Meine Klein Welt

Haus des Meeres

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On Friday we took a trip to the Haus des Meeres with our friends the Stocketts.

Haus des Meeres

The Haus des Meeres is Vienna’s aquarium. It’s built in an old Flakturm, which I think is an awesome way to redeem a not so awesome thing.

We got to see lots of fun creatures.

Haus des Meeres

We also got to watch an amazing sunset from the roof. You can walk all the way around the turm, thus getting a 360 degree view of Vienna. Beautiful!

Haus des Meeres

We finished our visit with a rousing game of Peek-a-Boo. Pretty great day all around.

Haus des Meeres

 You can see more pictures here: Haus des Meeres

I’m a Guest Blogger!

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My sweet friend, Jill, asked me to write a guest post on her blog “Joy in the Small Things.” I wrote a little about our story, but mostly about how we find joy in the midst of life’s ups and downs. You can read the post here – Gnade: Our Story.

You should check out Jill’s blog and her shop. You can even like her on Facebook. She makes these awesome folk art banners. Ours says “gnade” which is German for grace.

Bleigiessen in der Silvesternacht

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New Year’s Eve in Vienna is something that we are going to miss greatly when we return to the States. There are fireworks, and fun hats, and Gluehwein, and a fun little tradition called Bleigiessen.

New Year's 2012

Bleigiessen is a game that is played after the toast on New Year’s Eve. Each person melts a small piece of lead over candle flame in a special spoon. The pieces of lead are in the shapes of things that are considered good luck or are associated with New Year’s Eve: mushrooms, bottles of Sekt, pigs, gold coins, clovers. Once the lead is melted, you drop it into cold water. It instantly cools into a new shape.

New Year's Eve 2012

After the lead cools, you must decide what you think it looks like. Each shape is supposed to tell you what kind of luck you’ll have in the new year. We decided that our lead took the following shapes:

A: Drache (Dragon) – Victory

B: Jagdhorn (Hunting Horn) – Great luck will come to your house.

C: Quelle (Natural Spring) – You will have enviable health.

D: Geweih (Antlers) – Do not gamble when the stakes are high.

E: Elefant (Elephant) – You will need to have thick skin in your professional life.

This is a bit like opening a fortune cookie, but a lot more interactive.  We hope that you all had a great New Year’s Eve!

Awesome Giveaway!

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Sherry over at Oh So Lovely is giving away 2, yes 2, awesome prints from Restyle Design Prints. My biggest problem with this giveaway is that if I win, there is no way I can choose only two. I love them all! Here are my top choices:

Of course, if I choose The Return of the Jedi, you know I’ll have to get the whole set.

Head over to Oh So Lovely to enter yourself. Don’t be mad at me, though, if I hope you don’t win. 🙂