Tis the Season...For Construction

This might actually be a more efficient mode of transportation

I'm sure it's obvious from my last post that this weekend oscillated between sweltering heat and sweet, cool relief in the form of a smattering of rain storms.  Having come off of Audrey's first week of preschool, I think we all just wanted to focus on being together for the weekend.  There also happened to be some pretty major construction just starting on the U1 line of the U-Bahn...the line we use most frequently and also how John gets to work every day.  They've created two new tram lines to make up for the broad swath of Vienna that is now left without it's main form of public transportation, so getting around Vienna has just become more of an adventure.  Which is fine on the weekends, but not so much when you're trying to drop a kid off at preschool and still make it to work in a timely manner.  Audrey and John have gone from simply riding one line on the U-Bahn to walking to the tram stop, riding two stops, getting on the U2 line of the U-Bahn, Transferring back to the U1 where it picks up again and then walking to preschool.  It took 'em a full hour this morning.  Did I mention this construction is going on for almost two months?  Luckily, We'll be out of town at the end of the month and Audrey has a break from school when she gets back

Ruprechtskirche

So, because of all this construction hubub, Saturday we spent some time familiarizing ourselves with Vienna's tram lines and took a long walk in the city center.  I know we do this a lot, but we're still finding plenty of places we haven't been before.  And also lately, plenty of churches and cathedrals that we haven't yet been in.  Touring the interiors of these yet undiscovered churches has become a favorite activity for John and Audrey to do together.  I'm usually carrying or wearing Bailey any time we enter a church, in an attempt to have her be as quiet as possible. The Bear really has little patience for things that involve restraint, so naturally Mama Bear becomes chief-head-in-charge of keeping her in good form while Papa and Audrey drift around, ogling the decor and pausing to pray. John has a deep appreciation for the beauty of Gothic and Baroque churches and this city is overflowing with them; he has been really excited that this is something he can share with little A too. It just adds yet another dimension to how well Vienna becomes Audrey.

And while most of us (even playground-loving Bailey) have found some niches we truly love here, I have to admit we were all surprised to find an area of the city that none of us particularly cared for.  Saturday night we met up with one of John's coworkers for some sushi at a place on Mariahilfstrasse--aside from the pedestrian areas of the first district, this is Vienna's main (and busiest) shopping street.  I guess it goes without saying that if you find a walk through the mall agonizing, that a street full of hipsters and youngun's practically trampling small children in an effort to make others think they look cool will produce the same result.  Luckily, once we traversed the crowds and found an outdoor table at Dot's Experimental Sushi, we soon forgot our lingering disgust with blatant consumerism. 

Dot's was kind of surprising (if not questionably named), but had come highly recommended by some of John and Greg's Japanese coworkers.  We ordered drinks and then acquiesced when our server offered to create a sushi platter suitable for three people.  It was really an interesting mix of traditional nigiri/sashimi and innovative rolls (like the pink Hello Kitty Roll--any takers?)  We really enjoyed our dinner and the girls were being so good we even opted to linger over some coffee after we were done.  Despite some sticker shock (this is trendy Vienna, so it's not terribly surprising) and some initial jokes about the restaurant name, I'll go ahead and give this place my sushi-seal-of-approval.

What I thought The Bear was doing...the rebel.

I have no idea how long we were there, but it was well after bed time when we got home. John and I rushed to get the girls in bed in a lame attempt to preserve our new 'early to bed, early to rise' schedule.  I've been waking up at 6am every day, so you can bet I was ecstatic when I woke up at 8:30 Sunday morning and couldn't even hear the girls stirring.  I figured the munchkins could use the rest if they were already sleeping in so late, so I sat in bed checking my email until I started hearing little squeaks and banging noises from the hallway.  I guessed the window in the kitchen had just come unlatched, so imagine my surprise when I realized the noise had actually been Bailey opening her bedroom door. She came toddling into our bedroom, not just looking for Mama and Papa, but with my old iPhone in her hand, demanding: "Mama, you help me?".

It turns out Audrey (at God knows what time) helped pull Bailey out of her GoCrib to come snuggle with her in bed.  We use my old phone as a 'sound machine' to play rain sounds on a loop while they're sleeping, but apparently during their 'snuggling', they disconnected it from the charger and played games together instead.  How rebellious!  I know there are people out there with far more independent children than ours, but this was a huge deal for them.  John and I laughed about it all morning.  The shocking sight of B waddling into our bedroom with my phone in her hand still makes me bust up days later. I think John and I just found a way to sleep in on the weekends! Considering my parents used to leave out popcorn as bait for my siblings and I on weekend mornings, this tactic is probably old news to quite a few of you seasoned parents.

Sand!  At last!

Our Sunday was as lazy as they come.  The girls had chastised us Saturday night for not taking them to a playground (I know, a day without a playground--the horror!), so we took them for a picnic lunch at the Augarten and came home in time for my coffee break and a few video chats in the evening.  We do have a big adventure planned at the end of the month for Audrey's birthday, but for the most part, after nearly three months, we're still content to hob nob around Vienna.  This place has so much to take in, I doubt we will be able to leave feeling we have seen all there is to see.  Some weekends we don't even really try, but we still know we're living the dream.