QUICK LOOK:
Location: 4th District (Wieden)
Main Attractions: Schonbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Mozarthaus, Kinderbucherei der Weltsprachen
Holidays: Lunar New Year, Super Bowl, Shrove Tuesday, Valentine's Day
VIENNA - We made it to Vienna! Our flight was shorter and smoother than our flight to London, but the trek to our apartment was a little less smooth (quite bumpy, literally) and quite entertaining (in retrospect). With all our luggage, we decided to take the train and then walk the 20 minutes to the apartment. We knew with our chosen route (through the Belevedere Palace gardens), we would have to go up and down a few steps; but, we were hopeful that the serenity of the gardens would make the journey all the better. However, we forgot about the gravel and, therefore, didn’t take into account the challenge of dragging luggage across gravel or picking up and carrying 10 to 20+ kilograms through the visiting crowds. All that being said, we made it and the girls did impressively well given the circumstances of having woken up at 4:30 am for an early drive and flight and barely napping on the train from the airport to the station where we began our 20-minute walk. True adventurers.
Our apartment is located in the 4th district - Wieden neighborhood (side note: you can find the district number hidden in the middle of the postal code. For example, 1040 equals the 4th district). It's walking distance to two U-Bahn stations, several grocery stores (Billa, Spar, and Hofer), a church with a small playground, and even a few kindergruppen (children's groups). One is actually located in our building (not that we are utilizing one). One of the best parts about staying in a location for a month+ is that we can unpack and just let the apartment be our home. We can buy groceries, cook meals, organize clothes and toiletries, unpack the girls' toys and activities, and just live.
Our first few days, we balanced exploration with routine. On our first day, we ventured out to Schönbrunn Palace and gardens. Although it is winter here in Vienna and flowers are not in bloom, it was still really beautiful and refreshing. The Palace grounds are open to all and I could easily see myself walking through it often if I lived near it. Another palace we enjoyed (on another day) was the Belevedere Palace and gardens. This was the same area we trekked through the first day we arrived, but we had to go back a second time without luggage. And this time, we had some one-on-one dates with each of our girls.
Side note: the day we went to Belevedere Palace, Vienna had this epiphany about Austrians spelling "Vienna" like "Wien" (pronounced "Veen"). Innocently, she began making paper notes writing "My name is Vienna" on them with the idea of passing them out. Her reasoning—so Austrians learn how she spells her name "Vienna" instead of "Wien." She didn't want them to be confused. I thought this was darling, but I am biased.
Throughout the week, we walked by the Vienna State Opera, ate at Naschmarkt, had Viennese chocolate wafers (Manner), strolled by Mozarthaus (one of Mozart's homes where he appeared to have stayed the longest and been the happiest), had apple strudel and coffee at Leopold Hawelka, went to St. Stephen's Cathedral (among others), went to Kinderbucherei der Weltsprachen (an international children's library), found a very welcoming, small Adventist church (English-speaking) where we met a lady whose daughter moved to San Francisco, explored various parks, and more.
Can we just take a moment to admire Vienna's pedestrian signal in its city center?
Since our days are interspersed with some at-home education (e.g. writing, reading, numbers, arts, etc.), we ventured to Muller to pick up some supplies. I have never been a natural teacher, but I love promoting and encouraging our girls' learning through both outside exploration and inside creativity. Children's capacity to learn is truly amazing.
On Friday, the girls were supposed to have their first ballet class in Vienna at English Dance Academy (EDA) Wien. However, as we were waiting for the S-Bahn (the above ground tram), we noticed trams were not coming by on our side of the street. Then, we saw 10-20 polizei (police) race by over the next ten minutes. I am still not quite sure what happened, but trams heading our way were delayed and there was no other route to take except for a taxi. By that point, it was too late. So, I emailed the dance director (she responded very positively) and we decided to start ballet class next week. Even though I was mildly disappointed (girls were very flexible about it all), we made good of the situation and headed to what ended up being a really fun and active park. The girls loved the rope climbing structure the most, but they also enjoyed sliding down the skate park ramps (which were, apparently, frequented by young children more than skateboarders and bicyclists). In the end, it was quite a fabulous start to the weekend.
"Everyday may not be good,
but there's something good in everyday."
Alice Morse Earle
Auf Wiedersehen!
What a beautiful city.You four make it more beautiful. Have a wonderful time.
It’s so exciting the girls are getting to explore so much, and it’s only Week 2! How special for Vienna to spend time in the city that inspired her name. We hope they’re both loving it!