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Published: July 17th 2008
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Front Door/Car
Check out the ladybug car!! This is the front entrance to our building. Last weekend, I made a trip up to Baden to visit my host family and to begin my moving process for the year to come. I took an overnight train without a bed reservation... so I got the glorious opportunity to experience an 8+ hour train ride, cuddling with some perfect strangers on awkward "pull-down" seats that turn the compartment into one queen-sized bed for all to share. Despite the sleepless night, however, I had a WONDERFUL time in Baden. Karin and Gerald greeted me at the train tracks and escorted me to their teeny little ladybug car. Somehow all of my bags fit in the back... I was impressed. Immediately, though, they decided that it seemed appropriate to take me to a Starbucks - and they found themselves quite funny for doing so 😊
By 9:30am, we were in Baden which is absolutely adorable! It looks just exactly as a small Austrian town should. After a shower, Karin and Gerald took me for a walk around the town (population 25,000) and showed off some of the garden areas -- as well as the charming sulfur odor of some areas. The church, music school and city theatre are all on
Outdoor Arena
Outdoor concert/performance space with statues of Strauss, etc. around the green. the same square that they live on, so cultural activities are exceptionally accessible. Vienna, too, is very accessible should I grow tired of any of Baden's wares.
Karin, I must say, is a fantastic cook and already I'm looking forward to dinners with them next year! They have a golden retriever, Daisy (seems to be a common name for dogs after all?), who is a total sweetheart, albeit stinky because she does enjoy swimming... language barriers can be really funny sometimes when it comes to sarcasm because I was being silly and was petting Daisy saying, "Whew! You smell like wet doggy!" And Karin gives me this inquisitive look and says, "She IS a wet dog..." We had a good laugh about this after an awkward pause, though, because frankly (frightening as this may be to some) my sense of humor lines up perfectly with this family's. I met Karin's mother in the afternoon (we went and laid by the pool at their summer home... delightful!) and we ran into a legitimate language barrier... but we will soon overcome that, to be sure.
That night, they took me to what is known as a Heurig (or a wine
Duck Pond
Small pond with boats for hire near the Doblhoff rose garden. pub) and this was probably the highlight of the trip. We all sat and talked and drank this... oh my gosh... wonderful wine that I can't even properly describe... but I swear there was a butteriness to it. Soon, we were all laughing and chatting as though we'd known each other for years. Karin's mother leaned over to me at one point and whispered "are you knowing the name of the baby?" and everyone had a good laugh about this because I responded with a sigh: "Augh! No! And this is precisely why they won't tell me!!" So we tease and we laugh and we are already quite close and very, very glad to be part of each others' lives next year. Karin's mom and I have decided that we are great assets to one another: I speak English and (apparently... who knew?) am QUITE fashionable, she speaks German, knows everyone in town and can cook! So, I told K&G that if ever they couldn't find me, I'd simply be up at her flat.
Anyway, this is getting long so I'll just quickly say that the next afternoon, we wandered Vienna and had a really great dinner downtown before
View from the Nursery
This is the Roman Catholic Church that is directly across from our building. Let me tell you how fun this is on a Sunday morning... they dropped me at my train. While I was sitting on the train just reflecting on everything, truly -- I felt like I was homesick for Baden and wanted to get off the train and stay with them. I know that I'll be going back to them soon, but that is just how great this connection is. I can't wait to go back.
I've attached some various photos from my visit. There are more where these came from if you care to see more! Soon, there will probably be photos from Geneva as well as I have finally started taking pictures.
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stilbonkusum
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Dit is spectaculair! Simpel gezegd Ik waardeer uw geschreven inhoud van het lezen van iedere keer dat ik voer alarmtoon.