VIEW FROM GREG'S OFFICE

Greg has a fantastic view of the Danube from his 13th floor office window. Just a month ago it was an ice skating rink. Now there are trees budding all along the river. You can also see the entrance to the UN with flags from every country. Last week as I was walking into the Vienna International Center the wind was blowing and the flags were all wildly flapping. It is a beautiful area and I enjoy the privilege of being able to take classes there and have lunch with Greg several times a week.

One thing I failed to mention is that I actually get to go to Greg's office. The entire 23 years he worked at LANL I only got to see his office a few times during special open houses (or is it open offices?!)

MY US TRIP

Blake's and my creative date: dinner at Subway, popcorn & orange Texas fleece blanket to wrap in from HEB, movie in car parked under an Oak tree, and potty break at Starbucks where we enjoyed some good hot chocolate.

An afternoon "in Africa" with Brady & Max. This Zebra put on quite a show for us!

Anderson, the Warrior!

A sunny 70 degree day with Brady & Max at the Safari Park.

I know it's been a while since I blogged. I've been in the States for three weeks visiting family and friends. Greg was in UK for two of those weeks on business so I took advantage of the time to be gone too. It's been a great time with eight of the grandkids, their parents, my brother and sister-in-law, Mom & Euel, my aunt & uncle, my cousin & family and our friends who live in our house in Bulverde. Greg's parents even drove from Abilene to visit for a few days. Of course, as can always be predicted, there were a few hitches: Amy & Sydney came down with strep, Blake developed fluid on his hip joint and had to go to TX Children's Hospital for tests, my stepdad was hospitalized, among a few other little mishaps. I felt needed, though, and was glad to be there for everyone (I don't get to do that too often!) I also got to spend more "alone" time with some of the grandkids.

So, I should be on a plane to Vienna at this moment, but after spending the afternoon and part of the evening at the DC airport I was offered a voucher of $1200 to take the same flight tomorrow so I opted to do so. It was the craziest I've seen Austrian airlines. They had overbooked this flight by 30 people and there were even some who had trip confirmations who got bumped. Needless to say, there were a lot of unhappy campers, actually some who were very irrate and even yelling. I did meet a very nice couple (about my age) who live in Hungary and were in DC visiting their kids. I will look forward to seeing them again tomorrow since they also took the voucher.

Included are a few pictures from my trip. I'm pretty sure you find them delightful!

My brother (Brian "B") playing and singing at a cafe in Fredericksburg.

Sydney at our Bulverde house dressing up and moving gracefully.

We had lots of fun playtime: puzzles, big bubbles, wedgits, games, and schoolwork.

AND AWAY WE GO TO THE BALL!

Off we go dressed in our finest riding the public transportation.

Entering up the red carpeted stairs.


All dressed up!

The Festaal room

The Korean Group entertainers who were flown in to perform at the Ball.

Our Canadian friends, Jake & Christine

Lots of shoulder to shoulder dancing. There were 4000 in attendance.

The debutantes with their escorts dancing the Viennese Waltz.

The IAEA Viennese Ball is now behind us, but proved to be quite an interesting evening and one we'll never forget. The evening began as we embarked on straßenbaun and ubahn to arrive at Irodious Greek Restaurant by 6:30 to join our friends Jake and Christine for a nice dinner. The four of us riding public transportation dressed to the hilt seemed to draw a little attention from bystanders. I was even wrapped in my mink (found by my father-in-law at an estate sale.) This was my first time to wear it since not much occasion to do so in Los Alamos and not sure I would have wanted to with all the "animal activists" around! :)

The Ball actually lasted until 5 AM, but we wimped out at 2 AM. We were told that people ask to be invited to this Ball by IAEA employees just so they can see the inside of the Hofburg Palace. It is a spectacular place filled with rooms of varying sizes and styles-rooms with names like Festaal, Zeremoniensaal, Redoutensaal, Rittersaal, Maria Theresien II.... We were in the Trabantenstube.

The dress code for the evening was long evening dress for women and tuxedo, smoking with bow tie for men or formal national costume. Since we had no idea what a US national costume would look like (other than cowboy?!) we opted for the evening wear. All the main activities took place in the Festaal room which was streamed to many of the other rooms on large monitors. There was live music (swing time big band, classic Viennese, contemporary pop, R&B, celtic, and one of our favorites-a mix of pop, rock 'n roll & soul classics.)

All of the rooms were connected by doors so there was a steady stream of people walking around to the different venues. Some actually only had tickets to roam (no seating.) We were glad we had a table to park our weary bodies. There was lots of dancing (all types.) The Viennese Waltz was my favorite-it is so graceful and beautiful.

All in all it was a special, fun evening. We did take a taxi home which made for a quicker trip than public transportation. I felt very elegant in my evening dress, fancy jewelry and extra make-up, but was happy to be home back in my sweats and comfortable again.

The Freemen Singers (rock 'n roll)-Greg loved the guitar player.

PREPARING FOR THE BALL

We were entertained at lunch by a Korean group on Friday at the Vienna International Center. They were quite LOUD, but very entertaining. They will be performing at the IAEA Ball. The Hofburg Palace will provide the setting for our first Ball experience. There will be at least ten live bands playing rock n' roll, celtic, classical, oldies, etc. Decked out in tuxedos (in Austria they are called Smoking) and evening dresses we are going out to dinner with our friends, Jake and Christine (from Canada) and then on to an enchanting evening of music, dance, and friends. Pictures to follow......


Above are videos of the Korean dancers who were flown in to perform at the Ball. The drummers (all female) were amazing.

DACHLAWINE-WARNING!

I finally figured out what Dachlawine means. As I walked down the sidewalk I kept encountering these long red and orange poles leaning up against the buildings. My first guess was that maybe they were for people to be able to break the ice outside their businesses. Actually, it is a warning that one should not walk so close to a building. You will see why as you observe the avalanche about to fall from the building on the left.


Now I am a little paranoid about walking down the sidewalk at all!

PRAGUE IN JANUARY 2010

The beginning of January we took a four day train trip to Prague. It is a beautiful city and we had a great time in spite of the cold and snow. We actually celebrated our 38th anniversary on January 1st in Prague. We stayed in the Marriott Courtyard which provided a fantastic breakfast. Breakfasts in Prague are much like Vienna's. There is a large variety of cheeses, meats (including smoked salmon) and yummy breads. We look forward to returning to Prague in the warmer months.

THE BUILDINGS ARE AMAZING!

The Dancing House or "Fred and Ginger", named for
the shape of the building's two towers,
which look vaguely like a couple ballroom dancing.

The Charles bridge at night. We walked across in the daytime-it was so cold,
but there were artists doing caricatures of people and others selling their wares.

This was taken looking down on the town from the castle area.

Astronomical clock that chimes every hour as figures
of the "12 apostles" parade by in the windows above the clock.Stained glass window in the cathedral at the Castle.

And yes, we ate at the new Prague Hard Rock Cafe.
It was a warm place to be in out of the cold!

The Funicular railway that went up the
mountain to the Petrin area.
It's actually going back down in this picture.
It was quiet and serene as we walked
the snowy trails back down into town.

A VIENNA NEW YEAR'S EVE

New Year's Eve celebrations in Vienna are a little over the top.


There are no organized
fireworks-they are going off all over the city by individuals. We are told it is illegal, but the police seem to just turn their heads the other way on this day. We felt we needed to go downtown to "experience" this evening. We rode to the City Hall (Rathaus) area around 5:30 pm. When we got off the strassenbaum all we could see were wall to wall people. There were live performances and lots of dancing ( rock 'n' roll, disco and old-fashioned waltzes). The New Year's Trail was long and pointed the way from one attraction to the next.

Everything stops on the stroke of midnight as the 'Pummerin' bell in St. Stephen's Cathedral booms in the New Year. Toasts are made and gifts are presented in the form of lucky trinkets (pigs, ladybugs, etc.) that are carried around in purses and pockets all year long. There is also the tradition of fortune-telling with lead: a small piece of lead is heated over a flame and plunged into cold water. The shapes that form as a result are then interpreted. A rounded heart, for example, is a sure sign of winning everybody's heart in the coming year.

Following a visit with friends we went to Greg's office on the 13th floor of the UN building around 9:30. As we were watching out his window a guard came by and asked if we would like to go to the roof above the 28th floor. So, the guard, Greg, and I watched in amazement from the best view in town. If we closed our eyes we could imagine what it might be like in Baghdad. It was very eerie.

New Year's Eve in Vienna is a loud and merry time (a little too merry!) We were glad to be safe in our apartment before midnight, leaving the loud partying to others. Not much sleeping, though, as the fireworks continued until after 3:00 AM.

PIGS, PIGS, EVERYWHERE
My friend, Avis, who collects pigs would be in "hog heaven!"

Pig marzipan candies

Even pig hats

After midnight, many people serve up special New Year’s Eve dishes like lentil salad and pigs head. The first is supposed to bring financial blessing for the coming year, while the second means a fat and therefore lucky year.

Happy New Year in Austria!