Your long wait is finally at an end and another posting is here!  It may be worse than waiting for the next season of  'Downton Abbey'!  (Lucky me, it's shown earlier here and I have computer savvy sons who can access things so I've seen the whole season!!  I'm so bad at waiting.) It's funny how my last post covered only one week of our activity and now I will cover the last 6 weeks or so.  I will try mightily to keep the boring details to a minimum.

View of Vienna from our favorite hiking spot

The older boys arrived on Dec. 16 and we had a wonderful visit with all of us together for 3 weeks.  We completed our occasional height check.  Currently, Dominic is the tallest at 6' 1 1/4".  Alex follows (an inch shorter) at 6' 1/4" and Craig at an even 6'.  Matthew is striving to pass up his mom, but not yet: Maria is still 5' 6 1/2" and Matthew is 5' 5 3/4".  Carissa is no slouch at 4' 8 1/2" tall.

Alex is really enjoying his job, learning new things and having adventures with his co-workers (chess, ping-pong, rock climbing).  He jumped into exploring Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest (the last two with his friend Priya who visited for a week).  He sought out several Christmas Markets and was determined (and successful) in trying as many different beers as possible.  We played Munchkin and Dominion together and all 6 of us even conquered in League of Legends.

It wouldn't be a complete visit without Wiener Schnitzel!

For the first time in years, only a few cookies were decorated in "unusual" ways.

Dominion was a favorite game.

Sacher Torte at the Hotel Sacher!

Dominic was happily apartment-bound most of the time when he was here: resting, playing on the computer (glad for a good connection speed) and working on his own projects.  We dragged him out to a few activities and to visit our old friends in Salzburg.  He is as soft-spoken as ever and a man of few words, so I am postulating that he enjoyed himself.  I believe he had a good first semester and (again, speculating) that he did well.  He got stuck for 2 days in Chicago on his way back to the states, until his grandpa picked him up and drove him to their house. He is back to CMU this weekend to start his second semester.  He expects it to be a bit tougher.  He is also considering his options for summer work; he likes to work independently and may arrange to do projects from home.

Opening Gifts on Christmas Morning

Carissa was in heaven with all her brothers here.  Her German continues to race ahead; she seems to have quite a gift for languages.  She has been letting me read to her for a bit each day so I can work on my pronunciation.  School is easy, but as ever, she is doggedly determined to give it her best in all the subjects and usually does more than is asked of her. She enjoys going on outings, especially if hot chocolate or a bakery is involved. She is looking into attending a weekly volleyball class with a friend, and possibly a weekly gymnastics course or basketball class as well.  She has made many friends, continues to be good-natured, and is enjoying her new experiences.

All Austrian schoolchildren (you aren't a 'student' until you go to the university, you are a 'pupil' before that) get a week off of school during February, when the first semester finishes (which is at the end of Jan.). The different regions of the country take turns so that everyone can go skiing at different times of the month and the resorts don't get mobbed with the whole country at once.  The kids in Vienna and the surrounding region have the first week of Feb. as their vacation.  That's why many things begin in mid-Feb here, after the first semester of school and after the week of vacation. Carissa's class has the chance to go on a week skiing together; one of the parents has connections and arranged for a hotel/hostel for a group, with food, lessons, rooms, swimming pool, inside sand volleyball, etc. all included, and at cost.  Craig and Matthew may go along. (I will be returning from Florida after they have left so I may join later or get a few solo days at home. The arthritis in my knees makes me hesitant to try skiing again, but I may risk it for half a day.)

Matthew is continuing his low-key approach and has been staying under the radar, so most of his schooling continues in English, and his German is minimal.  I think he (and I) will both enroll in a 'German for foreigners' class that begins in February to continue working on the language.  We may need to put a bit more pressure on him to take advantage of  this opportunity. Math and science continue to be interesting, but history is in German so that takes a bit more work.  However, the school is not particularly proactive in helping him integrate or facilitating his understanding, so he's had a bit of a tougher time.  He has very little homework. He has started going to a chess club once a week and spends much of his free time reading or Minecraft (and other computer activities), often with his friends from home if he can manage to connect with them.

There are many good climbing trees, and although we haven't seen many other kids in the trees, my kids still love it.

Craig is working a lot and enjoying it.  There is always so much to do!  He loves it so much that he spends much of his free time working as well.  Research is going well, he maintains contact regularly with his colleagues in the states, and is working on grant proposals.   He does break for board games and League of Legends with the kids (he actually enjoys it and doesn't have to be talked into it, unlike yours truly).  He does more than his share of the cooking, and is continuing to be vegan with less trouble.  It's still fairly hopeless at restaurants and at people's houses, but it can be fun to see the waiter's reactions!  If it's not raining, he wants to be hiking somewhere and finds many great places for us to take walks.

I continue many of my same activities - tours, coffee shops, language study, organizational/social director, and housekeeper/butler/short-order cook. I do love to explore, discover new things and observe things around me, which also helps me to make up my own mind about things I like and don't like.  I am lonely sometimes; I am missing my friends to keep me company, listen to my complaints, share my sorrows, laugh with and at me, and share creamer coffee weekly.  I am making friends here - ex-pats from all countries can relate to the challenges of relocation.  I am back to walking more.  It hasn't gotten real cold here - usually the 40's or so - and being outside during the day is quite comfortable.  (Who would have thought that 40 degrees and cloudy would be something that many Americans would be jealous of!)  It does get cold at night, though.  Next week is expected to be colder and with snow.  We have seen the sun a bit more lately.

I also have been feeling the stress of living in a country where you are not fluent in the language.  I always knew this before in my head, but I am actually feeling the discouragement of not completely knowing what is going on around you, understanding what people ask you, not understanding announcements you may hear, emails that come from schools and governments.  It's just hard.  I am working again actively on the German and I am really enjoying it in a way I didn't before. This is where having a second year would really pay off - the first year you learn the ropes and the next year you have that advantage.  However, you all know me enough to know that I forge ahead, keep trying new things, and am constantly surprised when others see me as active and enthusiastic (since I seldom feel that way and would describe myself as "tired and worn out";  I guess I just 'fake it until I make it'.)  I think with the continued classes and individual work, this feeling will gradually dissipate and I will feel more comfortable.  I think it feels stronger after 3 weeks of a family-dominated English-only environment!

Looks like we will have some company in the coming months.  A friend from Ohio may come in March, an aunt and uncle of mine in May, as well as Craig's parents this summer.  I am definitely looking forward to those visits.  Don't worry - we still have room for you!  Craig and I are also meeting my brother and his wife in Madrid in early May to watch some of the later rounds of the Madrid Open TennisTournament.  That will be a real treat for sure!  (Nadal!  Djokovic!)  We will also be visiting friends in northern German (in June or July) and take in some sights on the way and possibly around Amsterdam.  The next 6 months will keep us plenty busy!

I am going to see my parents in Florida in a week and will stay for two weeks.  Besides wanting to see them, the sunshine and warmth will hopefully dispel my SAD until sunny skies are here again.  Perhaps you will have a guest author in my absence - which other Austrian Zirbel would you vote to hear from?

My previous post left you hanging at the beginning of December.  It was advent and advent wreaths are very common here, and almost all houses have them, although most not "liturgical" ones (with the purple and pink candles). The first Sunday of Advent, many bring their wreaths to church to be blessed for the season.  On Dec. 6, we were able to see a very kid-friendly version of St. Nicholas and Krampus in our own neighborhood and avoided the more gruesome displays.  St. Nicholas' Day is a highlight of the Advent season.

Carissa receiving treats from St. Nicholas

We spent a happy weekend in Salzburg celebrating with our friends there.  We went on walks, to parties, to an Advent Market, and had a wonderful time.  Lydia and Thomas are very good friends and their two sons were in the same kindergarten as Matthew was 8 years ago.  Their oldest son Paul may spend a year with us in the future, perfecting his (already very nice) English.  Their daughter Amelie was born after we left Salzburg, and it's been great getting to know her.

A wonderful Christmas Market in Salzburg with the Schrader Family                 Rock climbing at a local park

Midnight mass at our small neighborhood church was surprisingly delightful.  They had a concert at 11:30, with the choir alternating pieces with a large instrumental ensemble.  Both were quite good.  The bright interior along with the good music made it really enjoyable.  Although the church was full then, if they want to increase attendance in general, they could try heating the churches.

Before I forget:  Happy New Year to you all, a little late!  The Viennese celebrate the New Year possibly more than Christmas.  There is probably an entire 24 hours of fireworks, both legal and illegal from mid-day on the 31st to mid-day on the 1st, (and a few rogue ones the few nights before) and the downtown display is stupendous.  We celebrated there with thousands of friends and in a breath-taking setting.


     Family photo on Jan. 31, 2013                                                  Wandering downtown with Sauke's and Priya

We had hoped to sleep in late the next morning, but we began the New Year in an unexpected way:  a trip to ER!  Oh yes, you read that right.  Matthew woke around 6 am, vomiting and with intense pain in his "private parts".  A quick Google search of symptoms led us to believe that we needed to see a doctor immediately.  And now:  how do we do that?  Taxi?  Ambulance?  Call friends at the indecent hour?  (They didn't answer.)  We called an ambulance and they took Matthew and Craig to the Wilhelminenspital, where he saw a doctor, who sent him directly to a urologist, who did an ultrasound, and he was in surgery within an hour of arriving, dry-heaving all the way.   He had a textbook case of "testicular torsion", when the blood vessels in one of the testicles gets wrapped around itself 360' and cuts off the blood supply.  Another 4 hours would have killed the testicle completely, with a good chance of recurrence in the other one, long-term problems and a fair chance of not being able to father children.  Every source confirmed to us that this was an emergency situation requiring immediate attention, so we were glad to have made the right call.  Surgeons made an incision, took out the blood vessels, unwound them, and when they were warmed up in liquid, they returned to a healthy pink color (from the blue-black that they were).  They also pinned down the vessels in both testicles so it won't recur.  He was immediately better.  He stayed in the hospital overnight and was home the next afternoon.  He was a real trouper and despite all the struggles, never even shed a tear, never wanting to bother anyone (although this is pushing it!) and handled himself very maturely.  The hospital was about a 10 minute car ride away; it was built around the turn of the century, where they have multiple 'pavilions', which each have a half-dozen rooms or so, with the high ceilings, and tall glass windows from a different age.



After all that excitement, Matthew wasn't able to join us for much exploring the following week, as he was instructed to avoid physical activity.  The rest of us climbed to the 'top' (you could only go about half way up) of St. Stephens Cathedral, which gave an amazing view of the city.  It was a tightly wound circular staircase and you often had to pause to let people going in the other direction get by.

One last outing was to the Hundertwasser house.  This Austrian artist loved to design multi-colored, non-linear, ecologically-sound buildings and areas.  His famous house is quite unusual.  It has undulating floors, grass growing at the top, and large trees growing from inside the rooms.  He is especially well-known for his remodeling and exterior design of an incineration plant.

 

He abhorred straight lines or flat, horizontal surfaces, and loved bright colors.  Current residents are allowed to decorate their own windows.
It is really quite fun.

The Christmas season end on Epiphany, which is on Jan. 6.  This is also widely celebrated in Austria.  In the afternoon on this day, we were visited by Three Kings in our apartment lobby, singing and dressed in wonderful costumes.

So, the holidays are over, the older boys are gone and we are back to school.  Both kids left here were so jealous of the wonderful snow storm (and snow days) their friends back home enjoyed.  They have a few more weeks of school, until their one-week vacation, and will need to survive (and hopefully thrive) while I am sunning in Florida.  Craig has a week retreat in mid-Feb with his colleagues in Bled, Slovenia.  By then spring will be arriving, and there will be many more things to explore.

Blessings in the new year,
Maria et. al