This IS Happening!

So after months of deliberation, we finally pulled the trigger...we're building a POOL!!! Kyle insisted on doing our due diligence, and after fielding several quotes from multiple pool builders, we settled on the one we thought could realize our vision without breaking the bank.  The kids were troopers as we reviewed and signed the papers, sitting in the builder's kids area patiently coloring pictures for a little over an hour--the promise of a pool in their immediate future probably helped them stay focused.  After cutting a nice-sized check, we headed out to eat to celebrate our dream pool!

Thanksgiving Injury

It seems like all of our injuries and illnesses occur on weekends, holidays, or right before a big trip.  Norah was our latest tragedy.  While watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, she slipped out of one of the stools at our bar in the media room and cracked her chin on the granite countertop, splitting her chin open.  Does she need stitches?  Do we go to the ER?  And, of course, we don't have butterfly bandages or anything else...  So, after some frantic calls to some doctor friends and a trip out to Walgreens, we had her bandaged up and ready to hit the Turkey Day Feast.

THE Baconator!!

If you're going to spend the time preparing a turkey, might as well go all out.  Kyle has made  Thanksgiving his own personal turkey playground.  Past favorites include a turducken, various brined birds...all yummy.  2013 brought us the "Baconator".  The bird was marinated in a maple brine, the skin was stuffed with a layer of bacon, wrapped in another layer of bacon, and doused with maple syrup.  Yeah.  It was as good as you imagine.  Plus we were able to share it with our new friends, the Merrick's, who were kind enough to allow us to bring our creation to their large family Thanksgiving gathering.  What a feast.

Fun Time

Norah has been needing some extra attention lately, so when I heard about a fun activity at the Disney Store that was mostly about princesses, we jumped on it.  The sticker pages were fun for everyone and then we spent some time walking around the store getting some ideas for Christmas before heading to the food court for some lunch.  Now that we have all been back to real life for the last week, we all seem to be doing much better.

Basketball Season

Now that football is behind us, it's time for basketball season to begin.  Jack is on the Bulls and Kyle is one of the assistant coaches for the team.  We got his red gear tonight and he couldn't wait to try it on at home.

Clean-up

Cranky kids who didn't want to get back to reality wasn't the only thing that I was working on today-THE HOUSE!!!  As hard as anyone tries, they just can't keep the house as clean as I like it-that's why, the kids and I are the only ones who do it (Kyle does the dishes).

Glad this guy is interested in helping out already!  Hope he will still wear my airplane pillow around his waist while vacuuming when he gets a little older.

Bye

A week of partying with these awesome folks was so great for the kids.  They loved all the low-key meals, activities and especially all the movies!  Thanks for helping out!

Family Photoshoot

We all looked so good today for church, especially Norah and Ava in their new/old trachten, that we coaxed Aunt Melanie into taking these family photos.  Not bad!

Zero Gravity

While we were in Vienna, Mike flew in for a conference and ended up being able to extend his trip until after we got home.  I was pretty jet lagged and didn't do much of anything after yesterday's amount of traveling, but Kyle found the energy to go to Zero Gravity in between games today.  I stayed home with the kids while Nana and these guys went bungee jumping!

League Champs

For Jack's last game, Uncle Michael and Nana came and the coolest part was that his team WON!!!

They played this team once before at the SMU stadium game and ended up getting their pants beat, not this time though!

After a game that defeated a team that had been playing together for three years and never lost, Jack was not that impressed.  Maybe football is not his game!

Made Up For It

Our last visit to Cafe Central did not disappoint.  We only ordered dessert and enjoyed the piano and ambiance.  Totally going to miss this amazing place.  Now off to bed since we have to be at the airport at 5AM Friday (that's 11PM Thursday-ouch!).

Kuck Kuck

The last meal we had at this little place was out of this world amazing, this time not so much.  It was kind of a letdown of a last meal after all the amazing we had eaten all week.

Secession

The art that was exhibited at the Secession was all pretty abstract and not much to our liking, except for the flooring and the Gustav Klimt exhibit in the basement. 

The Beethoven Frieze was so amazing hung up on the walls, that Kyle and I were inspired to make it a permanent part of our media room.

Got It

Our first visit to the Nashmarkt yielded nothing for me, so I made sure to persuade Kyle to stop there again for some awesome Kaiser Kraner slices and the view of the Secession where local artists' work is displayed.

One Corner, Two Views

After some pastries for breakfast, we did a tour of the Votivkirche and then walked towards the Rathaus to see if anything else had been set up for the Christkinglmarkt.

Last Day

Today is our last day in Vienna, so we decided to spend it just hanging out and making sure we saw every last bit of the city we missed so much.

Here is the street view of our apartment building.

Gifts

The night concluded with an operette at the Orangery inside Schloss Shonbrunn.  The orchestra was a little too soothing for us jet laggers, but the ballet and opera were beautiful.

Once we were back in the apartment, we took an inventory of all the items we planned to smuggle back into the country and hand out to various friends and family.  The only gift that was going to be difficult to get in the extra suitcase was the bike we picked up for Ben.

Last Stop

Before heading back to the city, Gerti took us on a tour of the hotel was that recently built behind her house.  The Hotel Loisium is a new resort and winery built right in Gerti's backyard.  It is a point of pride for her and she was very pleased to show us around.

After the tour we said our good-byes and headed back.

More Gerti

We rented a car and drove out to see Tante Gerti (her grandmother is Kyle's great mother's sister).  She was so happy to see us again and treated us to lunch at the local restaurant, a tour of Langenlois' cemetery and a cup of cocoa and treat at the Konditorei.

It was so fun to see Kyle speak his German and even more fun to see her speak English with all her spunk!

Sacher

No trip to Vienna would be complete with a trip to the Sacher Hotel and no trip to the Sacher Hotel would be complete without a sampling of the Sacher Torte.  We did both and even squeezed a helping of Rouladen on top of it!

Thec cake is absolutely perfect looking, but the low sugar lifestyle being lived overseas is ever present in this dessert.  I still devoured it, though!

Rathaus

When we were here last year, we spent an afternoon in pursuit of a tree that was blessed in Stephansplatz in front of Stephansdom and then driven through the city center (while we scooted/walked briskly behind it) until it reached the Rathaus about a mile later.  It was then hoisted up and decorated for a sprintime festival.

A similar event takes place in the winter about a month before Christmas.  There is a Christkindlmarkt outside the Rathaus held every year where vendors sell their wears for the holiday season.  We have attended this event once before back in 2011, but missed this year's festival by a week.  We did get to see the tree up, just not decorated.

Sneaky

Tonight we wanted to go visit the Belvedere and check out an extensive collection of Gustav Klimt's work.  The Kiss was on display and Kyle snuck a photo of me gazing at it before getting shut down by a grumpy Austrian museum rep.  He felt bad for breaking the rules, but I felt awesome that we got this picture despite its illegality.

Favorite Places

Today was spent doing and seeing the things we loved most about Vienna and more shopping.  First stop was an attempt to find some trachten at some thrift stores Kyle found online.  We scored big time and then headed out for lunch at the Naschmarkt.  On the way we walked by a little imbiss that we had often walked to for a tasty doner and uludag soda.  The kids always got the honer schnitzel (large chicken patty on a roll) and potato fritte (french fries).

The whole city feels so familiar, I love that about this place!

Next up was Stephansplatz, of course.  We spent visit after visit to the city center when we lived here and today was no exception.  Stephansdom is so spectacular, everything about it is breathtaking.  We did a tour of the catacombs today and found out some fun facts about the burial of the Viennese dead!

All Saints Day

While I was flying on Friday, the city of Vienna shut down to celebrate "the lives of all Christians who have died in a state of grace."  Kyle was caught off guard and not prepared for all the stores to be closed so an estimated 30,000 people could flood cemeteries around the country.

Beethoven and Strauss' graves were not forgotten at this time and were quite decked by adoring fans when we visited this area of the cemetery after saying farewell to the Komenda plot.

Great Grandpa Would Be Happy

A little cleanup was in order, but most importantly, the candle Kyle and Ava lit on our last day in Vienna had completely burned down and in need of replacement.  We had chosen to avoid buying a new one on Sunday when we first entered the cemetery, but luckily for us a half used candle was left next to the Komenda gravesite.

A flame was borrowed and didn't blow out despite the fierce wind leaving the gravesite glowing from a distance.

Tradition

No trip to Vienna would be complete without some drama at the cemetery.

This time we thought 3:30 was early enough to get in and out without risking a lock down, but apparently in the winter, the hours change drastically with the daylight.

When we got off the streetcar, we were ushered away by a guard of some sort and actually re-boarded the streetcar without ever setting foot inside.  After some investigating and jumping from the car haphazardly, we discovered that the portion of the cemetery we were interested in viewing was actually open until 5.

Church

We had to go to church while in Vienna and we had to go to our ward.

The long familiar walk was quite different without the stroller and two maniac scooter riders, it was actually so quiet, it bordered on melancholy with the chilly grey weather.

Kyle's old mission friend was still the bishop of the ward, so we got to chat with him, but no one else remembered us from last year.  The early church time was not my favorite, but a meeting in English was just what I needed!

Dinner and Thor

The dinner at a cafe next the Hofburg Palace was not my favorite one, but the company was perfect and the movie and chocolate shopping we did afterwards made for an exquisite evening that distracted me from total exhaustion!

This Place

The owner of the flat we rented was very nice and actually lived next door.  The views of the roof were terrible, but the rest of the place had an old world charm that was a great fit for us!  And who wouldn't want a red laminate kitchen?



Master bedroom.



Red Ikea kitchen.



Blue floor to ceiling tile with pink sinks, toilet and tub.



Where Kyle spent more time than he wanted to admit.



View of the door to the master bedroom from family room with 2 day beds.



Sitting area in master bedroom.

Nice Digs

The 20 minute train ride was totally laid back and the walk to the apartment was quite short, allowing me to catch a break in the travel department.

Our apartment was on the opposite side of the city center as our last place in Vienna, but the week Kyle spent before my arrival yielded a perfect understanding of the Weiner Transit!