The Netherlands

Just returned from a work trip to The Netherlands.  I'm always happy to visit The Netherlands, but it always reenforces just how hopelessly incompetent we Americans are at languages.  In addition to Dutch, English is compulsory and in school they are required to take another language.  Most folks take German, as it is close to Dutch, but, of course, the Scandinavian languages are popular, as our Spanish, French and Italian.  Most folks I met were fluent in four or more languages!

A view from EuroMast in Rotterdam, with gardens below

This was my first extended trip to Rotterdam.  I had only visited there prior on a trip to their port in 1996 as part of a conference.  Rotterdam is pretty different than the rest of Holland (the two large states on the coast of The Netherlands).  According to the story I heard, the Dutch told the Germans in WWII that they were giving in to their demands to occupation, but the message was misinterpreted.  So, instead of calling off a bombing run, Rotterdam got it full blast.  As a result, Rotterdam is a "modern city."  No narrow, windy cobblestone streets here ... normal streets and both a subway and tram system.  And, of course, the bikes!  The Dutch are famous for their passion for biking.  With a nice flat country and bike lanes EVERYWHERE, it does seem odd to see parking garages for cars (but you should see the parking sheds they have for bikes!). 

The purpose of my trip was to visit a colleague at Erasmus University.  It is the 4th-highest-ranked business school in Europe and my colleague is known as "the warehouse expert of Europe."  I gave a research seminar on my warehouse work and then later a seminar to the graduate students about publishing their research in top journals.  I also helped another colleague prepare for a big research proposal presentation that was coming up.  I think it is safe to say that they got their money's worth for my visit!  

I met many new colleagues and genuinely enjoyed learning about their system, seeing a few sites, and of course, eating some good food (although don't go to The Netherlands for a big lunch ... the traditional lunch is four pieces of brown bread!).  I had a thought-provoking conversation with my colleague's department head about the possibility of taking a position with them.  I told them I was years away from such a decision, but it is something that's crossed my mind a few times during the year.  As those of you that know me know, I do have a hard time holding onto a job :-)

On the way back, a business leader in my field from the US was hosting some meetings in the Frankfurt airport.  We coordinated our schedules for a long lunch meeting that hopefully will lead to a mutually beneficial partnership down the road.  

All in all, this was just about what I expected from my sabbatical ... meeting European colleagues and learning about different cultures.

Russ

For fun ...

Most of my posts are almost reporter style, detailing the latest trip here or there.  Well, this post is just for fun :-)

Saw this posted to a telephone pole out away from Graz and it just cracked me up!

Click on the picture for a larger view so that you can read the pull-off tabs!

Sue kind of burst my bubble on this saying that she's seen this before (in the US, mind you) and thought it was probably all over the Internet and Facebook.  But seeing this on a small road up to a castle from the 1600's in a German-speaking country cracked me up.  Yes, America, we can export our culture anywhere!

And for the next one, all I'll say is that I wonder what kind of grief this guy (or gal) gets about his/her car.

I mean, I get grief for having a license plate that reads "LOGISTX," which is way less geeky than this!  Right?

Russ

Austrian Workshop

Russ tries an artistic photo of Ben, but ....

I hosted a workshop for two colleagues last week.  One colleague (Ben) arrived from Quebec City on Thursday and we spent a day and a half discussing a project that we are working on to design logistics facilities for the Physical Internet (PI).  We made some nice progress and I was able to re-introduce him to Graz (he attended the same conference that we attended in 2006).  He joined our family for dinner one night and the kids were thrilled to have a new audience member.

My other colleague (Eric) arrived from Paris late Friday night.  So, on Saturday, the three of us drove less than 2 hours to Schladming, Austria, which is just about the geographical center of Austria, right in the Alps (and for skiing enthusiasts, Schladming was the site of this week's World Cup Skiing Event).  The way we run our workshops is to spend part of the day (usually the morning when we are fresh) discussing the book we are writing on the PI and other matters (proposals, strategic planning, coordination of research, etc.).  We then take a break in the afternoon and do something active.  In the past, that was going for a hike (look back for the trip to France in September).  For this workshop, it was going skiing.  After our activity, we eat dinner together and get in an hour or two of writing before bed.  It is really productive and enjoyable, and I appreciate Ben and Eric making the effort to travel here.

From our hotel in Schladming, right on the slopes

As an aside, we skied all three days in varying snow/weather conditions, from sunny days with good snow to rainy days with slush at the bottom and snow and fog at the top.  But for the first time this winter, I seemed to really make some progress on my skiing (Eric and Ben boosted my ego saying that I was now ready for a "black," but I'm not so sure!).  It's too bad that the snow is leaving us now -- I'd like to get out a few more times (and see if they are right!).

I drove them back to the airport on Tuesday for their departing flights and was sad to see them go.  But, as it turns out, we had some good friends from Auburn visiting Monday-Friday, so it was from one set of hosting activities to the next!

Russ

Grace turned 9!

We can hardly believe it, but our "little" Grace is 9 years old!

March 2, 2003 in Blacksburg, VA

2 March 2012 in Graz, Austria

Grace received some of her favorite things!

The tradition here is that the birthday child brings a snack for the class. Grace requested that I make her chocolate chip cookies. Grace tells me that her fellow students LOVED them, which pleases me greatly. Grace said that she had a GREAT day at school and we went to our favorite pizza place for dinner. Grace's pizza came out in the shape of a heart, which Grace loved.  I told the kids they could have some leftover chocolate chip cookie dough for dessert and we all headed home for that and to open presents.

A cool thing about Grace is that she can be very generous.  She made sure Henry wasn't left out by giving him a gift ... a wooden car that she made in art class at school ... very cool, Grace!

Henry, admiring his new toy car from Grace

Saturday was supposed to be a family day outside on the slopes, but not skiing -- sledding, so that everyone could join into the fun. But alas, like in Fayetteville, spring came before Grace's birthday and the likelihood of finding good sledding nearby was going to be tough. So, instead Grace played with her new toys in the morning (and Russ did all the weekend shopping) and we arranged a "date" in the afternoon with her buddy Francesco (Mom from Argentina, Dad from Canada, and they've lived in Germany and Austria in addition to Canada). We went for ice cream and then to a big park with lots of cool toys. Sometime during the afternoon, Grace, Henry and Francesco hatched a plan to have him sleep over. And although our first inclination was to say no (hey, we're parents, right?), we realized we had no good reason not to agree. So, our first sleepover in Graz and with a boy-friend no less! :-)

Grace and German Class Buddy, Francesco

Sunday we were invited to a friend's house for a "simple lunch" (which turned out to be spaghetti Milanese, spaghetti with a chicken cutlet).  So, Grace and Henry played with Carlo while Russ and Sue took turns talking with Carlo's mom, Loulou. Loulou is an American married to an Italian living in Austria. It's hard not to feel inferior around these families we've become friends with!

Anyway, it was a busy weekend, but one that Grace enjoyed quite a bit.  Many happy returns, Grace!  We love you!

Russ

Innsbruck Ski Trip

First, sorry about the lack of posts, but as you'll see below, our recent spate of health issues continued into February.  Not that we let that defeat us!

With school starting in Mid-Sept and going through July, February is when the first semester ends and the second one begins.  So, the public school kids are off for a week in mid-February as a "semester break."  But because of the relative madness of our lives heading up to the break (Sue in the hospital twice, my trip back to the US, etc.), we really had nothing planned.  We had talked about Italy and had a friend coming for a ski trip, but we'd only overlap for a day, so we didn't pursue that.  We had another friend coming to Innsbruck for a conference, but it was a 6-hour train ride and Sue had a follow-up doctor's appointment and I still needed to finish a big proposal.  So, we settled on a compromise.  Stay home for most of the break, rent a car to go skiing or sledding once, and take a short train trip into Slovenia or Hungary or something.  That way, we'd get in skiing, a train trip, and could take care of our things at home.  Sounds like a plan, huh?

Well, then Grace comes home school on the last day before break and declares that she told her whole class she was going skiing in Innsbruck for break.  The things kids hear/pick up on when you don't think they are really paying attention!  So, Friday night, I booked us a hotel and train tickets ... to Innsbruck!

Pretty much as soon as I did, Sue said, "I'm not feeling that great ... I think I'm getting a cold."  Well, that always gives us pause around our house, and with Henry having missed almost all of the week with a nasty high fever, bad cough virus, we were both thinking, "uh oh."  And sure enough, by noon on Saturday, both Grace and Sue had succumbed to the virus.  But we thought, if they are over this in 2-3 days, we'll still be in good shape to get onto the train on Wed at noon.

As you might have already guessed, with 3 of the 4 folks in a small apartment having succumbed to a virus, it was just a matter of time for me.  And that came by noon on Monday for me.  I did as much work as I could on my proposal Monday morning and then came home Monday afternoon to sleep.  We were hoping this went through me as quickly as it did for Sue and Grace (2 bad days and then getting better).  Being the eternal optimist, I didn't cancel our hotel or change our train tickets.

But with Sue having to pick up the slack on Monday while I was down, that stressed her compromised health state and she had to go to the lung doctor on Tuesday to get some antibiotics for a lung infection!  I'm still in bed and the kids are bouncing off the walls.  I kept thinking, at least the train will keep them interested, right?

So, Wednesday morning dawns with a Sue that is feeling a lot better than the day before and I'm not feeling too bad.  We decide to make the trip.  The first leg is to take all our stuff (read into this, all of our ski clothes, helmets, etc. on top of other stuff, like toys and clothes, for a 4-day trip) on two buses to get to the train station.  We had so much stuff one of our only-German speaking neighbors wondered if we were returning to the US!

By the time we arrived at the train station, I was a puddle of fever-induced sweat.  I could barely function properly and couldn't stand having the sun beat down on me in our train car.  It was not fun.

But amazingly, the kids did great on the train ride.  I say "amazingly" because 6 hours is a long time to be confined.  But they were constantly entertained by things going on outside.  And after an hour or so, there was snow everywhere, sometimes REALLY deep.  They also liked our 6-passenger compartment.  And they liked going out in the "hall" and goofing around.  Sue and I were so thankful!

As we headed into the station I started dreading another session of dragging our stuff around.  And even though the hotel was only 500m from the train station, I called them to ask if they had a shuttle!  But guess what?  Our friend Bill who was in town for the conference ... he met us at the train and carried the heaviest bag to the hotel ... our hero!

Ok, enough with the play by play :-)  We spent Thursday exploring the city, including the Tyrolean native folk museum (Innsbruck is in the state of Tyrol).  I spent the afternoon back at the hotel recovering.

Henry and Grace on the bunny hill.

On Friday and Saturday we all went skiing.  It was rough going at the start for Henry, but after the first trip down the bunny hill, he did great.  It was low key enough for me that skiing with a fever was feasible.  And I even tried the "olympic course" on Saturday, which was scary, but absolutely gorgeous scenery from the top.  You can see why Innsbruck dubs itself "capital of the Alps."  And a little trivia:  Innsbruck has hosted the winter olympics two times (1964 and 1976) and both times they won the pride-and-joy event, the men's downhill (Egon Zimmermann and Franz Klammer).

Grace, Russ and Henry skiing outside of Innsbruck, Capital of the Alps!

Bill and Susan (CELDi Retreat in Wyoming in 2008).

Friday night we had dinner with our friend, Bill, and helped him celebrate his birthday, complete with the kids singing him "Happy Birthday."  He said it was the best birthday he'd had for a while.  Of course, every other year he spends it at this conference :-) It was great to have time with Bill.  He and his wife Susan have been two of our most supportive friends this year.  They spent a year in Munich on sabbatical when their son, Garland, was 9.  They understand what we're going through like few others and have always been there for us with advice, lending us travel bags, etc.  And they forever endeared themselves to Grace and Henry with Bill bringing mac and cheese (Grace) and yogurt raisins (Henry) -- he also brought some Tylenol for the "old folks."

The train ride back on Sunday was another good experience.  The kids discovered that you could make the seats into half beds and they took full advantage.  We arrived back in time for a normal dinner time and bed time.  I wish I could say that I was all better, but I survived and Grace could tell all her friends about her traditional winter break spent skiing :-)

Russ

Baker's Zehn?

Fluff post today to avoid posting about Sue's health combined with Russ's trip back to the US ... that would wipe me out!

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary.  Believe me, when you are as different as Sue and I are in terms of how we approach things (direct opposites on the Myer-Brigg's test), it's no small miracle.  Thanks for sticking it out with me, Sue!

zehn und ein = elf :-)

As is our tradition, I bought flowers today.  I always get tulips.  I can still remember the floral arrangements at our wedding reception -- is there anything prettier than spring flowers, even from a florist when it is winter outside?

But the idea for this post really came when I went to buy the flowers.  They were priced by the flower or you could buy 11 for a price cheaper than 11 times the per flower price.  Odd, I thought, not by the dozen (or 13 for a "baker's dozen").  Then I thought about the eggs that I buy ... 10 to a pack.  Then I wondered, is the reason we sell things by the dozen in the US because we are on the "english" units system (base 12) and the reason they sell things by the "ten" here because they are on the metric system (base 10, or zehn in German)?  I don't know, but I liked my baker's zehn of tulips :-)

Russ

Grace is a better skier than me!

We've been having a fair amount of health issues in our household (or is that apartmenthold or flathold here?), but in between, Grace and I have managed to get out twice to ski. And let me tell you, I could not be prouder -- she is doing great!

The first ski outing was to a place called Klippitztörl, which is a bit further than Hebalm, where the kids learned to ski. We took something called the Schnee Bus (snow bus), which is a bus trip organized by the local sporting goods giant, Giga Sports. They negotiate a group rate for the lift ticket and share the cost of the bus. It's a pretty good deal, but Grace wasn't too happy when she found out the bus left at 7:30a from a mall that was a 20-minute tram ride away. But she was in good sprits for the 1:15 bus drive out into the Austrian mountains. And I was glad someone else was driving as we hit some pretty deep snow about 40 minutes into the drive.

When we pulled into the parking lot there is one hill right in front of you. Grace looked up and said, "is that a black hill?" For those of you that don't ski, ski hills are rated in terms of difficulty. In Austria, "bunny hills" (and yes, they call it that even though "bunny" and "hill" are not the same in English and German!) are not rated, typically. Blue is the rating for an "intermediate hill," whereas red is for "difficult," and black is for "expert." Anyway, in ski school Grace had only skied on a pretty easy and short bunny hill.

A horrible iPhone picture of Grace atop the Blue bunny hill.

Anyway, after renting our equipment, changing our clothes, and getting our pass from the bus driver, we checked out that map. That "black hill" turned out to be the bunny hill! And it was rated "blue." So, needless to say, Grace was a little intimidated heading to the top of the hill on the "tow line." But we skied down without incident, with me trailing behind her, just in case. After about five or six runs she said, "I think I have this figured out, you don't need to go behind me anymore." And after 10 runs, she said, after stating multiple times that she would "NEVER" ride a chair lift (too dangerous), "let's try the chair lift for a real blue."



Well, she fell a few times, but nothing serious and she just did great, what can I say! And by now I was starting to realize something that has limited my skiing by learning later in life ... I have an internal governor that says, "that's pretty fast, you might want to slow down." But she doesn't have that. So, while I try to make turns going down the hill to check my speed, little Ms. Speed Demon gets tired of making turns and just goes all out at times -- and then waits for me to catch up! This was especially true the next week ... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, due to a language mixup with the bus driver, we couldn't get our food off of the bus and so ended up skiing pretty much non-stop from 9:30 to 4:00. I was pretty tired at the end, but Grace never flagged. We ended up with like 30 runs on the bunny hill and 2 runs on the "real blue" hill complete with not-so-scary (according to Grace now) chairlift rides up. With the bus ride back and the tram from then, I think it was 6:30p or so when we arrived at home, full of stories of our great adventure.

So, given that was one long day, we were happy the next week when my friend, Jörg, offered to drive to our destination, Präbichl, and he didn't want to pick us up until 10:30a! The drive to
Präbichl was a little longer and this time we were heading northwest out of Graz, right into the heart of the Austrian Alps. I tell you, this is a beautiful country and where we went skiing was breathtaking. And with over 2m of snow on the ground (think 6 feet or so), we had ideal skiing conditions.

We bought a noon-4p-close pass and hit the slopes soon after noon. We took one run on the flattest, widest, and longest bunny hill I've ever seen and Grace declared herself ready for the chair lift. She was a little intimidated by the fact that is was a 4-person chair, but quickly got the hang of it and we enjoyed the 5-minute ride to the top. We were a little confused where to go, but our friend Jörg convinced us we were ready for Run #1. I thought I saw a red sign at the top, but thought, "no, he wouldn't head us down a red to start ... Grace has never skied a red run before." Well, I was wrong ... he did! We made it down in excellent fashion and we headed right back up. This time, Run #2, which had a blue sign. Now Grace realized she had skied a red run. If you thought I was proud of her, then you have no idea how proud she was of herself! And, as I alluded to earlier, there were times she must have waited 2 or 3 full minutes for me and Jörg to catch up (Jörg was hanging back with me; he's an excellent skier, often heading out days at a time as a teenager hiking up mountains with seal skins on his skis and then skiing down in one long day). And then we discovered Run #3 that ended with a long stretch that was parallel to the bunny hill. We ended up racing that, flat out as fast as we could go and Grace won a couple of times!

I'll end just by saying that Grace has a long way to go to have that effortless Austrian downhill style (and she still skis without poles), but it is just AMAZING at how comfortable she is on skis and how much she is enjoying this! And keep in mind: She is 8-years old and only had about 6-7 hours of instruction before these two outings. When I think how much confidence this is building in her, I'm just overjoyed. And I have to say that I like having a "ski buddy" to hang out with :-)

Russ

Advent at Home

Submitted by Sue

One of the ways we take the edge off the anticipation of Christmas is to light the Advent wreath and put things up on an Advent calendar. We have a a nice Felt Pocket hanging calendar at home in which we put little crèche figures or an ornament or a sweet, and the kids take one out every day. Not having our usual props, we went a little commercial and let the kids have a Lego (Henry) and Playmobil (Grace) Advent calendar, but we also went a little homemade by stringing up a clothesline with each of us donating socks to make up 24 days. Each day the kids took turns looking inside the socks. Most days it was a sweet, or a note to do something nice for someone, or most popular with the kids, a note to find something - like a little giftie from mom or grandma (socks, earmuffs from the Advent markets, activity book or ornament). But the kids also got onto it, occasionally picking out the sweet or my favorite, Grace making notes to everyone telling them why she loved them.

This was a lot of fun and we got to hang up stockings even though we didn't do it for Christmas (the kids put out their ski helmets for Santa).

Advent Wreathes

submitted by Sue

At home in the US, we light the candles on the Advent wreath. It's a tradition that I grew up with, and it's fun for the kids to participate. We have a little poem that we say as we light the candles - everyone has a line. At home we have a 4-candle candle holder that we use, not bothering with an actual wreath. But here there is no way to avoid the wreath! The farmer's market by our apartment had stands and stands of them, decorated in many colors, fancy and simple. I wish I had taken pictures of them all! We got ours the day before Advent started just as the farmer's market was starting close down. The vender saw us coming and reduced his prices so we'd buy candles for the kids as well. Here's our set, after Christmas.

Advent wreaths really were everywhere - on sale at stores and at venders at the tram station, and not just for sale. Grace and Henry both had them in their rooms at school and they were lit everyday by their teachers. In restaurants and doctors' offices there would be an Advent wreath sitting on the bar, counter or hostess table - and always had just the right number of candles that had been lit. (I didn't see candles burning in a public place, just that the candles had been lit.)

After 4 weeks, our greens were looking a little ragged so Russ and Grace picked up a single candle for Christmas day. This was joined by candles that the kids made at their schools. Henry's is the hand-dipped wax candle and Grace's is the flower pot snowman.

Our lighted candle is glowing,
Making the darkness bright,
Shining on our family,
Gathered here tonight.

Fun Fact: Grace recited this poem at her class holiday program. She did awesome!

Catch Up - Advent in Graz

submitted by Sue

Well, we tried really hard to keep things in chronological order, but sometimes things happen fast and there just isn't time to get things written up before something else happens. And when two people are submitting posts, it was bound to get mixed up anyway.

I've got a couple of posts about Advent that I've been writing in my mind but just haven't taken the time to put on paper or computer. Turns out sitting in a doctor's office (or specifically a CT scan office) is the perfect time to write things up. And magically, my iTouch was both with me and charged (this never happens).

Advent is a special time to be in Graz. The streets are decorated with lights and Christmas trees are hung from above. (Interestingly, on some streets trees are hung right side up and others upside down.) The Advent Markets open in mid-November, work begins on an ice sculpture of the Nativity, and a huge Christmas tree is put up on the town square.

Also called Christmas Markets, the Advent Markets are a little bit like a street fair or a craft fair that goes on until Christmas. The markets are scattered around the courtyards and plazas near the City Center. Each market has a theme - local products and crafts, fine arts, international crafts, kiddie rides. Some of the markets have activities for kids to do on Fridays -- like candle making or cookie decorating. Most of the markets have music playing. Sometimes it's the vendors, but some markets have live music scheduled for the weekend hours. The markets are open all day (starting at 10am or so) but busiest in the evenings as the sun goes down (by 4:30 or 5pm!). Also running through the markets is this little Christmas train.

The market booths vary from canvas tents to wooden boothes, some simple and some very ovally-modern-shaped (the fine arts market booths). Unfortunately, we failed to get any pictures of them. Each market has a couple of booths dedicated to food and drink. Drinks include apple ciders and rum punches and the local favorites Gluhwein (mulled wine with cinnamon, cloves and oranges) and Gluhschi (I think this is based on a local wine but I can't verify my source -- no match on google!). The drinks are THE social thing to do. You meet your friends at the markets to drink and hang out. It's all outside and about 32 degrees F. or less. One booth we visited was making Belgian waffles which you can get with marmalade or schokolade or zimt (cinnamon). Very yummy.

Many restaurants that have outdoor seating will have all their tables out and each chair has a blanket draped over it, and sure enough the next time you walk by, people will be sitting out having drinks. It's a very festive time of year and makes the early sunset much easier to take. And it's fun to see people out and about, bundled up and enjoying themselves, even in the cold.

"Free" TV/Radio

One of the valuable aspects of living somewhere else is the opportunity to evaluate some hidden value statements about your culture. So, that's the lead in to a short story ...

The other day our door bell rang. I answered the door and there were two men that asked me if I had a TV or a radio in the flat? I said that I did (mind you, the tv provided by the owner of the flat is an ancient thing and we only get 2 channels on it). They then asked me my name, which I told them. They checked their clipboard and they said that our tv was not registered. To which I replied, "you have to register your tv? Why?" The answer to "why" is that it's the law, but "why is it the law that I have to register my tv?" Well, instead of dragging you threw the entire conversation, I'll skip to the punch line.

You register you tv/radio here because "free" tv (what you get on your tv without cable or any other service) is what we refer to in the US as "public television." And like, PBS in the US, there are no commercials on the "free" tv stations here (we had noticed that). The kids watch some children's programming and we're always bewildered by the start times because shows are about 20 minutes each instead of 30 minutes, so the start times seem pretty random. Of course, this is because of the lack of commercials and the programming was adapted from "commercial tv" (some from the US, some from France, some from Germany, etc.) And by the way, the content of our "free" tv here seems to be somewhere between PBS and commercial tv in the US (they carry news, sports programs, kids programs, dramas, etc., but somehow it doesn't seem exactly like commercial tv in the US -- we assume when you get cable, you get stations like that).

Anyway, which system would you like best? Commercial tv at home for anyone to watch for free if they have a tv, but loaded with commercials? Or, commercial-free tv that you HAVE to pay for no matter how much you watch (you can't just avoid donating to PBS here!)?

So, we'll pay the 24 euros a month for the last 6 months we are here to watch two stations about 30 minutes a day. We're not mad, because at least we are getting a story out of it :-)

Russ

Schnee Schule

Austrians are great skiers, especially alpine skiers.  Those of you that are the age of Sue and I may remember, Hermann Maier ("the Herminator"), who won two gold medals in the 1998 Olympics (among many, many, other world titles).  And beyond their prowess in competitive skiing, you certainly get the impression that EVERYONE in Austria skies.  Maybe Anna, our babysitter, said it best , "when you live in Austria, why would you go anywhere else in the winter?"  Is it possible that she gets the whole month of February off of classes to provide Austrian college students a chance to go skiing for a month?  Anyway, when in Rome ... 

We enrolled Henry and Grace in three days of ski school (Schnee Schule) this past week.  This started as a way for Grace to gain some confidence ahead of when her school would go to ski school for a whole week in February (that's right, no class this week kids, we're hitting the slopes!).  But to be honest, I wanted both of them to learn when they were young.  I didn't, and it has always been harder for me to ski than my peers that learned when they were younger.  And like I said, we're in Austria, so it seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Day 1:  Grace on the training course with instructor, Fabian.

And let me say, both kids did great!  Both went from having A LOT of anxiety back in October when we sprung this on them to feeling really comfortable skiing.  In between October and earlier this week their were periods where Grace and Henry both said, "I'm not doing it!"  This seemed to die down a bit as we bought them their ski outfits (they both loved those!), but you could still sense a fair bit of anxiety Thursday morning as we made the hour-long drive up into the mountains.  At the end of the Day 1 Grace said, "Dad, thanks for forcing us to come to ski school."  And Henry immediately chimed in, "yeah, Dad, thanks."  Color me a proud and happy parent!

Of course, as Grace is older, etc., she progressed further than Henry in the three days, but they were both on the bunny hill the last day doing really well.  Their instructor declared that Grace was ready for the "real" runs the next time she came and that Henry probably only needs one or two more hours before he'd be ready.  Can you believe that?  I still find it somewhat hard to believe even though I was there to witness the transformation :-)

And remember how I said that I wished that I had learned to ski when I was younger? Well, as Sue has never been downhill skiing, we decided to have her tag along with the kids in ski school. And let's just say that it didn't work out as well as it did with the kids. We'll have to reassess this plan of getting us all out of the slopes together.

Russ

Barcelona Holiday Trip

Just returned from a week-long trip to Barcelona.  Would be pretty easy to make this a long post, but hopefully I can just "hit the highlights" and convey our trip.

Like the sporty blue ear phones on the double-decker bus?

First theme:  the weather was BEAUTIFUL the entire time we were there.  I'd be lying if I said we never saw a cloud, but not if I said that we rarely saw a cloud.  It was just "abundant" sunshine every single day.  The highs were also in the low 60's, which is quite warm for this time of year for Barcelona (or, so say the locals).  But it could still be chilly due to the wind when we were riding on top of the open-top double-decker bus or down by the beach.  Not a big deal, but the sunlight is better for appreciating the art as one is about and enjoying the city.


Second theme:  much of our time in Barcelona turned out to be related to "art."  The two artists that we dominate the city are Joan Miro and Antoni Gaudi.  And let me just say right here ... it is just a coincidence that Gaudi's architecture is sometimes labeled with the adjective, gaudy.  But I had to look that up!

What a lovely choice, Sue!

Miro first.  As you'll see below, his art is characterized by bright colors and simple geometric shapes combined to form an image.  We visited his museum, employing the "gift shop first, scavenger hunt" approach to the visit (we were 3 for 4 this time!).  There, we bought a "simple book" about his life and the kids listened to me read the whole thing over two settings and looked through a 600-page book on his art on New Year's Eve.  And there were other evidence of Miro throughout Barcelona, who has embraced its artistic heritage.

Gaudi House:  Casa Batllo with a dragon-ridge roof!

Now Gaudi.  I sometimes forget that architects are artists, but that would be impossible with Gaudi.  His style first, is artistic (and some say, childlike), but any examination of his structures provides an appreciation for his appreciation of nature.  And like Miro, his impact on Barcelona is widespread and is, in fact, continuing as work continues on his centerpiece cathedral as well as new tiles added all along the city that are fashioned on his "style."  But as an engineer, it was really something to behold upon visiting his signature house (Casa Batllo).  I loved the light "well" that allows light from the middle of the house and the sustainability construction techniques employed in the late 1800's.

Gaudi Church:  Sagrada Familia

Henry runs back from the waves :-)

Third theme:  the beach!  I'd say overall the kids liked the trip and everything about it (except the daily battle about food below!), and they had the most fun just hanging out on the beach.  For those of you that know me, I'm not a "beach person."  First, it tends to be too passive for me.  Second, I hate how the sand follows you everywhere you go for days.  The kids definitely solve the first, using their imagination to come up with active games.  But there is no solving the second!  But, as I said, the kids loved going and on New Years Day when we let them set the schedule, it is where they wanted to return on their last full day in Barcelona (along with a park and the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner!).

The daily battle about food!  Yes, it's true.  Not everything was perfect on the trip.  Every day (heck, 2-3 times a day!), the tension was between what Sue and Russ wanted to eat (in Spain?  Tapas!) and what the kids wanted to eat (Grace, only pasta or french fries ... Henry, nothing!).  As you might imagine, we compromised.  We found an "ok" tapas place that had pasta near the hotel (two nights), a nice tapas place one night, Hard Rock one night, and then a nicer pasta place and pizza for the other two.

There's more to share, and I'd welcome Sue to post a subsequent comment, but I wanted to get this posted before our next adventure ... ski school!

Russ

p.s.  I don't know why, but I got the biggest kick out of seeing parrots all over the city :-)

Christmas in Austria

Just a few notes and pics to commemorate our Christmas in Austria.

Christmas Eve Day was spend skating, shopping, and fending off suggestions to open "just 1" present NOW!

Our Decorated Austrian Christmas Tree

The Christmas tradition in Austria is for the Christ Kind to deliver presents on Christmas Eve afternoon.  Grace's German teacher said that the Dad takes the kids to the movies and the Mom stays home.  The room with the Christmas tree is closed off and when the Christ Kind leaves, she (it's a female angel) rings a bell, which lets the family know the tree is decorated and the presents are there.  This (the bell ringing) usually happens just as the Dad and kids are returning (how's that for timing!?).

Well, we had a twist ... our kids and Sue decorated the tree one afternoon (not being able to wait for me!).  And, as it turns out, we were heading to church for a 4p family service (with an English translation :-)  I "forgot" to turn off the iron and had to head back to the apartment before catching up with the others.  So, when we returned, there were two gifts left for the children by Christ Kind :-)  We also let them open another present each and had a simple dinner.  Sue had ordered a copy of "The Night Before Christmas" so that I could continue that tradition (reading them that story before bed).

Stockings?  Who needs stockings!?

During the night, Santa Claus made his usual deliveries.  We had no stockings, so the kids put out their ski helmets by the cookies, milk and carrot.  Santa got the hint :-)  The kids loved all of their presents.

Our friends' son and Grace playing a game on the stairs

We had friends over in the afternoon.  The mom is from the US, the Dad is from Italy, and the son is tri-lingual!  The kids played well together, we all played some games, ate some good Austrian food (as best as we can!) and drank some good Italian wine.

Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr!

Russ

A Few Pre-Christmas Observations

Short post today on this, Christmas Eve.

The kids were in school all week, ending at the usual time on Friday (Dec. 23).

Sue and I had a sitter come last night and went out to finish our shopping.  Many, many stores had no one in them except clerks standing around with nothing to do.  The stores closed at their normal time for a Friday night, 7p.

Stores close today between 1 and 2p.  We have to do our grocery shopping because stores will be closed tomorrow (and maybe, Monday -- we better check that out).  We hope to fit in a round of ice skating.

You can still buy your tree at the main park in the city, near our apartment.

We expect Christ Kind to come sometime this afternoon while we are out at church and Santa to come overnight.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Russ

A Busy Weekend in December

We had a very busy weekend.  And by we, it was mostly Grace, Henry and I, as Sue is trying to recover from being sick.  I missed Sue's company, but enjoyed the time with the kids.  And I definitely want her to recover quickly with Christmas and our trip to Barcelona coming soon!

So, where to start?  I guess at the beginning.  Saturday started with a trip to the Farmer's market and the butcher.  I finally bought some lamb.  I've been wanting to diversity a bit and we eat so much chicken back in the U.S. (and we aren't big beef eaters).  So, first duck, now lamb.  And it was delicious for dinner later that day, I must say :-)

Anyway, I rushed home and collected Grace.  We headed over to the outdoor skating rink for the 10a opening.  When I could hear an announcer about a block away, I knew something was wrong.  Anyway, the rink was host to a children's hockey tournament.  They had the ice all day and so, after consoling ourselves, we watched a little hockey.  It was fun.  The teams were mixed age (probably 5-8?) and mixed gender.  We were captivated by one girl that was much taller and more talented than anyone else on the ice.  Unfortunately the puck always seemed to find the goalie's stick, but she was still fun to watch.

With skating out for the day, what to do?  Well, I had this thought in the back of my head that I wanted to get the kids their skiing outfits for Christmas.  But we didn't want it to be a present, as we wanted to have them pick them out, etc.  So, Grace and I took an exploratory trip over to K&O (pronounced, "Kah unt Oh"), the big department store.  I had heard from someone they were having a sale on skis, ski clothes, etc.  When we arrived and could not find skis, etc., but saw the store was connected to the large sporting goods store, we figured it out.  

Grace quickly found many outfits that she liked, which is good because the sizes weren't always in inventory.  You know how that goes.  And it took Grace a while to get used to the multiple layers in the pants, etc.  But we quickly got her squared away and were helped by a nice young woman who spent a year in Michigan with an exchange family in high school.

When we went home, Henry was motivated to join us (he was not into the ice skating!) for a return trip.  He really liked Grace's "overalls" (ski pants with suspenders).  He wouldn't settle for pants without them!  He found a great pair in lime green ("just like airport fire fighters!").  Unfortunately, they were really pricey (twice as expensive as Grace's).  But Henry can be very flexible and is happy with the color combination that he came up with.

After a failed attempt to buy an outfit for me (I knew I was pushing my luck with two kids in a busy store!), we stopped by the ski equipment shop and bought the kids helmets.  They loved the kind with the built-in goggles and wanted to get home quickly to model everything for Sue!

I then went grocery shopping to make sure we didn't run out of staples Sunday, made dinner (lamb, marinaded with peanut satay, rice, sauteed bell peppers with garlic), and then collapsed on the couch with everyone to watch a DVD!  And this was just Saturday!

Sunday was all about getting back over to the skating rink for Grace and me.  And now she had a helmet of her own to wear!  We arrived at 10a on the dot and there were at least 20 people already skating!  I guess they opened early today (language-skill deficit strikes again!).   But they had skates in both of our sizes and we were off.  Grace hugged the wall the first few times around, but gained courage within a half hour or so and was out there skating away from the wall.  Towards the end we even had a contest to see who could weave around more kids in a lap (I won the first lap, 7 to 4, but she won the next lap, 5-1!).  It was so great to see her go from, "this is hard and I'm kind of scared" to, "did you see me get around that kid that fell?!"  Priceless, I tell you!

They had a great little tent setup next door so that we could warm up with hot chocolate after our 2 hours of skating.  They even had a kids area (patchens only, please!) and live music.  When I texted Sue that we'd be home about 1p for lunch, she said that she and Henry wondered how long we'd be gone!

After lunch Grace, Henry and I went over to "scooter park," which is located on the other side of Stadt Park (the large park near our apartment).  It is setup with traffic signs/lights, railroad tracks, lane markers, a hill, etc.  The kids played some game that involved locking Grace up in a jail cell and Henry running away (I didn't quite get that, but I was listening to my German language CD).  I did get it when they asked me to be the robber and to run around scooter park and they would chase me (each taking different routes, cutting me off, etc.).  They were mad when I stopped at the train tracks (there was a stop sign!).  They said no robber would do that.  After tiring of catching me (and I was tired too!), we walked/scooted home.  

In the last few days, Christmas trees have invaded Stadt Park, with multiple sites to buy trees from.  And in fact, we had just decided what to do about a Christmas tree in our apartment (smallish, but not Charlie Brown size).  So, given that we saw a very nice one on the way over, and it was still available on the way back, we bought it.  It wasn't too much of a walk back to the apartment, but I had to rest a bit (even a small tree gets heavy after a few hundred meters!).  The kids went up to open the doors for me to move it out onto the deck until we can buy some Christmas lights.

And we had one more event for the day ... our friend David, who sings in the Graz Opera, was playing the part of Goliath in a children's musical at a local church (right next to the Opera House and the Farmer's Market).  (Grace thought it was funny that David was playing Goliath instead of David, but I think she got the point when she saw the musical!)  It was all in German, but it was short, and being a musical, it was a pretty simple plot line.  Grace said that it wasn't as scary as it could have been because we knew who Goliath was (he doesn't look scary below, but he did walking in, swing a 2-meter sword!).  I think everyone enjoyed it and Sue was feeling well enough to join us, which was nice.  We hope to see David sing Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at the "big Catholic church" on Herrengasse (the main pedestrian street in Graz).

David's not that tall, really.  He's walking on 6" tree stumps!

Just five more days of school/work and then Christmas will be here ... then we rest!

Russ

Krampus and Nikolaus

Tuesday morning (Dec. 6) 6-year old Henry asked, "Is it Nikolaus day?"  "Yes," I answered.  Then Henry replied with glee, "Yay! I didn't get taken away by Krampus!" He then started rooting thru his shoes, only to discover a rock. He wasn't sure what a rock meant.  "Oh, Henry, I thought we were supposed to put our shoes out tonight. But Nikolaus is in town today. I'm sure he'll stop by tonight." Henry is learning all these traditions in kindergarten but communicating details is not one of Henry's strong suits, so we are behind the curve as parents.

In case you aren't familiar with Krampus and Nikolaus, it goes something like this.  Nikolaus, who is a bishop, visits children on Dec. 6 to give them sweets and nuts. If children put their shoes out (either outside or between the double windows), Nikolaus will leave them some treats. However, Nikolaus travels with a devil-like character called Krampus, who takes naughty children away from their parents and beats them with a switch.

Krampus day is Dec 5, and it is not uncommon to see them out and about that evening. A friend was telling me that some families have Krampus parties on the 5th.  If you go to one of these parties you are to bring a poem about each of your children, identifying how naughty they are. Some children cry when their poems are read!  Are you getting an idea about Krampus?

Graz had their Krampus parade several weeks ago. We went to see what it was all about.  I can quite honestly say that this parade is the most culturally different event that I have experienced here.  Many civic groups or other organizations have their own costumes, and they each are given a slot in the parade. There are lots of groups with 8-12 Krampuses each. These guys are frightening!  They stomp down the road and run at the crowds and get in your face. Some beat their drums as though they are on the warpath.  Some of them drag smoking cauldrons behind them. Some carry flaming torches. Some have chains that they drag on the ground. The sounds and smells are very real and close and ominous.  They look for children and hold out their hands to them as if they are going to grab them and take them away.  If a child is brave enough to take their hand, most Krampuses will just quickly shake it and then let go, but I saw one guy pull a child toward him and that seriously freaked out the kid.  Our kids hid the entire time and we ended up leaving before the end (after seeing perhaps 100 Krampuses and 3 Nikolauses - and, yes, Nikolaus walks along with them.)

Nikolaus day is Dec. 6, and as you can imagine, quite different.  Nikolaus visited both of the kids' schools, spoke to the kids and handed out goodie bags. And the kids made Nikolauses at school.  Nikolaus was scheduled to be at various advent markets around Graz's city center in the late afternoon so we went to find him. Along the way, we met several Nikolauses and they came up to the kids to talk to them and give them treats.  In front of the Catholic church on the main street they had tables out where you could make your own bishop hat (sorry, I don't know the name of this) and several women were singing Christmas carols (some of the Nikolauses were women).  It was a very pleasant stroll down Herrangasse (the street), very different from the Krampus parade! Eventually we met up with Russ and realized we missed Nikolaus while buying trinkets at the advent markets! We walked over to another market (at Glockenspielplatz, Liz and Jerry). And knew we'd found him when we heard the clip clop of the house drawn carriage.  He got out for pictures and the kids each got a chocolate Nikolaus.

This was NOT like waiting in line for Santa Claus.  In fact there were very few people even approaching him -- and nothing compared to the crowds who turned out for the Krampus parade.  I should add, that Nikolaus is not Santa Claus.  Neither Nikolaus nor Santa Claus delivers Christmas gifts here - Christkind does - so to compare to Santa is not really a fair comparison.

As we came home that the evening, Henry said, "No one from my class was taken by Krampus.  No one from my whole school!"

Sue

From Russ:  Even though Sue did a *great* job with this post, and I was scared just thinking about that parade again, you really need to see a video of the Krampus Parade.  We couldn't find one from Graz this year (they added barricades and that made them even wilder, I think), but you'll maybe get the idea by watching this from a few years ago:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkVnS6uwV8E.

Thanksgiving in Graz

Thanksgiving, of course, is an American holiday.  Well, what I mean is that the US version of Thanksgiving is an American story of thanks, bountiful harvest, cooperation, etc.  Many, many other cultures have something similar, typically celebrated earlier in the fall as a kind of Octoberfest, a celebration of the bounty of the harvest.

Anyway, all that to say, the fourth Thursday in November is not a holiday here of any kind.  So, what's an American family to do?  We decided to go ahead and send the kids to school (and also the next day instead of going shopping and consuming like fools).  I took the afternoon off so that we could have a "special dinner," but it was not our typical Thanksgiving dinner.  I cooked duck (still had a good taste in my mouth from Paris) and a typical Austrian dumpling.  Sue made her traditional cheese rolls.  We had brought some homemade Thanksgiving placemats with us from the US, which we used, and we talked about what we were thankful for.  It was quite nice and we weren't all stuffed to the gills, like normal!  That was not the case on Saturday ...

On Saturday we had dinner with four other "half-American" families.  Everyone contributed to the feast and we all shared stories of living in Graz/Austria as Americans.  The non-American partners talked about the times they lived in the US and how confusing our customs are.  It was quite funny.  Sue and I laughed and laughed about one story, which I am sure I will not be to do justice here, but it is the custom in the US of asking, "how's it going?"  In the US, of course, it is just, "what you say."  You mindlessly answer it and ask back, "how's it going?" (One friend, from the US, but teaching here, says that he actually has to teach his students just to answer "how's it going?" with "how's it going?" and they are so confused.)  It is not meant to be a question that is contemplated and given a thoughtful answer except under certain circumstances (close friend, private moment, usually only asking it like, "no, how are you doing?").  But Austrians take that question seriously.  One of our Austrian friends talked about being in the US and having that question asked of her while she was in line at the grocery store.  She said that she actually looked around and said, "but there are all these people in line."  Like, ok, even though I don't know you, I'll tell you, but it will take some time and I think all these people might become upset!

Henry and Grace playing a game at the kids' table

Another highlight of the evening was how we (adults) had time talking amongst ourselves.  The host family's "children" are 19 and 21.  And they both are just great with kids (we've already lined up, Anna, the 19-year old to babysit :-).  They kept the children entertained by decorating the table cloth, making crafts, playing games, etc.  For those parents out there, I'm sure you can understand the special joy of taking your kids to an event, where they don't particularly know anyone, and instead of clinging on you, they are engaged with other children and having a good time at the "kids table."  Bliss really.  Of course, we paid for it the next few days having stayed out too late and gotten them to bed late, etc.  But you know, life is like that.

So, yes, it was hard to be away at Thanksgiving and there are things that we missed.  But really, we had a great time and I'm sure we'll cherish our Austrian Thanksgiving for years to come.

Russ

Trip to Paris

As Sue's already posted, we had a trip to France a couple of weeks ago.  When we told the kids that we were going to spend a year in Europe we told them that they could each pick a spot for a trip.  Although I'm not sure Henry's still decided (I think LegoLand in Germany gets the nod), Grace, without hesitation said, "the Eiffel Tower in Paris!"

A good friend of mine, and a close research colleague teaches in Paris (at this ultra-selective university, Mines ParisTech -- to say it is the "MIT of France" kind of understates how selective it is).  He invited me to give a seminar to his research group and so the date was set for our trip.

We flew up on Thursday afternoon and Sue and the kids would fly back on Sunday while stayed through Monday and Tuesday to work, flying back Wednesday (the day before the American Thanksgiving, which is the subject of the next post, hopefully!).  That sounds like a "long weekend," but with needing a connecting flight to Paris, the train ride between terminals at Charles de Gaulle airport, the train from CDG to the city, the subway (with a connection!) from the train station to the neighborhood of our hotel, and then a 10-minute walk to our hotel ... well, Thursday and Sunday were really travel days.  But still, two full days in Paris ... you can't complain.

Ok, well to avoid this being a marathon post, I'll try to hit the highlights, which, of course, start with the Eiffel Tower -- the center of Grace's attraction to Paris.  For those that have been there, we went up to the second level.  As recommended in a book Sue read, the view from that level is really great and it is an open platform vs. the ride to the tippy top, where you have to stay inside.  And, although we didn't go to the top, I'm pretty sure the book was right about this recommendation.

And before I go any further in terms of what we saw, we have to talk a moment about Eiffel Tower trinkets.  This turned out to be quite the obsession of our children.  And apparently, this is a very big joke amongst Parisians.  All I can say, at least they are cheap (the first ones we bought were sold to us by a very friendly, quite persistent and effective salesman, at the low, low price of 5 for 1 euro!).  But I think these little ET keychains are an entry drug to larger, more expensive, larger margin ETs.  And, as you can see, we left with quite a few!


And in the picture you may have noticed a non-ET.  Well, that is none other than the Arc de Triumphe (on the green book).  Henry, as we pretty much guessed, loved to go somewhere with 8 "lanes" of traffic moving around a circle with a control logic all its own.  And so, he had to have an Arc!

So, after the ET and AdT, we headed back to the hotel for a dinner after a quite full day.  That brings us to Saturday.  We just had to get the kids to a museum and Sue, with her handy tips from the books, read that a good strategy was to go to the museum gift shop before you go in, let the kids pick out a postcard of a painting they like, and then have a scavenger's hunt in the museum.  What a great idea, huh?

As the museum of our affection we chose the Musée D'Orsay.  All the books say it is one of the more appealing "great" museums for kids and it isn't huge, like the Louvre, say, which might talk ALL DAY to find four paintings.  The only problem with this plan is that even in late November, Paris is packed with tourists!  We noticed this on Friday at the ET, where we waited a good hour or so to get tickets to go up, but Saturday at the MDO, wow, that was quite a line.  And, as it turns, out we had made plans to meet my friend for lunch with his family.  Anyway, to make a long story short, we balked the queue, my friend came over early and we walked around the River Seine and the Louvre Gardens on a beautiful late fall day in Paris.  We ended up at the food court area under the Louvre, which turns out to be a sneaky way in to get tickets.  And, in fact, we could see that we wouldn't have to wait at all to get tickets to go in.  So, no MDO, we're going to the Louvre!

But remember our little scavenger hunt game?  And my note about how it would take ALL DAY to find four specific paintings in a big museum?  Well, it did!  But it was fun, mostly.  And the reason I picked my painting to show off (besides the absolute massive size of it!) was that Henry was in a bit of a sour mood when we found his sculpture (very interesting choice, by the way) and we never did find Grace's and Sue's (the gift shop, it turns out, has so many postcards some of the paintings aren't even in the museum -- note to self for next time!).

As we left the L, we had a very nice surprise.  Sue (again with her books!) had read that on nice days in the summer you can go to these small ponds and rent a toy boat to sail around.  When she read this in cold Graz she had written it off as something that we'd be able to do in Paris.  But the weather was unseasonably warm while we were there (upper 50's) and sure enough, we stumbled onto one of these places.  It was really quite nice.  Sue said that it was meditative to push the boat out and wait for the wind to bring it back to the side ... she though she could of done it all day!

And we should have probably gone back to the hotel then.  But you know how it is, you're there, you're pretty close to some other major site, and you rationalize it (there will be a lot of restaurants over there and we've been to the ones by our hotel already).  Anyway, we went to Cathédrale de Notre Dame.  It was nice to see, but no one had the energy to climb stairs to the top or to walk through.  Dinner was a little "down" due to our energy.  The only thing that picked the kids back up was a trip through a few shops to buy yet another ET and the coveted AdT!

Sunday, was all about getting Sue and the kids to the airport on time.  We kind of overdid it, and I think they got there almost 2 hours ahead of their flight.  Sue said the trip home went well except for their luggage not making it (it was delivered later that evening).  But the nice thing about getting Sue and kids to the airport early was that I had the afternoon to explore a little more (the only thing I had to get done that day was finish my presentation).  I walked across town to Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart) on a just beautiful day in Paris.  I climbed to the top, but even though it was a clear, sunny day, I could barely see the ET -- not sure if it was moisture, smog, or both.  But it was a pity!


I had a great time with my friend, making some progress on our research, meeting with folks, and, of course, eating some great food.  I'm not sure why, but I was especially focused on the smaller animals, eating lamb, duck, rabbit, frog legs, and a huge batch of shrimp, prawns, crabs and lobster.  But what did I take a picture of?  One of the best desserts I've ever had in my life ... profiteroles ... think creme puffs with ice cream inside and the best chocolate sauce on top!


My seminar was a big hit and my travels back were good.  I got back in time to go with Sue to a parent-teacher conference with Grace's teacher (went fine).  And then, the next day was Thanksgiving ... more about that in another post :-)

Russ