More Esswein's in Europe

I just counted (again) how many days I have left in Vienna. Fourteen. Only 14 more days left before I head to Bratislava, then London, then home. There’s still so much to do! I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

Well a few big things: First off, I just started working with another family about 3 weeks ago. Crazy, I know since I’m leaving so soon, but they’re American and have a 6 month old baby. The Dad works for the UN and they just moved to Vienna, so the Mom said she’d be willing to have me babysit at least for a little while that I’ll be here. I’ve really enjoyed this family and wish it would have worked out for me to have worked for them longer, but hopefully we will be able to keep in touch.

Secondly, Ben’s parents just visited us! They arrived on Tuesday the 17^th of April and we got to do a lot of the touristy things since they were here, obviously St. Stephan’s and Hermesvilla as well as the Hofburg, plus Café Landtmann . During the first weekend they were here, we took a trip to a little Austrian town, Mittersill where we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, did a little exploring in the rain, and checked out the castle there. We also got to go to Munich (which was only 2 hours way) to meet up with a second-cousin of Ben’s mother. We had a good time, but weren’t in Munich long (next time I go to Munich I need to spend more than 24 hours there! Haha). We went to a Bierhalle got some souvenirs, then headed back to Mittersill. Ben’s parents left for Italy the Monday after they arrived and were there there until that Thursday, then they came back to Vienna to spend more time with us before heading back to the States. Thankfully they arrived home safely and they were even able to take home some of our space bagged clothes and souvenirs.

Thankfully, we’ve been doing better financially so we’ve been catching up on all our souvenirs, and will hopefully be able to finish soon. I believe we only have 8 or so souvenirs left to buy, and since we’re going to Prague this weekend, we’ll be able to get a few out of the way while there. The plan for this week is to get as many as I can, but also try to enjoy being in Vienna. While I’m thinking about it, here are a few things I want to do before I leave:

-Another picnic or some sort of gathering with the rest of the Fulbright gang before I leave

-Prague

-A nice brunch out by Heitzing (Ben and I have found this place that has a great deal for a huge breakfast, and haven’t been able to go yet!)

-Hookah bar

-Finish buying souvenirs and ship them home!

-Heurigen (as many times as possible)

-One more opera- “The Barber of Seville”


Ben and I are doing a last little “vacation” before I leave and are going to spend the weekend in Prague, checking out the castle, doing some shopping, and overall just enjoy being together for one of our last weekends left before I head home. I plan to get a lot of shopping done, mostly crystal.  

Prost! Ben and I at Cafe Landtmann on a lovely afternoon with his parents.