Coming home

Coming home is such a sweet phrase. I didn’t expect to say this to Vienna, of all places, after our summer vacation in Italy. We are officially 10 months into our European adventure, and for the first time are feeling like Vienna is where we belong. It was such a great feeling after some harrowing days and nights of train travel to pull into our local station, and know where all the elevators were, which direction to go, what the food options were, and to be able to read and understand things like signs and menus again. While our German is far from fluent, we’d not realized just how much we actually DO know until we were reduced to square one again in Italy. It was back to alot of context, hand signals, google translate, and smiles again. We also stayed in a very remote area of Italy where we were quite likely the only tourists and only speakers of English in the whole town which made things rather interesting. I’ve always wondered what it was like to travel Europe by train, and well – for better or worse we can say we have done it and survived in one piece. We also had the privilege (and challenge – with small and relatively uninterested in interesting sites small people in tow) of touring to some beautiful spots like Cinque Terre (pictured below), saw the leaning tower of Pisa, and spent a beautiful day in Venice, where we honeymooned six years ago. Along with three days at an actual beach to actually dig our toes in the sand and swim in the Mediterranean, it was a full and busy week, and when we unloaded with grandparents, our 8 suitcases, a stroller, purses, and diaper bag off the train in Vienna, I definitely sighed a sigh of relief.

Ten months in, and I keep wondering if things are actually getting easier now, or if we are just getting used to them. It is probably a mixture of both. The girls are getting to be real troopers managing long trips on trains, subways, buses, trams – you name it! Our Italy trip taught us alot about quick transfers with a multitude of baggage, so schlepping across Vienna seems much less intimidating now. We are discovering the joys of the Danube, with lots of nice beach and play areas to enjoy in the summertime. Our German really is coming along too, and the girls especially are speaking more and talking with their classmates now.

Ten months in, and while I don’t have any epiphany to share, I am feeling grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to have experienced so many amazing places this summer, and also grateful for small things and for home. Just this month, the girls have told me they like living in Vienna now. That was a first for them, and perhaps related to this revelation, was that in the moment they were blissfully chowing down on bean burritos at Max & Benitos – the first decent Mexican restaurant we have found here. Maybe all it takes is a bean burrito for my Taco Bell loving little ladies, but Vienna is starting to feel pretty good.