Die Ferien - Teil drei

Vacation - Part Three

Our last post may not have conveyed just how much of London we took in. I won't bore you with a comprehensive list. Suffice it to say every night I thought my feet were going to fall off before we made it back to the apartment. And I didn't even make it to a yarn store! (no, I'm sorry Curt, the craft department at Liberty doesn't count even though they did have yarn.) So, you'll understand that I was especially delighted by the travel mugs of coffee Rob handed us as we climbed into his car for that ridiculously early drive to the airport. Rob's generosity set the bar really high for our next hosts - Curt's high school exchange host family.

This being our second flight with Ryan Air, we were prepared for most of the eccentricities. I was amused by the air sickness bags covered in ads and noticed that the in-flight magazine alternated each page of features (thinly veiled promotions for cool places you can get to on Ryan Air) with a full-page advertisement.

Upon arrival, we were (for once) happy not to be EU citizens. Our line for passport control was MUCH shorter than theirs. A Mexican teenager tried to sneak around me in line, but I elbowed him out of our way and then noticed he was traveling with his family of at least eight. I must be picking up some instincts from the Austrian U-bahn riders.

We were enthusiastically greeted by Curt's German host father and brother who grabbed our bags and took us on a splendid drive through the countryside. While Till kindly spoke to me in English, I was also evesdropping on the German conversations in the front seat. When I already know the story, I try to pick up vocabulary. Lucky for me, Curt was filling Eberhard in on his academic life for much of the drive.

We got even bigger hugs when we arrived in Ottenheim. I felt like family immediately and it seemed as though Curt had never left.

Der Chef, Johanna und Curt

We had a wonderful long Easter weekend and were spoiled by Johanna and her family. Everyone was very patient with my lack of German. Eberhard and I spoke broken French (I even managed a joke that got him to laugh so I count it as a big linguistic success). Johanna managed a fair amount of English. Curt and Till translated the rest. Occasionally, the translations just confirmed what I had figured out.

Till and Curt took me on a stroll through town so I could see where they'd dodged trouble in high school.

Curt und Till

Till took us across the Rhine to France's version of Super Target to buy vinegar and beer that he can't get in Munich.
We went to Freiburg and toured the beautiful "Munster" or cathedral. We also discovered that it is sister cities with Madison, WI.

Johanna made a Black Forest Cake that was to die for. She added flags from Sybille to make it extra special. See? SPOILED.

You can't start off Easter dinner without Champagne!

And lest you think we missed out on our Easter traditions, we did get chocolate bunnies and beautifully colored eggs.
On Monday morning, after another multiple course breakfast (where are the sweatpants?), Till and Eberhard drove us to the train station. It was hard enough to leave but with Johanna waving goodbye from the sidewalk until we were out of sight, it made us truly reflect on how lucky we were to be adopted by such a family.

Next stop: Besigheim

Die Ferien - Teil Eins

Vacation - Part One

April has been vacation month for us. I know it won't last quite through the month as Curt has started reading for some upcoming exams, but it's close to a whole month "off."

We started spring break right here in our district of Vienna. For Christmas, Curt's mom gave us VIP tickets to dinner and a concert at Schloss Schönbrunn's Orangerie. So, on April 1, we got dressed up and took our usual green line of the U-bahn (U4) just a few stops. We were early, so we wandered around the Easter Market for a bit. I think Curt had a hard time resisting the treats, but we knew a good dinner was waiting for us.

Dinner was served in the Residenz Cafe. We started with a glass of sekt while we perused the wine list.

The meal started with "Gravad - Räucherlachsterrine auf Dillpesto"

(Smoked and graved salmon paté on dill-pesto)

Our main course was "Putenfilet im Kohnblatt auf Paprikaschaum dazu gegrillte Rispentomaten und Herzoginnenerdäpfel."

(Turkey-hen Fillet colbert on paprikafoam, with grilled cherry tomatoes and pommes duchesse)

For dessert: Schokoladetörtchen aus Landtmann's feiner Patisserie auf Fruchtspiegel.

(Chocolate tartlet from Landtmann's finest Patisserie on fruit mirror)

After dinner, we strolled around the grounds of the Schloss for a few minutes and then found our way to the Orangerie. As VIP's, we were directed to the front row. I was a little afraid of dozing off in front of the musicians, but they kept me awake with an excellent concert (and a little on-stage joking around). We couldn't take photos during the performance, but here's the hall so you can see where we were.

There was a small orchestra and we got a sampling of operatic arias and ballet thrown in for good measure. I have to admit, the male dancer was nowhere near star caliber, but everyone else put on a really nice show. I enjoyed the fact that the last encore was a tune called, "The Mother-in-law Gallop." How fitting for an evening provided by MKBY.

And, since you occasionally ask for photos of us, here we are enjoying more champagne during intermission:

Next up: an early morning excursion to the Bratislava airport, a full flight to London, and a new currency to convert....

Tschüß!

(edited 17.04 to correct my poor German vocabulary in the title and a typo caught by Curt - the singing was of arias, not areas)

Die Sippe

Meine Sippe, or clan, + 1 arrived in last Saturday (March 16) in Vienna. My brother brought his two daughters and one of their friends for a week tour. What a sight for Heather and I to see faces from home emerge from customs. Now my brother and I have always given each other grief for our dashing good looks but his look was a little different this time. I knew something was wrong. Or, maybe it was the crying girl behind him. It turns out that the four of them made it safely and timely through multiple connections from Minneapolis (my brother went crazy with booking on the Internet and attempted his own version of around the world in 80 days). However, only one piece of luggage made the connections with them. A delay in wardrobe arrival is devastating to a 15-year old girl. Fortunately, I had one of those rare moments where my better judgment took hold and I didn’t tell them of my relief that we would actually be able to walk around the apartment without the luggage. Long story short, one more bag arrived Monday night and the others on Tuesday morning. I don’t know who was more put out, the girls having to share clothes or my big brother having to be dressed by his little brother. Man, I should have offered to braid his hair.

Up until the clan arrived, we had been experiencing absolutely lovely weather. The morning they were to arrive the winds picked up and it got really cold. For the remainder of the week, it either rained or snowed non-stop. I am trying to figure out when I turned into the elderly and began muttering about how inappropriately teenagers dress for the weather. Fortunately, my wife was nearby to punch me in the arm and tell me to shut up.


All of this being said, it was truly a delight to see Austria and Germany through their eyes. I forget about my time as a wide-eyed 17-year old and the little or big things that caught me by surprise. What do you mean the waitress doesn’t understand me when I clearly enunciated my order of “pop”? Or, the mind-boggling variety of shot glasses one can buy at a Munich souvenir shop? Or, the Viennese ability to hit the hole on an escalator or subway in a way that puts the Vikings’ running backs to shame. Or, that a balding guy with a European accent is cute while a balding uncle is gross. The list goes on.

Bernt (the "cute" tour guide), Curt and Tyke remove a tree from the road

Being the serious intellectuals, Heather and I wanted my family to experience the real Austria and Germany. Not stereotypes. So, we brought them to Salzburg and Munich. The girls scoffed at the Sound of Music tour but could sing the songs associated with each movie landmark I pointed out. And, what 15-year old shouldn’t experience at least one beer hall (or three). The girls really were impressive throughout all of this. In Salzburg we took the salt mine tour and they really picked up a lot. They were truly sobered by the intense tour of Dachau concentration camp. It put into perspective for them the little inconveniences such as delayed luggage. I was proud of them.

the clan tours a salt mine, in protective clothing

the best pretzel we've tasted (Thanks, Cassie!)

waiting for the train back to Vienna

Yesterday morning they departed for the airport around 5 a.m. We have yet to hear from them if they made it safely. I don’t fear that their luggage gets lost again as much as I suspect that their luggage will be the first ever considered to exceed airline weight limits due to an inordinate amount of Mozart embossed candy.

(This collaborative post was written by ElectricYoak, photos by Auntly H.)