Soaking up the Sun

We now find ourselves in Little Rock, where we have the pleasure of resting our heads each night in the Lewis/Matson Home.  It is always so familiar, comforting, and mellow to be  in the Rock.  The weather has been hot and sunny, which we have really enjoyed due to the fact that we are able to swim in our good friend Martha's pool whenever we want (every afternoon!) .  Jacob was in Toronto all last week at a conference, but Hersh and I got along just fine, enjoying the day to day.

Our belongings from Seattle had been stored in Little Rock all year, and are now on a moving truck en route to our new home in Silver Spring.  This week we will also ship our car.  The final pieces are in motion and we are so looking forward to unpacking into our new home!

Montgomery County Fair!

Hersh and Lewes=BFF!

Relaxing on the porch

Swatting flies at Lakeside

Smelling the flowers

I'm a lion!

Sharing with Savta and Bamom

Worn out after dancing with Sabba

Practicing blowing the shofar with Savta

Family Breakfast

Washing grapes with Bamom

16 months old!

The Intermediate Period

Well, I know my last blog post said "The End," but I have received numerous requests to continue the blog, even though our time in Vienna has ended.  I think I will have to come up with a new name for the blog, but for now we will keep things as is, and revamp the blog when the time seems right.

We have had a very busy two weeks since leaving Vienna.  From Vienna we flew to DC, spent a night at a hotel, and then headed down to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for some r & r with Sabba and Savta.  St. Thomas is beautiful and we had a great time.  Each day we checked out a different beach, snorkeled and enjoyed a late afternoon frozen drink.  Hersh loved being with his grandparents and really enjoyed playing in the sand.  And, for a reason unbeknownst to me, he did not experience jet lag this trip at all!  It has been amazing!

From St. Thomas we headed to DC, where we currently are.  We have spent the last week checking things off of our to do list.  We found a super cute house in Silver Spring, about a half mile from downtown.  I accepted a job at Beth El Preschool in Bethesda, and we are in the process of finding a nanny share for Hersh.  Needless to say, it has been busy, but very productive.  Emily was with us all last week and it was so helpful to have her with us.  She spent a lot of time with Hersh, which allowed us to accomplish without having to drag Hersh around.  This week will be a bit more low key, as we will be balancing getting things done and operating on the schedule of a 1 year old.  Needless to say, exciting times for the Lewis Family!

Happy Family!

Ready for an adventure!

After a swim.

Hershel and Savta

Heading home.

Finding shells.

Relaxing with Sabba.

The gang.

My boys.

The end.

We have reached the end.  Today is our final day in Vienna.  We fly back to the States tomorrow morning.  It is surreal that today is here, as it seemed that today, the final day, was always weeks away.  The past few days have been consumed with saying good bye to different friends, trips to our favorite places, packing, and having different items picked up from our apartment by people who have purchased our belongings.  This afternoon the international movers and our landlord will come by. 


There is so much that could be said, but at the same time, there are really no words.  We are done here and it has been a beautiful, once in a lifetime experience.  We are eternally grateful that we have had this year together here in Vienna.  We can only hope that whatever the next chapter of our life brings will allow us to continue down a path of truth and happiness.

Painting on the kitchen floor:

Atop Stephensdome:

Packing:

Hydrating.

15 months old!

The Miss List

The following is a list of things that we either will or won't miss about living in Vienna.  The will's and the won'ts are intermixed, so you will have to use your deductive skills to understand each item.  Also, the list is in no particular order.

1-Laugenzopf from BackWerk
2-old Austrian ladies scolding me or telling me what to do
3-strangers on public transport who interact with and enjoy Hersh
4-t-shirts that say something in English that lead me to believe that the person wearing the shirt must not actually understand what the shirt says
5-the fact that everything is closed on Sunday
6-______ g'spritzt (fill in the blank with any sort of beverage)
7-Otgo
8-Dr. Sattler-Ertl--"Yah, they do dat."
9-Stadtpark and the occasional baguette from Rudolf Olz
10-Schonbrunn
11-Tiergarten Schonbrunn
12-the U3, and trams 10 and 49
13-H&M, especially the kids sections
14-VBC
15-the beginning of "work week vegan"
16-the internet
17-Flughafen Wien
18-the voice of the announcer on public transport--"Dr. Kaarrl Rennnner Riing," "Ausstieg Links."
19-Merkur, DM, Penny Markt BioMarkt, asian market
20-our produce guy and our Iraqi goods guy at the MeislMarkt
21-fresh Felber Butterstreizl every Friday
22-the "gypsy" on the U3 who doesn't really seem to be a gypsy
23-elevator etiquette
24-schwimmen at the Hallenbad Hutteldorf
25-berries at Heitzing
26-the ergo cover
27-Hersh saying "bung, bung" every time he hears the bells chime

 

Savoring each day

Now that we are in the home stretch, I find that we are truly savoring each moment and each privilege that our life in Vienna has afforded us.  From the outings we are taking to the midday naps that we enjoy while Hersh naps, this has been a sweet year.  That is not to say that this year did not have its ups and downs, which it did, but overall, this year has been a gift.

It feels like the end snuck up on us.  It always seemed like August 2 was far off, yet now it is almost here.  We have spent much of the past week packing, sorting, having International Movers come and assess our belongings, and start to sell our things  We have also been doing some more touristy outings, as the clock is ticking and there are a few more things to see!

Last week we visited the Leopold Museum, which has a wonderful collection.  Although, I have to say, it is the least child friendly place we have been in all of Vienna.  In my opinion, Vienna is an incredibly child friendly city.  Well, let's just say that when we asked the coat check at the Leopold if we could leave our pram so that we wouldn't have to drag it around the galleries, it was like we were the first people to ever bring a child or a pram to the museum.  We also visited the Naschmarkt one more time, and just had our final meal at Cafe Dammeyer.  We are also enjoying our zoo membership as much as we can before we leave, and I must say, yesterday morning's visit to the zoo was amazing!  We saw the baby giraffe, which has a spring in its step!  We enjoyed nice view of the lioness, and got so close to two hippos that we literally could have reached out and touched them.  In fact, as the hippos got closer and closer, Jacob started to tell me all about how hippos are the most dangerous animals in all of Africa, and kill the most humans.  Well, that is when I suggested that we begin to step away.  We also saw panda bears and a baby panda, giant turtles, black and white salamanders eating fish, and flamingos.  It was really amazing!

We will see what this last week will bring, but we plan to enjoy every minute!

Mini Heirlooms--delish!

Grasshopper on our balcony during the rain.

Exploring the grasshopper.

Naschmarkt:

Leopold Museum:

Tiergarten Schonbrunn:

Giant turtle.

Inspecting the statue.

Getting ready to climb on the lion's back.