Lately...

...I worked the Garderobe with Julian at the premiere for 42plus. By the way, Julian designed this website but its not really his kind of film. It was so warm outside the night of the premiere that hardly anyone had a jacket to give us, which meant we didn't do much but hang out, but we also didn't get many tips. The party afterward was on a swimming boat (Badeschiff). We got free drinks and food. The principle actress was wearing an interesting, poofy, baloon-shaped skirt. I'm sure that that describtion didn't really help you picture it right.

...classes haven't been half bad. I was supposed to have read three Austrian novels by last Thursday. I had only read half of one. But... class got cancelled because the professor was sick. This Thursday it doesn't meet again because we have classes off at the Pädak. I am progressing in piano. Cooking class has been a tasty treat. I don't know what half the gourmet dishes we make in class are called, but I like to eat them!!

...the weather has been SUPER!! My new mode of transport is Vienna Citybikes. Here's how it works: there are citybike stations located around the city. You just have to register for 1,- € with a credit or bank card and after that you can rent a bike anytime and it is free for the first hour. Sometimes, when I'm lucky, I get a high-quality bike that goes "clunk, clunk, clunk" as I ride down the bike lane. The people ahead of me jogging turn their heads to see where the noise is coming from. It's great. But mostly, the bike is just your basic, functional, no-gear bike meant for short distances. Biking for me is a more interesting way to get from point A to point B, enjoying the sunshine along the way.





A relaxing afternoon on the Alte Donau with Rick (in the foreground) and Daniel


On a more serious note, I found out about the tragic Virginia-Tech massacre just yesterday in my grammar class when my professor asked me about it and I gave her a confused look. She then went off on a long tangent about gun control. I am finding that people here are generally of the opinion that one can obtain a weapon in the US far too easily, which they think is ridiculous because how often does one really need a gun for defense anymore? I can see what they mean, especially from a Christian perspective. Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek. Where then does that leave room for wielding weapons, even in defense?

A review in pictures

First part written mainly by Elizabeth
while Katherine packed for Innsbruck

Part I: Vienna and Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
Thursday (4.5) we determined to see some of the city parks on bikes. It was not intentional that we also saw the far end of the Donauinsel, where the lock and dam stuff is. When the sign says Donauinsel and the arrow points straight, and there are two straight paths to choose between, which would you pick? By some estimates, we biked 20 kilometers. We caught out breath on top of Kahlenberg as we enjoyed the view of Vienna. Michi’s dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes, and vegetables followed by Charlotte’s chocolate mousse was especially satisfying.

Friday we saw our friend Derek from college. It was brief, and we met his parents. They mentioned some Americans on a whirlwind tour of Europe. A few hours in this city, half a day in that. What this kind of city hopping amounts to is a lot of time on a train and a little time to see only the most famous sites you could already see from a book, or the Internet. I’m glad I’ve spent so much time getting to know Vienna for what it is.

That evening we joined our great aunt Gerlinde and company (her son, daughter, and granddaughter) at Gasthaus Donau. The three-course meal was fantastic: (1) a cream soup of a garlic-like vegetable called Bärlauch not otherwise known to us, (2) fish, potato salad, and (3) a chocolate mousse cake.

"Send your family this picture and tell

them I'm tempting you to do everything
bad in Vienna" -Tante Gerlinda/Michaela

Saturday Julian drove us to Semmering (a little over an hour outside of Vienna) to learn snowboarding. In fact, I’ve already miserably failed at this sport, but this was Katherine’s first time. Julian explained and demonstrated the techniques but mostly we just watched Katherine fall and lay there for a long time. It’s every kid’s question: Why do I have to make my bed if I’m just going to mess it up again tonight? And so Katherine, on the ground: Why do I have to get up if I’m just going to fall again?

Get out of my way, sista, or I'll run you over (beccause I have no control)!!

Sunday we attended an Easter service at the Anglican Church. Immediately after that was over, Sebastian, Michi, and Charlotte drove by and picked us up. I still don’t know how that worked so well. We drove to the Wachau, a region known for good wine, and enjoyed a restful lunch of local white wine with select cold cuts of meat, cheese, and raw vegetables in a village called Dürnstein. Then we hiked up to the castle ruins where King Richard the Lionheart was for a time held for ransom. The views of the terraced hillsides were terrific.


Mission impossible: climb up the castle ruins
on a full stomach









Terraced hillsides, the Danube, and us (minus Michi)



Mission (nearly) accomplished



Part II: Innsbruck and Salzburg

Monday we took the first train at 6:14 to Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol, a beautiful city nestled in the Alps. We wanted to sees some tall moutains and do some hiking. And we did that. We also visited the zoo, and, by accident, a village called Natters where pretty much nothing at all was happening.













We stayed in Salzburg Tuesday night with family, namely mom's cousin Sybille, her husband Franz, and their two sons. We enjoyed a tasty meal of Schnitzel, rice, salad, and home-baked french bread, all compliments of Franz, the family chef. He also took us on a quick tour of Salzburg and showed us the posch locations. We got the chance to hang out a lot with their fifteen-year-old son Philip, who wants to be a fashion designer. He showed us sketches of his latest design, to come out in a show the next week at school.

So, this was basically how Elizabeth and I spent Easter break. Wednesday she packed and hung out with Derek and then Julian one more time.

Introducing Elizabeth to Vienna

Elizabeth and Vienna have gotten acquinted these past few days. I gave her the grand tour of the city center. We went shopping on Mariahilferstraße where I bought the cool brown jacket I'm wearing in the picture on the right. We sipped on some Viennese coffee in the student district around the impressive Universität Wien. We gazed up at the magnificent stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling of Stephansdom and the Votivkirche. We toured Schönbrunn (the palace in the background of the photo), the summer residence of the Hapsburgs.

We have swallowed quite a tasty dose of Viennese culture these past couple days. The highlight was a breathtaking performance of Swan Lake in the reknowned Staatsoper (State Opera House). We watched the ballet from the standing area on the lower level for 3.50 € each, where we had a splendid view of the stage (and aching legs). The performance was top notch. I cannot imagine a more perfect portrayal of Schwanensee. It well worth the wait and the exhaustion of standing up for three hours. (Don't feel sorry for us, though. After the performance, we headed downtown for some gelata in a heated out-door icecream cafe to rest our feet and satisfy our cravings for sugary goodness!)

Our culture for today consisted of a few hours touring the Leopold Museum, an art gallery featuring Austrian artwork of the late 19th/ early 20th century. Some of the stuff was a bit creepy, I'll have to admit, but I enjoyed the experience.

We have some big plans for the final week of Elizabeth's stay in Austria, namely, a day of snowboarding with Julian, a family reunion with Grandma's sister Michalinde and her son and daughter, a trip to Innsbruck, a quaint city nestled in the Alps with lots of outdoor possibilities. And we will squeeze in a lot more in between.

A relaxing weekend with the Großfamilie

Me: Saturday, only one day after Elizabeth arrived to spend Easter break with me in Austria, we headed to Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) for a Kaiser extended-family reunion to connect with my mom’s cousins’ on my grandpa's side and their families. Shown in the picture is everyone who was at the reunion except for Claudia (and me, because I'm taking the picture).

Activities of the weekend included hiking, strolling around the Gmunden and Traunkirchen (villages in the region), taking a long coffee and cake break, "shopping" (in reality an excuse for us "kids" to leave the cafe and walk around the city), conversing for hours around the dinner table after a satisfying meal, a bit of frisbee-playing, fish-eating, wine-drinking, and spinning on small merry-go-round until our stomachs told us to stop. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with my cousins and felt that Elizabeth and I were part of the family, although I had not met most of them until this weekend. I look forward to Sophie (Julian's sister) staying with my family and I for a month this summer.

Mother and daughter (Michi and Charlotte)

bonding on the merry-go-round

Mischievous Julian is a dangerous

one with the camera

Elizabeth: For me, this Austria part II – the chance to use what I learned from my first visit in 2004 with Grandma and Grandpa, and use what I was able to learn from two months of commuting to work with a Beginner’s German CD. I read that it is polite to keep your hands and arms rested on the table throughout the meal, and I noticed this keeps me more engaged. I ate several thorough meals with our relatives – cousins and aunts – in a “pension” that Katherine and I both remembered coming to before. In fact, these first two days here I have spent just remembering my first visit. I had so much trouble recalling what I did, but I realized this was because I didn’t have the visual refreshers to remind me. Today we visited a chapel and ate fish served whole. It was delicious. I’ve been squinting a lot in the sun – is it because I work in a cave, or is it because I am still so worn from jet lag?

Edit: To show the landscape, here's a pic of jet-lagged
Elizabeth on Sunday morning before breakfast