An Early Christmas

I love Christmas. As cliché as it may sound, this really is my favorite time of the year. I love the gathering of family and friends, the warmth that abounds and the reflection that takes place. The cookies aren’t too bad, either.

Now, at this point, we’ve been traveling for almost 4 months. We’ve packed and unpacked our things in more than 35 hotels, been on 37 flights and have traveled by almost every conceivable means of transport- from ferry to train, plane, ox cart, elephant, reindeer sleigh and dog-sled. It has been a surprise to us how mentally tiring it can be to constantly face only the new and unknown.  So, we were truly ready to have something familiar back in our lives. The timing was perfect for seeing familiar faces.

Christmas came a bit early this year, and on December 6th we had 8 family members meet us in Vienna! It was incredible to see my brother Max at my door, and my soon to be sister-in-law, Kristan and smash them with big hugs. When Malin, Jimmy and their family arrived from Sweden, I was so happy I thought I was dreaming. And then my Mom and Darryl came and there was a peace and comfort that came in having so many of us together again and I felt like we were at home. We had several hotel rooms, but at night we drank wine on tiny hotel couches while the kids slept. We laughed and shared stories of life and I was reminded once again how grateful I am to have such wonderful family. So, all this is to say, it’s their fault that you haven’t heard from us in awhile, because we have been busy!

Vienna is decked out for the holidays. Massive light displays hang over the streets- with everything from chandeliers to 10 foot red lit balls. It seemed as though each street had its own character. There were about 20 Christmas markets in Vienna and we were eager to see them and explore.

We had a wonderful base in Vienna, located at Stephanplatz, and we were directly across from the famous cathedral. The first night, we strolled outside while it snowed, and visited the Christmas market on our doorstep. There were wooden stalls decorated with fresh garland and lights, each stall selling something special. We loved seeing the massive pretzels, gingerbread, ornaments, handmade crafts, and best of all, the gluhwein. Gluhwein is hot mulled wine, that comes in red or white, flavored in many different ways, and it’s quite strong and helps keep you toasty on cold winter nights.

We spent one fun day visiting Schonbrunn, a palace of the Hapsburg Empire. We stopped in some famous coffee shops, took a carriage ride in the middle of the city and went and looked at the treasures of the once mighty Hapsburg Dynasty (Luna especially liked those). At the Children’s Museum, we all played dress up together. We had big family dinners, with laughter and fun conversation. And that was Vienna.