Sunday, November 19, 2006
Dress up time!
Dad was still in Austria when Halloween rolled around, so he missed out on the festivities. A lot of folks in the neighborhood sat out in front of their house to give out treats. Robby had a record haul. I think we'll be eating it until we get restocked with supplies from our Christmas stockings! Here are the cuties. Robby wanted to be a fighter pilot (after being a ninja at the ward Trunk-or-Treat) and Jenna was a beautiful fairy princess.
Cub Day Camp
Little Robby was invited to go to Cub day camp earlier this month since he was almost eight. There were lots of fun mini-classes on topics like astronomy, birds, and Indian folklore. He also wired a doorbell, learned to use some tools, and even got a shot at walking on stilts.
In the afternoon, Sharon and Jenna joined us for a little while. Jenna definitely enjoyed the festivities.
Look, Mom, I only need one hand!
In the afternoon, Sharon and Jenna joined us for a little while. Jenna definitely enjoyed the festivities.
Look, Mom, I only need one hand!Our nursery girl!
Two weeks ago Jenna hit her 18-month mark and had her first foray into nursery at church. She was a real pro. Off she toddled, ready to explore.
Dad checked on her a couple of times and she was happy as a clam.
Here she is, looking cuter every day!Wednesday, November 15, 2006
A white November
This morning when we walked out our front door we were surprised to find this sight...
And you didn't think this could happen in the desert of Arizona!
Well actually it doesn't... What we found was the foam spray that put out the fire which engulfed an RV parked down the street from our house last night.
All we know was that at about 4am the fire department was parked outside our front door using the fire hydrant in our front yard to extinguish the flames and we were sleeping! We didn't even hear it! When we were investigating the remains of the RV this morning some of the other neighbors nearby came over to talk. One of them had heard what was going on because his neighbor woke him to let him come and move his truck which was parked next to the RV. That neighbor had been woken by his dogs barking. Unfortunately, no one knows who owns the RV because it was parked along the back entrance street away from the houses. It just appeared there a day or two ago.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Europe 2006: First stop, Paris
I know many of you have been waiting anxiously for these pics. I have been working hard (during Jenna's naps) to get these ready for posting, and here they are! Aren't you excited! First you can browse through our highlights here on our blog and then if you still haven't had enough excitement you can check out our online photo album and watch our highlights videoclip.
We begin our travels at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, AZ. As we were waiting for our airplane I decided to show off our cool new backpacks. We bought 2 identical backpacks for our trip, and can you believe we each packed all we needed for our trip in one backpack? The travel guides all said to "pack light" and I think we succeeded!
We arrived in Paris at 9am and after wandering around the airport for nearly 1 1/2 hours looking for transportation to Paris we finally arrived in Paris at 11am. Our first stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower. It was bigger than I remembered!
Here we have Robby loaded down with his backpack on his back and our day pack (which had mostly food and our trusty travel guide) on his front. Fortunately, we were able to leave our packs in our hostel rooms for most days of the trip. On this first day we had to carry them till check in time at 3pm. I must say I was thankful we spent the extra money on well-designed backpacks!
Our second day in France we took the train out to Versailles to see the enormous palace that King Louis XIV built there.
After we toured the lavishly decorated rooms of the palace we wandered through the beautiful gardens. Our favorite part about them was the sculpted bushes.
And here I am with my new friend from Versailles.
Of our whole stay in France our favorite part was Marie Antoinette's Hameau on the property of Versailles. She actually had three additional homes built on Versailles, and this one was a collection of "pseudo-peasant" buildings. Here she would come to escape the busy palace life and live the "simple life." I must say, I do see how you could really relax out here. It was beautiful! In addition to the quaint buildings there were gardens like the one seen here and a beautiful pond with water lillies, ducks, and swans.
Our third day in Paris we were very busy! We went to the Louvre, the Deportation Museum, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and Musee d'Orsay. Here we are at the entrance to the Louvre. We did see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. Also at the Louvre, there is an area that has been excavated to reveal the base of the walls and turrets of a medieval castle that once stood where the Louvre is today.
Here is our last snapshot of Paris on our blog, Robby standing on the edge of the Seine River. He wanted to ask this couple who was sitting nearby to take a picture of both of us, but as we approached they began smooching, so we left them to their private romatic moment. Maybe we should have started smooching too!
We begin our travels at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, AZ. As we were waiting for our airplane I decided to show off our cool new backpacks. We bought 2 identical backpacks for our trip, and can you believe we each packed all we needed for our trip in one backpack? The travel guides all said to "pack light" and I think we succeeded!
We arrived in Paris at 9am and after wandering around the airport for nearly 1 1/2 hours looking for transportation to Paris we finally arrived in Paris at 11am. Our first stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower. It was bigger than I remembered!
Here we have Robby loaded down with his backpack on his back and our day pack (which had mostly food and our trusty travel guide) on his front. Fortunately, we were able to leave our packs in our hostel rooms for most days of the trip. On this first day we had to carry them till check in time at 3pm. I must say I was thankful we spent the extra money on well-designed backpacks!
Our second day in France we took the train out to Versailles to see the enormous palace that King Louis XIV built there.
After we toured the lavishly decorated rooms of the palace we wandered through the beautiful gardens. Our favorite part about them was the sculpted bushes.
And here I am with my new friend from Versailles.
Of our whole stay in France our favorite part was Marie Antoinette's Hameau on the property of Versailles. She actually had three additional homes built on Versailles, and this one was a collection of "pseudo-peasant" buildings. Here she would come to escape the busy palace life and live the "simple life." I must say, I do see how you could really relax out here. It was beautiful! In addition to the quaint buildings there were gardens like the one seen here and a beautiful pond with water lillies, ducks, and swans.
Our third day in Paris we were very busy! We went to the Louvre, the Deportation Museum, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and Musee d'Orsay. Here we are at the entrance to the Louvre. We did see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. Also at the Louvre, there is an area that has been excavated to reveal the base of the walls and turrets of a medieval castle that once stood where the Louvre is today.
Here is our last snapshot of Paris on our blog, Robby standing on the edge of the Seine River. He wanted to ask this couple who was sitting nearby to take a picture of both of us, but as we approached they began smooching, so we left them to their private romatic moment. Maybe we should have started smooching too!Our favorite part of Paris was seeing the magnificent stained glass in Sainte Chapelle. To see our pics (which only give you a glimpse of the beauty there) of this beautiful church go to our photo album.
Europe 2006: On to Rome
Robby has said that he thinks the coolest stuff we saw on the whole trip was in Italy. As far as art and history goes I have to agree, although as far as the atmosphere, Rome was not my favorite place to visit! We always felt like we had to be on our guard because there were warnings everywhere to watch out for pickpockets. We were very cautious, and fortunately we did not become victims of pickpockets. But, we did become victims of outrageous exchange rates and fees! Partly our own fault though because we didn't read the sign very closely!
I digress... Let me tell you about what cool things we saw in Rome. Our first stop was St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. This church is enormous! We read that the Basilica and the Square just outside the door can accomadate 95,000 people! The structure with the pillars that is in the middle of this picture is where the Catholic church says the remains of Peter lie.
After we visited the Basilica, we decided to jump in line to see the Sistine Chapel (which was on the top of our "must see list" in Rome.) As you can imagine, the line outside the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel was VERY LONG! Well little do you know that once you get inside the Museum they wrap you through more than a mile of corridors before you get to the Sistine Chapel, and the whole way you are following a BIG line of people and wondering when you are going to get there! Finally we got to the chapel, and it was amazing! Some of the images are so realistic that they jump out at you! I wish I had some pictures from the Chapel, but they were forbidden.
Robby and I really liked how colorful many of the buildings were in Rome. This is an example of some of the colors you might see.
Later on that first day in Rome we headed over to the Colosseum. When we got there Robby told me he didn't really care if we didn't go inside. I said, "We came all the way to Rome and you don't want to go inside?!" Needless to say, we went inside! We even took the guided tour which was really cool. One thing we learned was that the Colosseum was actually a covered stadium. There was a very large cloth that they pulled over the top to protect the spectators from inclement weather.
Our second day in Rome we checked out the Roman Forum. This area was the center of Rome at one time. The whole area is sunk down below the current ground level of Rome. The artifacts that we were walking by were excavated so we could see some of the historic locations of Rome. In this picture Robby stands next the spot where Marc Antony stood to give Julius Caesar's funeral speech. 
Here we are standing in front of the Roman Forum. The coolest thing about going to Rome was learning the history of the place. I think I would have been more interested in history in school if I had had an experience like this. It is so much more interesting to visit the places you study.
Lastly, we have a picture of Robby drinking from a Roman water fountain. The water is fed to it by aqueducts. Pretty cool! When you see one of these concrete structures in Rome there is a pipe sticking out one side with one hole in the bottom and a second smaller hole in the top. When you want a drink you plug the hole on the bottom and water shoots upward out of the top hole for you to drink.
I digress... Let me tell you about what cool things we saw in Rome. Our first stop was St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. This church is enormous! We read that the Basilica and the Square just outside the door can accomadate 95,000 people! The structure with the pillars that is in the middle of this picture is where the Catholic church says the remains of Peter lie.
After we visited the Basilica, we decided to jump in line to see the Sistine Chapel (which was on the top of our "must see list" in Rome.) As you can imagine, the line outside the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel was VERY LONG! Well little do you know that once you get inside the Museum they wrap you through more than a mile of corridors before you get to the Sistine Chapel, and the whole way you are following a BIG line of people and wondering when you are going to get there! Finally we got to the chapel, and it was amazing! Some of the images are so realistic that they jump out at you! I wish I had some pictures from the Chapel, but they were forbidden.
Robby and I really liked how colorful many of the buildings were in Rome. This is an example of some of the colors you might see.
Later on that first day in Rome we headed over to the Colosseum. When we got there Robby told me he didn't really care if we didn't go inside. I said, "We came all the way to Rome and you don't want to go inside?!" Needless to say, we went inside! We even took the guided tour which was really cool. One thing we learned was that the Colosseum was actually a covered stadium. There was a very large cloth that they pulled over the top to protect the spectators from inclement weather.
Our second day in Rome we checked out the Roman Forum. This area was the center of Rome at one time. The whole area is sunk down below the current ground level of Rome. The artifacts that we were walking by were excavated so we could see some of the historic locations of Rome. In this picture Robby stands next the spot where Marc Antony stood to give Julius Caesar's funeral speech. 
Here we are standing in front of the Roman Forum. The coolest thing about going to Rome was learning the history of the place. I think I would have been more interested in history in school if I had had an experience like this. It is so much more interesting to visit the places you study.
Lastly, we have a picture of Robby drinking from a Roman water fountain. The water is fed to it by aqueducts. Pretty cool! When you see one of these concrete structures in Rome there is a pipe sticking out one side with one hole in the bottom and a second smaller hole in the top. When you want a drink you plug the hole on the bottom and water shoots upward out of the top hole for you to drink.Overall we only spent 2 days seeing the sites in Rome. It was our hardest city to navigate and communicate in. There are only 2 subway lines and the rest of the city is serviced by buses. We were never able to get a bus map, so we had to ask others which bus to get on and hope they had a clue. Also, there were fewer people that spoke English, so we had a hard time because we didn't know any Italian. Phrase books can only get you so far. It is handy if you can carry a pen and a small pad of paper to help with communication (especially when asking prices).
Would I go again? Yes, but only because there are some things in Rome that are so incredible to see in person like the Sistine Chapel.
Would I go again? Yes, but only because there are some things in Rome that are so incredible to see in person like the Sistine Chapel.
Europe 2006: An adventure on our day trip to Civita, Italy
Now this is Italy! Rome is really a tourist destination, so we were glad to take a break from the city and travel to see a really cool little town about 50 miles north of Rome called Civita (pronounced Chee-VEE-tah). This town is so unique because you can't drive into by car since it is surrounded on all sides by cliffs and a very picturesque valley. Check out Rick Steve's description of Civita if you want to learn more.
And here it is... Civita!
In order to get to Civita from Rome you have to take a train to one city and a bus to the city next door to Civita called Bagnoregio. Then you walk about 20 minutes to get through Bagnoregio and to the foot of the bridge to Civita (if you have a car you can drive to a parking lot next to the foot of the bridge). Then you walk about 10-15 minutes across the bridge that gets a lot steeper as you approach the city. Make sure you are in shape before you visit!
Being in Civita is like stepping back in time. The town has existed since the 12th century and over time the buildings that have been built here have eroded away with the land. Today there are only 14 residents, but it still survives!
The road that we walked on used be part of a road that connected Civita to the Tiber Valley and Rome.
Here is a view of the gorgeous valley that surrounds the town. In our Rick Steve's travel guide (which I highly recommend) he suggested that this valley is Italy's "grand canyon." It is truly breath-taking to see this beautiful valley surrounding the city.
Autumn was in the air and the leaves all around were showing their wonderful fall colors.
This is the door that leads to thin air. The rest of the building eroded away years ago with the land beneath it. We read that Civita at one time had five palaces. This one, as with several of the others, eventually disappeared.
This is what I think of when I picture Old World Italy! Here I am walking back to the bus in Bagnoregio. I loved the streets here.
Although it is hard to see, this picture shows a crowd of people standing next to our broken-down bus! We were glad though because it only took them about 10-12 minutes to send another bus for us. I must say we were so glad to get back to our room in Rome that night!
When we arrived at the room that night we found another reason that we had to count our blessings for being back safe and sound. In looking through our travel guides Robby found a warning about the bus inspectors. It reconfirmed the fact that many of them have no pity for uninformed tourists, and if you are caught with an invalid bus pass or without one completely they will fine you at least 70 euros a piece. If you do not have the cash on hand the inspectors are known to march you to an ATM machine where you are expected to with draw the amount. Well, we didn't have that much cash on us and we didn't bring our ATM cards! We had American travelers checks which we didn't know whether they would accept. It went on to say that if you could not get the money then they were known to throw you in jail for at least 24 hours! Yikes! At that point we were even more grateful that our inspectors had been understanding! (Especially since we had flights to Vienna scheduled for the next day!)
And here it is... Civita!
In order to get to Civita from Rome you have to take a train to one city and a bus to the city next door to Civita called Bagnoregio. Then you walk about 20 minutes to get through Bagnoregio and to the foot of the bridge to Civita (if you have a car you can drive to a parking lot next to the foot of the bridge). Then you walk about 10-15 minutes across the bridge that gets a lot steeper as you approach the city. Make sure you are in shape before you visit!
Being in Civita is like stepping back in time. The town has existed since the 12th century and over time the buildings that have been built here have eroded away with the land. Today there are only 14 residents, but it still survives!
The road that we walked on used be part of a road that connected Civita to the Tiber Valley and Rome.
Here is a view of the gorgeous valley that surrounds the town. In our Rick Steve's travel guide (which I highly recommend) he suggested that this valley is Italy's "grand canyon." It is truly breath-taking to see this beautiful valley surrounding the city.
Autumn was in the air and the leaves all around were showing their wonderful fall colors.
This is the door that leads to thin air. The rest of the building eroded away years ago with the land beneath it. We read that Civita at one time had five palaces. This one, as with several of the others, eventually disappeared.
This is what I think of when I picture Old World Italy! Here I am walking back to the bus in Bagnoregio. I loved the streets here.And now the real adventure...
Upon leaving Civita we embarked upon a very memorable experience! The trouble (little did we know) had started that morning, but we didn't realize it until our bus ride back. When we got to the bus station that morning we had a little bit of a problem communicating with the man in the ticket booth. He didn't speak English, and we didn't speak Italian! With some difficulty we communicated through gestures and broken Italian that we wanted to go to Bagnoregio. We thought he asked us whether we wanted return tickets for the same day and we said yes. (Apparently that wasn't what he said!) So we paid for our tickets (2 for each us for the two buses there and we thought for the two buses back), asked where the bus was, and got on.
Well the trip to Bagnoregio was uneventful, and we really enjoyed our walk to and through Civita. We even made extra sure we were back at the bus stop on time. We were careful to get on the right bus and stamped our ticket in the machine (although we didn't know it at the time we were fortunate that our ticket had not been stamped on the second bus to Bagnoregio because the machine had been broken). Surprisingly to us halfway through the trip we were told to get on another bus. (Apparently on the way back, there is a transfer.) As we got on the second bus we thought that the ticket we had stamped on the first return bus must still be valid so we stamped it on the second bus (2 stamps on one ticket).
Then the trouble started... at the next stop two Italian Bus Inspectors got on. At first we didn't think anything about it, but when one of the inspectors looked at our ticket with disapproval because it had been stamped twice (it would have been three times if the stamp machine had worked on our trip to Bagnoregio) we began to get nervous. We explained that when we bought the tickets we didn't know the return trip took an extra bus ride. The first inspector then went and got the second inspector, and they both stood over us eyeing our invalid tickets. Once again we explained that it was a mistake. We told him that we don't speak Italian and the man at the ticket booth didn't speak English so we misunderstood what he said. At this point we were told to wait right there in our seats and they walked away. Immediately , Robby turned to me and said, "Stay calm and say a prayer!"
Right here I must stop our adventure and explain why we were so worried. Before we had left for our trip I had read one woman's experience in Rome. She and her two boys (ages 11 and 7) had arrived in Rome several months back and were unfamiliar with the bus system. Most of the time you buy bus passes from magazine or tobacco stands, and occasionally you can buy them from the bus driver. Well she offered money to the bus driver and asked to buy a pass, but instead of giving her one he waved her to the back of the bus. She figured she could pay when she got off. Like us, at the next stop the bus inspectors got on, and when they discovered she and her boys had no passes they proceeded to fine her 250 euros! She tried to explain that it was a misunderstanding and offered to pay the fare, but they wouldn't leave her alone until she paid the full fine! She then said that bus inspectors in Rome can be very unforgiving sometimes. So now you understand our concern!
Back to our story... we waited patiently until we arrived at the bus station, and since the bus inspectors did not pull us aside (they were busy arguing with two other passengers who were Italian) we walked off toward the station (to buy a proper fare for the rest of the trip). As we were leaving the inspectors approached us, but fortunately the head inspector simply explained more clearly how the tickets worked and showed us to our new bus. Thankfully he had mercy on us! We were only dumb American tourists, you know!
We were so glad to pull away in the second bus and we figured our adventures were over! Or so we thought! About 10 minutes into the next bus ride our bus broke down and they made the whole load of people get off!
Upon leaving Civita we embarked upon a very memorable experience! The trouble (little did we know) had started that morning, but we didn't realize it until our bus ride back. When we got to the bus station that morning we had a little bit of a problem communicating with the man in the ticket booth. He didn't speak English, and we didn't speak Italian! With some difficulty we communicated through gestures and broken Italian that we wanted to go to Bagnoregio. We thought he asked us whether we wanted return tickets for the same day and we said yes. (Apparently that wasn't what he said!) So we paid for our tickets (2 for each us for the two buses there and we thought for the two buses back), asked where the bus was, and got on.
Well the trip to Bagnoregio was uneventful, and we really enjoyed our walk to and through Civita. We even made extra sure we were back at the bus stop on time. We were careful to get on the right bus and stamped our ticket in the machine (although we didn't know it at the time we were fortunate that our ticket had not been stamped on the second bus to Bagnoregio because the machine had been broken). Surprisingly to us halfway through the trip we were told to get on another bus. (Apparently on the way back, there is a transfer.) As we got on the second bus we thought that the ticket we had stamped on the first return bus must still be valid so we stamped it on the second bus (2 stamps on one ticket).
Then the trouble started... at the next stop two Italian Bus Inspectors got on. At first we didn't think anything about it, but when one of the inspectors looked at our ticket with disapproval because it had been stamped twice (it would have been three times if the stamp machine had worked on our trip to Bagnoregio) we began to get nervous. We explained that when we bought the tickets we didn't know the return trip took an extra bus ride. The first inspector then went and got the second inspector, and they both stood over us eyeing our invalid tickets. Once again we explained that it was a mistake. We told him that we don't speak Italian and the man at the ticket booth didn't speak English so we misunderstood what he said. At this point we were told to wait right there in our seats and they walked away. Immediately , Robby turned to me and said, "Stay calm and say a prayer!"
Right here I must stop our adventure and explain why we were so worried. Before we had left for our trip I had read one woman's experience in Rome. She and her two boys (ages 11 and 7) had arrived in Rome several months back and were unfamiliar with the bus system. Most of the time you buy bus passes from magazine or tobacco stands, and occasionally you can buy them from the bus driver. Well she offered money to the bus driver and asked to buy a pass, but instead of giving her one he waved her to the back of the bus. She figured she could pay when she got off. Like us, at the next stop the bus inspectors got on, and when they discovered she and her boys had no passes they proceeded to fine her 250 euros! She tried to explain that it was a misunderstanding and offered to pay the fare, but they wouldn't leave her alone until she paid the full fine! She then said that bus inspectors in Rome can be very unforgiving sometimes. So now you understand our concern!
Back to our story... we waited patiently until we arrived at the bus station, and since the bus inspectors did not pull us aside (they were busy arguing with two other passengers who were Italian) we walked off toward the station (to buy a proper fare for the rest of the trip). As we were leaving the inspectors approached us, but fortunately the head inspector simply explained more clearly how the tickets worked and showed us to our new bus. Thankfully he had mercy on us! We were only dumb American tourists, you know!
We were so glad to pull away in the second bus and we figured our adventures were over! Or so we thought! About 10 minutes into the next bus ride our bus broke down and they made the whole load of people get off!
Although it is hard to see, this picture shows a crowd of people standing next to our broken-down bus! We were glad though because it only took them about 10-12 minutes to send another bus for us. I must say we were so glad to get back to our room in Rome that night!
When we arrived at the room that night we found another reason that we had to count our blessings for being back safe and sound. In looking through our travel guides Robby found a warning about the bus inspectors. It reconfirmed the fact that many of them have no pity for uninformed tourists, and if you are caught with an invalid bus pass or without one completely they will fine you at least 70 euros a piece. If you do not have the cash on hand the inspectors are known to march you to an ATM machine where you are expected to with draw the amount. Well, we didn't have that much cash on us and we didn't bring our ATM cards! We had American travelers checks which we didn't know whether they would accept. It went on to say that if you could not get the money then they were known to throw you in jail for at least 24 hours! Yikes! At that point we were even more grateful that our inspectors had been understanding! (Especially since we had flights to Vienna scheduled for the next day!)
Europe 2006: And finally, Vienna
My favorite big city on our journey was Vienna. I hope to be able to go there again someday! We both loved attending the cutural events in Vienna. The first night we were there we managed to slip into the State Opera house and see the last act of the Opera Rigoletto. Vienna's performance halls have this cool thing where you can get super-cheap tickets and experience the performance in a "standing room" area. In the Opera House the standing room areas are off on either side and in the back of the upper balconies. From these locations you can only see about 2/3 to 3/4 of the stage, but for the 1 to 2 euros apiece (1 euro is about $1.35), it can't be beat!
Our first full day in Vienna began with a visit to St. Stephen's Cathedral in the center of the city. This cathedral has a really cool looking roof. You can see pictures of it in the article about the cathedral on wikipedia.
Our second stop that day was to Schloss Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the royalty of the Holy Roman Empire and its later successors, the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
This is a view of the gardens and Gloriette (the structure in the background) at Schonbrunn. I must say it was really neat to be able to visit France's Versailles and Austria's Schonbrunn in the same trip. Versailles was the mark to which much of the royalty across Europe tried to build their palaces. Schonbrunn was not quite as ornate as Versailles, but I would say it was more beautiful.
After we visited the palace we went to a cool music and science museum called Haus der Musik! I wish I had pictures from it, but cameras were not allowed. My favorite part of the Museum was the Virtual Vienna Philharmonic. They had it set up where you could conduct the Philharmonic and they would follow you if you conducted an easy 2 beat, up and down, up and down. If you messed up though, then some one would stand up and chew you out!
In the evening, we had the opportunity to attend another opera, only this time it was performed by marrionettes! This picture shows two of the marrionettes that this theater group has made. We saw the Opera, Mozart's Magic Flute. It was totally cool! These puppeteers are world class, and they can make the puppets move in such a way that sometimes you forget they are puppets! After the show we had the chance to go back stage and see how they do things. I learned that it takes years to become a great marrionette puppeteer! It is truly an art!
Our last day in Vienna happen to be a holiday called Austria Day! We were so excited because the Vienna Philharmonic was performing in the State Opera House and we were able to get standing room tickets for 1 euro a piece! How cool is that?! The performance was wonderful! I think attending the Philharmonic performance was the highlight of our stay in Vienna. We even splurged on a Vienna Philharmonic CD of their New Year's concert earlier this year set to remember it by. If you are curious, they played Mozart's 40th symphony and Beethoven's 7th.
Because of the holiday most of the Museums were either free or the admission was discounted. This was great for saving money! Our first museum stop was the Royal Treasury in the Hofburg Palace. Here we have the very ornate crown of the Holy Roman Emporer from the 10th century!
Our first full day in Vienna began with a visit to St. Stephen's Cathedral in the center of the city. This cathedral has a really cool looking roof. You can see pictures of it in the article about the cathedral on wikipedia.
Our second stop that day was to Schloss Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the royalty of the Holy Roman Empire and its later successors, the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
This is a view of the gardens and Gloriette (the structure in the background) at Schonbrunn. I must say it was really neat to be able to visit France's Versailles and Austria's Schonbrunn in the same trip. Versailles was the mark to which much of the royalty across Europe tried to build their palaces. Schonbrunn was not quite as ornate as Versailles, but I would say it was more beautiful.After we visited the palace we went to a cool music and science museum called Haus der Musik! I wish I had pictures from it, but cameras were not allowed. My favorite part of the Museum was the Virtual Vienna Philharmonic. They had it set up where you could conduct the Philharmonic and they would follow you if you conducted an easy 2 beat, up and down, up and down. If you messed up though, then some one would stand up and chew you out!
In the evening, we had the opportunity to attend another opera, only this time it was performed by marrionettes! This picture shows two of the marrionettes that this theater group has made. We saw the Opera, Mozart's Magic Flute. It was totally cool! These puppeteers are world class, and they can make the puppets move in such a way that sometimes you forget they are puppets! After the show we had the chance to go back stage and see how they do things. I learned that it takes years to become a great marrionette puppeteer! It is truly an art!Our last day in Vienna happen to be a holiday called Austria Day! We were so excited because the Vienna Philharmonic was performing in the State Opera House and we were able to get standing room tickets for 1 euro a piece! How cool is that?! The performance was wonderful! I think attending the Philharmonic performance was the highlight of our stay in Vienna. We even splurged on a Vienna Philharmonic CD of their New Year's concert earlier this year set to remember it by. If you are curious, they played Mozart's 40th symphony and Beethoven's 7th.
Because of the holiday most of the Museums were either free or the admission was discounted. This was great for saving money! Our first museum stop was the Royal Treasury in the Hofburg Palace. Here we have the very ornate crown of the Holy Roman Emporer from the 10th century!
And here we have one of Charlemagne's successors, Robert of Arizona!
After we saw the treasury we enjoyed some of the Austria Day celebrations taking place in the Hofburg Palace courtyard. There was a huge crowd of people, booths to show off their military power, and lots of food stands. Yum! Yum! I got to have a nut-bread pretzel and Robby ate bratwurst. Then we wandered over to the Art Museum in Vienna called the Kunsthistorisches which houses the Hapsburg's royal art collection.
After we saw the treasury we enjoyed some of the Austria Day celebrations taking place in the Hofburg Palace courtyard. There was a huge crowd of people, booths to show off their military power, and lots of food stands. Yum! Yum! I got to have a nut-bread pretzel and Robby ate bratwurst. Then we wandered over to the Art Museum in Vienna called the Kunsthistorisches which houses the Hapsburg's royal art collection.
This was our last night together on the trip. While walking back to our room we saw this beautiful picture. When we first noticed it the moon had been higher in the sky, but it took us a few minutes to get situated where we could take a picture. I loved the silouette of the church against the sky with the crescent moon shining on one side.
All in all this trip will always be a fond memory for Robby and me. I am determined to make sure there is a "next time." What would really be fun is to go with Robby's brothers Tommy and Forrest and his Dad because then we would have translators for German, French, Spanish, and Russian. That would definitely make the trip a lot easier! Now we just need Logan to gain some experience in some other European language and we would really be set! How about Norwegian (or Swedish for Kaci!)
Okay, so if you want to see our complete photo album from this trip check out our family site's Media Library. There's also a video clip of highlights for you to enjoy! And if we are lucky, Robby will fill you in on a future blog to his personal favorite moments.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
A night at the Farm
Andra has been a lot more prompt in her blogging than I have been lately, so many of you have already read about our trip early in October to a local farm/amusment park near her house. This local farm has celebrations during the month of October and for a fee you can pick pumpkins, bounce in bounce houses, ride on amusement park rides, ride a train, take a hay ride, and go through a corn maze. Andra and I had always wanted check it out so we decided to take the opportunity to go while Grandma was visiting.
I just couldn't resist getting this picture. For those of you who know my husband's family, you may know that their high school mascot is the Farmer. They call themselves the Fighting Farmers, so when I saw Flying Farmers I just had to get our real "Farmers" next to it for a picture.
I just couldn't resist getting this picture. For those of you who know my husband's family, you may know that their high school mascot is the Farmer. They call themselves the Fighting Farmers, so when I saw Flying Farmers I just had to get our real "Farmers" next to it for a picture.
And here's our little Flying Farmer.
And here we have our little smiler.
Little did you know, we are starting our own farm!
The farm had a very old carousel from the early 1900s there. Here we have a Chap face.
And here we have Jenna imitating a Chap face... Jenna thought it was funny because several times during the carousel ride the mechanics of the ride would get caught and the whole thing would jerk up and down. When it stopped she would grab on tight, grit her teeth, and bounce up and down trying to make it do it again.
I think Jenna's favorite part was wandering through the pumpkin patch (and testing the smaller pumpkins by throwing them. I guess if they bounce they are good.)
And last of all we have Chap in the corn maze. The whole time we were there Lil' Robby could not wait to go through the corn maze. We didn't get started till after dark, and it was just Lil' Robby and me. I let him lead the way. Fortunately we weren't in there very long (I don't think we made it very far into the maze, we just happen to find an alternate route from the entrance). While we were in there I thought for sure some kid was going to come jumping out of the corn to scare us because I could hear other people walking through the corn and not on the paths.
To see more about this trip see Andra's blog entry called October Adventure. Also check out Matthew's moment in the spot light with 6 or 7 other kids in the video clip titled Human Hurdles!
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