We've found a new favorite thing in the mountains:
Mountain Roller Coasters
Our first experience was in Austria when we did one with Charlotte for her birthday. Then we tried it out with Olivia when we visited Mont Blanc in France. I had seen this one but you have to be 4+ to ride and it closes for the season the day before Olivia's 4th birthday. I called the operators an pleaded my case that she'd done one before on another track where 3-year olds were allowed and had been well behaved and she met the height and weight requirements, could we please (pretty, pretty please) come two weeks before her birthday. Not sure if it was my ridiculously horrible attempt to have the conversation in broken German or my American refusal to take no for an answer spirit, but they eventually agreed.
Off we went!
Why is Olivia making that face? We don't know, she's 3. Why is she not wearing a coat. See answer above.
You could buy a ticket for one trip, two trips or UNLIMITED trips (in a two hour period). I'd like you all to guess which option my family chose. In total, we made 7 trips in our two hours. By the last one, I wobbled as I got off the coaster.
Again and again. The first time through, Olivia shouted 'this is epic!' the whole way down. She got a little calmer by the sixth trip, but I know she still had a blast (and wanted to immediately go again!)
And you know what? The view from the top (or anywhere along the way, really) doesn't get old.
The total track was 2km (1.2 miles) and dropped about 250 meters (820 ft) along the course. We went through tunnels, over bridges, around curves, did some waves and roundabouts. Because it's difficult to visualize the track (and really difficult to take pictures while you're on it, here's a few shots from the coaster's website.
We switched off along the way so that each of the girls road with each parent a couple of times. Both girls said that riding with Adam was better because he'd go faster. Sigh.
We have officially become a hiking family. I realized this designation today. We are nearing the end of a two week fall break and we took two great trips and had some good family down time around the house, but this morning Charlotte woke up and told me that we hadn't been hiking in "ages" and we needed to go today. A quick scramble for nearby trails we hadn't visited yet revealed the Forest Adventure Trail in Vaduz (the capital city of Liechtenstein).
It's a big loop (6.2 kilometers / 3.9 miles) and though it does not have games and such for the kids along the way like many other hikes we do, it does start with a woodpecker carving ... and we had to become woodpeckers too...
It's interesting to see how far we've come in our 2 1/2 years of hiking. This trail would have made me so nervous when we first moved here with its hills, slick leaves and little-to-no guardrails on the side of the path. But the girls have proved their ability to walk single file when needed and listen to instructions (occasionally); and there is a big difference between a 4-year old and 18-month old and a 7-year old and an almost 4-year old. That being said, I still kept really close to make sure everyone navigated the tree roots, rocks, leaves & pine cones carefully.
Newly added to the trail is long cantilevered viewing platform with a magnificent panoramic view of the Rhine Valley. The info sign said the platform was made of 15 Vaduz larches taken from the surrounding forest. I was grateful it was also made of concrete and metal beams.
We continued on the trail, or should I say up the trail.
That uphill was UPHILL!
We happened upon the ruins of Schalun Castle. After the hike, I tried to do some research on the origin and purpose of the castle, but learned there is no information about the castle itself from the time of it's building, but in 1237 knight Ulrich von Schalun was named as a witness to a donation from another land owning family to his. I guess that's when he got to name it. Fast forwarding a bit, in 1939, the first excavations took place inside the now ruins of the castle. On the basis of an analysis of findings, it can be assumed that Schalun was built at the end of the 12th century at the latest and expanded in the 13th century with the construction of further walls. The sparse finds also indicate that the castle was not inhabited when it fell into disrepair. On the basis of burn marks, the castle was probably subsequently burned down.
Thankfully after the castle we started back downhill. At least two of us were happy about this decision.
We spent the rest of the time taking in the beautiful autumn colors and examining every leaf to find the perfect souvenir.
It may not quite be November yet, but I'm starting my thankful list today. On the top of it is these little ones and their adventurous spirits.
It wouldn't be autumn without our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We've now been every year we've lived here and it is a personal favorite of mine in our fall calendar. This year's theme was Great Cinema so we started at the most Super Man of them all.
We also made our way through Jurassic Park.
And then discovered Luck Luke. It is, according to Wikipedia, on of the best-known and best-selling comic series in Europe.
We were then forced (by Mom) to take a couple of normal pictures before we could play in the hay.
Beyond the Alps to the far eastern extent of our nearest neighbor, Austria, lies a city I have longed to visit for many years. Home to the Sachertorte, Austrian School of Economics, Classical Music and the Hapsburg Empire (yes, that is their order of importance), Vienna has always struck me as a place that would be fascinating to spend a several weeks exploring. We don't have quite that much time, but thankfully, the girls school gets several multi-week breaks throughout the school calendar which is fantastic for spreading travel out. So, for part of the fall break we train-ed our way to Vienna for an extended weekend.
One of the joys of remote work?
After an 8 hour train ride, what better way to wind down than story time with dad in a "fancy" bed?
Getting into our apartment in Vienna was an adventure too...
With only three days to explore the city, we focused on hitting the highlights which meant a walking tour, visits to the Hapsburg family cottages at Hofburg and Schloss Schonbrunn, trying a sochertorte, and meandering through a few museums along the way.
As we do in most cities we started off with the guided city walk to get the lay of the land and learn a few interesting facts along way. The Vienna City walk starts by the Opera and takes you further into the old city by St Stephen's cathedral with it's beautifully tiled roofs, the cities plague column and then into the courtyard of the Hofburg.
Not the teutons
Our local Swiss chocolatier has a storefront in Vienna?!
Façade of the Opera
The local limestone is very soft and absorbs pollutants easily, so the church is almost always in some stage of cleaning
Also not the teutons
Within the main pedestrian area is a 60' column commissioned by Emperor Leopold I to commemorate the saving of the city from Bubonic plague in 1679. During this epidemic, an estimated 76,000 Viennese died. The Emperor was literally brought to his knees in anguish as 1/3 of his subjects succumbed to the disease. A little further down from the column is St Peter's Church which was also commissioned by Leopold I as a thank you to God and the Church for his city surviving the plague.
Altar of St Peter's
Outside the Hofburg
Emporer Franz II
Of the two royal palaces we visited we found Schloss Schonbrunn to be the more interesting and impressive of the two. This was partly due to the size the palace and the openness of the grounds allowing you to see the palace from distance but also the tour of the Royal Apartments at Hofburg was somewhat depressing.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, or Sisi, as she is referred to throughout the tour is the focus of the Hofburg visit and as you progress through the rooms you learn more about her life from young adulthood just before wedding to her first cousin, the Emperor Franz Joseph I at age 16. A year later she had given birth to her first child, Sophie and then had a second daughter a year later, Gisela. However, because of her own young age Sisi's mother-in-law, Princess Sophie of Bavaria removed the children from their mother and took them to live in Germany. And Sisi's tragedy only gets worse from there.
After many months of pleading with her mother-in-law to let the children travel with her Sisi was allowed to take the two young girls on a trip with her to Hungary. Yet while in Buda both girls became sick and the oldest daughter, Sophie, ultimately died in her mothers arms at the age of two. Not only was this an agonizing tragedy for Sisi but it also did not help her relationship with her mother-in-law! And while her relationship with her mother-in-law would improve after the birth of her son Rudolf, the bouts of depression and anxiety of living in the royal household would never leave her. Ultimately she would live on to see her son take his own life in a suicide pact with his mistress.
Sisi's own life would be taken ten years later in Geneva at the hands of an anarchist who was in Geneva in pursuit of the Duke of Orleans. An unfortunate end to a life that should have been anything but unfortunate.
The tour of Schonbrunn is considerably lighter on subject matter and also allowed better opportunities for photos and meandering. Renovated to its current form in the 1740's, Schonbrunn was original set aside as a royal hunting ground but ultimately became the main summer residence for the Habsburgs. And I can see why.
But, really, who cares about all this history. Let's talk about the real reason you visit Vienna. A trip here wouldn't be complete without trying the Sachertorte. And it was tasty!
The Sacher hotel where the first Sachertorte was made
One of the competitors for "Best Sachertorte"
And certainly no trip to Vienna would be complete without viewing the Crown Jewels. The Imperial Treasury maintains a large selection of royal robes, jewels and other treasures along with a number of religious artifacts from all over Christendom, including a piece of the True Cross and the Lance that pierced Jesus' side.
Someone is dreaming of their souvenir
Is this a unicorn horn?
The lance that pierced Jesus' side
Tiber Island. I wonder if my favorite Gelato shop was there when this was painted
After we took in all the glitz of the Treasury, we decided to work on our other senses and headed to The House of Music. The museum's goal is to bring people closer to the world of sound and let them grow with it. I think it accomplishes this and it was a great tour for the entire family. We all loved the interactive exhibits and the museum is packed with them!
The girls would be upset if I didn't include their favorite activities on the trip! One evening we finished up the tours that we'd planned for the day a bit earlier than we thought we would so we decided to walk along the Danube and eat dinner by the river. We happened upon a city fun fare. Most people were dressed in their dirndls and lederhosen, so we're not sure if it was part of Oktoberfest celebrations or if this is something that happens throughout the year. Either way, the girls happily took a horseback ride together. Olivia then chose the race track for her second experience and Charlotte decided on the fun house.
It was a busy 3 days in Vienna but so glad we were able to get there! We took the night train home. This is the before picture of our level of excitement. The after, we were much less rested.
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