Back with Jack

Well, we finally made it back to Salzburg and are settled back in. It really feels like home now since Jack finally got to come with us. You don't even know how happy I am!

The plane ride went well. Jack has never really been in a crate for very long, so I was quite worried how he would do under my seat knowing I was so close. I gave him an anxiety pill I got from the vet just to make sure he was okay. After all the lights were out on the plane and everyone was sleeping, I snuck him out and put him on my lap under the blanket for a few hours. He was pretty happy about this. No one even noticed and we just passed out. On the way home from Munich, he was anxious but that's normal since he's not a huge fan of car rides.

When we got to our flat, Jack was quite confused about the elevator. I didn't even realize he had never been in one. As soon as we opened the door, he checked out his new pad. To be honest, I don't think he liked it very much. He is not a fan of the hardwood floors and has attempted to jump on the couch and has fallen a couple of times because it was so slick. I'm sure he'll get used to it though.

This morning when I woke up, I could tell Jack was really jetlagged. That, or he is really sad. He slept all night and morning and still hasn't eaten anything. I'm starting to get worried about the little guy.

Today, I left him at the apartment for 3 hours so I could go to the pool with some friends. Jack was not happy about this and started crying as soon as I closed the front door. I went back inside and gave him some sweet kisses before I left again.

I am pretty bummed that he is not as excited about being here as I am but that is to be expected. I'm sure he misses my Mom's dogs, Gracie and Allie, but will get used to it soon enough. I have taken him almost everywhere with me so far, including the grocery store, so hopefully he won't feel too lonely when he's with me.

I sure do hope he likes it here. I couldn't imagine life without him!!

New Tattoos

Jason and I have been talking about getting matching tattoos since we lived in Singapore last year. And by talking, I mean me begging and Jason saying no. A couple months ago, Jason finally agreed and we went to the tattoo shop to get it drawn up when we were home for our wedding. Mind you, I thought I would get something small to medium sized so I could get it on my foot. We asked Mike from Inksomnia to draw a phoenix and a dragon holding a sphere. In the Asian culture it is the symbol for marriage and eternal love. We decided that this would be perfect, as we just got married and it will always remind of us our time in Asia. After seeing Mike's drawing, we both loved it and had to get it.

Yesterday, we finally got them. We both spent 5 hours in the chair while Mike worked his magic. We were at the shop for a total of 10 hours but it was totally worth it. In December, we are getting them finished off with some color. It's amazing how great they look and we still have one more session to go. I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like.

Until then, here is what it looks like after session 1:

Although it is bigger than I had first anticipated, I love it and am so happy with it! Is it December yet?! ;)



Stiegl Brewery

On Sunday, a whole group of our friends went to Stiegl brewery. Although I forgot to take pictures of the whole group, here is one of the group that stayed the longest. There were about 15 of us and we had a blast. We are so lucky to have such a great group of friends in Salzburg already!

Per usual, Jason was being difficult when I wanted to take a "nice" picture with him. I had to get him in line.

Worked like a charm. ;)

My Very First Dirndl

I finally got my very own dirndl. It's funny because when we first visited Salzburg last year, I saw so many people in dirndls and lederhosen and thought to myself that I would never wear one. But, we are locals now and there are so many events that I will be able to wear it to- carnivals, festivals, weddings, and so much more. 

When I first went shopping, I was by myself. I didn't see any that I liked and began to question if I really wanted one. Perhaps it was the shop that I went to, where I felt extremely uncomfortable and didn't even know what I was looking for.

A few days later, Sego and I went shopping together and not only did I find one that I loved, I found two. It was very tough to pick between them, but this is the one that I ended up with. Perhaps I will go back and get the other sometime.

My next mission is to get Jason some lederhosen. I can't wait! He's going to look so hot!!

Severe Climbing Accident

Saturday, Jason and a couple of his friends decided to wake up early and go mountain climbing. They left at 7:30am and were expected to arrive home around 1:30pm. I'm not sure the exact name of the climbing, but it is where you wear a harness and climb attached to a cable on the side of the mountain. Since the guys were off doing their thing, Segolene and I decided to go dirndl shopping for me. Everyone was happy.

At around 12pm, Sego gets a phone call from her husband, Tait, while I was in the dressing room. I heard her get serious and asked if he was okay, something about a helicopter, and her saying "oh my gosh!" I poked my head of out the dressing room and immediately asked if it was Jason (the most injury prone person I know). No it wasn't, thank God!

When she got off the phone, she said that she didn't know much but that Mark had taken a serious fall off the mountain. He had separated from Jason and Tait and when he didn't meet them at the meeting point, they knew he must have been in trouble. Jason and Tait went back and climbed the way that Mark had gone, only to find him beneath a waterfall on an embankment. He said that they thought he had broken both of his legs and possibly an arm.

Sego and I immediately thought of Julie, Mark's wife (and our friend) who just had a baby 4 weeks ago. We asked if they had called her yet and they said no, since they didn't know the severity of his injuries. Sick to our stomachs but knowing there was nothing we could do but wait, Sego and I continued shopping. I ended up finding the prettiest dirndl (which I will post about later). Finally, a couple hours later, Jason and Tait arrived home. This is when I found out the severity of Mark's fall.

On the way to the hospital (we had to bring Mark's wallet with his insurance card and his phone to Julie), Jason explained that he and Tait had started to climb part of the mountain. Mark decided to go a different route but would meet at the top at a certain meeting point. When Jason and Tait got there, they waited a while but Mark was no where to be found. They decided to go back and to retrace his steps. Upon climbing, they noticed Mark on an embankment beneath a waterfall. Jason climbed down to help him and noticed that he was soaking wet, cold, and badly injured. Tait climbed towards the top of the mountain so he could get reception to call the paramedics.

Jason explained that Mark was climbing and is afraid of heights. He got to a point where he needed to climb over a canyon and decided he wanted to go around. He unhooked himself from the cable and tried to walk around but the ground beneath him gave out and he fell several meters onto the top of the waterfall. The water then pushed him over the edge of the waterfall,  falling 30 feet onto the rocks and pool below. He never lost consciousness (thank God for helmets!) and pulled himself out of the water and army-crawled several meters off the embankment and up part of the mountain, so the guys would see him. When Jason got there, he said that it looked like he had broken both legs and possibly an arm. About an hour of waiting later, the helicopter finally arrived. Since they were near the top of the mountain and a beer hut was nearby, there were power lines directly above Mark. With pinpoint accuracy, the helicopter swooped down in the valley, under the power lines and between trees, and lifted Mark to safety. They brought him to the Salzburg Hospital. Jason then had to make the tough call to Julie and tell her about the accident and to meet Mark at the hospital.

When we finally arrived to the hospital and saw Julie, she was very composed. She explained that the doctor told her that he had broken a foot/ankle and that the other leg was severely bruised and the knee dislocated. She said that he was beaten up pretty good but that he would be okay. Praise God!!

Mark is still in the hospital and will have surgery on his foot later this week. After surgery, he will stay another 5-7 days.

Today, Jason emailed me and explained that Mark had made the newspaper. If you are interested, HERE is the link. Feel free to copy and paste the text into Google Translate, since it is in German.

Here are some pictures that Tait took on his cell phone:

If you look closely, you can see the cable Mark should have gone across. He fell from the point on the right above the waterfall and then into the water at the top and over the edge of the waterfall.

Here's another view of the waterfall.

Here's a picture of Mark getting loaded up onto the stretcher.

Thank God that Mark is okay! Things could have been much worse and we thank God that Jason and Tait were there and that the paramedics and helicopter pilot were so great. Truly a miracle!!

P.S. If you look at the picture at the beginning of this blog, you can see Jason (with a backpack) to the right watching Mark getting loaded up. This picture was from the newspaper article.

Good news!!

After nearly a month, my eyes are FINALLY back to normal from my little mask squeeze incident! Perfect timing since I will be going back to the US next week and will have to get a new driver's license with my new name. Also happy for the fact that I don't have to choose between sunglasses and people staring at me! :)

Austrian Proposals, Rings, and Wedding Things

As I was showing some of our wedding pictures to a few of the ladies in Jason's office, they were astonished that Jason and I do not have matching wedding rings. This was not the only thing in the wedding department where Austrians differ from Americans.

Apparently, it is very uncommon for Austrians to get engagement rings which means they usually skip the whole engagement thing all together. As soon as I heard this I asked, "Well then how do you know you will get married?" They explained that the man usually talks to the woman's father (traditionally) and then the couple talks about getting married and pick a date. Some ask their future wives in a romantic way but it is not frowned upon if they did not.

When they finally make it to the alter, the husband and the wife have matching wedding bands that are worn on the right hand. They are usually engraved on the underside with their names and the date.

I'm sure there are many other Austria wedding traditions that I have yet to learn. Hopefully while we are here in the next couple of years, we will be invited to a wedding so I can see what a true Austrian wedding is like.