Well, Annie and I successfully survived a 3-day weekend without Markus. Actually, it went quite well. Friday and Monday were pretty low-key, and then Sunday we went to visit my friend, Ana, in Seefeld (pronounced Zey-feld).
Annie and I met another woman from class, Anna (with 2 n’s) and her 7 year old daughter, Dasha. (They are from Russia and do not really speak English, so it was an all German speaking day pretty much.) We met at the downtown train station and caught the train to Seefeld, which is a little tourist town about 1/2 and hour from Innsbruck.
Annie, of course, loved the train as well as the chance to hang out with another child. Here are pics from our trip there:
Dasha and AnnieAnna
Ana, our host (1 ‘n’), was quite sad that it wasn’t a sunny day, as we missed seeing the spectacular mountains surrounding the town. But I thought the village was very pretty and really enjoyed spending the time out of the house. I’m sure we’ll be back to check out the view another time.
After a short walk in the core we headed straight to the kiddy hill. Annie and I went tobogganing and Anna pulled Dasha up so she could go skiing. It was really fun, although it was certainly a workout.
After about an hour we returned to Ana’s for lunch and chats. I can now carry on a basic conversation in German, and we were helping each other out when we didn’t understand. Ana speaks Russian and English, so she was the translator when required, although we usually try to figure what everyone is saying using just German.
Annie decided that life was too exciting to have a nap, so she conked out for a bit on the train ride home and then went to bed early. A wonderful day all around.
Here are some more pictures. (Oh yeah, Annie won’t ride on the sled unless it is barreling down a mountain, so I had to push the green strolled through the snow. Poor little stroller will never be the same again!)
The gang in the villageIn front of a pretty building. Apparently Annie isn't into looking at the camera much these daysMom and Annie enjoying the rideHard work pulling your not-so-wee one up the hillAna and Annie (too many An(n)a's here!) Big hugs all around
Winter festivities are in full swing in Austria. They really know how to do the season full-on.
On Thursday Nicolaus came to visit Annie’s kindergarten. I have to say that Kindervilla does an amazing job of acknowledging and educating the children about each of the traditions and celebrations throughout the year. Annie has even been singing Nicolaus songs for the last couple of weeks
Nicolaus is based, of course, on Saint Nicolas, who was Nicolas of Mynra (270 to 346). Myrna is now a part of Turkey. Here is a bit about the history:
Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercessions, he is also known as Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and is now commonly identified with Santa Claus. Nicholas was never officially canonised; his reputation simply evolved among the faithful, as was the custom in his time.
Annie is usually not really a shy child, just a bit reserved around new people or in larger groups of people at first. However, I had to wake her up from her nap to make it in time, so she was a quite clingy. She sat on my lap instead of with the other children, which wasn’t a big deal.
The room was dark and there was a centerpiece of candles. (Again with the candles and toddlers! These people live on the edge let me tell you.) The children did a great job of keeping quiet in preparation for the visit.
When Nicolaus came in, the kids sang songs they had prepared. Annie didn’t participate in that part, although she was in full force afterwards of course. Here is a shot of the robed saint:
Saint Nicolaus
After a speech (which I’m afraid I didn’t understand) he started to call the children. The kids were suppose to go up, shake hands with Nicolaus, speak a few words and take their sac filled with oranges, nuts and chocolates. Most kids went up with their parents, and of course I thought that I was going to do this with Annie. Here is what is was supposed to look like:
Random child politely receiving gift from Nicolaus
So I was delighted when Annie got up from my lap when called and looked quite willing to go it on her own. I quickly reached for my camera to get a shot of my perfect child in this wondrous moment. Annie, however, decided to perform the McDonald’s drive-thru version of the ceremony, running up, snatching the sac from Nicolaus’ hand and running back to me. The whole thing took less than 2 seconds. She did get a burst of laughter from the crowd. So much for breaking the images of those rude and pushy North Americans. Oh well. And of course, no picture.
Annie decided to cling to me the whole time, so the only picture I did get of her is this one, where I managed to get her to stand a whole 5 centimeters away from me and look at me for 2 milliseconds:
Oh well, I imagine with those blue eyes she has a long life ahead of her getting away with pretty much anything.
Nicolaus day in actually today, December 6th, in Austria. Yesterday was when the evil side of things was celebrated, Krampuss night. Krampuss is a devil-like character who comes to scare children who have been naughty (and you thought getting coal in your stocking was bad!) Here is a shot of some of the Krampuss masks that people wear. Pretty scary!
I kept Annie away from these characters wearing bells around their waists and banging gongs. I don’t think we need to introduce this nightmare-inducing tradition just yet.
Instead we had an impromptu skate night. Opa and cousin Lily were on the ice on the rink around the corner from the hotel when Annie and I just happened to walk by. I rented skates and Annie borrowed the toddler version which fit over her boots. They are great, as they have 2 blades so are more stable.
Annie actually went around the rink with Opa a couple of time (which caused Lily so much stress she is still pouting about it today…MY Opa). And then after a while Annie actually made it one whole length of the boards by herself with me holding out my hands in case she fell. It cracked me up, as she was sort of scared and whining the whole time, but didn’t want me to help her. She has such a forceful independent streak…I’m in trouble already, I can tell. A big improvement for only her second time on the ice. And I had much more fun than when I was basically hauling her around. The bodes well for a fun ice and snow-filled winter ahead.
Well, we had a solid offer on the house, which we have accepted yesterday. We dropped the price by a good lot, because all indications are that the spring is going to be even worse than now.
So, of course, part of me is relieved that we can check this off the list and can pay off some of our bills. But I am also experiencing a fairly large amount of angst over this. Interesting.
I’m sure that this is partly because we had to sell for about $100,000 less than what was going to be our ‘bottom price’ only 7 months ago. It is so close that it is hard not to do the woulda coulda shoulda thing. If we had only dropped the price in the spring, we would likely have at least an extra $50,000 in our pockets right now. Ah well, 20/20 hindsight and all that.
But I am also feeling (perhaps irrationally) like my most tangible connection to Canada has been severed. I guess that (without realizing it) I had in the back of my mind that if things didn’t work out here we would just move back to the house and go from there. With the house gone, everything seems like a bigger decision. Even visiting Victoria becomes more of a challenge. I know, I know that we could always move back and rent a place. But somehow that is different.
And of course it is really hitting me that I won’t be seeing the place again where Annie was born and did all of her ‘firsts’, where Rebecca spent so many years growing up, where Narnia brought in that snake…oh right, that I’d like to forget. As you all know, I wasn’t even in love with our condo, and yet I still feel sadness over seeing it go. As I say, interesting.
Everything else is still up in the air (the Aerie, The Hotel), so it is nice to have one major event (hopefully) behind us. And all of these financial issues have started to make me think about working again. Susi (sister-in-law) let me know that there are a couple of positions in the Marketing department of Swarovski that require a business degree and no other language other than English. And Markus discovered that there is at least one business college that teaches all of their courses in English (although I think I might need a PhD to apply there.) It is making me think hard about what I want to do. I’ll keep you updated.
On the home front, I am still sick as a dog. I forgot to take my ColdFX this morning and almost didn’t make it through class. I dare any of you to try to conjugate verbs in a foreign language when your head is full of cold and throat is blazing sore. Good times. My pharmacist friend from school, Ana, has a homeopathic remedy she is bringing me tomorrow that I really, really hope does the trick. I have so much fun in these classes and am feeling like I am making some progress, so I want to be mentally as well as physically present the rest of the week. I know my family in Vancouver are also suffering from various illness. I wish all of them, and you, good health.
Well, Annie certainly has come to make Innsbruck her own. We walked to a downtown shopping center this afternoon, and when I blew by the place we sometimes buy ice cream, she looked back at me from her stroller like I was more than a wee bit insane. “What in the world do you think you are doing?” her face read and in a very calculated voice declared, “I want some ice cream.” Später, my love.
Annie frequently points out stores or has a running comment on streets that she is familiar with. I’m glad she is identifying this as her hometown, where she has memories and adventures. Every time we put on her warm boots, she asks if we are going to play in the snow, which obviously isn’t something she has or will experience in beautiful warm Victoria. We all need connections, don’t we?
As to how the temporary single mommyhood is going, I have to say that weekends without Markus are the most difficult for me. We struggled through the morning, as we both are sick and Annie woke up early with a cough and trouble breathing. But then she had a 3 hour nap, which allowed me to have a bath, relax and work a bit more on my soon-to-be late Christmas cards. (You’ll all be fine with a post-Christmas card, right?) Actually, I have no idea how long it takes for mail to get from Austria to Canada, so I might be fine. We’ll see and I’m sure you will report back.
After lunch we went to said shopping mall. I tried their service for the first time where you can drop-off (ditch?) your child for up to 3 hours while shopping. Annie, oddly, had a few tears at first but then saw the doll and stroller and was all “see ya mom”. She didn’t want to leave after 1 1/2 hours when I picked her up. It was a great way to blast through some errands and then have a relaxing cup of hot chocolate. Definitely going to do that again. And since Markus is staying another week in Canada, perhaps we’ll be going back to that mall again, and again, and again…
This will be a short one, as I have managed to come down with another cold. Apparently I have no immunity to European viruses. Oh well. With the ColdFX, I’m not feeling it too badly.
So far things without Markus are going O.K. Annie is in full-time daycare, so I can catch up after my classes in the afternoon. Also speaking a bit more German helps a lot. A big milestone in my Deutsch sprachen…I actually was able to give someone on the street directions when they were lost. Lots of hand-gestures, but still. (Apparently I have a friendly, I’m-not-a-axe-murderer face, because no matter where I go in the world, people always stop me and ask me for directions.)
I really notice a difference in Annie from the last time Markus left until this time. Annie is just that much more independent, better at dressing/undressing herself, able to keep herself entertained. It certainly helps. She woke up a bit earlier today, but 6:00 is still an improvement over 4:30!
Plus having friends makes the world of difference. Lauriane and her husband, (another Markus), one of her French friends and I all went out with the kids yesterday evening to the Christmas Market. We had Glüwine and chatted until the kids started to freeze. Lots of fun.
That is it for now. I’m off to put Annie to bed and then crawl into bed myself with a cup of tea. Hopefully I can make it to class tomorrow so I don’t miss anything.
Well, the first couple of days ohne Markus have been just fine. Sister-in-law Susi and I took the cousins to play at one of the shopping centers (not as pathetic as it sounds because the play area is skookum) while we had coffee and chatted.
And tonight Rebecca suggested we go skating. Around the corner from us (literally…like 35 seconds away) is an open skating rink that the bank puts up in their plaza each year. Markus’ Dad had skates for all of us, including some old one of Lili’s for Annie. Annie has been on the ice before, but this was her first time actually skating. Rebecca and I mostly hauled her around, but she loved it and wants to go again. Mommy, on the other hand, discovered that although she used to be a fairly proficient skater, now sucks. But hopefully after a winter here that will improve.
Annie misses Dad and asks about him frequently. I’m not helping, as I tend to talk to myself out loud; Annie keeps thinking I am talking to Markus and comes running into the room to see if he is there. My quirkiness will soon make us all insane.
I guess the other big news for those of you following our trials and tribulations of parenthood, is that Annie slept in until 7:00 this morning! (My knees are sore from all the genuflecting in gratitude to the gods above.) Please join me in a collective finger-crossing that this wasn’t an anomaly.
I still love my German classes, but am finding it increasingly difficult, as the pace is very rapid. I had a fun couple of exchanges with people when I posted on Facebook that I was feeling like I would never learn German. Mostly the advice centered around drinking more beer, which certainly isn’t difficult to do here. I’ve actually had a bit too much to drink on a couple of occasions and can verify that this does, in fact, improve one’s ability to speak another language! (Nothing to do with just thinking I am doing better, of course.)
Off to send out some hand-made Christmas cards (this Hausfrau thing sure beats working!)
Well, I’m glad I chronicled the heady days of Vienna for my personal history book, because it is a real come down this weekend. Things continue to be a challenge with the Canadian hotel, so we decided that Markus needs to go home next week. He leaves tomorrow for, hopefully, only 8 days. I have to say that I’m rooting for a success, because I’m just not ready to move back to Canada. I am crazy obsessed with cracking this second language thing and, overall, life here in Europe is good. I love that people here do not spend their time, energy and money focusing on ‘stuff’ (last week’s jewellery drooling aside), I adore not having a vehicle, I’m meeting people in circumstances I have never encountered before, (which is greatly expanding my perspective on the world), and of course I am soaking up travelling to new places. Life is far from perfect here, and life is certainly not bad in beautiful Victoria, I’m just not ready to return to my old world. Keeping my fingers crossed.
On the plus side of things, we had a lovely weekend. Annie was so excited when we got home…she had the biggest grin on her face. We spent the day yesterday wandering around enjoying all of the Christmas festivities. There is a skating rink just around the corner from our house, and the lights and pretty trees are all turned on.
And today we went tobogganing! It was so fun. Tobogganing here is different than in Canada. You drive part way up the mountain and then hike the rest of the way. It should have taken about an hour to walk up, but with a toddler and a very out of shape Mommy, it was closer to an hour and a half. But well worth it. The trees are incredibly beautiful covered in snow, and the view from the mountain top is stunning. At the end of the hike is (always) a rustic restaurant where you get to eat back all of the calories that you expended on the climb. Oh well.
After our hearty lunch Markus and Annie went on one toboggan, and I went on the other one. It is a real exercise in concentration, as the path isn’t all that wide and there is a drop off on one side and lots of fellow hikers going up with children and babies on the other. Luckily, we all made it alive.
I didn’t take the camera, as our previous one broke the last time we went tobogganing, but here is a (closed-eyed) shot of Annie at the top of the mountain taken on the cell phone. Still cute I think.
So overall I’m continuing to be positive and feel much better about the time alone with Annie than last time. You’ll be the first to know if it isn’t going well!
The last day in Vienna was certainly the highlight. I decided that I needed to make another try at a museum, since there are so many here and the buildings are as amazing to view as the exhibits. I decided to head to the Belvedere Palace. The building was constructed in the early 1720’s and also has an beautiful and intricate garden. I’ve been there before, but as Klimt is a personal favourite, I was happy to head there again.
Here is a shot of the main upper building…check out those rain clouds! It was a wet day.
I enjoy going through museums at my own pace. I sometimes stay and look at a painting for a long while and other times just blow through the rooms if it isn’t something that interests me or if I can’t process anything else for a few minutes (small brain).
I did brave a modern art exhibit there in the lower building. It was a collection from collaborative artists Arnulf Rainer and Dieter Roth. It was, well, hmmm, well…good to try new things. You can decide for yourself.
Rainer/Roth artwork
Then off to see Klimt and Moll and Wilhelm List. There was a couple of paintings of young girls by List. They had such a twinkle in their eye and confident poses and a hint of a monkey grin that it just made me think of Annie (although after 4 days away, just about everything made me think of Annie.)
I also spent some time thinking about how I view different forms of art. Without a doubt, the first 20 or 30 years of the 20th Century are my favourite period for paintings. Time and again I think a painting striking and it invariably is from those years, regardless of whether or not I have heard of the artist (usually not). However, the literature of that era often leaves me stone cold (Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and the rest of the modernists.) It wasn’t until the post-modern period (Sheila Watson, Kurt Vonnegut, Italo Calvino) that I really found my groove in terms of literature. (Followed of course by my obsession with Canadian lit.) And poetry is different again. I’m as happy to read William Blake as Robert Frost as ee cummings. And then there is movies. They are my complete off switch, so I can sit through and enjoy James Bond and Mission Impossible as much as The Pianist or Like Water for Chocolate.
Anyway, it was a delight having time and space to think about these things. Now back to Vienna.
I spent the afternoon getting my hair done and even splurged on makeup. (Although after I struck up a great conversation with the make-up artist, who is of Turkish descent but was born in Vienna, the ridiculous number of samples she gave me probably made up for the costs of the sitting.) Markus and I got our ball attire on and were off to the fest.
Here we are in our finery in our hotel room. (The couple of shots people took of us together weren’t good, so you’ll just have to image us arm in arm)
The dress isn't new, but still pretty I thinkAnd a bit closer
And Markus
My handsome penguin
The ball was at the Rathouse, which is City Hall. We were transported in an historic street car, which was quite fun and special. When we arrived, there was a large Christmas Market in full swing. The lawns and trees were completely decked-out for Christmas, with beautiful lights everywhere and giant electric lamps in the trees.
Here is a shot of a market stall and one of the exterior of the building.
ChristkindlmarktWien Rathaus
We walked up on a red carpet, just to set the mood, and then had a reception in the main hall. The evening was sponsored by Moet & Chandon, so you can just imagine how much Champagne was poured that night. (Whatever you are thinking…double it.)
The dinner and dancing was in the main hall. Incredibly beautiful with three-storey ceilings and massive chandeliers. (I have a new-found love of chandeliers after this trip.)
The meal was fantastic, especially considering they were serving 600 people. The big splurge was on the truffles. There were three on each table, so the scent wafted over the room from the moment you sat down. Delicious. When the main course was served, the waitstaff brought out the mandolins and gave each person a generous helping. Probably $50 worth per person, according to the chefs we were seated with. (For the millionth time that week, I was so glad all costs were included in the event…we aren’t particularly flush with cash right now, and I am still interested in eating and feeding the family for the next few months.)
Our dinner companions were from Ontario, France and London, and I enjoyed each of them. (If Markus and Maria hang on to the hotel for a bit, it would be great to get to visit some of these places. But I’m not keeping my hopes up.)
The organizers had a few surprises for us as well. The first was a 20-minute concert by the Vienna Boys Choir. They really live up to their reputation and were just delightful. There were a couple of soloists that would blow any contestant on American Idol out of the water, let me tell you. And they were probably 10 years old. And then before dessert we also were treated to two singers from the Vienna Opera. Wonderful.
After dessert a 15-piece orchestra set up on the stage and started to play traditional Viennese waltzes. There were 4 young couples in white dresses and black ties who gave a short performance to show how the traditional waltzes looked when done properly. And then we all joined in. Markus and I did our best for a few dances. He is a good leader, so even though I’m a bad follower (control issues), we held our own.
At about midnight the electronic music came on and let me tell you, that was quite the sight. A couple of hundred overworked hoteliers and chefs in long ball gowns and tuxedos going at it to Van Halen and Joan Jett. Too funny! But luckily all of us were sufficiently sauced to just let loose and have fun.
We arrived back at the hotel at about 2 a.m. That was certainly an evening to remember.
Day 3 in Wien…In the morning I spent a bit of time just relaxing in the hotel, which was lovely. I then decided to walk through the Ringstrassen Gallerien, which I guess could be compared to Sacs Fifth Avenue in New York. Very high end. I bought Annie a pair of slippers (adorable…and Lori, not pink!!) but other than that, just window shopping. It is always fun to look, of course.
For lunch we met at the Ambassador Hotel for an wonderful meal that was beautifully prepared and presented. But the best thing about lunch was we were sitting with a couple from the UK who have a property in the English lake district. Markus and I are always scouting out people from the UK, as we both find the sharp, dry British humour hilarious. Barney and Zoe didn’t disappoint. Fun tales of running a hotel and raising a baby and dealing with a family business. We were having a go at Sarah Palin when I realized that our other table guests were ranchers. From Montana. Oh oh. Luckily for our teeth, they were the new breed of Democrat Montana ranchers (that Barack Obama is a miracle worker.)
After lunch we were given a private showing from the Spanish Riding School, a traditional presentation dating back 430 years. The spectacle of the beautiful white Lipizzans included a demonstration of how the riders train the young horses, and then a perfectly choreographed show of the horses and riders. Very impressive. Pictures weren’t allowed once the horses were on the floor, but here is a shot I took before hand and then one from Wikipedia.
Luxurious setting for a horse show. That was the Emperor's box with the blue flags. The horses and riders in action
That evening was free and so Markus and I decided to go with a low-key option of a quiet dinner and then an early night. The night was cold but fresh and we enjoyed walking to the restaurant through the city center. We saw some of the Christmas lights that were going to go up in the city for the season. Here is an example (they aren’t lit yet.)
A taste of the Viennese Christmas spectacle to come.
Well that is it for tonight. I am too tired from yesterday to write about yesterday, so that will have to wait. It was the highlight of the trip, so stay tuned.
Another Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous day. I’m sure it will get boring soon. Right.
After breakfast I had the morning to myself so I made a plan to go to the Albertina Museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit. However, when I walked over the line up was about 200 people deep. I only had about an hour and a half before I was to meet Markus so I scrapped that plan.
But oh did I find a little piece of Hillary heaven instead. The Grand Hotel where we are staying is on The Ringstrasse in the heart of Vienna, so everything is walking distance. I strolled around a bit and stumbled onto the Doroteum Auction House. Three floors of art, jewellery, furniture, silver, sculptures, glass ware, ceramics and jewellery. Did I mention the jewellery? All of it either for direct sale or for auction. The Doroteum was established in 1707, so a little more than 300 years ago. A beautiful setting for ogling the goods.
The furniture and art was mostly from the 19th and 20th Centuries. I’m about as far as it gets from an art aficionado, so the only artist I recognized right away was Andy Warhol. I always find looking at modern art an interesting experience for me. I teeter precariously close to the edge of the general masses who “Don’t get modern art.” (Sorry Andy…kind of like the Jazz thing.) For example, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of canvases which were simply painted one color…i.e. completely blank…being listed for several thousand Euros. Hmmm.
But then I pass something that really catches my eye and tugs on my emotions. There was a series by a German painter, Imi Knoebel, that I kept coming back to. I didn’t write down the name of the piece, but I call it Construction Paper on Bristol Board. Because it basically was a large monotone canvas with a smaller blank canvas of a different colour stuck onto it. The colours were bright and interestingly contrasted and, for some reason I can’t explain, intrigued me.
I also was quite fascinated by the modern art furniture. Not to actually use of course, (it looked terribly uncomfortable) but an interesting focus point for a room, I’m sure.
Anyway, it was a delightful 90 minutes and I have decided that for my 40th I’m going to ask Markus to take me there to pick out a lovely necklace. Because I’m worth it, right?
I met Markus to attend the lunch at the Hofburg Imperial Palace where the Relais & Chateaux conference is being held.
Here is a bit of history about the Hofburg:
The Imperial Palace, which until 1918 was inhabited by the imperial family, was originally a castle built in the thirteenth century, which was extended to a splendid residence in accordance with the increasing power of the Habsburgs and the expansion of their realm.
Today, the Imperial Palace houses the office of the President of Austria as well as an important congress center and numerous art collections.
Here are some shots I took yesterday:
Hofburg Imperial PalaceSome of the gardens around the Palace
The Hofburg certainly is spectacular and houses libraries, museums, offices and several meeting and conference areas. Each room is incredible and brings to mind the opulence of the empire. For example, here is the room where we had lunch (with a close-up of the chandeliers.)
Just the little lunch roomSure beats track lighting
After lunch and a quick change at the hotel, we piled onto buses that took us to the Schönbrunn Palace. Markus and I have been there before, but it certainly is worth seeing again.
Markus and I at the SchönbrunnAerial shot from wikipedia
We had a private tour of the public rooms and learned a bit more about the history. There are over 1400 rooms at the Palace, with only a handful open to the public. The two most well known rulers who lived there are Maria Theresa (with her 16 children, including Marie Antoinette) and Franz Joseph I, almost the last Emperor of Austria who died in 1916, 2 years before the throne was abdicated. Franz Joseph certainly had a lot less fun than the Tudors (if the television series has any basis in reality). He worked up to 14 hours a day and lived in relatively spare quarters with one of the smallest beds I’ve seen.
The tour was interesting and then they opened up the ballroom to us for a cocktail party. I didn’t get a great shot, but you get the idea.
Ballroom at the Schönbrunn
Following the cocktail party we were taken by buses to mystery destinations for dinner. Our bus went 45 minutes out of town to Restaurant Taubenkobel, about 10 km west of Hungary. The Chef has 2 Michelin stars and the menu was certainly well prepared. As I am not the world’s most adventurous eater, I enjoyed some of the dishes very much (marinated rainbow rout with mango and fennel) and others less (goder of pork…that is the throat and the texture just put me off.) It is too bad we arrived at night, as the property is on a lake, which I’m sure would have been very beautiful.
