Austria - Vienna

The bakery at Demels (a famous coffee house in Vienna)

One of the Easter markets - beautiful eggs - covered (ruined) with snow

Mia was in heaven with all of the horsedrawn carriages :-)

The kids at the top of the Stephansdom

View of Vienna from the top of the Stephansdom

The Jewish memorial in the Jewish Quarter of Vienna - the walls look like books, on a shelf, that are turned the wrong way (symbolism for stories that will never be told)

The kids got to make Easter bunnies out of Marzipan - super cute!

Mia at another Easter Market... (with all of the snow, it really felt like a Christmas Market :-))

Inside the Schönbrunn Palace - the summer home for the Hapsburgs (not too shabby :-)

Bryan and I at the Schönbrunn Palace

Beautiful grounds at the Palace

My 2 favorite girls :-)

Bailey at the Schönbrunn Palace - she was particularly excited to learn that this is where Marie Antoinette lived as a young girl (she is learning about the French Revolution in school). Camden just finished learning about World War I, and thought it was very cool that this was the same family of the Arch Duke of Austria - Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination sparked World War I. Lastly, an wierd fact: Hitler, Stalin, and Franz Ferdinand were all here at Schoenbrunn at the same time in 1913.

Camden - taking in a little fun sledding with his new buddy (not seen)

After the weekend skiing, we went to Vienna for a few days. The cousin of my best friend growing up lives there, and he and his wife were super kind to host us. My kids all had a great time with their family, and we really enjoyed touring the city with "locals" :-). The funny thing was that Vienna had record cold temperatures that had not been seen for over 130 years. They are somewhat famous for their Easter Markets (very similar to our Christmas Markets), and the displays were completely covered in snow. Luckily, after skiing, we were prepared clothes-wise, so it wasn't too bad. I thought that it was actually kind of neat to see all of the famous sites covered with snow. I didn't realize that Vienna had over 2 million people - such a beautiful city!!!

Austria - Skiing

Last weekend, a friend invited us to go skiing in Austria with a bunch of other families. Skiing here is definitely a family activity - very affordable and super kid friendly. We stayed in a really neat "Alpen" Hotel that seemed to cater to the school ski trips (it was perfect for a group of families). The weather was perfect - not too cold or too hot, yet still plenty of snow.  Even Mia was able to keep right up - definitely memories to cherish!

Bailey - at the top

Camden and Mia - proud to be alone in the Gondola ahead of us

Had to get the family photo :-)

Mia (in the pink) heading down the mountain

A cool igloo in the kids area....

Beautiful Alps!

This car was parked beside us - "Mia's Car"

I love this little guy! He had such a fun weekend - and cannot wait to ski again!

Those hardy Germans :-)

Over the last almost 5 years, there have been many occasions in the Winter here, when the schools on the base would be closed, early released etc. due to the weather. Our neighbors would inquire why the kids (or sometimes Bryan too) were home. The reason it is so funny for them, is because nothing is ever cancelled because of weather. They are a  hardy bunch. Poor little Mia has never reaped the benefits of a 2 hour school delay or cancellation. It is quite an unusual situation (and really comical). The Germans can handle it, yet the Americans can't - why is this? Is it liability? Drivers training? Such a funny thing....So last night, it was freezing cold, dark, and a thick rain/snow combination was pouring down from the sky - and Camden was scheduled to have an 1 1/2 hour soccer practice (they just moved back outside, after a winter of indoor soccer).  As the American, I had to ask myself, will it be cancelled? Surely they would melt outside :-). The answer was an easy one - of course they will have practice. They will even have an extra "running to the top of a huge mountain" type cardiovascular training. - Those Hardy Germans - gotta love it!

Funny Photo...

side of the road near the border of Austria and Italy (kind of reminds me of the Sound of Music :-)

If I remember correctly, a tunnel stopped up traffic because only one lane was open (you can see the castle on the hill in the distance)

Gorgeous Castle/ Fortress (there are so many in that area, I don't even know the name or significance of this one)

Same castle, different view  :-) (just like all of the photos above, this photo was taken from our traffic jam on the Autobahn - kind of funny)

I found these pictures from last year, and they made me laugh. I guess if you have to be in a Stau (traffic Jam), the setting could be worse :-)

History reminder....

Photo from Luftbilddatenbank, Bamberg Airport April, 1945

Last week, here in Bamberg, they found a leftover bomb from World War II  that never exploded. Since we have lived here,  we have actually heard of several of these findings. It is quite interesting to me. This particular one, was an American bomb that was one of several dropped near the airport. I always think of my friend, who was here back in the early 1940's as a boy, and how he may have even heard a few of the other bombs exploding.  It is crazy to think how the world has changed since then. This weekend, the surrounding area has to be evacuated for a few hours in order to get rid of the bomb safely - definitely not your everyday situation being so close to home, although certainly, in other parts of the world, it is another story. Definitely a history reminder!    

funny photo...

We stopped at McDonalds last weekend with Mia and Camden. As they were playing in the basketball court room, Bryan and I were talking. It struck me quite funny to see real candles lit on the tables. Here you have a place with lots of people, kids running around, and yet for some reason there are no problems with lit candles. Not the battery powered candles, but real ones - with real fire.  You see candles often lit in windows, at restaurants, and even on Christmas Trees - yet it was funny for me to see it at McDonalds. The little touches are nice :-)

I'm really boring you now....

Yes, more on Mia's school - sorry to bore you to death :-).....

On Friday, Mia came home all excited for her first true "note." A note is basically a formal grade on a paper. 1 is the best, and 6 is not so good. Up until now, the sheets coming home would only state how many she got correct out of how many problems. Homework does not count at all for your grades in Germany, so it is mostly based on tests (many of which are pop quizzes). She was very proud to have her first note, which was a 1. She knew that the test was coming, she just didn't know which day. The test was a dicatation where you have to write a paragraph using all of the correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, cursive etc. The next day, she told me that they had another test that was a complete surprise. This one was a math test. She came home today with the results, which were great. There were 50 problems on the test, and it was timed, but what I was so surprised to see was what the test included... It was multiplication and division, but even further, they had several problems that looked like this: 3 x 5 + 8 x 1  (answer 23) or 45 : 5 - 5 (answer 4). They also had a 3 part multiplication word problem to solve (I would write it, but it is in German). It is amazing to me that they not only learn the multiplication and division, but at the same time how to add and subtract from it as well (again, all in 3 - 4 hours of school each day, and no academics in kindergarten). The only reason, I even mention this is, is because Camden lagged behind, not learning multiplication or division until 3rd grade (and then not even mastering it), and Bailey was bored to death in 2nd grade because they only briefly touched on division - even though they both went to school all day. As a parent, I have really found my happiness for school in this system. They cut out all of the fluff, teach the real stuff, and then let the kids go home to just be kids- I love it! Some people love the fluff, and some people love all day school, but for me, having both the 3-4 hours a day and the true learning is super! Thanks again for listening.... each time I write about this kind of thing, I tell myself - OK, no more, but then something else pops up, and I can't help myself, I have to share :-). Sorry!

P.S. another interesting fact, is that my friends' son who is in a completely different school, in a different town, but in the same grade as Mia, has very similar scheduling (for ex. he too came home last week with his first note, they learned to write with the calligraphy pens around the same time etc). There seems to be tons of consistency, which I find fantastic.

More school crafts...

A little yarn doll - complete with felt outfit and hair

A hand sewn felt bag with draw string

As I always say - probably a bit too much :-) - I love Mia's school :-). To get out between 11 and 12:00 each day, and accomplish as much as they do, amazes me. These are a couple of her latest art projects. A handmade doll, and a pull string bag, hand sewn with felt.  We will so miss these little things when we have to leave.

Not so bad...

My German class began again after a month long pause. There are some new people in there (this time from Montenegro, Maynamar, Poland, France, Russia etc). Our instructor was trying to get a gauge on all of our  language skills, and she began the discussion of what we all perceive to be the German Stereo types (especially since living here). It was very interesting to hear what people from other countries thought. Here were some of the things that came up on the list:

1.Clean - everything is very well cared for (streets, window sills, cars, yards etc)
2.Fiscally responsible - people are careful with their money - purchases are not so spontaneous
3.Order - Everything is in order. There are laws and people follow them (etc. don't cross a red pedestrian light - ESPECIALLY if children are around, or stay to the right on the Autobahn unless you are passing a car.
4. Hard working - Any type of work is a profession to be taken seriously
5. Educated - The German school system is thorough and  competitive, and college is free
6.Active - Germans love the outdoors (it is not uncommon to see an 80 year old riding a bike)
7.Care for the earth - renewable resources are a priority (windmills, solar panels, recycling etc)
8. Like Beer - goes without saying
9. Wear Lederhosen - Some older men wear this daily, but certainly only a small percent. 
10. Health care - very good public health system
11. Serious - not so much of a sense of humor (I find this only sometimes) 

As I was sitting with all of these people from all of these other countries, I looked at the list, and thought - if these are the stereotypes that everyone sees - it is pretty amazing that a place like this still exists in the world!  Now for my homework...I need to write in German what the stereo types from my country are: hmmmm........

Digestive

This little basket of schnapps was sitting outside one windows of the "restaurant huts" on the mountain

It is well known that beer and wine are a huge part of the culture over here. As an example, it is very common to see an older lady have a krug of beer for lunch at a restaurant - no one would even blink an eye. In addition to this (what you don't hear about so often) is the aperitif and digestif. The aperitif, is the pre-dinner drink (aperol or something similar), and the digestif, is the after dinner drink (a shot of schnapps). The reasoning behind the schnapps, is that it supposed to help settle your stomach. I had taken the above photo when we went skiing. Even on the ski slopes, they have the digestive (shot) to help settle your stomach after lunch and keep you warm - so funny! It is something that people have done for hundreds of years, and the tradition carries on....  No judgement, no bar fights, no DUI's - just a cultural tradition. Having grown up in a totally different culture, it always makes me chuckle to see this "other way."