Stars bucks always feels like America....yeah
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Some random photos from our trip to Schoenbrunn Palace
http://www.schoenbrunn.at
Fun time at grounds and zoo...this place is huge...
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Night of Broken Glass
A memorial on a street corner two blocks from where we are staying. It reminds Austrians of the shame from "The Night of Broken Glass" in the years of semitism before World War 2 during the time under the Nazi regime.
For context...
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007697
On the night of November 9, 1938, violence against Jews broke out across the Reich. It appeared to be unplanned, set off by Germans' anger over the assassination of a German official in Paris at the hands of a Jewish teenager. In fact, German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and other Nazis carefully organized the pogroms. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by. The pogroms became known as Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," for the shattered glass from the store windows that littered the streets.
The morning after the pogroms 30,000 German Jewish men were arrested for the "crime" of being Jewish and sent to concentration camps, where hundreds of them perished.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
View and café
A great view to wake to with the coffee brewing in the back ground. Thursday morning now and breakfast ideas of simple toast with eggs from this kitchen window perch.
Henry plays soccer with the locals...
Sports is truly the universal language...and boys will universally be boys...regardless of language and nationality.
Photo - Charlotte and Sam
Here is a quick photo of Charlotte and Samuel as we walked around the front of St. Charles's Church yesterday.
Weather has been windy and 68...lovely for sure...not the hot sun and city heat that saps the endurance.
St Charles's Church 01 5046187 Kreuzherrengasse 1, 1040 Vienna http://goo.gl/maps/tUnPR
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
We are a Cathedral?
Warning: for those of you not looking to read my spiritual ramblings, then you might want to skip this post....
We saw St. Stephen's Cathedral today in Vienna. This was built in the 1300s. It is ancient. It is a master piece. It is probably the best example of gothic architecture on the planet (or perhaps the Cologne Cathedral in Germany - never saw it; just from reading online). The building is being cleaned right now and is showing the signs of centuries of soot and dust and grime from the air that make a dark film on the outside of the stone. With painstaking care from a safe laser process on the limestone the cleaning is complete in a majority of the church and you can see the fruit of the labor that was a process I can only estimate has taken 8 to 10 years. Obviously a cathedral of this size and magnitude needs ongoing and continual renovation. I learned that the church has 8 full time master masons that are continually dedicated to renovating the church. They also have a completed digital represented 3D model/map (down to the last micron) of the entire church inside and out (including it's stone relief work. The idea here is that the model can be used to completely recreate anything that might get damaged or destroyed by man, war, weather or time.
I see and analogy forming here. God made us (our lives) to be a holy temple; he talks about this in the Bible God says that we are made to focus and reflect his glory. Each of us (with His guiding and help) get to decide how we reflect Him in our lives and in what manner. Many choose not to at all in anyway. It is a humbling thing for sure. But in our lives as we look back over the years the actions and the words we pay out should shine back the love that he so graciously places into us. But the world of decays and is filled with pain and hurt the world fights back against this process of us reflecting ..every day and every hour and every moment. We rust, we decay, we fade, we fall apart.
We are reminded in the analogy that the renovation we do to our lives and bodies isn't just physical, but spiritual when we act our in obedience and love "to love others as we would love ourselves." Then we renovate or restore the spiritual part of us that reflects him. This is simple; it is the act of kindness, generosity, gentleness, tenderness, and self-control when we serve others. Simple, but so hard to do well. There is no doubt about the fact that we will get old and we will die and after hundreds of year be forgotten completely by this place. We will be like the nameless stone mason that repairs the cathedral. Even the cathedral will be gone some day. And if that were the end of the story it would seem dull and meaningless. But oh, it is not the end. We are recreated and we will rise up and be made new; we will live with this everlasting new body and reflect the glory we were made for...it is great news for sure.
Made it safe
First photo in Vienna...Charlotte and Jennifer on the terrace of the flat we are staying at. Thank you Hunters!
Amazing views and a grand place to relax and connect with family.
Monday, June 24, 2013
A few moment in between...
The flight was smooth over the Atlantic. Arrived at what was our midnight, but sun rise at 5am here in Dublin.
Thank goodness for an alcove area we found with comfy chairs and a bit of privacy. Also this was the best we could do for together time...is this the perfect picture of a family "connecting" ?
Sunday, June 23, 2013
A perfect moment in little Italy
If you have ever been to New York City you understand this picture rather well.
I like to come to New York for the adventure of it all and to find an amazing little tucked away place that just absolutely perfect. It seems I spend a lot of money and a good amount of time exploring New York looking for that perfect opportunity and that perfect moment. Don't get me wrong we have a good time along the way, but it's hard because of course there are literally millions of other people in the city perhaps doing the same thing as well. You're just looking for that perfect moment in time that spot out of the way place where life and environment and circumstance and timing all come together.
If you bring your family into in the city it makes it even harder to find something magical in the moment. Between taking care of all of the safety needs the food needs transportation needs and in general holding the whining and fussing at bay... It seems like you're too tired out to even fight for that spot. And so I really wasn't trying, but God smiled on me just the same. Because we walked into a quiet little section of Little Italy where the gelato and Italian ice was wonderful with a little private street side seating area for us to sit as a family just us; nobody else. And for about 10 minutes everything was just perfect. And in all reality these are the reasons that I like to explore the city that's perfect little moments and really I think it's actually worth the effort... And I hope my kids do as well...
Climbing a giant rock in Central Park
Here is a photo of a gigantic rock in Central Park. It's located in the South East corner of park near the pond. Henry and Holden climbed the rock that looks out over the park. Everything would have been idyllic except for the fact that it was 88 degrees and rather sunny out. So it was hard to hang around for very long. We left the park after about an hour and caught a cab to Chinatown. The cab ride was rather dramatic to say the least.
Suspecting
The boys in this photo do look rather suspect of adding to the graffiti, but in fact they had nothing to do with it...
Outside a cafe with a communal table where we ate amazing bread with jam, cheese, and honey. It was a gift good break from walking Rockefeller Center.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Packing and planning
As we pack with a few days before departure. We consider the number of suitcases and such.
My father also recommends travel light and carrying a good deal of cash. That's probably the best plan for this trip as well.
We are looking forward to seeing the Beilman's for sure.
Can't wait to explore the adventure with my family...
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