Monday, May 6, 2013

3, 2, 1.......weinerschnitzel!!!


Wow! So a lot has happened since I left Colorado bright and early Tuesday morning! I've been meaning to post but have been very busy since arriving in Austria. Right now I'm waiting at the airport for a quick 2 hour flight to Paris and then hit the ground running. (well I was but this blog post has taken a while to write so now I'm it's day 2 in Paris) Thankfully I've adjusted a bit already to the time difference, and the lack of sleep because of all the fun things there are to do instead! :) I'm a bit tired but who cares when you in Europe right?!!!! So here is a run through of what I did here in Austria:

So after three different planes (which really wasn't too bad) I made it to Vienna. Waiting for my suitcase at baggage claim barely took any time at all because my bag was already there when I arrived...wonderful! There's nothing worse than having to wait forever for luggage when you've already been in and out of planes all day (but really there are worse things, like burnt mac and cheese....that's awful!). When I exited to the arrival area my aunt Margie and uncle Loren were right there waiting for me and  it was so nice to finally see them again. We stowed my luggage in a locker and hopped on some public transportation (so easy and nice to use in Vienna). Coming up from the train station it left us in a area with a fun small amusement park area and park called Prater . Because it was a holiday in Austria there were a decent amount of people out and about and it was really fun to walk through, also there was a super old Ferris wheel (Riesenrad). Then we met up with Tibor and walked around and went to St. Stefans, which is a grand cathedral in Vienna with stained glass windows and a Gothic feel to it. That was were we met up with Tracy (Tibor's wife) and that was so much fun because I had never met her before and also because she has the same name as my mom (minus the e). I don't want to bore everybody with lots of details....but this is basically my stream of consciousness from what I remember from the whirlwind that was the past few days. I got to see a lot of Vienna that first day and do a lot of walking around town, we even encountered a protest march...I always love a good protest!


On Thursday I had a little trouble waking up because of the jet lag, but once I was up and running Loren, Margie, Tracy, and I went to Schonbrunn Palace. Schonbrunn was the summer residence of the Habsburg royal family. The tickets that we got had a 2 hour wait time on them so we walked around the grounds and checked out a few things in the meantime. Everywhere you turn the grass is deep green and the forest was so lush and seemed like the kind of place you could wander around all day and just get lost but not even mind it.  We walked up the hill behind the palace that has a monument called the Gloriette, it gives you an amazing view of the palace and of Vienna. It was a bit cloudy but it was still a gorgeous view. After that it was time for our tour,but since Loren and Margie have seen it before it was just Tracy and I for the tour. We saw about 40 different rooms , and it was amazing to learn about the history behind it all and everything was very beautiful. My favorite room was this tiny room that was all blues and creams and had 213 hand drawn ink pictures hung all over the walls and even part of the ceiling, crazy!!!

Friday Tracy and I went to a flea market that was ridiculously huge and had the most delicious food ever, booths right and left! We had Indian food, Langos (a deep fried flat bread with garlic on top), and some sweet bread filled with jam. Tracy found some cool stuff, namely a vintage brown leather bag, and I found some gifts for family! We met up with Tracy and Tibor's friend Oliver and stopped by a grocery store to get some food and then had an impromptu picnic near museum square. That night we went to waffle night at the institute and played games, it was so much fun!

On Saturday Margie and I went to visit her daughter (my cousin) Tara her husband Robin and their four kids. It required a few different modes of transportation but it was very scenic the whole way and very relaxing. The last time I saw Tara I was about 3 years old and it was so amazing to finally see her and meet her whole family. We totally have the exact same nose, bumps and all!! And we both have three finger foreheads (if you don't know what that is, try measuring your forehead with your fingers). Several people thought we were sisters, we even have the same kind of hair and we are both brunettes. We spent a while chatting and catching up, playing with the kids, and then Tara and Robin made homemade pizza....which was delicious!!!! Then we went to an area by the Danube (I can't remember exactly what it's called) and ate gelato, fed the swans, and enjoyed the sunshine. The time went by so fast and before I knew it Margie and I had to head back to Stockerau, it was sad to say goodbye but so nice to get to know her family....they were all amazing! The kids were so cute! :)

































Sunday meant that I had to head back to the airport and depart for Paris. Loren and Margie came with me because their ward meets in Vienna. It was definitely bittersweet to have to say goodbye, but I know that I will see them again and hopefully it won't take so many years the next time.

2 comments:

Nicki Clark said...

You and Tara do look a lot alike. Glad you're having such a great time! Sleepiness and all.

Unknown said...

You are the cutest thing. It's so good to hear about your adventures! Love you, girlie! :)

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