11. bis 17. April: Germany

Still Busy

This week is the middle of a busy time for me. We were in Rome, then back to the apartment for my birthday, and now off to Germany. Next week includes more travel for me, though the kids and Rebecca get a bit of a break. Traveling like this is fun, for me. It's tiring, no doubt, but I enjoy the adventure and seeing new things, so it's all worth it in the end. I still find it amazing to be here and have access to all the wonderful things we've been doing!

Freitag 11. April

Friday was a long day and it started early. Rebecca and I were up early and on the U-bahn around 07:00 to get to the hotel downtown where we'd rented our car from. The Sixt rental desk was just inside the lobby of the Hilton hotel downtown by the Stadtpark. For the most part, the desk interactions were OK, though it seemed like our attendant was a little gruff at times. We'd already looked into what types of insurance we might have here while back in the States (basically minimal through our credit card) and so we opted for the insurance they provided. Then they offered us an extra insurance that would cover the wheels and glass of the vehicle separately. If they were damaged and we didn't have that insurance, the policy we did buy from them had a 500€ deductible, whereas the extra insurance was only 26€, so we opted to take it. 

Since we have no data plan here in Wien, I had pre-cached the city in the Google Maps app on my phone (which we've been using all along) and Rebecca helped navigate me back home (thankfully GPS works just fine). It's amazing how different the city is when you're driving versus sitting on a Straßenbahn or an U-bahn. We managed to get our new little 5-speed manual transmission Lancia Ypsilon ("IP-silon") home without incident. We then loaded our luggage and headed off. Again, knowing we wouldn't have data, we plotted the route via Google Maps on a laptop, then printed off the detailed directions as a PDF directly into Google Drive. I then "pinned" that PDF document locally on both my phone and iPad so we could use it while driving. I'd also put in some time to finally getting the OsmAnd (Open Street Map [OSM] Automated Navigation and Directions) app working on my phone. You have to download special maps depending on where you'll be and I needed to figure out which maps corresponded with the areas we'd be driving through. Also, there was a bug that prevented storing those maps, which can be very large, on an external SD card rather than the phone's storage. The OsmAnd maps proved useful while we were in certain areas, but couldn't plot directions more than about 100 km away! Alas.

I like driving and really don't mind driving in a foreign country. It's interesting to see the different types of road signs and advertisements. What was especially fun was driving on the autobahn! For those that don't know, the autobahn is just like the interstate system in the U.S. except there's no speed limit at all other than "don't be reckless." In order for that to work, drivers must know and obey a simple rule: stay to the right! Even if they're going 150 km/hr, drivers would stay to the right, unless they had to pull over to the left lane to pass slower traffic in front of them. There were some cars that I swear were doing 190-200 km/hr, but they were "permanently" in the left lane. They would absolutely scream by us. 

Our little Lancia Ypsilon had a "feature" that beeped at you and lit up a red indicator light if I got up over 130 km/hr. That speed is reasonable, but there were times when it was nice to go 140 on a downhill or just to get out of and around a clump of traffic. It got annoying to have that little beep and light on, so I did my best to keep our speed at 129.99999 km/hr! There were even signs in Austria, before crossing the border to Germany that read, "Rechts fahren, Stress sparen!" which directly translates as "right drive, stress save" or, "Drive on the right and stay stress free!" It was good advice, though there were times I longed to just slip to the left lane, stay there, and let that little car go as fast as it could! 

Google reported the trip would take us about 8 hours. We got a bit confused at a bigger autobahn interchange and wound up taking a several km detour, one way, and then had to get turned around. We also zipped into Passau in Germany for lunch (pizza again!). Add on some slow traffic around Nurmberg and a couple of construction spots and it took us about 10 hours total to get to where we were going: the Landal resort outside of Winterberg, Germany. Since it was a manual, with no cruise control, my legs were getting pretty stiff and I was glad to be out of the car when we stopped to get some groceries that night at a town just outside of Winterberg. One saving grace about the drive: it was incredibly beautiful! It so much reminded me of home back in southwestern Wisconsin with the rolling hills and beautiful green spaces, trees, rivers, etc!

Samstag 12. April

Beer, liquor, butter, and cheese!

We woke up Saturday morning in our awesome unit in Landal. We were up a "mountain" (not really, but it's certainly bigger than what we'd call a ski hill in the midwest) at a resort that we clearly meant for ski season; it sat in the center of about 10 (or more) different lifts and likely 20+ different runs of varying degree. Rebecca and I walked back down to the main resort building and got properly checked in (we had to get someone at the restaurant that was about to close to open the special safe and pull out our unit key the night we arrived!). I wandered around their little shopping area while Rebecca got some area information and made sure the charges were correct (they weren't and she managed to reduce our bill by eliminating the adults-only service charges that had been inappropriately applied to the kids). It's always interesting to me to see what types of foods are stocked and available. As is common in Germany, beer and liquor proved just as important as butter and cheese!

Mountain walking!

Later that morning we all went for a walk along some of the ski roads, basically heading down into the valley from our unit, past the resort lodge, and then up the mountain on the other side. At the top there was a ski lift that Aaron insisted on going to, so he and I jogged further up to the very top where there was a restaurant and the lift. It drops at a 40º angle for over 100 meters before sloping up at end for the jump. Incredible! I'd never have the nerve to do it. We were also right at the edge of Winterberg there so went into town for lunch at a place that specialized in Pfannkuchen, which is a large thin pancake. The kids got a Smarties Pfannkuchen! The "smarties" ended up being small candy coated chocolate balls, very much like Sixlets but smaller. I had a fantastic mustard soup with bacon. Yummy!

Later that afternoon, I got in my run, which was a hard interval run. I was supposed to run an easy 9 mile warm-up, which is hard to do in the mountains, but I managed. It turns out that run was great reconnaissance for a walk for Rebecca and I. Unfortunately, the mustard soup from lunch wasn't sitting well in my stomach for that run, but I managed to find a loop of 4.5 miles that brought me right back to our unit for a quick break!

Sonntag 13. April

Units on the hills at Landal

Enjoying dinner

Rebecca and I started the day with a nice walk around the loop I'd discovered the day before on my run. We had a great time walking and talking and enjoying all of the incredible nature all around us. The air was fresh and crisp and very calming. That afternoon, Rebecca, Aaron and I went for a swim and had a great time splashing around and playing "shark." That evening, we went to the resort restaurant. I had a fantastic schnitzel with a mushroom gravy and potatoes (in the form of french fries) plus a Weizenbier (white wheat beer). The kids both ordered cheeseburgers, though neither of them was able to finish it -- they were big and came with a slice of sweet pickle, which was a little strange (to us). It didn't matter though, since I finished both their burgers anyway.

Slide acrobatics!

As soon as they were full, the kids wanted to go out and play in the park next to the lodge. Rebecca and I took our time finishing up and paying, so by the time we got outside, they'd been playing for about 15 minutes. In that time they'd figured out a unique and fun way for them to both go down a big slide together. We all had a great time laughing together and watching them try to perfect their "maneuvers." It really was quite fun! We then headed back to the unit and watched a movie to end a fun day.

Montag 14. April

It snowed overnight!

We woke up to cold! Not only that, it was snowing. It didn't really accumulate much, but it still snowed and was cold enough to do so. We hadn't experienced that kind of cold for a while. The coldest I think it got in Wien overnight in March was around 2ºC and that morning it was -3ºC. Later that morning, it started to hail! Our car is the one facing us, on the right of the movie.

Pea-sized hail on our car!

The forecast wasn't much better the rest of the day, so we decided to drive to a water park, the Lagunen-Erlebnisbad, in the little town of Willingen, about a 30 minute drive from our unit. The park advertises themselves as "Badespaß mit Karibikflair" -- "Bathing with Caribbean Flair!" I'm not really sure what that meant, other than they had a bar where it looked like you could get an umbrella drink. They had several slides, multiple indoor and outdoor pools (take a look at the Willingen link I included and zoom in and you can see them), and a hot tub and sauna area. We all had a great time exploring the slides and swimming in the outdoor pools where it would blow cold breezes and alternately snow and rain on you. Quite an experience! Eventually Rebecca and Anson were done and they got out and sat and talked while Aaron and I continued to swim about, mostly underwater. It was really fun! We then stopped in at one of the local restaurants and had dinner. The kids had pizza, again, and I tried another schnitzel, this time the Jagerschnitzel covered in a pepper sauce. I liked it, but think I'll stick to the more "traditional" types.

Dienstag 15. April

Out on another walk!

We all slept in a little bit in the morning after a full and fun day of playing in the water. I did my run about mid-morning, my last hard interval set before Boston. I ran along a lightly rolling crushed gravel biking trail that went to (and beyond) the next little town of Silbach. It was interesting running through that dorf (village) as I was able to see some quite traditional housing and their wee little train station: a platform no bigger than a wooden shipping pallet next to a modern, digital, credit card and cash accepting ticketing machine. It was very interesting. Later that afternoon, Rebecca and I went on another walk. I should let you know that when Rebecca and I go on a walk, we really get out and walk! We both have built-in pedometer apps on our phones (Samsung's S Health Walking Mate on our Galaxy S4s). I always have my phone on me when leaving our unit (though not always in the unit and never on my runs) and that day I recorded 18,112 steps and 9.0 miles, most of that was on the walk we took. We wandered around our mountain and into Winterberg then back. It's a great way to explore, just like my morning runs.

Aaron enjoying the pool

Since it was our last day there, Aaron had to have another swim in the pool. I wasn't up for getting in and neither was Rebecca, so we sat on the deck and watched him play and have fun in the water ... for a good hour or more! He really enjoys the water and has a natural feel for it. I really need to look into getting him on a swim team back in the states.

Night falls on the mountain

As we were walking back to our unit that night, I couldn't help but notice the incredibly fresh air and the clear evening sky. I turned and was able to capture a picture that includes a lot of things. First, you can see the style of the German housing units, very typical for both Germany and Austria with the tiled roof and the white (or yellow) with dark wood sections. If you click on the picture and look directly above the apex of the house's roof, slightly to the right towards the leafless tree, you'll see a light in the sky. That's the planet Mars, which has been making sparkling appearances, along with Jupiter, in the night skies. Wien, unfortunately, isn't much better than most major metropolitan areas in terms of light pollution. However, here, up in the "mountains" in rural western Germany, the skies were like I remember them growing up in a small town in southwestern Wisconsin or down on my father's family farm. Absolutely stunning!

Mittwoch 16. April

Sleeping to the end!

Rebecca and I had another, last, great walk in the morning and then we were all up and packing, well, some of us at least. I had really enjoyed our stay in this unit, though it was remote and there wasn't much in the way of attractions; maybe that's why I liked it so much. Getting out and walking (and running) in the "mountains," swimming, relaxing, reading, and being with each other is what was enjoyable. We left mid-morning and drove to Kassel, Germany where Rebecca had a meeting schedule with some members of the University there.

Happy in Winterberg!

The kids and I had two missions: fix the car and get some lunch. When I pulled up to the resort lodge so Rebecca could drop off the keys, I was a bit too close to the curb. As I was putting the vehicle, a manual, into reverse, it drifted forward just enough that the bottom of der Nummernschildhalter (front license plate holder) scraped on the curb and broke, allowing our license plate to fall out. When we parked in Kassel, there was a gentleman who parked next to us. Rebecca asked him where we could go to replace it. He explained, in German, that it was easy and very close. We had to go back and clarify things with him again, but I thought I had it down, so Rebecca went to her meeting and the kids and I started our mission. Unfortunately, the not-straight-streets that are so common here in Europe, plus the lack of matching landmarks, got us ... well, not where we were supposed to go. Thankfully, I'd pulled out my phone and showed a Google Map of the area to the guy who was able to indicate where it was. So, I started driving in that general direction and finally found a series of car dealerships with service stations. I pulled into the first one, just because it was easiest: a BMW place.

After parking and having the kids wait in the car, I went in and did my best to communicate what I needed, carrying the broken Nummernschildhalter with me. A kind woman escorted me to a desk where she asked for one and a gentleman came right back with one. When I asked about the price, I found it was gratis (free). I asked the woman again for some help, this time asking if she could get me ein Schraubenzieher (a screwdriver). She led me into the service bay and soon I had one. I headed back to the car and attempted to install the unit. They come with 8,947 (exaggeration) different holes and slots so they can fit on almost any vehicle. After figuring out which ones lined up on our car, I mounted the back plate. What's supposed to happen next is I slide the license plate up into the back plate and then secure it by attaching a locking strip of plastic on the bottom. I couldn't get it to lock. It seemed to me the license plate was too big or the holder too small. So, I went back in and asked the guy who gave me the screwdriver for help. He gladly came right out and spent about 5 minutes messing with the plate and the locking strip. Eventually he said, "Es ist zu groß!" (it's too big). He told me to wait a moment and then walked off. When he came back, he had black duct tape in hand and taped the thing in place!

With that "done," we moved on to finding lunch. After wandering a bit, we found a great little restaurant near the University where we were the only customers. The kids had pizza, again, and I had a great chicken schnitzel. We connected with Rebecca on-time (she had lunch with her colleagues) and we proceeded to drive home with a stop in Straubing for dinner. It was a long drive and we didn't get home until after midnight. Aaron was zonked and went straight to bed while Rebecca and I unpacked and got things set for the next day.

Donnerstag 17. April

Rebecca and I were up at a normal time and decided to go and properly replace and repair der Nummernschildhalter. We identified a place that might carry one using Google Maps and then used OsmAnd to navigate there, which worked OK. Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock, so he directed us to an "easy place to get to" that would have one. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite that easy. I was a bit stressed driving in the city and wasn't the best partner at the time. We got to the ÖAMTC shop and were able to buy a new holder (just 7€) and borrow a screwdriver and I got it properly mounted. We then headed back to turn in the car, but needed to fuel it up first. That turned out to be quite an adventure and we eventually ended using OsmAnd to find the nearest station and wound up pulling into a Hof (courtyard) of one of the myriad buildings where, sure enough, there was a single pump staffed by an attendant who filled the car for us. 

When we got back to the hotel and drove deep down into the parking garage to the Sixt car return area, a guy was there helping another customer. We asked where we should park, as we were in the middle of the driving lane and he said, " ... just leave it there." So we waited briefly until he came over. In the States, turning in a rental car can be done in about 6.7 seconds: they say, "Hi, how was your trip?" You respond with, "Fine," and they print off a receipt, remind you to take all your stuff, and wish you a happy flight (you're usually at an airport). Not in Austria! This guy had a super bright LED flashlight and spent a good 5 minutes looking over every square inch of the car. When he was almost done he said, "Ahh, eine neue Schäden" (a new damage). He was looking at a small scrape on the plastic hub cab that I made earlier that morning as we pulled up to the curb after midnight. He finished, then had my sign, with my finger, on his phone, then directed us upstairs. 

When we got there, we told them which car we returned, the woman worked on the computer a bit, then printed out some sheets, handed them to us, and made it seem like the transaction was done. Rebecca asked about the Schäden and how that would be handled and the woman didn't know. Rebecca then pointed out that we bought the extra wheel and glass insurance and wanted to know if that would cover any costs we might be charged. Again, the woman didn't know so picked up the phone and connected with someone else who didn't know but transferred her to someone who also, it turns out, didn't really know. The only answer we could get is, the company may send us something in the mail. So, we have no idea if we'll be charged or how much it might be. Very interesting cultural difference.

Wandering in Wien by Karlskirche

Rebecca and I walked back from the hotel to the U-bahn, taking our time and wandering through the city. We'd had plans to use the car and go see the Carnuntum "Ruins" that afternoon, but it would have been quite a hassle with the car and I think the kids were happy to have a low-key day. We got back, finished up laundry, had some dinner and then I started packing again for my next adventure, which started the next day!

8. bis 10. April: Birthday

Travel

This week includes even more travel and there's even more to come after this one! I closed the last entry by talking about the fact that things in Europe are "small," in the sense that you can be in multiple countries on a single day-long trip. We're having a fun time living that reality and getting to see some beautiful country-side along the way.

Dienstag 8. April

Italian country-side by train

We returned from our Rome trip on Tuesday morning, pulling into the train station at Wien Meidling around 08:30. I had a better sleep on the return than I did going there, for sure. We navigated the U-bahn and arrived back at our station in Hietzing and then walked home. We took some time to unpack and get going on some laundry and spent much of the afternoon just catching up on things and relaxing. I hadn't done my running workout yet, obviously, and had a nice hard interval set in store. I did that run in the evening, while Rebecca and the kids ate dinner. It had been threatening rain all afternoon and finally let loose near the end of my run, but it felt great and helped cool me down. 

Mittwoch 9. April

Happy Birthday to me! Rebecca let me sleep-in and took Aaron to school. Anson had a slow morning, but we managed to get through much of his schooling and then he, Rebecca, and I went to an appointment. When we got home, we had an easy afternoon. It was gray and threatening rain, and did so off and on, but Rebecca and I braved it and walked into Schönbrunn for their Ostermarkt (Easter market). There were many vendors selling a wide variety of wares, from glass, to knit items, to sausages, to soaps, to toys, and more. The market is known to be one of the most "romantic," though I have to admit that I'm not sure how that manifests itself. We were some of the only people there in the cold and gray of the afternoon. On the way back home we wandered among some of the several restaurants in our neighborhood looking for a place to have my birthday dinner. I compromised, to keep the kids happy, and we wound up at a new Chinese place and had the buffet. It was OK, but nothing too special.

Once back home, the kids wanted to give me their presents. I received a nice homemade card and a hand-made plaque made out of clay. Both were special. Rebecca got me a nice card and a coffee mug that describes my birth sign (Ares), both printed in German, so I have some translation work to do! After presents we went to dinner and then walked home and had some birthday cake that Rebecca made (chocolate!). It was a great day!

Donnerstag 10. April

Wednesday was a normal day. The kids and I did the school thing, but then in the afternoon, we started cleaning the apartment and packing up for our next trip: Germany!

1. bis 7. April: Rome!

Busy Week!

As you'll see, this was a busy week, which is just the beginning of about three busy weeks, for me at least. We got ready for and then had our first big trip and the next week will see another big trip and then I fly back for the Boston marathon. We're all still having a great time and really enjoying ourselves, which is what this is all about. Warning up-front: this is a huge (long) post, so thanks in advance if you actually read it all.

Dienstag 1. April

A fairly normal Monday: I started with a run and then Aaron was at school and Anson was home with me in the morning. Rebecca had meeting in the afternoon and before she left, and on her way to the train, she, Aaron, and I headed down to the market to get Aaron a lunch box and a pair of "Haus Schuhe" (house shoes) which are indoor slippers that you really can't wear outside. Aaron ended up opting for some Crocs, which work fine too. The kids don't wear their street shoes in the school and, really, most Austrian's and Germans take their shoes off at the door and wear some sort of slipper or Haus Schuhe inside. Rebecca caught her train and Aaron and I did some grocery shopping then headed back to the apartment. Just after getting home, we got an email from the school saying Aaron also needed some additional school supplies, something he neglected to mention to us before, so I walked down again on my own and picked them up.

Anson on the way to the HGM (not the building behind him)

Aaron enjoying the zip line!

We then had plans to go to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (HGM) (military history). We wound up taking an U-bahn to a stop we'd never been before. Anson and Rebecca decided to get out a stop early and walk while Aaron and I stayed on until the end. However, we then had to navigate in an area we'd never been before. We don't have data plans on our phones, so we try to get in the habit of "starring" our destinations in Google Maps and then using the GPS capabilities to self-guide to our destination. That works well for Rebecca and I, but the kids were getting a bit antsy and wanted to eat. So we stopped in at a restaurant in the park and had a late "second lunch." We then walked the rest of the way to the museum, ... only to find it was going to close in about an hour. We all decided to come back another day and instead, headed to a park. The kids played and had a great time and then we navigated our way home, this time including a trip on an ÖBB train, which is the national train system here. They are free to use within the city limits.

Mittwoch 2. April 

Wednesday was a good day for Anson. He and Rebecca went into work that morning together and Anson met with one of Rebecca's colleagues who was hoping to hire Anson to do some translation work! It involves taking sections of German text, using Google Translate to convert it to English, and then Anson corrects the English to make sure it reads right. Google does an amazing job, for having no humans behind their technology, but they don't quite get it right all the time. He stayed there all morning and worked and then took the U-bahn home on his own. I met him at the Hietzing station and we walked home together, stopping in at a bakery for a treat, of course.

Wednesday was also a great day for Aaron. When I picked him up after school, he was with one of his friends, Maxis (pronounced Maxy), who wanted to know if Aaron could come to his house and play. I learned that his parents were home and decided to meet them and understand the situation better before deciding. On the way, which is literally around the block from the school -- no streets needed to be crossed -- we met his father coming to pick him up. After a wonderful conversation (in my broken Deutsch and his quite good English) we agreed to an afternoon playdate at their house. We exchanged phone numbers and he gave me his card as well. 

Early that evening when I called to see if it was a good time to pick Aaron up, I learned that they were having such a good time that the kids wanted a sleep-over! After talking with Rebecca, I called back and said that it would be fine. I packed up some clothes for Aaron, as well as his toothbrush and such, and headed back over to their house to drop it off. I was invited inside and wound up staying for about 90 minutes, having tea with them and talking. They are very nice people (she is a language teacher born in California with two Austrian parents who traveled all over the world and did her undergraduate work in Canada, so her English is quite good; he is in the Army Reserves here, doing historical preservation and cultural work, while his day job is in insurance). Aaron had a great time and they took him to school on Thursday for us. It was strange being in our apartment that night without Aaron, but it allowed Anson, Rebecca, and I to have some good time together, which we all enjoyed. 

Donnerstag 3. April

PhotoSphere of the front of our apartment complex

Apartment courtyard

After schooling Anson in the morning and picking up Aaron after school, I took a couple of Photo Sphere pictures of the front of our apartment and the courtyard, just to give a sense of the place. Those of you on desktop or Android systems should be able to click them and see them in all their 3-D glory, iOS users are out of luck, sorry. Note that once you click on the picture, you can "grab" (click and hold) the image and move it all around to look wherever you want to.

Settled in on the train for a long evening

We all then spent the day cleaning, finishing laundry, mowing the lawn and packing. We were off to a four day stay in Rome! We had to be at the ÖBB station for a train leaving at 19:30 that evening. The units are setup to have 6 people, but we bought the entire unit for the four of us, just to avoid having a couple of strangers hanging out with us for 14 hours. The bench seats and the backing convert into beds (three levels on each side to accommodate the six people). We talked and snacked until it was time to get to bed, then we all picked a bunk and did our best to sleep. It seems Aaron had the best sleep of all of us and I had the worst -- I think I was lucky if I managed a full hour; I just kept tossing and turning and never quite got comfortable.

Freitag 4. April

Great early lunch had, now we waited.

We arrived in Rome Friday morning at 09:30. Our plan was to walk across Rome, each of us with a stuffed backpack of clothes and whatever else we wanted for the long weekend, to our apartment unit, which was awesomely located right in the center of all the great Roman sites. It turns out it was too far away. We made it as far as the great "Altare della Patria" (Alter of the Fatherland) monument and decided to take a taxi. It was the right decision. Unfortunately, though we had arranged for an early check-in, we were too early and were told to come back to the apartment at noon. We walked up the block and decided to have an early lunch at a nice "Snack Bar" cafe and kill some time. We were then allowed into our apartment, just to drop-off our bags, and then were told to come back after 15:00 so it could be cleaned. 

On the Ponte Saint'Angelo with the Castel behind.

We headed north from our unit to the ancient St. Angelo bridge and castle, both built around 80 A.D! We got our first glimpses of some of the awesome Roman architecture, the ever-present street vendors, and what would quickly become our little neighborhood.

Posing in the courtyard

After a quick stop back in the apartment, we headed out for an afternoon of walking and exploring! I'm shifting to smaller pictures at this point just because I want to link in so many of them. :) We stopped at the Piazza Navona first, taking in our first stolen Egyptian obelisk and getting more of a taste for the street vendors that hawk all sorts of wares all the time.  One place we did spend some money, multiple times, was in the many gelato shops in the area!

Gelato at Pantheon

After grabbing a nice, cold, sweet treat, we headed to the Pantheon, which is absolutely amazing. 

I was blown away at just how large this thing is! I simply can't get over the fact that they built these incredibly huge and complex structures about 2,000 years ago.

Photo Sphere of Pantheon

The amount of human effort to cut, carve, and place all of the stone that's in just one of these monuments is mind boggling (to me). Trying to get my head around the fact that the Pantheon is really quite small, in comparison to other sights we'd soon see, just leaves me speechless. 

The kids at Trevi

Liar!

After the Pantheon, we wandered over to the showy Trevi Fountain. I say "showy" because I've learned that the Roman's built their fountains to show off how well they could manage water, thanks to their aquaducts. This fountain was built in the 16th century, but it's still an impressive display and is all about showing off in my mind. On our walk back to the apartment, we saw a store that makes wooden puppets. They had a fantastic "selfie" type display in front and I couldn't resist snapping a photo of Aaron in it. 

Cobbles

Another thing I noted on the walk back is that every single street and piazza we had walked on that afternoon was made of cobble stones. In-line with me being blown away by all the work put into the monuments, I was also struck by how much work was put into the stuff that we were walking on! Each stone had to be cut into a tetrahedron, flattened and smoothed on one end, then placed, in a pattern, in the ground.

Narrow streets

I also noted the fact that we were in an old European city, where the streets were narrow and windy. There were no defined places to walk, drive, or park, yet people, cars, and scooters were constantly in motion (or parked) all over the place. Even their main roads have no paint marks on them and people freely walk in between moving traffic, while dodging the scooters that dart in between the vehicle traffic. Amazing!

That night we had dinner at a restaurant just around the corner from our apartment. The area we were staying seemed to have places to eat all over. There were so many of them that Rebecca and I wondered how they are all able to stay in business. The answer quickly became obvious: us, meaning the tourists. They were everywhere. There were also what looked to be the "regular" locals, but far and away the majority of business was from the tourists.

Samstag 5. April

Rebecca and I started the morning with a nice long walk. We headed back the way we had all walked the afternoon before, but then continued on to the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Plaza) with the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps) and then up to the Villa Borghese gardens where we stopped for a quick cuppa and a sweet treat (and we also learned that we were charged about twice as much, just because we had a waiter bring it to our table!). We then wandered through the gardens and I saw an obelisk. Since Aaron has a thing for obelisks, I went to investigate. Turns out it was the Piazza del Popolo, one of the tallest in Rome, brought there in 10 B.C! We noted the location on the map and then walked back home. 

Our family plan for that day was to head to Vatican City where we would tour the museum and see St. Peter's Basilica. After walking more than half-way around the walls of the Vatican, we wound up waiting in a line for about 30 minutes (we were told by the hawk-like non-licensed "tour guides" that were swooping in on people all throughout the line that it would take us "over two hours" to get in), we had our tickets and were inside. Immediately, Anson insisted that he needed some water. I saw a sign that indicated a WC "off to the left" and so we started walking that way, which was also leading us into the museum. We got to the first exhibit, on Egypt, and the WC sign was pointing up the stairs. In what proved to be a critical decision, I said that I'd take Anson to the WC and Rebecca and Aaron could wait for us and look at the Egypt exhibit. Long story short, Anson and I had to wade through shoulder-to-shoulder tour groups for about a full kilometer of walking through the long hallways of the Vatican, including a jaunt (that everyone had to take) along a balcony outside, and finally got to the WC. We were basically at the "end" of the museum area by this point, just before the Sistine Chapel. Rebecca had called and, understandably frustrated, said that she and Aaron were just going to continue on. 

Anson and I decided to head back, against the tide of humanity, and find them. We actually made great time (I think the tours go off in groups and naturally bunch up as quicker groups come up to slower groups). However, we couldn't find Rebecca or Aaron. We wandered through the Egyptian exhibit and then through the next area and still hadn't caught them. I texted a couple of times (cheaper than calling since we were in "roaming" mode for our Austrian-based phone numbers) but got no response. Anson and I decided to head back to the WC, covering the long hallways a third time, in an effort to catch-up to Rebecca and Aaron and meet them before we all went into the Sistine Chapel. We never found them. So, Anson and I decided to go into the Chapel. It was absolutely packed: wall-to-wall with people, shoulder-to-shoulder. We slowly maneuvered our way through toward the exits. As we emerged from the throng, a museum guard was standing there saying, in heavily accented English, that St. Peter's Basilica was to the right, so that's where Anson and I headed. Just at the exit door, Anson pointed out a sign that indicated the exit was only for tour groups. I looked around and saw a lot of individual people and families using the exit with no indication they were in a tour group (most groups were easily identifiable because they would all wear a scarf of the same color, or would have a set of earphones in so they could hear their tour guide who would talk into a low-powered microphone and radio system). So, we took the exit on the right.

St. Peter's Basilica

We came to a small plaza outside and just on the side of the Basilica where I stopped and texted Rebecca again. After waiting about 15 minutes, I decided we should just go into the Basilica and hope we could connect with her and Aaron there. The Basilica is amazing. It's absolutely huge and beautiful. It was impressive enough that even Anson pulled out his phone to start taking some pictures. We slowly wandered around and managed to take what I think is an awesome Photo Sphere (minus the ghost people). We then took advantage of being able to walk behind one of the four statues at the diagonal corners of the dome into a "secret" door that led down under the Basilica to the area where many of the previous Popes are interred. We emerged from there back into the same plaza we'd been in before. This time we walked to the front of the Basilica and found a place to sit (temporarily, until one of the workers in a suit came and shooed us, and all the other people sitting down, away).

I pulled out my phone and saw a text from Rebecca saying "Just out of Sistine chapel and will head to plaza in front of St. Peter's." This was great news! We'd finally reconnect. I texted back where we were and that we'd be waiting. After about 20 minutes I got another text saying, "By the fountain in the middle. Line too long for Aaron right now." I was a little confused as there was no line coming out of the Sistine chapel heading into the Basilica. Anson and I had gotten some water at the fountain in the plaza I'd mentioned before, so I was expecting Rebecca and Aaron to come around the corner any minute. That never happened. After a couple more text exchanges, I learned that they were by one of the big fountains out in St. Peter's square. They had taken the exit on the left heading out of the Sistine chapel and it took them back to the museum entrance point. They then needed to walk halfway around the Vatican again to get back into St. Peter's square and there was indeed a line that looked to be a solid 30-45 minutes long of people waiting to get into St. Peter's Basilica (you don't have to pay to get into the Basilica). Rebecca was quite frustrated and I felt pretty bad.

Gelato again!

Great dinner!

Piazza del Popolo

We decided to walk back to the apartment, but Aaron also wanted some gelato, so we walked past our place and almost to the Piazza Navona again to get some. We then went back to the apartment and relaxed a bit. Anson had walked enough that day and even going out to eat couldn't entice him to join us, but Rebecca, Aaron, and I headed out for a wander through our "neighborhood" and we found a great little place where Aaron had yet another Margherita pizza (that's all he at in restaurants in Rome!), I had a great thick spaghetti noodle dish with a spicy tomato sauce and bacon, and Rebecca had some incredible ravioli. 

Ramsey's obelisk, St. Peter's Basilica, and lights of cars.

The three of us then continued our walk. We took Aaron to the Piazza del Popolo with the huge obelisk. The street vendors were out in force that night and it was really getting annoying. I learned to give them a forceful, "No!" and that seemed to get them to back-off. Rebecca was accosted by one while she was trying to take a picture of Aaron and I on the Spanish Steps and had to physically shrug him off (he was trying to get her to take some roses, which he then would have charged her quite a bit for). It really did diminish the fun of the evening. Along our walk we saw some wild orange trees with some incredibly full, juicy fruit on them. Aaron was pretty impressed by that, talking about, "Seeing my first orange tree ..." the rest of the night. We did get a great view of the city when we took a short-cut through the Borghese gardens though and that made up for a lot.

Sonntag 6. April

Inside the castle

I started the morning with my last long run, along the Tiber river, before the Boston marathon. I even added a bit to my interval effort so it ended on an even half-marathon, in honor of my brother Kevin who was running his first ever half-marathon race that same day. After showering, Rebecca, Aaron, and I headed back up to the Castel Sant'Angelo and this time went inside. It's a massive building that started as a tomb, then was expanded somewhat, used as a prison, and eventually taken over by the church and used as a refuge for the Pope in the event of a siege. We took our time and saw a lot of neat things and had a great time together. It was a beautiful day, which really helped. 

At an aquaduct

Palatine "Stadium"

After stopping into the apartment for some lunch, we walked along the Tiber river to the Circus Maximus, which turns out to be pretty boring in real life: just a large field of grass and dirt. After yet another gelato stop (it was a sunny, 22ºC day), we went into Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum area. I was very taken by all of the ancient structures all around me. The thought of such a massive "city," with all the ornamentation that was discussed (marble of many colors, statues, fountains, and the like), thriving over 2,000 years ago was very humbling to me. It must have been incredibly impressive to the people of the time and to think that so much of it has lasted until today is amazing. What building or monument that we've built in the past 100 years will last until the year 4,000? Not much. While much of what we saw was ruins, it was still there. 

Panorama of the Roman Forum area

Altare della Patria

Cool car!

We then walked back toward the river, passing by the great Altare della Patria. This time I managed to snap a picture. Later, we read that the bronze statue of Vittorio Emmanuel, the first king of Italy, is the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world and that his mustache alone is over 1.5m (5ft) long! Believe it or not, after getting back that night, we decided to go out for dinner, again. It was our last night, after all. Along the way up our little street, we passed this awesome car. I have no idea what it is, but it was too cool to pass up. 

Montag 7. April

Basilica pillars

Scooters!

Our last day! Given the mix-up at St. Peter's Basilica two days before, Rebecca, Aaron, and I were up and walked to St. Peter's by 08:30 and there was no line. The three of us were able to spend as much time as we wanted in the Basilica and even got to go into the "basement" again and see the Popes' tombs. On our way back, I saw a sight that I'd gotten quite used to, but had to capture: scooters. Not the kid self-propelled ones of Wien, but the motorized ones in Rome that zipped in between traffic. People of all walks of life, wearing business suits, skirts, dress, jeans (and some tourists in shorts; only tourists wear shorts in Rome) ride scooters and they all seem to risk their lives zipping in front of cars. The picture captured a mass of them that "flowed" in and stopped at a light, in front of and along side all the cars. Amazing!

Outside the Colosseum

We then headed back to the apartment to pack-up and eat the last of our food for an early lunch. We then walked to another apartment controlled by the same group and dropped off our bags and then proceeded to the Colosseum. This was one of the places Aaron really wanted to see and I was pretty excited about it as well. It's a stadium that was built to hold over 50,000 people that functioned for over 500 years and is still (mostly) standing after 2,000 years! Again, just amazing to me. 

Aaron inside

The interior of the Colosseum is absolutely amazing. It's really no different than any other modern building in that some architect(s) need to think through the whole design, where and how to place rooms, walls, supports, windows, etc. It just impresses me immensely that this was all done and built over 2,000 years ago. OK, I think I've said that enough and I'll try to lay-off it, but still ... 

They did a really good job, I thought, with the exhibits in the Colosseum, talking about why it was built, how it was built, the life of the people who came to watch as well as the lives of the Gladiators and the slaves that had to work under the floor, tending to the animals. They had drawn pictures as well as a couple of dioramas of what the place must have looked like back in the day, which really added some context. They even talked about the retractable "roof," made of canvas and managed by hundreds of sailors up around the top ring of the stadium, that provided shade to the spectators. Incredible!

Panorama inside the Colosseum with Anson on the left

I had two!

Train to home

We then headed back towards where our bags were, stopping for a last lunch in Rome (Margahrita pizza for Aaron and Anson again!). I even indulged and had a couple of beers. That night we were back to the Roma Termini, the main train station, waiting for our night train back to Wien. The day was even hotter than Sunday and we'd been out in the sun and walking quite a bit that day, so we were all pretty happy to be back on the train, even though it was another 14 hours and some fitful sleep. 

Waiting at the Roma Termini

Final Thoughts

We had an incredible experience with our trip to Rome. What's so interesting to me is that it was "just" a 14 hour train ride away. So much of Europe is like that: just a train ride away. It really makes you think differently about your neighboring countries. I know many people in the States who've never been to another country (not even Canada or Mexico). Here, travel between countries can happen multiple times in a single car drive. Understanding other cultures and peoples is not just something that's "nice" to do, it's a required part of life here. It's an interesting perspective that you simply can't get living in the U.S. I'm glad I've been lucky enough to experience it. 

Third Week

As I mentioned before, this is my life now. My family and I live in Vienna, Austria. That's starting to settle it. It's no longer strange for me to hear everyone around me speaking in German, though I still don't understand it all. I'm getting used to walking into the stores and seeing the things I see. I actually know where to find certain things in the various stores now and know what I can and can't expect to find in general. It's an interesting transition, slipping into another culture. It gives me a much greater appreciation for immigrants to our own country.

Montag 24. März

Very much a normal day: school for the kids in the morning (and I, as one of the teachers) with Rebecca working. I also allowed myself to sleep-in and did my run workout in the late afternoon. It was another one of those, "Wow!" type workouts. Incredibly hard work, but also I was surprised at how "easy" it was, if that makes any sense at all. I don't know if I've ever pushed myself as hard as I was on some of those intervals. It was great to bust through them. More positive re-enforcement for the Boston training.

Dienstag 25. März

Another normal day, with a couple of exceptions. To prepare Aaron for the potential of needing to get home after school on his own, Rebecca and I "tested" him. We showed up at school and didn't talk to him and had him lead us home. We'd discussed this before school, during breakfast, so he knew it was coming. He did great. There was one slight confusion when we "paused" the "test" to stop in at a store. He wanted to go the wrong way after we left the store, but I'm not too concerned. He's really learned his environment well and knows how to navigate the transportation system. Pretty amazing!

Also, later in the afternoon, Rebecca left for a two day trip to Klagenfurt, which is a two hour train ride southwest of here. She got in a great walk and talk with Anson (outside!) and had some snuggle time with Aaron before he and I walked her down to the U-bahn station. Aaron got a bit sad when she got on the train, but was otherwise fine. He and I stopped at a nice Bäckerei (bakery) and got some Süßespeise (sweet treats) to help "console" the three of us and that seemed to work just fine. :-)

Mittwoch 26. März

No poop here!

OK, a bit more about poop. And cigarettes. I mentioned the special signs for dog owners to pick up their poop. Well, here's another version. I snapped this picture in the morning after having dropped Aaron off at school. It's on the side of the S-bahn stelle (stop). You see one of the actual disposal units in question in the left of the picture. I have to be honest, I'm not sure if the "Nicht aufpudeln, aufräumen," means, "Don't leave the poodle poop -- clean it up!" or if it means, "Don't put poodle poop in here, just clean-up (regular stuff)." The words on the cartoon trash can say, "Bau keinen Mist," which, translated directly and literally, means "build not poop (manure)." So, does all of this mean, "don't put poop" in the trash? Or does it mean, "don't let the poop build-up?" 

Those special trash canisters are all over the place. You notice that the "chimney" like thing on the right of it looks like the filter end of a cigarette. That's a special place where smokers can snub out their

Keep the city clean

cigarette and then dispose of it (conical interior surface with a hole in the middle at the bottom). There are a lot of smokers here. Way more than I'm used to seeing in the States. I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but seeing a smoker in Minnesota is rare. I see it on the University campus, but I attribute that to the broad diversity of students. Here, we've seen middle schoolers up through 80 year olds smoking. There are cigarette butts in the gutters. If you're in a group of people, someone is likely smoking. It's very, very strange to me. However, as I said, these special trash cans are everywhere and, in spite of seeing butts in the gutters, the city is unbelievably clean! 

The words on the trash can to the right, "Schau net weg," are, I think, "Show the way," or "demonstrate," or "do the right thing." The next line is tougher: "Hau eine dein' Dreck!" "Hau" is used as part of "Go away!," "Get off!," or other, more vulgar phrases like that. "Dreck," by itself, is "filth, mud, muck, soil, grime." I think it means, "leave your filth." So, putting it together, "show the way, leave your filth," or "put your trash here." :-) The dog in the middle is holding a sign that has a little ditty (rhyme), "Nimm ein Sackerl für mein Gackerl." It means, "bring a sack for my ????" I'm guessing Gackerl is a "cute" word for poop, but I don't see any evidence of it in the dictionary app we use, which has a lot of otherwise vulgar and slang terms.

No dogs allowed!

One last thing on poop. Here's an older sign that's in the lawn in front of our apartment complex. It basically reads, "No dogs allowed" ("I may not enter"), yet it still focuses on the poop. That's their real concern. That and the fact that the owner might not pick it up. All right, enough about the poop and the cigarettes. They were just so much "in my face," that I thought I'd comment on them.

Aaron at the Straßenbahn (S-bahn) Haltestelle (stop)

Another thing that happened on Wednesday of
note is that Aaron had another "test" of going home on his own. Again, I showed up at school and then just stood there silently while he lead the way home. The picture is of the Straßenbahn Haltestelle that he waits at (and is the other side of the stop I took a picture of above). There's an S-bahn coming from the other direction as well. The yellow building across the street is the Chinese restaurant we ate at last week. His school is down the road off the left. If you look carefully, you can see him sitting there in the Haltestelle, with his red hoodie draped over his knees (you can always click any picture to make it bigger <-- that's for you, Mom!). He did great, again and I think he's going to be fine navigating home on his own.

Finally, the kids and I went out to eat at an Italian / Pizza restaurant tonight for dinner. We did it all on our own, without Rebecca there to help back us up with language skills. The place is just past the S-bahn stop that Aaron uses everyday (getting on in the morning and off in the afternoon), so it wasn't far to walk. We all had pizza and drinks and had a great time, talking mostly about video games, something Anson loves, and Aaron, the aspiring little brother, really wants to learn about. I'm just there to ask questions so they can talk and talk and talk, mostly between themselves. It was a fun evening and a good, successful, test for me being able to do things here on my own. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but there's actually a lot you have to negotiate!

Donnerstag 27. März

I found out that I should have my Boston Marathon bib number and starting wave and corral via email this morning. I'd received an email from them while I was still in the States asking us to verify our mailing addresses so they could postal mail us this information, along with a "bib number claim card," that I would need to get checked-in and receive my bib (required to run the race) in Boston. They, of course, had my U.S. address, which is what I used when I registered. I changed the address to here in Wien and hoped they'd actually mail the stuff here and that I'd actually get it. I've checked the mail almost daily here and haven't seen it yet. I think their email this morning was timed so that most folks in the U.S. would have gotten their materials already. I'm hoping mine is coming soon! I was able to find myself as a registered runner using the BAA website. I've got a cool number: 9696! However, I learned that, while I'm in corral one, of nine, I didn't make the first wave of runners -- I'm in wave two, of four. Being in wave one would have meant I was in the top 25% of runners (based on qualifying times). I guess this shouldn't surprise me as I'm not really a runner and this will be only the fourth stand-alone marathon I'll have ever run. Nice that I'll be out front in wave two, though. 

I gave Aaron another "test" of coming home on his own today. I'd told him I wasn't coming and that he'd really have to do this one on his own. In reality, I was there, hiding, and following him home, just to make sure. It turns out I was ultimately foiled in this plan by random chance: one of his friends called out to him and he turned around and not only saw his friend, but me as well. I was a good 100 meters behind him and immediately dropped to "tie my shoe," but he'd seen me. So, I "revealed" myself to him at the train station -- I knew he was fine getting home from there. I feel very confident that Aaron can get himself home after school at this point, which is comforting. I still had him use his own keys and get through the various doors to get into the apartment. He actually entered before me and pretended he hadn't seen me as he was talking with Anson. I then came in a few minutes later, as I'd planned with Anson before-hand, pretending I'd been out for errands. He and I had a bet: Anson thought for sure Aaron would see me, but I wanted to "play it out," and have Anson think otherwise. In the end, I told him the truth and, of course, he was all, "I told you so!" about it. It was fun all around!

Later that afternoon I did my run workout. It was hard and I basically failed the prescribed workout ... sort of. I made the first half, but not the second. It wasn't nearly as good as the nice cruise run I had last week, unfortunately. Lessons were learned though, so that's what counts.

That night, Rebecca returned to Wien from her trip in Klagenfurt. Aaron and I went down to the U-bahn station and met her when she got off the train. He was pretty excited to see her, as was I. It was a bit weird with her being gone. It reminded me, somewhat, of when the kids and I were back in the States after Rebecca left. However, this time we were here, in Austria, a foreign country (to me) and was still on my own with the kids. Not an issue at all, but it was a pretty surreal kind of feeling.

Freitag 28. März

Rebecca at work in the sun porch

The morning was normal, though just before lunch Rebecca, Anson, and I left for an appointment across town. This was the real test for Aaron coming home from school on his own and he did just fine. After we were back we all basically hung out for the afternoon before Anson was in charge of our Freitag Familie Frühlich Fest. He, not surprisingly, chose pizza (order from our favorite place) and a movie (several episodes of the "Attack of the Clones" cartoon series now available on Netflix). 

Samstag 29. März

I was up early and out for my last long run before Boston. I've still got three weeks of training, but I'll not run that far again until the race itself. It was a harder run than I thought it was going to be, or should have been, though I was fine when I was home. After some recovery drink, a shower, and a quick bite to eat, Rebecca, Aaron, and I headed down into "town" and stopped in at the "mall" to pickup some school supplies and "Haus Schuhe" (indoor shoes) for Aaron to take to school. We also stopped and had a nice Süßspeise (sweet treat) at a Bäckerei. After that, Rebecca took the train into work (she had a doctoral seminar to give until the evening). Aaron and I walked home and we had lunch with Anson, then we all just hung-out. Aaron wound up heading outside to play with some of his friends from the apartment complex for much of the afternoon and into the evening.

Heiliger Franz von Assisi Kirche

Rebecca came home and we had a nice supper and then she suggested that she and I head into town for the evening. I was tired, but very much up for it. After supper we had a nice video chat with my in-laws, who will be visiting us the end of May and early June, then we got the kids settled and headed into town! We took the U-bahn to near the center of town and then walked, and walked, ... and walked some more! We were all over the place! I was able to show her the Prater, where Aaron and I had such a great time. We walked to the Donau Fluss (Danube River). On our way "back," we saw this beautiful church. It's a catholic church, the "Heiliger Franz von Assisi/Jubiläumskirche" (St. Francis of Assisi Jubilee Church). It was absolutely beautiful and is quite large. We walked right up to it and managed to find the sign indicating what it was.

After the church, we walked back down to the center of town, Stephansplatz. We found a nice outdoor restaurant, the Cafe de l'Europe that had an excellent view of the church (click the link to see the outdoor seating area and our view). We got there two minutes before they stopped taking orders, so we quickly asked for an appetizer plate, a nice Edelweiss hefetrüb bier (wheat beer), and a club sandwich. We sat, ate, and talked ... until they started closing the tenting down at midnight. After checking out the church, we headed back to the U-bahn station and made our way home. I think we walked in just before 01:00! Unfortunately, Anson was still up, "waiting for us." We all got set for bed, which didn't take much as we were all pretty tired. It turns out that Saturday night was their Daylight Savings Time switch date, so we basically went to bed just after 02:00 on Sunday morning! It was a really fun evening! Great date. :-)

Sonntag 30. März

We all slept-in a bit and had an easy day. Rebecca and Aaron went out and he "coached" her on another exercise walk / run (they'd done it sometime last week as well) and Anson and I chatted a bit. I fixed a "cold lunch" of some meat, cheeses, crackers, and fruit. Then Rebecca and I did a nice cleaning of the apartment while Aaron played with friends outside. In the mid-afternoon, Rebecca and I went out for an awesome bike ride. I took her on the route I've ridden thus far and we did some additional exploring and found a new way to loop back to home (found a new connection from where we were to the end of the Weinfluss). I think we were out for 1.5 hours and had a really good time, except for the very end when we had to negotiate the people and traffic down by the U-bahn station. After dinner, we watch the third episode of the new Cosmos series and then headed to bed.

General Thoughts

Rebecca and I had a chat sometime this week about what I really wanted to do while we were here. There are certainly places I want to go and see, but my response was, "Well, we live here, there'll be plenty of time." There's a lot wrapped up in that. The fact that we do, indeed, actually live here is still impactful to me. The fact that we'll be here for a still significant amount of time is another. However, I also realize that the time will fly by and that we'll need to be planful to make sure we get in the things we want. Next week starts a fairly busy three weeks with some travel outside Austria (tune in next week to see where!), another trip, and then my flight back for the Boston marathon. Before I know it, it will be May! I'm really having a good time here.