Surprised, White Bluffs friends? hee hee That should be fun.
Yesterday we went to the Schonbrun Palace grounds. It is where the zoo is located but there is also the palace grounds, great playground, beautiful grounds in general. It was so beautiful and we didn't even go 'in' anything yet. We were all amazed and had a great day. We can't wait to take visitors to all of these places.
I am going to head to the grocery now with my rolley bag :)--- if you could see me now. (I'll take a picture soon!)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Plugging Along
Hi All,
Things are going well. Sorry we haven't been on in a few days!! The kids wrapped up their 1st week of school and all went well. It is very odd to drop them off and pick them up with police dogs, police carrying AK 47's etc... I am not sure if it feels good or bad! Apparently there are some people that need protection at this school. The different country embassador's kids attend AIS and other high mucky muck types. Talk about being at the bottom of the food chain! :)
Plenty of kids that we see (in Evan's class etc...) have IPHONES! Not to mention IPODs and any other richy rich device that is out there. These people have some serious money. This will be a learning experience for us all. Kids are getting dropped off by "drivers" and I am walking up the hill from the 35A public bus. Cracking me up still :)!
Evan starts his club soccer tomorrow and has also chosen violin for his other activity. He starts lessons soon and will do a 1/2 hour private lesson once per week at the school. They have a strings class that he can join for his music class as soon as he gets 'good enough'. The music program is neat at AIS. In 2nd grade all the kids have to take all 4 string instruments all year (Violin, viola, bass and chello) and then they can choose one to continue with after that. That will be a nice perk for Julia next year. In 5th grade, all kids are issued lap tops each year...that will be a nice perk for for Evan next year :)
Julia has chosen Tennis and Gymnastics for her 'outside' activities after school. I think those begin in a few weeks. She got to go over and play at her friend Olivia's house yesterday for a few hours while I hit IKEA again. She had a blast.
We also went out to a fun pizza dinner with some new friends (one is Evan's age) last night... they justmoved here too. We all had a nice time.
I have been exploring while the kids are in school - doing lots of walking and errands. It seems strange, but one day I may spend hours just looking for where to buy a hook and finally finding it!
Eric's work is good. He doesn't have his 'legit' card yet - which is annoying as we can't get phones or a car until he gets it. I am trying to be patient :)
We are going to go to a park today...they have awesome big parks here - so fun!
Gotta run, my hour is almost up.
Miss you all!
Things are going well. Sorry we haven't been on in a few days!! The kids wrapped up their 1st week of school and all went well. It is very odd to drop them off and pick them up with police dogs, police carrying AK 47's etc... I am not sure if it feels good or bad! Apparently there are some people that need protection at this school. The different country embassador's kids attend AIS and other high mucky muck types. Talk about being at the bottom of the food chain! :)
Plenty of kids that we see (in Evan's class etc...) have IPHONES! Not to mention IPODs and any other richy rich device that is out there. These people have some serious money. This will be a learning experience for us all. Kids are getting dropped off by "drivers" and I am walking up the hill from the 35A public bus. Cracking me up still :)!
Evan starts his club soccer tomorrow and has also chosen violin for his other activity. He starts lessons soon and will do a 1/2 hour private lesson once per week at the school. They have a strings class that he can join for his music class as soon as he gets 'good enough'. The music program is neat at AIS. In 2nd grade all the kids have to take all 4 string instruments all year (Violin, viola, bass and chello) and then they can choose one to continue with after that. That will be a nice perk for Julia next year. In 5th grade, all kids are issued lap tops each year...that will be a nice perk for for Evan next year :)
Julia has chosen Tennis and Gymnastics for her 'outside' activities after school. I think those begin in a few weeks. She got to go over and play at her friend Olivia's house yesterday for a few hours while I hit IKEA again. She had a blast.
We also went out to a fun pizza dinner with some new friends (one is Evan's age) last night... they justmoved here too. We all had a nice time.
I have been exploring while the kids are in school - doing lots of walking and errands. It seems strange, but one day I may spend hours just looking for where to buy a hook and finally finding it!
Eric's work is good. He doesn't have his 'legit' card yet - which is annoying as we can't get phones or a car until he gets it. I am trying to be patient :)
We are going to go to a park today...they have awesome big parks here - so fun!
Gotta run, my hour is almost up.
Miss you all!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Lost and Found
I am in a better ‘space’ right now after my last blog of complete hysteria. I went home, cried a bunch, went for a jog , ate 2 lbs of M&M’s and felt much better.
Telekom Austria is coming on 9/8 (Happy B-day that day to Tracey – the BIG 40!!!), so until then we only get on the internet when I can get to the hotel down the road and pay 3 Euro for an hour. I don’t think it would be good to plug in my magic jack phone in the lobby and call anyone as I think I would be too loud and most likely look like a fool as I cry talking to someone.
I did meet a nice friend and was thinking I could ask her if I could make some calls from her house using her WIFI, but timing is hard with the time changes. So, blogging and emails will have to suffice right now I think.
Today (Wednesday.. I am posting this on Thursday) the kids seem to enjoy their 2nd day of school. They both like German class, which is fun. Evan really enjoys playing soccer at recess with the “soccer mad 4th graders” as they are all called. We ran into a new friend, Paul, on the bus to and from school and he and Evan sat together and walked to and from school together so that is nice. Evan really is a great conversationalist as I heard him asking Paul things like, “Who is your favorite soccer player?”, “Where else have you lived?”, “Did you get homework today?” etc… This boy is in his 3rd year at AIS and will be on Evan’s soccer club team we think.
More on soccer…. There are about 14 (we think) soccer clubs in Vienna. They are organized in the U categories like we do in WA. The age cutoff is different though… Dec 31st… so Evan plays U11 this year (by 15 days)… so he is the youngest on his team by far. Luckily he had some great experience with Lisa and Mike Seed “playing up” a year in WA, so he doesn’t seem intimidated. Each club (Evan’s is Wien Fortuna) has their own clubhouse, practice field (turf – we had to buy another pair of soccer shoes!!), locker rooms etc… He has practiced and played a friendly match with the U10 team last week and early this week. (the U-11 team coach has been out of town) The soccer at these clubs is fairly intense and the level of ability of these kids is very high. Each of the kids is as good as Evan or better. All the kids on the team speak German, some are Americans. The coach is Austrian…. It should be a good ride! (Starts Monday officially)
Julia seems to be doing really well. She loves her teacher already… although she says not more than Mrs. Fox! I think we are all craving our ‘stuff’ and for our home to feel like home. It is odd to have it so empty for so long and just have a card table and chairs. We did get Evan a mattress at IKEA and a bed frame. The other night I sent him to his room for a little while after he pounced on Julia (Again!) and when I went in to talk to him, he had taken the initiative to begin assembling his IKEA bed frame. Well, the bed slats that the mattress lies on our sort of strung together by this thick string/ribbon. He had taken his jack knife and cut each one of those apart thinking it was packing material!!
Lesson #1: Don’t send your 9 year old to his room with a jack knife and something to put together
Lesson #2: Teach Evan to read directions better
Lesson #3: Never pay more than $40 for a bed frame in case your child destroys it before it can be used
Thank God he didn’t hurt himself and we didn’t pay more for that frame!
I had a nice day today (Wed). There is a woman that just moved here about when we did from California. She doesn’t live that far from here and we thought it would be fun to go for a walk today. I suggested maybe we do a once/week walk where we go to a district/area of the city and walk and walk and explore. So we did this today and we intend to do it once per week. We left after school (about 8:30) and explored/walked till about 2:00. We hit some stores, lunch, coffee etc… so it was really fun. She is a very nice person and it was nice to just feel normal hanging out for a day.
This city is unbelievably accessable and beautiful. Walking down any street is such a treat with beautiful architecture and wonderful things to look at. I keep thinking… this is so European and I love it! The outdoor markets and cafes are really neat and trying to figure out where to buy things, what things are, what to order etc… is pretty darn fun most of the time.
After school today the kids and I took the bus and Ubahn (subway) to Eric’s work to check out the commissary. Like Miliary, the UN has a commissary that we can utilize. Eric can just pop down there before he leaves for work. Food is a little cheaper but more importantly there is familiar things there that you can’t find easily here (i.e. taco seasoning) I definitely should have done a HUGE HUGE COSTCO run before leaving and sent it on the boat. Kara (from above) did this and I am jealous! Anyway, the commissary was really great and now I know what is there so I can ask Eric to bring certain things home.
We then hit a mall we heard about over that way to grab a bite to eat and figure out more about that area. The mall was huge and will require me to go back myself one day to explore more. I will be starting German classes at Eric’s work in a few weeks, so that will be a good time to check that out too. Eric plays softball on WED nights… so Evan and Eric headed to that and Julia and I headed home. She said “lets take the way that we take one more subway and that one bus so I don’t have to walk at all!” She is funny and getting the different routes a bit. I did get on the bus and then have it stop suddenly a ways away from where I was trying to get. I thought maybe we were on the last bus of the night for that particular number. After trying to talk to the driver (NONE of them speak English) – I figured out I could jump on another one (‘fearzig A’ – 40A – I am getting better at numbers!) and get home still.
I am proud of myself for navigating around quite a bit and exploring quite a bit already. I have a lot to see and figure out, but am pleased with my progress so far and not ‘nervous’ at all to get lost etc…
I am typing this at our card table and will cut and paste it into the blog at some point. I am now listening to the washing/dryer machine which sounds like small jet is going to take off. Who the heck invented these things and why don’t they buy a clue from America with regards to washer/dryers? I am wishing I had a clothes line like my Grandma Oliver did and also thinking I am glad I didn’t live in a time when we didn’t have any appliances!
Okay -- now it is Thursday and I am posting this. I did the grocery store this am (only what I can lug home on the bus/walking) and then I tried to find Crossfit Vienna. I was so pumped....but bummer I wrote down the wrong address and walked for an hour trying to find it. Apparently they have no signage and it is in a basement, cuz I didn't see anything. I am going to email the dude now and try to find it tomorrow or Sunday or Monday? (depending on if we go to Salzburg this weekend)
I am going to go for a job after this for my excercise instead....plus the hour I walked looking for it. That should do it :)
We may got to Salzburg this weekend. Still deciding...it is a 2.5 hour train ride.
Ta Ta for Now
Telekom Austria is coming on 9/8 (Happy B-day that day to Tracey – the BIG 40!!!), so until then we only get on the internet when I can get to the hotel down the road and pay 3 Euro for an hour. I don’t think it would be good to plug in my magic jack phone in the lobby and call anyone as I think I would be too loud and most likely look like a fool as I cry talking to someone.
I did meet a nice friend and was thinking I could ask her if I could make some calls from her house using her WIFI, but timing is hard with the time changes. So, blogging and emails will have to suffice right now I think.
Today (Wednesday.. I am posting this on Thursday) the kids seem to enjoy their 2nd day of school. They both like German class, which is fun. Evan really enjoys playing soccer at recess with the “soccer mad 4th graders” as they are all called. We ran into a new friend, Paul, on the bus to and from school and he and Evan sat together and walked to and from school together so that is nice. Evan really is a great conversationalist as I heard him asking Paul things like, “Who is your favorite soccer player?”, “Where else have you lived?”, “Did you get homework today?” etc… This boy is in his 3rd year at AIS and will be on Evan’s soccer club team we think.
More on soccer…. There are about 14 (we think) soccer clubs in Vienna. They are organized in the U categories like we do in WA. The age cutoff is different though… Dec 31st… so Evan plays U11 this year (by 15 days)… so he is the youngest on his team by far. Luckily he had some great experience with Lisa and Mike Seed “playing up” a year in WA, so he doesn’t seem intimidated. Each club (Evan’s is Wien Fortuna) has their own clubhouse, practice field (turf – we had to buy another pair of soccer shoes!!), locker rooms etc… He has practiced and played a friendly match with the U10 team last week and early this week. (the U-11 team coach has been out of town) The soccer at these clubs is fairly intense and the level of ability of these kids is very high. Each of the kids is as good as Evan or better. All the kids on the team speak German, some are Americans. The coach is Austrian…. It should be a good ride! (Starts Monday officially)
Julia seems to be doing really well. She loves her teacher already… although she says not more than Mrs. Fox! I think we are all craving our ‘stuff’ and for our home to feel like home. It is odd to have it so empty for so long and just have a card table and chairs. We did get Evan a mattress at IKEA and a bed frame. The other night I sent him to his room for a little while after he pounced on Julia (Again!) and when I went in to talk to him, he had taken the initiative to begin assembling his IKEA bed frame. Well, the bed slats that the mattress lies on our sort of strung together by this thick string/ribbon. He had taken his jack knife and cut each one of those apart thinking it was packing material!!
Lesson #1: Don’t send your 9 year old to his room with a jack knife and something to put together
Lesson #2: Teach Evan to read directions better
Lesson #3: Never pay more than $40 for a bed frame in case your child destroys it before it can be used
Thank God he didn’t hurt himself and we didn’t pay more for that frame!
I had a nice day today (Wed). There is a woman that just moved here about when we did from California. She doesn’t live that far from here and we thought it would be fun to go for a walk today. I suggested maybe we do a once/week walk where we go to a district/area of the city and walk and walk and explore. So we did this today and we intend to do it once per week. We left after school (about 8:30) and explored/walked till about 2:00. We hit some stores, lunch, coffee etc… so it was really fun. She is a very nice person and it was nice to just feel normal hanging out for a day.
This city is unbelievably accessable and beautiful. Walking down any street is such a treat with beautiful architecture and wonderful things to look at. I keep thinking… this is so European and I love it! The outdoor markets and cafes are really neat and trying to figure out where to buy things, what things are, what to order etc… is pretty darn fun most of the time.
After school today the kids and I took the bus and Ubahn (subway) to Eric’s work to check out the commissary. Like Miliary, the UN has a commissary that we can utilize. Eric can just pop down there before he leaves for work. Food is a little cheaper but more importantly there is familiar things there that you can’t find easily here (i.e. taco seasoning) I definitely should have done a HUGE HUGE COSTCO run before leaving and sent it on the boat. Kara (from above) did this and I am jealous! Anyway, the commissary was really great and now I know what is there so I can ask Eric to bring certain things home.
We then hit a mall we heard about over that way to grab a bite to eat and figure out more about that area. The mall was huge and will require me to go back myself one day to explore more. I will be starting German classes at Eric’s work in a few weeks, so that will be a good time to check that out too. Eric plays softball on WED nights… so Evan and Eric headed to that and Julia and I headed home. She said “lets take the way that we take one more subway and that one bus so I don’t have to walk at all!” She is funny and getting the different routes a bit. I did get on the bus and then have it stop suddenly a ways away from where I was trying to get. I thought maybe we were on the last bus of the night for that particular number. After trying to talk to the driver (NONE of them speak English) – I figured out I could jump on another one (‘fearzig A’ – 40A – I am getting better at numbers!) and get home still.
I am proud of myself for navigating around quite a bit and exploring quite a bit already. I have a lot to see and figure out, but am pleased with my progress so far and not ‘nervous’ at all to get lost etc…
I am typing this at our card table and will cut and paste it into the blog at some point. I am now listening to the washing/dryer machine which sounds like small jet is going to take off. Who the heck invented these things and why don’t they buy a clue from America with regards to washer/dryers? I am wishing I had a clothes line like my Grandma Oliver did and also thinking I am glad I didn’t live in a time when we didn’t have any appliances!
Okay -- now it is Thursday and I am posting this. I did the grocery store this am (only what I can lug home on the bus/walking) and then I tried to find Crossfit Vienna. I was so pumped....but bummer I wrote down the wrong address and walked for an hour trying to find it. Apparently they have no signage and it is in a basement, cuz I didn't see anything. I am going to email the dude now and try to find it tomorrow or Sunday or Monday? (depending on if we go to Salzburg this weekend)
I am going to go for a job after this for my excercise instead....plus the hour I walked looking for it. That should do it :)
We may got to Salzburg this weekend. Still deciding...it is a 2.5 hour train ride.
Ta Ta for Now
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
1st Day of School
Oh boy... a big day today. Kids started school and they did great. We had a WET walk to the bus/school as it was pouring. I told Evan we were NOT going to Salzburg (that is the plan) this weekend we are going car shopping!! I don't think I will win this one though.
Julia did great - she didn't even look back when I left her in her class. Thank God, if she would have lost it I would have lost it - I barely held it together. :) Her teacher is very nice, Mrs. Leckie... she is in her 2nd year at AIS, but taught in Seattle a few years (she is from WA!) and has her masters. Bad news...she is having a baby in mid October ... I was NOT thrilled about this. As most of you know, I am fairly neorotic about my kids schools, teachers, stability, etc... I have already found out that she will be back in january and they are bringing in Mrs. Winner who taught 1st grade at AIS for 20 years and she just retired last year. Everyone I have talked to loves her, so I am hopeful all will be okay. I kept chanting to myself "Just cuz you are not happy with this doesn't mean Julia will have an issue with it!" Anyway, got past that hurdle.
Evan of course just walked to his class no problem. He met some nice friends today and his highlight was playing soccer at recess. He also loved German class.
Went down to the PTF (PTO/PTA) meeting for an hour and met a few people. I had met a gal Halane that has a 1st grader at the meet and greet thing so her and I jumped on the train to explore a shopping area... I needed to find an iron! Anyway, we had lunch together and shopped on our own and then headed back to the school. It was nice to 'hang out' with someone although she is not new to Vienna and was probably sick of me asking her questions. :)
The next hurdle was that I couldnt' find Evan at the pick up point after school. I was okay for the first 25 minutes trying to find him but in the 30th minute I lost it. I was sobbing and telling them to call the police and they did an all school call and everyone was running around like crazy. It turns out he had not seen me at the doors and walked outside and down the street to another set of doors. (which we had checked but must have missed him) The school is like a campus (K-12) not just one building so it is very very confusing. He wasn't scared but when he saw me sobbing he felt really bad. I am pretty sure I was sobbing from 30% Evan lost and 70% Julia starting school, me missing my posse, feeling out of place all the time, not understanding a damn thing anywhere, not having our stuff, walking everywhere with one sometimes two whiny kids, eating too much, not excercising enough, not having any friends, not being able to buy groceries in any quantity because the fridges are so darn small, it taking 5 hours (I'm not joking) to do a load of laundry in a washer/dryer in one machine, not sleeping well, not getting enoughsleep, having my period... I could go on and on.
On a positive note......there are some.... I really do love exploring here. There are ENDLESS thigns to see and do and it is so fun to follow the map and get on buses, trains, subways, walking etc... Very very fun. I keep thinking I am going to feel better and most days I feel pretty darn good aside from about 1-2 hours. That's not bad, right?
Okay, don't worry about me if you are - I will be fine. I definitely need to vent though! It is hard not being connected right now. Eric is happy as a lark and is probably (most definitely) sick of me feeling a bit 'challenged' ...
I won't have many downer blogs I promise!!
Julia did great - she didn't even look back when I left her in her class. Thank God, if she would have lost it I would have lost it - I barely held it together. :) Her teacher is very nice, Mrs. Leckie... she is in her 2nd year at AIS, but taught in Seattle a few years (she is from WA!) and has her masters. Bad news...she is having a baby in mid October ... I was NOT thrilled about this. As most of you know, I am fairly neorotic about my kids schools, teachers, stability, etc... I have already found out that she will be back in january and they are bringing in Mrs. Winner who taught 1st grade at AIS for 20 years and she just retired last year. Everyone I have talked to loves her, so I am hopeful all will be okay. I kept chanting to myself "Just cuz you are not happy with this doesn't mean Julia will have an issue with it!" Anyway, got past that hurdle.
Evan of course just walked to his class no problem. He met some nice friends today and his highlight was playing soccer at recess. He also loved German class.
Went down to the PTF (PTO/PTA) meeting for an hour and met a few people. I had met a gal Halane that has a 1st grader at the meet and greet thing so her and I jumped on the train to explore a shopping area... I needed to find an iron! Anyway, we had lunch together and shopped on our own and then headed back to the school. It was nice to 'hang out' with someone although she is not new to Vienna and was probably sick of me asking her questions. :)
The next hurdle was that I couldnt' find Evan at the pick up point after school. I was okay for the first 25 minutes trying to find him but in the 30th minute I lost it. I was sobbing and telling them to call the police and they did an all school call and everyone was running around like crazy. It turns out he had not seen me at the doors and walked outside and down the street to another set of doors. (which we had checked but must have missed him) The school is like a campus (K-12) not just one building so it is very very confusing. He wasn't scared but when he saw me sobbing he felt really bad. I am pretty sure I was sobbing from 30% Evan lost and 70% Julia starting school, me missing my posse, feeling out of place all the time, not understanding a damn thing anywhere, not having our stuff, walking everywhere with one sometimes two whiny kids, eating too much, not excercising enough, not having any friends, not being able to buy groceries in any quantity because the fridges are so darn small, it taking 5 hours (I'm not joking) to do a load of laundry in a washer/dryer in one machine, not sleeping well, not getting enoughsleep, having my period... I could go on and on.
On a positive note......there are some.... I really do love exploring here. There are ENDLESS thigns to see and do and it is so fun to follow the map and get on buses, trains, subways, walking etc... Very very fun. I keep thinking I am going to feel better and most days I feel pretty darn good aside from about 1-2 hours. That's not bad, right?
Okay, don't worry about me if you are - I will be fine. I definitely need to vent though! It is hard not being connected right now. Eric is happy as a lark and is probably (most definitely) sick of me feeling a bit 'challenged' ...
I won't have many downer blogs I promise!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Checking In
Hi Everyone,
The kids and I are at a hotel down the street so we can buy an hour of internet. I can't believe there was a time we lived without internet... it is truely hard. Even not being able to look up the weather forecast, how to get somewhere with google maps, or translation websites to read a darn label here. Basically, it is making the transition a bit tougher I think. Anyway... we are managing the best we can.
The kids start school tomorrow...they are excited. Evan got Mr. Hunter (that is so cool he has a man teacher!) and Julia got Ms. Lexie (or something like that - I can't remember!) we are looking forward to meeting them tomorrow. We will take the public transportation to school until we get a car. It is actually pretty fun. (The kids don't like the walk home from the bus stop as it is steep up hill!)
We went to the Bellian's house for dinner last night and they had a few other people over too. It was really really fun to hang out with some other people...and they were all very nice, supportive, helpful etc.. The best part was that Julia met 7 year old Oliva and they became fast friends. It was great to see Julia dress up and have TONS of fun with other girls for a few hours. She needed that. Poor Evan was the only boy - BUT he enjoys 6th grader Louisa who is now fluent in German and plays the violin - both things Evan hopes to conquer here in Vienna. Good time had by all.
We went to IKEA on Friday.... 2,000 Euros later!!, we have a bunch of stuff that we have to put together. The delivery just came this am. YEAH! Honestly we got there at 11am and left at 6:30. Who has 2 meals at IKEA in one day? It was fun for awhile and not so much fun towards the end! :)
I am sorry we are so out of touch right now... I hate it. Parents: We will try to come here with our magic jack tonight and phone if we can. (Is that odd in a hotel lobby?:)!)
Sis/Aunt Sis - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY -- We love you!!
The kids and I are at a hotel down the street so we can buy an hour of internet. I can't believe there was a time we lived without internet... it is truely hard. Even not being able to look up the weather forecast, how to get somewhere with google maps, or translation websites to read a darn label here. Basically, it is making the transition a bit tougher I think. Anyway... we are managing the best we can.
The kids start school tomorrow...they are excited. Evan got Mr. Hunter (that is so cool he has a man teacher!) and Julia got Ms. Lexie (or something like that - I can't remember!) we are looking forward to meeting them tomorrow. We will take the public transportation to school until we get a car. It is actually pretty fun. (The kids don't like the walk home from the bus stop as it is steep up hill!)
We went to the Bellian's house for dinner last night and they had a few other people over too. It was really really fun to hang out with some other people...and they were all very nice, supportive, helpful etc.. The best part was that Julia met 7 year old Oliva and they became fast friends. It was great to see Julia dress up and have TONS of fun with other girls for a few hours. She needed that. Poor Evan was the only boy - BUT he enjoys 6th grader Louisa who is now fluent in German and plays the violin - both things Evan hopes to conquer here in Vienna. Good time had by all.
We went to IKEA on Friday.... 2,000 Euros later!!, we have a bunch of stuff that we have to put together. The delivery just came this am. YEAH! Honestly we got there at 11am and left at 6:30. Who has 2 meals at IKEA in one day? It was fun for awhile and not so much fun towards the end! :)
I am sorry we are so out of touch right now... I hate it. Parents: We will try to come here with our magic jack tonight and phone if we can. (Is that odd in a hotel lobby?:)!)
Sis/Aunt Sis - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY -- We love you!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
We're still here......
Hi All!
I am sitting at the computers at the United Nations buildings on Eric's work campus. Nice to have internet. We won't have access over the weekend probably so just wanted to let everyone know we are fine.
We had 1st night in flat last night... air mattresses are not that comfortable but oh well.
We are headed next for a monster shopping trip to IKEA - talk about a dream for me!! :) We need wardrobes (closets), one bed, desks, tons of things like garbage bins, laundry baskets, shower caddies, etc...
I'll catch up soon.... Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I am sitting at the computers at the United Nations buildings on Eric's work campus. Nice to have internet. We won't have access over the weekend probably so just wanted to let everyone know we are fine.
We had 1st night in flat last night... air mattresses are not that comfortable but oh well.
We are headed next for a monster shopping trip to IKEA - talk about a dream for me!! :) We need wardrobes (closets), one bed, desks, tons of things like garbage bins, laundry baskets, shower caddies, etc...
I'll catch up soon.... Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Home Sweet Home!
Julia was thrilled to unpack her American Girl doll stuff from the air shipment and DANCE away to loud music on the IPOD speaker... 2 of her fave past times.
Julia did most of the unpacking while i cleaned. She is so helpful!
This is just some of the wrapping and stuff. We put everything into the one room (I think our family room) until we can get organized a bit.
We laughed so hard when we brought all the cleaning stuff on the subway... Eric looked like he worked for Merry Maids :)!! We set Evan up with all the stuff for a photo op in our hotel room. He has wafers on his head... a European treat that we all can't stop eating.
view of the soccer fields at AIS (kid's school) from the playground.
The kids at a beautiful fountain. This is a memorial that the Russian's built for themselves to honor themselves for the help they lent to Austria in WWII. :) Lights change colors at night -- very pretty.
This is another beautiful church... we haven't been in it yet... so cool.Hope you enjoy these pictures.
We got the keys to our new flat today --yeah. Perfect timing that we also received our air shipment. This has some essentials (we could ship 500lbs air)... sheets, towels, winter coats, clothes, american girl doll clothes, soccer equipment etc...
Julia unpacked most of the shipment while I cleaned the apartment a bit. She loves to do that sort of thing and also had a BLAST playing with her doll and clothes that arrived and dancing to the IPOD speaker thing.... loud as we have no neighbors yet! :)
Eric and Evan headed over to check out one of the local Austrian soccer clubs... where Evan did a practice with them for 1.5 hours. Eric said it went well...was very high level soccer with an excellent french coach speaking German and English. Apparently there was one kid giving Evan a hard time but he handled himself well. There were also kids being especially nice too. The mean kid was mocking Evan that he needed English instructions. Good thing I wasn't there or I would have boxed the kids ears. Hee hee
It is a bit different here soccer wise...so we need to figure it all out. But the age lines are January 1st... SO Evan misses the cutoff by 2 weeks so he needs to play with the U-11 kids and be the youngest. Hopefully this works out okay for him. The french coach (U10 coach) told Eric to be prepared fot he U11 coach, he is "Austrian and a bit rough in his coaching style/more yelling...Austrian style NOT American style" We'll try it out and another club. But this club is very near our flat which would be nice. I think Evan can handle it :)!!
We may be out of touch quite a bit because our flat will not have internet for a few weeks and we will have limited access to other internet sources. I will find hot spots etc... but won't be as good as I have been. Don't want you to worry :)! I am sure you will all like the rest from my daily blogs!!!
Kids had their assessment at school today. They did fine and seemed less nervous. School starts Tuesday and we find out their teachers on Friday...not that it matters as we know no one :)
Eric played softball and took Evan with him tonight so they had fun. Julia and I stayed and cleaned a bit and then she got to pick dinner tonight. Guess what she picked - YES - McDonalds. So off we headed to Micky D's and then back to the hotel for bed.
I will take more picture of flat soon. Our new address is:
Gregor Mendel Strasse 52/DG
A-1190 Wien (Vienna) Austria
Not that you will need it cuz it costs too much to send anything here...but just so you have it :)
Oh... posted Evan's monkey story and pictures below in next post.
Evan's Funny Monkey Story
We are finally writing about the money story. So... we happened to stop at the corner of the monkey enclosure at the Vienna zoo (I was sitting on the curb eating an apple) and a monkey came running over. Obviously he had been fed there before. See Picture 1. So Evan began picking leaves off the bush and giving them to the monkey who was eating them. See Picture #2 He even touched his hand a few times. Evan loves monkeys so this was very exciting!! The 3rd picture was taken right before the fun began... notice Evan holding his icecream cone with one hand and a leaf for the monkey in the other. Well the monkey, faked Evan out and grabbed his cone!!! Evan pulled back and won the tug of war, but the money got a good scoop on his hand. Evan was laughing so hard and saying "I'm sorry I wasted our money on that cone!"
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Who would have thought?
Who would have thought buying pillows could be so difficult??!! It is the simple things in life that we take for granted!! :)
We sign our lease in the morning and although we have air mattresses to sleep on, we need a few pillows. We found there are MANY sizes and varieties of polsters (pillows) in Austria .... who the heck knows why this is?! Anyway... we finally figured out which was most 'standard' as to not make the pillowcases a price where we would have to sell one of the children to work as a slave in the store.
We also hit the greatest grocery store we have seen - a Merker - yeah! It had awesome real food stations being cooked there....like mini restaurants...we ate dinner there!! We also purchased some cleaning supplies to hit our flat before we move in Thursday morning. Again, it took us many minutes to figure out what you would usually just grab and go with at Target. Sometimes this is fun, sometimes not! It was hilarious watching Eric carry a bucket full of cleaning supplies and a mop home on the subway back to our hotel. I really should have taken a picture! (I was carrying pillows!!)
My final shopping story of the day was when Eric was trying to purchase something at a sports store and I was outside the doors with Julia. I was watching Eric attempt to use a debit card of sorts (they do NOT do credit cards or checks here at all) for the 1st time and he was having trouble. Well the girl at the Kasse (cash register :)) was snickering with her little friend. Well, Jenny from the block/Wife Bear came out and I had had enough for the day... so, I marched in and said something like "I hope someday you are transplanted to some foreign country where you know no one, don't speak or read the language, and you receive no help at all from anyone!!" Okay, I was just venting there saying what I wished I could say (in German too!!)...but instead I did say something like "I hope if you are ever transplanted somewhere that people are nicer to you and don't snicker at you"... but I said it kinda soft and I don't even think she heard me! :)
We had Newcomer Orientation at AIS today and we got to see the school. It was very impressive and I think the kids were cautiously optimistic. They both met another new face in their grade (one from CA and one from here in Vienna)...so hopefully that will help with first days. Julia is nervous - but I think she would be at WB too... she is going to be one tired cookie in the afternoons! They have some amazing after school activities programs that they are both excited about. Everything from sports to painting to karate to photography.... that will be fun for them to decide what they want to sign up for. They fed us all a nice BBQ lunch and we had fun. I met a few nice Moms (even got one email :)!!)... so that was nice too.
Eric joined a softball team through work so he plays tomorrow night. I think the kids and I will go and watch too. We should be sleeping in our new digs on Thursday night. The bad part is that we could be weeks before we get internet....so we may be a little more out of touch. (read that as: Jenn is going to go insane but will have to find hotspots in Vienna to blog at least a few times! hee hee) We are working on something that may work in the meantime as we don't want to be out of touch for too long!
Just remembered... Evan was going to tell his funny zoo story! Well, we will have to do that in the am... 10:30 here and I am the only one up waiting for laundry to be finished. I figure I will do all the laundry I can while the hotel is paying for it!!
Hope all of your back to school preparations are going well!
Miss you all!
We sign our lease in the morning and although we have air mattresses to sleep on, we need a few pillows. We found there are MANY sizes and varieties of polsters (pillows) in Austria .... who the heck knows why this is?! Anyway... we finally figured out which was most 'standard' as to not make the pillowcases a price where we would have to sell one of the children to work as a slave in the store.
We also hit the greatest grocery store we have seen - a Merker - yeah! It had awesome real food stations being cooked there....like mini restaurants...we ate dinner there!! We also purchased some cleaning supplies to hit our flat before we move in Thursday morning. Again, it took us many minutes to figure out what you would usually just grab and go with at Target. Sometimes this is fun, sometimes not! It was hilarious watching Eric carry a bucket full of cleaning supplies and a mop home on the subway back to our hotel. I really should have taken a picture! (I was carrying pillows!!)
My final shopping story of the day was when Eric was trying to purchase something at a sports store and I was outside the doors with Julia. I was watching Eric attempt to use a debit card of sorts (they do NOT do credit cards or checks here at all) for the 1st time and he was having trouble. Well the girl at the Kasse (cash register :)) was snickering with her little friend. Well, Jenny from the block/Wife Bear came out and I had had enough for the day... so, I marched in and said something like "I hope someday you are transplanted to some foreign country where you know no one, don't speak or read the language, and you receive no help at all from anyone!!" Okay, I was just venting there saying what I wished I could say (in German too!!)...but instead I did say something like "I hope if you are ever transplanted somewhere that people are nicer to you and don't snicker at you"... but I said it kinda soft and I don't even think she heard me! :)
We had Newcomer Orientation at AIS today and we got to see the school. It was very impressive and I think the kids were cautiously optimistic. They both met another new face in their grade (one from CA and one from here in Vienna)...so hopefully that will help with first days. Julia is nervous - but I think she would be at WB too... she is going to be one tired cookie in the afternoons! They have some amazing after school activities programs that they are both excited about. Everything from sports to painting to karate to photography.... that will be fun for them to decide what they want to sign up for. They fed us all a nice BBQ lunch and we had fun. I met a few nice Moms (even got one email :)!!)... so that was nice too.
Eric joined a softball team through work so he plays tomorrow night. I think the kids and I will go and watch too. We should be sleeping in our new digs on Thursday night. The bad part is that we could be weeks before we get internet....so we may be a little more out of touch. (read that as: Jenn is going to go insane but will have to find hotspots in Vienna to blog at least a few times! hee hee) We are working on something that may work in the meantime as we don't want to be out of touch for too long!
Just remembered... Evan was going to tell his funny zoo story! Well, we will have to do that in the am... 10:30 here and I am the only one up waiting for laundry to be finished. I figure I will do all the laundry I can while the hotel is paying for it!!
Hope all of your back to school preparations are going well!
Miss you all!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Zoo Day
Eric started work and had a good day today. The kids and I headed to the Vienna Zoo. It is in the Schonbrunn area which has more than the zoo. (other museums, a Palmhouse, a huge castle which was the Hapsburgs summer residence... all of which we will see on other outings!) The zoo is the oldest in the world, but it was very nice and large. I think we will probably buy yearround passes there....very fun and cheap!
Evan has a very funny zoo story with pictures to post, but it is late so I will let him post tomorrow about it. Stay tuned.... :)
Eric has a work friend that is in town on business so we went out to dinner with him tonight. It was nice to see him and enjoyed his company. Of course, we hit more ice cream on the way home. I have packed on some lbs and look forward to a home routine which will include more structured workouts and less food!! :)
For those of you that know how I love to Crossfit, I received good news today that the Crossfit here has a fair monthly rate so I can join - yeah!! I do need to check it out first, but I am optimistic. I am addicted and have missed it soooo much!! (For those that don't know about it - contact Tracey or Trevor White in Tri-Cities....they are opening a Crossfit Gym off of Gage Blvd!!)
We have new family orientation tomorrow morning at the American International School (AIS)... the kid's new school. We are all very excited to see the school and the facilities as well as meet some teachers/parents etc.. We are also supposed to meet at our flat to do our 'walk thru' and are hoping to sign the lease tomorrow too. We hope to sleep there on Wednesday night....
I suspect after sleeping on air mattresses and eating on our card table and chairs for 8 weeks we will wonder why we were in such a hurry!?!
Evan has a very funny zoo story with pictures to post, but it is late so I will let him post tomorrow about it. Stay tuned.... :)
Eric has a work friend that is in town on business so we went out to dinner with him tonight. It was nice to see him and enjoyed his company. Of course, we hit more ice cream on the way home. I have packed on some lbs and look forward to a home routine which will include more structured workouts and less food!! :)
For those of you that know how I love to Crossfit, I received good news today that the Crossfit here has a fair monthly rate so I can join - yeah!! I do need to check it out first, but I am optimistic. I am addicted and have missed it soooo much!! (For those that don't know about it - contact Tracey or Trevor White in Tri-Cities....they are opening a Crossfit Gym off of Gage Blvd!!)
We have new family orientation tomorrow morning at the American International School (AIS)... the kid's new school. We are all very excited to see the school and the facilities as well as meet some teachers/parents etc.. We are also supposed to meet at our flat to do our 'walk thru' and are hoping to sign the lease tomorrow too. We hope to sleep there on Wednesday night....
I suspect after sleeping on air mattresses and eating on our card table and chairs for 8 weeks we will wonder why we were in such a hurry!?!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Normal Day... ahhhhhh
Hi All!
Things felt a bit normal today - or maybe I am just coming out of my funk a bit? We had a nice day today.
We started out at a catholic mass at Stephensdome Cathedral...basically the iconic cathedral you would see in any picture of Vienna. It is gorgeous in there.... huge and old (I believe over 1,000 years old) Suffice it to say the kids did not enjoy it! The music was beautiful but it was HOT in there, very long and all in German. A good experience none the less. We need to find a church out by us... probably one that has an English service. (many do)
We also headed back to the Alta Donau area for some swimming and playing at the parks.
Had a nice dinner at a restaurant we found on the Donau.... Evan ordered grilled trout which came whole with the head still on. He, of course, is not affected and enjoys it besides the bone issues. Julia and I on the other hand asked the boys to cover the head with a piece of lettace so we could eat our meal!
We capped off our last official vacation day with another round of Zanoni and Zanoni -- the best gelataria (ice cream... I believe Gelato originated in Italy) ever! I now have a new addiction...caramel mixed with chocolate.
I say last vacation day because Eric starts work in the am. He is excited to get started... I am hoping it isn't just to get away from me. I haven't been the sweetest wife in my 'transition' time. I think I was a bit better today... should I ask him if he agrees? :)
Highlight of the day was Skyping with the Kostorowskis and seeing them/hearing their voices. And we got to see Mia too - yeah! (For those of you who don't know, our dear friends are fostering our dog Mia) Thank heavens for Skyping and VOIP phones.
Can't wait to skype more of you! :)
Things felt a bit normal today - or maybe I am just coming out of my funk a bit? We had a nice day today.
We started out at a catholic mass at Stephensdome Cathedral...basically the iconic cathedral you would see in any picture of Vienna. It is gorgeous in there.... huge and old (I believe over 1,000 years old) Suffice it to say the kids did not enjoy it! The music was beautiful but it was HOT in there, very long and all in German. A good experience none the less. We need to find a church out by us... probably one that has an English service. (many do)
We also headed back to the Alta Donau area for some swimming and playing at the parks.
Had a nice dinner at a restaurant we found on the Donau.... Evan ordered grilled trout which came whole with the head still on. He, of course, is not affected and enjoys it besides the bone issues. Julia and I on the other hand asked the boys to cover the head with a piece of lettace so we could eat our meal!
We capped off our last official vacation day with another round of Zanoni and Zanoni -- the best gelataria (ice cream... I believe Gelato originated in Italy) ever! I now have a new addiction...caramel mixed with chocolate.
I say last vacation day because Eric starts work in the am. He is excited to get started... I am hoping it isn't just to get away from me. I haven't been the sweetest wife in my 'transition' time. I think I was a bit better today... should I ask him if he agrees? :)
Highlight of the day was Skyping with the Kostorowskis and seeing them/hearing their voices. And we got to see Mia too - yeah! (For those of you who don't know, our dear friends are fostering our dog Mia) Thank heavens for Skyping and VOIP phones.
Can't wait to skype more of you! :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ikea Baby! (see below pictures for my wordy words!)
Our favorite Gelato spot...yummy
The tramp 'rental' - see below
Julia's new haircut - she likes it short. Mommy likes long :( Opposite the case for Evan!!!
Catholic Chapel built in 1898... in the mountain town we went to (Semmering)
View from the top of the mountain in Semmering (we hiked up for some good excercise and views!)Thanks to my HS buddy Shelly, she inspired me to change the blog colors a bit - hope it is easier to read. I totally agreed, Shelly, just didn't take the time to do anything about it. Keep your comments coming!
So... started out the day with a workout in the 'fitness room' at our hotel. I put it in quotes because it sucks. :) It gets the job done and the kids just sit in there with us and play their DS's (aka fight) while we try to sweat off some of the bread and sausage we are consuming!
We decided to explore a bit and see if we could find IKEA via subway/bus. Note: Do not take the bus to IKEA on Saturday...talk about crowded BO. Geez, what is up with the lack of pit stick here? I have the Europe BO thing all figured out - if they would just wear some SUMMER clothes, they would not SWEAT so badly and thus the odor wouldn't be so bad. It was every bit of 85 today and everyone is still wearing jeans!! (and some jackets) I even saw a dude with a fleece jacket on! I digress....
We put the kids in the playland at IKEA.... Evan had a blast throwing plastic balls at other boys and trying out his German. Julia met a friend (Julia) and they played in the kitchen the whole time. She misses her 'stuff' so much!! (she loves her 'things'...he just needs a ball :))
We almost skipped shopping and just sat in the cafeteria for an hour of peace and quiet -- but looked around IKEA and had fun thinking of what we will need to buy for our new flat. We are hoping to get in Wed. or TH... we should know more Tuesday. Can you believe you can buy a beer at the IKEA cafeteria? Shelly Parrish, if you are reading this, I thought of you!! :)
We then decided to explore the Alta Donau area...which translates to Old Danube. Vienna used to have the Danube run through it in a natural collection of paths. When the United Nations built a big complex here (not sure what year??)...they rerouted the Danube and it now has an "old Danube" part and a "new part". The new part has a long thin island that goes on for many miles. We will have to wait for our bikes to arrive to explore this area fully. We saw some of the old part today which is very pretty. There are tons of beaches, parks, swimming, sunbathing (including some topless which we all found alarming - but it is quite common here!) etc... The had these caged areas with separate trampolines the kids could go on. 2 Euro for 8 minutes (although they were in about 25 minutes!)... crazy. The kids loved them. I will try to put a picture below so you can see what I am talking about. You would never see this in the USA... too many lawsuits I think!
We are headed back tomorrow for a fun filled day with NO errands for us all to play, swim, hang out etc...
We are headed back tomorrow for a fun filled day with NO errands for us all to play, swim, hang out etc...
We then headed to a big shopping district with the hopes of finding a sports store we heard about. I didn't plan for a rainy area very well and the kids needed nice rain jacket layers to head off to school. We found the store and jackets so it was a success. The MariahilferStrasse is LONG and there is TONS of shopping...I don't even like to shop that much and I was really impressed and excited! It was nice to see 'real' stores and figure out where I can find things. (i.e. a bed bath and beyond type place where I can purchase pillows - yeah!) I get excited about the simple things, huh?!
After dinner we hit our favorite gelato for dessert and headed back for some sleep and more laundry in the hotel laundry room.
Hope this finds you all well!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Back on line....
Okay, my name is Jenn and I am addicted to being connected to friends and family via the internet. Hee hee! After I had the DT's in the mountains, it wasn't bad not being 'connected' a few days...but I like it better when I can chat, blog, email, etc... I cannot tell you what a boost you all have given me via blog posts, emails, FB, etc... I can feel the love and I need it - thank you.
I am definitely a bit homesick right now. We were getting food tonight and I said to Eric "I just want to be able to understand something right now!" The language thing is a bit frustrating some days...although we are definitely getting by knowing a tiny bit of German, having a few books with us, and relying on many people that speak at least some (or a lot) of English.
On the homefront: We decided on the castle flat and are awaiting paperwork to be completed and reviewed by Eric's work. I would be surprised if we were in before Wednesday...so back to the hotel in Vienna for a few days. We are pumped to hit IKEA for tons of stuff!! :)
We go to Spar (grocery) each day and get breakfast stuff for our hotel room. We can also order belegte brots (sandwiches) by ourselves in german and are happy cuz they are cheap :)! Things are very very expensive here, so we get excited when things are cheap.
Speaking of cheap... the only thing we have found to be much less expensive is cell phone plans! We checked that out today since we have an address now. We need Eric's "Legit Card"...which shows he is working at IAEA and has diplomatic priveledges, then we can get our phones. This won't help much in contacting USA, but will help for our lives here a lot.
The kids both got haircuts today..Evan stayed 'long' but we cut the mullet. Eric and I like it better short, but this is something we are letting him go with right now. Julia wanted chin length again. Again, not what we would choose, but it must be good for them to make these decisions. Speaking of making decisions, a plug for a great book I am reading... Parenting with Dignity. It is SOOOO good to all my parent friends out there.
On our mountain trip: We packed 2 bags and headed out Wednesday on subways to the train station to catch a train to Semmering, Austria. About 1.5 hours southeast of Vienna. It is in Alps region of lower Austria-- beautiful area. I think I told you a bit about it...but you can take the gondola up the 'ski' mountain and ride "rollers" down. These are souped up scooters... Evan LOVED it. Eric rode about 3 hours with him and then I did an hour with him. Julia was too young to go :( ....she really was too little to handle them - it was STEEP in sections.
We are dying to bring Scott Child and Trevor White to Semmering to do that hill on their mountain bikes. They are the two best down hill mountain bikers we know and they would LOVE it. These guys were in full gear coming down FAST, doing jumps, etc... We are talking X-games stuff. super cool!
We stayed at a cute pension (hotel with breakfast), did more sandwiches for lunch and had a couple of great Austrian dinners. We almost stayed one more night, but rains came in for the weekend and we figured there were more indoor options in Vienna along with better weather forecast.... so we hopped the train back.
I have so much to say.. Eric would say I have diarhea of the mouth.... sorry to bore you. This is good for my mental health :)
Love to all!
I am definitely a bit homesick right now. We were getting food tonight and I said to Eric "I just want to be able to understand something right now!" The language thing is a bit frustrating some days...although we are definitely getting by knowing a tiny bit of German, having a few books with us, and relying on many people that speak at least some (or a lot) of English.
On the homefront: We decided on the castle flat and are awaiting paperwork to be completed and reviewed by Eric's work. I would be surprised if we were in before Wednesday...so back to the hotel in Vienna for a few days. We are pumped to hit IKEA for tons of stuff!! :)
We go to Spar (grocery) each day and get breakfast stuff for our hotel room. We can also order belegte brots (sandwiches) by ourselves in german and are happy cuz they are cheap :)! Things are very very expensive here, so we get excited when things are cheap.
Speaking of cheap... the only thing we have found to be much less expensive is cell phone plans! We checked that out today since we have an address now. We need Eric's "Legit Card"...which shows he is working at IAEA and has diplomatic priveledges, then we can get our phones. This won't help much in contacting USA, but will help for our lives here a lot.
The kids both got haircuts today..Evan stayed 'long' but we cut the mullet. Eric and I like it better short, but this is something we are letting him go with right now. Julia wanted chin length again. Again, not what we would choose, but it must be good for them to make these decisions. Speaking of making decisions, a plug for a great book I am reading... Parenting with Dignity. It is SOOOO good to all my parent friends out there.
On our mountain trip: We packed 2 bags and headed out Wednesday on subways to the train station to catch a train to Semmering, Austria. About 1.5 hours southeast of Vienna. It is in Alps region of lower Austria-- beautiful area. I think I told you a bit about it...but you can take the gondola up the 'ski' mountain and ride "rollers" down. These are souped up scooters... Evan LOVED it. Eric rode about 3 hours with him and then I did an hour with him. Julia was too young to go :( ....she really was too little to handle them - it was STEEP in sections.
We are dying to bring Scott Child and Trevor White to Semmering to do that hill on their mountain bikes. They are the two best down hill mountain bikers we know and they would LOVE it. These guys were in full gear coming down FAST, doing jumps, etc... We are talking X-games stuff. super cool!
We stayed at a cute pension (hotel with breakfast), did more sandwiches for lunch and had a couple of great Austrian dinners. We almost stayed one more night, but rains came in for the weekend and we figured there were more indoor options in Vienna along with better weather forecast.... so we hopped the train back.
I have so much to say.. Eric would say I have diarhea of the mouth.... sorry to bore you. This is good for my mental health :)
Love to all!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
In the Mountains
Hi All! We are in the mountains and donät have internet access. So we purchased an hour at a local hotel bz our pension. I am on a german kezboard so all y's will be z's and all ' will be ä... zou like?? Ä?
Anzwaz.... we ended up going with the 3rd storz castle flat!! We donät know when we will move in but we are hoping MOndaz.
We are in the lower Austrian Alps and having a blast. There is a gondola ride up and then bikers scream down...we are talking full gear on these dudes.... reallz cool. We rented ÄrollersÄ and did this most of the daz. Thez are like souped up scooters ...reallz strong frames and big wheels. Julia couldnät do it... have to be 8....but Evan LOVED it and I took a few rides too. (eric did most)
Anzwaz.... touching base quicklz so zou werenät worried about us dropping off for a few dazs!!
Hope zou can figure out the zäs!! Ö
Weäll touch base soon! Much love!
Anzwaz.... we ended up going with the 3rd storz castle flat!! We donät know when we will move in but we are hoping MOndaz.
We are in the lower Austrian Alps and having a blast. There is a gondola ride up and then bikers scream down...we are talking full gear on these dudes.... reallz cool. We rented ÄrollersÄ and did this most of the daz. Thez are like souped up scooters ...reallz strong frames and big wheels. Julia couldnät do it... have to be 8....but Evan LOVED it and I took a few rides too. (eric did most)
Anzwaz.... touching base quicklz so zou werenät worried about us dropping off for a few dazs!!
Hope zou can figure out the zäs!! Ö
Weäll touch base soon! Much love!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Still deciding...
Okay, this is getting old now :)
Saw one more flat today.. it was actually quite nice - surprise, we didn't think it would be. But the location isn't great and it has NO outdoor living space at all - not even a little terrace. Definitely a 'city' street building.
The landlord of the cute Linneplatz flat notified us they wouldn't be negotiating at all for the price and it could be a delay moving in due to a water issue they are resolving. None of us want to be delayed at ALL moving into a place! :) He did offer putting in one of the gardens into the 3rd floor unit. We are taking 2nd floor off our list as we don't want to be up in the air on move in date.
In summary, we are going to probably proceed in the am with the 3rd floor but try to get the garage spot (more for storage plus a car) instead of the garden. If he won't budge on garage spot (he wants to sell it with the 1st floor unit - which we don't want), then we will take the garden probably. Back up : the one we saw today...it would work fine too.
Phew... hoping to get this in motion in the morning so we can check out of here and take the train south to Semmering Austria, a mountian town to get away for a few days. I think it would do us all some good - particularly Eric who has not been able to get into the mountains at all this summer. (this is a huge issue!! :))
We will probably come back here on Friday or Saturday and if we are lucky get our place on Monday.
Fingers Crossed!
Tried to talk to a lady in the laundry room tonight with my small amount of German. She couldn't understand a thing! Figured out because she was speaking ITALIAN. Too funny. Then another woman came in and spoke English... I talked her ear off! She is from upstate NY and we were both happy to speak English to another Mom/Woman.
We miss everyone. Pray for Evan -- he seems especially homesick wondering if he can go back to Tri-Cities for his birthday. Poor guy :(
Saw one more flat today.. it was actually quite nice - surprise, we didn't think it would be. But the location isn't great and it has NO outdoor living space at all - not even a little terrace. Definitely a 'city' street building.
The landlord of the cute Linneplatz flat notified us they wouldn't be negotiating at all for the price and it could be a delay moving in due to a water issue they are resolving. None of us want to be delayed at ALL moving into a place! :) He did offer putting in one of the gardens into the 3rd floor unit. We are taking 2nd floor off our list as we don't want to be up in the air on move in date.
In summary, we are going to probably proceed in the am with the 3rd floor but try to get the garage spot (more for storage plus a car) instead of the garden. If he won't budge on garage spot (he wants to sell it with the 1st floor unit - which we don't want), then we will take the garden probably. Back up : the one we saw today...it would work fine too.
Phew... hoping to get this in motion in the morning so we can check out of here and take the train south to Semmering Austria, a mountian town to get away for a few days. I think it would do us all some good - particularly Eric who has not been able to get into the mountains at all this summer. (this is a huge issue!! :))
We will probably come back here on Friday or Saturday and if we are lucky get our place on Monday.
Fingers Crossed!
Tried to talk to a lady in the laundry room tonight with my small amount of German. She couldn't understand a thing! Figured out because she was speaking ITALIAN. Too funny. Then another woman came in and spoke English... I talked her ear off! She is from upstate NY and we were both happy to speak English to another Mom/Woman.
We miss everyone. Pray for Evan -- he seems especially homesick wondering if he can go back to Tri-Cities for his birthday. Poor guy :(
Monday, August 9, 2010
Making Friends...
Funny window display! Things related to drinking, 'boobies' (as the kids would say), etc... are much more prevalent and liberal here!
Evan's pick of room if we decide on the 2nd/middle floor instead of 3rd flr flat. The window and the all wood ceiling is beautiful. 
"Dining Room"... another futbal room for the Smith house? (probably not with that chandelier!)
Front of Linneplatz Flat... you can see the 2nd/middle floor awesome terrace and the 3rd floor smaller terrace but rounded room (picture from yesterday)Quick update because I am tired tonight :)!! We went back to Linneplatz and decided on the way there we should consider the middle floor more because it has a great terrace and a bit of a garden (yard). We don't want to maintain the garden, but would LOVE the terrace. Also, Eric doesn't fit very well in the 3rd floor showers. Anyway... we are negotiating and figuring on what we can afford etc... We should have it decided upon by tomorrow night (hopefully) and the lease agreement in process. There are pros and cons for both - and we like them both a lot.
Before and after our flat appointment, we went to local parks near this flat. Big, beautiful parks with pools, soccer fields, playground equipment etc... The equipment is so different from anything in America and so it is very new and fun. The kids made a few new friends which is great. Julia was asking girls how old they were in German - so cute. She ran around with another girl that only spoke Turkish... I told her to just smile, laugh and point... it worked well and they had a blast!
Evan hung out and played soccer with a 13 year old (not much taller than Evan though!) that is a Syrian living in Vienna his whole life. He speaks 4 languages (does America have it wrong or what?!) and was so nice. He taught us some things about local soccer/fusbal and so we have some figuring out to do with the kids soccer soon.
It was great to see the kids try their German and they were in great need of some playtime with other children besides themselves. I actually shed a tear (I KNOW I KNOW, those that know me well are not surprised!!:)) seeing them interact and thinking "this is a huge reason why we moved here". So this was a great day.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
I promise not to always be this long winded!! :)
View from the top of the Ferris wheel towards the 'downtown'
Front of the Hofburg
SchmetterlingHaus
Street "Statues": real people earning moneyBelow is another post with a few more pictures. Not sure how to do the pictures most efficiently. Maybe someone with more blogging experience could show me the ropes? :) I'll also put some pictures in this post.
Anyway... today was fun. Evan, Julia and I had our 1st good night's sleep since last Monday night. We all slept about 10 hours!!! Eric didn't do as well and had another few hour wake up at 3am..but he managed okay.
We went down to the Ringstrasse (downtown area) and walked around seeing some more sights. There are plenty of street entertainers, which the kids like. "Statues" coming to life when you drop money in their buckets (picture) and soccer freestylers were the faves.
We also took our first stroll through some of the Hofburg. These are the castles, building, etc.. from the most dominant 'rulers' of Austria (The Hapsburg) in the early 1900's I believe. The front stairs where Hitler stood and announced his 'reign'.... we explained this to Julia and then after a few minutes she announced she "hated all these castles because the evil man lived here"...so we had to re explain a bit. :)
We went in the Schmetterling Haus (Butterfly house) -- which was SOOO beautiful. Eric and I almost passed out and within minutes Eric had "swamp ass" and had to leave - SOOOO HOT in there!! We allowed Evan to go back in by himself for 15 minutes. It was no surprise when he came out and told us everyone in there knew him as he got about 4 huge butterflies to land on him. That kid can make friends and/or an impression (good, sometimes bad!) anywhere!
Speaking of impression, next Evan saw some young men playing soccer and asked them to play (in German)...these guys were freestyle soccer dudes too. I hadn't seen this before...they actually just do a bunch of amazing dribbling tricks with the soccerball. It was CRAZY! Evan juggled with the kid for awhile and then Christian gave him is 'postcard' which was like a baseball card but a postcard size. These guys are sponsored and everything. I took some video of the guys doing it for money on the ringstrasse and I will try to also attach below. (taking too long - I'll try again later!) Pay particular attention to the short conversation Julia and I have in the background of their music playing. She cracks me up. Anyway, Evan said "I can't take it anymore, can we please go buy a soccer ball tomorrow".... so we will definitely do this - cannot wait for our air shipment. I think we will try to find him a 'pick up' futbal game tomorrow!
We also went to the Prater Platz, which is a huge park, amusement park, etc... It houses the oldest ferris wheel in the world, which we rode. It is a great view, slow ride in enclosed carriage cars. I was pointing out the unbelievable views the kids and saying something like "can you believe we live here now!" for which they replied "we can't wait to ride the log ride!" because they couldn't take their eyes off the views of the amusement park! Very funny! The rides there were CRAZY... not necessarily big, but really crazy - stuff you don't see in USA because I think liability issues/insurance/etc... Big swinging upside down kinda stuff...high on my barfometer.
We also went to the Prater Platz, which is a huge park, amusement park, etc... It houses the oldest ferris wheel in the world, which we rode. It is a great view, slow ride in enclosed carriage cars. I was pointing out the unbelievable views the kids and saying something like "can you believe we live here now!" for which they replied "we can't wait to ride the log ride!" because they couldn't take their eyes off the views of the amusement park! Very funny! The rides there were CRAZY... not necessarily big, but really crazy - stuff you don't see in USA because I think liability issues/insurance/etc... Big swinging upside down kinda stuff...high on my barfometer.
FYI....So far, my main complaint about Europe/Austria/Vienna is that you can't just ask for a glass of water. Usually you have to pay for a water (gas or no gas (carbonated or not))....I did learn the word for tap water but it didn't work tonight. I'll keep trying :)
We meet tomorrow at 3pm with the owners of the flat we love, hopefully we will get a little closer to some deicision making then.
On a bad note, little Jules came down with the crud tonight and she is now running the fever. Hoping it is just the fever bug and not the barfing bug too!
Pictures to share
Not sure how to do these pictures very effectively yet, but here goes....
Yesterday we walked to the kid's new school... AIS (American International School) and here is also a picture of what Julia is thinking will be her room if we get the "Castle Flat".
The Flat Marathon
We spent all of yesterday looking at more flats. The weather sucked - rainy rainy rainy, but we made the best of it. We had four appointments; 10, noon, 2 and 6. ... since it was 'across town' from our hotel, we stayed over there the entire day. This would not have been hard had the weather been nicer --- there are SOOO many parks! Since the weather was not nice, we spent the down time in cafes, grocery stores, etc...
One of the flats is really a nice size and has a beautiful beautiful view, but is a little off the beaten path from public transportation. This plays into affect as we will only have one car...either for Eric to commute to work or me to take the kids to school/have for me :).
Many of the places are close to the 35A bus...which if taken to the 'end', we can walk to school. We did this walk yesterday to see how hard the walk was and how long it would take. I think it is fine, but could get very 'old' in bad weather...which I think we have a bit of here. So... my preference is to have the car or get the AIS private school bus...which is very very expensive.
So the location/transportation definitely plays in a ton.
Each flat we look at we all leave and give it a rating along with the things we like/don't like about it. Julia will often say "1" and "I don't like anything about it" -- she has strong opinions about it! Evan is much more methodical and will give us many specific likes and dislikes.
The flat we all gave 8-10's for is the one that we hope works out at this point. It is the 3rd floor of a beautiful house built in 1901. The family bought it last year and is just finishing the renovations... it is so neat! Because of the 3rd floor, we get all the roof lines and cool ceilings -- which we all loved. They put in a bunch of windows on the slanted ceilings ...which open too. It is about 1400 square feet, which we find to be the perfect size for us. It is right across the street from Turkenschaunz park ...a big park with playground, walking paths, restaurant, ponds etc... It also has 2 other parks close by with public pools. The more I type the more I love it!!! :)
It is definitely going to be different living here... they say dryers are so American and there aren't a lot of bathrooms. The flat we want has 1 full bathroom plus one room with a shower/sink and 1 water closet (toilet).
Ended our day out to a great dinner with Anthony Bellian. He is from New Mexico (LANL) and has lived here with his family for 4 years. His family is currently in NM so we hope to meet them soon. It was so nice to talk with someone who has done this before... poor guy, I asked him a lot of questions!
Our hope is that tomorrow we can begin working on the lease agreement. If so, we are hoping to go into the Austrian Mountains on Tuesday-Thursday and move in Friday. This may be in our dreams. :)
It is our 12th Anniversary today!!
We are headed out to spend the day (in sunny weather yeah!) downtown on the 'Ring' and/or at a huge park called Prater Park.
Thanks for reading a marathon blog! This blog has been a blessing - even if nobody reads it, it is theuraputic for me!! :)
Funny... just did spell check and it came up all highligted yellow...it is spellchecking in german!!
One of the flats is really a nice size and has a beautiful beautiful view, but is a little off the beaten path from public transportation. This plays into affect as we will only have one car...either for Eric to commute to work or me to take the kids to school/have for me :).
Many of the places are close to the 35A bus...which if taken to the 'end', we can walk to school. We did this walk yesterday to see how hard the walk was and how long it would take. I think it is fine, but could get very 'old' in bad weather...which I think we have a bit of here. So... my preference is to have the car or get the AIS private school bus...which is very very expensive.
So the location/transportation definitely plays in a ton.
Each flat we look at we all leave and give it a rating along with the things we like/don't like about it. Julia will often say "1" and "I don't like anything about it" -- she has strong opinions about it! Evan is much more methodical and will give us many specific likes and dislikes.
The flat we all gave 8-10's for is the one that we hope works out at this point. It is the 3rd floor of a beautiful house built in 1901. The family bought it last year and is just finishing the renovations... it is so neat! Because of the 3rd floor, we get all the roof lines and cool ceilings -- which we all loved. They put in a bunch of windows on the slanted ceilings ...which open too. It is about 1400 square feet, which we find to be the perfect size for us. It is right across the street from Turkenschaunz park ...a big park with playground, walking paths, restaurant, ponds etc... It also has 2 other parks close by with public pools. The more I type the more I love it!!! :)
It is definitely going to be different living here... they say dryers are so American and there aren't a lot of bathrooms. The flat we want has 1 full bathroom plus one room with a shower/sink and 1 water closet (toilet).
Ended our day out to a great dinner with Anthony Bellian. He is from New Mexico (LANL) and has lived here with his family for 4 years. His family is currently in NM so we hope to meet them soon. It was so nice to talk with someone who has done this before... poor guy, I asked him a lot of questions!
Our hope is that tomorrow we can begin working on the lease agreement. If so, we are hoping to go into the Austrian Mountains on Tuesday-Thursday and move in Friday. This may be in our dreams. :)
It is our 12th Anniversary today!!
We are headed out to spend the day (in sunny weather yeah!) downtown on the 'Ring' and/or at a huge park called Prater Park.
Thanks for reading a marathon blog! This blog has been a blessing - even if nobody reads it, it is theuraputic for me!! :)
Funny... just did spell check and it came up all highligted yellow...it is spellchecking in german!!
Friday, August 6, 2010
House Hunters International :)
we are headed out to look at 4 more places today - hoping one will work! I will update the blog later with some pictures too hopefully!
rainy and cold again today ...not thrilled with the weather but oh well!
Sick of hotel living... I better get over it because I am in for at leat another week I am sure!
rainy and cold again today ...not thrilled with the weather but oh well!
Sick of hotel living... I better get over it because I am in for at leat another week I am sure!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Evan and Julia were invited into the cockpit on the SLC to Paris flight for pictures. Julia is testing out her sleeping mask - we both used them! They had a little kit with those, socks, toothbrush, lotion etc.. in them. 
The one of Evan in the street was the cutest little 'alley' street -they are all over and really really beautiful.
The one of Evan in the street was the cutest little 'alley' street -they are all over and really really beautiful.
This was last night prior to the stomach flu for Evan. This is in the main square...tons of shipping, restaurants, etc...
Life
Not a great first night... Evan woke up about midnight and was NOT happy. He shed many tears and many 'thoughts' (all negative!) about moving here and not wanting to stay. Poor guy. We finally got us all back to sleep about 3am (we were all wide awake at 2am) and he had a bad headache through the night. He proceeded to wake up and throw up this morning. Don't think it is the flu - think he has a migraine. He isn't kicking the headache very quickly so of course I don't like that and am my usual worried self! We stayed back at hotel while Eric and Julia went to the 1st apartment appointment. If it is any good, we'll all go check it out tomorrow hopefully.
So... Evan still sleeping at noon... this will make for another crappy nights sleep but I he needs to sleep if he doesn't feel well, right?!
Anyway... not a great start, but it is what it is. :)
He is stirring - I'll write more later!
So... Evan still sleeping at noon... this will make for another crappy nights sleep but I he needs to sleep if he doesn't feel well, right?!
Anyway... not a great start, but it is what it is. :)
He is stirring - I'll write more later!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
We have arrived!
What a long travel day...but fun! It turns out that flying 1st class internationally makes a 9 hour flight not just bareable but fun!! 2 movies and a few hours sleep and we had arrived! Food, drinks, excellent service, real blankets, real pillows, a huge chair that reclines to a bed.... it was fun!
After reading Julia the fancy menu options for dinner (seared mahi mahi, beef fillet, fancy ravioli, etc...) she said "So, no mac n cheese, huh?" !!
Julia and I slept for about 3 1/2 hours. It was odd to arrive into Paris their morning but it was our middle of the night. We are all a bit confused in the sleep/eat departments. We saw the Eiffel tower when flying in, so Julia was thrilled.
The flight from Paris to Vienna was uneventful and quick. The kids were disappointed in the 'regular 1st class'' .... go figure! We arrived at our hotel about 4:30 and cleaned up a bit. We are staying about 4 U-bahn (subway) stops from 'downtown' area, so we headed there to see it and get a bite to eat. When we climbed the stairs out of the subway right up into the big square where the Stephensdome is... WOW...beautiful. I thought "I can't believe we are living here!"
We had a quick dinner and then awesome gelato (icecream) and we are now back ready to hit the hay after only a few hours sleep in 24 hours. Hopefully we will get on their time zone quickly now. It was so fun to just walk around the cobblestone streets and be amongst all the hustle and bustle of a big European city.
Tomorrow will be busy... set up a bank account, stop into Eric's work, see an apartment etc... We only have a few appts so far to see apartments/flats...so hopefully something will be perfect for us. We are praying for that.
I'll figure out how to post pictures when I am not so exhausted!
Auf Wiedersehen!
After reading Julia the fancy menu options for dinner (seared mahi mahi, beef fillet, fancy ravioli, etc...) she said "So, no mac n cheese, huh?" !!
Julia and I slept for about 3 1/2 hours. It was odd to arrive into Paris their morning but it was our middle of the night. We are all a bit confused in the sleep/eat departments. We saw the Eiffel tower when flying in, so Julia was thrilled.
The flight from Paris to Vienna was uneventful and quick. The kids were disappointed in the 'regular 1st class'' .... go figure! We arrived at our hotel about 4:30 and cleaned up a bit. We are staying about 4 U-bahn (subway) stops from 'downtown' area, so we headed there to see it and get a bite to eat. When we climbed the stairs out of the subway right up into the big square where the Stephensdome is... WOW...beautiful. I thought "I can't believe we are living here!"
We had a quick dinner and then awesome gelato (icecream) and we are now back ready to hit the hay after only a few hours sleep in 24 hours. Hopefully we will get on their time zone quickly now. It was so fun to just walk around the cobblestone streets and be amongst all the hustle and bustle of a big European city.
Tomorrow will be busy... set up a bank account, stop into Eric's work, see an apartment etc... We only have a few appts so far to see apartments/flats...so hopefully something will be perfect for us. We are praying for that.
I'll figure out how to post pictures when I am not so exhausted!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Vienna here we come....
We are sitting at the Tri-Cities airport right now. Wow...what a crazy few days. We cleaned, packed, clean some more, saw tons of friends, had fun, cried a lot and here we are waiting to take off....seems like we have been waiting awhile for this day.
I had an especially hard morning saying "See you soon" to our dog Mia and my great friend Tonia all at the same time. Tonia and her family are like a 2nd family to us and we are so thrilled they are taking care of Mia while we are away. Talk about good friends! Thank you Ski Team!!! We love you!!
Thanks to the Whites, Kostorowskis and Cabes for throwing us a GREAT party on Sunday night... it was so fun and it was nice to be able to catch up a bit and say Bye. Thanks for stopping by if you could/did!
I still have a headache from crying saying bye to the White Family and the Cabes... what great friends to have in our lives. I am going to miss everyone so much but I also feel blessed that we have such wonderful people that support and love us. We are very lucky.
The kids are excited and Julia just purchased a Justin Beiber "Teeny Bopper" Magazine...is she 6 or 12? :)
Evan is excited about WiFI at the airport to download a new game to the ITOUCH... thanks to Brent and Ryan for giving him new game ideas! :)
I can't believe we are finally on our way... please pray for our safe travels, that we find a place to live in a timely manner and that I don't get too crabby and drive Eric crazy! :)
Love to all!!
I had an especially hard morning saying "See you soon" to our dog Mia and my great friend Tonia all at the same time. Tonia and her family are like a 2nd family to us and we are so thrilled they are taking care of Mia while we are away. Talk about good friends! Thank you Ski Team!!! We love you!!
Thanks to the Whites, Kostorowskis and Cabes for throwing us a GREAT party on Sunday night... it was so fun and it was nice to be able to catch up a bit and say Bye. Thanks for stopping by if you could/did!
I still have a headache from crying saying bye to the White Family and the Cabes... what great friends to have in our lives. I am going to miss everyone so much but I also feel blessed that we have such wonderful people that support and love us. We are very lucky.
The kids are excited and Julia just purchased a Justin Beiber "Teeny Bopper" Magazine...is she 6 or 12? :)
Evan is excited about WiFI at the airport to download a new game to the ITOUCH... thanks to Brent and Ryan for giving him new game ideas! :)
I can't believe we are finally on our way... please pray for our safe travels, that we find a place to live in a timely manner and that I don't get too crabby and drive Eric crazy! :)
Love to all!!
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