Meine Klein Welt

Barn Dance

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barn-dance-2

On Saturday we went to our church’s 10th annual barn dance. We’re very glad we went not only because it was loads of fun, but because this is the last year they will be doing it. We got to get out of the city and spend time in the country. Yay!

Since we went a little early to help set-up, I got to run around and take a bunch of pictures of wildflowers and butterflies. It was such a beautiful day! (Mom, you would have loved the variety of wildflowers.)

wildflowers

The food was really good. They had several different kinds of meat, veggie salads, potato salad, Knoedel (dumplings), and homemade apple pie.                 Y-U-M-M-Y!

The dancing was super fun to watch. It was mostly Scottish square dancing with a caller and everything. I say fun to watch because those dances were complicated! I just resorted to taking pictures. Matt resorted to eating apple pie. But our super coordinated friends Jeff, Bethany, and Sandi all got out there and danced away.

It was a great time to hang out with our church friends and work on meeting new people. We are really enjoying our church and the awesome people there. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us to build relationships at church. We really appreciate it.

There are lots of pictures here: Barn Dance

barn-dance

Spring in Vienna

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Spring is here! Hallelujah! We just started back to school after a week of Easter vacation. For the break, we decided to stay in Vienna and enjoy this amazing city that we live in. The weather was gorgeous all week. We went to the park, ate the first ice cream of the season (there actually is an ice cream season in Vienna – it’s my favorite season), bought some patio furniture, went to the Ostermärkte, had friends over for dinner, enjoyed Easter at the Wells’ house, and even babysat our friends’ boys for a day. It was a great break!

You can see lots of pictures here: Spring and Easter

easter

Glühwein Warms the Soul

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Glühwein

Allow me to introduce you to Glühwein.

Glühwein is a traditional cold weather drink in Austria. It is available all winter long from little wooden Hütten dotting the streets and outdoor markets of Vienna.

Glühwein, also know as mulled wine, is typically red wine mulled with spices such as cinnamon and cloves served piping hot.

Nothing warms the body and soul on a cold winter day quite like a steaming mug of  Glühwein.

Party Animal

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funny_hat_lady One of the fun things about living in Vienna is New Year’s Eve. People young and old traipse around the city enjoying the live music, wearing funny hats, and maybe even throwing a fire cracker or two.

I’m not usually one to judge fashion, but I’m pretty sure that hat doesn’t go with the fur coat. To each their own, I suppose.

I was sporting a pig hat and my Penn sweatshirt. Much more tasteful if you ask me.

Decision 2008: In Austria

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This was the picture on the front page of the “Heute” this morning. The “Heute” is a free daily newspaper available in all Ubahn(subway) stations. Roughly translated, the text says:

* Change – The black Kennedy has done it.

* The Blitz – Special edition about Barack Obamas’s clear victory

* All the news, photos about the US Election.

The typical European, and Austria is no exception, is unapologetically pro-Obama. After the last presidential election many Europeans I know were completely baffled as to how George W. Bush was elected for a second term. They honestly couldn’t begin to comprehend why anyone, much less the majority of Americans, would cast their vote for him.

There are a few reasons for that and I think a lot of those pertain to the fact that the issues effecting the average European are not as broad as the ones that effect the average American. Europeans see a fumbled war in Iraq, a financial meltdown, and a frankly uncharsimatic Commander in Chief.  And while these issues are important to Americans, things like domestic tax policy, education and health care reform, and ethical issues such as abortion also factor into the mix.

What was really interesting to me is how fervently people in Europe supported Obama. It wasn’t like this when John Kerry ran 4 years ago. Sure Europeans disliked Bush and wanted him out of office, but I never saw people walking around Vienna with John Kerry buttons pinned to their lapels. I’ve seen Obama buttons and T-shirts worn by European Obama supporters, and I used to think, “Why do they care?” They can’t even vote.”

Now I think a bit differently. Europeans care because the actions of the US President effect the whole world.  This is clearly demonstrated by a number of decisions, but two big ones are the War on Terror and the current financial meltdown. Each of these circumstances has had a profound effect on the world. It’s not only US troops fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, and terror attacks have been seen in England, Spain, and Denmark just to name a few. Likewise, the financial crisis has a broader impact than the borders of the USA and has bottomed out stock markets in Europe, Asia and beyond.

So even though they don’t have official votes, I think it wise for people in Europe to care who our president is. And for better or worse they agree with the nearly 63 million Americans who believe Obama is the better choice.