Liam at 11 (months, that is)

So, let’s face it.  Most of the face time on my blogs is taken up by 1: yours truly and b: Lukas.  Sure, I mix a little Anita in there on occasion, and the youngest one gets at least the occasional passing mention.  But it’s hard to devote as much space to him.  His sort of cute transfers better to photos, most of the time.  Still, it’s worth scribing some of this stuff down now, before I forget it.  Lord knows he’ll be a completely different person again when he turns one!

• He’s fast.  Scary fast.  And sneaky.  The combination makes it tough to anticipate where one needs to be before he hurts himself or others.  He’s still crawling.  Sometimes in that low, army crawl that he perfected a few months back, sometimes in your standard hands and knees style.  And both are fast.  But his hands are faster.  Don’t believe me, just pick him up.  Hold him anywhere near your face and wait for the pain.  More than one person has been “marked” by this cute kid, when his fingernails got a bit too long.  But it’s the sneaky that makes the fast so dangerous.  He’ll really wait you out.  If he recognizes that you’re keeping him away from something, he naturally wants that thing.  But he won’t push it.  He’ll try once, maybe twice.  Then he’ll lie low.  Pretend to forget.  Lull you into a false sense of calm.  And then, when he’s sure you’ve forgotten, a lightning strike.  All too often, it works.  Because he’s fast.  And sneaky.
• He likes music.  Rock music in particular gets his attention.  He’s going to be my Zeppelin guy…
• He shrugs his right shoulder.  Kind of randomly.  Something he started a couple of months back.  Kind of like a nervous tic, but it all too often looks like he’s responding to something around him.  “Liam, how are you today?”  Shoulder shrug indicates “Eh, not too shabby.  You?”  It’s quite amusing.
• His teeth are coming in.  This makes him cranky.  He’s usually a very sweet baby (toddler?  Not yet, I think, but soon).  But the pain makes him cranky.  Mostly at night.  He’s not such a great sleeper anyway, but the teething is making a bad time worse.
• Fun story.  Put up a “Baby gate” in front of the computer room for a couple of days.  There were little Lego pieces all over the floor, etc, and I needed to control access.  Naturally, Liam hated this idea.  He would come to the gate and bang on it to get my attention, wanting access.  After it had been up a few days, he got another bright idea.  He was eating a piece of bread, part of a large pretzel, I think.  Anyway, he held onto it and crawled over to the gate.  When he was sure I was watching him, he deliberately reached his arm out over the gate and dropped the bread on the other side.  “Oops, papa,” he said (okay, it was all in the eyes, but I swear this is what he was thinking), “I have dropped my bread and must be allowed into your office to retrieve it.”  I reached over, picked up the bread and gave it to him.  Annoyed, he waited a beat, then repeated the action, again looking to me to allow him into the room.  After the third time, I tossed the bread.  I’m no fool…
• He loves to people watch.  Put him in the stroller and roll him around outside, where he can see a lot of people doing a lot of things and you have one happy boy.
• He loves his brother.  You can just see him light up when Lukas enters a room.  And anything and everything that Lukas does is just hilarious to Liam.  Laughs his little head off, that one does.

I’m sure that I could go on, but I’d like to bring a blog in with a reasonable word count for a change.  So, that’ll do it for now.  I’ll try to work a bit more Liam stuff into the general read whenever possible…  Cheers!

Parental visit part V: Nuremberg, the final chapter

Yes, that Nuremberg.  Famous now not for their cute little sausages, or their historic old town, but for trials and rallies and all things Nazi.  It’s a part of their past that I’m sure the locals would love to forget, but it will likely always be there.  Still, there’s much more to Nuremberg today than its part in Germany’s darkest chapter.  For one thing, it gave birth to yours truly, which has always granted it a special place in my thoughts.  For another thing, it’s a truly pretty, fun city to visit.  The old town, at least, which is the only part that I’ve gotten around to in my two visits there (not counting those initial nine months, that is).  Not sure how much of the city Dad got around to visiting back in the day (he spent most of his time either at the base at nearby Grafenwöhr or driving about the countryside and down to Salzburg, it seems.  Probably best let him fill in those details sometime).

We took the train into town, then checked into our hotel, a nice but extremely overpriced Le Meridian right next to the station (used leftover hotel points from my Krakow work days – nice to have those come in handy after all this time).  It was to be a two night stay, and we would be meeting up with our friends Todd and Melanie, whom we met in Kansas City and who moved back to Germany a year or two back (She’s German, he’s ex-army and is now apparently working freelance in Iraq most of the time, so is rarely home.)  Besides that, our only real agenda was to see the sights (again sticking to the old city, which in Nuremberg’s case is fairly easy to do as the whole thing is surrounded by a nice big stone wall).

It was an afternoon arrival.  We unpacked, unwound, then headed in to the center.  Our first stop was St. Lorenz Church.  We didn’t go inside, but merely made it a meeting point for Melanie and the girls.  As we were a bit early, we toured the nearby streets, indulged in some great roasted (and sugared) peanuts, macadamia nuts and cashews, and just generally got a feel for the place.  It was a lively setting.  Lots of tourists from all over, booths and tents set up for general browsing.  The weather was cool and pleasant.  I was almost sorry when six o’clock rolled around and we met up with the Strobels for dinner plans (nothing personal, Strobels.  Just a measure of how much I was enjoying the meandering).

Once Melanie arrived, we headed over to a local restaurant (forget the name) and settled in for some of the famous Nuremberg brats (small in size, I liken them to American breakfast sausages in many ways – love ‘em!).  The food was good, the company enjoyable, the wait interminable.  Seriously, even by lax European standards these guys were SLOOOOW.  And it’s not like the place was packed, quite the opposite.  All I can figure is that, when we arrived and ordered, they decided it was time to start the grill, and then they went about it the old-fashioned, boy scout way – rubbing a couple of sticks together!  Afterwards we took a short walk, grabbed some ice cream, and enjoyed the sights.  As we parted ways, we agreed to meet up again on Thursday, as Todd was supposed to be back in Germany and wanted to be a part of things.

The next morning we headed out for breakfast at a little nearby café, then toured some more.  We had no grand designs beyond seeing the castle, and possibly a dungeon underneath the old city hall.  I spend most of my time (as I had during the evening stroll before) looking for likely spots to employ my Mr. Bill toy.  I had picked up this replica of the popular Saturday Night Live character from the late 70s when last in KC, but hadn’t fully recognized its potential until my Dad asked me what photos I had taken with it.  Since that time (mostly during the last Upper Austria trip), we had been amusing ourselves by placing the poor little guy into dangerous situations and snapping his photo.  Lukas was helping, naturally.  I mention this only because I fully intend to upload the results, and figure that a little explanation wouldn’t hurt…

We hit the castle a bit before noon.  It is truly a great looking castle, IMO.  Just the right blend of impressive towers and imposing walls.  Not one where a lot of interior viewing is available, though.  We did the “tour”, and it consisted of seeing some medieval weapons and then going to hear about their impressively deep well.  Afterwards we climbed the tower and took a number of snapshots from every angle (Yes, I did make it to the top and yes, I did think I was going to die.  Might, just might mind you, might be time to hit the gym.  Maybe.)  Lukas and I conspired to get him up on top of some lofty rocks and take a few photos, and we used the baby as another prop whenever the opportunity presented (well, they’re not good for much else at that age, are they?  J).  

Next was a bit of souvenir shopping, followed by another meet-up with the Strobels.  This time Todd joined us, and it was really fun to see him interact with the girls, who had obviously missed daddy while he was away.  I haven’t said much about the girls yet, so here’s as likely a place as any.  Hannah is, not surprisingly, turning into a very cute young lady (after being a very cute little girl, I should add).  She’s getting a bit of the teen ‘tude, but not so much that one can’t enjoy her company.  Helena, who was a baby the last time I saw her, was cute as a button.  I didn’t see much of that side the first night, but during the second meeting all of her inhibitions dropped and she sat on everyone’s lap, chatted up a storm, and generally showed off an impish personality.  Definitely made me think about trying for a daughter of my own, I must admit…

After Anita was conned into turning some sort of fertility ring (don’t ask, I didn’t) by Judy, we set off for a festival a few blocks over, wherein we grabbed a table and proceeded to down a sampling of ribs and steaks, sausages and potatoes, and possibly imbibed a few brews along the way.  Much deliberation was given as to what to do afterwards, and we split into groups.  Melanie and Hannah went to find a quiet spot to get some homework done and the rest of us hiked around the western side of the old town, viewing Alfred Durer’s house, some more ugly statues (which seem to be quite popular in Nuremberg for some unknown reason) and finally some classic houses.  No way to convey the looks of these properly.  Just go see the photos if you haven’t already!

Todd and I then, somehow, talked our way into a further splintering and promptly took off for O’Shea’s, the local Irish pub, where we nabbed an outdoor table, smoked Cuban cigars that he’d picked up in Iraq, sipped Irish whiskey and chased them both with some Guiness.  Tough life, I know.  The rest met up with us shortly after the smoke cleared and we enjoyed a decent pub-style dinner, though the fries were a definite weak point.  I thoroughly enjoyed having a conversation with someone who could really relate to my own situation (not so many KC guys married to German-speaking wives who have moved their families halfway around the world, even among my varied expat community).  After dinner we said our goodbyes, then headed back to the hotel.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening in, where the boys stayed with their grandparents for a while.  And that’s all I’ll say on that matter…

Thursday was our return date, but we had a bit of time to kill before our train was scheduled to depart.  Well, it was a lot of time (4pm ticket time), until one factors in our slow, gentle wake up, and even slower time to get ready and get out for another breakfast, then back to pack.  Still, we found ourselves with a few hours to kill/fill, and tried once more to fit in the dungeon tour (after another enjoyable bratwurst lunch at a restaurant which had their grill up and running even before we arrived…).  The dungeon was suitably dank and creepy.  I, of course, remember very little of what was said, even though my German is now good enough to catch most of the presentation.  I was too busy finding new and exciting photo opportunities for Lukas, Liam and Mr. Bill.  Hey, it’s not every day that one finds oneself in a dungeon!

Not much more to tell.  We caught the train home.  Dad and I got off and Linz and drove the rest of the way to Vienna.  They were here for several more days afterwards, in which time we threw the first of about a half dozen birthday parties for Lukas’ sixth.  Then it was time for departure.  The house needed taken care of back in Weatherby Lake, and Logan and Quinn were undoubtedly looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa’s return, not to mention Grandma Betty and Grandpa Glenn.  Still, it was a good test run.  I think that when they return in 2012 (okay, maybe 2013) we’ll really be ready to rock!

Parental visit part IV: More Vienna, the Wachau and a second trip to Upper Austria!

Okay, this is turning in to Tolstoy, so I’ll try to keep things at a reasonable length.

We were back in Vienna and once again enjoying the sort of days that saw me at the keyboard in the computer room, hacking away (work stuff – not my writing – I’ll leave it to others to throw the “hack” label at me on the writing) while the others enjoyed the fun in the sun (or more likely fun in the shade – not much sun in Vienna this time of year) outside.

Again, there are some good photos out there to see what all was going on, including a day out at the Prater and more time in cafés and parks.  Really, the only outing that I’m qualified to discuss over those days in Vienna was our trip to the Wachau.  The Wachau is a wine region along the Danube, near to Vienna, which has a number of small towns in it, each with a number of heurigers (mentioned before I’m sure, but a heuriger is like a winery/restaurant that only sells its own production.  It’s more complicated than that, naturally, but I’m not in the mood to go into all of the history right now, so that’ll do).  After spending an inordinate amount of time trying to book a boat ride on the river, finding most of them closed for the season and finally settling on an option that was short and sweet, but required us to ride out to the region via train first (which Anita naturally turned into a money saving deal – she’s damned good at that, given a little time). 

We started at Krems, which I had apparently visited before but forgotten completely.  And it was no big loss of memory.  Okay town.  Nothing wrong with it, and it has the wine thing going for it, but it wasn’t anything special.  Not compared to Durnstein, the second town on our visit.  Durnstein was in many ways still a medieval town (all right, maybe not medieval, but damned old).  It had that classic feel to it that San Gmingnano in Italy did (see some of my OLD blogs and photos to check that amazing town out).  If I loved or even liked Apricots, it would’ve been even better, as the local fruit dominated whichever stores weren’t selling wine first and foremost.  Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the look and feel (despite a strong touristy bent) of the town.  Didn’t hurt to find out that this was the place (or the ruins of the tower above the town) where the Austrians held Richard the Lionhearted for ransom.  Gotta love a history bit involving Robin Hood’s king J.

Somewhere about this time, the visit stopped being enjoyable for me, as we found ourselves racing down to the riverside, then up and down the bank trying to find the boat that we had booked.  Then came a series of small events in which I apparently failed to do anything right, including not liking champagne (bubbly, overrated stuff that I only choke down on New Years Eve because it’s expected.  Give me a nice Barolo any day) and smoked salmon bread (love cooked salmon, just don’t like it cold.  Never have, but on this day that was an issue again for some reason).  Anyway, by the time it was all said and done, I was more than ready to get out of there and head home (several sulking photos of me on the boat are out there somewhere, and that’s the “story” behind them).  Dad and I did another pub quiz in the evening, which restored my mood somewhat (though we didn’t win this time), and that’s about it for the Vienna piece!

We then set off again for Upper Austria, packing for a two-part trip that would eventually see us traveling to my birth city of Nuremberg, Germany.  But first, it was back to family time.  The others set off on Saturday, while I stayed overnight in Vienna to work and met them on Sunday.  We were all set to take the old fashioned steam engine train from Aschbach to Steyr with Anita’s sister Poldi and family (Julia, Katrin and Martin), minus papa Markus.  Sibling number seven joined up with us – Gerti, along with hubby Hubert and their two girls, Jana and Lilli (yeah, I know.  You need a scorecard to keep up with my blogs.  Still, they’re all out there in the photos, so they deserve at least one named mention apiece, ya dig?).  The train ride was fun, with Lukas, Martin and Jana heading outside at every opportunity (and who can blame ‘em, as the ride itself was bumpy as hell). 

Steyr is another beautiful Austrian town (most of them are, you may have realized by now), with a great view overlooking the river and a nice old town section.  We walked it, ate pizza and ice cream, took turns carrying the baby, took lots of photos, and ended up at a playground where we whiled away the last hour or two until the return trip was scheduled.  A few more photos followed by a ride back which was highlighted by a trip to the refreshment car and an attempt to drink wine on an aggressively bumpy train ride (at least I was smart enough to get the white)!

Monday we went to Gmunden.  Say it with me… “Another beautiful Austrian town” – where Gerti and family live.  I’m sure I’ve chronicled it before.  The picturesque (albeit freezing cold even in summer) lake, the swans, the ducks, the classic architecture, the city square, the ice cream…  Not trying to make it sound any less great than it was/is, but we didn’t really do anything except walk along and take some photos.  Afterwards, we met up with most of the family (really, it was a big, big group) at a restaurant where Anita’s niece Manuela works.  They’ve got a great view, which they take advantage of with a “one way see through” toilet/outhouse.  Yeah, an outhouse with a view (photos are in the “Upper Austria” album, for those of you with a strong constitution and a sly sense of humor).  The dinner was predictably enjoyable, with good food and great company.  Anita’s dad, Karl, joined us, then snuck off to pay the bill (really reminds me of my grandpa Glenn in many respects, and that’s a compliment of the highest order around these parts).  Everyone had a schnapps shot or two (except yours truly, who had a beer already and was driving – see, I can be responsible too, in a pinch).  Then we finished off the evening by strong-arming Manuela into getting her guitar and singing for us!

Okay, I think I’ve got it whittled down to one more installment (which is great, because I really should be moving on to documenting Halloween fun by this point in time)!  Up next, the final chapter of Dad and Judy’s visit – Nuremberg!

Parental visit part III: Upper Austria - Take 1

Short intro.  Part three of the Turpin visit blog series begins… now - the annoying work setup from my last installment soon paid off nicely as we again set off from home, this time for Upper Austria.  For family.  There was no way to fit everyone in on this first visit, so we planned around some time for Hermi, Sigi and family (who had stayed at my dad and Judy’s place in KC several years back), a visit to Marianne’s (the sister, not the friend from the previous blog) and of course a trip to Nussbach to “meet the parents”.  Dad and I loaded up the car while the boys rode with Anita and Judy. 

On the subject of loading up the car, I am a bona-fide expert.  Borderline genius, I think, if that sort of thing passed for genius.  Packing in general is one of my strong points.  I can pack for light weight.  I can pack for heavy.  I can fit twice as much into a vehicle as most people think is possible, or I can spread out a smaller load to give the illusion of full.  What I, or better yet, we, cannot do is avoid the over-packing.  We each have our thing (I tend towards pillows, which I almost never trust to be available in the acceptable styles and quantities, and electronic gear).  Anita’s over-packing is more random.  There’s the traditional mom stuff, the extra outfits and swim gear, and the instinct to pre-pack food for every possible eventuality.  But then it’s more of a space thing.  She seems to instinctively assess the space that we have and compare it mentally to the items we are taking, and then inevitably come up with the additional items necessary to make it a full load.  It could be bicycles, or bottles, suitcases of clothing for storage or for a relative to look through, cameras, books, an old chair, cabinets, the fender from a ’57 Chevy.  I really have no idea where some of the things come from, but there they are.

Dad was skeptical (on this trip and every subsequent one) of getting it all into the car.  Silly.  A little rearranging here and there, some squeezing and adjusting – heck, most of it fit in the trunk (luckily, Anita had left already, so she was unaware of this extra space and had no way of assigning additional cargo to fill it).  We hopped in, turned on the TomTom and set off, listening to an audiobook of George MacDonald Fraser’s excellent novel Flashman’s Lady on the way.  We managed to find Hermi and Sigi’s place without incident and enjoyed a quiet evening in with the family (good food, reminiscing about their KC visit, another Yahtzee game perhaps).  Lukas and I shared a couch bed upstairs and spent most of the night pushing each other back and forth.  I think at one point he head-butted me in the nose, but nothing was broken.

The next day started with a trip to the local zoo (nice enough place, nothing spectacular.  Used to be a bird-specific zoo, but now has a pretty decent cross-section of animals – still bird heavy).  Afterwards, we headed over to MEET THE PARENTS.  Dum dum dum!  This too went very well.  We set up camp in the downstairs dining room (Franz and Christa’s), and had some farmer’s doughnuts (krapfen) to eat.  Someone in the group ate 4 or 5 of them, but I’m not at liberty to divulge specific names.  Soon afterwards, out came the homemade schnapps, Nussbach style.  Great stuff, and it was enjoyed by all (some who will remain nameless enjoyed it time and again – hint: rhymes with “sad and moody” or “bad and doodie”).  All in all it was a nice visit, and it was gratifying to see the parents bond (especially Karl, who seemed to really like Dad and Judy, and opened up to them in a friendly fashion as he would Austrian neighbors or friends).

The next day, we had another outing, and this one was really cool.  We went to a place called Baum Kronen Weg.  Don’t really know how to describe it, except to compare it to the Ewok Village in Return of the Jedi.  Large paths of wooden towers and wooden walkways high above the ground, up in the treetops. A variety of swinging bridges, long ramps, jumbo slides (check out the one that Judy and Lukas went down – crazy) and lookout stations.  A reasonably priced restaurant (though an embarrassingly slow one, even by Austria’s lax standards) next to an amazing playground full of crafted wooden vehicles and playthings (F1 cars, trains, planes, you name it).  And, though we didn’t try this bit out yet, a show-stopping “hotel” up in the trees, with 5 large cabins surrounding a sauna in a pentagonal shape.  Tres chic.  We had a blast there, trying out all of the various equipment pieces, climbing and hiking about.  Even got in a little game of soccer in their mini wooden “field”.  Really, you’ve just got to check out the photos to get a sense of the place.  My description doesn’t do it justice…

Our last stop on the visit was to Marianne and Erwin’s place.  The atmosphere there is still tinged with melancholy, as to be expected.  But they were gracious hosts, of course.  I was really pleased to see Patrick so involved with the visit, sitting with us during dinner, then heading out with the group for a park visit and a walk to his brother’s gravesite.  Jan and Danielle were there for the day as well, and it was great to see everyone again (not to mention, I’m always up for some of Marianne’s cooking!).  

Suppose that wraps up another entry.  Still a couple to go, and I’d like to get to them all while it’s still halfway fresh.  Up next, some more time in Vienna, including a trip along the Wachau…

Parental visit part II: Home in Vienna

Okay, maybe this one’s not going to get us through to Upper Austria, but it should cover a good bit of Dad and Judy’s visit.  Maybe five or six days.  A bit of Vienna, possibly followed by some “meet the relatives”.  Maybe a bit more Vienna after that.  Have to see how the word count is looking…

When we last left our party of intrepid wanderers, they had just returned to Vienna after a lost weekend of schnapps, schnitzel and Sound of Music tours in Salzburg.  We pick up the action in a little apartment in the city’s 13^th district (cue lights, theme music and fade in…)

We open on a (relatively) young man (okay, maybe not young, per se, but go with me), sitting alone at his back room work area, typing away in hurried fashion.  He wants to finish up with his work early, so that he too might be allowed out into the fresh air, and see the precious sunlight.  But no, this is not for him.  For him there is only toil.  Saddened, heartbroken, this young (yeah, I’m sticking with it) man turns away from the open window (technically a door with glass, but who’s technical) and the false hope that it brings.  More work.

Maybe it wasn’t quite so bad, but that’s a lot of what I have to provide for perspective on our Vienna days.  I was working.  Trying to not only catch up from our days in Salzburg, but get ahead for the next trip.  The rest of the crew did some sightseeing both close by (the park, the café), far (the Prater) and in-between (Schonbrunn palace).  Not much I can tell you about those trips, except it looks like they had fun.  And I’m pretty sure that no one is interested in a recap of which sports teasers I wrote on those days, so I should maybe stick to the outings that I was a part of (and yes, there were a couple mixed in there amongst my toil and drudgery).

We went out to a Heuriger (local Viennese wine producer/restaurant), where we ate well (and paid top dollar for the privilege), drank some (the house wines weren’t bad, but nothing to write home about either) and were serenaded by the nicest couple of guys (violin and accordion players) whom I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing flirt with my dad.  All in all, a win.  I also met up with the gang for a little stroll through the first district, highlighted by an ascent up St. Stephen’s Cathedral tower, from which one can get a very nice view out over part of Vienna (if you want to see it all, you’ll have to go up the other tower as well, as the church itself blocks out quite a bit of the view from either position).  We enjoyed the various street performers even as my dad bemoaned his lack of foresight (“You should have told me to bring my mandolin.  We could have paid for the trip!”)  Lukas and Liam were treated to some balloon animals, which lasted the usual duration of about eight seconds, and we naturally paused at one of Vienna’s many beautiful and varied cafes (though to get the specifics, one would have to question my wife – they all kind of blend together for me)…

In addition to these family-driven outings, I got my dad out for a few trips to the pub.  First off was one of my Wednesday evening sojourns to Pointers for their weekly pub quiz, wherein he and our since-departed teammate Nayeli put on a show of amazing coincidence that bordered on the psychic (second question: Who wrote “A Short History of Nearly Everything” – answer: Bill Bryson.  My dad’s answer, which then led him to talk about all of the Bryson books that he likes, particularly Travels in Small Town America.  During this exchange Nayeli, who was often our best contemporary literature team member, was conspicuously silent.  Later in the evening, my eyes chanced upon part of a paperback novel sticking out of her bag.  I couldn’t make out the title, but saw an upside-down “ll Bryson”.  As soon as the quiz was finished, I pulled the book out of her bag.  It was the aforementioned “Travels in Small Town America”, which she sheepishly explained she had never read, but had brought along that evening to give to me as she was clearing out her collection prior to moving to the UK.  The next time I see her, I will spend less time thinking about books and more time thinking about a cashier’s check for $100,000.)  The rest of the quiz was fun, but not quite so eventful.  Ian and my dad got along (opinionated Northern Irishman and laid back Midwesterner.  Would find it strange, but I get along with Ian myself, so…) and we won the nightly prize, which basically paid for our evening out!

Our other outing had a tag-along named Lukas.  In my never-ending quest to hook the boy on sports in general, and American sports specifically, I wanted to have him join us for the NFL kickoff event at Shebeens (another Irish pub.  Vienna’s littered with ‘em, as is most of Europe).  It was a fun night.  Shebeens is one of the very few places in Austria that knows what to do with red meat, and just about the only one who performs this task for a reasonable price (7 Euro for a fat, juicy burger – 13 for a nice sized ribeye steak and sides.  Just can’t be beat in this neck of the woods!).  So, we all ordered off the menu, then settled in for happy hour (which they run from 7-9 on Sundays – perfect for those of us interested in the American football offerings.)  The game itself was nothing special.  New York Giants over the Carolina Panthers.  Lukas was a hoot, though.  He decided early on to support NY, something I can rarely bring myself to do in any sporting endeavor (the boy absolutely must have a rooting interest from the outset of any viewed competition, and then he’ll stick with them).  I think it was the blue uniforms that sold him.  Anyway, with dad and Chris (Wells – my buddy whom I hit the concert circuit with and whom we all vacationed in Italy with) egging him on, Lukas was all over the place, whooping it up for the Giants, testing out new catchphrases such as “in your face” and generally being an amusing nuisance.  Lots of fun!

All right.  I’ve just made an executive decision not to overreach on this blog.  Instead of running through our upper Austria visit, I’ll end it here and pick up there in the next installment.  Happy Trails…

Parental visit part I: Salzburg

So, it’s been a little over three years that we’ve been living in Vienna.  Don’t even bother with how long Jessica’s been in Fribourg.  And, to date, we had not been able to convince the parents (Dad and Judy) to make the long trip over.  Oh sure, they had been interested, but never enough to actually get their passports in order.  Recently, something turned.  We had a second baby, Liam, and Jessica’s long-awaited adoption finally came through (Chloe – completely adorable in the photos, something of a handful according to legend – can’t wait to finally meet her!) – and suddenly there were more reasons than ever to make the trip.  They got their passports.  Then, on our latest visit to the US, this spring, their objections withered, one by one.  The timing was finally right.  They would come visit!

We prepared as best we could, helping to coordinate dates with Jessica and Alex and to figure out what all we would do with them while they were with us.  It became clear, early on, that a nice long stay was in order.  In addition to whatever time they spent in Switzerland, we would need three, maybe four weeks to get them around to all the places we wanted to show them in Austria (and possibly Germany and/or Italy as well!).  They wanted to see Salzburg and Berchtesgaden.  I was interested in getting them to either Nuremberg or Venice.  Much time would be needed to meet all of the relatives in Upper Austria.  Anita had a list of local attractions and possible day-trips that grew larger with each passing week… Finally, they settled on a course of action which put them in Switzerland for three weeks (the first in a Swiss mountain chalet, the rest in Fribourg), followed by four weeks or so with us – ended up being about 25 days).

August arrived, and they landed in Geneva.  Still, we were quite unsure as to our plans.  There were hurried phone calls to various sisters and friends, trying to determine who could put us all up for a few nights, and when.  Travel options were discussed and discarded with frightening speed.  We wanted to do a lot, but not kill ourselves (or them, preferably) in the process.  Finally, we had a rough plan.  We would meet them in Salzburg, stay for a few days, then return together to Vienna.  A few days here, then our first trip to Upper Austria.  Another week or so in Vienna, followed by a second trip to Upper Austria and a swing by Nuremberg, then finally a couple of days here in the apartment to finish it off.  Sounds exhausting just writing it…

First up – Salzburg.  We would again be enjoying the hospitality of our friends Rudi and Marianne, who had opened up their home to us twice before (yet, oddly enough, invited us back?  Strange.).  This time we would really be pushing our luck, with two kids and a set of grandparents in tow!  But we were again welcomed with all of the good natured hospitality that I’ve come to appreciate from Anita’s friends and relatives.  The parents were due to arrive Thursday afternoon, so we arrived on Wednesday night to settle in.  We had decided against spending a boatload of money renting a big car, as we had originally planned.  Instead, we would do the one car and train thing, counting on others to help chauffer us around whenever possible (relax, we did run this plan by people before putting it into action.)  The house, in a little town on the outskirts of Salzburg, was even more perfect than the last time we had visited, as they had remodeled many facets of the downstairs.  The boys fit right in, taking over their dining area with knights and baby toys and we enjoyed an evening with our friends.

The next day we whiled away a few hours (during which time, Lukas somehow managed to get stung by a bee – on the eye!!! – but he was okay). He did, however, ask constantly, “When are Oma and Opa getting here?” until it was time to meet them at the train station, where Anita and Marianne waited in the loading zone while the boys and I went to retrieve our American guests.  I navigated a genuine maze of construction to reach the tracks, then had a moment of worry when most of the crowd dispersed and the boys and I still saw no signs of them, but then relaxed as my “hold Liam up over my head until Judy recognizes him” plan paid off, and soon it was all hugs and kisses and pass the baby!

We met back up with the ladies, then did a little touring through the city (and by little touring, I mean a long-ass hike to view a couple of buildings and have a coffee.)  But it was nice to see everyone and start showing off this great land that I now call home.  We took it easy in the evening.  Well, at least until dinner time, when we stuffed ourselves on homemade Wiener schnitzel and then let Rudi bully us into a schnapps and beer drinking contest (I kept thinking of Grandma Betty drinking the Nuss schnapps.  “Smooth…”).  It was great. 

Friday we decided on Berchtesgaden, as the forecast was cold but clear, whereas it was threatening rain over the weekend.  We borrowed Marianne’s car and split the group in two (Oma Judy was generally given “Liam duty” during these excursions, sitting in the backseat and trying to keep the little guy happy whenever he was awake).  It was a short drive over the German border and on into town, then a little further to the “Eagles Nest,” a mountaintop retreat famous for having been built for Hitler as a birthday present (though there’s much dispute about how many times he actually visited it, preferring instead to take his “vacations” at a nearby hotel).  Nevertheless, I suited up in my Captain America T-shirt and was suitably running through all of the best scenes from Clint Eastwood’s Where Eagles Dare as we ascended the peak.  The “clear skies” thing didn’t work out so hot, though we did get some great photos in the atmospheric fog that descended.  We all took turns carrying Liam as we hiked up the trail to the various scenic views, which all looked about the same in the mist, then returned to the building, which is basically just a restaurant at this point.  A bit underwhelming, but I did enjoy the goulash…  And it was on our way out, at the gift center, that Anita and I finally purchased ourselves a pair of Austrian “National Costumes”, which had been on our “to do” list for quite some time (for myself, a Salzburg style gray jacket and a striped shirt; Anita got a dirndl.

Afterwards, we spent some time in Berchtesgaden, where I passed a great little hat store and immediately wanted to complete my outfit.  After some hemming and hawing, it was agreed that I could look.  I finally settled on a classic style, dark green with a feather (one can see the overall results in my various photo albums).  The shopkeeper, an older German woman, the type who often seems to disapprove of me from the get-go, seemed quite impressed by my recently improved Deutsch (classes finally paying off), and even more impressed when she learned that I now resided in Austria with my mixed family (of course, it didn’t hurt when Anita showed up with Liam, who instantly went into his uber-cute mode.  None of this led to any significant discount or anything.  She was just a nice lady who deserves mention (I like to give credit to nice shopkeepers, waiters, etc, that I run into here in middle Europe, as it’s such a rare sighting)…

We had another fun evening at Rudi and Marianne’s home, played some Yahtzee (a game in which I was throroughly robbed – my first ever “second Yahtzee”, ruined by my go-for-broke son, who eschewed all logic and an easy chance at second place when he passed up the opportunity to fill in his final missing line item, a straight, in order to go for his own second Yahtzee.  Naturally, the little booger actually rolled it and beat me by a lousy half dozen points.  Revenge will be mine.  Oh yes, revenge will be mine.  Dish served cold.  Kahn.  KAHN!!!) – whoops, got a little sidetracked there.  Okay, so, Yahtzee, then more wine and beer and schnapps, then off to bed again…

Saturday we did the town.  I personally loved this day as much as any during our trip, which is going to sound bad when I admit that I spent most of it on my own, by my lonesome, in Salzburg.  After parking, we decided that most of the group would go visit the castle, which is a nice castle, admittedly, but one which I have toured myself a couple of times.  Thus, I was allowed the rare opportunity to strike out on my own in a new(ish) city.  This I love.  The freedom to just wander and stare, not trying to juggle an entire group’s wants and needs.  I shopped.  Mostly window shopping, but also looking for a new watch, and at some clothes.  It was great.

And when our meet-up time rolled around and I was given the option of continuing my solo sojourn, I leapt at the chance.  As the afternoon progressed I ate a pizza, drank some sturm and some coffee (though not at the same time) and made my way back to the hand-crafted wooden “souvenir” store where Judy had purchased her gift music box a few days prior.  You see, I had cast my eyes over some very nice, hand carved wooden chess sets, the sort of thing that has been on my want list for about a decade at least.  Of course, once there I felt it wise to call and okay the purchase.  Anita agreed to overlook the expense provided that it a: counted as my birthday present and b: that I was able to work them down on price.  Nothing that woman loves more than a deal.  Despite the sales woman’s complete indifference to my purchasing power, I did eventually work her down from two hundred Euros to one hundred and sixty, though by that point I had spent over ninety minutes in the shop and might well have paid a flat fifty just to be able to leave…  (point of interest – the parental units did the “Sound of Music” tour while I was doing my afternoon shopping, and they loved it.  To each his or her own, I say!)

We said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts several times over that evening and the next morning.  Everyone was too exhausted to cram much more into our visit.  Lukas, Dad and I then drove back, with either a stop for lunch at Burger King or a “stop to help our fellow man in the form of a stranded roadside traveler, who then bestowed upon us Burger King paraphernalia by way of reward”, depending on which of us was asked.  So ended the Salzburg portion of their visit, and thus ends the first of my blogs on the same.  Up next – Meeting of the in-laws!  Dum dum dum!