So glad it is Friday tomorrow, no more hounding Evan to do homework for a few nights! :)
Not much earth shattering going on. Big news here was that my crockpot arrived at the Post. Okay, pathetic, but I was so excited! I didn't bring my crockpot (my cherished kitchen tool!!) because the voltage etc.. is different. BUT apparently they don't use crockpots here?! Who would have thought it!! Anyway, figured out I could purchase one on line from Amazon UK and it would be at least the right voltage so I only need an adapter (for the plug) vs. a transformer to transform the voltage. (this is what we have to use for our chargers etc..) Anyway, it arrived at the Post and I picked it up and had to carry this mongo box up the hill to our flat. Through the park... I wanted to tell every Austrian I saw what it was and how their lives could change if they ordered one. My friend Kara and I are convinced we could make bank here selling crockpots. Hmmmmm.....
Our shipment is delayed and we don't have a delivery date yet. I am still hoping for by Oct 1st... maybe late next week or early the next? We hope to know next week.
Evan loves violin and today asked if one of his friends could come to their 'concert' that they will have. I said Sure, which one? He said someone from the Tri-Cities. Anyone? Anyone? :)
We ordered our Tiguan on Wednesday - it will be great! I have to admit, I am so excited to get the car and stop this public commute in the am and pm. It is 30 minutes each way and I have to do it 4x per day. It isn't awful, but I am looking forward to cutting that down to a 10 min. drive at the most. There are 2 hills - one up and one down each way. So, I will have to cut down on my gelato consumption when we get the car. :)
Eric is playing a double header softball game tonight. They have a fun time and I am glad he gets to get out and hang out with some dudes. I think I told you the team name is Slug and Chug, so you can figure out what they like to do.
I think we will head out of town for an overnight on Sat - Sunday. Eric has some mountain town picked out. We will need to check the weather as it wouldn't be fun to go to a hiking place with bad weather.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Funny Story at End is PG-13
Tried to add the slide show of pictures through Picasa on the right...lots of pictures but if you are really bored one day you can view some!
Big news today is that is looks like our boat shipment may be delivered one week from this Wednesday!! I will believe it when it passes customs and all looks good, but something to hope for! I don't even know what it will feel like to have 'stuff' It is funny how quickly we got used to living with bare necessities. I know Eric and I are looking forward to getting off this air matress!
German class was fun yesterday, I am really looking forward to it. I just made myself flashcards for the 100 most commonly used words in German, I have plenty of bus and subway time to look at these. Eric was supposed to take it at the same time but due to increased enrollment they opened up another session. The new time worked better for his work schedule and I could not switch as I have to be back to pick up kiddos, so we will have all the days covered with our German classes, we can share information and can also meet for quick lunches more so that is good.
We also test drove a few cars. We are down to the Volkswagon Tiguan or the Volkwagon Golf Plus. The Tiguan is much more 'fun', more space, better looking, probably better in snow, etc... but more money (of course). The Golf plus is the affordable utilitarian way to go. We are trying to decide! Looks like we will have wheels in about a month. Again, funny how you get used to no car. I hadn't driven a car in over a month prior to yesterday! I actually enjoy public transportation (aside from 4 times a day to school), and will most likely still use it when getting into the inner districts - but to and from school we will drive the car.
The kids are doing well. Julia broke my heart last night as she was sobbing at bedtime because she "misses my friends, my dog, my grandma, my papa, my uncle kirk, my cherish, my grandjan, my gramps, my ya ya, and everyone else ...but especially my dog" It was so cute and sad to hear her begin to list everyone and then kind of get tired of listing and just say everyone and then especially my dog. She was easily calmed down and she hasn't really done that yet, so I think it was 'healthy'. She had talked to one of her bestest buddies Ryan on the phone, so I think that started her head spinning. Ryan and Julia love to dance on their boat so I told her we would skype and turn on tunes and they could dance together via webcam! (Tracey, get ready for that!! :))
We have sent out some emails about Evan's soccer and we have a temporary solution, so all is working out okay. The U10 coach (a very very nice and capable coach) went to the U11 coach (without us asking him to!) and actually told him he thought it was riduculous that he cut Evan because he was "too short and too small" - Nochello said "What does that have to do with anything in soccer!" Anyway, the U11 coach ended up saying he would take Evan back but wasn't nice about it and we all decided this was not a good move. So.. until we can find another club (if we can), Evan will be practicing and getting great coaching from Oliviea Nochello the U10 coach. He just can't play in matches with him because he is too old by 15 days.
I will end with a very funny story... if you are with kids or are a kid - don't read this :) although we told Evan and all had a great laugh. This will be more funny if I could tell it in person, but try to imagine it verbally.
At German class yesterday we were working on vorname (first name) and familiename (last name), introductions etc... So the teacher said "Was ist ihr familiename?" to one guy. This is What is your last name? The man said "Meine familiename ist Dick" (my last name is Dick) The german teacher than says "Das ist Herr Dick"... (Translated: That is Mr. Dick) - Herr is Mr. and sounds like Hair" I must be the only sicko in the class cuz I could barely contain myself. I kept thinking "thank God Eric isn't here as we would have LOST it laughing!"
Tschoss! (said "choos" for Bye!)
Big news today is that is looks like our boat shipment may be delivered one week from this Wednesday!! I will believe it when it passes customs and all looks good, but something to hope for! I don't even know what it will feel like to have 'stuff' It is funny how quickly we got used to living with bare necessities. I know Eric and I are looking forward to getting off this air matress!
German class was fun yesterday, I am really looking forward to it. I just made myself flashcards for the 100 most commonly used words in German, I have plenty of bus and subway time to look at these. Eric was supposed to take it at the same time but due to increased enrollment they opened up another session. The new time worked better for his work schedule and I could not switch as I have to be back to pick up kiddos, so we will have all the days covered with our German classes, we can share information and can also meet for quick lunches more so that is good.
We also test drove a few cars. We are down to the Volkswagon Tiguan or the Volkwagon Golf Plus. The Tiguan is much more 'fun', more space, better looking, probably better in snow, etc... but more money (of course). The Golf plus is the affordable utilitarian way to go. We are trying to decide! Looks like we will have wheels in about a month. Again, funny how you get used to no car. I hadn't driven a car in over a month prior to yesterday! I actually enjoy public transportation (aside from 4 times a day to school), and will most likely still use it when getting into the inner districts - but to and from school we will drive the car.
The kids are doing well. Julia broke my heart last night as she was sobbing at bedtime because she "misses my friends, my dog, my grandma, my papa, my uncle kirk, my cherish, my grandjan, my gramps, my ya ya, and everyone else ...but especially my dog" It was so cute and sad to hear her begin to list everyone and then kind of get tired of listing and just say everyone and then especially my dog. She was easily calmed down and she hasn't really done that yet, so I think it was 'healthy'. She had talked to one of her bestest buddies Ryan on the phone, so I think that started her head spinning. Ryan and Julia love to dance on their boat so I told her we would skype and turn on tunes and they could dance together via webcam! (Tracey, get ready for that!! :))
We have sent out some emails about Evan's soccer and we have a temporary solution, so all is working out okay. The U10 coach (a very very nice and capable coach) went to the U11 coach (without us asking him to!) and actually told him he thought it was riduculous that he cut Evan because he was "too short and too small" - Nochello said "What does that have to do with anything in soccer!" Anyway, the U11 coach ended up saying he would take Evan back but wasn't nice about it and we all decided this was not a good move. So.. until we can find another club (if we can), Evan will be practicing and getting great coaching from Oliviea Nochello the U10 coach. He just can't play in matches with him because he is too old by 15 days.
I will end with a very funny story... if you are with kids or are a kid - don't read this :) although we told Evan and all had a great laugh. This will be more funny if I could tell it in person, but try to imagine it verbally.
At German class yesterday we were working on vorname (first name) and familiename (last name), introductions etc... So the teacher said "Was ist ihr familiename?" to one guy. This is What is your last name? The man said "Meine familiename ist Dick" (my last name is Dick) The german teacher than says "Das ist Herr Dick"... (Translated: That is Mr. Dick) - Herr is Mr. and sounds like Hair" I must be the only sicko in the class cuz I could barely contain myself. I kept thinking "thank God Eric isn't here as we would have LOST it laughing!"
Tschoss! (said "choos" for Bye!)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A great day for a bike ride....
Hi All,
We have had a very nice weekend of fun and nice weather. Saturday we did some chores around the apartment and then headed to the park by our house for a few hours. Eric and I do a 'pseudo crossfit' workout and the kids play at the park. We also played some table tennis. All the parks have permanent ping pong tables so that is fun.
Headed down to one of the shopping areas then to do a few returns, pick up a few more clothing items for the kids and also a refridgerator! I have been living a few weeks with a very very small fridge and it is a huge pain :)!! It is even small to "European" standards!! :) So, we purchased another fridge that is a little bigger and we put it in our 'extra room'/den. We couldn't 'replace' the fridge in the kitchen as it is wedged into a small spot and we can't fit anything bigger.
So... Eric and the new fridge took a cab home and the kids and I did public as usual. We popped some popcorn and watched a movie the finish the night.
Today we rented bikes and explored the river paths, the downtown area and Prater Park. The Prater here is unbelievable... a HUGE park miles wide by miles long. It has everything from a huge amusement park to a skate park, bowling alleys, field hockey, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, kids play parks, bmx bike trails, wooded areas... it is so cool! We explored a bit on bike but will spend many days there I am sure.
Evan seems to be doing well with his set back. He is asking questions and we are trying hard to contact people to find out where else he could possibly play. It doesn't seem there is a ton between serious Austrian Club leagues and recreational once per week soccer fun that doesn't include games. But we are still hunting.... there has to be something!
I am listening to Evan play violin in the background. It is nice to hear! Twinkle Twinkle in the background!
We hope you are having a nice weekend!
Jenn
We have had a very nice weekend of fun and nice weather. Saturday we did some chores around the apartment and then headed to the park by our house for a few hours. Eric and I do a 'pseudo crossfit' workout and the kids play at the park. We also played some table tennis. All the parks have permanent ping pong tables so that is fun.
Headed down to one of the shopping areas then to do a few returns, pick up a few more clothing items for the kids and also a refridgerator! I have been living a few weeks with a very very small fridge and it is a huge pain :)!! It is even small to "European" standards!! :) So, we purchased another fridge that is a little bigger and we put it in our 'extra room'/den. We couldn't 'replace' the fridge in the kitchen as it is wedged into a small spot and we can't fit anything bigger.
So... Eric and the new fridge took a cab home and the kids and I did public as usual. We popped some popcorn and watched a movie the finish the night.
Today we rented bikes and explored the river paths, the downtown area and Prater Park. The Prater here is unbelievable... a HUGE park miles wide by miles long. It has everything from a huge amusement park to a skate park, bowling alleys, field hockey, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, kids play parks, bmx bike trails, wooded areas... it is so cool! We explored a bit on bike but will spend many days there I am sure.
Evan seems to be doing well with his set back. He is asking questions and we are trying hard to contact people to find out where else he could possibly play. It doesn't seem there is a ton between serious Austrian Club leagues and recreational once per week soccer fun that doesn't include games. But we are still hunting.... there has to be something!
I am listening to Evan play violin in the background. It is nice to hear! Twinkle Twinkle in the background!
We hope you are having a nice weekend!
Jenn
Friday, September 10, 2010
Rough Day....
Had a rough day yesterday, after practicing for 2 weeks on this Austrian Club soccer team that Evan figured he would be on, the coach told Eric and Evan that he "is too short, too young and he has too many kids on his team already so he can't join the team". Unfortunately he also has being American going against him too. They are not very interested in putting in time on Americans in this situation. Also, Evan's age is a huge disadvantage...the cut off here is Dec 31st...which means he has to play with the 'older kids' by 15 days. He was the youngest out there and was the smallest, but not the worst by any means. He is definitely holding his own in skillwork/footwork.
He handled it very well. I was very glad I wasn't there and Eric was as I think I would have told that guy where I thought he should go. (Mama Bear!) Anyway, we will begin researching other options now. I am very proud at the way that Evan is handling this big disappointment and his first "cut" from a team....but I am worried he is not really showing his emotions and burying them a bit. Maybe not?
To make matters worse, his two good buddies at school are on the team. We are encouraging him to spread his wings a bit with friends at school too.
We went out to an Aussie Pub to drown our sorrows in Beer, Almdudler (German Sprite) and Crocodile steak and fries. (Julia and I had burgers!) Oh, and more gelato of course!
Anyway, please keep us in your prayers. This is a big set back for a little boy that has gone through a TON in 4 weeks. Not to mention his parents who are aching for him knowing how sucky it feels to be cut. :(
Love to all...
He handled it very well. I was very glad I wasn't there and Eric was as I think I would have told that guy where I thought he should go. (Mama Bear!) Anyway, we will begin researching other options now. I am very proud at the way that Evan is handling this big disappointment and his first "cut" from a team....but I am worried he is not really showing his emotions and burying them a bit. Maybe not?
To make matters worse, his two good buddies at school are on the team. We are encouraging him to spread his wings a bit with friends at school too.
We went out to an Aussie Pub to drown our sorrows in Beer, Almdudler (German Sprite) and Crocodile steak and fries. (Julia and I had burgers!) Oh, and more gelato of course!
Anyway, please keep us in your prayers. This is a big set back for a little boy that has gone through a TON in 4 weeks. Not to mention his parents who are aching for him knowing how sucky it feels to be cut. :(
Love to all...
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Internet Yeah!!!
Well the big day was yesterday - the Telecom Austria guy arrived and we now have Austrian TV channels, an Austrian home phone number and INTERNET - YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He didn't speak very much English but was very kind as we muddled through trying to communicate. After he ran around for 30 minutes he came in and said "No Telephone Line!" I almost started crying!! Long story short, he found what he needed and we are hooked up. He was also trying to show me how to turn the heat on in this place - it was HEIT (cold!) here yesterday!
It was so great to get hooked up yesterday as it was my wonderful friend Tracey's 40th birthday so I got to phone her via our VOIP phone and talk to her. A real gift to me on her b-day! :) We have a 509 (Washington state) number so if you ever want to call - please do! 509-723-2717. The time change is kind of a pain, but it will be great. I also got to talk to my sister today - what was so nice as I haven't heard her voice. It sure is nice to reconnect with voices too!
Took a nice long 2 hour hike in the Weiner Wald yesterday with my friend Kara. It was pouring rain and cold but we had planned to hike and figured we better just go. It was actually fun and beautiful. It is a very large forested area with trails everywhere for hiking, biking etc... Waterfalls, lizards, trees, creeks, etc... The kids school is right up against the Weiner World as Kara calls it... western edge of Vienna.
Another newbie, Ulreka from Sweden, invited a few of us over to her house for coffee this morning. It was so nice- we sat and talked for over 3 hours! Karina from Denmark was there and Elizabeth from New York City (living in japan the last 12 years though). We had so much fun and it is so great to learn about all the different countries. Apparently the public school system in the scandenavian countries is horrendous and after telling us about it I was so thankful for this school and for our schools in America (or at least Richland Public School!:)) Amazing.
My new New York/Japan friend took me to the Commissary this afternoon too - always a treat to get some groceries with a car! :)
The weather turned very nice this afternoon so we hit the park after dinner where Evan got in a pick up game of soccer (of course!) and Julia plays in the sand and at the park with anyone that is there... so cute!
Evan had his 2nd violin lesson today and his teacher was so proud of him as he can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star already. So cool! I posted a video of him on Facebook practicing his scales and we all laughed so hard cuz Tonia (who is watching our dog Mia) said that Mia was howling the whole way through the video! Apparently the sound is a little high for her ears! (she does this with sirens too!)
Eric has tomorrow off so we are taking the kids to school and we are going to have a long hike and then go to one of the Heurigans... I am spelling this wrong but basically there are a lot of 'wineries' around here that have smallrestaurants and make their own wine and have the grapes on their properties. We are planning to hit one for lunch tomorrow after we hike!
That is all for now.......
It was so great to get hooked up yesterday as it was my wonderful friend Tracey's 40th birthday so I got to phone her via our VOIP phone and talk to her. A real gift to me on her b-day! :) We have a 509 (Washington state) number so if you ever want to call - please do! 509-723-2717. The time change is kind of a pain, but it will be great. I also got to talk to my sister today - what was so nice as I haven't heard her voice. It sure is nice to reconnect with voices too!
Took a nice long 2 hour hike in the Weiner Wald yesterday with my friend Kara. It was pouring rain and cold but we had planned to hike and figured we better just go. It was actually fun and beautiful. It is a very large forested area with trails everywhere for hiking, biking etc... Waterfalls, lizards, trees, creeks, etc... The kids school is right up against the Weiner World as Kara calls it... western edge of Vienna.
Another newbie, Ulreka from Sweden, invited a few of us over to her house for coffee this morning. It was so nice- we sat and talked for over 3 hours! Karina from Denmark was there and Elizabeth from New York City (living in japan the last 12 years though). We had so much fun and it is so great to learn about all the different countries. Apparently the public school system in the scandenavian countries is horrendous and after telling us about it I was so thankful for this school and for our schools in America (or at least Richland Public School!:)) Amazing.
My new New York/Japan friend took me to the Commissary this afternoon too - always a treat to get some groceries with a car! :)
The weather turned very nice this afternoon so we hit the park after dinner where Evan got in a pick up game of soccer (of course!) and Julia plays in the sand and at the park with anyone that is there... so cute!
Evan had his 2nd violin lesson today and his teacher was so proud of him as he can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star already. So cool! I posted a video of him on Facebook practicing his scales and we all laughed so hard cuz Tonia (who is watching our dog Mia) said that Mia was howling the whole way through the video! Apparently the sound is a little high for her ears! (she does this with sirens too!)
Eric has tomorrow off so we are taking the kids to school and we are going to have a long hike and then go to one of the Heurigans... I am spelling this wrong but basically there are a lot of 'wineries' around here that have smallrestaurants and make their own wine and have the grapes on their properties. We are planning to hit one for lunch tomorrow after we hike!
That is all for now.......
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sorry for the delay!
Hi All, Sorry about the delay! I have been writing some blog notes from home on word and will now copy and paste into here. I found a new street to explore with a McDonalds= Free WIFI :) The city is so densely populated that there are many neighborhood shopping areas with grocery, bus/tram stops, shopping etc... This is a nice small one about 15 minutes walk from our flat. Went to Crossfit this am and will join up now. I feel better and better each time I sweat at a Crossfit! :)
Pictures are from Schonbrun Grounds/Palace/Glorietta (top of Glorietta and view of part of Vienna), a beautiful rainbow brightest and fullest we have ever seen, and first day of school (very rainy!) Can't figure out how to delete the duplicate - sorry! :)
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So last I posted was Wednesday 9/1… I will post some stuff I wrote from a few days before that and something new too
Sunday 9/5
**Warning*** Long stories, I have to catch people up. Sorry if too detailed (just skim) but my Mom wants details :)!
So I didn’t break it to the kids that in the States they would have had no school tomorrow (Labor Day Monday) At this point, I don’t think they care as they both are enjoying school. Evan said today, I can’t wait to get back to school to see my friends. That made me feel good after weeks of worry about him!
To catch up… after I posted on Wednesday Eric popped by with our cell phones – YEAH! I can’t remember if I told you before, but cell phones and service here are VERY VERY CHEAP… about the only thing that is inexpensive here so we’ll take it! I actually got an IPHONE – hurray! I really love it and can see why people get one. I feel much more ‘in touch’ being able to check email or Facebook when I want…but can’t type long blogs or emails from it! :) Our internet is supposed to come on Wednesday so that will be a good day too. It will be right up there with the day our stuff arrives on the boat! (Estimated date of arrival: end of September) We also decided to get Evan a cell phone being that it was $0 and very little euro per month… even more importantly, not knowing anyone to help out with kids, it makes me feel so much better that he can find me if need be. We live very close to soccer fields where he practices so I can cross him on the bigger street and then send him down to the park by himself… feeling better he has a cell phone in case he needs me. He was pleased as punch to say the least and we explained that this would NEVER have happened in the States, but things are different here for sure!
Rest of the week went well… Evan had his first violin lesson on Thursday and he LOVED it. He will take ½ hour lesson every Thursday until he is ‘caught up’ enough to join the strings class at school. At AIS, in 2nd grade all children learn violin, viola, chello and bass. After this they can continue on with one if they would like. So from 2nd grade through high school you can be in orchestra, band etc.. Very great opportunity for the kids right now.
Julia is still happy and doing well at school too. We had open house at the school on Thursday night. Different than we are used to, kids can’t come. So… took them to my friend Kara’s house who has an 8th grader and her 4th grader. They watched a movie, played etc.. Open house was nice, they have presentations from the ‘specials’ teachers and then you can go to your kids classrooms for presentations and Q&A. We also went to the German teachers talk …. The kids are really enjoying their German classes too.
I was able to hit Crossfit Vienna twice last week. The owner/trainer is very nice and well qualified. The few people I met were nice too. It will be great for my German as they all speak German and I love that. They speak English if they have to with me, but I told them to just keep speaking German too please. I start classes at the UN in a few weeks. I will take them M, W, F for about 50 minutes… it is a big commitment as I have to go all the way to the UN for them (and back) and it is quite a commute, but I really want to do them.
Friday morning brought a few moans about “we wish we were still in Tri-Cities”…after inquiring a bit I figured out it was because they wanted early release Fridays again! In our old school, they kids were done with school at 1:15 on Fridays!
One of Evan’s friend’s Moms (Mary Kay) was kind enough to take me to the 1st district to show me a good lunch spot and then drive me to the commissary to do a bit ‘bigger’ shopping and then drive me back! The UN has a commissary that has food, toiletries, wine, alcohol, a few clothes, make up, perfume, etc.. at cheaper prices . It also has some “American” stuff you can’t find in grocery stores here. Things like Doritos, refried beans, minute brown rice, taco shells…. Also their meat is much cheaper than the grocery. Anyway, what a treat to hang out with a nice woman and also buy more groceries than my rollie bag can hold!! :)
We had Evan’s soccer again, but didn’t find out if he ‘made the team’. It would help if I could understand what this coach was saying, but basically he shrugged his shoulders and said come back again next week. I guess we’ll find out this coming Friday. I would be very surprised if he didn’t make the team. I am a bit nervous as his two buddies from school that he really likes are on the team and I think it would be a bit crushing at this point.
We went home to change and then take the bus and Strassebahn (tram) downtown to meet up with Eric. We decided if we are in town, Fridays the kids and I will meet Eric down in the 1st district (inner city area) for exploration/dinner etc… We went to the Rathaus which translates to the Courthouse. This is one of the buildings which you would see in a picture of Vienna – huge, beautiful, etc.. During August and until September 12th EVERY night they show something on this GIGANTIC screen … concerts, operas, ballets, etc… and then there are a TON of food/drink booths from restaurants all over Vienna. We had the BEST food and then had fun watching the LA philharmonic orchestra for a few minutes. The watching part didn’t last long with the kids as it isn’t exactly exciting for the kiddos and they were getting tired. Eric and I thought about his Mom in Kansas City, Jane…boy she would absolutely LOVE to be sitting there in that beautiful setting listening to spectacular music like that. She is a pianist!
On Saturday(yesterday) we spent the morning getting are flat a bit more organized, finishing IKEA assemblies and cleaning. We then headed to the Back to School picnic at AIS. This was fun and casual event with the kids playing on the playground, food, some booths etc… Two funny things to note from this event – one was the sign on the door to the gym saying “no alcohol can be served to anyone under 18”… this would not be seen at the PTO back to school events in the states! There is always beer and wine everywhere! Also, they were giving ‘rides’ up in the firetruck basket and raising it up in the air really high! I took pictures and will send them soon. It cracked me up… this kind of stuff would not happen in the States – I think probably due to all the lawsuits etc…
We then headed to one of the big shopping streets to get a microwave, DVD player and some groceries. We also purchased a movie and then came home and had movie night. It was SO fun! We watched Nanny McPhee Returns, which was really cute. Mom – the kids talked about you and Nanny McBee McPhee and we were all laughing!
This morning (Sunday) we each took a turn working out and then headed out to catch a train to Melk, Austria. It is about 1 ½ hour train ride to a small town West of Wien (Vienna) along on the Danube. Annette if you are reading this – you probably stopped in Melk on your cruise, right? There is a beautiful HUGE Abby/Monastery that dates back to 1089. There are still monks that live there and there is also a public school that they run now with over 800 kids ages 10-18. There are beautiful gardens, a spectacular church and a palace like structure around it. We walked the grounds, ate our lunch on the Danube and took a nice guided tour of the Monastery. The tour was a bit much for Julia, but it only lasted about an hour and she was a trooper. A few minutes into it Evan said “I thought we took the English tour” and we did but she had such a heavy Austrian accent it was hard to understand her. Anyway, we had a blast and it is so great to just pick a spot one evening and then hit the trains the next day. So easy to travel here.
This was an older post from Monday 8/28....
So I braved the grocery store again. The bigger markets are similar to Albertsons or Jewel, but quite a bit smaller. My fridge is small so I can only get a few things at a time so a trip every 2 days or so looks to be the norm here. Everything is in German (obviously) so it isn’t easy to read labels or even figure out what something is. I decided to make the Italian Sausage pepper thing I make (Mom’s recipe)… Eric likes this one and I am hoping to get back in his good graces after my temper tantrum at the park yesterday. :) Anyway, they don’t have Italian Sausage per say, but this is the sausage capital of the world isn’t it? So, I picked out some other sausage looking thing – I am just hoping it isn’t horse or something like that! I looked up the word in my handy dandy dictionary, but it wasn’t in there. Perhaps that is a bad sign??
So no one gives out bags here… actually Vienna is very environmentally friendly and I am not sure if that is driven by Austria law. There are recycling cans everywhere and even trash cans almost everywhere have a paper spot and trash spot. So, you bring you own bags everywhere… which I don’t mind at all. I mentioned my rolley bag… yes, I look like an old lady. But until we get a car, it is a necessity that I can pull my groceries home (up a hill) about 15 minute walk. You can also buy a bag at the store if you need to…fairly cheap.
I am getting to where I know how to get quite a few places on my own, but still carry my map of course. I still love the public transportation part of things here, I think it is really fun. Tonia is probably not surprised as I roped her into a public bus ride with our kids on MLK day one year! It is so easy and fun to get around this city – once you get in the outskirts you have to figure out bus, tram, lines etc.. Eric takes a bus and 2 subways to get to work – about 25-30 minutes…not bad. When his bike arrives he would like to commute via bike a bit.
Love to all! I am going to try to attach some pictures too. Anyone have any good ways to share pictures easily over the internet.... we have a lot :)!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Hi All,
At Eric's work using computers, trying to get our cell phones figured out and maybe even having lunch with Eric - yeah!
All is good here... the rain stopped and the sun is out - yeah! I found a cute kids consignment store this morning - clothing is very expensive here so that was a bit cheaper. I will be asking anyone that comes to visit to bring us Target shoes and clothes!! (Mom, that is you in November!! :))
Evan had his first soccer on Monday with the Austrian club... the coach doesn't speak much English. (did I tell you all this already??!) He has a friend on the team already that was helping to translate a bit. The coach said to us Ï'll watch him this week and let you know if he makes it on Friday. I said to Evan..> Game on!
Julia is good too. We went to a fun brew pub type place last night with another PNNL person who just moved here too and her two kids (16 and 18)... what nice kids and we all had fun!
THere is a HUGE art festival in the gigantic park by our house this weekend - should be fun! Also, kids have back to school picnic on Saturday and Evan should have a game too. Fun times.
Miss everyone, I have a post on my laptop that I will post tomorrow.
Happy Birthday to my lovey dovey niece Olivia - we love you!!!!!!!
At Eric's work using computers, trying to get our cell phones figured out and maybe even having lunch with Eric - yeah!
All is good here... the rain stopped and the sun is out - yeah! I found a cute kids consignment store this morning - clothing is very expensive here so that was a bit cheaper. I will be asking anyone that comes to visit to bring us Target shoes and clothes!! (Mom, that is you in November!! :))
Evan had his first soccer on Monday with the Austrian club... the coach doesn't speak much English. (did I tell you all this already??!) He has a friend on the team already that was helping to translate a bit. The coach said to us Ï'll watch him this week and let you know if he makes it on Friday. I said to Evan..> Game on!
Julia is good too. We went to a fun brew pub type place last night with another PNNL person who just moved here too and her two kids (16 and 18)... what nice kids and we all had fun!
THere is a HUGE art festival in the gigantic park by our house this weekend - should be fun! Also, kids have back to school picnic on Saturday and Evan should have a game too. Fun times.
Miss everyone, I have a post on my laptop that I will post tomorrow.
Happy Birthday to my lovey dovey niece Olivia - we love you!!!!!!!
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