Today we took a bus from Vienna to Salzburg, which took about 4 hours including stops. We wound our way past the Danube and through some of the most beautiful mountains and lake (Moon Lake, I believe). On the lake, there were mansions that cost upwards of 12m Euros, and may famous people owned them (including Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull).

It rained and hailed as we made our way towards Salzburg, and once we got there, the rain and wind kept up. We were undeterred – our tour guide was great, and we enjoyed seeing Mozart’s Birthplace, scenes from The Sound of Music, and ancient castles and apartments built into the side of mountains.
[caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Mozart\'s Birthplace"][/caption][caption id="attachment_251" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Medieval House Built into Mountain"][/caption]
Ethan was really good, but was sick of being in his carseat. Once we got to Salzburg, he just wanted to run around chasing pigeons.

Because of the cold, we didn’t do much exploring. We did a little bit of shopping, but all the souvenirs we ended up buying were gloves so our hands wouldn’t freeze! We also ate at a local McDonalds (I know – it’s criminal with all of the fabulous Austrian food we could have eaten…), but it was fast and we were hungry and cold. It did have the most intricate McDonalds sign I have ever seen…

On our way back from Salzburg, we stopped at a local restaurant for Apple Strudel and hot chocolate. The Austrians are master pastry chefs, and we enjoyed every bite!

I have family that comes from Austria, and we had a chance to go to an old church in Breitenbrunn (about 60 km outside Vienna). We were able to see the birth and marriage records of my ancestors that were christened and married in that church back in the 1800s.

It’s pretty humbling being able to see where some of my family comes from – standing in the same church where they were married! I took a picture of the records – they are the original books that all of the records are kept on.

I have a wonderful cousin, Maria, that is from Breitenbrunn as well, and her father is the vicor of the church. He was able to show us around the church and the records that we were looking for. Being in the place where my family comes from makes me realize the importance of family history and keeping records – they are a part of me and my son!

Maria was a fabulous host, and we were able to meet her wonderful family. Ethan had a great time playing with her sons, and we really enjoyed our time spent with them.

We arrived in Vienna on October 11 after a couple of days of traveling. (We had layovers in Detroit and Amsterdam before we finally arrived in Viennal.) We arrived in Vienna at around 8:30 am, and to make the time change easier, we tried to stay up all day. Ethan was great on the airplane, and we’re so happy that he travels so well. He only lost it once on our flight from Amsterdam to Vienna. A very “helpful” gentleman told me I needed to give him a drink so that he wouldn’t cry. Ethan really has been a little trooper, and we’re so glad he does so well! (Note: M&Ms and an iPod Nano don’t hurt!)

We’re staying at the Marriott Renaissance Vien, which is a short walk to Schonbrunn Palace and Zoo, which is the oldest zoo in the world. Ethan loved seeing all of the animals, but towards the end of our afternoon at the zoo, I think jetlag got the best of him, and he laid down on a manhole cover, giving it a “love.”

[caption id="attachment_219" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jen and Ethan with Bunnies at the Schonbrunn Zoo"][/caption]

When we got to the hotel, they had a little crib all set up for Ethan. He wasn’t too sure about the pink bedding, but it was nice and cozy! The hotel is fabulous, and we’ve really enjoyed staying here.

Preston, Ethan and I are on our way to Europe. We flew to Detroit for an overnight layover, staying at the Springhill Suites. The hotel was great – the staff really went above and beyond to help us out. We actually took the wrong airport shuttle to the wrong hotel, but once we figured out where we were supposed to be, the shuttle driver took us to the right hotel. The breakfast, which was included, was very good, and was much bigger than a typical continental breakfast (waffles, muffins, cereal, fruit, yogurt, etc.).

We were really impressed with Detroit. The airport is spacious without feeling overwhelming, and it’s easy to get to the different terminals. They had a children’s playground that kept Ethan occupied, which was great since we ended up spending quite a bit of time at the airport.

[caption id="attachment_206" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Preston and Ethan"][/caption]

Apparently this YouTube video has gotten well over a half million views, and with good reason. It’s so cute! I’m posting it because it reminds me of Ethan – he LOVES music, especially the Mama Mia soundtrack. Maybe I’ll have to show him this Beyonce video and have him rock out!

Update – The video I originally embedded didn’t work – hopefully this one does.

Stick to what your teleprompters say. The whole Henry Louis Gates debacle (if you’re not familiar with the story, read about it here) has shown that race relations are strained in America, however, people seem to be rushing to judgment before getting all the facts of the story. (That statement is directed at you, Mr. Obama – don’t call our police officers “stupid.”)

I’m sure the true story of what happened lies somewhere between what Mr. Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley have to say. I don’t believe it was a case of racial profiling based on what I’ve read, however, I can understand that Mr. Gates may be sensitive to issues such as that. It is an unfortunate case, but my biggest problem with it was the fact that Mr. Obama weighed in during a national address, admitting that he didn’t know the facts, and automatically sided based on race. He is President of the United States, and he should be bigger than that. It doesn’t matter what he thinks personally – attacking Sgt. Crowley (and all Police Officers) is completely uncalled for, and shows Mr. Obama’s true colors. (We shouldn’t be too surprised, however, based on the church Obama attended for 20 years…)

I’ve been training all summer for a 1/2 marathon I’ll be running next month. It’s great exercise, and I’ve really come to love running. It’s also helped me lose the last of my baby weight, which is a plus as well!

I’ve recently run into some trouble while running through different neighborhoods – dogs. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m an avid animal lover. I just don’t like dogs. Or rather, dogs that people don’t keep control of as I’m running.

This past week alone, I’ve been chased by six different dogs, and just today, had a huge black Lab jump up on me. I don’t know if he was friendly or not, but when a 100 lb dog comes chasing after me as I’m running and jumps on me, I’m not in the mood to find out if he’s nice. I yelled at him to get off me, and gave him a swift kick to the ribs. He backed off, but it really scared me. (It brought back memories of being bitten by a lose dog and then going through the rabies shots series…)

I can’t say that I really blame the dogs – they’re either protecting “their” territory that I’m running past, or they’re just looking for a new friend. Owners really need to take responsibility for their animals. If they know their dogs will run after people, they need to keep them in the backyard, locked up. There was no one around when this big black lab chased after me – in other words, no one supervising him at all. This has been the case for all the dog problems I’ve had over the past week (and several months).

I’m sure people will be upset that I kicked a dog, and honestly, I would NEVER advocate violence against animals, but I had to protect myself and make sure this dog didn’t hurt me. I just have to figure out how to handle this dog problem in the future, since I hate running on treadmills and I love running outside. Maybe if I get one of those chain-mail suits people wear when swimming with sharks…

On Saturday morning, my dear husband waited in line (while we were in Chicago) for a few hours to get a Palm Pre for each of us. Ethan and I hung out (slept in) at our hotel. (Ethan had decided to wake up at 2am, and wouldn’t go back to sleep until around 7 – yikes!)

The Pre really is an amazing phone! I’ve been impressed with it’s functionality and ease of use. The app store has some cool products, and while it doesn’t have nearly the number that the iPhone app store has, new ones are released every day.

The Pre won’t put the iPhone out of business, however, it is nice to have something that is just as cool (or cooler!) as the iPhone but with new options, such as the ability to run multiple applications at once. Another feature I love is the integration with Facebook. It automatically pulls all of your Facebook contacts and adds them in. All you have to do to find someone is type their name – they’re already in there.

The iPhone was a revolutionary phone, and it really changed things for the smartphone. The Palm Pre has taken that technology and built on it, making a phone that is cool, easy to use, and packed with great features. (Not to mention it’s a great looking phone!)

I’m glad I waited for Palm to release the Pre rather than getting an iPhone. Apple has great products (I’m writing this post from my MacBook Air), but I think Palm really got this one right.

PS Apparently AT&T is causing a big stir with the new iPhone cost – customers are mad that they have to pay $200 or so to upgrade their phones if they purchased last year’s model.

Finally! Thanks to my great husband, my blog is no longer redirecting to a porno site. I’m not sure what happened, but my site got hacked… it’s all better now, though!

Anyway, I haven’t posted anything since…say…November of last year. Time to do some catchup! I’ll get some pictures posted soon!

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