Family Day

June 24, 2011

I get to see my family today!

Today started off bright and early, with Anna waking me up at about 5:30 to lock the door after she left. We said our goodbyes, mine rather sleepily, and I headed back to bed till 8 when I woke up to head over to Judith’s to pick up my laundry I brought over last night when we met for dinner. Of course the time frame I had expected was extended as she bustled about, unaware that I was still there. She ended up asking if I would like a ride back to the apartment since she was going that way; she was going to Hungary with a friend for the day. I declined but she insisted. By the time we left I would have been back to the apartment and at the grocery store. Turns out it wasn’t even all that helpful since she dropped me off on the corner and I still had to walk. Oh well, gotta love her.

I went to the institute to check on the family’s flight and saw that the first two had landed safely and the third (from Paris to Vienna) was about to take off. I refreshed the page every few minutes till their plane was in the air and then left the institute to do some wandering around the city. The estimated time of arrival said 2:35 and quarter after 3 I started to wonder why I had not yet received a call saying that they had landed and were heading out on the S-bahn. I hurried over to the institute so I could check to see if their plane had landed ok and saw that it had. By now it was after 3:30 and I still had not received a call; so, I called my dad and it instantly went to voicemail. I figured that they were having luggage issues like I heard other family members coming in. I figured dad just hadn’t turned his phone back on after getting off the plane. By 4, I was worried and thought that they must be having phone troubles. With no backup plan, I headed back to the hotel since I had given them the apartment address when they first thought to take a taxi here. Around 4:30 there they were, buzzing me from downstairs. I ran down, gave hugs and hurried back up to the apartment. We were all chattering and excited to see each other. Kyle of course was starving.

We started off walking into town to get a drink, sightsee and then do dinner before coming back to crash. We hadn’t gotten far before everyone started whining about being hungry. I had them wait till we hit the Museum Café, close to the institute. I had heard good things and we were not disappointed, although our bill was far from cheap. I made sure everyone knew that they should use the restroom since free public bathrooms are hard to come by, and off we went. I showed them the Opera House and the Institute and then walked down the shopping street till we hit St. Stephan’s, where we took a quick peek inside and then headed back out since Mass was about to start. I walked them past Peterskirche and the trinity statue towards the Hofburg, which contains the Horse Stables.

Kyle was starving and everyone’s feet were getting sore so we hopped on the U-bahn and ate at my favorite Italian pizzeria, right down the street from us. The only disappointment was that I ordered the four cheese pasta and got the four cheese pizza – I hadn’t thought the name would be the same for both… The pizza was good but Kyle was falling asleep at the table, so I took him back to the apartment so he could hop in bed while Mom and Dad paid.

When mom and dad got back I showed them the ornaments that I had bought and Dad and I played some gin before they went to bed. Now, I’m writing this journal before I slip into bed, buddy buddy with Kyle in our love seat size couch cushions laid out on the ground. It’ll be an interesting night for sure. Goodnight for now – tomorrow will be a full day of sightseeing.