One month and Michael's antics.

Just wanted to check in at the end of our first month here in Trumau. The weather is cooler now, with occasional windy evenings. Very pleasant days with sunshine, usually.

 

The adjusting continues. Andrew, to classes and much reading outside of class. Me, to long days alone with Michael with no car, limited cookware and no hobby materials = challenges my creativity with how to occupy ourselves! Michael has by now explored every inch of our small apartment and knows it well down to every light switch and heater knob. He and I are learning it's necessary for us to have a little routine so we don't go stir-crazy. I think his molars are coming in, from the amount of drool production and nose running, accompanied by a pretty constant cough lasting a month now. The cough worries me - I hope he is not allergic to something in the apartment. He is chipper enough though, or I would be extra concerned.

I'm back to baking our bread, both to give me something to do and to ensure we are eating as few additives/preservatives as possible as I still struggle to read the German food labels!

 2 zucchini squash from the ITI garden (compared to a beer bottle for actual size) made some nice hearty zucchini bread.

A delicious olive oil raisin bread.

Michael enjoys being master taste-tester - he's easy on me.

This is how yeast, baking powder and baking soda come packaged here. Guess we won't be using baking soda for homemade general purpose cleaner... flour here is still a mystery to me. Austrians seem to take flour quite seriously as there are many different types and grades, all Greek to me at this point but I look forward to experimenting.

A whole wheat bread. Even without my precious Kitchenaid mixer and the strange oven settings here, so far, so good!

 

Michael has been making the most of his small collection of toys. Lately, he enjoys finding the matching animals in this block set and has learned to line them in a straight row.

 

 He enjoys working on his utensil skills.

And utilizing a chair to attain his desired object(s).

 

 Guilty face!

 Taking apart the dishwasher...

Oh, it has wheels!

 He enjoys watching trucks go down the street and the older children playing around the living quadrant.

 

 Sometimes we walk down to the town park.

 Michael likes climbing the small hill the park features...

 ...and running down.

 

Taking it a day at a time, learning to adjust and be thankful for what we do have. Lessons in faith and trust are hard, but fruitful! Truly this is a season in our lives that is free from many distractions, and so for me it is a call to focus on the simple life, and to put more love and purpose into the (sometimes) mundane domestic works. There too can holiness blossom if we remain open...

 

"Holy is the dish and the drain, the soap and sink, and the cup and plate and the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile, showerheads and the good dry towels... and frying eggs sound like psalms, with bits of salt measured in my palm. It's all part of a sacrament, as holy as the day is spent..." -Carrie Newcomer

 

On to the second month!

A word from the student.

Being a mere "guest" to what is predominantly Melissa's blog, I will make every attempt to be concise and not infringe on my wife's creative genius, and just report (for our family's sake) the more erudite aspects of our main purpose for living in Austria during this time of our lives.  As a preface to the beginning of my graduate studies at the ITI, I found a book at the ITI library a few days ago which seemed quite apropos: The Nature and Mission of Theology by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).  Given that my purpose at the ITI is to begin my formation toward becoming a professional theologian/philosopher, what better way than to be given a few pointers by one of the Church's greatest!  Being only half-way through the book, I am yet again struck by the immense intellectualism of this holy man, who has a way of elucidating some of the most profound questions about man in relation to our Creator, and of our pursuit of truth which can only exist in God.  Pointing out just some of the highlights of the first part of Ratzinger's thesis, he sets out by reminding us of the fundamental object which must be present in the pursuit of theology; that of philosophy, and how without a proper philosophical approach to theology, faith cannot truly seek understanding.  He then turns to the idea of the "academic", and what characteristics must be employed by the theologian/philosopher before such truth can be sought out.  Such person must first LISTEN to the thoughts of others; not in such a way which only presents a passive mode of reception, but an active state of comprehension with a goal of both interlocutors achieving reciprocal comprehension of each others ideas.  Secondly, the theologian/philosopher must have FREEDOM; not a kind of freedom which allows hypothesizing without rules and limits, but a freedom which seeks to attain truth for its own sake.  For if one does not follow suit in such a way, they fall prey to not necessarily finding the truth in the matter, but finding a false truth which they merely wish to impose over and against objective truth.  And so, thus begins my journey for the sake of truth.

Tomorrow is "Studientag", or orientation/convocation for the new academic year.  Classes then begin on Tuesday, of which I am very much looking forward to.  And in case you are interested, here is my line-up of courses for the Winter (Fall) 2013 semester here:

     STM 411 - Scripture, Its Exegesis and Interpretation
     STM 412 - Fundamental Theology
     STM 413 - The One God I: Existence and Attributes
     STM 414 - Moral Theology II: Human Acts and Final End
     STM 415 - Mystery of the Triune God I
     GRK 211 - Introduction to Greek I
     GER 111 - German A1 (intensive)

If this looks like a lot, IT IS!  Therefore, please pray for me, my family, and all the students, faculty and staff here.     

First outing to Vienna.

This past Friday and Saturday, we made our first venture out to Vienna! A friend dropped us off in another town to make it easier for us to travel there; just one train, versus the 2-3 transfers we would have to make from Trumau...more on that later. We had decided to keep it a simple trip and walk around to get a feel for the city, as Michael still has a cough and Andrew has not yet received his student card, which will allow for discounts at various exhibits. After purchasing a family train pass, which enables us to travel at half-price all year, we rode the train for about 20 minutes into Vienna. We exited at a U-Bahn (subway) connection and took the subway from there. Thanks to my memories of navigating the Tube in London some 10 years ago, it was a breeze. We exited at Karlsplatz and directly ahead was a huge church, Karlskirche (St. Charles Borremeo's church). This church charged for entrance, so we took a few exterior pictures and will re-visit later.

 Making sure Michael stays hydrated and his nose wiped...poor guy.

Churches seemed to be the theme of the day. We of course planned to see the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral, but kept running into other churches everywhere, and so would pop in to absorb the varieties of beautiful religious art and whisper a few prayers. Michael really enjoys churches and seeing statues, and liked throwing his head back and looking all around - so much to take in.

 The above church, Kapunzinerkirche, enshrines the remains of a Blessed...I will have to research some of these saints unfamiliar to me. Right next to the church apparently, is the Imperial Crypt - making a note to come back; it looks fascinating.

 Michael fell asleep as we reached St. Stephan's. We went in and got some pictures. It's quite dark in the church, as you can see, but presents many beautiful side altars. Smaller paintings of saints more recent than the era of the church have been propped up on some of these altars, like Mother Theresa, Padre Pio, Miguel Pro, the Divine Mercy Image - lovely to see.

 

A fee is not charged for general viewing, but to access to the sanctuary and bell tower. Maybe another time. Andrew and I found a spot to sit at a café while we let Michael sleep. I had a Viennese coffee (espresso with vanilla ice cream) and Andrew had a few scoops of gelato. After about 1/2 hour, Michael woke up and sleepily people-watched.

 

Across the plaza from St. Stephan's is St. Peter's church; one of our favorites of the day, and definitely Michael's. It was nice to listen to an organist who was practicing for a concert that evening, as we toured the church. The bones of 2 martyrs brought from Rome by a cardinal at some point, were enshrined in glass cases under the side altars...interestingly dressed in Baroque garb.

 

We stumbled next upon Mariam Gestade church. This one arched high above similar to St. Stephan's and presented a numerous amount of saint statues carved from the same stone as that of the church walls.

We then walked to the Hofburg Place and sat to rest in the Burggarten in the back. Michael enjoyed stretching his legs, saying hi to people, and pointing out bicycles and dogs.

 

The palace is now home to the Vienna National Library and the Imperial Jewels/Princess Elizabeth exhibits. From there we walked down through the museum's quarter to catch the subway to our hotel.

Our hotel was close to the subway; very simple, but comfortable with a good breakfast spread, including scrambled eggs and great coffee, essentials for me. Michael and Mama enjoyed a hot bubble bath that night; a luxury, since our student apartments are only equipped with shower stalls. Michael did so well that day for not feeling well but had a restless night with coughing spurts.

On day 2, we decided to head home as Michael's coughing had increased. After giving him his morning nap, we headed off to the subway and stopped off at Schonbrunn Palace for a quick look, as it was on our way. Being a Saturday it was quite busy, in addition to being a warm day. We walked a bit and sat a bit. Michael was fighting much needed sleep, so we kept it brief.

30 weeks pregnant! What am I doing in Vienna? :)

I spent so much time keeping an eye on Michael's condition, and Andrew had the camera the whole trip; hence, no pictures of Papa except this one. Oops.

The inside of the palace will make for a great touring excursion, and the Vienna Zoo lies on the palace border, so we will be back for sure!

We successfully figured out how to get back to a town near Trumau via a different train, thinking we could catch the local train from there to Trumau. After first conversing with a local taxi driver (who only spoke German), then locating the local Bahnhof (train station) which was across a few blocks over from the train stop we had arrived at, and sitting and waiting for 30 minutes, we checked the fine print under the schedule which said "arbbeitstag ausser samstag" = "workdays except Saturday." Also unfortunately, the Austria SIM card that we had purchased in Vienna was not working with either of our phones, so we had no internet and no way to reach the school to call for a ride home. So we walked home - an hour walk. After all the walking we had done in Vienna, this pregnant girl was dead tired, but set her chin and determinedly trudged along behind her husband. It was Michael's nap time again, and he fortunately slept the whole way in his stroller. It wouldn't have been such a bad walk if there was an actual path; we had to walk next to the road upon which the locals whiz by, precariously passing each other. Thanks to our guardian angels we made it, and were happy to be home to rest our tired feet! Apparently, there are buses that make the connection too, but we didn't see any that day. I think Europeans really take the weekends easy. ;) Live and learn. We will definitely go back to Vienna soon to see more sights!