I know you're jealous, but....

....yesterday we went to the Imperial Furniture Depot of the Habsburg Dynasty, and it was AMAZING!!!

We actually went because it was freezing out and we had free tickets, but it turned out to be a great indoor activity.  I mean, we have never seen so many footstools, chamberpots, and chairs before in our life.  Definitely a worthwhile museum and I think that we will visit more of these types of museums in the coming months.

Hersh got his very first cold this week--booooooo-- so we have kept things pretty mellow.  Lots of neighborhood walks.  One snowy afternoon we decided to take a quick outing down to the Schonbrunn Christmas Market for some hot cocoa.  It was actually quite magical--beautiful lights and delicious cocoa in the courtyard of a palace while the snow fell all around us.

We also went to the University of Vienna Math and Physics Department Christmas party and it was quite the party.  Lots of punsch with plum schnapps, amazing Christmas cookies, and other strange hors d'œuvre that we couldn't quite identify the ingredients of, but overall a great time.  Although, as with all Math social gatherings, there was a certain element of awkwardness and strange social interaction, thus we spent the party with our good friends, and didn't meet anyone else.

We are now preparing for our trip back to the States.  We leave on Friday and can't wait to be back on our home soil.  We will both have our (917) phone numbers turned back on for the month that we are in the States--looking forward to talking to you all soon!

Schonbrunn at Christmas

Enjoying hot cocoa!

Nuss Schumpfnudeln served with warm apfelmuss.

organic sauerkraut juice.

 Bath Time Series (we couldn't choose just one!):

Imperial Furniture Museum:

Chairs.

Tons of "artifacts."

Royal footstools.

Hersh on a hippo.

This green chair was remarkably similar to white chairs that were in our college dorm.

More chairs.

Gift from the Austrian Jewish Community in Jerusalem to the Kaiser, 1916.

Loungin' with the Habsburgs.

Chamberpots--this picture is specifically for Matt Kassoff.

In hibernation

We are officially in hibernation.  It's really cold, thus we didn't venture further than our own little neighborhood much this past week.  Jacob worked from home many days, which was very nice, and Hersh and I took some cold, but sunny mid-day walks.  We did visit the Technical Museum, which is like a Science and Industry Museum, and that was pretty interesting.

Hope you enjoy the pictures below! 

getting ready to make dinner!

Rasta Hersh!

riding a pony!

mmm.... Christmas cookies.

Snow and Hanukah....

....that about sums up our week.  This past week it snowed, a lot.  It pretty much snowed from last Sunday through Friday and then the temperature dropped and it became freezing.  I'm not talking about cold, I'm talking freezing--like in the single digits.  Rumor has it that it can get below zero here.  Needless to say, we'd be totally fine if we don't get to experience those temperatures.

Besides the snow we have also been celebrating Hersh's first Hanukah.  He loves lighting the candles and "sings" along with the blessings.  He gets so excited when we dim the lights and light the candles, it is really special.  As a Hanukah gift, Jacob got us tickets to the Frida Kahlo exhibit.  The exhibit is on extension  because it has been so popular, and it was amazing.  Her life and works are so complicated.  The gallery was crowded, but we really enjoyed it nonetheless.

On Sunday we made latkes and matzoh ball soup and celebrated Hanukah with some friends. It was fun to cook familiar foods and we couldn't help reflect how good it felt to celebrate Hanukah in a country that after World War II, probably didn't think Jews would be celebrating anymore.

having just come in from the snow.

Hersh with Frida Kahlo.

Happy Hanukah!

"nach Oma's Rezept"..."Just like Grandma's recipe"

latkes!

 

We just can't get enough of the bear cub hat!

Brrrrrr.......

The most amazing thing happened this week--Jacob ironed!  Since we arrived in September there has been a pile of shirts and pants at the bottom of Jacob's closet.  Yesterday, Jacob asked me, in a rhetorical fashion, "did I bring any corduroy pants?" and thus, the excavation and ironing began.  This is good, since Jacob wore the same orange sweater (featured in a picture below) every single day last week.

Our week began by visiting the Belvedere Castle, which is where Prince Eugene, a French prince who was invited to live in Austria by the Hapsburgs lived.  It is a beautiful castle with lovely grounds.  The afternoon we were there was very chilly, which made for a beautiful sky.

On Thanksgiving day, we went out to a delicious lunch at a great vegetarian restaurant, Wrenkh.  Hersh sat at the table and enjoyed lunching.  He of course captured the attention of the ladies at the table next to us. We proceeded to chat with them and learned that they were Italian Jews, some of whom live here in Austria and others who live in Israel.  We chatted about Hersh's name, where our families are from, and the fact that quinoa is kosher for Passover.  The elderly lady at the table, who did not speak English, only Hebrew, German, and Italian, made her daughter ask me if my hair was natural or a wig because it looked so perfect!  I often have people ask me if my hair is natural, but the way she asked was a quintesential combination of Jewish grandmother and pushy Israeli--both amazing and endearing. We then visited the Albertina museum and saw the Picasso exhibit, which all three of us really enjoyed.  There was also a Michelangelo exhibit, which was all sketches, and was not as interesting to Hersh.

Hersh officially has two teeth and is moving more and more each day.  He is actually quite frustrated with himself, as it seems that he would really like to crawl.  We are pretty sure that it'll happen any day now.  We have also had snow over the past few days.  Nothing too crazy--just a couple of inches each night, and it melts pretty quickly.

Happy Hanukah!

ready for an outing--Hersh and the orange sweater.

 Belvedere Castle:

Checking out the Picasso exhibit.

winter coat!

on the U-bahn

bear cub hat!

Yup, it's winter now.

Here we are, late November, and the winter is here.  Each day is chillier and chillier and I am sure that it will snow one day soon. To be honest, I'm totally bummed that it's winter.  I prefer a mild winter where I never really have to wear a winter jacket.  Puffy vest is about as "bundled" as I want to get.

Jacob attended a conference this past weekend here at the University, and Hersh is busy teething!  That's right, he is getting his front bottom two teeth, which is very exciting, but also very painful.  The teething caused Hersh to run his very first fever, which was not fun for him or for us.  Fortunately he is feeling better and Jacob is convinced that Hersh is a much more proficient chewer now, due to the fact that a millimeter of one tooth is visible.

Christmas markets have sprung up all over the city and they are beautiful.  Lights, crafts, and amazing treats!  Hot wine, baked goods, candy, really anything one could imagine.  There is no need to plan to go to a Christmas market, since they are everywhere, one simply stumbles upon them.  Last week Hersh and I visited the Museum of Natural History--it was truly incredible.  So vast and old.  The corridors seemed to go on forever. 

We will be having an expat Thanksgiving this weekend, but hope that all of our loved ones in the States have a wonderful holiday!

Rathaus

Enjoying warm punsch.

"You are the woman of my dreams."

Chillaxin.

Having fun, thinking about maybe crawling...one day.

After the bath--squeaky clean!