Long time no blog... Notes from Vienna

I suppose it's a sign of having been in London for a while that I don't consider everyday life to be blog-worthy. I'm not so jaded that I don't appreciate the quaint pub or cool old church...but I promised to keep the posts sparse and interesting, so I've waited for another trip to come up before posting.

For those that haven't heard, Anya and I are expecting a little lad or lassie in August. So we are packing in the travel while we can.

nice backdrop for the day

Trips are in the books for the next few months to Spain, Portugal, Scotland, France and Italy as we take advantage of friends visiting and national holidays.

I hope the little nugget gets a scholarship, because at this point I'm spending the tuition money on surfing and sangria.

But first, Austria! Our very generous friends Valya and Martin put us up in a nice apartment (normally rented to tourists) during our 3 day trip out.

at the ice rink

We also took advantage of the annual ice festival, which featured a huge skating rink with ice-covered pathways around the park where you could "stroll" on skates. Very cool. 

Sunday market
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This was my second time in Vienna and I'm still taken by how grand the city is. No surprise that it's still known as a place of history and classical music and balls. We wandered around and saw the sites. 

WWJD? Probably not put a billboard on His church, I'd guess. 

view from the castle

It was also my birthday weekend and we headed to the countryside with Martin and Valya's two lively and fun boys, Ferdinand and Severin (Dina and Syeva). 

We hiked through Austrian wine country and had a great home-style lunch with local wine. We also scrambled up a mountainside to explore ruins of Rauhenstein Castle.

lunch stop in a small town

exploring the castle ruins

This was a highlight as the castle was simply empty and open for exploration. Apparently it dates from the 12th century and was owned by a family of knights. I found unsubstantiated information online that said it was frequented by Ludwig van Beethoven, who's nephew apparently tried to commit suicide there. Good times!

back at the ranch, my great teammates provided me with a birthday cake