Verona Arena

This place is super cool at night.  The lights, accompanied by the full moon made for a great first impression of this magnificent city.  Originally we only made this trip since Prague was not possible and we needed to break up the drive to Switzerland.  I have a feeling that "Little Rome" will be among the fondest memories of our time in Europe.

30AD!!  It blows my mind to think that this place has been around since Christ was on the Earth.  I'm always so fascinated how old Europe is, castles and places like this are my favorite to learn about and tour.  Hopefully, despite tomorrow's holiday it will still be open for visitors.

Hello Verona!

We had a super smooth drive to Verona from Kitzbuhel.  We only got turned around once in the city centre and actually found the parking garage closest to the apartment.  We had to lug our stuff a long ways from the garage to the apartment, but it wasn't that bad since we consolidated and left two suitcases full of things we didn't need here back in the car.

After getting settled in with the help of the landlord, we ventured out for some much needed groceries since tomorrow is a holiday and nothing will be open.  We picked up the essentials and some fun Italian snacks, headed back to the apartment and then out again to eat dinner.

While we waited for our pizza, lasagne, polenta with cheese and sopreseta dish, salad and lobster filled ravioli a few of us checked out the nearby market.  We were right next to the coliseum, it was so amazing!  The market was pretty awesome too!

Good-bye Kitzbuhel

We have loved our time here in the Austrian Alps, but we leave today for Italy and after one last trip to the park, getting packed up and cleaned up, we snapped these photos of the house we have stayed in almost every time we have visited this beautiful place.  Lodgings really do make a difference, they immerse in the culture way more than hotels-this berbauernhaus was the epitome of Alpine living.  We have loved staying here every time.

Fake!

After our drive to Grossglockner, we just hung out at the house and let the kids run wild while Kyle and I planned some of our last few weeks here in Europe.  I started packing while Kyle started dinner.  Somewhere in there, he managed to sneak some time on the porch with this cutie and take some picturesque photos of our beautiful Norah.  She looks perfect on the porch of an Austrian bergbauernhaus with the rolling green hills and the Alps in the background.

Sloth Puzzle!

Before we left Munich, Kyle and the kids picked out a 500 piece puzzle for the kids to work on while he was in Prague for three days.  Not only did they finish it before he got home, which I was betting against, but they finished it in two days!!!  It was so impressive, because I was convinced that most of our puzzles are more than half completed by Kyle!  Guess I was wrong.  Love Ben's face, he's always looking so happy in photos these days.

New Dirndls

These cuties were so excited for today, the day they got to wear their new dirndls!  They both looked so perfect in their dresses with their hair and/or hats on.  Kyle took this of the girls while the boys and I took shelter from the cold in the van!  So glad he did, this picture is perfection!

Grossglockner!

We have driven the Alpine High Road before and were able to drive up through the clouds, today it was pretty clear and everyone and their brother wanted in on this beautiful view.  We must have waited in line 20 minutes to pay 26 Euros to drive up the road to a spot next to the tallest mountain in Austria.  The 12,450 foot high mountain was kind of hard to maneuver up to with all the bikers out for the first time since the season opened yesterday!  One of them kindly offered to snap our picture for us.

Church Finally!

After last week's failed attempt to attend church in Vienna, we were determined to make the 1.5 hour drive to Salzburg early this morning to attend a German speaking ward at 9:30!  We made it and the kids were awesome considering they went straight from a long car ride to an hour long church meeting in a different language!  I had the privilege of sitting next to the best translator in the meeting and hearing first hand the testimonies of these Salzburg saints.  Someone saw us trying to take a family picture outside and gladly volunteered to snap this one before we zoomed off!

Later

A few hours to cool off at the house while Kyle took Ava and Ben to the Kitzbuhel league soccer game was just what the dr ordered.  We were able to have a tasty and tantrum-free dinner at Saukaserstub'n.  We've eaten here before and enjoyed the food then as much as now.  I ordered some prawns, Kyle ordered some gulasch and the kids shared some kaiserschmarn and wienerschnitzel.  We watched the sheep on the hillside afterwards and then headed home for bed.

Beginning of the End

This picture was taken at the peak of our 10 minute hike that was supposed to be the highlight of our day.  Instead of being the highlight though, we discovered that the gondolas weren't running and instead of hiking down after eating lunch, we would have to hike up to the restaurant.  That never happened.  We ended up skipping the hike and lunch and just grabbing groceries for tomorrow's dinner and hiding in our house for a few hours while a certain individual not pictured here calmed down from an early morning and the disappointment of the events of the day.

Kitbuhel!

We love this place, so glad Kyle gets one day to spend here before we head to Italy.  We really want to see some of the sights of this place with him before we leave-looks like these guys are on board!

Austria!!

We love our visits to this sweet little town that has stood the test of time, and war. Every visit we make here is always filled with so many memories, especially of all the distinct architecture and the breathtaking views!  After grabbing some snacks for the road we stopped at the tourist center and asked about hikes around Kitzbuhel.

So Cool!

This morning was our first morning together as a family in Kitzbuhel.  Kyle got home around 12:30am and we were all glad to see him when he finally rolled out of bed.  We tried to get ready quick so we would be able to return Kyle's rental car and head to the city center in hopes of running into a little market as we did in previous trips.

We parked and headed over only to find the most amazing band of performers AND a little market!  There were so many artisans and food creations to be discovered all lined up with a little band playing Austrian music in the background.  We bought some smoked meat, two raccoon tail puff balls and an indian fry bread type pastry with cranberries spread on top. 

Wisrthaus Steuerberg

Once we walked back around the lake from the swimming dock, we changed and headed up to one of favorite restaurants in Kitzbuhel.  It is not far from the lake, but it is up a tiny, windy, street and a big old stick shift van is not ideal for it!  We survived and enjoyed a beautiful scenery-filled dinner of Schweinbraten, frankfurters, semmel knodels, wiener schnitzel and of course THE best pommes!  We all loved our dinner and the kids were pretty well behaved there, only losing it as we were leaving.  I'm so grateful that Kyle is coming home tonight, because I don't speak German and no one in Kitzbuhel has spoken English so far-making ordering food a little unpleasant!

Schwarzee

I almost returned the swimsuits we bought after discovering that the Aquarena was closed, but thankfully I didn't, because after the Wildpark, I maneuvered through downtown Kitzbuhel without gps and got us to our beloved Schwarzee. 

We have gone swimming in this lake the last three times we have visited Kitzbuhel.  It has been freezing and fun all at the same time.  Today was no different, except that we almost got Ben to go in.  I stayed on the shore with him while the other three jumped in and out like maniacs disturbing every Austrian in sight.

The Herd

This group of antler wearing animals were all over the mountain.  The boys and I watched as Ava and Norah walked through the herd and all their heads turned in the girls' direction.  Pretty cool to be on a mountain with all these mountain animals!  The downside to being on a mountainside animal park is all the uphill walking.  It was insane how many times we stopped to take breaks before continuing on the trails!

We were able to see Wolf pigs, Peacocks, some possessed monkeys, humongous Yaks, Mozart ducks attacking and dunking each other, super fluffy bunnies, Lynx, and mountain goats with insanely long horns!

The Views!

I was happy to watch the kids play on the apparati, I was also happy to walk across all the wooden bridges in the park, and I was extremely happy to sit on the various benches and look at the amazing countryside!  The Alps are seriously ridiculously beautiful.  I know the valley we live in is breathtaking, but it doesn't have the dark green contrasting with the mountains like this place!

At one point while gazing about, a donkey snuck up on Jack and I and practically scared us to death!  Quite a few animals at the park are roaming around freely and this giant one was level with our faces.  It was funny, but scary to be approached by such a big animal!

Just Hanging Out!

A quick cardio session at the house while the kids ate breakfast and did schoolwork, had us out of the house in time to stop at an Imbiss for lunch and grab some sausages and pommes to eat while driving up the mountain to the Aurach Wildpark!

We made it without internet and incident and went straight to their amazing park first.  The animals were as big a draw to this place as the park as far as we're concerned.  The kids love to play at playgrounds and since their beloved zipline was shut down on Wednesday, I thought this park would be a nice alternative!  I was right, the kids played here almost as long as we spent at the zoo.  I was happy to let them do it too; active imaginative play-yes please!

FOOD!

Three of the kids ordered the kasespaetzle, Ben ordered some sausages and pommes and I found a soup with kasepressedknodel!  Everything was really salty-some liked that more than others!

Ben's food ended up being the envy of everyone, especially Norah-the cheese in this dish was more intense than previous editions we had in Munich and Vienna and we all heard about it!  My soup was salty too and full of onions, but I was happy to eat just the knodel!

We stopped at the gas station for some Austrian treats, a Milka Tender, Bounty bar, Snickers bar and and a pack of Mentos.  Some of us are happier to eat American candy than others!  An episode of Studio C, scriptures, stories, songs and I was done!  It's been another long and lonely day-wish the kids appreciated all that I do, even if things don't seem to be working out they way they would like.

Kids Menu

We brought our own coloring stuff to dinner tonight-I wasn't taking any chances while were waiting for our food.  The green was so intense through the window, I had to take another picture!

1 Hour Mile

We tried to use a rainy day to make a trip to the Aquarena after a morning of school and swimsuit shopping only to find that they are closed until May 9.  Of course, the kids were devastated, some displaying their disappointment earlier than others.  We decided to pick up a pastry, eat it at the house and then go for a walk to do something active for the day.  Everyone seemed game, but that didn't last.

We weren't even a half  mile in and we had already stopped what seemed like a million times and even when we turned around, attitudes stayed the same.  We saw a sign for one of our favorite restaurants in the area and decided to add that to our trip and eat dinner!  It was closed after we walked uphill about 20 minutes to get there. 

Things didn't seem to be going our way today and everyone was feeling it!  The walk home was just as bad, tantrums and raging all around.  We made it home safely though and I was glad to have gotten a walk in my day, even if it was like pulling teeth the whole way!  The green mountainsides were mesmerizing!

Way Out!

Once we finished looking around the church and it's grounds, we headed over to the kids' favorite park where their favorite apparatus, the zipline, was under construction.  Everyone was audibly disappointed and the obstacle course olympics wasn't enough to distract everyone. 

I managed to get through the tantrums and even get in some laps around the perimeter before we decided to go reward our obstacle course finishes with gelato.  My plans for a visit the Kitzbuhel museum were foiled when we discovered it is under construction until June.  We headed back to the parking garage at this point and even found some a marzipan and topfen pastry to gnosh on.

Figuring out how to pay for parking wasn't too bad, but actually getting out of the garage proved to be near impossible.  There are slopes and tons of cement pillars everywhere in the garage, making things tricky with the weird clutch and poor turning radius.

In the end, my backup job wasn't as helpful as I thought it would be, because when we pulled out of our spot, I couldn't get past a cement pillar and once I did, I realized I couldn't get past a wall with the weak turn radius.  I started to seriously panic, because I was pointing down a slope at the wall!  There was no one to get help from, nowhere to go, and I felt trapped and so afraid of smashing our rental car into a wall!

The kids finally offered to get in front of the car and try to keep it from smashing into the wall while I tried desperately to get the car into reverse and move up the slope away from the wall.  It was a serious miracle that it worked and we left the garage in one-unscratched piece!  Thank you angels!

Dinner was pizza and a salad at home and then some puzzle, showers and bedtime. I can't believe I have two more days like this here in Kitzbuhel and then another 3 in Hannover, a city I have never visited before, while Kyle is in Dublin!

Old Place New Stop

We did our usual laberkase lunch at Billa in the city centre and walked around window shopping and eating.  Once we were finished I convinced the kids it would be cool to walk up to Liebfrauenkirche from the 14th century.  It had a newer bell tower and an immaculate cemetery.  the views of the mountainside weren't too shabby either!  The inside of the church was so golden and ornate and of course empty!

Did IT!

After driving Kyle to the ATM and gas station last night I thought I was going to be ok to drive this crazy car in this crazy town for the next three days.  After backing into this parking spot without crashing into anything I was feeling even more confident!

Dab?

We walked by this a thousand times in previous trips, but just realized today that the figure is doing the dab!  SO funny, Jack had to take a picture doing his favorite pose.

We made the trip to Kitzbuhel with only a little traffic thanks to Google and Kyle maneuvering around an insane traffic back-up due to an accident.  Once in town we had to pick up Kyle's rental car that he would need to get back to Munich tomorrow for a few meetings and a flight to Prague for some more meetings.

I dropped him at Hertz and continued on to the nearest grocery store, Billa, and then on to the rental we have come to know and love.  The clutch on the car is very weird and the stick shift thing itself is very unfamiliar after so many years with an automatic.  I stalled a few times on the drive, most notably in the middle of a roundabout and even got stuck in the store parking lot because I couldn't figure out the trick to get the shifter into reverse!

Eventually a nice Austrian man came along and asked if we needed help when he saw all four kids out of the car pushing the car backwards since I couldn't figure out reverse.  To my credit, he also couldn't figure it out at first, but did eventually thank goodness, and we were on our way.  Our rental is on a steep hill just around a blind bend, so of course I slowed down and stalled out.  The only problem, was I couldn't figure out how to get it up the hill.  I roasted the clutch, caused some smoke to come out and even got laughed at and videoed by our new neighbors.  Not the best welcome to our new home!

St. Peter's Church

This morning we got up early and took the boys on the train to pick up our rental for the next three weeks.  After getting back to the apartment and packing everything up, we parked our car at Malfongplatz and rode the train to the city one more time.  We grabbed lunch at the Viktualnmarkt and then picked up some marzipan filled pastries before attacking this 14 story climb. 

Ava and Jack have climbed the tower stairs with Kyle when Norah and Ben were too young to even consider it.  Today everyone was on board, so we did it as a family and it was quite memorable.  When we started the Glockenspiel next door had just started chiming and when we got to the top, it was still going!  We enjoyed the show from above this time and then looked out of the rooftops one last time before climbing back down.

On our way back to the train station, we stopped to pick out some dyrndls for the girls, some Bayern Munich t-shirts for the Ben and Kyle and a shirt for me to replace the one I brought that has a hole in it now.  We tried to find another suit for Jack at H&M, like the one we bought last year, but we couldn't make it happen!  He was bumming about it, but we ventured on and grabbed one last warm Brezelina and then hopped on the train back to the car.  We had 10,000 steps before 3pm.

Greetings From Munich

We stocked at one of the suss stands on our way back to the train and picked up some licorice as well as a lebkuchen and a stick of marzipan covered in chocolate.  A great end to a fun time at the fair!

The rest of our day was spent trying to find a dyrndl, walking from Karlsplatz to Marienplatz, eating a warm and slightly crusty pretzel from Brezelina and eating at the Chinescher Turm biergarten one more time!  We had some more car rental trouble and then headed back to the apartment and got in bed!  The apartment was much cooler tonight and everyone went right to sleep!

Crazy Rides

Ava had an insane ride on the Top Spin Fresh ride while Jack and Norah battled the XXL Racer that literally made me sick watching it, and Ben rode the Rio Rapido with Kyle to ease his current South America obsession.  So fun to watch the kids and not actually have to ride anything!

Fun House

This bavarian themed fun house was too hard to pass up!  We caved and let the kids run through it for a bit.  The kids were furnished with some 3-D Bavarian patterned glasses that only added to their entertainment!

Fruhlings Fest

We had a really bad start to our day which resulted in us not getting to our first stop until 12:30.  A shortened day was not what was needed when we had so many plans for outings.  We limited the kids to one ride and found ourselves some amazing crepes (nutella and marzipan) as well as some langoes and spiral potatoes with currywurst.

Sunday in the Car

Got all packed up this morning and waited for Kyle to return with the rental.  We left 20 minutes before church started and somehow never made it there.  A race was going on in Vienna and all the access streets to the church building were closed.  By the time we realized we should have parked the car and taken public transport to church, we were 20 minutes in the opposite direction with no hopes of getting there before sacrament meeting was over.  We were all really disappointed about not having the sacrament again and not being able to say good-bye to our TX friends.

We were all in our church clothes for the 4.5 hour drive to Munich and when we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break, I snapped this cool picture of the kids in their Sunday best climbing up this structure.  So cute to see such a juxtaposition in this photo.

We made it Munich in record time, unfortunately our apartment wasn't ready yet and it was 82 degrees outside.  We were all in our church clothes, but still attempted a short walk while we waited for the landlord.  He finally arrived and we were able to check in to our 90 degree apartment.  The house was so hot!  It wasn't the best welcome and we were all pretty whiny about it.  We found a place to eat dinner and then got ourselves ready for bed.  Sleeping in a hot room with no way of moving the air around is harder than it sounds for younger kids.  We are so spoiled back home.

Once we felt like the kids might actually fall asleep, around 8:50, Kyle and I jumped in the rental car and made the long trip to return it.  We didn't return for another 4 hours and it was a miracle we finally made it back in one piece-so many weird obstacles that were only fun because I got to go through them with Kyle!

Last Hurrah!

After getting the kids settled in, Kyle and I headed out for one more night on the town!  We took the train to Karsplatz and walked Karntnerstrasse to Stephansplatz.  We wanted to grab some dessert from Aida and then walk over to the Hofburg.  We needed some last minute groceries for our trip tomorrow, so we also needed to stop at the train station's late night Spar.

We made it to Aida easily, but once we were we had to sit right next to people who were smoking.  I didn't realize how spoiled we are in the US.  We never have to sit next to someone who is smoking, there are always other options, not in Europe.  Additionally, in the square right next to us a demonstration was going on about an investigation into Austrian slaughterhouses.  There was a video playing with the volume turned way up.  It was nauseating to eat a bite of cake while listening to animals cry out in pain and terror.  Eventually I stood up and walked away from the table.  Kyle was left to finish up by himself while I got a breather nearby.

Once we finally found someone to take our money, we walked over to the Hofburg-which is magnificently lit up at night.  We strolled through the walkway and on our way to the Ringstrasse and Karlsplatz, we stopped at the Austrian National Library and gazed at it's splendor.  We have never been inside, but it has been around for over 600 years and looks so detailed with all of its statues and sculpted columns.  So breathtaking!

We headed over to the store, grabbed our road snacks and made it back to the apartment one last time.  We love Vienna and really enjoyed our time here this summer!

Afterwards

After the museum visit was over we headed over to the city centre to grab some lunch and gelato to cool us off, then to the tower at St. Stephens before a huge crowd showed up.  It was so neat to hear the kids name so many of the landmarks in Vienna-I guess all that touring actually paid off!  While on the tower we realized there was a problem with our rental car reservation that required Kyle to go to the train station and work it out in person.  

I took these guys to get one last Dunkin Donut for completing their morning chores and headed back over to the city centre for some sausages and laberkase for dinner.  We were able to find some seats on the fountain, make some wishes and enjoy a great violinist before walking down Karntner Strasse to Karsplatz and sneaking one more Heindl chocoate and a quark ball.  We got back to the apartment just in time to cool off and jump in the shower.  Such a great way to end our time here in Vienna!

THE Picture

This was the picture I was pointing out to Ava when we got in big time trouble.  The security guard thought I was actually going to touch the painting and decided yelling at me about his assumption and judging our family not to be museum worthy was the best response.  I tried not to yell back, but instead said very firmly, "Calm down!"  Three times.  I probably could have handled that better, but I was glad he finally did and we were able to continue our tour!

This picture though, it is a face comprised of different sea creatures!!  It was right up Ava's alley after her request to visit the aqua-terrarium yesterday.  I made her come back and take this picture once I had calmed down and was able to think again!

One Calm Moment

I knew we didn't have much time here.  A 7 year old boy in an art museum sounds like a sick joke, so we were cognoscente of how little time we had here.  I asked Ava to take a picture as soon as Ben sat down and took a look around.  This was the only calm moment of our entire visit.  The rest of the two hours was spent looking for people who had taken off, breaking up fights over computer enhanced exhibits, getting scolded for playing with ropes and getting seriously yelled at by a security officer about our lack of respect for the museum and its exhibits.

It was impressive that we made it outside on our accord and that we lasted as long as we did!  I'm not saying it wasn't a successful trip, I'm just saying it was not your typical art museum visit, but then again, nothing we do here is!

Stairway to Klimt

Our first stop inside was by far my favorite!  Gustav Klimt, the most important Viennese artist in history, was actually very talented!  His ability to capture the human face and body as well as his use of color and media made him a standout artist for his time!  He was recognized for his abilities while still alive, and as a result was invited to paint on the walls and ceiling of this famous museum!  A staircase was built later so visitors could get a closer look at these masterpieces that were so high!

Museum Time!

This morning we decided to expose the kids to some of the amazing art Vienna has to offer.  We took them to the Kunsthistorisches Museum after my morning run, a few tantrums and breakfast!  Today is the hottest day of our trip so far, and of the year for that matter, 82, so we tried to plan accordingly.  Getting to the museum early meant a cooler visit.

Before going inside we had a talk with the kids about appropriate behavior at a museum.  They seemed to know the drill, but were resistant to going at all-you'd think they would be used to doing this kind of stuff since we have been here for three weeks now-not so!

I snapped a picture of Kyle taking this picture of the Museum Quartier in front of the art museum.  It turned out pretty cool in my opinion!

Seriously!

We saw Turandot on Tuesday, and tonight we were able to catch the best solo performance of the entire opera on the outdoor screen.  The sound isn't nearly as amazing as inside the opera house, but our timing was impeccable and we got to see the best part of the opera twice in one week!

Late Night at the Albertina

Once a week the museums stay open late, so we try to go for a date and get some culture in our lives.  Tonight the Albertina was the one open until 9, so we walked the floors of the impressionists, the staterooms of the Viennese royalty as well as Viennese watercolor artists.

My favorite painting was called Building the House and I was also in awe of some of the modern art from the early seventies with its incredibly smooth curves without the help of a computer!  In the end, my favorite exhibit was also our most rushed one-The Art of the Viennese Watercolor.  It was so neat to see so many exquisitely done watercolors of such familiar places from the perspective of the past-wish we had more time there.  Afterwards we stopped on the rooftop of the museum for an amazing view of the opera house all lit up!

Bros. Pizza!

Kyle took Jack to a running sushi place for a belated lunch while I took the kids to a pizza place on Mariahilfer Strasse.  Ben was not a fan, but the rest of us enjoyed our open air dinner while sitting on crates!

Sloths!

We got the stink eye from the gift shop employees for this stunt, but the kids all love sloths so we took a picture before putting them all back in their place on the shelf and left without buying anything!

So Close!

Parts of the aquarium were very open air and a few friends came quite close to us while we were in the area.  Bats and monkeys are always high on the kids' list of animals that are fun to watch, when they are within reach its a whole other story!

If You Like Sea Turtles, say....

Breakfast, a workout and a fight-the usual start to our day!  We opted to have school in the afternoon again in hopes of being out and about while it was still relatively cool out.  Once the sun is high in the sky, you start to notice there's no air conditioning anywhere when it's 79 degrees outside.  Haus Des Meeres has been on the top of Ava's list since we got here, so in leau of all the help she's given us lately, I took her and Jack while the little guys stayed home "detention."

Getting to the museum was super easy on the bus, and after one transfer and a small walk, we were at the doors of Vienna's aqua-terrarium. Once inside, we took everything in, then we got to the floor with a two story tank and happened to find this guy hiding in a corner under a rock.  We watched him for a few minutes and this is how things ended up going down.  He was so close and we were literally looking him in the eye for a few moments!