Email Problems

I just wanted to post a note about our Vienna Team website and email addresses. If you have sent an email or tried to log onto the website recently, you've seen the problem. Feel free to leave a comment and I can send you an alternate email.

A Few Photos of Recent Happenings

Abby got a cute little bake set for Christmas and we finally got around to making one of the recipes in the book with it. It was a fun Mommy and Abby day!!!



We had lunch on Sunday with our friends and new fellow Wiener transplants, Bart, Tamika and Izabella. The girls had so much fun playing together. Don't ask me what is going on with Abby's bow.



In other news, I finally had some success in making dinner rolls. I fancy myself a decent cook, but somehow homemade bread (not in a machine) and rolls have always been beyond me. Well, thanks to this recipe I may have finally done it.

Home Again

We're back home in Vienna, again. We made it in last night, everyone tired, but not too worse for the wear. The trip was obviously very short so we didn't really have time to see Zagreb, oh well, maybe next time. Below is the one picture we took of the trip. It is Abby and I in front of the hotel where we stayed. You gotta love the internet for finding great deals.

Far from home

Greetings from Zagreb, Croatia. Yep, you're on the right blog, the Haskews just had to take an unexpected road trip today. Today, we went down to apply for our residency permits and were told that we needed to leave the country. Not to worry, this is not a permanent change of address, we're headed back to Vienna tomorrow. So why Croatia? Well, it is sort of a long bureaucratic story. But in brief, we are required to leave the country every 90 days. And, yes, we did do that back in November when we went to Germany, but this didn't qualify. There is some sort of agreement between several countries in Europe that allows you to travel between those countries without going through any kind of border patrol. On 29 December several new countries joined this agreement and now the closest places we can travel to are Switzerland, the UK and Croatia. Well, Croatia was actually the closest and cheapest on such short notice. So, here we are. I must say I never thought I would go to Croatia. In fact, my knowledge of the place basically consists of 2 things 1) there was a war here in very recent history and 2) Dr. Kovach on ER is from here. I know you're embarrassed for me and my lack of knowledge. Oh well, I've gotten over it, I'm sure you will too. Please pray for our safe return to Vienna and that the visa process will continue with no major hitches. We did manage to file our papers today and we only have to fax in a copy of the passport stamp we got today. Love to all.

Out and About

Today, we decided to see what was going on in the world beyond our door and went to Burger King. Let me say here that in the US we never went to BK to eat, but given our very limited family friendly choices here in Vienna, it has become one of our regular stops. There is a small play area with a slide, which Abby loves, and this gives Jake and me a chance to have an actual conversation. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit and to walk around the mall where this particular BK is located. So here a couple of pics of our day.


Abby in hew new coat from Santa aka Nana.


Jake and Abby taking a "ride". This stupid car took my euro. At today's exchange rate that is $1.46.

Time Off for Good Behavior?

I get asked a lot about how things are different in Vienna than they are in the US. Well, almost everything is different to some degree, however, store's opening hours are a biggie. Firstly, all stores--grocery, bakery, department--are only open until 7:00 during the week. I think on Thursdays they possibly stay open an hour later in some cases. On Saturday everything closes down at 5 or 6 and on Sunday nothing is open. I've heard rumors that there is one grocery store open on the other side of town, but have never checked it for myself. Now, for the holiday season all of this changes a little, at least for the last week, anyway. For example, everything closed early on the 24th and remained closed until the 27th, which was a Thursday this year. Then everything was closed again on Sunday. Today, Monday, open again, but closed early for New Year's Eve and will remain closed until the 2nd. So, to do the math for you, in the last week everything has been open for only 3 1/2 days!!!! Needless, to say I'll be glad to get back to normal. I went to the grocery store today and stood in line for 25 minutes!!!! It actually took me longer to check out than it did to fill my basket. Next time you run to Wal-Mart or Crest at 10:00pm, remember me. Happy New Year, everyone!!!!

Frohe Weinachten

Wow!!! Has it really been a month since my last post? Apparently, so. Well, December is almost over and we are fast approaching the 6th month anniversary of our arrival in Vienna. I know I've said it before, but it hardly seems possible we have already been here that long. Well, December here shared some similarities with the Decembers we've spent in the US and, of course, there were also some differences. We started the month off with some new experiences, sort of. In Vienna, like many other places in Europe, the Christmas markets open the season. These are large outdoor market areas filled with all kinds of yummy foods and drinks and also a vast array of Christmas ornaments and other yuletide accessories. I'm not sure how many of these there are in Vienna, but we managed to make it to a few. I guess we'll save the rest for next year.

Another, sort of new experience for us was buying a Christmas tree here. Now, Jake has assured me since our first Christmas together that no self respecting Colorado native can have an artificial tree. So, like years past we set out to find a fresh tree. Now, we have traditionally, put our tree up the first weekend in December. However, we discovered in Vienna most people don't put up a tree until Christmas eve. Well, I wasn't too excited about that idea. Luckily, a few trees did start appearing around town the second week of December so we scored one fairly early by Austrian standards.



Mid December also held another blessing. Jake's parents made their first trans Atlantic flight and joined us for Christmas. I think everyone was a little nervous about this flight, but they arrived safely and right on time. We had a great time having them here. Abby was especially excited to see her Nana and Grandpa. We took them to a few places of interest around Vienna and shared with them the little bit of information we new about what we were looking at. I would say Jake and I for sure need to learn a little more about this beautiful city if we are going to be proper tour guides. The weather here has been pretty cold, below freezing, so we didn't get to go out too much. Dragging a 4 year old around to look at old building while her lips are turning purple from the cold, is not anyone's idea of fun. Nevertheless, we all had a good time spending the holiday together. Jake's mom and I fixed Christmas dinner in my miniature, European kitchen. All was well, but it take some extra planning ahead. My oven is only big enough to cook one thing at a time. Brian and Alisha also joined us for dinner.



It was a little strange being so far away from our entire family, except Jake's parents, for Christmas. Vienna is a lovely place at Christmas, but I must say, I missed so many things from home. Here is a list of a few: day after Thanksgiving shopping, Salvation Army bell ringers, 24 hours a day Christmas music on the radio, Christmas parades, Christmas parties, Santa Claus, Christmas TV specials (the sappier the better), peppermint mocha from Starbucks, Christmas cards (thanks to the couple of you who sent them), and last but not least eating Mexican food on Christmas eve and driving around looking at Christmas lights afterwards.

So, I hope all you readers out there in blog land had a Merry Christmas and a have Happy New Year.