Never Enough Time to Blog Myself

This time around is SOOOO much different than the first. The students, the other professor I am with, my kids with me...the list goes on. The ONE thing that has not changed is my time to actually keep my own blog. Because nothing is really NEW to me, I get pics, but maybe not as many of the actual buildings and scenery. I enjoy them just as much, just not with pics.

We have done a couple NEW things this time around as well. We went on a tour of the city led by a homeless person. It was eye opening to say the least. She told us about the housing they offer to the homeless, how to recognize it. I think I have seen maybe 3 others as I've been walking around. They take care of the homeless so much better than we do in America. I don't want to say America gets it all wrong, but some things we just don't do well. Not sure if the cart or the horse comes first, but regardless...some things are better here. Here is one of those housing units we found all over Vienna.

I haven't been keeping up with this Blog so well. I spend time reading the student's blogs and getting things ready for the next day.

We've had a great time. I'll post a video of pics....

On Tuesday we left for the west. We stopped at Mauthausen, the Concentration Camp, and my heart still felt as heavy as when I first visited a year ago. Unimaginable atrocities! Mauthausen! How do I speak of Mauthausen? I didn’t go as slowly, nor as completely his time around. It was still heavy, but I knew what to expect. But still my heart ached for these people of not so long ago. The memorial Italy erected is still a bone chiller for me…all those pictures of such young hearty men whose lives were cut short, very short!

This time I noticed station 19, where the secret prisoner resistance began in Camp 2. It was mainly a network to help others with rations and hiding people. The guards didn’t like when the could see prisoners with solidarity with other prisoners, or maintaining a will to survive, or holding onto self-respect. “In a place where dehumanization is the aim, and often the norm, ANY attempt to preserve humanity must be seen as an act of resistance.”

Spencer said it well…This place is deceptively beautiful.

My thoughts … Walk slowly/softly, you’re treading on sacred ground.

In Salzburg, I met up with Igor again yesterday…he is the street artist from Salzburg! He hadn’t done my picture yet because he wanted it to be perfect for me. Ha!

Salzburg didn’t disappoint! Of course, no one can compare to Erich from last year…but this guy was good. He took us to the fortress…for ½ the cost, a nice perk. But it was getting late and everyone was getting tired and hungry….meaning HANGRY! But the views were spectacular. Some said this was the MOST beautiful thing they had EVER seen. Wait til tomorrow, I would respond. Tomorrow is Hallstatt!

And now…today is Hallstatt! THIS is one of my favorite places…it is SOOOO beautiful! I can’t wait to see how the students like it.

One highlight from Hallstatt, besides the mountain views, the salt mine tour, and riding on a little boat on the lake for an hour, was Spencer's decision to actually take a dip in the lake. He had been talking about it and had decided NOT to.....until Avery called him a "chicken." That's all it took...and we were off to find a good, semi-secluded spot. This boy of mine...he is pretty dang funny and awesome! ALL MINE...that is for dang sure!!

It was a long day...but a good one!

Two students are sticking close to us a lot – NOT because they are not capable of navigating or are scared, but because they aren’t fitting in with the others so well. This makes me sad – sad for them. They are a little whiney and a little different. I can see it is grating on Lisa’s nerves, mine too if I am honest. It’s mostly when we are tired at the end of the day.

When we got back to Salzburg we found a very CLOSE and semi cheap (albeit SLOW) Italian place to eat. We were the only ones there for MOST of dinner. Spencer was ravenous ... got TWO (count them T.W.O.) meals. We have been having fun together....Lisa, the kids, and me! We taught Lisa SnapChat....what a hoot!

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Today was the Sound of Music Tour. Where I had been excited to get up on the mountain again, our guide was NOT at all like Erich from last year. I knew that after a few minutes the first day, but it was even more evident. Mondsee and the wedding chapel was nice with the lake region, but NOTHING like the mountain. I felt like I let the students down, and Lisa too. But mostly I really wanted to be up there again…and I knew Spencer did too.

 But we made it to Dorfgastein and they were all happy. Last year they struggled with NOTHING to do. This year, they immediately went exploring. Spencer went on a run by himself then on another one with Grayson. They went UP in the mountain! Both Kelsey and Spencer like it here. Kelsey stayed and played with their grandson, Fabian, who is 11. He is learning English. They played ping-pong, badminton, and a little soccer in the backyard. I played with his little sister, Jasmine, who is 6 and their cousin, Emily, who is 2 or 3. We had a fun time. All the students got back and just hung out playing outside. I like these times and it seems like they do too.

Tomorrow we will find out if we can go Paragliding. It really depends upon the weather. If we can’t…at least we will be able to go hiking up the mountain and exploring. THIS is my happy place for sure! The mountains bring my blood pressure down and make me feel safe and secure. I feel most at peace in the mountains.

I am excited about tomorrow! I’ve been excited for a long time about paragliding for the kiddos!

I’m falling very behind on reading blogs…the wifi has not been good in the last couple places we have been in. But I will catch up this weekend.

WE GOT TO GO PARAGLIDING!!!!!!!!! Here is the proof! Not much more to say...it was expensive but AMAZING!! I'm glad we did it...when will we ever have the chance again??

I think I am caught up (sort of)....our quiet weekend at the apartment was well needed. We didn't really do anything, except shop a bit at the Naschmarkt on Saturday and go to church today. We got some cool finds at the flea market....here is Kelsey's faves!

Having a ball in Vienna (and Austria in general)

Sabbath in Wien

Today is Sunday. The English speaking ward was all the way across town, but it was NOT at 9am so it is the one we chose to go to. Getting ready for church was fun....we were going somewhere new. It took us an hour to get to church riding on the trains and walking. But we made it a few minutes early and got to enjoy listening to the prelude music. A lady from Ghana who has lived in Wien for 30 years introduced herself. I LOVE being a member of this church. She was INSTANTLY family. Her name (though I'm pretty sure I will misspell it) is Messi. I thought of Cody....hahaha

It was a lovely service with some great words. I loved the talk on VULNERABILITY. He referenced Brene Brown a lot. She is wonderful!

It was so fun to be with my two kiddos to go to church. Usually while in Wien I go alone. But not today. I had to document the experience.

WANDERLUST

Watching my students (and my children) as they fall into Wanderlust is priceless. It brings back SO many of my memories of the first time I did the same in this very city - WIEN! Most of the places I have already been to, and while I always learn a little more, I am enjoying watching the others as really get into it all.

Because I am behind...what is new? ... I will go back to the United Nations. It is just an AMAZING place. I've been through the same tour before, but it always is amazing to me just how much goes on there and how much good they do for the world in general.

Our next stop was BUDAPEST.....after some free time after the UN.

It’s hard to describe my thoughts and feelings but I will try. Leading a group is so much different than merely going to a place. I didn’t remember as much about Budapest as I do in Vienna, therefore I wasn’t as confident at navigating. But we made it. I spent a little time feeling bad that I hadn’t gotten different things. For instance, the group train tickets were non transferable and not changeable. We left Budapest earlier than a lot of students wanted to leave. I would have liked them to have the option of when to return. Some spent the money and stayed. Most are on the train heading back (I am writing this on the train). Staying a little longer would have been nice.

Then there was the hop on hop off bus. The one purchased through. the Institute was more expensive and did not run as often as others. We spent longer waiting for buses than I would have liked. Oh well, live and learn.

Lastly, when my kiddos aren’t happy, it is harder for me. I had to have a conversation with Spencer about how many people I’m trying to manage as well as please. I cant do it all and it disrupts my flow when he is triggered. We were walking across the bridge, just he and Kelsey and me at the time, and being able to explore and run and jump and climb cured his saltiness. Yay!!

He and Kelsey, but mostly him, are making videos of doing push-ups all throughout the trip at every place we are. It’s actually pretty cool. I’m enjoying seeing them enjoying everything so much.

Witnessing them and my students “wanderlust” forming is exquisite for me. I fell in love the first time I came - observing the same in them is wonderful.

(pic of my necklace)

BUDAPEST

After visiting the United Nations, I took the kids and the boys to register in Vienna. This was the first time I wasn’t taken there. After that Spencer, Kelsey, and I had gelato and went to Stephansdom. I left them there to shop for an hour and went to have lunch (hot dog) with Lisa. I dropped lisa off to wait for them and went for my last student who had to run home for his paper to register. That never happened and we all ended up on the train to Budapest...the first long train of the trip.

Getting off the train in Budapest I enjoyed the pent up anxious excitement of the group. I remembered the train station from my trip 7 years ago but nothing else. Thanks to the map on my phone, we finally made it. Kelsey wasn’t happy - it wasn’t the nicest area of town and the hotel, admittedly, left much to be desired. But - it was a bed. A futile attempt for somewhere to eat took us by a sex shop, not what I would have preferred my students, OR KIDS, to see. Life is much different outside our boundaries. We ended up hitting a small semi grocery store to pick up some things. Dinner was bread, ham, cheese, chips and quest, yogurt, and Kirsten provided some cookies. Sadly we couldn’t read and ended up with seltzer water! YUCK!!! Oh well

Friday in Budapest was nice. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. We finally made it to the bus and stopped to go to The House of Terror. It was the headquarters of the Nazi and Facist regime. I’ve studied the holocaust before, even to the museum in Jerusalem, but every time the same heavy, solemn, heavy heart feeling fills my entire being. To hear the accounts of the survivors - actual accounts - hurt my heart. Large tough men broke down sobbing. No words can suffice to describe the atrocities of that time. Two of the quotes that stood out most to me were

Form the survivors “We will forgive but we will not forget.”

Instructions given to the guards “Do not just guard them but also hate them”

To have these experiences so recent - that is crazy! During my moms lifetime. The father of our tour guide in Vienna was part of the Resistance. World War II was not that long ago. And Budapest’s lasted longer. After the Nazis fell, the USSR took over. So really they’ve had less than 30 years to rebuild and establish their own identity.

But it IS a beautiful city! Lunch was cheap and by Heroes Square. From here we found that our buses were SLOW. We got off to see the Jewish Quarter and ended up waiting FOREVER to get on the next bus. We decided to just stay on it. I hated not being able to get off at the Citadel and overlook the city. Oh well!

This is when it got a little tough. Spencer wanted to do his running, climbing, jumping and Sage wasn’t feeling well. Lisa stayed with Sage and Kirsten and used the bathroom and got a hoodie for our boat ride at 8:10. I took Spencer and Kelsey across the bridge and we hiked to the statue overlooking the city.

 

Instead of catching a bus, we walked to the famous Shoes on the Danube - a memorial to the Jews shot on the bank of the Danube river and let them fall into the river. It’s stirring and solemn. The kids shoes get me every time.

Then we hustled back to Boat Dock 8A for a night cruise down the Danube. It didn’t disappoint-tho it wasn’t too dark at first. Great pics for sure! Lisa took the girls and took a taxi home. Spencer, Kelsey, and I walked home. It was fun. We stopped and got some gyros (me a pita and Kelsey a wrap) and the Hungarian schnitzel for Spencer. We had a great walk home talking about things we’ve learned and how Budapest and Vienna are different than what we are used to in America. It was fun to listen to them - smoking is bad but that is the ONLY thing America is better at health wise than Europe. They were both impressed with the stop lights - how they go green yellow red and red yellow green. Spencer realized how important it is to know how read. How true - from getting the right water to knowing what food is and MANY other things. 

 

Great time in Budapest - could have stayed longer, but this was a good time. This evening we will see Belvedere Palace and hopefully have dinner with out Vienna tour guide, Elisabeth.

Looking forward to it.

Belvedere was magnificent....dinner with Elizabeth was perfect!

What a GREAT day!!!

OH my ACHING feet

I have walked a million steps...well, maybe NOT a million, but it sure SEEMS so! I actually had over 12,000 by 2pm and ending the day with around 20,000 or more. My phone just died, so I don't know exactly, but it is a LOT. I can tell by my aching swollen feet.

But today was spectacular. After a drizzly rainy chilly day yesterday, today's sunshine was magnificent. Having Spencer and Kelsey added to my happiness. Then I met Elizabeth, our Historical City Tour Guide. SHE was perfect. She was a little older and was so perfect with the students. She and Lisa and I may have dinner on Saturday and just visit! She told us so many wonderful experiences and tid bits!

While I'd love to share them all, it is getting late, and we have another long day today (heading to Budapest)

Albetina was about the same as the first time I went. Some neat pieces, but Art just doesn't do it for me. I like the kind of art I like....but expressionism and all the whacky stuff doesn't do it for me. Neither do naked women nor Picasso...he was a nut job. I can't figure out ANY of his works, nor do I care to. Some pieces in the museum were neat...and the tour of their residence was a highlight...times were SOOO different then. People may have to wait 3 days to get a meeting with Maria Christina. WHAT??? The tour guide said she just may not have wanted to visit with them. Crazy life of rich people in power.

After Albertina, we just tooled around. Went to Zanoni and Zanoni to get some gelato with a few of the students, then to the Rathaus to check it out. I think it is my favorite building. And the tents selling Austrian goods was there as well....too much beer, but that is the culture.

We found our way home...and to the grocery store. Tomorrow is another grand adventure.

Falling in Love again and again

Truth be told...I was a bit more nervous this time around when planning and coming to Vienna. True, I LOVE Vienna. But would it disappoint with a new group, new experiences? It KIND of reminded me of having baby #2...HOW could I possibly love this next one as much as the first? But I do...and the same thing is happening in Vienna.

I found myself SO at home on the UBahn, with the food, walking around the city. I didn't take as many pics...but it WAS raining for MOST of the day.

I think it was a good day. We registered .... long walk in the rain, but necessary. Maria, one of the grad students that works at AAIE, is fantastic. She walked us there...what a fun girl. Then she took us on a little points of interest tour of the city, leaving us at the Naschmarkt. I want hummus...but the workers were MUCH more pushy than before as I remember. We had a KeineKlasser (sausage type dog with cheese on a wonderful hard roll type bun). It was good. Then we found Baklava...not as good as mom's, but still good.

Our FIRST class....the basics out of the way. Then we sent the students on a Scavenger Hunt. I think it turned out really well. I think I will do it a LITTLE differently next year, but it was a great way to get them out seeing things and adventuring AND using public transportation so they are more comfortable. It did take longer than I thought it would, but it was a good adventure. We changed the end....and they made some transfers on the trains and met us at Hauptbahnhoff to meet Kelsey and Spencer and Krista. I was pretty excited to see them....they were exhausted and a bit snarky. We went to get food...and that happied them up.

Vapiano's is a great Italian place. After dinner we just went home. We let the students have a FREE NIGHT to do whatever they chose. Some chose chill, others chose to just go home. Tomorrow is a new day...the Historical City Tour and Albertina! Looking forward to it.

Pictures to come!

Going to Austria ... AGAIN!

Even before I had gone to Vienna (Wien) LAST year (2017) I had already begun making plans for this year! And I've been PLANNING it for the entire year.

It's hard to believe that we leave in just a few days. My kids are FINALLY excited....and I get to take 15 wonderful students and Lisa Ray with me this time too. And yes, I'm already planning for 2019.

Anyhow....this year will be great! On Thursday we are having a Sound of Music get together. I wish we would have done that last year. It will be fun to watch with them and then be in the exact location the movie was filmed. Oh, I AM excited!!

I am following a few Austria Instagram sites....and I LOVE the pics I see. Here are just a couple. SOON we will SEE these IN PERSON. Won't that be great!! I love to expose students to the city I fell in love with so long ago. I enjoy watching them fall into wanderlust as well. And to see them all change with the culture. I do have the best job in the world!

Rathaus

Stephansdom

4 days and counting!!!!