Sunday, September 24, 2017

And almost time to say goodbye to Europe again

IMG_20170923_142340_730 IMG_20170923_150547_743Can't believe that I am already leaving again tomorrow. This trip has been such a whirlwind, don't even know where the last ten days have gone. It honestly does not feel like I have been here for this long. But I guess that's what happens when there is a lot going on.

The stay in Croatia was great despite the weather not being all that amazing. But managed to make the best of it and spent a decent amount of time near the sea and beach which is always nice. There is nothing more relaxing or calming to me than spending time near the ocean. Even just sitting, sipping a glass of wine while looking out at the waves - pure bliss.

The four days in Austria truly went by super fast but I suppose that was also to be expected. I managed to meet up with a few friends, some family, got my hair done and more.

Yesterday I went into Vienna for the day and had fun catching up with my friend Claudia. We met in Santa Barbara during our year there in 1998-1999. Crazy how long ago that is now as well. Claudia pointed out that next year it will be 20 years since we were there and it will be longer than we were even old at the time when we were there. So crazy. 

Hada good time in Vienna, had breakfast with Claudia and also a nice afternoon before heading back to St. Poelten later in the day. This afternoon I will need to figure out how to pack all my stuff. Always a fun adventure. I guess I will figure it out. I always do. I am catching the train from St. Poelten straight to the airport tomorrow morning.  The train leaves at 6.30am which should give me plenty of time for check in and paying for my extra luggage. 

It will be weird leaving here again tomorrow. My dad's health is still not all that great but hopefully he will manage to improve. My mom is stable but everything is just a bit too much in limbo for my taste at the moment. Guess we will see what happens. I can only encourage and hope for the best in the end. At least my aunt is here and also some family friends who are helping out so that's good. 

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA, Eloine/NY. The European ones were mailed from Croatia. Will mail the others when I am back in the States Mon. 

Posted by Hanna at 05:46 AM in Austria , Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, September 22, 2017

Hello from Austria as my European journey continues :)

PixlrOf course this trip is flying by like crazy and I only have 3 days left. Well really more like 2 1/2. My flight leaves at 10.45am on Monday out of Vienna.  

We left Croatia on Wednesday morning and made our way to Austria via Slovenia. The weather cooperated and we only had some slight showers along the way, nothing too crazy. Stopped in Carinthia for a really delicious late lunch and eventually made it back to my parents house in Lower Austria. 

Yesterday, Thursday, I had my hair appt first thing at 8am. I wasn't a 100% sure yet what color scheme I wanted to go with but ended up with something I really like. I knew I wanted some kind of red with something else but wasn't quite sure what yet. The end result is very enjoyable :)

Didn't do too much the rest of the day. Today I went to the local grocery store and bought waaaayyy too much stuff. I wasn't even going to buy that much but somehow it's very tempting when you know that you can't get a lot of the items in the US. To be fair a lot of what I bought was also gifts for people back in the US. 

Later I will go see my great uncle and my aunt is stopping by as well. And in the evening I am going to be meeting up with my friend Anneliese and we will head into St. Poelten for dinner and some drinks. 

Tomorrow I am off to Vienna to meet friends and then on Sunday I will need to figure out my packing so I am ready for my flight on Monday. Going to take the train from St. Poelten to Vienna airport which seems like the smart choice on a Monday morning with rush hour traffic.  

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA, Eloine/NY. The European ones were mailed from Croatia. Will mail the others when I am back in the States Mon. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:36 AM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 06, 2017

And it's August ...



Pixlr (4)Time really does fly it seems as it's already August. Work continues to be busy so that definitely makes the work days go by fast. I really often wish there were more hours in the day to getting everything done. :) But so far I am hanging in there and hopefully August will pass with too much of an issue. I have a vacation coming in September so there's something to look forward to with that. Going to be visiting with my parents in Europe for 10 days. Going to be flying to Croatia to meet up with them there and then head to Austria afterwards My dad has been struggling with his health a bit so I hope he continues his upward cycle and is in better shape by the time I get over there. It's definitely not easy being that far away at times. I do look forward to seeing them and to spend some time and of course to eat a lot of delicious food. Also looking forward to getting my hair done when I am in Austria. Will need to decide what color(s) I want to go with this time. 

To stay with the travel theme for a minute - I can't wait for my trip with Mike to the Azores in November. I think I wrote about this on here when we booked it but now I can't quite remember if I did or not. We found a great deal for a package that included the flight and hotel and afterwards we also found a good deal on a rental car so we are all set now. It's over Thanksgiving week so still some time away but I am definitely looking forward to going. 

Mike's on his way back from L.A. tonight. He was originally supposed to come back yesterday but American ended up changing his flight. They did give him a night in a hotel and also a $400 travel voucher. So maybe we'll be able to use that to go somewhere fun during the winter, maybe in January or February when it's cold out. Would be nice to go somewhere warm then. We will have to ponder. Ideas right now are Santa Fe, New Mexico or Mexico City. We'll see what we decide.

The week has been ok otherwise. I managed to catch up on my mail so that's good. Was getting pretty behind and managed to get 7 letters done during this week and weekend. Also been reading and watching a few movies (watched 'Basketball Diaries" and "Cafe Society") Been a relatively relaxing week and weekend. Today Kristina (my sis-in-law) and I went to Panera Bread. Haven't been there in ages so it was nice to go, sit outside and take advantage of the cooler/non-humid weather. During the week we got Thai food delivered. Oh and also yummy breakfast food from a local diner. Definitely ready for Mike to be back though now. It gets lonely sleeping in the bed by myself. Well, the cats kept me company of course but that's still not quite the same. :)

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written and already went out or are going out on Monday to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Eloine/NY, Michele/CA, Carmen/Malta, Kimber/Canada and Nina/WA.

Posted by Hanna at 06:41 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, July 17, 2017

Hopkins Inn



IMG_20170716_143250_869And here we are, it's Monday again and I have a week of coverage in front of me. Let's see how it goes. To be fair at least I am covering for a co-worker IMG_20170716_150118_736 I am pretty familiar with/know a lot of the clients she works on etc. Her files are usually very well documented and she goes out of her way to make things smooth. So fingers crossed I will make it through the next week and a half alive. Haha. :) 

Let's see what's new. Last week was busy but then all weeks in the summer seem to be busy of course lately. The weather was weirdly unstable pretty much all week. Thunderstorms, massive downpours, humidity. It mostly cleared out Friday into Saturday at least so that was nice. I think we are supposed to have a similiar weather pattern this week. Guess we'll see. So far it seems ok today but I think tomorrow we are supposed to get more rain. 

Saturday we went to the movies to see "The Big Sick". Really enjoyed that movie and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it or hasn't heard of it. It's based on a true story and Kumail Nanjiani does a really great job, as well as the rest of the cast. It's pretty much a romantic comedy but based on true events. To sum it up in one sentence: It is the story of a relationship between a Pakistan-born aspiring comedian and a grad student who falls ill as they get to know each other. Anyway, go see it. :) 

Sunday we went up to the Hopkins Inn for our annual dinner. We usually go once during the summer, usually around our American wedding anniversary (July 12). The weather was great and we were able to sit outside on the porch and enjoy some delicious food. Had escargot, mozzarella & ham & arugula for starters, Wiener Schnitzel and Seafood Saute for the mains and Toblerone Sundae and Mint Parfait for dessert. Paired with a delicious bottle of Gruener Veltliner. Definitely a great meal. 

Well, now it's Monday morning and I'm getting ready for the day. I actually had some leftover schnitzel and roesti potatoes for breakfast. Yum. :)

Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Kimber/Canada and Nina/WA.

Posted by Hanna at 07:17 AM in Austria , Food and Drink, Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Klimt Exhibit, NYC Sunday

IMG_20170115_130748_110And another week gone by again already. Only one week until I go to Pittsburgh for training. 

Had a good week at work. Nothing too eventful to report I suppose. Yesterday I had my yearly check up at the OB/GYN. So that's done for another year as well. 

Also went to the movies yesterday to see "Live by Night", Ben Affleck's new movie. I usually like him but the movie was only meh at best.  It wasn't terrible by any means but also not amazing.  I expected something better I supoose. Oh well. 

Today we went down to NYC to see the Klimt exhibit at the Neue Gallerie (upper East Side, pretty close to the Guggenheim museum). The museum is neat and modeled after Viennese art galleries, filled completely with Austrian and German art. The special Klimt exibit ends tomorrow so I am glad we managed to see it. It must be pretty popular as there was a line to get in when the museum opened at 11am. 

After the museum we went to the Third Ave Ale House where we are now. Had a yummy lunch and just hanging out for a bit now before heading back to CT in a little while.  

Then tomorrow it's Monday and back to work. One more week before heading to Pittsburgh next Sunday. Going to be there for 10 days for training.  

Letter/Mail Update: A letter went out on Wednesday to: Lotte/Denmark. Received letters/owe a reply to: Carmen/Malta, Kimber/Canada and Celia/MA.

Posted by Hanna at 02:10 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, NYC | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Goodbye Europe ... till we meet again :)

IMG_20160614_083644And somehow it's already my last night here in Austria again. How did that happen? Where did the last 2 weeks go? Time really does fly by sometimes it feels like. 

I spent Sunday and Monday in Vienna and had a really nice time on both days. Sunday I met up with my friend Lydia. Had a great time catching up with her. We first went to the Australian pub Crossfield's (yes an Australian pub in Austria .. but it's a lot of fun) and then to the brewpub 1516. Had a great time eating, drinking and catching up. Shared a huge plate of nachos at Crossfield's and afterwards I had some buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, fleur de sel sea salt and basil pesto at 1516. Yum. 

Monday I took the train into Vienna again and met up with Claudia for lunch at the Hard Rock. It was great to see her and catch up as well. We originally know each other from spending a study year abroad in CA (Santa Barbara) in 98-99 but have kept in touch since then. It's always fun to meet up with people and to reminiscence a bit and talk about days long past. :) It's weird because often it feels like yesterday I was in CA for my year abroad but obviously that's not true. :)

After lunch with Claudia I met up with my friend Andrea for ice cream. Well we actually ended up having iced coffee but either way. :) It's always great to see her as well. We used to live in apartments next to each other growing up, from grammar school till High School. So we have definitely known each other a really long time :)

After that I also had a class reunion to go to. About 10 people from High School, mostly my graduating class and a couple from a year below ours I believe. I only had about 20 people in my graduating class to begin with so reunions aren't those big massive events. But it's still fun to meet up, catch up, exchange some gossip etc. We ended up staying till about 10.30pm and I slept at my friend Barbara's house. Took the train back out to St. Poelten, to my parent's house, this morning.

Then today was filled with various errands, a couple dr. appts for my mom and lunch at the Heurigen (a vineyard with a small restaurant open seasonally) plus packing up all my stuff and various purchases/gifts of course. And tomorrow I am already off again, back to NYC. 

Mail Update. Mailed letters from Vienna on Monday to: Nina/WA and Lotte/Denmark. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:56 PM in Austria , Family, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Austria Update

IMG_20160610_220127Hello from Austria :) Arrived here Thursday night after our stop in Slovenia. On our way back from Ljubljana we made a stop in Styria for lunch.  Had delicious fried chicken as well as Fritattensoup. 

Yesterday, Friday, I had my appointment at the hair dresser. I wasn't sure what color I wanted to get so I made a quick decision but am happy with the end result.  Turned out very nice.  Later in the day we went over to my friend Anneliese's apartment.  Probably going to see her again in a little while tonight as well.

Today we ran some errands and bought some groceries,  half things that I want to bring back to the US, as well as things to eat while I am still here.

In a little while my aunt is going to stop by so that will be nice. Definitely been keeping busy. Tomorrow and Monday I am going to be heading to Vienna.  

Mail Update. Received letters from/owe replies to: Nina/WA and Lotte/Denmark. Letters should be going out on Monday when I head to Vienna and stop at the pay office. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:51 AM in Austria , Family, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Memorial Day Weekend

20160526_132116Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone here in the US. :) It's a long 3 day weekend for most people and the unofficial start of summer,  the season of picnics and BBQs, pools and bonfires. 

I was actually working Saturday and also tomorrow, Monday, Memorial Day, but I can't complain too much considering I am leaving for Europe on Tuesday night.  :)

The week was busy at work but again that's expected with the holiday.  It's also been really hot which has been a shock to my system cause just a week earlier it was way cool for mid May.  Crazy weather. 

Saturday after work we went for a late lunch in Oxford at 121. And later in the evening I attempted to get most of my packing done. I still have to get my carry on completed and figure out exactly what I am packing where but I am halfway there. 

Today we went to see "The Nice Guys" at the movies and then went for a late lunch at SBC in Milford. Now going to stop at Rizzuto's for a glass of wine on our way home. 

Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Nina/WA and Lotte/Denmark. 

Posted by Hanna at 04:46 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, May 08, 2016

Mother's Day, Work and stuff

IMG_20160508_135116Happy Mother's Day to all my friends who are moms and of course my own lovely mom. Talked to her on the phone today. I will see her in less than a month when I get to Europe on June 1st. 

Leaving here the Tuesday after Memorial Day and getting to Croatia June 1st. My parents will pick me up from Split airport. They will already be there as they are leaving earlier to drive there. 

So much to do and take care of before then though.  Quite a lot has been going on at work. The company both Mike and I work has been going through financial struggles for quite a while and it eventually ended in them being taken over by another company.  All in all this is not the worst of news as we still have jobs. Could actually be good in the long run. This starts tomorrow so as of tomorrow we will be employed by a new company. Our salary stays the same. And the old company is paying out our accrued vacation and sick time which is quite a substantial amount considering we both have worked there 14+ years. Everything else will need to be figured out on a day to day basis. But all's well for now.

So that's all the news for now.  The weather has been super dreary and rainy for a good week and a half. It seems to finally be clearing up. Will be nice to see the sun again.  

Mail Update: All caught up with my mail for now. :)

Posted by Hanna at 02:49 PM in Austria , Family, Holidays, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, April 18, 2016

Chicago Meetup with Dave

IMG_20160418_160811Hello again. :) Having a really great time so here's a quick recap of yesterday so I don't fall too far behind with my posts. :)

Had a great day yesterday. After Starbucks and lounging around for a bit we met my friend David who came into the city from Indiana. Took the subway out near Wrigley Field to eat at the Julius Meinl Cafe in Southport. I was really excited to go back there again (we had also been there during our 2007 Chicago trip) and it definitely didn't disappoint. 

Everything inside the cafe (all the furniture, wall hanging, etc.) was imported from Vienna so it has a very authentic feel to it. And the food is just delicious. Had yummy Frittaten Soup to start with, followed by a ham & Swiss cheese croissant and Palatschinken (Austrian crepes) for dessert. Oh and a Viennese iced coffee (with vanilla ice cream) So delicious. 

After lunch Mike, Dave and I walked over to Wrigley Field. Took some pictures there and then continued on to a brewpub not that far down the road (Atlas Brewing Company) Had a couple of drinks there while relaxing and chatting. And eventually continued on back to the train/subway to go back to downtown/The Loop. Was really nice to be able to see Dave again. Always nice to be able to hang out with people in person you normally don't get to see all the time. 

After we parted ways with Dave we relaxed in the room for a bit and eventually ventured back out to check out a wine bar (Enolo) Turned out to be a really neat place. Had some nice wine and a few tapas style snacks before eventually heading back to the hotel for the night. Definitely a fun day. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Charles/TN, Carmen/Malta, Laura/Spain, Lotte/Denmark and Jessica/DE. 

Posted by Hanna at 05:34 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)