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!

2009 CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRIA

Stephansplatz at night


INNSBRUCK TRIP

The angel statue that we caught smoking
(not exactly my picture of an angel!)

A German Santa complete with organ

Beautiful decorations

GATHERINGS IN OUR HOME

Greg reading Christmas book to the kids

Greg's German class (UK, Italy, and India represented)

What would the holidays be without cookie making?

We were honored to have Greg's parents for a week

Well here it is, almost Christmas. After so much anticipation I can't believe it's almost here. We have loved being able to leisurely stroll down the streets of the various markets in Vienna (also Salzburg and Innsbrück), buy Christmas gifts, and have hot punsch (pron. poonch) and tasty treats. The Christmas Markets are coming to an end and families and friends are preparing for their time together. Everything shuts down tomorrow (Christmas eve) at noon and re-opens Tuesday, December 29th. That's right, no day after Christmas sales! So, four days of no shopping (including groceries.) Actually, I'm looking forward to not have to be out there with the mobs.

20 NM expats in our home making tamales

In the last few days I have made numerous trips on ubahn, strassenbaum, and bus to the commissary and stores with my trusty little pull cart. This evening as I walked home I decided to pick up some pine greenery. I guess I've turned into quite the bag lady!

Tomorrow is Greg's birthday (he will finally be as old as me!) and I am planning to take him to lunch at an Indian restaurant. We will have several families over tomorrow evening for a little celebration and some Posole (a NM tradition.) We are planning to sing Christmas carols in our park for whoever would like to listen.

Christmas Day we will go to a friend's home for brunch and then on to have dinner with another family. It's good to stay busy on Christmas so as not to have too much time to think about missing family and friends in the US and Canada.

CHRISTMAS MARKTS 2009
Karlskirche

People from church

Rathaus

Schönbrunn

Spittelberg

Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas!