Snowflakes Keep Fallin' on My Head

....they keep fallin'.

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red

(oh yes it does...one of my eyes is red and stinging)

Cryin's not for me (sometimes I cry when this gets all over my floors)

Cause I'm never gonna stop the snow by complainin' (complaining only starts the 4th consecutive day of snow)

Because I'm free (actually feel sorta restricted in my mounds of winter gear)

Nothin's worryin' me (except that a big icicle's gonna be fallin' on my head)

{lyrics borrowed from B.J. Thomas}

Life in Austria . Part 1 . Coffee Drinkin'

Then come to Austria. In a hurry? Then don't come to Austria.

--Real quick, let me explain to you that I'm gonna start a little series of posts on Austrian culture...telling you what regular life and daily activities are like here (and how I'm finally adapting for the most part). So bust out of your comfort zones people...this is gonna be a wild ride. It might just make you appreciate your sink disposal.--

So, first up is coffee. When you give up your addiction of Coke Zero, coffee becomes of utmost importance. (I didn't say I was going off caffeine, did I?) In fact, since stepping foot here, I've learned so much about coffee and come to really love the stuff. I love getting the silver tray topped with that little white ceramic cup filled with the perfect looking coffee (and usually the daintiest frothy pop on top) and a little glass of water next to a tiny bowl of sugar cubes. I'm a sucker for presentation. It beats a clear plastic cup whose top pops off when I grab it and with my name (usually misspelled) scribbled on the side. I mean...seriously...so tacky. I'm so sophisty now. Hand me my beret please.

Austria is famous for its coffee houses and their laid back atmosphere. The cafes in Austria are very old (first one in Vienna in 1693) and all have the same sort of old-fashioned feel to them...like you would spot a poet (or perhaps Mozart?) writing at a small round table in the corner. Drinking coffee with friends (or by yourself) usually lasts longer than 30 minutes and sometimes hours. This is normal. You are supposed to sit back and enjoy yourself and your company over 30 Verlängerters. Waiters don't rush you...you could sit there all day reading a book (like I have done) and they won't get feisty. There are no Starbucks here..(well, yes some in Austria), but not Graz because that would be 'too commercial' for this old historic town. At first that annoyed me, but I like that they keep the character and history to this place. In the few hip places where you can get coffee to go, it's heavily advertised like "Hey, check out our novel idea!". Even then, mostly college kids frequent these spots.

Now, there are tons of varieties of coffee and you don't just ask for "coffee" or you will be slapped silly by some serious Austrian waiters. There is no drip-style coffee here like we are used to. We were a little overwhelmed at first spotting of a coffee menu here. Art being the creature of habit that he is was quite annoyed he couldn't just order regular coffee. Now, we are doing better.

So, I've put together a little list of typical Austrian coffees complete with pictures for you. Those of you visiting us this year...study up!

Some Unexpected Benefits to Blogging

When I started this blog in April, it was an easy way for me to share all of our pictures without having to e-mail each and every family member or friend or use annoying Kodak gallery. I could also use it as a way to keep a digital scrapbook of our time here and I got to play around with some graphic design like I like to do. I sometimes even used it to vent some living abroad frustrations. These are all great bloggy benefits.

What I didn't expect were some of the perks that go along with it.

Like, remember when I posted this wondey house from a House Beautiful spread a month ago?

Yeah, well I got an e-mail from the owner a couple of days ago thanking me for posting her home. She even told me she enjoyed our pictures and seeing Austria. When you are a design lover like me, this is like...well, cool.

And then, this past weekend Art and I were cruisin' along the main street downtown with Elsie on Sunday when there's hardly anyone out. We stopped at this other couple with a dog because the dogs always like to sniff each other and the girl goes "Are you Carolyn?". We had never met in person, but Anna had e-mailed me several months back because she had found the blog and she too was moving to Graz with her husband. She had some questions about getting set up here and we exchanged many e-mails. She said she mostly recognized me because of Elsie...she had seen her on the blog. I've had about five other people e-mail me and ask me similar questions or even if they should move to Graz. Now, that's a little hard for me to answer, but I try to give them some advice. It's nice to be able to help answer some questions from anxious soon-to-be Austrian dwellers because I know just a little knowledge and preparation can help a lot.

And, back in October, I got an e-mail from someone at HGTV asking me if we had any interest in being on House Hunters International. She had found us through the blog and said we looked like good candidates. Now, I used to watch HGTV (a little too much) and know this show inside and out. I was perked. But, as it turns out, we had things going on and there was a lot of work involved, so we declined at the time. I also don't like seeing myself on camera...I'm like "oh, she's kinda annoying".

And finally, I now have more vanilla extract and Almay eye makeup remover pads than I know what to do with! You mention it, you got it.

(oh, and lots of chocolate chips, but I know exactly what to do with those.)

A New Year

Image source

So, we were really quite lame and didn't go see the huge firework show downtown on New Year's Eve. You know what they call New Year's Eve here?

Silvester.

Totally makes you think of this, doesn't it?

Art's been told he looks like SS more than once. I'm not gonna lie...I see it a bit.

We were definitely planning on going, but I was hacking up a lung with a terri cough and it was already 31 degrees at 9:30 pm. (And, let's admit it...we were tired by 11:00.)

We definitely heard it though... and saw some of it outside our window. My friend that went last year said it sounds like a bomb raid from the top of the Schlossberg hill where they shoot them. They LOVE fireworks here. Everyone shoots them all over town. In that picture of a Graz Silvester above you can see how many fireworks are being shot off around the city...that photo was probably exposed for 4 seconds rather than a split second instant, but still..you get the idea.

And what is the mass marketed item for Silvester? Pigs. They set up shops a week in advance filled with pig paraphernalia....stuffed, bobbled-headed, the size of a thimble so you can carry in your pockey...and even pastries shaped like piggaroos. A pig brings you viel Glück (good luck). or probably not.

And not that you care about my plan for a better me, but I'm going to list my three resolutions here. I'll feel more accountable if it's on the internet.

Rezzies for Twenty Ten:

1. Eat more fruits & veggies

2. Cut out the Coke Zero for cryin' out loud

(I've been addicted to Diet, now Zero...for a good 5 years)

3. Learn more Deutsch on the double

And because my sister just posted this on facebook, I'll show you how we joined in on the Christmas morning gift exchange at my family's house:

Kinda felt like we were there. Looks like Art's trying real hard to see something...prob. because my big noggin's in the way. Ana's eyeballin' that last gift on the table.

Happy New Year peeps.

Our Year in Photos

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