Summer Break

I am sorry that I have been MIA lately. We are back in the U.S. spending quality time with our family and friends. I haven't spent much time on the internet at all since we've been back. I guess it's a little detox of sorts. I will make sure to update you all on our adventures very soon. We've been having a great time!! xx

In-Laws Visit Salzburg

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy and it doesn't appear that it will slow down anytime soon. But, I couldn't just pass up writing about the trip my in-laws took to visit us in Salzburg. So, better late than never...

Jason's parents came to visit us at the end of May and stayed until the beginning of June. They were here for 9 days and we had a great time.

They arrived on a Friday so I woke up super early and made the trip to the Munich airport while Jason went to work. By the time we arrived back in Salzburg it was around noon and Jason took the rest of the day off. We decided to take them around town a bit and of course take them to the Stiegl Brewery. It turned out to be such a lovely day! That evening, we walked to one of our favorite restaurants and had a very traditional Austrian cuisine. It was a very relaxing day, which worked out well for Mom and Dad's jetlag. We went to bed at a decent time so we could be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the next day.

The following day we woke up bright and early and walked around Salzburg again. There was a parade that was starting near our apartment for Die Salzburger Dult, a fair that opens around this time every year. There was music, dancing, people dressed in traditional clothing and the tapping of the keg of course (which means the festival is now open/started). A lot of fun for 10 am, that's for sure, and it was a lot of fun to see! Afterwards, we walked around town and took them to the open air market that we got to sometimes on Saturdays. Then we walked by the river where there were stalls set up selling clothing, jewelry, etc. so it ended up being a very full day of walking, eating and laughing.

Every day we always ended up doing something fun. I can't remember which day we did what, as it went by so fast. But, we ended up going on a Salt mine tour, to Konigssee, they visited the Hohensalzburg Castle, to Augustiner Brewery, etc. I would say that we pretty much conquered Salzburg in those 9 days.

We also had several lovely evenings both out on the town and staying in We had a lovely dinner at M32, which was just amazing. Afterwards we went to Carpe Diem for a few drinks. We also had a game night at our place with some friends.

Overall, we had a lovely time while my in-laws were in town. It's always good to show family and friends around our neck of the woods. It was a blast and we can't wait to see them again at the end of June in their stomping ground in Missouri. :)

Miscommunication Oopsie at the Hairdresser

Well, it was bound to happen here in Austria. And I am thankful it happened to Jason and not me (sorry honey!). We have a good hairdresser here in Salzburg. She speaks English pretty well but Jason doesn't really like the way she cuts his hair (she does a great job with mine though). For men, she uses scissors instead of clippers no matter how short you want it. Jason doesn't really like that, so this time around he asked her to use clippers instead. She kept saying that she didn't think I would like it and of course now he understands why. Usually he has the sides cut short and the top a little longer so he can style it. She didn't understand and just shaved the whole thing one very short length. Oops! Needless to say, he just should have stuck with the ush. Oh well, thank goodness his hair grows very fast.

Here is what his hair usually looks like:

And here is what he got:

Oops!!  ;)

Things That I Still Can't Get Used to in Austria

I have taught two English classes about Cultural Differences in the last couple of weeks. In our discussions, we talked about things that Austrians and Americans do differently. Some of these things are still a bit weird for me.

Here is a list of things that are still difficult to adjust to here in Austria (and some places in Europe in general), even after a year and a half here.

1. Co-ed fully nude saunas. Oh, and people getting fully nude in gym dressing rooms and having conversations together like it ain't no thing. (The best was when a male painter was in the women's dressing room and this was going on.)
2. No right turns on red lights.
3. Brothels.
4. People changing at the pool from their wet bathing suit into a dry one and laying the wet one in the sun-- while doing the whole thing in front of everyone without covering up or going to a changing room.
5. All stores are closed on Sundays (even grocery stores).
6. Cameras instead of police on highways, resulting in speeding tickets in the mail (trust me, we've had our fair share).
7. Beer is cheaper than bottled water.
8. All the pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles and busses everywhere. When driving, it is sort of like Frogger. Don't worry, I've only hit 1 motorbike so far. No joke.
9. People drink beer on their lunch breaks.
10. Dogs are allowed to go EVERYWHERE, except the grocery store. (This is Jack's favorite one!)
11. There is no Starbucks in Salzburg (although there are some in Vienna, Munich and other places in Europe). There are very few take-away coffee shops at all. I'm thinking I should open one, I would make a killing.
12. Very few restaurants have take-out. And if you want a doggy bag, it is usually just tin foil since they don't have take-out boxes.

I wrote a similar blog over a year ago but some of these didn't make the list. Even though we find some of these things strange, it is one of my favorite things about living abroad-- learning new things about other cultures.

For instance, in Singapore they have Seaweed and Shrimp flavored Pringles. Strange, but whatever floats their boat...

Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit. - Jawaharal Nehru

xx

The Great Big Austrian Tick Adventure

Now that is a title to live up to, right? Apparently my case of the Mondays has decided to continue on well through the week. I've just been rolling with the punches. It's almost comical at this point. At least afterwards, it makes for a good laugh. Here's the story.

Just so you can understand the seriousness of this story, please note that I hate ticks. Like REALLY HATE them. In fact, the first time that I ever got one, I was at Jason's parent's buffalo ranch in Missouri. I was in the shower and saw the tick and immediately started screaming/crying/flailing about while screaming for Jason to come into the room to get it off of me. It is no joke that I still get freaked out about thinking about it. I think I am frightened because you can get Lyme disease from an infected tick. Oh yeah, and it is ATTACHED to your body. Eeeeeeeeek.

Anyhow back to my story...

My friend Gerlinde and I were having our girl's wine night at my apartment tonight. Jason is still in London for work and it was the perfect evening to spend some time with a dear friend to laugh and catch up. We had nearly finished our bottle of wine and were looking through the amazing memory book that Jason made and gave to me on our wedding day. Jack was laying with me and I was petting him. I looked down and noticed that some of his hair was in his eyes. I pushed it back and noticed that something was right under his eye. It appeared to be flesh colored and hard. It almost looked like a wart or something. I showed Gerlinde, thinking it was his skin that was raised and she told me that it was just a very full tick. I immediately pushed Jack aside and we both screamed (don't worry, no animals were injured in the making of this story). Not knowing what to do, I called Joe (another American expat that lives down the street) and Gerlinde called her boyfriend. Neither were available to remove said tick and Gerlinde's boyfriend found it hilarious that we were making such a fuss about such a small pest. I know that when removing the tick you have to remove the whole thing (especially it's head) and leave nothing behind while also making sure not to squish the tick , otherwise blood would go everywhere. That's a lot of pressure! After we calmed down and re-evaluated the situation, I realized that I just couldn't do it. Gerlinde told me to get tweezers and that if I held Jack and moved his hair away from the tick, she would remove it. After another gulp of wine, we performed the operation and removed the tick and boy was he FULL. Gerlinde said she had never seen a tick that big. Poor Jack. We removed the tick without a problem and immediately threw it off of our balcony (I hope no one was walking under us and it didn't land on someone's head!!). We put anti-septic spray on Jack's bite. Then I gave poor Gerlinde a shot of Petron and we sat down on the sofa and just laughed. I'm still feeling a bit itchy just thinking about it.

So there you have it, the Great Big Austrian Tick Adventure.

xx
P.S. Please note that the picture was taken after Gerlinde saved the day, shot of Petron in hand. I'm not sure what Jack and I would have done without her.

Case of the Mondays

I know that today is Tuesday but my case of the Mondays decided to roll into today as well. Most of my posts tend to be positive but I would be lying if I said that I don't get frustrated here sometimes. Things just don't seem to get done here like they do in the US.

A few weeks ago we had an issue with our shower door. The bottom seal fell off and needed to be replaced. This caused water to leak everywhere! The first time this happened the plumber came and fixed it the next day. Apparently he didn't do a good enough job or didn't use the right part because the new seal fell off that same week. We called the plumber again and he came and said that he had to order a new part and that he would be back the same week. Two weeks later, the plumber still hadn't come and they kept saying they were waiting on said part. During that time, we were going through towels like crazy, trying to mop up all the water which was extremely annoying. I explained that my inlaws were coming to town and that I wanted the issue resolved before then. When did the plumber come, you ask? On day 5 of their trip. This is exhibit one of how difficult it is to get things fixed around here. Needless to say, I was very glad that the issue was solved.

Fast forward to yesterday. Of course with my luck, since the shower door was finally fixed, my flat decided that it needed something else wrong with it. In the middle of the morning, as I was doing laundry, the power in two of our rooms decided that it wanted to stop working. This meant that we no longer could do dishes in the dishwasher, laundry, and had no internet or TV. I messed around with our fuse box for over an hour with no luck. It was clear that I needed to contact an electrician. After going through our landlord, we were finally given the go ahead to call an electrician. Since Thursday is a holiday here, several of the companies are fully booked for the week. I was told that someone might be able to come Friday to look at it and if not, then the following week. I was not a happy camper when I heard this. I was sure that it would take a few seconds to fix if you actually knew what you were doing. Martha, who works in Jason's office and helps with things regarding our flat(since we don't speak German), called me back a few hours later and told me that she found a company that could come today to fix it. I was thrilled. I was very glad my friend Ruth was over because of course the electrician didn't speak English and she helped explain the problem to him in German. He was here for maybe 10 minutes and got the electricity back on. He said it was an issue with a fuse in the main building (not our flat). I was very grateful he was able to come on such short notice to fix it, especially since Jason is out of town and I wouldn't know what to do without TV or internet for a few days by myself. Oh silly technology, look what you've done to us! You've spoiled me!

Besides small issues with our dishwasher and oven, the flat is finally in working order (knock on wood). I am not even going to attempt to get the dishwasher or oven fixed because it would be more of a headache than it is to work around their "issues". It seems like we are onto our next adventure next year anyway, so I can deal with them for the next few months. And don't worry, once we are 100% sure of what the next adventure is, I'll be sure to tell you. I'll give you a hint though, it will be outside the US.

xx

P.S. Oh and to top today off, we have managed to get our 6th or 7th ticket (speeding, following too closely, etc.) sent to the office in the mail today. Damn highway cameras!! I won't say who the bad driver in the family is but please note that only 1 of those is mine, which is the one posted and happens to be the cheapest one. ;) (I still love you honey but I'm driving from now on! ;) XOXO)

Lake Königssee, Germany- May 2012

Lake Konigssee is one of our favorite places to take visitors while they are in town. It is only a short drive from Salzburg, and well worth the trip. It is a great place to view the gorgeous German Alps around the lake, take a short boat ride, and taste authentic German food (and beer!). Plus, it is known as being Germany's cleanest lake. Just amazing all around.

Last weekend my in-laws were in town and we decided to spend one day taking them around the lake. We weren't the only ones with this idea because the place was packed with visitors.It must have been because it was a long holiday weekend. Oh well. It was still a blast! Since the lines were so long for the boat tours, we just decided to stay in the area of Schonau am Konigssee (the northern end of the lake where all the shops and restaurants are). We sat on the lake and had a lovely lunch with a fabulous view. Then we took a stroll around part of the lake. It was a nice, relaxing day with a lovely view.

Here are some of pictures of our day:

Can't wait to go back!! xx